FORTRESS — Release Candidate 2 - v6.65
A substantial update since the v4.0 releases, with more developed defences, tougher enemies, redesigned Endless play and a much larger set of mission maps.
This public release includes Missions 1–3 in both Survival and Endless mode:
- 01 Frontier Road
- 02 Crossroads
- 03 Divided Approach
These are the missions that have received the most playtesting and balance work.
What’s new and improved since v4.0:
- Expanded wall defences: reinforcement, repairs, rebuilding, defensive drones and shields. Wall repairs now cost 35 coins, making maintenance a more deliberate choice.
- Command Centre support: manage supplies and launch drone strikes to relieve pressure or intercept incoming threats.
- Improved shields: protect a tower or wall for ten seconds, then retain one final blocked hit. Clearer colour changes and sparkle effects show their state.
- More dangerous air attacks: dropships, flying orbs and siege cubes bring pressure beyond the ground waves.
- Late-Endless Demolishers: targeting markers and countdowns warn of missile attacks against towers or walls. Intercept them or protect the target; ruined tower sites are expensive to restore.
- Reworked Endless mode: overlapping wave sequences, growing armies, tougher enemy combinations and increasingly frequent heavy escorts.
- Stronger differences between missions: Endless Missions 2 and 3 build on Mission 1’s structure with tougher enemies and earlier introductions of advanced threats.
- Three-star Endless targets: survive 40, 80 and 150 waves. Reaching that third star is a serious endurance test.
- Improved results and records: separate Survival and Endless results, star ratings, best-wave records and clearer score breakdowns.
- Extensive presentation work: clearer menus and HUD, revised terrain colours, improved range displays, loading effects, level transitions and Command Centre destruction effects.
- Many fixes and optimisations: wall redraw flashes, overlapping boss flicker, shield positioning, wall targeting range and drone-strike availability have all received attention, alongside repeated code and memory optimisation.
Enhancement to the wider game (to be released later):
Have sized the .PRG to have 15 mission layouts across three areas: Forest Defence, Cold Front and Scorched Earth. The sequence moves from forest and jungle terrain through colder environments into desert and volcanic territory.
The layouts offer different defensive problems: multiple gates, narrow approaches, open ground, and levels where there is no final wall to save you. Missions 4–15 remain unavailable in this public RC while testing continues.