Version 0.7.0

Hey there - it's been a while!

I decided to try out the new AI coding assistants, and I’m happy to say that Cursor did a solid job adding features to this project. I’m not sure it actually saved me time overall, but explaining what I wanted it to do was definitely more enjoyable than making all the JavaScript changes by hand. It makes me wonder if programming is quickly shifting toward a higher level of abstraction - where we describe what we want instead of doing it directly — and what that might mean for our skills and learning in the near future.

The main focus of this update is on balancing. In spite of having dozens of units and relics in the game, my personal winning runs often gravitated towards a very small subset of them (summoning + transmogrifying), and I suspected that best players out there were doing something similar. I set out to rebalance the game to make a broader set of strategies viable.

The full list of changes:

• Dwellings now offer 2 unit windows instead of 1. Each window can be refreshed independently. As a result, you can obtain two types of units without spending a refresh token. You also have a much higher chance of obtaining a larger amount of the same unit type. This should significantly improve strategies relying on dwellings.
• Distribution of rewards on each level has been adjusted:
  • Less resources at higher levels
  • More army growers and triggers
  • More encounters, especially at higher levels
  • More taverns and blacksmiths, specially at lower levels
• Previously, any encounter could appear at any level. Now, some encounters with lower payoffs can only appear at lower levels.
• New type of building - Gambling Den. You can pick one of three choices presented, with examples like:
  • "pay 1 refresh token to get 80% chance of a curse and 20% chance of obtaining 2 tier 3 Demon units"
  • "pay 4 refresh tokens to get 20% chance of a curse and 80% chance of obtaining 10 tier 2 Human units"
  • "pay X gold to get 20% chance of a curse and 80% chance of obtaining 2 tier 3 Neutral units"
• Relic changes:
  • Mjolnir and Mjolnir+ have been nerfed to deal 30% damage (down from 50%)
  • Blademail has been nerfed to add 1x defense stat to retaliation damage (down from 2x defense)
  • Lighter Armor has been nerfed to add +1 movement (down from +2)
  • Boiling Blood has been nerfed back to +5 attack for Demons (down from +8)
  • Blacksmith building now only adds +1 damage (down from +2). Mighty Anvil relic has been nerfed to only add +1 damage to future Blacksmiths.
  • Summoner+ has been removed
  • Recycling Plant - a new relic that reimburses you for 10% of the cost of units fallen in battle (both yours and opponent's)
  • Transmutation Circle - a new relic that gives you a refresh token every time you transmogrify a unit
  • Masochist - a new relic that gives you 10% bonus damage for each of your curses
  • Downsizing Dividends - a new relic that gives you `stack hp / 500` refresh tokens when you dismiss a unit stack
  • Compound Interest - a new relic that triggers `stack hp / 1000` unique growers when you dismiss a unit stack
  • War Chest - a new relic that gives your army `refresh tokens / 10` bonus attack

Hopefully these changes upend the current meta and breathe new life into the game. Please report any bugs - or just share any feedback. Happy playing!