Siege Craft Devlog #4: Core Gameplay Loop - Currency, Deck Choice, Combat Stats

Hello Siege Scape defenders!

It's been another productive sprint since our last update! We've focused heavily on enriching the core gameplay loop, adding new systems that give players more agency, making combat more tactical, and refining existing features based on testing. Let's dive in!

Core Systems Implemented: Currency & Choice

Two major pieces are now in place, adding significant depth to the run structure:

• Soul Essence Arrives: You'll now earn 'Soul Essence' as you defeat enemies during your runs! This new currency is tracked right on your main game HUD. While you can't spend it just yet, this system is the foundation for the upcoming in-run Card Shop where you'll be able to purchase upgrades and cards to power up your defense mid-game. We've also started adding variety to enemy rewards based on their type, making some foes more lucrative targets than others!
• Choose Your Starting Deck: Preparation is key! Before diving into a run, you can now interact in the Tavern area. This brings up the game setup screen where, alongside setting your run's seed and toggling Chaos Mode, you can now select your starting deck from a list of available options. We built out the UI to display these choices, and your selection correctly determines the cards you begin the run with. This adds a huge layer of strategic choice right from the beginning! (We also fixed a few UI bugs related to selection visuals and layout here).

Combat Gets Deeper: Smarter Enemies & Damage Types

We've made significant enhancements to make combat more engaging and tactical:

• Tag-Driven Stats: Enemies now feel much more distinct thanks to their descriptive tags! Instead of just generic stats, tags like "Heavy Armor," "Ethereal," or "Fast" now directly grant enemies corresponding defensive or movement characteristics. A heavily armored foe will genuinely shrug off more physical hits, while an ethereal one might resist magical attacks better. This makes identifying enemy types and choosing the right counter even more important.
• Damage Types & Resistances: To complement the new enemy stats, towers now deal specific Damage Types (initially Physical and Magical, based on the card used). When an enemy is hit, the game checks the incoming damage type against the enemy's relevant resistance (Armor for Physical, Magic Resist for Magical) and reduces the damage accordingly. High armor will significantly reduce physical damage, while high magic resist counters magical attacks. We also added a rule that attacks always deal at least 1 damage, preventing total immunity from high resistances. This system adds a critical layer of strategy to tower placement and card choices.

Refinements & Fixes

Alongside the new features, we addressed some important points:

• Tag Handling: We cleaned up how enemy tags are managed behind the scenes, centralizing their definitions for better consistency and easier updates down the line.
• Random Seed Fix: Leaving the seed blank when starting a run now correctly generates a random seed based on the system time, ensuring better run variety when desired.
• UI Polish: Fixed issues where deck selection visuals weren't updating correctly and button layouts were overlapping.

What's Next?

With these foundational systems for in-run currency, pre-run choice, and tactical combat now in place, the focus shifts towards:

• Implementing the In-Run Card Shop (where you'll spend that Soul Essence!).
• Starting work on the Meta-Progression systems (Gold currency, Tavern Meta-Shop).
• Integrating the Relic System.
• Expanding Card Effects and Building Level-Up Effects.

It feels great to have these core gameplay elements interacting and the combat starting to show real depth. Thanks for following along!

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