Release Notes

Try the Next Version — May Be Unstable

• Online preview: https://dorianbayart.github.io/pixel-fortress/unstable/play.html — updated on every commit to main

New Features

• Analytics: Cookie-free, privacy-friendly game session tracking via self-hosted Umami — no consent banner required

Gameplay

Visuals

Performance

Bug Fixes

New Features

• Campaign & Tutorial: The Campaign menu is now active — dive into the first Tutorial mission to learn the ropes before facing the enemy
• Towers are here! Build defensive towers that automatically detect and shoot down approaching enemies — fortify your base and hold the line
• Building Specialization: A simple tower can be specialized to Bullet, Rapidfire or Farstrike — and combat buildings now also benefit from specialization
• Archers: Build an Archery to start training Archer units — ranged fighters that keep their distance while dealing sustained damage
• Mages: Build an Arcana to summon Mage units — powerful spellcasters with high damage output
• Map Editor: Create and export your own custom maps — paint terrain tiles, place start positions, and pre-build structures for any player
• Installable as a PWA: Pixel Fortress can now be installed directly from your browser as a Progressive Web App — play offline, launch from your home screen

Localization

• Multi-language support: The game is now available in 4 languages — English, French, German, and Spanish
• Language selector: Choose your preferred language directly from the Options menu — preference is saved across sessions

Gameplay

• Melee attack cooldown: Melee units now respect a 1-second cooldown between attacks — combat feels more tactical and balanced
• Rebalanced building costs: Building costs have been reviewed and adjusted for a smoother progression curve

Visuals

• Particle effects: Rich particle trails added to arrows, fireballs and snowballs — plus dust particles on walking units for extra life
• Extra particles option: Toggle extra particle effects from the Options menu based on your performance preference
• Fresh look: UI got stunning new artwork
• Pixel-art UI: All menus reworked with consistent pixel-art styling — sharp edges, gold borders, and pixelated controls throughout

Major Improvements

• HTML UI: The entire in-game HUD has been rewritten from PixiJS to native HTML/CSS — more responsive, more accessible, easier to extend
• Minimap rework: The minimap now renders in its own dedicated 2D Canvas — cleaner separation and better performance

Performance

• Optimized renderer to reduce array allocations and garbage collection pressure
• Optimized pathfinding to reduce redundant calculations per tick
• Improved FPS counter efficiency

Major Improvements

• Renderer Rework: Complete renderer overhaul achieving full 60 FPS even on huge maps
• PixiJS v8.15: Upgraded to latest PixiJS version with improved text rendering
• FPS Limit Option: Added configurable FPS limit in game options

Performance Optimizations

• Reworked viewport tile visibility calculations for significant performance gains
• Optimized water sprite updates in game loop
• Improved sprite cleanup in background drawing logic
• Reduced viewport buffer size for better memory usage
• Enhanced zoom factors for smoother camera control

Bug Fixes

• Fixed UI glitches when restarting the game
• Fixed text rendering issues after PixiJS upgrade
• Removed unnecessary viewport updates

UI/UX

• Add a Fullscreen toggle button
• Rewrote and improved landing page texts with CSS refinements
• Simplified viewport movement controls

New Features

• Game Modes: Three new gameplay modes - Classic, One Shot (1 HP units), and Turbo Gatherer (5x resource speed)
• Animated Water: Fully animated water sprites with expanded tileset
• Huge Maps: New "Huge" map size + billion possible seeds (1,000,000,000 unique maps!)
• Skirmish menu: Rework the menu to implement a "Skirmish" mode
• Predefined Maps: Preview and play curated maps
• High Quality Parameter: Add a High Quality parameter for very fine resolution

Optimizations

• Exploration: Unexplored tiles are now carefully choosen, let's reveal the map !
• Wood harvest: Trees selection is more efficient

Performance

• Optimized pathfinding logic to prevent spikes and unit freezes
• Improved fog of war and progress indicator rendering

Bug Fixes

• Fixed health bar display
• Fixed so many bugs...

Features

• Landing Page: Dedicated landing page at index.html, game at play.html
• CI/CD: Automated builds for Windows and Linux (MacOS build is broken at this time)
• Minimap: Overview of the entire game world
• Health Bars: Optional health bar display on damaged units
• Fog of War: Visibility system with explorer units
• Smart Map Generation: Intelligent tent placement ensuring all seeds are valid