Hello backers. It’s been a long time since our last update! This one is going to be long, so we’re going to divide it into three parts.

Alpha 2.0

Since the last update, we have been working on making the game core-feature complete so that we can release a working beta version of the game to the public. We’re getting closer to that goal, but we’re not there yet. We had to crunch quite a bit to get some of these features implemented, and everything has taken much longer than we planned. But slowly and surely we’ve implemented a magic tech tree, elves, training, and more. Here’s a long video demonstrating many of these changes. In addition to new features, we’ve been optimizing, bug-fixing, and cleaning up the engine. We hope to make more of these videos in the future to give you a better idea of what’s going on:

We’re going to release a version to backers (called Alpha 2.0) that incorporates the changes we made over the past few months; but we will need a little while to tie up some loose ends, fix bugs, and get the game into a playable-enough state.

The Magic Tech Tree

One of the biggest new features in this version is the magic tech tree. When the player builds a library, they can order wizards to research spells. Spells are special abilities which allow the player to spawn magical entities, destroy objects, and apply buffs.

 The spells are arranged in a tech tree. There’s only 15 right now, but we hope to have more eventually. When a spell has been researched, it can be cast to produce a magical effect. For instance, the “magic helper” spell creates a magical hand to help around the colony which disappears after 60 seconds.

 When you cast a spell, it costs a bit of mana. Mana can be recharged by mining mana stones, which are automatically turned into “mana batteries” at libraries.

Elves

We also started implementing elves. Elves are happy, carefree creatures from the gumdrop forests of the world.

 Elves are the first creatures in the game to shoot projectiles. They try to maintain a distance from their enemies, and can be devastating on open ground. Underground, however, the elves are easily cornered and defeated.

Next Update

In a few days we’ll post the next part of the Mega-Update, which will have a detailed inventory on what features we’ve completed so far, and which still remain, as well as what we’ve been spending the kickstarter money on.