DevLog #25 – More Customization and Replayability!

Hello everyone!

I’m happy to release today a feature update for Destroy The Monoliths! This update is all about customization and replayability, as it is released with the start of the Endless Replayability Steam Fest. The goal is to offer more end-game possibilities for veteran players to keep enjoying the game the way they want. Let’s review together the changes!

Hardcore challenge

There is a new doomed relic to add an extra hardcore experience for those who want even more challenge. This relic makes you start without a core, but only an improved healer building. This means you have only one life! Don’t worry, there is however a new building you can get that acts like a temporary respawn point. So you may be able to invest resources into extra lives if you need to (and can afford to!).

Cheat panel

In the same time, I am adding a new blessed relic. This one will need to be unlocked through the meta progression system as it is quite powerful. It gives you access to a special building: the cheat station! Interacting with this building opens a cheat panel where you can give yourself resources, tweak some stats, kill all living enemies, etc. This is meant for players who just want to have fun breaking the game. Please share your suggestion if there are certain things you’d like to see added to this panel!

Customizable pack

I am adding a 7th starting tech pack, but this one is a bit special. It is customizable! Once unlocked, you can select it and compose your own set of technologies you’d like to start with. You can pick anything that is present in your journal entries, except a few weapons and buildings removed from the list (such as the repair gun, or the laser machine gun which has no corresponding offensive turret). That’s plenty of possibilities to start a new world with!

World map pool

Unlocking the customizable pack also gives access to a new menu: customization of the map pool at the creation of a world. You can select the map for each mission and make sure you play on your favorite grounds!

Completed worlds

Previously, there was no point in keeping a save file once a world was completed. All that was left was to delete it and start a new world. But now, there is! Completing a world gives you access to an extra mission. XP will be disabled and you will not get any new technology, but you can keep playing with your current build as long as you want to if you like it. The extra mission is fully customizable, from the map biome and size to the number of monoliths. You can also tweak some multipliers to increase the enemy health points and attack power. So, if you want to challenge yourself and fight 7 monoliths on a big map and stronger foes, you actually can! This extra mission is replayable endlessly as long as the save file exists.

Customizable Rolling Unit

Finally, you can now customize the appearance of the player ball in the accessibility options. You can choose among several colors and patterns. Tell me in the comments which style is your favorite!

What is next?

Version 1.2 is now out on Steam (full changelog is below). If you encounter any issue or want to share feedback, don’t hesitate to post on the Steam forums. I am ready to make potential follow-up patches to fix bugs and tweak things.

Also, I am planning to work on a 1.3 update as I would like to add an alternative gamemode to Destroy The Monoliths. It would propose a more classic tower defense experience with endless waves of enemies to fight to keep the Core up as long as possible. I was considering releasing everything together in a single bigger update, but it would not have been ready in time for the Endless Replayability Fest. So I decided to split the update in two and release a first batch of features as they fit very well the theme of the festival. Version 1.3 will be for another time this year, I’ll keep you updated once it gets closer to be ready.

For the time being, I hope you will enjoy the new set of features! As always, thanks for the support, and I’ll see you next time!

Full changelog (v1.2)

Added

• 1 new doomed relic
• 1 new blessed relic
• 3 new buildings
• added the possibility to replay customizable missions once a world is completed
• added a new starting tech pack that can be customized
• added the possibility to customize the map pool when creating a new world
• added options to customize the player ball color and pattern

Changed

• If no controller is detected, buttons now release the focus when not hovered by the mouse anymore

Updated Demo build to v1.2