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Only 2 Quests persist, the ones where it's written "Permanent" bolded (for general stat increase) and boss count, so once a quest is done, the penalty is over. What you get in return is higher chance for better augments after boss kills (Purple enemies). Each quest gives 5% for their respective class (easy/green quest -> rare/blue aug, medium/yellow quest -> purple/epic aug, hard/red quest -> legendary/yellow aug). You can check them at the very top of the stats menu (green bottom button in-game), so by completing a lot of yellow and red quests, you get purple and yellow augments (epics and legendaries) after bosses more often.

Unfortunately currently all I have is player intuition and a terribly made "tutorial" button in the settings that explains how the game should be played. I'll make a better one soon, but it's not that high on the list right now. If others reply, that they also don't understand what to do, I'll put it higher on the list. 

Also you mentioned countdown on the screen. Right now it's intended that I don't have any, I players to "juggle" around the menus, to always have something to do, not just watch the fireworks on screen. Level up some, check whether quests are done, level up more, maybe fish for a tier upgrade, then back to quests, they are done, but new ones are bad, maybe reroll or wait for boss to reroll them automatically etc

Thanks again for the feedback. It looks like I need some better indicators for the intended way of playing the game.

-Cheers

P.S.: As an also terrible Zerg main I totally know what you mean by hoarding all those minerals while my army gets destroyed.

7:20 is pretty damn good on a second try not gonna lie. The plan for this game is that you need to decide based on the quests (middle yellow menu) where you want to invest your gold, "sideways" or "upward". You either buy a new weapon/ try to get to a new tier (3 copies or 9, similar toTFT or presumable any other auto-chess game) or level a specific weapon up (the right button with the choices every 10 levels, it even glows on the 9th to signal its arrival). These are the only 2 ways to spend gold currently. 

High tiers can have massive impacts on the game, but they take up a lot of resources and with more incoming weapons they'll be even harder to hit, but it's always worth it (after at least unlocking them in the Refinery [out-of-game 3rd menu]). Base levels can get you out of trouble in a short notice, but they can fall off faster as well.

Currently it's coded that the game starts to ramp up after 6 minutes and gets even harder after 8 (so players can't "win" a 15 minute run on their first try, without any outside upgrades in the second out-of-game menu) the soft cap of the game, 15 minutes is when it ramps up even harder, trying to kill the run as fast as it can, but that's intended currently.

I really appreciate you trying it out and leaving a feedback, it helps a lot (more than people think, because it suggest to me, that the layout isn't that intuitive currently and will need to fix it later). I hope you like it and will return for the new stuff I plan to implement in the next fe days/weeks.

-Cheers

"I'll be hanging out in the thread for the next hour to answer any questions or fix any bugs that come up!"

Hey everyone!

After a long road of learning Godot 4 and battling logic bugs, I’ve finally pushed the MVP of Shatter Protocol to itch.io!

The Elevator Pitch: Shatter Protocol is a 2D Tower Defense/Roguelite hybrid where you defend a floating crystal core. There’s no maze building—instead, you equip and merge weapons directly onto your tower. It’s built for quick, 15-minute bursts of gameplay—perfect for when you have a bit of downtime but don't want to commit to a 3-hour grind.

The "Dev's Honesty" Disclaimer:

I’m a solo developer, and I used AI to help me bridge my coding knowledge gaps. The code is a bit of a "spaghetti monster," and the game balance is currently... let's say experimental. I am specifically looking for players who want to help me find the broken synergies and fix the math.

Play it here (HTML5 Browser Version):

https://elendor-games.itch.io/shatter-protocol

What I’m looking for:

• Is the weapon merging intuitive?
• Do the Boss Milestones feel impactful, or just tedious?
• Did you find any "game-breaking" weapon combos?
• Did you actually enjoy the gameplay loop?

I’ve set up a discussion board on the game page for Balancing and Bug Reports. If you play a round, please drop a comment and let me know where the math falls apart!

Thanks for checking it out—hope to see you in the comments!

Sometimes the spaghetti code breaks. If the game crashes, freezes, or behaves completely incorrectly, please let me know so I can track it down.

When reporting a bug, please include:

• Where did it happen? (In the main menu, during a boss fight, while opening a chest?)
• What exactly happened? (e.g., "I clicked the reroll button but my tokens didn't decrease.")
• Can you repeat it? (Does this happen every single time, or was it a one-off glitch?)

Thank you for helping me clean up the code!

The math in this current build is wild, and I need your help to tame it.

If you find a weapon that feels useless, an enemy swarm that feels impossible, or a Gold/Platinum economy exploit, please reply below with the following data:

• Time Survived: (e.g., Minute 12)
• The Issue: (e.g., The Shotgun costs too much Gold for how little damage it does).
• Your Meta-Upgrades: (How much Platinum have you invested in the hub?)

The more specific you are, the faster I can patch the scaling!

Have a crazy idea for a new weapon synergy? Want to see a specific type of Artifact or Augment added to the loot pool? Drop it here!

Disclaimer: I am a solo developer, and this game is largely built with AI assistance, so I cannot implement every single idea. However, I try to read absolutely everything here. If a community suggestion fits the roadmap, there is a very high chance you will see it in a future update!

Welcome to Shatter Protocol!

Did you survive all the way to the 15-minute mark? Did a massive Boss completely wipe out your base? This is the place to talk about it.

Share your longest survival times, your absolute favorite weapon combinations, or just hang out. Since this is an early test build, things will change fast, but I'm thrilled to have you here defending the core.

Hello everyone!

I am excited to announce the release of my very first visual novel, Tropical Escape. It is a solo passion project created with Ren'Py, and I would love to hear what you think!

 The Story in a Nutshell What started as a luxury class cruise turned into a nightmare. After a sudden storm pushed them into the cold ocean, classmates Lia and Thane wash ashore on a deserted island.

Now, they must work together to build shelter and find food—but surviving the elements might be easier than dealing with the secrets they are both hiding.

I created this game to learn the engine and improve as a developer. If you have a moment to give it a try, I would really appreciate your feedback!

Download it from Itch.io: https://elendor-games.itch.io/tropical-escape-a-visual-novel