City of the Dead 2.0: Horror card game with further innovations

The tactical survival horror card game "Totenstadt" by Blood'n Brain is constantly being developed - by the creators themselves, but also through ideas that come directly from the community. Changes to damage and defense mechanics are now pending for the upcoming update.

Small changes, big effects

In order to make the gameplay of Totenstadt 2.0 compact, understandable, but above all entertaining for everyone, an update pack appears annually, which contains the new set of rules and adapted maps. Although the game works without these innovations - and players can mix old and new cards or rules without any problems - the creators still want to keep their horror card game up to date.

"There's always something to do in the City of the Dead. In addition to working on new material, we always keep an eye on the previous ones”, explains Florian Möller from the Totenstadt team. And further: "Our idea is to leave no one behind and to implement new adjustments and rules for existing material as well."

Many innovations or suggestions for changes come directly from the card game community. This will also apply to the upcoming update. "Anyone who would like to contribute something can do so until April. We will then look at the submissions and they may be implemented", explains Möller.

Two changes affect the damage mechanics and defense. Damage and defense are two points that have been talked about in the past, according to the written communication.

Damage was not treated differently enough: you hit an opponent with an ax and he gets damage, you shoot him with a flare gun and he gets damage, although he burns afterwards and gets extra damage every round, but again only damage.

"The problem with damage was often that damage was just damage."

Florian Moller

The consequence of the realization: In the future there will be several types of damage. The flare gun now deals fire damage, as does the extra damage that is billed each round when the target is on fire. So that players from the city of the dead can see directly which weapon uses which type of damage, there is now a corresponding symbol in the close-range or long-range combat instructions.

The different types of damage can also be combined by players. For example with a pistol in one hand for damage and a flare pistol in the other for fire damage. "That may not sound particularly exciting at first, but if you then consider that there will also be opponents who react to different types of damage, it becomes interesting again.", explains Florian Möller the changes.

Incidentally, fire damage is only supposed to be the beginning. Blood'n Brain has other types of damage in the works for Totenstadt, but these must first be properly integrated into the game before details can be published. Nevertheless, Florian Möller would like to give a little teaser: "Electricity!"

There were also revisions pending for the defense. This was often seen as too simple or one-sided. There are several levels of armor, but ultimately there are no differences between a bobble hat or a steel helmet: The defense is always successful on a 4+, only the number of dice changes.

With the new system, the armor is now in Slightly, Medium and Stark divided plus the corresponding number of dice. Light armor only succeeds on a 6+, while strong armor succeeds on a 3+. Bobble hats from the Coldsnap Booster offer very little protection, so they're Light Armor 6+, the Kevlar Vest from the base box is Heavy Armor 3+, and the Fireman's Jacket from the upcoming Hell On Earth expansion is Medium Armor 4+.

The new damage system is also effective in defense and offers additional protection for some armor, for example against fire damage. The new events could make it particularly exciting. If the mercenaries are dressed with appropriate fire protection equipment, they have fewer problems with the fire and can use it strategically. "Uns as developers there are more possibilities to design equipment, enemies or even events", explains Florian Möller.

These two new and revised systems give players more freedom and options when designing their mercenaries and their style of play.

"These are minimal changes to the game, but they will have a major impact on the future and the past."

Florian Möller, Blood'n Brain

All the explanations and information are only intended to provide a rough look at the contents of the update pack, according to the developers, who hope that the planned changes will be received by the players. Of course, all the maps and texts shown in the article are not final - changes are definitely possible.

Interested players can find more information about Totenstadt 2.0 on the Internet at www.totenstadt.com.

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