TD Master Devlog #1 – Foundations, Traps, and Progress
Apr 3, 2026
Welcome to the first TD Master devlog.
Work has been moving steadily, and this first update focuses on laying the foundation for the game. A lot of recent development has gone into core gameplay systems, trap placement, enemy interaction, and making everything feel more responsive and satisfying to use.
Core gameplay direction
TD Master is built around trap-based defense combined with direct player involvement. Positioning, planning, and moment-to-moment decisions all play a role.
The current focus has been to get these core systems working reliably before expanding into more content and complexity. Getting the foundation right early is already proving to be worth it.
Trap systems in progress
Several trap types and mechanics have been implemented and iterated on, including:
- wall-based traps
- floor traps
- aiming logic
- placement validation
- enemy hit interactions
One of the main goals has been to make traps feel reliable and readable, both visually and mechanically. If something fires, hits, or misses, the player should understand why.
A notable improvement has been the Tesla-style lightning trap. The original version worked, but had performance issues and delays. It has now been replaced with a Visual Effect Graph solution, resulting in instant feedback, smoother chaining between enemies, and overall better performance.
Building and placement
A significant amount of time has gone into the placement system.
This includes ghost previews, snapping, rotation alignment, and validation against the grid. Special attention has been needed for wall placement, where surface normals and rotation handling created several edge cases.
The goal has been simple: placing traps should feel natural and predictable, since it is something the player does constantly.
Enemy and combat flow
The gameplay loop is beginning to take shape:
Early waves put pressure directly on the player, while later waves allow traps to take over more of the workload. The player remains active throughout, supporting defenses and reacting to threats.
Some interesting behavior has already appeared during testing. Faster enemies can slip through early setups, and ranged enemies behave unpredictably due to movement and interruption systems. This adds variation without needing artificial difficulty.
Visual upgrades
Several older implementations have been replaced with more efficient solutions.
This has improved responsiveness and reduced delays, especially in effects-heavy systems like traps. Separating gameplay logic from visual effects has made iteration much easier and more stable.
New content
Work has also started on expanding levels and introducing new enemies.
In parallel, a basic storyline is being explored to give context and progression between levels. This will evolve over time, but the groundwork is in place.
Systems behind the scenes
A telemetry system has been introduced to track gameplay data such as:
- damage dealt by player and traps
- money earned and spent
- enemy kills over time
- overall match flow
This will be important later for balancing, tuning difficulty, and understanding how the game is actually played.
What comes next
Upcoming work will focus on:
- further trap polish
- enemy behavior and wave flow
- UI improvements and feedback
- balancing systems
- additional visual effects
- continued level building
This is still early in development, but TD Master is starting to come together as a cohesive experience rather than just individual systems.
Thanks for following the project.