This game appears to be inconsistently loading from chat.kongregate.com or assets.kongregate.com; I copied my main data from assets replacing Data.sol in chat.kongregate.com. Please advise >_>
I also seem to have a save in chat.kongregate as well as assets.kongregate, but in my own testing the game only read from assets.kongregate and only wrote there as well. In what folder the save is placed is controlled by this site, not the game, so I don't know why this happens. Unless there is something I don't know about how this kind of thing is handled. EDIT: I've now noticed this happening myself, but I still don't know why. There is a thread about it in the forum and I have posted there.
Fair enough. I guess it's just that since damage and armor/shields are only numbers, whose effect is gauged solely by how quickly enemies die vs how quickly I do, you can tweak their effects on subsequent playthroughs without players noticing. Something that has an objective effect like drop rate feels like it would be harder to nerf without actually making the player feel as if something's been taken. . . Maybe have laser/invincibility drain faster on later cycles of New Game + to sidestep the issue?
That's already what NG+ does. The enemies don't actually become stronger, it just seems that way because the player becomes weaker (by decreasing damage done and increasing damage taken). Strengthening enemies makes the player weaker just as weakening the player makes enemies stronger. It doesn't matter which way I do it since the end result is the same. And the end result of progressing should always be a more difficult game, not an easier one.
Well, part of the "too easy" problem is that at some point (for me it was New Game +++), you basically are a semi-permanently invincible god of lasery destruction. We'll see if that happens on Death mode, though; I might've largely done it to myself via overgrind :P
I understand. You can increase salvaging without limit and when you get to the point that most things always drop powerups it does not matter how strong they are, since you would be invincible most of the time anyway. Maybe I should decrease the powerup drop rate for higher levels of NG+ so that more salvaging would always be needed for the same result.
I am liking the 3-2-3-2 level arrangement a lot; it definitely feels like it provides more freedom to go play another level if beating your head against one isn't getting anywhere. Maybe have an achievement later for actually clearing all levels?
So, I realize that playing on "Death" mode is, perhaps, SUPPOSED to be frustrating. That said, the 100% xp loss upon death combined with the 1/3rd xp rate is making the early game uncomfortably grindy. Perhaps tone it down to no loss on normal, 50% on hard, 25% on Death or something? I know it doesn't matter so much once you get some INT, but as I said, it makes early game kinda irritating.
The XP loss is at 100% so that without drones it will be at 0% when Intelligence is fully upgraded. And Death mode is for people like me who like grinding. Having to work hard for success makes it feel much better when it happens. If I made it easier I would just have to add another harder difficulty.
I like the changes to upgrading, but with the drones I have, I've become pretty overpowered (specifically, the pair of observers mean that I can upgrade everything like, 200 times per level). I think I'll start over on hard, see how that is, post-changes :P
I still haven't tested much beyond the first NG+, so it is possible that it may become too easy. The strength of the enemies does increase exponentially, so I thought that it would always become harder even if you got a lot of experience, but if that is not the case I will have to change something. But I am mostly focusing on adding more levels right now. =)
And on the topic of hp-scaling, is there any way to know which drones are best for, say, attack, without upgrading them 50 times so I can directly compare them with my current stuffs?
All drones are of three different types that get more of certain stats. Type 0 get mostly speed/damage/projectile, type 1 get mostly armour/shield/regen and type 2 get mostly int/salvaging. Drones of type 0 are: cell, wasp, turret, hunter, lance, bomber, colony, fighter. Drones of type 1 are: freighter, sapper, carrier, observer. Drones of type 2 are: tower, star, fortress, guardian. And there is really no way for the player to know any of this without experimenting as you say. But what I could do is display stats that the drones prefer in a different color. It should be easy to do and will probably be in the next version.
As far as the new enemies go: The double-laser guys seem like a remix of the standard laser enemies (which usually occur horizontally offset from one another anyway), but the randomly jinking ones are a welcome addition; they make for less predictable waves. The spawners are also fun, though I can see them getting out of hand really fast depending on how their hp scales. . .
Huh. I got Endless Journey, and yeah, I'll admit, it's by no means a thing you'd have to implement backtracking for. "The Heart: ?", on the other hand. . . I didn't even know that was a thing! What's the deal there?
It's an extra boss I added as something extra to do before NG+ existed. But it may be too hard, and killing it gives you nothing special, so I might be changing it in the future or removing it. I'm not sure.
It'd be nice to have the ability to return to an earlier New Game + cycle; I find myself regretting not getting "Endless Journey" before everything got harder >_>
Endless Journey is not that important. An Observer with some upgrades would do the same thing (+100% Intelligence). And you do get a warning when you start NG+ that it is irreversible, so I don't really see the need for a return function. But I will consider it.
This game started out as an incredibly simple but pretty entertaining little diversion, maybe 3.5-4/5. With the updates and the developer's responsiveness to the requested changes, though, 5/5 from me :P
It'd be nice to have some use for AP once you've maxed all the skills; maybe some sort of exchange rate for stat points? Also, even with the addition of gambling, I accumulating more money than I can use. Some place to use it would be nice; maybe allow refreshes in the shop for $1,000,000 apiece?
Okay, my instinct was to give 1/5 for the same reasons as everyone else; premium content on what we perceive as a free site is irritating. That said, this game is a quality piece of work, and I can see the logic in giving it 4/5 since 80% is free and 20% is premium. Even that, though, feels unfair; if the game had come out with only the free content and I never knew the difference, it would've been a 5/5 without hesitation, so that's what it should get.
If you haven't started this, don't bother unless gem frequency is changed. You can buy NO upgrades, and still finish every quest without enough gems to unlock the next level.
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I also seem to have a save in chat.kongregate as well as assets.kongregate, but in my own testing the game only read from assets.kongregate and only wrote there as well. In what folder the save is placed is controlled by this site, not the game, so I don't know why this happens. Unless there is something I don't know about how this kind of thing is handled. EDIT: I've now noticed this happening myself, but I still don't know why. There is a thread about it in the forum and I have posted there.