We have a pulse...

[Karawasa]

I wanted to share with the general community that we are still here, and working hard on releasing the newest version for you. The somewhat recent lack of activity from us (Beta Leaders) has been due to the private beta cycle we are currently in. Rest assured though that there has been no such lack of activity in the private development areas.

This would be a good time to offer my appreciation to everyone here, and a promise that the best is yet to come. I'll say this for the last time; the release will be worth the excruciating wait. The last time, because 4.0 onwards will see the "release early, release often" philosophy embodied in 4.1, 4.2...

We are still on for the deadline posted on the website, i.e. the release happens before the end of the year.

[Brule]

no need to rush Karawasa, as long you keep up the good work, i will be waiting paciently.

this is a great game, and if is for make the game even better, i can wait as long is necessary

[Megadramon]

We are still on for the deadline posted on the website, i.e. the release happens before the end of the year.

I'm so pumped for this version... I wonder how I can help the hype. Perhaps I can put a message in my host bot telling EleTD players when the next new official release will happen!

[Karawasa]

I'm so pumped for this version... I wonder how I can help the hype. Perhaps I can put a message in my host bot telling EleTD players when the next new official release will happen!

Yes, that sounds like a great idea. There is in fact something else I had in mind...I will PM you.

[Karawasa]

We will not be able to release 4.0 by the end of the year. I know this comes as a disappointment, but sure enough 4.0 will come soon. To be fair though, I'll explain some of the things causing delay. This alone is a teaser, but there is more.

1. Balance. With 4.0 release we are aiming for a much better state of balance. The balance of the builds (4-5-6 element combinations) and towers has been scrutinized in much more depth than previous versions. Currently we are wrapping up discussion regarding macro and game difficulty balance. After implementation, a short period for testing and tweaking.

2. Draft Pick. This is a new mode for the 4.0 release. Some of the delay is related to implementing this mode. DP is a mode designed to favor strategy over micro. It consists of three rounds of voting that determine the game. The first is a dual elimination round. Players vote on duals to eliminate, and the top five are removed from the game. The second is a triple elimination round. In this round the top seven triples are removed from the game. Finally, the element picking begins. One by one players pick elements to be in play, with a total of 14-16 picks. This mode is close to finished (I hope), and testing of it will begin shortly.

3. League Bot. Modifications to the map code are needed to allow collection of game data from the bot. Data collection is critical to have done before the release, so that the league itself can be built after the release. The league will be be accessible to anyone since the bot hosts the game for you. The bot will score your multiplayer games based on various variables. The league data will be accessible from both the clan channel and the website. The modifications to the game itself needed prior to the release should not (hopefully) delay things further than these other items.

4. Store. With the 4.0 release comes the launch of the official Element TD store. To start, custom designed mousepads (QPAD) with the 4.0 loadscreen image will be available from the store. Based on community feedback, more products such as posters, t-shirts etc. may also be offered in the future. Payment options will be Paypal and Google Checkout.

5. Sponsorship. Courtesy of QPAD, we will have mousepads as prizes to offer for tournament and contest (video, writing etc.) winners. In the future, prizes will expand to include new products offered in the store.

While I unfortunately cannot give an exact release date, I will say that an early January release is within reason. Rest assured that we are working hard and that there is much to look forward to.

[Guest Darkever00]

When can we expect the release of EleTD 4.0, more or less? Just to know if the date is near or I'll have to wait another month or two...

[Karawasa]

When can we expect the release of EleTD 4.0, more or less? Just to know if the date is near or I'll have to wait another month or two...

The date is near, you will not have to wait another month or two.

[jolin012]

We are about to Implement the Final Balance Changes required..., I guess?

[Guest Silfarion]

The date is near, you will not have to wait another month or two.

That's a great news! i want to see it soon, and i hope and i bet it will be great

[Guest DKthe13]

I am hosting a (small) LAN-party next week.

Any chance we can play EleTD 4.0 by then?

[Brule]

I am hosting a (small) LAN-party next week.

Any chance we can play EleTD 4.0 by then?

humm, i dont think next week is already done, will take a little while, is almost there, but will take more than one week sadly.

but dont worry, i know that every one is working hard to make this ready to go.

[Guest Rhyno_Payne]

Just a question, are you thinking of making an ETC clan? Pretty sure ur in TDA now. I guess ull have to wait a bit for a bigger user base. GL karawasa

[holepercent]

There is Clan ETD in northend (b.net) now already.. after league bot goes online, the other servers probably would get their clans (formed by beta leaders)..

[Guest ShadowDestroyer]

So... yeah, it has been another month and a half...

[Karawasa]

Ironic that you decided to post today. I was personally hoping to have it out by my birthday, but alas it is not so.

We are literally at the last steps though. Sometime this week I will release the next private beta, and it will have the last significant changes before release. From there, release should only be tweaks away.

We are working hard to bring you guys an unparalleled experience. I know the wait has been long, but we wanted to ensure that 4.0 is a worthy successor to the PB. Trust that there is a lot to look forward to.

[Guest ShadowDestroyer]

Sounds good,

Btw, Tropical Tag 3.1 is pretty much done, but I'd like to get it cleared by you.

[Guest Darkever00]

We are working hard to bring you guys an unparalleled experience. I know the wait has been long, but we wanted to ensure that 4.0 is a worthy successor to the PB. Trust that there is a lot to look forward to.

If you remade or changed unused towers, that will be more than enough to make me happy! With 'unused towers' I mean the ones that are too weak (Disease, Poison, Flame, Kindle, Life) or need manual control on either skill or target to be fully effective (Trickery, Quark, Ice, Oblivion, Impulse, Tidal)

[holepercent]

Disease is changed to another new tower.

Poison, Kindle, Life buffed

flame changed to a new tower

ice, quark changed to new towers

trickery improved, autocast added

oblivion, Impulse, Tidal remain..

Micro is part of the skill needed to play the game well. These towers are there to encourage players to micro well.

but yes.. the 4.0 will be something to play..

[Guest M45T3R]

I was hoping you would also balance voodoo (the damage is ridiculous, even with periodics) and disable the cooldown on windstorm.

[jolin012]

m45t3r you are aware that voodoo is a support tower? just like corrosion, polar, etc..

[Guest M45T3R]

Yes, but it is a damage support tower because it has no ability other than the curse piece of crap that does like 1 damage to all units.

[Guest Darkever00]

oblivion, Impulse, Tidal remain..

Other changes are more than enough!

These 3 towers are certainly not weak... only a bit troublesome to handle if you have to build many of them. I'd really love some sort of autocast on Tide that starts turned off, to activate when I feel lazy! XD

[Twilice]

Yes, but it is a damage support tower because it has no ability other than the curse piece of crap that does like 1 damage to all units.

You are wrong. it is a good support tower. But you should wait with it until the end when you have some slowers, and most important damage towers.

[Guest M45T3R]

And it's good because? Everyone thinks it's good because everyone uses it, but objectively, it only does around 100 000 damage in total at ronald stage (which is half of one hit of a buffed periodic), which is WORTHLESS. I don't care how many people are fooled, you can't say it's "good" just because everybody thinks so.

[jolin012]

you have certainly got a valid point, that nobody has actually proven voodoo in specific to be very useful. it should however be posted to a different topic if further discussed.