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Managed to clear out everything up to the entrance to the 300m depth in the 0.2 demo. Some thoughts:

- Art style, writing, and music  are all peak. The simple palette is used really well, and the small song adjustment after the first hit feels really nice for a game when most combat ends in a few hits

-  Throwbacks to no-skin have me more hooked on the game's lore than anything. Really curious to know if we'll get more tie-ins to Albiria, Root and friends

- Guarding being gated behind an item in like 95% of the game feels a little bad. Would it be possible to have some rooms have moonlight spots to lure enemies to? 

- Not being able to see accuracy or evasion stats is a little annoying. Especially for evasion since its possible to get multiple boosts from the fountain. Ways to raise accuracy like in no-skin would be great too

- I think I preferred the 0.1 demo with the permanent upgrade system, as it made future runs more consistent (e.g. supplies always giving bandages at the start). Would it be possible to bring some of the upgrades back?

- I'm assuming since this is a demo things are simple, but I do think combat is still lacking. After dying to the same enemy a few times to note their pattern and exhaust their talk options, almost all fights are just spamming attack, with the occasional belladona or sharpen at the start. Wish there were more default combat options for a more complex rhythm. Are there plans for additional party members like in no-skin?

Thank you! This game was a blast. I never really tried the single upgrade path, will give it a shot sometime. 

For bugs, the two I encountered:

- Pressing escape on a a maximized window on macOS would  minimize the window first, then show the restart menu 

- Rarely, counterattack/critical attack text would appear on attack/defense upgraded hexes when I didn't have the upgrade. I think I only saw this in subsequent runs after I had the upgrade in a previous run. I play in browser for more context.

For perks I'd like to see some more "tradeoff" upgrades like "concentrated industry". Some examples:

- Aggressive Deployments - "+25 attack to attack upgrades, -25 defense to defense upgrades"

- Specialized Offence - "Halve your current number of attack upgrades, give them +30 attack". This one would force the player to keep going for upgrade count perks even with a maxed out shop

I'd also just like to see some more perks that change how you play like "blitzkrieg". Some ideas:

- Siege Preparations - "Adjacent attack upgraded tiles gain +20 attack and +50% attack/transfer rate"

- Fox Holes - "When a defense upgraded tile has 25 or more units, it gets +40 defence"

- Scorched Earth - "When losing an occupied tile, it is converted into a 5 unit unoccupied tile instead of being given to the attacker". This one could be given to the AI for some really cool stages (e.g. simulate Napoleon's invasion of russia in 1812)

- Reinforcements - "When upgrading a tile, give it +3 units."

The numbers given are just examples of course, I think the balance on this game, while difficult, is relatively good. I just want to see some more tactics to this game and more risk/reward in the perk selection.

For stage design I think it would be nice to see more levels with unoccupied upgraded nodes. Production upgrades were fairly common, but I don't think I saw empty defensive upgrades outside of the king level.

Quick strategy guide for anyone else who stumbles upon this little gem of an rts.

Perks

- You are probably not winning until you make some meta progression upgrades. Prioritizing the perk rarity followed by the number of production upgrades will greatly increase your odds

- Restarting until you get a rare or better perk will make your life much easier

- In terms of perk priority, raw stat boosts are far more valuable as opposed to upgrade count, especially since the shop can start you off with up to 5 each. With a maxed out shop you can ignore raw upgrade count perks for the entire game

- Defensive/offensive focus perks are the best in the game, a flat +20 to attack/defence without upgrades is unmatched. Extended logistics is the next best to improve manoeuvrability. Their uncommon equivalents are fine to pick up as well.

- Concentrated industry for optimal use requires you don't drop your production upgrades on your first nodes (and slower starts can be death sentences on maps like Europe). I wouldn't take it.

Strategy

- Check the different AI perks at the start of battle, prioritizing AI's that specialize in production. If the AI ever gets blitzkrieg and extended logistics, unless you have an absolutely cracked build and godly rng, you are finished

- Chaining all your tiles into one is a good way to pile resources onto a tile and will be the first thing you do in most levels. The AI prefers to not even attack a node when there's a large value difference, so just piling up a bunch of units on a chokepoint is a great way to stall while you focus elsewhere.

- This is probably obvious, but having multiple nodes attack the same one will speed up the attack/transfer rate. Good for breaking down enemy fortifications when possible

- The strategy for most of the earlier stages is to rush adjacent factions before they can build up. Ideally aim for their production upgrade hexes to destroy their supply line.

- Shift up your attacks to focus on undefended/weakened nodes. The AI stumbles when you break up its chains quickly, which will help you to expand. Generally, once your production rate is higher than anyone else on the map you will probably win.

- The hardest stage in the game is easily Europe, the end boss is a joke by comparison. I've only managed to beat it once and it took me like 20 minutes. Restarting for something easier is advisable.