Leaks

[Karawasa]

After playing Tower Defense Tycoon I found out that you can survive for 15 minutes without building a single tower. That's the first 10 waves. A similar effect occurs in Squadron Tower Defense. There a leak catcher exists that will get you by for awhile. Element Tower Defense has no such mechanism. You can easily die before wave 10 if you are noob and not playing at the right difficulty. This turns off a lot of players.

Why should leaks early game count as much as leaks end game? I'm starting to think they shouldn't. I propose we change this.

What comes to mind for me is a progression system. The first 20 waves could count as 0.5, the second 20 as 1, and the last 20 as 1.5. This would allow noobs to survive longer. Top level players will not leak early anyway. Mid game remains the same. End game gets harder!

Thoughts? Alternative progression?

[holepercent]

Idea is worth considering.

One point to take note is new players tend to build right next to the start (at VII), which most of the time does not carry well into the mid game, especially when they tend to be single element towers or elemental rays/grenades. This is the point where experienced players would sell the rays/grenades and throw down the duals and triples.

What most new players would do is spend all their resources building right at the start, which allows them to clear at least the first 15 waves easily(besides the fast and undead waves). This defence starts to break down in the mid 20s if the player does not build towers at a slower placement. Most will not pick up the elemental damage system straight away and will usually leak their weakness.

One of the key issues is communicating to new players the mechanics of the game, such as summoning elementals, upgrading to duals/triples and the elemental damage system.

[Twilice]

If a player end up leaking a lot at level 1, the only change is that he will end up leaking even more levels eventually.

In the end the only thing that changes is that they are victimized slower.

And when most players that don't really know how to play (but they at least built towers) start to leak, it's usually past level 10-15 if not even later when combined elemental powers are needed. They will still lose 1 life.

I think it's just an unnecessary change that brings another piece of information for beginners.

What really needs to change is the way the menu works, it's just to many options. And after the game started, a new player that plays the map again might face something completely different without really knowing why.

And I'm not sure if random or non-random is easier for a new player, it might be confusing with random. But at least they get elemental towers. The reason why squadron TD for example might be more popular is that no matter what the modes are, your basic thing to do as a player is to build towers for the money you get from kills by building towers. Better towers cost more money. Then from that information you learn other strategies and such and get more advanced into gameplay to improve like getting builders and so on. But at least you can play it by just building towers.

I think the core values of Element TD somehow needs to be high lightened and then all other kind of information buried to be accessed with more effort. (those looking for it will find it, those not looking for it will not be confused) Right now Element TD seems to want to aim for the casual, adding more "fun modes" to deter from the competitive which occasionally turns away casual players. But what I think it actually does is making it even more confused for the first timers whit all the massive flow of information that can -easily- be accessed even without really wanting to. I'm not saying more modes are worse, because they will probably attract casuals, but only if they actually continue to play it and try them out. I'm just saying that more modes should be some kind of extra choice menu burrowed in some kind of "advanced settings".

Element TD needs to focus on the fundamental things in order to catch a player the very first time, a player might want to try it a second and a third time if they just understand what you are supposed to do. And if they did that, then they maybe want to try different things.

Okay so what I mean is, we need to help the confused leaking player in a direction in how to play. Instead of just giving them a disservice and making them repeat the same mistake for a longer period of time.

The core of Element TD for me is:

- basic

Build towers.

Summon elements to gain stronger towers every 5 levels.

Use elemental strengths to kill a wave, be careful of elemental weakness.

- advanced

Live on the edge (less money spent = more money gained)

- competitive

Game ends when there is 1 player left standing, and players affect each other by making the creep wave spawn. (this is something I personally would not like to see go, but I guess it's something that either needs to be focused more upon, or less upon.)

EDIT:

TL:DR

I think it's the wrong way to appeal to first timers.

[Karawasa]

Thank you for your input Twilice. I'm glad that you leaped from the shadows and posted.

[Karawasa]

I agree with both of you that this won't help players who make it to mid game then get owned. But I do see a lot of players who get owned early game, i.e. die before level 20.