New structure implemented!

As always, this update is live now and can be played for free in browser at https://isochronalgames.itch.io/timelinegame. Updates like this will be coming out every week, so please follow if you're interested in seeing future updates!

We've got few minor visual changes this week, but we're mostly looking at balance and structural changes!

-HP Bars have been changed from solid blocks of color to a scribbled version - still not sure how I feel about this but it's in there for now

-HP Bars also move more smoothly now, either when taking or healing damage, instead of just snapping to their new value

-But the big change is that the overall structure has changed like I laid out last week!

-Fights are now grouped into encounters that you fight all in a row. Since you full heal after each encounter, the heal shop options has been removed. The buy card option has also been removed, because you now get a card reward automatically after every fight!

-You now start with some money to account for the steeper difficulty curve (although I think it may still be too difficult - give it a try and let me know!)

-I also added a 'Tutorial' encounter that's just 1 fight - the Ogre. It gives you no rewards, although it does not disappear after it's defeated like the other encounters. The idea is that you can test out your deck and see how it plays as you build your run!

One thing I've been struggling some with is how to start the game. I have two types of players I want to support at the start of the game, and as far as I can tell their needs are in conflict.

The first type are new players. I want to get new players straight into the action without having to make deckbuilder decisions for a game they don't understand yet. When I'm starting a new roguelike I find it very frustrating to be offered decisions that I don't have the tools to understand yet.

The second are returning players. I don't want the first fight to always feel the same, and with the way things work now where fights happen in a pre-determined order the only way to do that is with deck changes. However, that means there has to be  deckbuilding decisions before the first fight, which conflicts with the first group.

The only solution I've come up with is already in the game - A skippable tutorial fight. That way new players can do the tutorial and hopefully at least have a footing to understand their first choices, while returning players can skip it and get right into deckbuilding. I'm not super happy with it though, as I think some upgrades are easier to understand as a new player than others.

My idea for the future is that once I am able to implement some kind of save file system, I can use that to determine how new a player is. New players would only get the easier to understand deckbuilder mechanics until they're latter in the run, while experienced players can get that stuff earlier. That comes with its own challenges though.

In development - Another big structure update coming I think. The money based system worked fine as a placeholder, but I want to move away from it towards a more traditional deck builder structure where upgrades are somewhat randomized. I do have an idea for a shop though, so money isn't disappearing!

Gifs in this were created using ScreenToGif - thank you ScreenToGif!