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Showing posts with label Evan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evan. Show all posts

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Hero Tower Defense: Scheduling

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Alright, time for a update on some HTD related stuff. First off as you may have noticed from the title and date of this post is that I will no longer be sticking to a new HTD post every Thursday. Reason being is that sometimes there just isn't much to report since we are taking our time with the new releases even though we are continuously working on it. So it would seem to make more sense to just make a post only when there is something worth posting about rather than trying to fill a weekly requirement. Plus it uses some valuable time that I could be using to work on the game instead. With that said I'll still be posting about HTD fairly often just not as consistently as before.

Now onto business. Sam and I put on our business hats and decided that the best thing for us would be to let Sam focus on getting PTD2 going and put the programming for the new HTD graphics setup on hold. The reason is a pretty clear one, more people want to see PTD2 than HTD and we're all about giving you guys what you want. However, don't mistake this to mean HTD progress is stopping. That's not true at all, all that's on hold for now is the programming part, the graphics are still being worked on. If you've been following Kevin's blow you probably already know this (linke at the bottom of this post). In fact, once Sam gets a playable version of PTD2 out he will be dedicating some extra time to HTD in order to get everything moving again. Another thing to keep in mind is that since the graphics are still being worked on in the meantime that the next release of HTD will contain even more reworked content than we originally planned for.

For those of you that have been looking forward to the next HTD release (like me) and have been patiently waiting, I apologize for the temporary delay but it's ultimately a better route for the company to take. It shouldn't be too much of a delay though really. And for those of you who want to point out Ninja-ja I'll assure you this is a different case because there is more than just one person (me) working on HTD. Plus, a new version of Ninja-ja WILL come out eventually. I just need to find time for it which is scarce these days.

Thanks for all the continued support guys!


In the Works:


  • Design

    • Commander/Player Skills (25%)
    • Stat Progression (5%)
    • Pet System (50%)



  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Animations (90%)
    • Unit: Race #2 - Concepts (20%)
    • Unit: Race #3 - Concepts (10%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Concepts (80%)
    • Unit: Creature #3 - Concepts (20%)
    • Unit: Creature #4 - Concepts (10%)
    • Weapons: Batch #2 - Assets (20%)
    • Armor: Batch #1 - Assets (10%)



  • Programming

    • Interface: Setup (75%)
    • Unit: Setup (10%)


    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Be sure to leave any ideas, suggestions, or other feedback you might have in the comments! Thanks!


    -Dan

    Thursday, June 14, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 42 - Creatures Vs Races

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 41 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    Progress on the new art and graphics system is still underway and is going well. We're doing our best to get a new release out to you guys ASAP but we aren't looking to rush it out just so we can have something. I never liked seeing that happen in other games and then having to deal with all sorts of annoying bugs. Granted we're a small group and can only find so much but we do what we can. :)

    Now, on to the topic at hand. Creatures Vs Races! In HTD when we say Creatures we are typically referring to enemy units and when we say Races we are referring to playable heroes. However, there will be units that are both playable races and creatures that you fight. The HTD world isn't one with race wars going on with one versus another but rather just a world full of all sorts of races and creatures that have various factions within different groups. Some are good, some are bad. This allows us to be a bit more versatile when it comes to designating enemies for maps because we can mix various kinds of units together and still have it make sense.

    You might be wondering why aren't all units just creatures and playable races. Well, because it would be difficult to make something like a slug into a playable unit. The playable races require far more animations and set up in order to work with the system we've established. The main reason is because they are dynamic and allow for weapon and armor swapping which requires a lot more assets and work. However, we can always use creatures as companion pets/combat pets since they are a more limited version of a playable unit. So some might end up being available in that respect.

    Another good thing about having creatures as pets and races as enemies is that we can reuse assets that we already have. It's a huge time saver and provides some additional diversity, especially the races. For example, we can use the human race as an enemy and have all the armor and weapons available to outfit them however we like and even give them variations among themselves. We can also use their animations to do different things with. All of this essentially for free since we already have them available for the playable human race.

    We're all looking forward to the next release and hope to share it with you guys soon. Thanks for the continued support!


    In the Works:

  • Design

    • Pet System (50%)
    • Interface Revision (100%)


  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Revision (100%)
    • Unit: Human Male - Animations (25%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Melee Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Ranged Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Meerkat Non-Combat Pet - Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Goblin - Concept (25%)


  • Programming

    • Graphic Processing Revision (75%)
    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)



    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Be sure to leave any ideas, suggestions, or other feedback you might have in the comments!


    -Dan

    Thursday, June 7, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 41 - Show and Tell

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 40 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    Unfortunately the new release won't make it out this week because we were originally thinking we could set up the new interface menus using a mix of the old graphics process with the new graphics process. It seems now that we can't actually do that or it wouldn't be worth it because we'd have to redo it anyway. So we're taking the more efficient route by continuing to work on the new graphics process and then once we have that set up we'll be able to throw together the new interface and it'll be set for good. However, I wanted to give you guys a little bit of a preview in the meantime.

    Hero Customization Screen

    This is the Hero Customization screen where you'll be able to change things like your Race, Hair Style, Colors, etc. You might notice that there's no character roster at the bottom. This is because this screen won't always be available, it's more of a triggered screen that will become available when you are presented with the option to change some of those features. For example it'll appear when you start a new game in order to make your main hero and when you get new customizable heroes or items/quests that allow you change race or hair color. For testing purposes we'll be allowing easy access to this screen from the Party Management screen till we are at a more finalized version of the game.

    Party Management Screen

    Next is the Party Management screen where you'll be able to set up the group you'll take into battle, enter battle, and for now, access the Hero Customization screen. On this screen you can see the character roster, navigation buttons, and a preview of the currently selected hero. The preview will also show you the hero's name, native element (behind the character), and their currently active skills. The Enter Battle text and icon will light up when there's at least one character in your active party.

    Inventory Screen

    And lastly we have the Inventory screen. Your currently selected hero's equipment is on the left and the shared inventory (all characters use the same one) on the right. The check marks on the Helm and Cloak slots are toggles for turning those items visually on and off. In order to see the details of any items/skills you would just hover the cursor over it and details for it will pop up in a window.

    That's all I'm going to show for now, don't want the post to get too large. There are still some placeholders at work here but as you can see it's mostly an overhaul. Hopefully we can get a new release out for you guys soon so you can try it and provide us with some feedback. As you can see we're hard at work though and things are coming together nicely, the current content just takes some time to put together.


    In the Works:

  • Design

    • Pet System (50%)
    • Interface Revision (90%)


  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Revision (90%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Melee Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Ranged Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Meerkat Non-Combat Pet - Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Goblin - Concept (25%)


  • Programming

    • Graphic Processing Revision (75%)
    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)



    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Suggestions and ideas are always welcome in the comments, thanks guys!


    -Dan

    Thursday, May 31, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 40 - Revised Graphics and Interface Progress!

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 39 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    Hope you all had a good holiday weekend! We were all a bit busy visiting with family and such so no game update this week. However, we have been making good progress with all the revising we have going on. The graphics are moving along and the revised interface is just about finished so we should be able to release a new update next week. There's still some tweaking to do but overall it should be a big improvement over what we currently have which is mostly a bunch of placeholders.

    Some of you have commented on how it felt clunky and a bit confusing and that's definitely one of things we've addressed. This new set up should make all the menu screens much easier to navigate and more intuitive. One of the main features is that you can change characters from any screen and the navigation buttons that let you go to other screens are always available. We'll also be making use of tooltips for further instruction as well as displaying things like skill and item details.

    With the interface out of the way I'll be able to help Evan with some of the 3D assets which should also help speed things up. Evan is working on the animations for the Human Male character which requires rigging the model in order to make it easier to animate. I'm getting a render scene set up which will be used for importing any assets and then rendering out frames for all three angles, lighting, and position. Once we have those frames Sam can take and implement them into the new system which will allow him to proceed faster and easier since he'll have some reference graphics.

    So things are moving along slowly but surely. As I mentioned before we hope to have a new version available for you guys next week which should include all the new interface menu screens. We hope you guys will like it and we'll definitely be looking forward to everyone's feedback!


    In the Works:

  • Design

    • Pet System (50%)
    • Interface Revision (85%)

  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Revision (85%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Melee Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Ranged Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Meerkat Non-Combat Pet - Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Goblin - Concept (25%)

  • Programming

    • Graphic Processing Revision (65%)
    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)


    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Suggestions and ideas are always welcome in the comments, thanks guys!


    -Dan

    Thursday, May 24, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 39 - Community Request: Playable Races!

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 38 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    Just a short post this week while we continue to chug away at the next release which should be coming soon. Another benefit of the new graphics system is that it will allow us to more easily add additional playable races. Before it meant an exponential amount of more work when adding armor because of all the additional frames required for the new race. Now, since it's in 3D, it's just a little extra work fitting it to the model of the new race and then rendering out all the necessary frames accordingly.

    So, what this means is we have a lot more flexibility with what sort of playable races we can put into the game since the workload is far less significant. This works out because we weren't going to have much focus on race wars and factions but rather on good and evil. In other words it'll be a common occurrence to see a mix of races working together on everything from daily tasks to fighting a common enemy.

    This is where you guys come in. What are some races you would like to be able to chose from? Are you a fan of the tried and true trifecta of Human, Orc, and Elf? Are you more interested in an obscure race that you don't see so often such as Golems (like Kevin!)? Tell us what sort of races you'd like to be able to play as in the comments!


    In the Works:

  • Design

    • Pet System (50%)
    • Interface Revision (75%)

  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Revision (75%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Melee Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Ranged Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Meerkat Non-Combat Pet - Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Goblin - Concept (25%)

  • Programming

    • Graphic Processing Revision (50%)
    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)


    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    And of course, leave any suggestions, ideas, or other feedback you might have in the comments!Thanks!


    -Dan

    Thursday, May 17, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 38 - New Weapons! Revised Player Controls! MOAR Artists!

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 37 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    Alright well we're back up and running after some technical difficulties. Hopefully that doesn't happen again but you never know. You tend to run into some speed bumps no matter how much you plan ahead. Speaking of speed bumps, the transition to the new graphics system is going well. Evan just finished up a nice 3D model for the Human Male and will now start implementing the animations. We have to take things one step at a time since this is our first go at setting things up this way but once we have a system in place things will speed up. I'll also be helping with some of the 3D assets once I finish re-arranging the Interface and some other design and management tasks.

    Kevin and Bill have been working on some new Creature concepts and we've also picked up Josh, another enthusiastic artist who is excited to work on some concepts for us. We've also picked up some assistance from Sam's brother, Joel. He'll also be helping with some art concepts and assets.

    So you've probably noticed by this point that we've only been picking up additional artists, and lots of them. There are a few reasons for this. Primarily it's because art tends to take more time than everything else because of the sheer amount of art work required for video games. They have to create concepts with multiple views, then they have to be modeled in 3D, textured, rigged for animation, animated, and then rendered. And all throughout that process thing have to be tweaked, changed, and approved. In other words, it's time consuming. It's also better for the art to be done before programming so that when the programmer (Sam in this case) codes in something new he has the art assets to go with it. As you've probably seen we currently have a lot of placeholders scattered around HTD. That's because programming is ahead of the art right now. Granted we have to redo a bunch of art now with the new system but that is something that's pretty unavoidable and necessary, but it's a logical move in the right direction and we all agree it's worth the extra time and effort.

    Now then, on to more fun topics. We put a new version up with some new weapons! These were some of the last assets done with the old graphics system so we decided we'd just throw them in. And yes, some are massive, but who doesn't like swinging around huge weapons? The Boomerang is a melee weapon for now, but don't worry it won't stay like that, it's just a temporary arrangement. We also couldn't add the Ranged weapons we had made because we don't have a ranged animation yet and it'd look pretty silly trying to make it work with one of the current animations. So we're leaving those out for now.

    Lastly, we're going to change the way the player interacts with the game a bit and make you more of a commander and less of a 5 person entity. Right now you have access to 5 characters and all of their active skills which you can use manually at will. We've come to the conclusion that this is too micro-intensive for what we want to do so we'll be removing that aspect of interactivity. They skills and everything will still be there to setup your characters with but they'll just do them automatically in combat and will be affected by the behaviors once we have those in. All we're really doing is removing the manual override you can do during combat. We will, however, be adding some new skills that only you, the player, can do. These skills will be along the lines of the Class Native Skill (the same for all heroes, it lets you transfer charges to another Hero), a skill that lets you temporarily power up a character, perhaps a skill that absorbs all charges your heroes have and then unleashing a powerful attack, and probably combination attacks where you'll select multiple heroes to perform a powerful attack that differs depending on the Native Elements of those heroes. I'll elaborate more on this later but we think it'll free up up the player to focus on more fun tasks like strategy and power moves instead of trying to micromanage every hero.

    So, as we continue to catch up again on the new art and graphics process have fun with the new weapons and let us know what you think about the idea for the new player skills. Thanks guys!


    In the Works:

  • Design

    • Pet System (50%)
    • Interface Revision (50%)

  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Revision (75%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Attack Concept (75%)
    • Unit: Meerkat Non-Combat Pet - Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Goblin - Concept (25%)

  • Programming

    • Graphic Processing Revision (25%)
    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)


    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Be sure to leave any suggestions or ideas you might have in the comments!


    -Dan

    Thursday, May 3, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 37 - Decisions, Decisions

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 36 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    This week we have some good news and some bad regarding the current state of HTD. As some of you may have noticed the game has started to run rather slow as we've been adding more and more to it. This was a worrying sign as we knew it would only get worse as we continued to develop the game. We also want to release HTD on other platforms, particularly the phone markets. The phones run far slower than the PC so we knew we were in trouble and needed to start looking into a solution.

    After some research we did find a solution and did a few tests which were giving us some positive results. However, in order to take advantage of this solution it requires the graphics to be processed a different way than how we've been doing it. There are a lot of little details involved in this that affects how the graphics are drawn and animated but essentially we have to revise the majority of the graphics. So with that in mind we started discussing our options and other concerns that we might be able to fix since we have to adjust the graphics. This led to the concern of the armor requiring a lot of work, which we were already aware of but if we could somehow make it easier it would save a lot of time. We didn't want to reduce the amount of character customization that the players would be able to adjust using equipment and other items because we know a lot of people enjoy that aspect of the game. Plus, it was something we really wanted to have as developers.

    We spent some time thinking about it and discussing it and decided that perhaps the easiest path to take would be to make all the graphics in 3D instead of 2D. It would still have a similar cartoony/anime style to what we have now because the 3D graphics would be rendered out using a cell shading method. The reason for going to 3D is because it removes a lot of tedious work after the upfront work is finished. Here's a few numbers to give you an idea of what we're talking about here. On average we have around 3 frames per animation and estimate to have about 8 animations for the characters. So right there we have 24 frames, now that's only one angle. HTD has 3 angles (Front, Back, and Side which mirrors) so now we have 72 frames to draw, per item. So take a helm for example, that requires 72 frames ot be drawn. A full suit of armor (6 parts) is 432 frames that have to be drawn and that's just for one character, one race, one gender. The female would require a different set of 432 frames for the same suit of armor. A different race would require another 864 frames for both genders, etc. As we add more more races the amount of work required for adding a single piece of armor increases by a lot.

    So with that in mind let's go back to 3D. I work 8 hours a day doing 3D for my full-time job and Evan has been working in 3D for awhile and taking some classes in it as well. Kevin and Bill are more specialized in 2D but their talents aren't lost because we need lots of concept art for both designs and animations, and both of them are very good at it. So how does 3D help us solve our problem? Let's take the helm as an example again. First, we'll have to model it based on concepts. Then we set it up on the character. That character would be animated to match the concepts. Once he is set up with the animations we never need to deal with them again. Since it's 3D we can just attach the helm object to it's proper location on the character and it'll position itself for all the animations automatically. Sometimes we might have to manually adjust it for certain frames but it's still a one-time set up. After that we have cameras and lights set up for each angle all we have to do is hit the render button and it'll give us all 72 frames or 432 frames for a full suit within minutes. Adjusting it to work on another gender or race is also far easier, just some slight adjustments and it'll be all set. Also making different colors and such will also be much easier and faster.

    While 3D does require a bit more upfront work, in our case it's very much worth it and we'll be able to keep all our customization that we wanted to have available to you guys. Now, this isn't like we're redoing the whole game, it's just the graphics really. Sam has to implement the new method of processing the graphics in order to speed up the game, which he's working on now, but once that's done we'll be right back to developing the rest of the game using placeholders and whatnot. We'll be leaving all the current graphics in as is for now. We may or may not add them as we go or just wait till we have a bunch done and do it all at once, we'll see.

    So that's where we're at. It's a speed bump but worth working through. This is just part of the developing process, it's nearly impossible for a small team to prepare for every obstacle and plan everything out perfectly. Plus the way we are doing it with giving you guys updates as often as possible through the whole process can complicate that a bit as well but it's more fun for us. We should be able to catch up graphically in a reasonable amount of time since all the concepts and animations are already done for the assets we have now. There won't be an update this week and maybe not next week but we'll still be posting about our progress as we go. We're certain this is the way to go so bare with us while we make this transition, it'll be worth it!

    In the Works:

  • Design

    • Pet System (50%)
    • Interface Revision (25%)

  • Graphics

    • Unit: Human Male - Revision (10%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Attack Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Skeleton - Concept (50%)
    • Unit: Meerkat Non-Combat Pet - Concept (25%)
    • Unit: Goblin - Concept (25%)

  • Programming

    • Graphic Processing Revision (10%)
    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)


    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    As always any feedback is welcome, let us hear what you have to say in the comments! Thanks!


    -Dan

    Thursday, April 26, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 36 - Current Progress! Community Request: Crafting!

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 35 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    There won't be a release this week because Sam had some finals to study for but everyone has been working on things that'll be in the next update. Now that we have several artists helping us out we should be able to start adding more content each release. Loot drops, equipment/inventory saving, and character progression are soon to come along with some other things. We've also been researching more ways to improve performance and prepare for other platforms.

    Some other changes we may be making is increasing the available unit placements for the heroes. Most unavailable spaces would just be blocked by some sort of environmental obstacle or away from the edges to prevent some other issues. However, there will also be another layer of placements to accommodate non-grounded units like flying pets or a hero with a levitation effect on them. This will allow for more variation and strategy which is always nice.

    Another topic of discussion lately has been crafting/trade skills/professions (whatever you want to call them) and how they could work. We plan to have a lot of flexibility when it comes to changing the customization of your heroes. For example, you'll be able to change their hair color and hairstyle by doing something simple such as going to a nearby town. You'll also be able to alter the look and stats of your weapons through blacksmithing (either in town or perhaps through one of your characters). So say you have a sword with good stats and then you find a cooler looking sword later on that you like but it doesn't have very good stats, or vice versa. You could use a blacksmith to change your current sword to look like the other sword. So now you have a sword with the same stats but it has the new look. There may be some limitation to this in that it has to be the same type, e.g. a sword to a sword, not a sword to mace. The same could be used for customizing the way your armor looks.

    Of course, you'll also be able to gather materials and create weapons from scratch. This would probably work like your typical RPG and allow you to break down other items to gain materials. Also, you'll likely acquire rare materials from bosses and quests that could lead to more powerful items.

    we're throwing around some other ideas for crafting but I'm curious to hear from you guys about what you'd like to see or any ideas you might have. So leave us some of your suggestions in the comments and we'll be sure to check them out, thanks!

    In the Works:




  • Design

    • Story: Intro - Scene 1 (10%)
    • Pet System (50%)

  • Graphics

    • Inventory Screen (0%)
    • Skill Selection Screen (0%)
    • Light Skill: Radiate (Native) (10%)
    • Light Skill: Shinning Strike(T1 Physical) (10%)
    • Light Skill: Fleeting Light (T1 Magical) (10%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Movement (100%)
    • Weapon: Edged Boomerang (100%)
    • Weapon: Tall Axe (100%)
    • Weapon: Boomerang (100%)
    • Weapon: Spiked Club (100%)
    • Weapon: Claw Knife (100%)
    • Weapon: Basic Crossbow (100%)
    • Weapon: Flintlock (100%)

  • Programming

    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)


    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Let us hear any of your crafting ideas or other suggestions in the comments, all feedback is welcome!


    -Dan

    Thursday, April 19, 2012

    Hero Tower Defense Thursday: Day 35 - HTD Pre-Alpha v0.015 Release! Nature Skills!

    Want to get the legendary dogs? Shiny Mew? or any other shiny pokemon in the game? Adopt them today using SnD coins! Click here for more info.




    Welcome to Hero Tower Defense Thursday!



    HTD Logo


    Go here to read Day 34 of Hero Tower Defense Thursday.




    This week we bring you the Native and Tier 1 Nature Skills! We now have skills for each Element! The graphics for Light and Nature are placeholders for now but we'll be filling them in with something nicer soon.

    Nature Skills have a bit more focus on utility rather than damage or defense. It will still have those things but you'll see they are more strategic in nature, no pun intended. For example, the Nature Native Skill heals a little but also immobilizes (roots) the target for 3 seconds. Useful for catching enemies that could be running off or going after certain characters at the expense of healing them slightly. On the other hand you could be using it as stackable heal for a hero that is mostly stationary.

    You might wonder why you would use the Native Skill to heal instead of the Water Nature which heals for more and that can be answered with two reasons. One being Nature has additional utility in that it can also be used on an enemy to root them as mentioned before. And two, is that if an enemy is using a Nature Skill of their own that counters the Water Native then it'll wipe out the Water heal while the Nature heal would be safe.

    As I've said before this will all make more sense as more skills and such get added. Same goes for why you can target your own heroes with direct damage skills that typically one-shot them. There's a reason for this that hasn't been implemented yet and the damage/health ratios are skewed a bit right now so it's imbalanced. We'll be addressing this in due time though.

    One of the next things I'll be figuring out is how pets will work. I talked about pets awhile back in this post and got a bunch of good ideas from you guys so I'll certainly be taking those into consideration. Of course, feel free to offer some in comments for this post as well if you like. We always enjoy hearing ideas and suggestions from our fans!


    What's New:

    -Added Nature Skills (Using placeholder graphics for now)


    In the Works:


  • Design

    • Story: Intro - Scene 1 (10%)
    • Pet System (10%)


  • Graphics

    • Inventory Screen (0%)
    • Skill Selection Screen (0%)
    • Light Skill: Radiate (Native) (10%)
    • Light Skill: Shinning Strike(T1 Physical) (10%)
    • Light Skill: Fleeting Light (T1 Magical) (10%)
    • Unit: Fire Gecko - Movement (20%)


  • Programming

    • Saving Inventory and Equipment Setup (0%)



    Check out Kevin's blog, KXN @ HTD for HTD art-related concepts, WIPs, polls, and more!

    Feel free to leave any feedback you might have in the comments, thanks!


    -Dan