2024 is off to a strong start! We hope your month has been a productive month for you as well, and that you've been able to achieve your New Year's resolutions. 🚀
This month, we've been working on exciting new features and improvements, and we can’t wait to spill the beans on what we've accomplished. 🛠️
New Skins
Reworks, content and code improvements.
About GGtech Studios.
Blog launch?
New Skins
We know that one of the things you enjoyed the most in the beta was the variety of skins we showcased. That's why we've been working on new designs that we'll introduce in the demo set to launch in June.
We're sharing some concepts and their progression into 3D models with you.
Reworks and improvements
Our big goal for eWorlds this month was to make a big optimization of the project. This is a slow process as it involves many departmental dependencies to be executed, but in the long run, it streamlines game development for everyone involved.
The intention is that this will ease the implementation of new features, beef up the game's stability, and squash any potential bugs stemming from this lack of optimization.
About GGTech Studios
Did you know about GGTech Studios and the team that has developed and created eWorlds?
GGTech Studios is a division within GGTech, focused on delivering interactive content, with a special knack for creating video games and social experiences. The team is currently working on over five projects, including eWorlds, crafting diverse content for various audiences.
And our website, where you can find more information about our team and the projects we are developing.
The good news keep coming, we are so much closer to the release of our own official blog. This will be our own space where we will be able to share in detail how a videogame is made behind the scenes. Also it will be another one of our main channels where we will be sharing exciting news, events and all sorts of activities.
We hope you are as excited as we are and will accompany us from the beginning to create a wonderful community.
Castaways, listen! Can you hear the whispers on the breeze? There's an air of excitement building, a secret waiting to unfurl its magic. Stay tuned for an announcement that will bring joy and wonder to Ikonei Island! 🐉
💙 Join Our Discord Island
Join our community on Discord! We've got contests, and channels where you can share feedback, report bugs, get help with the game, and find friends to play with. As well as the magnanimous presence of your favorite Frogboy!
Don't froget to share the magic Ikonei Island's Friends' Pass with other castaways:
Unleash new Leviathan horrors with the Reinforcement Drop: Terror of Vardenghast! The new cards are now available in-game and ready to join Hive Fleet Leviathan's galactic feast. Take a look at the new content and features introduced in this update in the latest web post:
Read the web post to discover a new promo code perfect to start leading the hungering tides of Hive Fleet Leviathan! Collect the new content and lead your swarm from the air with the new Warlord and cards that just entered the fray.
Play now! The wait is over. The digital Dominion game is now available. This is the officially licensed boardgame app based on the classic deckbuilder card game sold in game shops around the world. In a coordinated launch with Rio Grande Games, Temple Gates is pleased to release this long awaited title.
Bundle Discount
All fifteen expansions are available to buy as a reduced-price set together in the Launch Bundle. From Intrigue through Plunder, this bundle has everything a completionist needs for their Dominion collection. The bundle is offered at a 15% discount, which is prorated further if any expansions have already been bought through Steam. The bundle includes:
All 15 Expansions
5 and 6 player game support
Ranked Matchmaking
About the Game
Dominion was the first game to popularize the deck-building genre. It has fifteen and counting expansions, plus promo packs, over five-hundred unique cards, and over one hundred thirty-two septillion possible Kingdom combinations, making it one of the most extensive and replayable boardgames in the hobby. Dominion continues to be expanded, with the coming launch of the Rising Sun expansion and the Marchland promo card.
Today, we're excited to announce that Gatekeeper will participate in the upcoming Steam Next Fest (from Feb. 5 till Feb. 11)! Also, we'd like to introduce to you a completely new game mechanic - in-game events.
Steam NEXT Fest
The updated demo will feature various updates along with a brand new Arena mode! The mode consists of rounds of various duration and your only goal is to not get killed. When the timer ends and all the threats are eliminated, players receive rewards and proceed to another round. Sounds simple enough but don’t be tricked by that - the place is limited but the enemies amount is not. Read more about Arena in the previous devglog.
In addition to the Arena, the demo introduces a fresh lobby, an in-game multiplayer party search, an enhanced upgrade acquisition system, balance adjustments, and in-game events!
In-Game Events
When a game event occurs, you'll receive a notification in the game log (there is a game log now ✍️), alerting you to upcoming danger. Brace yourselves because these events are designed to test your skills and teamwork, pushing you to adapt on the fly.
Currently, we have three distinct events ready to challenge you:
Sia's Aggressive Souls
The restless souls of your enemies will chase you and your teammates. Be sure to keep your moving skills always ready.
Void Traps
Prepare to navigate through countless deadly traps that will do damage and slow you down. Be sure to always look in front of you.
Rampant Invasion
Instead of the usual foes, you'll face only rampants. Be sure to not die.
Combinations
But here's the kicker - these events can occur individually or in any combination, even all three simultaneously! Exciting!
We're continuously brainstorming and gathering ideas for more thrilling events to add to the mix. So, if you have any suggestions or ideas, don't hesitate to share them with us on our Discord channel.
With more and more Coreborn sent out to reclaim the Nations, new towns emerge all over the kingdom of Ambros. Small settlements where some find their forever homes, huge organized camps with clearly mapped out plans and constant expansion going on, and those which are just an outpost for the next steps ahead. Towns stand as centers of activity and collaboration.
The Coreborn gather, build, and trade within these newfound structures, relentlessly pushing boundaries and driving progress further ahead in their grand mission of winning back territory once lost to Sorgoth and his minions.
Roles emerge naturally in this environment. Mayors take ownership and guide their towns with vision and authority, with the Admins as their right hands to support their leadership. They handle daily operations and decision-making and ensure that everything runs according to plan. Members form the backbone of the community, welcome others in, and add to the town's vibrancy and productivity. Even Guests, though their stay is brief, contribute to the town's rhythm when they come and go.
But not only the communities of those extending the territory of the nations grow. As towns expand in size and wealth, new expansion towers rise and mark the Coreborn's claim on the land. With new technology and constant progress, these beacons of hope are more than just structures; they represent progress, unity, and the ambitions of those living within their borders.
But as responsibilities amass, things to consider increase and the demands of maintaining a growing community rise, keeping up might become a struggle. But worry not! Amid this growth, Coreheim has sent their help: Responding to the calls of those Coreborn in need of support, they founded the Jibbling Maintenance System.
Through this collaboration of Coreborn, Coreheim, and diligent Jibblings, your town's charm and functionality can be preserved. If you treat them nicely and pay them in the necessary resources, of course.
And this may very well be needed, since the forces of Sorgoth never rest and have been scheming in the background while you, Coreborn, pushed your own plans further. Corruption has evolved, and its grip on the creatures of Sorgoth has become stronger, putting your towns at even greater risk than before. So grab your sword, gather your members, and fend off the improved town attacks with your new combat skills!
The Settlers' Dawn update embraces this pulsating, ever-changing life and enhances your town's life to fortify the bonds of community and defense.
As always, we appreciate your feedback, and if you have something to say, let us know on our Discord!
PATCH NOTES
Town Member Management
We've introduced a new system where you can take on different roles within your town! There are four roles: Mayor, Admin, Member, and Guest. Each role has its own set of rights and actions.
Mayor - Owns the town, has all rights. There can only be one owner / Mayor.
Admin - Functions similarly to Mayor, just doesn’t own the town.
Member - Regular member with the ability to accept guests.
Guest - Has access to limited, non-impactful actions
Depending on your role, you can do different things in the town, like promoting others, adding crystals, or removing people. As an Admin, you have the authority to demote Members or promote Guests. If the Mayor isn't active for a while, the game will automatically promote the most active and highest-ranking Member to be the new Mayor.
Town Expansions
We’ve added new Expansion towers that can expand the town’s radius even better and enhanced the overall town expansion experience. No worries! Existing Town expansions remain valid. We highly encourage you to get rid of the old ones and try out the new ones to avoid potential conflicts in the future. Successfully building an expansion tower will expand the town border. The expansion tower will have its own radius, and it will connect to nearby expansion towers and/or the town center, creating a straight connection between the borders.
No longer a circle overlap
Greater expanse of expansions
Visibility of how close other towns are (arrows)
Visibility of how close other extensions are + Town Center highlighted
Jibbling Maintenance System
We're rolling out the new Jibbling Maintenance System - the JMS - so you can make sure your town stays in top-notch shape. The current deterioration system will still stay in place for a while and we're running both systems simultaneously to ensure a smooth transition.
The JMS is like having your own magical maintenance team of Jibblings! We really want your feedback on how it feels compared to the previous deterioration system.
You can now distribute materials to Jibblings to prevent your town from deteriorating. As your town levels up, you'll unlock access to new materials that you can contribute.
The system now indicates the current duration of protection and the maximum allowable protection based on your town's level.
Next to each material, you'll see the time protection it provides per item contributed. For example (1) Lightwood = 30 mins of protection or (6) Lightwood = 3 hours of protection
Town Building
We're excited to introduce several enhancements to town building mechanics, aimed at providing a smoother and more intuitive building experience. These adjustments include improved accessibility to blueprints, adjustments to material requirements, and various quality of life improvements to streamline the building process.
You can now pin recipes for building pieces, making it easier to access your favorite blueprints. This also works for Crafting!
We've lowered the town level required for PBS materials, allowing you to access them sooner:
Lightwood: Level 1 (unchanged)
Stone: Level 1 (previously Level 5)
Shrivelwood: Level 5 (previously Level 10)
Granite: Level 5 (previously Level 15)
Darkwood: Level 10 (previously Level 20)
Metal: Level 10 (previously Level 30)
Some ingredients, like bricks, are now accessible with lower level workstations to accommodate unlocking PBS materials sooner
You can no longer stack defense structure building pieces (e.g., Palisades) on top of each other for improved gameplay balance.
Workstations will now drop down (like storage does) if the foundation is destroyed, ensuring smoother gameplay.
Visual indicators around PBS pieces to help align direction during construction.
New scaling system and the ability to hide your character for improved visibility while building. You are able to scale down (not scale up). Please note that not all building pieces are scalable. Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Moving/Copying keys are now rebound to Q/F for easier use.
Introducing new planks for more building options
Added more snapping points and improved snapping behavior (feedback appreciated)
Increased town area height
Improved destruction effects
Town Attack Improvements
We have reworked the town gates to increase Town Attack challenges and improve creature spawning. Note: All town gates will have to be replaced, but don’t worry - the maintenance Jibblings are on the case and helping you out by destroying your existing gates!
You can now have multiple town gates for entry points, with limitations based on distance to the town center and other town gates
Improved spawn behavior for town attacks and creatures
Creatures spawn on multiple gates if present, with a rectangle visual around the gate.
Improved town pathing with fewer messages.
Building Pieces affect Town Attacks now differently
Implemented a no-build zone between the two pillars of the gate to avoid conflicts during town attacks and respawns
Combat 2.0 - First Pass
We're thrilled to introduce the first Pass of our Combat 2.0 experience, a massive overhaul that brings exciting changes and improvements to the lands of Ambros!
Introducing a Chain system, combining Light and Heavy attacks for seamless combos.
Dash Attacks with both Light and Heavy variations
Enjoy smoother and more responsive movement with our improved Dashing mechanic.
Lock onto your target with the new Lock-On System (Tab).
Removed Finishers & Finisher Gauge for now
We have added new VFX, animation and Sound Effects with the new combat experience
We've introduced a new dash animation outside of combat.
Improved player model behavior with smoother animation transitions depending on the
Creature & Bandits Changes
Get ready to face the challenge once again — Elite Feydveer Veerking is back!
Bandits now spawn in smaller, more manageable groups.
Inside the Forest we try to keep 'random' encounters below 2
Pot throwers should not spawn in pairs anymore
Greatswords should not spawn in groups larger than 2
Updated visual effects for nocturnal creature attacks
Nerfed health & damage stats on greatsword & pot thrower bandits by ~10%
Nerfed health & damage stats on captain bandit by ~15%
Made it easier to stagger captain and increased stagger recovery timer from 7 to 15 seconds
Increased initiative times on all bandits
Increased timer for opportunity attack on all bandits
Adjusted Creature spawn cooldowns
Generic to 5 minutes
Regular bandits to 7 minutes
Captain bandit to 10 minutes
Elite creatures to 15 minutes
Cooldown between attacks increased on captain & pot throwers
Opportunity attack cooldown slightly increased for all bandits
User Interface and Controls:
Improved Town Menu updating without requiring closure and reopening.
Enhanced slider responsiveness for smoother adjustments
Added new crafting station icons
Adjustments
Doubled Fluorescent Spores drop rate in Moonstone
Bug Fixes
Certain items can no longer be moved with players on top it to prevent potential issues
Fixed occasional issues after login, including blocked actions and camera zooming
Changed green foliage in the mountains vendor to white for improved aesthetics
Addressed various stability issues and session confirmation failures
fixed an issue where the player light wouldn't illuminate the own player but other players
Crafting stations now properly register to the new town after rebuilding the town center
fixed issue where it was possible to copy building pieces even if you didn't have the recipe unlocked
Workstations are now affected by gravity and no longer get destroyed when they lose stability they just drop to the ground
Increased the size of coal fleurs to improve mining accessibility.
Fixed various issues with AI behavior and interaction with building pieces.
Fixed stability values for shrivelwood and metal to match default settings.
Important Note
If you have an existing Shrivelwood, corner building piece, you may notice the rotation is off. We ask that you please simply rotate it so that it properly aligns with your previously built structure. If an issue emerges from/because of this, please create a support ticket with a screenshot so we can assist! Thank you
New update following the addition of the new game modes in v1.0.8, there were a couple of bugs and improvements I wanted to nail down before doing another content update. Here is the list:
Bugs
Fix a potential crash in W4 when dying (game over) in the upside-down area and restarting. The sound would play in loop (player in a constant state of changing gravity) and It would cause the game to crash.
Fix a softlock in the escape sequence of 4-10. When hit by the crusher, it would push you inside of the solid block preventing you from moving.
Fix a bug that would make you invulnerable to spikes and other threats after your iFrames expire (ex; walking on spike). Despite being a fun exploit, that was causing the game to be inconsistent because the iframe would reset if you screen wrap. So I decided to make you vulnerable to anything and reset the hitbox when the iframe expires.
Fix a bug with the Giftbox in World 3 that would make them not shoot ice after respawning from a stun. I also added a frame after the ground pound, so that the giftbox goes back to its original state instead of the squeeze state.
Fix a bug during the W3 boss fight that would make the players celebrate in front of the exit door after it was closed.
Fix a bug with the crumbling block of W3. If it crumbles and you're still touching a solid platform, when it will respawn you will fall through despite the block being there. So now, for as long as you're still touching the crumble block, it will crumble again after a respawn.
Fix a bug with the crumbling block of W3. If it crumbles and you're still touching a solid platform, when it will respawn you will fall through despite the block being there. So now, for as long as you're still touching the crumble block, it will crumble again after a respawn.
Fix a bug that would trigger a blue transition screen in front of the game when dashing into spikes.
Fix a bug that would not spawn any coins in the W2 boss fight during the RANDOMIZER.
Fix a bug that would make upside-down gift boxes not trigger any ice after a ground-pound during the RANDOMIZER.
Fix a bug in the File Select that would make you still able to move your selection even after clicking. The focus is now out once you click.
Improvements
Added a car horn SFX when Sally Snowplow spawns at the beginning of the W3 fight (during the warning sequence)
Added multiple SFXs during the Mr. and Mrs. Magnet fight.
Small visual improvement. During the Billy Big Box fight in W1, the phase 3 bullets will appear inside of the box instead of in front of it.
Added an icon on the file select screen for when you beat Arcade-Mode (next to the other 4 worlds)
Treasure Goblins are here, these little buggers have a small chance of spawning in a level. They run around the level dropping gold. If you manage to kill them, they will drop even more gold. If you don't, they will create a portal and disappear.
Changelog
Beating a level now gives you +2000 gold, up from +750g but it no longer stacks with resource gains from difficulty
Gold drops gold value increased to 60g-90g, up from 20g-40g and no longer affected with resource gains from difficulty
Treasure Goblins added, small chance to spawn throughout a level
Increased the pickup radius of the gold drop item
Thank you for your continued support, see you on the leaderboards!