1-2 player Coop?

[KilledKillaB]

Will the game still be balanced for a 1 or 2 player mode?

[stanley37861]

I found this in this forum:
"The game scales up to 4 players and larger teams get more monsters with more health. "

I hope it answers your question.

Originally posted by Robot Entertainment Community:

Originally posted by zoltan3210:

Introduction

Big fan of the Orcs Must Die series and I’ve been following its development since it was announced. I have several 100 hours combined in the OMD1/2/3 games, big fan of the series, but I wouldn’t consider myself an expert. I’ve played both playtests so far and while they are currently rough, they were still a lot of fun. I am looking to share my early impressions and feedback from these playtests.

Core Gameplay Loop

Overall, it feels most similar to OMD3; most of the traps and monster designs are taken directly from that game. You play a series of missions that are comprised of 6 waves each. With each mission, you pick a map that is tied to a debuff. These can introduce new enemies or introduce restrictions, like increased trap costs. With each wave you get a small buff called a “thread”. These threads can do things like buff traps or hero damage or add barricades. There is a wide variety of buffs so far. Instead of trinkets and weapons, you select heroes with these features baked in. The current roster is pretty fun to play with, and it doesn’t feel like I am missing out much with regard to weapon/trinket loadouts.

Biggest Changes

Limited Baricades
Each mission, you get 16 free barricades with options to increase this via thread buffs. This is a new concept for the OMD series, but I understand the decision, and it feels like it works here. Each map is large, but is designed so that 16 barricades are enough to funnel all monsters into a single passage. You just can’t start out by making a long barricade maze that hugs a wall and goes into a corner. For the most part you are forced to rely on hero damage in the early missions and can transition more into trap damage in later missions as you earn buffs. In later missions, you can earn upwards of 40 barricades, so the snaking maze dream is still there, but you need to work for it.

New Massive Maps
If you played OMD3, you probably remember the War Scenarios. These were massive maps with way more enemies. In OMDD every map is at least as big as a War map, often times bigger. You are more or less always able to funnel them into a single lane so this doesn’t hurt as much. The maps look beautiful, much nicer than any maps from OMD3, but it usually feels like too much space you’ll never use. There is also the issue of running back and forth huge distances, makes the teleport hero “Vaan” feel necessary. These maps also feel like they dramatically limited wall and ceiling space to limit where you can place traps. Feels like far fewer huge flat walls and ceilings compared to OMD3. That being said you can still place a ton of traps, and many maps have multiple possible starting points which let you get a better feel for the full map.

Difficulty & Balance

This game is almost certainly the most challenging game in the OMD franchise. I’ve played each other OMD game on their hardest difficulty and don’t feel like they pushed quite as hard as OMDD. That being said, the first mission starts out very easy and quickly gets harder. There are far more aggressive player-killing monsters, including Gnolls, Orc Balloonists, Lizard Assassins, and new Kobolds. Each mission gets way harder in addition to giving your team a debuff.

The game scales up to 4 players and larger teams get more monsters with more health. Right now larger teams feel advantaged due to a better ability to split off and get flyers and more opportunities to pick threads. Melee heroes also feel a bit rough due to their difficulty surviving later missions and difficulty in chasing down flyers. Each of the two play tests changed this a lot though, so I’d assume the final product will feel a lot better.

There is also rift corruption (shown as pink goo) that can cover the map and deny the placement of traps and barricades. This can make things a lot harder but also make you pivot from your default barricade placement. I think it's a fun change that keeps you on your toes, but denying a crucial barricade zone can spike the difficulty dramatically.

Final Thoughts

What I played of OMDD was a ton of fun. Honestly most fun I’ve had in a roguelite shooter since Deep Rock Galactic. The roguelite elements of OMDD really boosts the replability when compared to the previous games. Those previous games were great, but after played the campaign on hard and beating each map on endless the thrill wears off. Getting crazy sets of thread buffs in OMDD is a ton of run. In one run we fully maxed out the flip trap and send Ogres and Trolls absolutely flying, and that isn’t something possible in any other OMD game. The developers seem super active on Discord and actively listen to and implement stuff according to player feedback, which is great. Currently, there are some rough spots especially related to buff design and overall balance but I think these will be ironed out for launch.

Orcs Must Die Deathtrap combines the best of the series with roguelite replayability, offering challenging, strategic fun. Despite some balance and map design quirks, the gameplay shines, and the devs are clearly committed to improvement. A must-try for OMD fans and roguelite enthusiasts alike!

Thank you for all the detailed feedback! I'm sure our team will greatly appreciate this.

Glad you got to try it out the technical playtest!

[kyle]

Director here - I wrote a blog about solo balance: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2273980/view/4282447070512885289?l=english

I'll also be doing a solo stream on the 15th on the OMD channels to show off that experience.

[KilledKillaB]

Thank you for the info, that was helpful.
Cheers

[Goro3D]

Ya looking forward to 4 player coop :)!

[KilledKillaB]

Originally posted by Shoah Kahn:

The more players, the harder it should be -- obviously.

However, I'd actually like the option of playing any spawn configuration (solo, two, three, and four players) with any player count -- e. g., two players with spawns meant for four players. Games like Sniper Elite and its spin-off "Nazi / Zombie Army" allow for players to set the enemy spawn configurations, so as to make the game easier or more difficult, according to player preference. This option adds significantly to replay value, given that players can attempt higher enemy spawns with lower player counts; as well as allowing new players to dial down challenge below the default settings. Might be worth considering...

Agreed. I mostly ask because I play 2 player already with the wifey, and we don't know anyone that cares for this style of game, nor do we care to play with randos, so it could be a deal breaker for us. Really hoping it balances well for that reason, unless I can convince a couple buddies to try it out - which is still a hope regardless.

[Robot Entertainment Community]

Yes.

The design team has worked at it a lot to make it so each amount feels balanced.