Hey pixeldinosaur,
thanks for your heartwarming feedback.
It is always very motivating to read such comments.
You have very well recognized the weaknesses of the current design :)
A small view into a hopefully happy future:
The upgrading will move out of the forest and into a safe camp. We are aware that the upgrade does not have enough depth at the moment. Therefore we have planned completely new upgrades. These will bring completely new mechanics into the game. For example a companion that helps with collecting or fighting or a small turret at the top of the wagon.
Furthermore the cats will get different weapons to allow different play styles. The weapons should also offer three attack patterns. "fast hit", "strong hit", "combo (3 hits in a row or something)".
At each crossroads the group can decide which way they want to go, but also a "modifier" will be chosen, which will increase the difficulty from then on. For example: "The night is twice as long", "From now on enemy X can spawn". We are not yet sure if we also want a positive modifier. Like "the night is twice as long, but you do 20% more damage". Thats something we have to test.
The forest will also be provided with shrines, which give direct improvements. "More damage", "Run faster", "Throw more".
But to keep the game from becoming too much of a brawler, the coop mechanics should be in focus too. That's why there should be more events on the way, which have to be solved as a group. "Repair a bridge", "Fill mud holes", "Carry the log away". And the very best. "You can catch resources from others" ^^
Last but not least, we want to give players optional mini quest they can complete to get rewards. "Cut X gras to get double gold for the next passage" (That would be a really unbalanced reward ^^)
We still have some ideas on our board :)
I would really like to invite you to join our discord.wildwoodsgame.com. There we are very active and we will be happy to discuss any feedback that comes up.
To make sure that all this is not just a dream we are currently looking for a publisher because we want to work on Wild Woods full-time.