Hey everyone, I hope you're all well. It's with mixed feelings today that I announce that Alarameth TD will shortly be retired from the Steam storefront. This wasn't an easy decision, but there are a lot of factors that came into play here and ultimately this is the direction I needed to go. For those who previously purchased the game, you probably won't notice any change. The game should still show up in your Steam library and be available to download/play. Support will still be handled via email at alarameth-td@mattgadient.com . Because there will undoubtedly be some edge cases where somebody didn't use a key they received after the Desura (Bad Juju Games) bankruptcy, bought a key from some shady 3rd party site that no longer works, or bought the game but can't download/play because of insert-issue-here, I've decided to provide free downloads of the game moving forward on my website. Similar to the process following the Desura bankruptcy, I want to avoid a situation where someone feels like they may have to buy the game twice due to circumstances beyond their control. So at least for the time being, the game will be essentially free to download for anyone who wants it. You can find downloads for Windows/Mac/Linux by going to https://mattgadient.com/alarameth-td/ and visiting the Download section. Again, for those who already purchased on Steam you shouldn't need to use them. But they're there if you do. Finally, a thank you to all of you who sent along feedback (good and bad) over the last 6 years. It's been much appreciated. I wish you all the best. -Matt

[ 2021-09-08 23:03:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch contains a couple bug fixes and increases Level 7 start energy. v1.0.14 Changelog

• Fix: Cannon Towers could continuously fail a number of line-of-sight checks, resulting in them only attacking at specific angles. This resulted in Cannon Towers often not firing as soon as possible, or not firing at all in rare circumstances. This has been fixed, with damage modifiers slightly scaled back to compensate.
• UI: The hover hotkey for tower build icons was persisting if the build menu was cancelled via right-click or by pausing. This has been corrected.
• Level 7: Starting energy increased from 400->550.

Those minimally affected by the Cannon Tower issue should see a slight overall reduction in difficulty. Those who were heavily affected will likely see a more notable reduction in difficulty. The Level 7 energy increase is intended to reduce the likeliness of needing numerous attempts to beat the level, as it is a particularly long level. --- Please report bugs and send feedback either via email to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forums. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-11 16:48:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch contains a couple bug fixes and increases Level 7 start energy. v1.0.14 Changelog

• Fix: Cannon Towers could continuously fail a number of line-of-sight checks, resulting in them only attacking at specific angles. This resulted in Cannon Towers often not firing as soon as possible, or not firing at all in rare circumstances. This has been fixed, with damage modifiers slightly scaled back to compensate.
• UI: The hover hotkey for tower build icons was persisting if the build menu was cancelled via right-click or by pausing. This has been corrected.
• Level 7: Starting energy increased from 400->550.

Those minimally affected by the Cannon Tower issue should see a slight overall reduction in difficulty. Those who were heavily affected will likely see a more notable reduction in difficulty. The Level 7 energy increase is intended to reduce the likeliness of needing numerous attempts to beat the level, as it is a particularly long level. --- Please report bugs and send feedback either via email to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forums. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-11 16:48:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch brings changes based upon specific requests and feedback. v1.0.13 Changelog

• Pause Functionality: If paused via the “P” or “SPACE” key, it is now possible to navigate the play area and build/sell towers. Holding down an additional key is no longer necessary.
• HotKey: “U” can now be used to upgrade a selected tower.
• HotKey: The # keys (1-7) can be used to build a tower in the selected space. When hovering the mouse over the build icon, the corresponding number will be shown on the build icon itself. Note that to maintain consistency across levels, the numbers do not correspond to the current number of available towers, and instead have fixed assignments based on their position in the build menu once all towers are available. In other words, the Arrow Tower will always be triggered with “1”, while the Wizard Tower will always be triggered with “7”.
• Level 11: It is now possible to disable the “boss detection beam” by [spoiler]placing 2 towers in it’s path[/spoiler]. Once disabled, it will remain disabled for the remainder of the attempt.
• Level 11: One of the golem (boss) waves did not correctly indicate that it breaks 2 inventions when the creature was selected. This has been corrected.
• Level 13: The first creatures to arrive will now be delayed by an additional 5 seconds.
• Level 13: Starting income has been increased from 400->575.

Please report bugs and send feedback either via email to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forums. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-10 18:12:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch brings changes based upon specific requests and feedback. v1.0.13 Changelog

• Pause Functionality: If paused via the P or SPACE key, it is now possible to navigate the play area and build/sell towers. Holding down an additional key is no longer necessary.
• HotKey: U can now be used to upgrade a selected tower.
• HotKey: The # keys (1-7) can be used to build a tower in the selected space. When hovering the mouse over the build icon, the corresponding number will be shown on the build icon itself. Note that to maintain consistency across levels, the numbers do not correspond to the current number of available towers, and instead have fixed assignments based on their position in the build menu once all towers are available. In other words, the Arrow Tower will always be triggered with 1, while the Wizard Tower will always be triggered with 7.
• Level 11: It is now possible to disable the boss detection beam by [spoiler]placing 2 towers in its path[/spoiler]. Once disabled, it will remain disabled for the remainder of the attempt.
• Level 11: One of the golem (boss) waves did not correctly indicate that it breaks 2 inventions when the creature was selected. This has been corrected.
• Level 13: The first creatures to arrive will now be delayed by an additional 5 seconds.
• Level 13: Starting income has been increased from 400->575.

Please report bugs and send feedback either via email to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forums. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-10 18:12:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch is primarily intended to bring the difficulty of the Dwarven Mine (Level 9) closer to it’s intended level. v1.0.12 Changelog

• Level 9: A number of waves have been rebalanced. The level should be significantly easier overall on both the “standard” and “reduced” difficulty levels.
• Tips: The automatic tip for a level will only appear if tips weren’t already manually activated with the “h” key.

While I'm hopeful that players will now find the difficulty of Level 9 more in-tune with the rest of the game, please be sure to leave feedback if you find that not to be the case. Feedback can be sent to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forum. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-03 15:12:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

This patch is primarily intended to bring the difficulty of the Dwarven Mine (Level 9) closer to its intended level. v1.0.12 Changelog

• Level 9: A number of waves have been rebalanced. The level should be significantly easier overall on both the standard and reduced difficulty levels.
• Tips: The automatic tip for a level will only appear if tips werent already manually activated with the h key.

While I'm hopeful that players will now find the difficulty of Level 9 more in-tune with the rest of the game, please be sure to leave feedback if you find that not to be the case. Feedback can be sent to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forum. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-03 15:12:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

A difficulty switch has been added, and some other minor changes have taken place in this patch. v1.0.11 Changelog

• Feature: A “Reduced Difficulty” switch has been added to the level selection screen. When enabled, the need to build specific damage towers to counter specific armor types is significantly reduced, allowing players to focus on mazing without having to worry as much about precisely which creatures are coming on each wave.
• Music: Should be less likely to cut out when a high number of other sounds are playing.
• Tips: You can now press the “H” key at any time to see the next tip for that level. This can be repeated if you would like to see all the tips for the level at the beginning.
• Level 9: It is now possible to zoom out much further (12->18). Please send bug reports with your screen resolution if this results in being able to see “over the edge” of the play area on your monitor.
• Level 9: Starting energy has been increased from 300->350.

Both the standard and reduced difficulty levels may require additional tuning. When providing feedback regarding difficulty, please be sure to state which difficulty level you're playing under! Feedback can be sent to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forum. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-02 12:35:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

A difficulty switch has been added, and some other minor changes have taken place in this patch. v1.0.11 Changelog

• Feature: A Reduced Difficulty switch has been added to the level selection screen. When enabled, the need to build specific damage towers to counter specific armor types is significantly reduced, allowing players to focus on mazing without having to worry as much about precisely which creatures are coming on each wave.
• Music: Should be less likely to cut out when a high number of other sounds are playing.
• Tips: You can now press the H key at any time to see the next tip for that level. This can be repeated if you would like to see all the tips for the level at the beginning.
• Level 9: It is now possible to zoom out much further (12->18). Please send bug reports with your screen resolution if this results in being able to see over the edge of the play area on your monitor.
• Level 9: Starting energy has been increased from 300->350.

Both the standard and reduced difficulty levels may require additional tuning. When providing feedback regarding difficulty, please be sure to state which difficulty level you're playing under! Feedback can be sent to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forum. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-02 12:35:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

While the last 2 patches focused on difficulty/balance improvements, this patch is intended to help address a few other reported issues. v1.0.10 Changelog

• Level 9: The Dwarf Mine has a darker, dirtier appearance which should be easier on the eyes. Cloud path indicators are larger and white, which should be significantly easier to see.
• Hotkey: Holding the “C” key down can now be used to only allow creatures to be selected from the play area. This can be useful if you prefer to select creatures from the play area instead of the side panel, and will prevent towers from being selected (or the build menu from being triggered) until the “C” key is released.
• Achievements: The “Bare Minimum” achievement is less restrictive and no longer limited to Level 5 (Frost Prison). It can now be obtained on any level except for Level 12 (Gnome Labs). This should result in the achievement being obtained more frequently during natural play, and should allow completionists to obtain this achievement on the level they would prefer.
• Achievements: The “Bye, Dalton!” achievement is less restrictive and no longer requires beating Level 10 (Town Hall) with exactly 159 lives. It can now be obtained by winning with 150-159 lives.
• Fix: In rare cases, it was possible that winning Level 14 would only provide the local achievement and not the Steam achievement. This has been corrected.
• Steam: Achievements mentioning “Delende” now use standard english characters in the Steam client to avoid an issue with special characters.

Please continue to report all areas of issue (difficulty, balance, bugs, usability, etc), as further changes will be made based upon continued input. Feedback can be sent to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forum. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-01 08:20:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

While the last 2 patches focused on difficulty/balance improvements, this patch is intended to help address a few other reported issues. v1.0.10 Changelog

• Level 9: The Dwarf Mine has a darker, dirtier appearance which should be easier on the eyes. Cloud path indicators are larger and white, which should be significantly easier to see.
• Hotkey: Holding the C key down can now be used to only allow creatures to be selected from the play area. This can be useful if you prefer to select creatures from the play area instead of the side panel, and will prevent towers from being selected (or the build menu from being triggered) until the C key is released.
• Achievements: The Bare Minimum achievement is less restrictive and no longer limited to Level 5 (Frost Prison). It can now be obtained on any level except for Level 12 (Gnome Labs). This should result in the achievement being obtained more frequently during natural play, and should allow completionists to obtain this achievement on the level they would prefer.
• Achievements: The Bye, Dalton! achievement is less restrictive and no longer requires beating Level 10 (Town Hall) with exactly 159 lives. It can now be obtained by winning with 150-159 lives.
• Fix: In rare cases, it was possible that winning Level 14 would only provide the local achievement and not the Steam achievement. This has been corrected.
• Steam: Achievements mentioning Delende now use standard english characters in the Steam client to avoid an issue with special characters.

Please continue to report all areas of issue (difficulty, balance, bugs, usability, etc), as further changes will be made based upon continued input. Feedback can be sent to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or by creating a new thread in the discussion forum. Thanks!

[ 2015-07-01 08:20:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small update with tweaks to damage output and armor information, with an overall intent of making both wins and achievements attainable for a larger portion of the player base. Changes are focused primarily in levels 2/3 which are currently the largest hurdles for a number of players. Additional adjustments may be made based upon continued feedback. v1.0.9 Changelog

• Level 2: Starting energy increased from 130->145.
• Level 3: Starting energy increased from 175->195.
• Level 8: The first wave will now be delayed by an extra second.
• Balance: Arrow and Poison towers now do slightly more damage to the creatures they are weakest against (heavy/medium armor units).
• Balance: Cannon and Explosive towers now do slightly more damage to the creatures they are weakest against (unarmored, light armor, medium armor).
• Balance: Laser towers now do slightly more damage to medium armor.
• Manual: Updated to include new damage modifiers.
• UI: The number of lives bosses take in each level is now listed in bold when they are selected.
• UI: The “leak details” in the Victory/Defeat screen now mentions the unit’s armor type.
• UI: Previously only the volunteers in Level 1 indicated what tower they were most vulnerable to when selected. This has been extended through the first 3 levels. For example, instead of simply mentioning “Heavy armor”, it will say “Heavy armor (vulnerable to Cannon Towers)”.
• UI: One of the tips in Level 12 was removed, as it implied that a very specific strategy might be required, which is not the case.
• Fix: One of the bosses in Level 15 did not cost the correct amount of lives. Another did, but didn’t indicate it. Both have been fixed.

Send your feedback to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or create a thread in the discussion forum. If possible, please include a screenshot of your tower build with any emails, as these make it easier to pinpoint and address areas of difficulty. Thanks!

[ 2015-06-29 04:45:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Another small update with tweaks to damage output and armor information, with an overall intent of making both wins and achievements attainable for a larger portion of the player base. Changes are focused primarily in levels 2/3 which are currently the largest hurdles for a number of players. Additional adjustments may be made based upon continued feedback. v1.0.9 Changelog

• Level 2: Starting energy increased from 130->145.
• Level 3: Starting energy increased from 175->195.
• Level 8: The first wave will now be delayed by an extra second.
• Balance: Arrow and Poison towers now do slightly more damage to the creatures they are weakest against (heavy/medium armor units).
• Balance: Cannon and Explosive towers now do slightly more damage to the creatures they are weakest against (unarmored, light armor, medium armor).
• Balance: Laser towers now do slightly more damage to medium armor.
• Manual: Updated to include new damage modifiers.
• UI: The number of lives bosses take in each level is now listed in bold when they are selected.
• UI: The leak details in the Victory/Defeat screen now mentions the units armor type.
• UI: Previously only the volunteers in Level 1 indicated what tower they were most vulnerable to when selected. This has been extended through the first 3 levels. For example, instead of simply mentioning Heavy armor, it will say Heavy armor (vulnerable to Cannon Towers).
• UI: One of the tips in Level 12 was removed, as it implied that a very specific strategy might be required, which is not the case.
• Fix: One of the bosses in Level 15 did not cost the correct amount of lives. Another did, but didnt indicate it. Both have been fixed.

Send your feedback to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or create a thread in the discussion forum. If possible, please include a screenshot of your tower build with any emails, as these make it easier to pinpoint and address areas of difficulty. Thanks!

[ 2015-06-29 04:45:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is a small incremental patch focused primarily on slight tweaks to damage output. Details below. v1.0.8 Changelog

• Balance: Cannon Towers and Explosive Towers now do 3x their previous damage to unarmored units. Note that this is still a small amount, and unarmored units are still a Cannon Tower's worst matchup.
• Balance: Laser Towers now do slightly more damage to medium armor units than they did before.
• Level 4: The selection text for the mutated worms in Wave 2 now correctly indicates that they are indeed poison immune.

Primary reasons for balance changes:

• Early builds that had a heavier weight on Cannon Towers and included unarmored units in the initial waves were often “punished” beyond recovery due to the extremely low damage modifier that Cannon Towers had against these units.
• Mid game builds that had a lower weight on Laser Towers, or did not min/max their placement were often at a significant disadvantage in waves containing medium armor units.
• An overall intention to decrease level and achievement difficulty.
• An overall intention to allow more flexibility in builds.

Note that these changes are somewhat small, and further changes are likely to come incrementally based upon feedback. Send your feedback to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or create a thread in the discussion forum. If possible, please include a screenshot of your tower build with any emails, as these make it easier to pinpoint and address areas of difficulty. Thanks!

[ 2015-06-27 08:19:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is a small incremental patch focused primarily on slight tweaks to damage output. Details below. v1.0.8 Changelog

• Balance: Cannon Towers and Explosive Towers now do 3x their previous damage to unarmored units. Note that this is still a small amount, and unarmored units are still a Cannon Tower's worst matchup.
• Balance: Laser Towers now do slightly more damage to medium armor units than they did before.
• Level 4: The selection text for the mutated worms in Wave 2 now correctly indicates that they are indeed poison immune.

Primary reasons for balance changes:

• Early builds that had a heavier weight on Cannon Towers and included unarmored units in the initial waves were often punished beyond recovery due to the extremely low damage modifier that Cannon Towers had against these units.
• Mid game builds that had a lower weight on Laser Towers, or did not min/max their placement were often at a significant disadvantage in waves containing medium armor units.
• An overall intention to decrease level and achievement difficulty.
• An overall intention to allow more flexibility in builds.

Note that these changes are somewhat small, and further changes are likely to come incrementally based upon feedback. Send your feedback to alarameth-td@mattgadient.com or create a thread in the discussion forum. If possible, please include a screenshot of your tower build with any emails, as these make it easier to pinpoint and address areas of difficulty. Thanks!

[ 2015-06-27 08:19:12 CET ] [ Original post ]