Since the last update I’ve had my head down working on a lot of different things. 

I now plan on doing a monthly Newsletter (you’re reading the first one now 😯) to try and balance the actual game work with keeping you all informed about development.

• NEW Rank trials loop: ~5 fights then a  boss fight to gain a rank, 5 ranks to climb

• NEW Lobby area: Shops, Healer, NPCs, & Astral Creation area

• NEW Buy stuff with Gold: buy Astral Cores, consumables, skill traits and more

• NEW Combat clarity: combat log with details on buffs etc, team preview, improved HUD, autopause

• NEW Behaviour system: In combat set your Astrals to “Stay Close” to their target, or “Keep Away”, and other options.

January was focused on expanding the available skill trait options for the module skill builder system

• NEW: Planned 75 new Skill Traits for more variety and allowing “builds”, these with the 13 Types allows for well over a million unique skill combinations.

  • Yup 1,000,000+ Unique Skills!

• NEW: Implemented all 23 of the Form Traits: Previously there were around 8

  • Functionality all complete but VFX is still work in progress

• NEW: Implemented all 24 of the Effect Traits; Previously there were only ones for status effects but now there are various skill modifiers as well

• NEXT: February will be focussed on adding in the final Skill Traits (Movement & Technique Traits), as well as allowing players to name the skills. Whilst im at it I may also add in an Astral nicknaming System.

January has been about massively expanding the modular Skill Trait system so it can properly support distinct builds and real variety. I’ve planned 75 new Skill Traits overall, and with the 13 Types this pushes the system into 1,000,000+ possible unique skill combinations!

So far, the functionality is complete all 23 Form Traits (up from ~8) while the VFX work is still in progress. Form Traits are what give a skill its shape and Form. From explosive grenade-style shots and homing energy missiles to fast dash-through strikes that cut as you pass, there are now many different ways to dish out the damage, as well as a number of useful Utility forms to support your build!

I’ve also implemented 24 Effect Traits, previously we only had status effects, stat buffs & debuff options, but now there’s a wider range of skill modifiers such as Lifesteal, which lets an Astral heal a portion of the damage dealt by that skill, and Revenge, which increases a skill’s power as the user’s HP gets lower.

In February the focus is finishing the remaining Skill Traits (Movement Traits and Technique Traits) and adding the much sought after skill naming! I may also add an Astral nicknaming system at the same time.
From there QA testing and bugfixing will allow the game to once again be playable, so keep an eye out for the next public build!

This update has been a long time in the works, art takes a long time, but we finally present big updates to the Visual Effect and Sound Effects in combat, AND all Astrals are now fully animated! No more placeholder Astrals!
This marks a major milestone in visual and audio polish—every combat action now feels more impactful and dynamic.
There's a new Rank system, difficulty options, tutorial, and the demo actually has an end now :O
We've also added the ability to manually override the Engage & Disengage, giving you more control of positioning and timing! This adds greater tactical depth and flexibility in combat.

This and more !

Try the updated demo today and let us know what you think download for Free[thegamegarden.itch.io] !!

Change Log -

🆕 New Features and Additions

🆕 Manual override for Engage/Disengage mechanics, tell your Astrals to get close or stay back, manually dodge or apply pressure up close!

🆕 New Rank System: Progression now feels more rewarding and meaningful. Start as a lowly Unranked, climb the ladder to the Champion seat, unlocking more and more combat features as you go!
🆕 New VFX & SFX: ALL Skills have hand crafted visual FX and Sound FX! Really brings combat to life!
🆕 New Astrals! : We now have a complete first set of Astrals, 13 species with 3 type variants each, thats 39 units to master, as well as shinies for every single one!

🎮 Gameplay Changes

🎮 Core Unlocks: Every Rank Up grants you a new Core to make an Astral with, they are no longer available via normal rewards. This helps pace team growth with player progress.

🎮 Complexity Progression: Various features are now unlocked at set Ranks rather than with win count. Makes the learning curve smoother and more predictable.

🎮 A single Defence Stat: Previously we had a defence stat for both ranged and melee, but we've condensed this onto a single Defence stat as it seemed overly complex
🎮 Movement Refinement: Movement should now feel more responsive and polished. The code behind Movement has been adjusted and reworked multiple times over the past few months, it's tighter than before, and from what I've seen the jank is mostly gone!
🎮 Rewards: Rewards have been split into more specific categories allowing for more challenge choices to encourage strategic planning and replayability.

🔧 Bug Fixes Ongoing polish and community feedback will help iron out the rest.

🔧 There were a lot of bugs fixed over the past while, chances are if you had a bug before, its gone now. I'm sure there are new ones though, and we probably missed some :) Let me know!

⚖️ Balance Changes

⚖️ Astral Stat Adjustments: All Astrals have been rebalanced from scratch. Each should now feel more distinct and viable.
⚖️ Skill Ranges: The max range has been reduced to help give melee a fighting chance.
⚖️ Skill Traits Frequency: The reward distribution has been adjusted to help teach the game better. Improves onboarding and player understanding of mechanics.
⚖️ Balance Adjustments: Numerous tweaks to improve overall gameplay flow.