We're heading into January now. Which means that Efencea is due for a release, as mentioned in my previous post--you may want to look at this first if you have no idea what Efencea is.

I'm happy to report that progress has been sufficient to go along with an early January release date. I'd like to say January 5th, although, I've got a few more things to implement.

What's New?

The GUI has been updated:


(A little more was changed than I had expected. Tayoko likes to surprise me with neat ideas.)
You'll notice, if you browsed my last Efencea blog, that there are quite a few differences in the main GUI. Some colors have been changed and a few new things have been added. Out of all the changes I'd like to direct your attention to the bottom right of the image.

This is where I introduce you to the -Boss- units. Each team will have three generals that, once they have enough Boss points, they may send as a single, very tough, opponent for the opposing team. As it currently stands, players are simply prompted with

when the time comes for them to send out a general. However, you may not have access to all three and you can expect 3 different generals if you're playing the aliens.

Aside from setting up the bosses, we threw together a small options window for people who would like to alter a few of the games settings.
Currently, players may change their sound settings--there isn't much else for individual players to change.

What's Left?
1) I need to implement bonuses, special things that players can accomplish to offset the balance of power. Mostly, these consist of challenging tasks, for instance, Revenge is a bonus that gives extra wave points to a player, who just received damage, dishing out more damage than he/she just received.

2) After bonuses are finished, at least the initial set of them, we need to do extensive play-testing to make sure there is a happy balance with the introduction of bosses and bonuses.

3) Release to public.

What of Efencea's Future?
I plan to implement a few more things after the public release. I still want to implement a ranking system, but I would rather that most of the bugs/balance issues be worked out before then. Also, I'm planning on implementing more maps and multiple hosting options for a later update. Then there comes the idea of making this 1-player by implementing AI. I've yet to ponder too deeply into how to make an effective AI opponent, however. Depending on the reception Efencea receives there may be offshoot games or a follow-up--if there is much of a reception at all, there will be fixes and updates to Efencea.