Darkest greetings Underlord,

On Friday we revealed the first Underlord to make their claim upon the spot as greatest Underlord in The Under Games. Today we’re going to delve into the other half of the upcoming release with a focus on some of Patch 2.0’s features!

What goodies can we coax out of the Cultists today? Let us delve right in!


First up we have the brand new Sanguine terrain theme! This meaty coating redefines what it means to poke through the depths, turning your pickaxe into a scalpel, and dungeon management into an autopsy!



I hope your constitution can take it Underlord, because when combined with the new Blood Chasms, it can make for a redder than red sanguine nightmare. Don’t go fainting on us now..



And of course this new terrain theme will be available for use in the new Map Editor, alongside the whiter than white Snowy theme you became familiar with in My Pet Dungeon.


Over the years we’ve expanded War for the Overworld well beyond our initial concepts and beyond what we could ever have dreamed possible. With the wealth of new content, features and improvements since 2015, and with 2.0 looking to be the final major patch, we thought now would be a great time to look back at the Main Campaign and give it a spitshine. But what exactly does that mean? Read on!

Firstly, using the new terrain theming we can now vary the environments across the original campaign. So when for example you travel through the Shifting Bond portal, expect to see the new Sanguine theme; this fittingly turns Rhaskos’ realm into the bloodbath it was always meant to be.

Meanwhile, if you’re preparing your ambush for the none-too-clever dwarves in Belmorne’s Pass, then make sure you pack some sweaters for your minions, because it’s suddenly got quite cold in the mountains.



That’s not all that we’ve tweaked in the campaign however: There are a number of gameplay and tutorialisation improvements in the earlier levels, as well as a completely rebuilt Level 12. with Draven, Kasita and Korvek all making appearances in The Under Games, we felt it was high time their level got a few layout changes.



We’ve also introduced a slew of new cutscenes throughout the campaign, to improve the areas where we felt the storytelling was missing something. We feel these new cinematics help tell the story we originally set out to, but in a way we couldn’t have possibly done way back then; especially where the ending is concerned, we hope you now get more clarity and resolution.



There’s a number of smaller changes as well, including more than a few balance adjustments. We hope that together all these updates make the campaign feel like a much more refined experience.


Oh yes, this one has been a long time coming! One of the few things we revealed about Patch 2.0 a very long time ago was the fact that we were working on improvements to the Skirmish AI, which drives how your rival Underlords behave.

We’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time, as our original AI was developed during the rushed months leading up to release. Though it has received some improvements over the years, its available strategies were still limited – and more crucially it had an all too shallow understanding of the Aspects in the Veins of Evil.



Bombards and how to place them – a concept which confused the old AI, now realised by the new!

For 2.0 we’ve gone the whole hog! Rather than taking what already exists and improving on it, we’ve instead taken the lessons learned and built a whole new AI from the ground up. Trained on the tactics used by our most seasoned community members, experienced in the ways of placing Bombards, and fed on a steady stream of fears, tears and nightmares, this new AI really does put the “Fright” in “Steven Fright”!

The AI is capable of analysing situations within its vision, making tactical decisions, and determining an appropriate course of action. If it identifies potential chokepoints it may decide to fortify them, or it may choose to pursue objectives which are least-defended by enemy forces.



The AI makes its decisions based on many variables – here’s a visualisation of its brain!

As always the AI comes in many different flavours, with the original five difficulty levels returning as realised levels of intelligence. Alongside these we have new personality sets, which showcase distinctly different playstyles, and which are paired with individual Underlords. This means that Underlords will behave befitting of their personalities, in both The Under Games, and within Skirmish and Multiplayer.

Steven Fright meanwhile has retired to sunnier pastures, a little too intimidated it seems by the recent advances in AI. But eagle-eyed Underlords may yet spot his handsome face within The Under Games:



The handsome face of Evil, who bears an uncanny resemblance to our AI developer, Stefan Furcht…

This about wraps us up on this feature preview, but rest assured that the biggest is yet to come (a little thing called the Map Editor). But first, on Friday we’ll be diving into yet another of the new Underlords: the mechanical mastermind that is Volta!

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

On Friday we revealed the first Underlord to make their claim upon the spot as greatest Underlord in The Under Games. Today we’re going to delve into the other half of the upcoming release with a focus on some of Patch 2.0’s features!

What goodies can we coax out of the Cultists today? Let us delve right in!


First up we have the brand new Sanguine terrain theme! This meaty coating redefines what it means to poke through the depths, turning your pickaxe into a scalpel, and dungeon management into an autopsy!



I hope your constitution can take it Underlord, because when combined with the new Blood Chasms, it can make for a redder than red sanguine nightmare. Don’t go fainting on us now..



And of course this new terrain theme will be available for use in the new Map Editor, alongside the whiter than white Snowy theme you became familiar with in My Pet Dungeon.


Over the years we’ve expanded War for the Overworld well beyond our initial concepts and beyond what we could ever have dreamed possible. With the wealth of new content, features and improvements since 2015, and with 2.0 looking to be the final major patch, we thought now would be a great time to look back at the Main Campaign and give it a spitshine. But what exactly does that mean? Read on!

Firstly, using the new terrain theming we can now vary the environments across the original campaign. So when for example you travel through the Shifting Bond portal, expect to see the new Sanguine theme; this fittingly turns Rhaskos’ realm into the bloodbath it was always meant to be.

Meanwhile, if you’re preparing your ambush for the none-too-clever dwarves in Belmorne’s Pass, then make sure you pack some sweaters for your minions, because it’s suddenly got quite cold in the mountains.



That’s not all that we’ve tweaked in the campaign however: There are a number of gameplay and tutorialisation improvements in the earlier levels, as well as a completely rebuilt Level 12. with Draven, Kasita and Korvek all making appearances in The Under Games, we felt it was high time their level got a few layout changes.



We’ve also introduced a slew of new cutscenes throughout the campaign, to improve the areas where we felt the storytelling was missing something. We feel these new cinematics help tell the story we originally set out to, but in a way we couldn’t have possibly done way back then; especially where the ending is concerned, we hope you now get more clarity and resolution.



There’s a number of smaller changes as well, including more than a few balance adjustments. We hope that together all these updates make the campaign feel like a much more refined experience.


Oh yes, this one has been a long time coming! One of the few things we revealed about Patch 2.0 a very long time ago was the fact that we were working on improvements to the Skirmish AI, which drives how your rival Underlords behave.

We’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time, as our original AI was developed during the rushed months leading up to release. Though it has received some improvements over the years, its available strategies were still limited – and more crucially it had an all too shallow understanding of the Aspects in the Veins of Evil.



Bombards and how to place them – a concept which confused the old AI, now realised by the new!

For 2.0 we’ve gone the whole hog! Rather than taking what already exists and improving on it, we’ve instead taken the lessons learned and built a whole new AI from the ground up. Trained on the tactics used by our most seasoned community members, experienced in the ways of placing Bombards, and fed on a steady stream of fears, tears and nightmares, this new AI really does put the “Fright” in “Steven Fright”!

The AI is capable of analysing situations within its vision, making tactical decisions, and determining an appropriate course of action. If it identifies potential chokepoints it may decide to fortify them, or it may choose to pursue objectives which are least-defended by enemy forces.



The AI makes its decisions based on many variables – here’s a visualisation of its brain!

As always the AI comes in many different flavours, with the original five difficulty levels returning as realised levels of intelligence. Alongside these we have new personality sets, which showcase distinctly different playstyles, and which are paired with individual Underlords. This means that Underlords will behave befitting of their personalities, in both The Under Games, and within Skirmish and Multiplayer.

Steven Fright meanwhile has retired to sunnier pastures, a little too intimidated it seems by the recent advances in AI. But eagle-eyed Underlords may yet spot his handsome face within The Under Games:



The handsome face of Evil, who bears an uncanny resemblance to our AI developer, Stefan Furcht…

This about wraps us up on this feature preview, but rest assured that the biggest is yet to come (a little thing called the Map Editor). But first, on Friday we’ll be diving into yet another of the new Underlords: the mechanical mastermind that is Volta!

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

Today we’re delving into the chaotic mind of Shale and her devious arsenal of deadly Aspects. As one of the playable Underlords in The Under Games, we thought it’d be best if she introduced herself. We asked for a comment, and here’s what she had to say:

https://youtu.be/zdufPhlusXI


Shale has ventured to the four corners of the cosmos like the debris from a supernova. She is perpetually confused, and doesn’t really know who she is or where she’s going. She’s had many mishaps, like when she accidentally blew up her understudy, the mortal Lamash. But somehow along the way she’s acquired an element of wisdom, gaining insight into the explosive foundations of the universe. She believes she has the key to victory in The Under Games, because how can her opponents defeat what they cannot predict?

As you might have surmised, Shale does not care much for the structured approach to dungeon life; she’s much too chaotic and carefree for that, and as such Beasts are a natural fit for her. Through her trait The Swarm she’ll be ready to overwhelm her foes in the blink of an eye.



The Swarm is a serious game changer that plays well into Shale’s aggressive, Wrath-focussed Veins of Evil. With it she will quickly amass a game-ending force of Beasts, including powerful mutations of the Shadow, Bafu and Skarg, which can steamroll her adversaries.



Worse still, these Beasts can be supplemented by the powerful effects of potions, many of which now affect enemies caught in the area, as well as allies. More dangerous even is the mighty Thunderling, literal lightning trapped in a bottle, which once dropped releases a powerful elemental capable of decimating ranks of enemies – albeit for a hefty gold and mana cost:




As if her Beasts weren’t dangerous enough, Shale is blessed with a veritable array of maddening spells, constructs and abilities to wreak havoc upon her adversaries and remain unpredictable.

Through her use of Aspects such as the new Shackle spell, which temporarily disables enemy defences, and of course the well-known Ember Rift, she is able to quickly overwhelm even the most entrenched Underlord.



Few can anticipate the pandemonious nature of Shale, with her forces seeming to pop from one place to the next. This is in fact achieved by one of her new constructs: the Moongate. The Moongate acts as a teleportation point connected to all other Moongates that belong to her, including the new Moongate Shrines if she can claim them. This makes her forces hard to pin down, as they zip across the map in a flash of lunar energy.



Ultimately all this chaos comes at a price, coalescing in Shale’s negative trait Reckless. Not only does this prevent her from placing all but the most basic of defences ( Bombard, Blade Lotus, and Wooden Door), but it also means that any defences she does place are more gold and mana hungry. The rate at which Defence Parts are produced is also significantly reduced.



All in all you won’t be fortifying many choke points as Shale; but when your minions are moonbeaming around the map, Thunderlings are crashing down like bolts of lightning, and Beast stampedes are running down your opponents – who needs a fortress?


Beyond their core functionality and design, each of the playable Underlords in The Under Games has had their Veins of Evil tweaked. This will guide them along a certain critical path, which is conducive to their playstyle while still providing options.

As you might imagine, Shale’s is focussed heavily around her Beasts, and precludes access to a great deal of the Sloth tree. Here’s what that looks like in game:



As with Skirmish matches, the way you receive mana in The Under Games is to research Sins and unlock new Aspects; but with such a wide swathe of the Veins being locked out, as well as the mana cap being raised to 2000, you may wonder how you will generate enough mana.

Fortunately, all Underlords now have access to a new construct: the Mana Vault. Each one increases the owner’s total available mana; but be sure they are protected, otherwise you might suddenly lose access to the mana you’ve come to rely on.



Other sources of mana can be claimed within a level, such as the new Mana Shrine, which provides an even larger increase to your mana pool. Fear not though, as the functionality of the old Mana Shrine (to reduce the mana cost of spells) still exists, albeit in the more aptly named Incantation Shrine.

That about wraps up our dive into Underlord Shale’s strategy for The Under Games. But there are still two more Underlords left to go: Volta and Lamash. Join us on Tuesday for our next reveal!

Until next time – or as Shale might say, “Good riddance, and stay out of my way!”

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

Today we’re delving into the chaotic mind of Shale and her devious arsenal of deadly Aspects. As one of the playable Underlords in The Under Games, we thought it’d be best if she introduced herself. We asked for a comment, and here’s what she had to say:

https://youtu.be/zdufPhlusXI


Shale has ventured to the four corners of the cosmos like the debris from a supernova. She is perpetually confused, and doesn’t really know who she is or where she’s going. She’s had many mishaps, like when she accidentally blew up her understudy, the mortal Lamash. But somehow along the way she’s acquired an element of wisdom, gaining insight into the explosive foundations of the universe. She believes she has the key to victory in The Under Games, because how can her opponents defeat what they cannot predict?

As you might have surmised, Shale does not care much for the structured approach to dungeon life; she’s much too chaotic and carefree for that, and as such Beasts are a natural fit for her. Through her trait The Swarm she’ll be ready to overwhelm her foes in the blink of an eye.



The Swarm is a serious game changer that plays well into Shale’s aggressive, Wrath-focussed Veins of Evil. With it she will quickly amass a game-ending force of Beasts, including powerful mutations of the Shadow, Bafu and Skarg, which can steamroll her adversaries.



Worse still, these Beasts can be supplemented by the powerful effects of potions, many of which now affect enemies caught in the area, as well as allies. More dangerous even is the mighty Thunderling, literal lightning trapped in a bottle, which once dropped releases a powerful elemental capable of decimating ranks of enemies – albeit for a hefty gold and mana cost:




As if her Beasts weren’t dangerous enough, Shale is blessed with a veritable array of maddening spells, constructs and abilities to wreak havoc upon her adversaries and remain unpredictable.

Through her use of Aspects such as the new Shackle spell, which temporarily disables enemy defences, and of course the well-known Ember Rift, she is able to quickly overwhelm even the most entrenched Underlord.



Few can anticipate the pandemonious nature of Shale, with her forces seeming to pop from one place to the next. This is in fact achieved by one of her new constructs: the Moongate. The Moongate acts as a teleportation point connected to all other Moongates that belong to her, including the new Moongate Shrines if she can claim them. This makes her forces hard to pin down, as they zip across the map in a flash of lunar energy.



Ultimately all this chaos comes at a price, coalescing in Shale’s negative trait Reckless. Not only does this prevent her from placing all but the most basic of defences ( Bombard, Blade Lotus, and Wooden Door), but it also means that any defences she does place are more gold and mana hungry. The rate at which Defence Parts are produced is also significantly reduced.



All in all you won’t be fortifying many choke points as Shale; but when your minions are moonbeaming around the map, Thunderlings are crashing down like bolts of lightning, and Beast stampedes are running down your opponents – who needs a fortress?


Beyond their core functionality and design, each of the playable Underlords in The Under Games has had their Veins of Evil tweaked. This will guide them along a certain critical path, which is conducive to their playstyle while still providing options.

As you might imagine, Shale’s is focussed heavily around her Beasts, and precludes access to a great deal of the Sloth tree. Here’s what that looks like in game:



As with Skirmish matches, the way you receive mana in The Under Games is to research Sins and unlock new Aspects; but with such a wide swathe of the Veins being locked out, as well as the mana cap being raised to 2000, you may wonder how you will generate enough mana.

Fortunately, all Underlords now have access to a new construct: the Mana Vault. Each one increases the owner’s total available mana; but be sure they are protected, otherwise you might suddenly lose access to the mana you’ve come to rely on.



Other sources of mana can be claimed within a level, such as the new Mana Shrine, which provides an even larger increase to your mana pool. Fear not though, as the functionality of the old Mana Shrine (to reduce the mana cost of spells) still exists, albeit in the more aptly named Incantation Shrine.

That about wraps up our dive into Underlord Shale’s strategy for The Under Games. But there are still two more Underlords left to go: Volta and Lamash. Join us on Tuesday for our next reveal!

Until next time – or as Shale might say, “Good riddance, and stay out of my way!”

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

At long last the veil has been pierced and through the aetherial gap comes the news you’ve been waiting for: the final expansion and accompanying major update for War for the Overworld are slated for release this month! The Under Games awaits!

Check out our announcement trailer below to get a heads-up on what is rising from the depths!

https://youtu.be/zTs9GokLLTc

Before we dive right into the devil’s details, let us just reiterate what you may have noticed in the trailer: The Under Games expansion and free Patch 2.0 will launch on April 20th, 2018 on Steam, GOG and our own store. The Under Games will be priced at £7.19 / $9.99 / €9.99, and you can wishlist it on Steam now!



First up we have a brand new expansion pack in the form of The Under Games. This is our biggest content drop since release, featuring a whole new campaign designed around extensive replayability, as well as new minions, defences, spells and potions. And that's not to mention new game modes for Skirmish, Multiplayer and the Map Editor!

In this new single-player campaign you’ll pick from one of three new Underlords (with Kasita also available if you own the Heart of Gold expansion!) to participate in the deadly combat arenas of The Under Games. This is a cut-throat Underlord-versus-Underlord tournament, hosted by your bloodthirsty mentor, Mendechaus, as he prepares for his assault on the mortal realm of Kairos.



You’ll face off against a completely overhauled Underlord AI system, across a series of levels whose gameplay harks back to the very origins of the Dungeon Management genre. Only one can win The Under Games and lead the charge into the coming war; so it would be wise to learn your Underlord’s talents well.


The New Thunderling is a deadly combatant, especially when transported near instantly to the enemy via Moongates

Each playable Underlord is designed to be a unique gameplay experience, empowered by passive traits and equipped with exclusive minions and Aspects. These all-new tools fundamentally alter their core gameplay, so you’ll find that each Underlord playthrough is a very different experience. On top of that, each Underlord will face different opponents on their journey through the tournament, and you’ll also be able to select from 5 different difficulty levels.

So in short, The Under Games includes:

• An all-new 7-level campaign
  
  • Choose your Underlord and participate in a deadly tournament, set across a series of scenarios that call back to classic Dungeon Management gameplay!
    
  • Each of the 4 playable Underlords has a unique playstyle, driven by their powerful traits and exclusive minions and Aspects.
    
  • A completely overhauled AI awaits with 5 difficulty levels and a multitude of personalities to put you through your paces.
    
  • Conquer arenas with distinctive layouts and a variety of visual themes, including the new blood-soaked Sanguine theme.
• 2 new games modes
  
  • Race to capture and hold key positions in King of the Underhill, which will then blast your opponent’s Dungeon Core from distance.
    
  • Mount a multipronged attack against your opponent’s Core Shards, then watch as their dungeon crumbles.
• 3 new Underlords with their own unique unlockable Dungeon Themes.
  
• 9 new Aspects expand your Veins of Evil, with new defences, constructs, potions and spells!
  
• New terrain features and shrines await in the Underworld, such as the ultra-hard Quartz and Moongate teleportation shrine.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be covering the features of The Under Games in more depth, including each of the new Underlords and their Aspects in turn. We'll be bringing Underlord Shale to you on Friday so be sure to pop back to see what she has to say for herself!


The Devious and Chaotic Shale is up first!

After all that expansion content, you may be wondering what’s left for us to bring you as part of the free Patch 2.0. But you should know by now that we don’t like to skimp on features. Needless to say, Patch 2.0: Untold Depths will be the most extensive free patch we have ever released!

Rather than overloading you with all the details, for now we’ll just highlight the most important parts:

• Remastered Main Campaign including new cinematic cutscenes, new terrain themes, rebalanced levels, and improved tutorials.
  
• Vastly expanded Map Editor features as long-requested by our fans: build maps for nearly any mode, including My Pet Dungeon, and use the new Mighty Script Editor to trigger complex events. Now you can truly create the levels you’ve always wanted to, and even chain them together to make narrative campaigns!
  
• More types of content on the Steam Workshop, with scripted custom scenarios and campaigns arriving when our industrious community get their hands on the new tools. The best will be curated by us, so you won’t miss a beat.
  
• New game modes to use in Skirmish, Multiplayer and the Map Editor: claim key positions in King of the Underhill, or destroy fragments of your opponents in Core Shards.
  
• Devastating New Underlord AI, rebuilt from the foundations to challenge even the most scheming players. Our new AI can use all the tools and tricks you’ve come to rely on - can you rise to the challenge?
  
• Sanguine and Snowy terrain themes now available in the enhanced Map Editor, which recast levels in either blood red or ice white.
  
• New Sacrifice ritual calls back to the origins of the Dungeon Management genre: drop different combinations of minions onto your Sanctuary Altar, and if the dark god Mendechaus is feeling generous, you might get something exciting in return!
  
• Polish, polish and more polish! You’ll find countless new animations, gameplay improvements, balance adjustments, significant performance optimisations, and other changes and fixes - as you’ve come to expect from us in our quest to create the ultimate Dungeon Management experience.

With all these major changes coming to the game we’re truly scratching the untold depths, which we could never have imagined when we first released War for the Overworld three years ago.

These updates are intended to give War for the Overworld the best chance to live on as we look towards the future and new projects. We think that expanded tools for the community to make their own content, a new highly-replayable campaign, new game modes, and as much polish as we can muster are good ways to achieve this.

We’re proud to have brought the game so far together with all of our community, and we hope that this final major update will draw an emphatic line under this incredible chapter in our team’s journey.

That about covers our announcement today, but be sure to check back on Friday for our first deep dive into The Under Games with Underlord Shale!

And remember, The Under Games and free Patch 2.0 will be available on April 20th. Etch the date in stone. Wishlist it on Steam now.

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

At long last the veil has been pierced and through the aetherial gap comes the news you’ve been waiting for: the final expansion and accompanying major update for War for the Overworld are slated for release this month! The Under Games awaits!

Check out our announcement trailer below to get a heads-up on what is rising from the depths!

https://youtu.be/zTs9GokLLTc

Before we dive right into the devil’s details, let us just reiterate what you may have noticed in the trailer: The Under Games expansion and free Patch 2.0 will launch on April 20th, 2018 on Steam, GOG and our own store. The Under Games will be priced at £7.19 / $9.99 / €9.99, and you can wishlist it on Steam now!



First up we have a brand new expansion pack in the form of The Under Games. This is our biggest content drop since release, featuring a whole new campaign designed around extensive replayability, as well as new minions, defences, spells and potions. And that's not to mention new game modes for Skirmish, Multiplayer and the Map Editor!

In this new single-player campaign you’ll pick from one of three new Underlords (with Kasita also available if you own the Heart of Gold expansion!) to participate in the deadly combat arenas of The Under Games. This is a cut-throat Underlord-versus-Underlord tournament, hosted by your bloodthirsty mentor, Mendechaus, as he prepares for his assault on the mortal realm of Kairos.



You’ll face off against a completely overhauled Underlord AI system, across a series of levels whose gameplay harks back to the very origins of the Dungeon Management genre. Only one can win The Under Games and lead the charge into the coming war; so it would be wise to learn your Underlord’s talents well.


The New Thunderling is a deadly combatant, especially when transported near instantly to the enemy via Moongates

Each playable Underlord is designed to be a unique gameplay experience, empowered by passive traits and equipped with exclusive minions and Aspects. These all-new tools fundamentally alter their core gameplay, so you’ll find that each Underlord playthrough is a very different experience. On top of that, each Underlord will face different opponents on their journey through the tournament, and you’ll also be able to select from 5 different difficulty levels.

So in short, The Under Games includes:

• An all-new 7-level campaign
  
  • Choose your Underlord and participate in a deadly tournament, set across a series of scenarios that call back to classic Dungeon Management gameplay!
    
  • Each of the 4 playable Underlords has a unique playstyle, driven by their powerful traits and exclusive minions and Aspects.
    
  • A completely overhauled AI awaits with 5 difficulty levels and a multitude of personalities to put you through your paces.
    
  • Conquer arenas with distinctive layouts and a variety of visual themes, including the new blood-soaked Sanguine theme.
• 2 new games modes
  
  • Race to capture and hold key positions in King of the Underhill, which will then blast your opponent’s Dungeon Core from distance.
    
  • Mount a multipronged attack against your opponent’s Core Shards, then watch as their dungeon crumbles.
• 3 new Underlords with their own unique unlockable Dungeon Themes.
  
• 9 new Aspects expand your Veins of Evil, with new defences, constructs, potions and spells!
  
• New terrain features and shrines await in the Underworld, such as the ultra-hard Quartz and Moongate teleportation shrine.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be covering the features of The Under Games in more depth, including each of the new Underlords and their Aspects in turn. We'll be bringing Underlord Shale to you on Friday so be sure to pop back to see what she has to say for herself!


The Devious and Chaotic Shale is up first!

After all that expansion content, you may be wondering what’s left for us to bring you as part of the free Patch 2.0. But you should know by now that we don’t like to skimp on features. Needless to say, Patch 2.0: Untold Depths will be the most extensive free patch we have ever released!

Rather than overloading you with all the details, for now we’ll just highlight the most important parts:

• Remastered Main Campaign including new cinematic cutscenes, new terrain themes, rebalanced levels, and improved tutorials.
  
• Vastly expanded Map Editor features as long-requested by our fans: build maps for nearly any mode, including My Pet Dungeon, and use the new Mighty Script Editor to trigger complex events. Now you can truly create the levels you’ve always wanted to, and even chain them together to make narrative campaigns!
  
• More types of content on the Steam Workshop, with scripted custom scenarios and campaigns arriving when our industrious community get their hands on the new tools. The best will be curated by us, so you won’t miss a beat.
  
• New game modes to use in Skirmish, Multiplayer and the Map Editor: claim key positions in King of the Underhill, or destroy fragments of your opponents in Core Shards.
  
• Devastating New Underlord AI, rebuilt from the foundations to challenge even the most scheming players. Our new AI can use all the tools and tricks you’ve come to rely on - can you rise to the challenge?
  
• Sanguine and Snowy terrain themes now available in the enhanced Map Editor, which recast levels in either blood red or ice white.
  
• New Sacrifice ritual calls back to the origins of the Dungeon Management genre: drop different combinations of minions onto your Sanctuary Altar, and if the dark god Mendechaus is feeling generous, you might get something exciting in return!
  
• Polish, polish and more polish! You’ll find countless new animations, gameplay improvements, balance adjustments, significant performance optimisations, and other changes and fixes - as you’ve come to expect from us in our quest to create the ultimate Dungeon Management experience.

With all these major changes coming to the game we’re truly scratching the untold depths, which we could never have imagined when we first released War for the Overworld three years ago.

These updates are intended to give War for the Overworld the best chance to live on as we look towards the future and new projects. We think that expanded tools for the community to make their own content, a new highly-replayable campaign, new game modes, and as much polish as we can muster are good ways to achieve this.

We’re proud to have brought the game so far together with all of our community, and we hope that this final major update will draw an emphatic line under this incredible chapter in our team’s journey.

That about covers our announcement today, but be sure to check back on Friday for our first deep dive into The Under Games with Underlord Shale!

And remember, The Under Games and free Patch 2.0 will be available on April 20th. Etch the date in stone. Wishlist it on Steam now.

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
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Darkest greetings Underlord,

Today we’re proud to finally reveal our next project, previously codenamed Project Aftercare. Now we know we’ve all been here before and it’s important we address the elephant in the room that is the now-defunct Virtual Dungeon Pet Management Simulation Game, Skargz.

When we announced Skargz we were extremely confident in the design we had for reviving the Virtual Pet genre and we know that there were many fans looking forward to it. Which is why we must apologetically confirm its cancellation in favour of our new project.


Press X to pay respects

Ultimately we felt that the Virtual Pet genre wasn’t a lucrative enough investment after all, and presented minimal opportunities to capitalise on the War for the Overworld IP, which conveniently brings us to our big announcement!

We’ve always said that we’ve wanted to continue exploring the War for the Overworld universe beyond the current scope of the existing game; and though we made it clear that Project Aftercare would not be a direct sequel, that didn’t preclude us from expanding the universe elsewhere.

To that end, we’re now expanding into the lucrative visual novel and dating sim space!


Dungeon Hearts™ is a Visual Anime Waifu Dating Dungeon Management Simulation Novel Role Playing Game (Or a VAWDDMSNRPG) that continues to progress our ambition to develop only the most genre-busting titles. In Dungeon Hearts™ you’ll assume the role of an Underlord joining the school of Kairos High, to build your harem of minions through a combination of social interaction, critical choices and good-old-fashioned dungeon management.

We know that our history with the now cancelled project Skargz leaves some room for doubt; so to assuage your concerns we have prepared a prototype! This is a proof of concept, as it were, which you can try out by clicking the image below:

Content warning! Contains: sexual content, violence, bad language


Compatible with: Google Chrome, Firefox and maybe other browsers

Upon reaching the page you will be presented with a black screen; please give the game a moment to load. Loading time may vary based on your connection and browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, please make better life choices.

If the game hasn’t loaded after a few minutes you can download an offline version for Windows, Mac or Linux via

https://brightrock-games.itch.io/dungeon-hearts. (The Mac and Linux versions may or may not work.)


It’s important to clarify that this is very much a proof of concept - a flex of our muscles - and will be used as a basis for future iterations, very much in the vein of War for the Overworld’s development. In short, this is a 30-minute experience to excite the loins.



So given this is just a proof of concept, here’s what can you expect from the final version - coming soon at an indeterminate date in the future!:

• Explore the realm of Kairos like never before - Set in a parallel universe where Mendechaus’ long-abandoned thoughts of conquest have turned instead to thoughts of love. Explore a modern Kairos as an upperclassman at Kairos High.
  
  
• Build your harem - Pursue dozens of unique minions or even heroes, such as Raven the Succubus, Agnes the Chunder, Brian the Cultist, or Pierre the Bard - all with their own personalities and stories to discover. Build their Dungeon Heart by appealing to them with gifts, dates and even casual conversation!
  
  
• Manage a dungeon to keep your lovers - We know how that sounds but hear us out: in Dungeon Hearts™ you’ll be able to build your own dungeon filled with all the amenities to keep your sweethearts for years to come… wait that didn’t sound any better.
  
  
• Experience a compelling story - With over 9000 hours told across 2500 individual episodes (MSRP £29.99/$29.99/€49.99 per episode) you’ll be able to play for the rest of your life. Especially if you’re a whale!
  
  
  
• Turn the adventure on its head with Hero Mode - Rather than playing as a dungeon- keeping Underlord, instead explore the story from the other perspective with Hero Mode! This will be a day-one DLC for each episode (MSRP £15.99/$15.99/€99.99 per installment) which unlocks an accompanying dungeon-crawling RPG. Placed in the polished boots of Lord O’Thelove, you’ll need to overcome various minions with your otherworldly charms!
  
  
• Bring your lovers to War for the Overworld - By popular demand, with the Dungeon Portal you can bring your fully-hearted-up lovers to War for the Overworld to act as unique elite units - provided you build them a special room via secret room layouts.
  
  
• Date smart not hard with gifts from Kairos-1337 - Travel between the parallel worlds works both ways! In the hotly-anticipated v2.0 update for War for the Overworld you can now earn or purchase Warboxes, which contain sets of random loot such as maps, units, dungeon themes, and even gifts for your lovers in Dungeon Hearts! Pride and accomplishment never felt so great!
  
  
  
  We hope you enjoy the exciting prototype of Dungeon Hearts™ and that you drop by again tomorrow for more exciting news!
  
  Cheers,
  
  – Brightrock Games Team
  
  Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards
  
  Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
  Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

Today we’re proud to finally reveal our next project, previously codenamed Project Aftercare. Now we know we’ve all been here before and it’s important we address the elephant in the room that is the now-defunct Virtual Dungeon Pet Management Simulation Game, Skargz.

When we announced Skargz we were extremely confident in the design we had for reviving the Virtual Pet genre and we know that there were many fans looking forward to it. Which is why we must apologetically confirm its cancellation in favour of our new project.


Press X to pay respects

Ultimately we felt that the Virtual Pet genre wasn’t a lucrative enough investment after all, and presented minimal opportunities to capitalise on the War for the Overworld IP, which conveniently brings us to our big announcement!

We’ve always said that we’ve wanted to continue exploring the War for the Overworld universe beyond the current scope of the existing game; and though we made it clear that Project Aftercare would not be a direct sequel, that didn’t preclude us from expanding the universe elsewhere.

To that end, we’re now expanding into the lucrative visual novel and dating sim space!


Dungeon Hearts™ is a Visual Anime Waifu Dating Dungeon Management Simulation Novel Role Playing Game (Or a VAWDDMSNRPG) that continues to progress our ambition to develop only the most genre-busting titles. In Dungeon Hearts™ you’ll assume the role of an Underlord joining the school of Kairos High, to build your harem of minions through a combination of social interaction, critical choices and good-old-fashioned dungeon management.

We know that our history with the now cancelled project Skargz leaves some room for doubt; so to assuage your concerns we have prepared a prototype! This is a proof of concept, as it were, which you can try out by clicking the image below:

Content warning! Contains: sexual content, violence, bad language


Compatible with: Google Chrome, Firefox and maybe other browsers

Upon reaching the page you will be presented with a black screen; please give the game a moment to load. Loading time may vary based on your connection and browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, please make better life choices.

If the game hasn’t loaded after a few minutes you can download an offline version for Windows, Mac or Linux via

https://brightrock-games.itch.io/dungeon-hearts. (The Mac and Linux versions may or may not work.)


It’s important to clarify that this is very much a proof of concept - a flex of our muscles - and will be used as a basis for future iterations, very much in the vein of War for the Overworld’s development. In short, this is a 30-minute experience to excite the loins.



So given this is just a proof of concept, here’s what can you expect from the final version - coming soon at an indeterminate date in the future!:

• Explore the realm of Kairos like never before - Set in a parallel universe where Mendechaus’ long-abandoned thoughts of conquest have turned instead to thoughts of love. Explore a modern Kairos as an upperclassman at Kairos High.
  
  
• Build your harem - Pursue dozens of unique minions or even heroes, such as Raven the Succubus, Agnes the Chunder, Brian the Cultist, or Pierre the Bard - all with their own personalities and stories to discover. Build their Dungeon Heart by appealing to them with gifts, dates and even casual conversation!
  
  
• Manage a dungeon to keep your lovers - We know how that sounds but hear us out: in Dungeon Hearts™ you’ll be able to build your own dungeon filled with all the amenities to keep your sweethearts for years to come… wait that didn’t sound any better.
  
  
• Experience a compelling story - With over 9000 hours told across 2500 individual episodes (MSRP £29.99/$29.99/€49.99 per episode) you’ll be able to play for the rest of your life. Especially if you’re a whale!
  
  
  
• Turn the adventure on its head with Hero Mode - Rather than playing as a dungeon- keeping Underlord, instead explore the story from the other perspective with Hero Mode! This will be a day-one DLC for each episode (MSRP £15.99/$15.99/€99.99 per installment) which unlocks an accompanying dungeon-crawling RPG. Placed in the polished boots of Lord O’Thelove, you’ll need to overcome various minions with your otherworldly charms!
  
  
• Bring your lovers to War for the Overworld - By popular demand, with the Dungeon Portal you can bring your fully-hearted-up lovers to War for the Overworld to act as unique elite units - provided you build them a special room via secret room layouts.
  
  
• Date smart not hard with gifts from Kairos-1337 - Travel between the parallel worlds works both ways! In the hotly-anticipated v2.0 update for War for the Overworld you can now earn or purchase Warboxes, which contain sets of random loot such as maps, units, dungeon themes, and even gifts for your lovers in Dungeon Hearts! Pride and accomplishment never felt so great!
  
  
  
  We hope you enjoy the exciting prototype of Dungeon Hearts™ and that you drop by again tomorrow for more exciting news!
  
  Cheers,
  
  – Brightrock Games Team
  
  Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards
  
  Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
  Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

Work continues unceasingly on the upcoming Patch 2.0. There’s so much exciting stuff happening right now that we’re dying to share with you; but alas the secrets must be kept for a little while longer, as we prepare for the biggest release since WFTO’s launch!

In case you missed it, a few months ago we put out some videos highlighting the lesser known heroes of Patch 2.0. These showcased new animations for a whole swathe of units, which you can catch here:

https://youtu.be/f-C2ZGuLclM

There’s still quite a few more that are underwraps, but hopefully that taster should satiate your cravings for now.


In the meantime, we’re looking for some committed and dedicated members of our community to join us on our (not so) top secret community testing team, as part of a closed alpha process for the Patch 2.0 and Expansion 4 release.

In particular, we’re very keen to introduce some of our community map creators to the extensive suite of new features and improvements coming to the Map Editor in 2.0.

We’ll be reaching out directly to some of the content creators; but if you’re interested in getting a sneak peek, and helping us ensure the new features are working well and are expansive enough to enable highly-creative endeavours, then please get in touch. Send us your Steam Workshop profile in this thread or send us a private ticket on UserEcho!

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!

Darkest greetings Underlord,

Work continues unceasingly on the upcoming Patch 2.0. There’s so much exciting stuff happening right now that we’re dying to share with you; but alas the secrets must be kept for a little while longer, as we prepare for the biggest release since WFTO’s launch!

In case you missed it, a few months ago we put out some videos highlighting the lesser known heroes of Patch 2.0. These showcased new animations for a whole swathe of units, which you can catch here:

https://youtu.be/f-C2ZGuLclM

There’s still quite a few more that are underwraps, but hopefully that taster should satiate your cravings for now.


In the meantime, we’re looking for some committed and dedicated members of our community to join us on our (not so) top secret community testing team, as part of a closed alpha process for the Patch 2.0 and Expansion 4 release.

In particular, we’re very keen to introduce some of our community map creators to the extensive suite of new features and improvements coming to the Map Editor in 2.0.

We’ll be reaching out directly to some of the content creators; but if you’re interested in getting a sneak peek, and helping us ensure the new features are working well and are expansive enough to enable highly-creative endeavours, then please get in touch. Send us your Steam Workshop profile in this thread or send us a private ticket on UserEcho!

Cheers,

– Brightrock Games Team

Discuss this update on the Steam Discussion Boards

Click here to chat about this update on our Discord
Never miss an update! Sign up to our newsletter!