FragMiner

I am starting this Road to Launch mini-devlog series to showcase what lies beyond the FragMiner demo.After the first prestige level, the Sulphuric Mines, players have the option to dig deeper into Prestige 2: the Crystal Depths. This layer features a distinct blue aesthetic and provides several starting bonuses. Players begin with higher bomb damage and increased gold value. These mines also contain advanced materials like Shrapnel Ore right from the start.This prestige level also introduces a new skill tree node: the Lucky Event.There is currently a 10% chance per run for this event to occur. It is marked by a money rain effect and doubles all gold collected from loot during that run. Please note that this value is still in development and is not yet finalized.The Crystal Depths includes many other skill tree nodes, such as stone-to-geode conversion and an entirely new bomb type. I do not want to spoil everything just yet.I will be posting about the next prestige level and mine stage in the next update. Stay tuned!

I’m adding a much-needed feature: multiple consecutive runs! Instead of having to go back and forth from the mine to the base camp, you can now choose to do 2 or 3 mine runs before heading back to the base camp. This gives the gameplay better flow and is, overall, a gold/hour buff! Well… kind of. But don’t worry, I’ve also buffed the global +% gold buff from the first prestige (prestige 1) and slightly nerfed the costs of a few nodes to quicken the progress a bit.The final game will feature 5 prestige levels (so a total of 6 mine stages), each one adding a new gameplay feature, so I don’t want the player to feel any slog at all. I’ll showcase each new prestige present in the full game via posts, so remember to follow FragMiner! I need a bit of time to cook, however.Anyway, enough talking; here’s the changelog:Added 3 new buttons below the “Back to mine” green button in the base camp; these buttons allow the player to do multiple mine runs before going back to the base camp.Buffed the +x% gold value bonus from the first prestige.Buffed the damage of a few ore-related nodes, such as the Sulphur node.Added some effects and motion to the UI, such as buttons and tooltips having new animations.Various minor bugfixes.Nerfed the “Stone to Copper” and “Dirt to Copper” nodes because they were scaling too hard with other nodes, such as “Miner’s Research”. To compensate, I’ve lowered the cost of those nodes, which are still powerful.Added some missing translations.Some footage of the new UI animations:The game is still planned to launch around mid-July this year, so I’ll be starting some kind of “Road to launch” posts later on to showcase what I’ve been cooking for the full game.The new version of the FragMiner demo (v0.7) is live; you can check it out!

I’ve spent the past few days working on much-needed Quality of Life (QoL) features, fixing issues, and completely reworking the Special Bomb and Hazard systems. Here is a preview and the complete changelog:Major ReworksSpecial Bombs: Overhauled how special bombs (such as the Bouncy Bomb) function. (See below the changelog for a detailed breakdown!)Hazards: Hazards now have a % chance to trigger but are significantly more impactful. New hazard types will now unlock as you progress through Prestige levels.New Features & QoLSkill Tree Zoom: Added "Zoom In" and "Zoom Out" buttons to the Skill Tree for easier navigation.The Magnet: Added a new Skill Tree node unlocked at Prestige 1. This automatically collects all loot once you’ve used all your bombs.Radius Indicator: A circle now appears around the cursor to indicate your current bomb radius.Sulfur Ore Visuals: Sulfur Ore explosions now show a visible radius ring so you can see exactly how far the blast reaches.Settings: Added an "Exit Game" button to the settings menu.UI & BalancePrestige UI: The Prestige panel has been redesigned with clear icons to showcase bonuses and updated translations.Shrapnel Ore Buff: Increased Shrapnel projectile damage. While these were strong with high investment (Fragmentation/Ricochet), they felt a bit weak early on. This buff should help the early game!Visuals: Reduced the intensity of screen shake.Optimization: Various minor bug fixes, including faster damage calculations.A Closer Look: The Special Bomb ReworkI am planning to add many more special bombs in the future, including the Banana Bomb and Plasma Bomb, but to do that, I needed to change how the system works.How it works now: When you unlock a special bomb, one of your default bombs is converted into that specific type (e.g., a Bouncy Bomb or Mini-bombs). You can throw one of each type per run. An icon will appear above the player to show which bomb is currently equipped. To balance this change, all special bombs have received a ...