Howdy,

So last week there was no dev diary, since I released version 0.9 instead. And this week I started on the next major milestone called "Balance". This is the last milestone before the game is "done enough" to get a 1.0 release.

The idea behind this next milestone is to rebalance the game, and to consider how the player will progress through things, until the end. Oh right, there should be an end too.

And starting off with a look at how enemies are generated - yes the combat system is getting rebalanced for the Nth time.

So, let's look at the blighted islands - previously the domain of the undead, is now the domain of... something else. Can you guess what? Or read it off the title.

That's right. Goblins.

Now, what you're seeing in the above screenshot was a technical test to see the new enemy generation code in work. The Everpunished currently come in 4 different tropes with the possibility of a shield. These are more of mix and match. A goblin with a specific level will pick a set of armour, weapon, and shield depending on the level - so there's going to be much more visual, and practical variety to contend with.

To give an example, a level 20 goblin might have no shield, and poor armour, and a really scary weapon - making him a bit of a glass cannon. Or they might be more heavily armoured and be limited in damage - but still level 20.

Now the goblins, having moved over and laid claim to the islands, have to live ... somewhere.

They get their own primitive looking shanty-town to live in. Still a bit of a work in progress (although they're procedurally generated just like everything else) - and they will eventually spawn additional goblins to make it a little harder to clear out.

So yeah, that's it for this week. Next week I'll be working on finishing the goblin towns, and after that, the Everpunished will receive the same dynamic weapon/armour treatment.

Til then