Introduction

Hello Everyone, Toy Tanks has now garnered 1000+ views and 200+ downloads! And wow, does it feel awesome, thank you all so much! I wanted to take this opportunity to take stock of where the project stands and where I intend to take it in the near future. We are now getting quite close to the 1.0 release, I intend to release the game on Steam before the end of this upcoming March. That's only about 3-4 months away! So what does that mean for the state of the free Itch.io version of the game? 

Free vs Paid Version

My idea is to keep the game completely entirely free on itch.io but limit some of the content that can be accessed on this version. Currently, you can play Levels 1 through 9, 11 through 19, and 21 through 23. That is 21 levels. As I finalize and complete the 3rd campaign I will also make levels 24 through 29 also available for free on this demo. Meaning that the entire base campaign experience will be free except for the primary bosses for each campaign: Levels 10, 20, and 30. While this may seem a bit foolish, This is my first real "commercial" project and I want this to be a thank you to everyone who has believed in the project and supported it in some way, it means a lot to me to know that there are some people out there who smiled a bit more then usual one day because of this game. Other content I plan to lock off is PvP, Player vs Player content has taken a bit of a back seat to the Campaign, but that doesn't mean that It's not a huge part of the experience I want to create. I grew up playing indie xbox store couch co-op games with my friends after school. I know how impactful even a basic PvP experience can be. So although as of right now I don't intend to include PvP in the free version of the game, I would not be surprised if it did end up appearing here, in the free version, in some capacity.  Most of the unlockable tanks will also be exclusive to the paid version, along with any other extra features I end up having the time and funds to create: An endless Binding of Isaac like gamemode, A level creator, A tank creator, gamemode modifiers... etc. 

The Future

I plan to register the game for Steam's Next Fest Festival, a multi-day celebration of upcoming games. Explore and play hundreds of game demos, watch developer livestreams, and chat with teams about their games in progress. The event will take place February 21-28, 2022 @10AM PST. Hopefully this will help get  the game out there to a wider audience, I would really appreciate any and all support during this event!

I also plan to host a Kickstarter for the game to decide whether or not the interest justifies some of those extra features I'd love to have in the game but just don't have the resources to be able to commit to creating, Online multiplayer being an example.  I will post a link to the Kickstarter here as a devlog once the time comes. 

Latest Update

I have just released a version of the game that includes level 2 in the 3rd campaign(Level 3-2). This level is particularly important because it is my first attempt at creating a mini boss for the game. The boss has two phases, a stationary phase and a non-stationary phase. The mini boss isn't intended to be as complex as the primary bosses of the game but maybe it'll show you the philosophy I'll have moving forward. If you do get a chance to check it out, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

The newest version also features two new standard enemy types, Crimson Tank & Tracer Tank. Crimson tries to bombard the player will low-damage, high-knockback, short ranged shots to overwhelm and distract the player. While Tracer is a slow moving, show shooting, heavy hitter. His shots are equipped with the Zap & Tracking gadget. Getting hit by one of Tracers slow traveling, tracking rounds will stun the player temporarily on impact. Let me know what you all think about these two tanks as they are still under development and are certainly subject to balance changes. 

While not in the playable demo yet, I have been playing around with a "Heat" meter, a bar that continually goes down but gets pumped up whenever you do damage or destroy a tank. The goal being to incentive and reward face paced gameplay. I am thinking about the speed runners here, I love and respect the practice and plan to bake mechanics directly into the game because of it. Your "Heat" level will determine the amount of stars you will receive on completion of the level. I am interested to see what strategies players come up with to maximize their heat. Be on the lookout for that. 

Outro

If you'd like to talk to me about the game, join our discord server:  https://discord.gg/9D2ysgAUuk

Wish list the game on steam to show your support: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1345440/Toy_Tanks/ 

Thank you to all of you who read this devlog, it truly means a lot. I will do my very best to create something that is genuinely worth smiling over. :-)

- Rodney Luck