COMMUNITY APPRECIATION

Thank you again to everyone who chimed in during the past weeks. Your feedback helps make Decimation a better game, and you are appreciated! 

Shoutout to Double_C here on itch(https://double-c.itch.io/) , Bewtiful and Messiah from Decimation’s Discord (discord.gg/tuYpdcDeDs) for their contributions to this week’s patch. 

Would also like to take the time to give special thanks to MintMood (https://www.twitch.tv/mintmoood) and the MintMood Discord Community (https://discord.gg/PMJy48FD) for providing a helpful and fun space for indie devs to review each other’s games in a cool and engaging format!

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DECIMATION PATCH NOTES v0.25.14
UI/UX & Quality of Life Update, Turret Upgrade Cost Balancing
November 19, 2025

OVERVIEW:

Major quality of life improvements focusing on UI responsiveness, camera controls, battle feedback systems, and menu enhancements. This update addresses key player feedback regarding menu interactions, visual clarity, and gameplay flow. Turret Upgrade costs were re-assessed and balanced as well. 

MAJOR GAMEPLAY BALANCING

Turret Upgrade Cost Reductions - Upgraded turrets are now more economically viable as strategic investments:

• Machinegun Turret
  - T2 Upgrade Cost: 300 → 225 (-25%)
  - T3 Upgrade Cost: 500 → 350 (-30%)

• Laser Turret
  - T2 Upgrade Cost: 500 → 450 (-10%)
  - T3 Upgrade Cost: 800 → 550 (-31.25%)

• Rocket Turret
  - T2 Upgrade Cost: 600 → 550 (-8.3%)
  - T3 Upgrade Cost: 1200 → 1000 (-16.7%)

• Turret Stat Adjustments
  - Rocket Turret T1: AOE radius reduced from 10 to 8 (Its currently overpowered compared to all other turrets and needs to be toned down a bit, sorry Rocket-guys)
  - Laser Turret T3: Damage increased from 45 to 50
  - Laser Turret Rate of Fire: Display corrected from 5 to 1 (clarifies that full damage is applied per second)

BATTLE UI ENHANCEMENTS

• Wave Start Warning System: New fullscreen visual and audio warning when enemy waves spawn
• Critical Structure Warning: Fullscreen visual and audio effect when player-defended  structures drop below 35% durability
• Panel Minimization: Added minimize/maximize button to the General Info Panel for better battle screen visibility if players prefer it

MENU IMPROVEMENTS

• Exit Confirmation Dialog: New confirmation prompt when returning to main menu to prevent accidental exits
• Enhanced Pause Menu: Expanded functionality of the Pause screen with quick access buttons:
    - Direct links to Game Controls and Audio Settings
    - Improved layout for better readability

• Turret Build Menu Click Detection: Left-clicking outside build menus now properly closes them

UI/UX IMPROVEMENTS

• Turret Information Display
  - Detailed Stat Tooltips: Comprehensive turret statistics now visible on mouseover
    - Shows Laser slow amounts, Rocket AOE radius, projectile speeds
    - Tier-to-tier stat comparisons for easier upgrade evaluation
    - Applied to both build and upgrade menus

• Fixed General Info Panel Logic: Corrected display issues for upgraded turrets
    - Proper T2 → T3 upgrade information display
    - Eliminated duplicate panel bug for Tier 3 turrets

•  Color-Coded Notification System
  - Context-Aware Border Colors: Notifications now use color coding for urgency
    - Red: Warnings, low HP alerts, hostile wave starts
    - Yellow/Orange: Hero level up notifications
    - Blue: Routine event notifications

•  Camera Controls
  More Intuitive Mouse Movement: Middle mouse button and screen edge movement now respect camera rotation
    - Movement direction matches visual orientation
    - Consistent with WASD keyboard controls

• Fixed Billboard Effects: Health bars now properly rotate with camera
    - Applied to enemy, turret, and hero durability displays

VISUAL ENHANCEMENTS

•  Particle Effects
  - Tower Construction Effect: More visually impactful particle system when building turrets
  - Improved Smoke Effects: Applied to all smoke emitting assets 
  - Structure Destruction: New explosion effect when player structures are destroyed

•  Menu Polish
  - Workshop Panel Animations: Updated to match Staging Area panel slide consistency
  - Mission Failed UI Refresh: Updated design with flavor text after mission failure
  - Workshop Text Correction: Fixed "Work Shop" >> "Workshop" text display error

AUDIO IMPROVEMENTS

• Menu Sound Optimization: Audio sliders now only play sound on mouse release (final value)
    - Reduces audio spam during adjustment
    - Less taxing on audio system

• New Audio Cues:
    - New Warning sound for incoming enemy waves
    - New Player-defended structure destruction audio

BUG FIXES

•  UI Fixes
  - Node Build Menu: Fixed click detection leak at bottom of panels
    - Adjusted panel sizes to prevent accidental closures
    - Refined button positioning to prevent misclicks

• General Info Panel: Corrected display logic errors
    - Fixed duplicate panel display for T3 turrets
    - Proper handling of all upgrade tier transitions

• Keybindings Panel: Increased mouse scroll sensitivity from 1 to 15 for better navigation

QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGES

•  Tutorial Improvements
  - Streamlined First Experience: Removed overwhelming initial tutorial menu from Level 1
    - In-game tutorial popups provide better pacing
    - Full controls accessible via pause menu (aside from the original button on the game window)
  - Opening Narrative Polish: Trimmed Tyche's opening monologue for better game flow
  - Reduced certain dialogue lengths in Level 1 for brevity and better pacing

BUILD NEW TURRET/MODIFY TURRET TOOLTIP INFO ENHANCEMENTS

•  Expanded Information: Turret stat tooltips include previously hidden values
    - Laser slow percentages
    - Rocket AOE radii
    - Projectile speeds
    - Tier comparison data

This update reinforces the commitment to a better player experience and informed decision-making. Turret upgrades are now positioned as strategic investments rather than inefficient choices, with T3 upgrades offering better cost-to-benefit ratios. Enhanced information display helps players (hopefully) make tactical decisions with minimal guesswork.