Since our last update on our demo, we’ve been carefully reviewing our community’s feedback and took some exceptional ideas and suggestions on board for our game development. Take a peek at what features we’re currently working on and see if your suggestions made it into our list. [h1]SURPRISE BATTLES[/h1] Surprise battles can put you at a disadvantage during battles by starting a few bars back on the time bar allowing the enemy to have a first crack at your goblins. Previously, this mechanic was only available during surprise encounters with hidden enemies. To give our players another way of strategizing their battles, we added a few conditions to allow a surprise battle with the enemy at the disadvantage this time. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/3832640d9b3422ebff168202c16bddefdc143ea3.gif[/img] During normal encounters, goblins can ambush enemies by "sneaking" behind patrolling enemies that are facing away from the player. If the player’s goblins sneak up on an enemy successfully, there is a chance to surprise the enemy group. Surprised enemies will start the battle with a 1.5 to 2 time unit penalty. Giving the goblins an advantage in battle. However, this goes both ways. If the player’s goblins are facing the opposite direction of the enemy while being chased by the enemy, the goblins will be surprised instead. The same time unit penalty will apply to the goblins. [h1]SNEAK MECHANIC[/h1] At the start of our demo where you will first encounter an adventurer, you will notice that the goblins do not have the ability to sneak yet, even though the narrator hints at it. In the build we are currently working on, we added the sneak animation to add some personality to our wily goblins, and to introduce this game mechanic. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/92a46fef75302c8dffaddbb7b9bf538137d67a4c.gif[/img] Not only does the sneak mechanic allow the goblins to move slowly while tiptoeing, sneaking also allows them to trigger a surprise battle on unsuspecting enemies. To sneak, you can either hold the left shift while walking or hold down the right mouse button. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/df48d1571b9dc44314801580adb57f8cb21f4bbb.gif[/img] [h1]RUMMAGEABLES[/h1] Another fun feature that involves this new sneaking mechanic are hidden loot that are sprinkled across the level. We like to call these types of loot ‘rummageables’. While adventuring, you may notice a very brief glimmer as you move across the screen. These twinkles indicate hidden items are nearby that you can rummage for. These can be materials, junk, or even gold. You can only uncover and interact with the rummageable while sneaking. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/212074698cb2d702b995f087efb50e32ac6a719e.gif[/img] [h1]ABILITY DECK UI[/h1] In our previous developer’s update, we talked about the Ability deck. This feature is fully implemented in our game and the team is now focused on adding the UI designs for the ability deck menu. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/c33ada27eb775f313de6a7c820d711d7936635de.png[/img] The first photo shows the old design way back when the game only allowed equipping 2 abilities per class. In the latest design, each class can now equip 4 abilities. We also added some animations for flair for when a new ability gets unlocked, VFX are soon to follow. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/c248357f6560128f0e34873fc3bc8226c538a18c.gif[/img] These are just a few of the things we’ve been working on. Apart from these features, there's a whole lot going on in the form of actual game content and story such as new enemies, new abilities, illustrations, new levels, etc. most of which are unfortunately spoilers. We hope you enjoyed this sneak peek at the new stuff coming to Goblin Stone! If you haven’t already, please add the game to your Steam Wishlist so you can be notified of new development blogs like this as we journey into Early Access. [url=https://discord.gg/RHh6G8YdAb][img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//39644358/e7e2242b4cd78a63af7c3309da91590048318e43.png[/img] [/url]