thank you for the feedback! and glad to hear you are liking the update as well!
wrenches are definitely OP right now and will be getting adjusted in the next patch
sorry to hear you are frustrated with dynamite prices - it's a very delicate balancing act, so i through trial and error and playtesting i am figuring out the right values
the next update will focus on "deck fixing" and ways to manipulate your deck in completely new ways that don't exist in the game right now, which should hopefully place more control and agency in the players hands, and hopefully will make you feel like you have more agency as a player!
i'm glad you are enjoying the balance patch! and yeah i agree that wrench is definitely OP right now, will be definitely be getting an adjustment in the next update but enjoy it while you can! haha
the pile is meant to power some game mechanics (like wrench and mineshaft) but it also serves the purpose of preventing infinites, that way i can include some fun spammy draw cards like minecart. otherwise i can't have cards like that in the game, as you could basically beat the game by playing one card infinitely!
thank you so much again for the thoughtful feedback! i can't implement it all right away but i can definitely use this to help improve the game a lot. i'm curious to hear what you think after the next balance patch as well so please check back soon!
thank you so much for such a well-worded and thoughtful comment! i can't respond to it all but i can respond to some. but i definitely read all of it and will be taking it all into consideration when making the next balance patch!
on cantrips: totally agreed, both the amount of 0 cost cards in the game and their power level warps the rest of the game around them in an unhealthy way. they also don't really provide any meaningful decision making in the shop or expedition, which is pretty much the core point of the game. i will be reworking their abilities completely, while still keeping that core of the build (spamming action cards in droves) but hopefully making it a niche instead of a dominant strategy
on prospect: yes, this has been a hugely difficult balancing problem while making the game as you can imagine. i have some plans for how to lightly address this in the next update and i will be adjusting it as development continues. eventually i hope to add different starting decks so that will also help. i still think it takes quite a skilled and experienced player to actually carry out this strategy regardless
on sword: i am adjusting this card in the next update!
sorry to hear that. this is the very first version of this demo, and now that i have way more playtesting data than before, i can hopefully improve the balance. i am looking to reduce the reliance on super specific draw orders for certain builds too.
what difficulty were you playing on, and which cards were you buying that felt weak?
thank you, this is super helpful - i have a colorblind friend who helped me with the accessibility of the new art style, but i understand that it's not enough yet. in the final version, i would definitely like for you to be able to have a totally smooth experience playing the game.
in the next big patch, i'll include a new option to add a symbol onto cards that indicate their type with shape language instead of just color. then hopefully, down the line, i will have time to add full colorblind mode options. is there anything else that would help you? or it is just differentiating card types that give you trouble?
thank you for the feedback! this is only the first version of the demo, so now that i have access to all the public feedback and more playtesting data, i can make positive changes and hopefully improve the balance with each update. could i ask which difficulty you played on?
if you are playing on desktop, it should fullscreen automatically - if you are on web, it wouldn't be available, but i will try to add that feature in a future update!
Enjoy a brand new, fully realized version of Retromine remastered for Steam! The game has received a new art style, a full gameplay rework, and new mechanics to create a complete roguelike deckbuilding experience.
The version of Retromine that is currently public will be renamed “Retromine Classic”. It won’t receive any more tweaks to balancing or bug fixes, but will be kept public and will remain free.
A brand new demo with the new art & gameplay will be released for free next month. Just like the Classic version, it will receive regular updates until the release on Steam, at which point will become paid.
Thank you so much for your overwhelming support! I've read every comment, review, community discord post, email, everything. I have heard all of your feedback, good and bad, am just floored and humbled by it all.
Retromine has not been in active development since late 2024, but due to the overwhelming support, I am weighing my options and figuring out how I can continue development on the game, whether that be finding a publisher, or releasing the game on Steam using my own free time and paying out of my own pocket.
I am also considering more free updates for the game, please leave ideas for future content in the replies to this comment!
You can read more in the community devlog post above.
