With this update I took help from the new commuunitymanager that I'm working with to create a little summary video!

Check it out!

I'll still post everything in textform too tho, so heres that

• The Drone! - this will warn if there is no clear path to the core, in the future, more things will be added to it
  
  
• Ooglimass! - this has a chance to drop when an ooglian dies. there's a maximum of 15 spawned ooglimass at a time, so after that, no more will spawn (there's a temporary counter in the corner, that will be removed later on) The ooglimass deterioates every turn. if left outside it will dissapear after 3 waves
  
  
• Factory - there's currently only one factory. it takes oglimass and energy and creates a battery that can be triggered to shoot out an electric pulse to all connected modules in it's area
  
  
• Burner - this takes ooglimass and converts it into energy!
  
  
• Laser rework - the laser has lost it's piercing ability, but it's still a constant beam. it's damage has been upped a bit
  
  
• New secret module - takes alot of power, but it might be worth it if your base can keep up

• brought back some autoaim to the cores since the purely manual mode still makes it way to hard before you've set anything up
  
  
• The switch is now portable, meaning you can move it around during the wave, this is less of a fix and more of a quick solution just to make it work since it comes with the problem that you can push around ooglians and alter the paths during gameplay making it highly abuseable
  
  
• Removed the force that drags your hand back to the grabbed object. This was kind of a relic from the past to make things feel more physical but I agree that it might not serve a real purpose
  
  
• Reworked how explosions works to hopefully make them more performant
  
  
• Made it so sounds are not mirrored anymore (lol idk how i havent noticed that before)

THE DISCORD IS WHERE ALL THE DISCUSSION HAPPENS:
[discord.com]

We're cruising through the Ooglians roadmap at a brisk pace, so here's a look at what's coming when the next update drops LATER THIS WEEK!


Get hyped for the addition of Ooglimass, Factories and the Battery.

Lots of things to process in that gif - let's break it down:

Ooglimass is what we're calling that new green goop, and it will occasionally drop from exploded ooglians.
You can use that ooglimass as resources by shoving it into the Factories.

Some factories will generate power just like cores, as long as their tank of ooglimass isn't empty, and some will create items if fed enough power!

One of these items is the new Battery!
This badboy can be smushed, releasing a wave of energy that powers everything in range.


That's about it for now, but we'll be back later this week with proper patch notes!

Thank you again for your feedback and support!

JOIN THE DISCORD TO PARTAKE IN THIS FEEDBACK AND SUPPORT KTHX LUV U
[discord.com]

Behold: The roadmap for the Ooglians journey leading up to a 1.0 release!

Things to come will be very experimental and change some core things about the game you know, so it's very important for me to get your feedback and thoughts around these things.
Bugfixes and rebalancing will happen continuously. new modules and enemies will also come with these updates

(which just launched!) introduces Wall parts, updated pathfinding for the ooglians and removes autotargeting for modules.

The idea is that Ooglians will now work a lot more like a traditional tower defense game, with the enemies always going for the core if they can pathfind there.

The walls will show up as an option in the loot table, and when placed will force ooglians to go around them, allowing you to direct them (into hazardous areas).

This means your placement of cores will matter way more and you can actually create labyrinths with the new walls. The ooglians will only attack the closest core if they cannot find a path towards the main generator.
Cores and walls cannot be moved during a wave, so hopefully this creates a lot more opportunities for smart strategy when it comes to building and aiming modules.

will add Factories and Resources.

Factories will be able to produce power and other resources, the idea is that ooglians will now have a chance to drop some Ooglimass upon their inevitable demise.
The Ooglimass will then serve as a resource for you to use on different things.
The factories will be buildings that create different physical things, such as bombs, batteries and various other cool things!

Belts and automation!

This update will try and bring more fun automation to the game, such as belts and various buildings that use power in an interesting way.
Cores that autoaim, cores that rotate modules in a consistent manner etc etc
hopefully this will make it easier to express yourself in different ways and allow for different strategies

will bring a meta progression system and research.

this will flesh out the main menu, adding the ability to Research new buildings, parts and other stuff!
This basically means the game gets more advanced as you progress with later unlocks. Research and unlock new parts!


That's all for now!
The roadmap will be updated as time goes on, but right now this is the focus! I hope you're just as excited as I am!


// Simon

Before we start, i just want to ask you to keep your eyes peeledI The roadmap for future updates will hopefully be released sometime NEXT WEEK!
with that said, let's get into todays update:


With this new patch I'm trying something very experimental and gamechanging!
I've spent the time since the last update experimenting with different solutions for pathfinding for the ooglians. and I think we've landed on a pretty solid solution!

Now, Ooglians will always try and take the shortest way they can towards the core, ignoring all other buildings. If there is no valid path, they will go back to the old AI and attack stuff until they can find a valid path.

Another change is that buildings can now only be moved during the planning phase. modules and wires can still be rearanged during waves tho.

This will allow for more interesting decisions in the long run, such as flying ooglians, ooglians that can jump over walls, fling other ooglians etc etc

There's also been some big changes in the backend to make place for a main menu in the future, but right now it's just an empty level with a button that takes you into the game. It's very ugly, but its VERY temporary

oh and another thing... i removed autoaim on all cores, since you now have a lot more power to dictate the paths of the ooglians
Finally, since this is such an experimental and big change I really do need your feedback on this change. please join the discord and make your voice heard! it matters ALOT (cllick the image below)
[discord.com]

• Pushing ooglians inside walls can make them think that they have no path to the core, and start attacking the wall it's in
  
• The same is true for the larvooglians spawned ontop of walls
  
• The main menu doesn't look like a main menu, it's just a main generator as a button
  
• (could not be replicated in newest build so maybe fixed?) ooglians gets very confused and walks in place / into walls

With this new patch, I just wanted to come in and make a little anouncement:
I am now OFFICIALLY BACK (!!!) on the project FULL TIME!

These past week I've been working on a roadmap towards 1.0. There will be some pretty major changes, and there will also be a lot of experimentation.
I really do appreciate all the feedback, and I just want to make a game that deserves your time.
My highest priority is addressing the main problems in the game right now, such as it being too tedious, too manual and the "great ball of death" meta.
I have some ideas, but I'd also greatly appreciate your words on these changes too.

this update contains a couple of bugfixes, some visual stuff, a new module, but most importantly it will make ALL cores have autotargeting!
As stated, This is going to be a very experimental time, and changes are not final, but if people like it better, it will probably stay and be the new standard.

I'm sorry for the lack of clarity and information. From this moment on, I will be as clear and transparent as possible
Hopefully, I can win your trust back ❤️

• A new laser modlue
  
• ALL cores now have autotargeting
  
• Grabbing a turret overrides the autotargeting, making manual aim possible
  
• Autotargeting now works on all enemies
  
• Mortar now has some new visualisation for where it hits
  
• larvooglians spawned from the sackooglian now fly in an arc before they "spawn"
  
• fixed a bug where the cable from the tutorial had to be connected for you to be able to start the wave
  
• All cores now HEAL FULLY after every wave (this will probably be changed in the future, but let's try it out)

JOIN THE DISCORD FOR DISCUSSION ABOUT ALL OF THIS:
[discord.com]

First things first: known issues.

• Aiming issues when dragging to the right - when dragged perfectly rightmost, the asset will start flipping 180 degrees. Not game breaking but can be annoying.
  
• Perfomance issues. FPS drops aren't as horrible for explosions, but there is still a soft limit for number of enemies on screen.
  
• Game ends on wave 100 with no warning or explanation.
  
• Spatial sound is sometimes mirrored.

[discord.com]

• FIXES
  • Massive FPS drops from explosions have been fixed.
• ENEMIES
  • Updated the exploding ooglian with new visuals.
• MODULES & CORES
  • One new module!
    
    • Rocket (it's icon is missing, so buttons with no icon is the new one)
  • Still no new cores.
• QoL
  • Added tutorial mode, makes the game easier for new players
    
  • Added visual damage indicators on the cores (smoke and sparks)
    
  • Split modules into two categories: Bullet Damage and Area of Effect Damage
    
  • Added a fifth reward button to give slightly more control over upgrades
• BALANCE
  • Updated wave spawning for more variation
    
  • Rebalanced modules (but the game might be too easy now)

Thanks a ton for your patience, and we look forward to seeing you on the flat, gray fields of battle.
oogliboogli,

A lot of stuff in this update! First things first: known issues.

• Game is too hard!
  • The game has gotten really hard
    
  • There is no way to repair damaged buildings
    
  • You can still progress far, but you need the right stuff
    
  • This makes the game too reliant on RNG
    
  • This is bad
• Performance is horrible!
  • The game hasn't been optimized
    
  • Some things will absolutely tank your framerate
    
  • It can make the game near unplayable
    
  • The “fix” is a hard limit of 100 waves before the player is killed
    
  • This is bad
• The game is a bit too confusing
  • The first few rounds has a lot going on, with almost no explanation
    
  • The more we add, the more confusing it gets
    
  • The late game has too much stuff on screen
    
  • This prompts the player to rebuild their base now and then
    
  • This takes time and can get very frustrating
    
  • This is bad

But at least we have finger guns now!
We’re going to release another patch next week where the focus is to address one or more of the above areas.
[discord.com]

• FIXES
  • Explosions now deal damage. It’s a bit wonky, but boom now actually goes boom.
    
  • NOTE! There is a new module that might tank your framerate. A fix is in the works.
• ENEMIES
  • One new type of Ooglian! This evolution seems to be inspired by the natural occurrence of bunnies and their eggs, which is definitely a thing.
• MODULES & CORES
  • Two new modules!
    
    • Mortar
      
    • Firecrackers - NOTE! This one might tank your framerate! Use with care.
  • Still no new cores.
• QoL
  • Added interaction filters for the player
    
    • Hold [SHIFT] to only target handles, for easier aiming
      
    • Hold [CTRL] to only target cable connectors, for better cable management
  • Added visual damage indicators on the cores (smoke and sparks)
    
  • Split modules into two categories: Bullet Damage and Area of Effect Damage
    
  • Added a fifth reward button to give slightly more control over upgrades
• BALANCE
  • Upped the damage on a few modules
    
  • Reworked explosion sizes and damage
    
  • Reworked wave spawning pool a bit

Thanks a ton for your patience, and we look forward to seeing you on the flat, gray fields of battle.
oogliboogli,

More enemy types for variation! Two new modules for... slightly different gameplay! You're all still going to make a tight ball of autotargeting gatlings, though. Probably.

Note that if you get to wave 100, you'll be dying to the Doglian, Destroyer of Worlds. The dog is in fact no immortal, but I have no idea how to beat it. Best of luck.

[discord.com]

• ENEMIES
  • Two new types of ooglians! - one big and bulky, and one tiny lil oog!
    
  • That is all the information we have for you. You're gonna find out.
• MODULES & CORES
  • Two new modules! In preparation for the new modules system, there are two new modules available in the reward pool. Good luck getting them (that pool of items is getting crowded now).
    
  • No new cores! New system for cores under way, stay tuned. No, even tuneder.
• QoL
  • Changed color and transparency of reward preview image
    
  • Added and updated a few of the reward previews for more clarity
• FIXES
  • Cables are more properly connected to their connector now. They won't look as weird when dragging them around.

thanks a ton for you patience, and we look forward to seeing you on the flat, gray fields of battle.
oogliboogli,