[this is an archived post from our old dev blog, original link can be found here]

New build is finally online! This one really shakes things up in the gameplay, with a focus on strategy over speed.

What’s New:

Block swap animation is slightly faster.
Block hang-time (before falling) slightly increased
Added an options button for use during battle, allows a player to Forfeit
Combos have been completely reworked to favor “Chain Combos” instead of fast matches of 3 (more info below)*
The Deadblock formula has been re-balanced around Chain Combos, no longer send in sizes less than 3 blocks across (e.g. no more single block deadblocks)
Deadblocks now only clear one row at a time when touched with a match-3. To clear 2 rows, touch the dead block with a match of 4, and so on.
Character stats have been rebalanced in light of the new gameplay adjustments.
Ranked Emblems have been added to a special section in the Gallery
Ads have been implemented (to appear occasionally at the end of matches) but will be disabled in the beta builds.

*The New Combo System:

The first wave of beta testing helped us realize the old combo system, where simply making fast matches of any type increased your combo, heavily favored speed over strategy. We wanted to be sure players who planned out their matches in advance were rewarded for their effort.

“Chain Combos” occur when matches cause blocks to fall into other matches (or when deadblocks crumble and fall into matches). These Chains will occur by chance in some cases, but a skillful player will be able to set up their own cascading Chain Combos to send massive dead block attacks. This is where strategy, reflexes, and staying a step ahead of your falling blocks distinguishes skilled players from the beginners. Fast matching still plays a part, you just have to make fast matches of 4 or more in order to count towards your combo. This new system will mean shorter game times and less stagnation in un-even skill match-ups. We also think it’s a lot more satisfying and fun to play!

Known Issues:

Gameplay/UI

Playing as a guest (not signed in to Gamecenter) will prevent the health bar in Endless mode from rendering, as well as causing an instant loss in VS AI battles if the app is backgrounded. The root cause is known and will be fixed in the next update!

Visuals

On iPad, the game’s aspect ratio may appear slightly stretched.
Some portraits are still using placeholder art.
Some rank emblems are using repeated/recolored sprites.
Some rank emblems appear too dark and will be brightened slightly.

Future Content Roadmap (from soonest to furthest updates):

An in-app tutorial to teach new players
Updated Title Screen with info, “How to Play”, and Shop buttons.
A shop where players can use their “blocks cleared" as a currency to purchase unlockables.
Addition of “Challenges” to the Single Player menu
Rank Emblem promotion and demotion animations will be added to the end game screen.
New characters and abilities
New portraits, achievements, levels, and music

We hope you guys enjoy the game in it’s current state and look forward to your feedback to help improve it! Follow/Contact us on twitter/instagram/tumblr @medleystudio to get additional updates and stay in the loop when we’ll be online the game!

Thanks guys and see you online!