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Jonas Tyroller25 Mar 2018

Suddenly My Game Is Fun Again!

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
The developer transitioned from randomized unit movement to a swipe-based system, granting players direct control over egg-hatching directions and tactical navigation.
02
The upgrade bar now fills automatically, with a mechanic that accelerates progression three times faster when no eggs are present on the screen to create a strategic trade-off.
03
Core gameplay was simplified by removing slow-hatching red eggs and implementing a restriction against stacking eggs to reduce user frustration.
04
Hit detection for unit creation was loosened to improve accessibility and reduce the need for high-precision inputs during chaotic gameplay.
05
The introduction of walls allows for more deliberate map navigation and strategic expansion, replacing the previous model of uncontrollable, omnidirectional unit spreading.

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Transcript

hey this Jonah's making video games with you I made some really cool changes to over Sonova you can see the first one here X only hatch creatures in one direction now they're still coming two creatures out of every egg but they're only going in your swipe direction that actually allows you to move around the map now that we have walls this change was absolutely necessary because otherwise you would just keep spreading in all directions without having all that much control over where your units go that's a lot better now you can go to the left you can go through right you have even more decisions now you can spread in both directions as earlier by sending some of your eggs to the left some of right in general that just means more options which is good another big changes that I removed red X so X always hatched with the same speed now but you cannot place them on top of each other honestly it was a pretty superb female strategy to create X on top of each other because they hatched a lot slower so I just decided to do it like this also now that we have bigger

maps smaller creatures that means you don't have to click that precisely if you just want to create one egg when there are a lot of units on top of each other that usually meant you had to have very precise aim now you can just broadly swipe over them and you don't have to be worried about that you accidentally create a lot of red eggs that won't happen anymore and here you can already see it's really cool that you can now control the direction of the units even better this time I tried a different strategy and I send all of them to the left last time I send all of them to the right they're just different things you can try now as of that more options just more options and more control alrighty another big change I made is how you get upgrades you see that bar at the top it's still more or less the same but it constantly fills up you don't have to do anything special it just fills up over time and as soon as it's full you get the upgrade there's only one special rule that makes it a little more

interesting and that is if you have no X on the screen it fills up three times as fast if you don't have any eggs it fills up three times as fast let it sink in a little bit so actually it works pretty much the same waited before just with a more elegant rule set easier to understand just works a little better in general I think you still have that decision okay do I create a lot of X and get the upgrades a little later or do I not create that many X and creatures and forget the appraisal it'll faster you still have that decision that's perfect also I fix quite a couple of bucks and runs a little more stable now when I implemented the words I was still pretty scared that this game plays not so well it wasn't all that fun but now that I made a couple of little tweaks to the gameplay and fix a couple of bugs it plays a lot better it's a lot more fun now I'm really happy with the result also look how cool this level looks isn't that cool to look at I really like

it just defending hearts and hearts of enemies really awesome so yeah once again in this level this is more or less what happens when you go to the left and this is what happens when you go to the right as I said it's really cool that you have some options now because earlier when those xsplit in both directions you didn't really have that option sure you could try to expand somewhere but it was kind of a waste of your resources to just give up the creatures on one side so you had to expand in both direction or less now you can really just focus on one direction on both directions you can go wherever the hell you want it's beautiful but let's not make this video too long just tell me what you think about these changes in the comments do you have any ideas to improve this even further there will be more changes very soon there will also be a new update on each thought I oh very soon so keep an eye out for that I have a couple of ideas how we could make this game even better and it's gonna be so cool it's gonna be so cool it's gonna be unbelievable it's it's true once again thanks for all of

your great support your great ideas make sure with your play go and have an amazing day see you in the next one peace out [Music]

Summary

The development of the real-time strategy game Ovus Nova has undergone significant mechanical refinements to improve player agency and overall engagement. By shifting from a system where egg-hatching directions were randomized to one where players dictate the direction of unit movement via swipes, the game now offers greater tactical control. This change, coupled with the introduction of walls, allows for more deliberate map navigation and strategic expansion, moving away from the previous model of uncontrollable, omnidirectional unit spreading.

Additional adjustments focus on streamlining core mechanics to reduce frustration and improve accessibility. The removal of red eggs—which previously hatched at slower speeds—and the implementation of a restriction against stacking eggs have simplified the user experience. Furthermore, the hit detection for unit creation has been loosened, allowing players to interact with the game world without requiring excessive precision during chaotic moments. These changes collectively address previous issues regarding unit management and input accuracy, resulting in a more fluid gameplay loop.

The upgrade system has also been refined to provide a more intuitive progression path. The upgrade bar now fills automatically over time, with a strategic incentive: the bar fills three times faster when no eggs are present on the screen. This creates a meaningful trade-off for the player, forcing a choice between immediate unit production and faster access to upgrades. These iterative improvements, combined with bug fixes and enhanced stability, have successfully transitioned the project into a more polished and enjoyable state, demonstrating the effectiveness of community-driven feedback in the indie game development process.