Sharing the Plan about Boost-In

[fallen]

I wanted to take a minute to share the plan about the upcoming Boost-In feature for Heroes of Steel.

We've been working on preparing for the Boost-In feature for some time as a way to add more replay options to Heroes, especially for those who have enjoy testing and creating groups. Basically - you can Boost-In to the game and start at the beginning of Episode 2 (with more Boost-In points coming). If you've played the beginning of the game a few times, this is a great shortcut to skip ahead to a higher level group and enjoy the more advanced parts of the game.

I wanted to share these specific points about Boost-In, which will be included in the next release of Heroes of Steel.

- Boost-In will function exactly like Skip Intro - it is a New Game option. Name your save, pick your characters, difficulty, and Boost-In
- Boost-In is an Unlock feature, so it is grouped with Re-Spec under the same $5 IAP
- If you already purchased the $5 Unlock IAP, Boost-In is a happy add on to your value
- When you Boost-In, you will skip a large section of content and arrive with newly minted heroes at a special story moment in the game. The story events and quest log are all lined up so that you can play forward
- After Boost-In, you'll be able to spend all of your Attribute, Skill, and Talent points as if you had just Re-spec'd
- After Boost-In, are given a fair pile of gold and access to a special treasure room to get some nice loot drops
- Currently, Boost-In only supports Episode 2, we are working toward adding an Episode 1 Act 1 Boost-In point, as well as looking at E2A2, E3 and eventually E4
- For E2, you will arrive in the Conquered Keep, only moments after Baron Arhaive has been killed
- For E2, all of your Heroes will have newly hit Level 17
- Boost-In will be included in Steam and desktop versions for free
- Groups that Boost-In will not post Leaderboard scores

Thanks for reading the plan release, and I hope you'll share your thoughts and ideas!

[ntsheep]

This sounds really cool and may go a long way on helping to quell some of the negative feelings about the IAP. Although I am still waiting for the IAP that lets us buy more IAP's

[fallen]

ntsheep thanks! We're trying to be better about sharing our plans

Also, just as a note, from our perspective and from the data we've gathered, the response to the Unlock IAP has been vast majority positive. We're excited to add some icing to the cake and make it even better!

[Outsider]

I think it's a fantastic idea. I'm one of those filthy casuals. Leaderboards don't mean much. Episode 1 is beyond worn out for me. I believe this is a great feature and will allow folks who aren't hardcore, like myself, to keep playing a game they love without taking long breaks or garnering negative feelings about being required to do content we've seen many, many times in order to enjoy the new groups and combinations.

Two thumbs up here.

[fallen]

Outsider - great to hear - it's exactly why we started with E2 as our first Boost-In point

[ntsheep]

I don't think you need to be better at anything fallen. I, and many others, already consider your brother and you to be the best Devs out there. Where others drop support for older games when a new one comes out, you continue to remember what has brought you to the point of being able to make the new one and keep it going. The only game I know of that you no longer support is the fabled Evil Bears. You guys are the best in my opinion. When I have extra money to spend, I know it won't be wasted with you.

[fallen]

ntsheep - thank you Evil Bears, may they rest in peace.

[Officer Genious]

What exactly were Evil Bears?

[ntsheep]

Mar 18, 2015 12:16:07 GMT -5 Officer Genious said:

What exactly were Evil Bears?

The first attempt by the sock puppets at world domination my Queen.

[En1gma]

Fantastic!! How are you going to handle potions? Will you give a set number per difficulty, or is that what the gold given at the start is for?

Honestly I think this will possibly be the best addition you've made to the game yet, after Selen, that is.

[Officer Genious]

Mar 18, 2015 10:45:19 GMT -5 Outsider said:

I think it's a fantastic idea. I'm one of those filthy casuals. Leaderboards don't mean much. Episode 1 is beyond worn out for me. I believe this is a great feature and will allow folks who aren't hardcore, like myself, to keep playing a game they love without taking long breaks or garnering negative feelings about being required to do content we've seen many, many times in order to enjoy the new groups and combinations.

Two thumbs up here.

HERESY!! WE MUST CLEANSE THE CASUAL FILTH FROM YOU BY FORCE!! (chases Outsider around with a toothbrush)

But on a serious note, this sounds pretty cool. The dungeons take FOREVER.

[fallen]

Mar 18, 2015 14:15:54 GMT -5 En1gma said:

Fantastic!! How are you going to handle potions? Will you give a set number per difficulty, or is that what the gold given at the start is for?

Honestly I think this will possibly be the best addition you've made to the game yet, after Selen, that is.

You'll get a pile of gold to spend at the shops in Red Hill, as well as access to a treasure room that will give you your first re-stock on potions. Visit the Red Hill roof, you should be pretty well set to move forward.

We are not sweating Gold vs. Difficulty vs. Potions much, as no leaderboard scores will be submitted. It is an exciting way to try a new group, and skip into the second chapter!

[John Robinson]

fallen

Boost-in is a really great enhancement to the IAP and the game as a whole.  Thank you again for another stroke of genius. 

[Cory Trese]

We have been using a similar features to test the game for ages, and you can thank fallen for really digging into the guts of the game and making this type of thing possible in release builds.

I think you'll like the latest release!

[CdrPlatypus]

I'm very glad that you made the decision to exclude boost groups from the leader boards.