This month, a lot of work went into making the game run faster. On the developer’s test machine, the game went from 50% idle CPU usage down to 10-15%. Lots of code improvements implemented here will also make it easier for the developer to add new content. This change is running now!
The next combat unit is the Overlord. It commands and coordinates your other troops during battle, improving their health and attack power. The Overlord, and the next few combat zones where you’ll both fight against Overlords and unlock them for your own use, are ready - but they’re not yet visible. Their first appearance will be in War Swarms’ first temporary league.
Action RPG fans might already be familiar with the idea of temporary leagues. Here’s how they’ll work:
- Once the league begins, create a new character/swarm and select the new league. Existing swarms cannot change their league - everyone starts from the beginning.
- Enjoy playing the new league, with its new features and empty leaderboards.
- When the temporary league ends - date to be announced; probably in about a month - its swarms will move to the permanent Standard League. Your progress during the temporary league will not be lost.
- If the developer feels the temporary league’s new rules/features went well, they’ll be permanently added to the game. After Overlord League ends, you’ll probably be able to build Overlords in the permanent Standard League and in all future temporary leagues.
“Why?” Temporary leagues allow the developer to experiment with new features and game balance changes, with far less danger of a bad idea impacting your permanent characters’ progress. Temporary leagues also give everyone a fair chance at the leaderboards - whether you’ve played the game for three minutes or three years, everyone in a temporary league starts from the same place.
Overlord League will begin 12/15/2017, 12:00:00 AM UTC - click for your time zone.
Finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: at the time Overlord League starts, I’ll create a new post in /r/warswarms with some beta invites up for grabs. The game is still very incomplete, but temporary leagues are a big milestone, and I could use some more feedback. First come, first served; set your alarms now.
I usually aim to make at least one news post a month. It’s typically at the start of each month, but there won’t be one at the start of January. Expect the next major news post to be mid-January; a short mid-December update might (or might not) happen too. Happy holidays!