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Open tower defense feedback

A topic by lorgan3 created Aug 19, 2023 Views: 189 Replies: 6

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Hey there, for the last 5 months I've been working on and off on a project that throws together a bunch of mechanics that I thought were interesting to make. I feel like the result is presentable now. It's some sort of tower defense game with a twist.
You can find some more details and try it here: https://lorgan3.itch.io/open-td

I tried adding some basic tutorial messages to explain what to do, but at the same time I didn't want to overload the user with popups so let me know if something is not clear.

Further I would like to know what you think of it: did you like it? Too complicated? Too weird? What do you think of the mechanics since making it a fun game actually kind of came on the second place in my priority list 😅
Anything you would change and how's the balance? I found it pretty tricky to find the line between 'too easy' and 'too hard' and I might have made it too difficult as I was learning how to play my own game.

Here's a video I made a while back showing the enemies and all the turrets you can build

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Wasabi313 days ago (1 edit)

I like this one!

It's a very solid game, mechanically and the way it's presented. The tutorial was very clear and explained things without being overwhelming, that's something lots of games have issues with. I thought the little popup animations were cool and reminded me of Windows notifications lol. I think it introduces the player to the game and mechanics very well, with making the first few waves pretty easy (I died on the third wave). The only time I felt a little overwhelmed was the amount of defenses you could put at the start, but nothing too much. I also appreciate how helpful the text is. Like, I built a fence around my tower thinking it would work, but the enemy just went straight through it, and I realized I didn't read the part that said they can jump over it. Very cool and realistic touch!

You have a good balance of making things practical without them being too complicated. I really like how creative you're getting with the enemies and stuff; You should give each one unique behaviors and interactions with one another and with the tower (like the enemies from Rain World):

- Maybe the thugs steal from the tower? Maybe they get drunk/high and are harder to kill? Maybe they only come out at night? Maybe they're the only ones who can hop fences and can hack into security systems?

- Maybe the spiders can climb trees and can jump super high? Maybe they aren't effected by/are buffed by natural hazards like tar? Maybe they can slow down turrets with web traps?

- Maybe drones can pick up enemies and fly them over to the tower sometimes? Maybe they can't operate in inclement weather (and maybe this weather washes away tar and destroys trees)?

- Maybe these enemies can hinder one another in the right conditions? (Thugs can get mad and fight each other if it's too hot outside, they can accidentally get caught in spider webs, they can knock down trees if there are too many (and the spiders can get PISSED at them for that lol), they can sometimes throw rocks at drones for fun, etc.)

Just some possibilities. They're endless, of course!

My game if you want to check it out: https://wasabiiii.itch.io/grass-elemental-demo-demo

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lorgan3313 days ago

Thanks for the feedback!

Funny you mention being overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you can build since I already tried tackling that problem by hiding everything that's not unlockable yet. Maybe I should limit it even more. At the start you shouldn't really need more than towers and fences.

Making the enemies behave in a unique way is indeed something I wanted to do but I didn't have enough unique abilities to make them all different. Sabotaging is something I thought about but dismissed because I thought it would be too strong, I might give this a try in the future.

I think stealing coins from the base/tower wouldn't work because it means you didn't put up enough defenses and then you would have less money to build your extra defenses which seems like a guaranteed loss.

The weather is an interesting idea. I really like to change the map over time (like enemies destroy obstacles and leave dirt trails eventually). Working with sun/wind/rain might give me a reason to play with the amount of water on the map. I might give this a shot next time I work on it.

I'm glad you liked it, now I guess I need to figure out how to get more people to see/try it!

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Wasabi313 days ago

I got you bud, gonna recommend your game

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dachshundstudios313 days ago

I liked it! It was fun. It’s a just a slow sometimes with the enemies. Like when this bug gets stuck on this tree, he eventually knocks it out. Or when this robot has to build this bridge, that takes far too long.

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lorgan3313 days ago

Thanks! Yeah the idea was that when the enemies change the map it takes a while so turrets could shoot them more while they're doing it but I agree it can be a bit slow when a lone enemy is doing it. I'm not sure how I can improve that without removing the feature though.

For what it's worth, in the settings there is an option ('simulation speed') to speed up the game so the waves are over faster. It's also possible to place blueprints while the wave is in progress so you can plan ahead instead of having to wait.

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dachshundstudios311 days ago

I did not know about the “simulation speed”, thanks! I hope you keep updating the game!

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