Indie developer D20Studios announced that version 1.3 of Hero Mages will launch April 8th 2010 at 8:00PM CDT.  This new version is a testament to game creator Ross Przybylski’s commitment to the game’s growing online community, which now exceeds over 2100 members.

Taking the valuable feedback received from the 2010 Independent Games Festival to heart, D20Studios worked to improve balance and integrate new features to make the play experience of their fantasy turn-based strategy game even more enjoyable.  During this process, players were invited to offer their ideas as well, leading to many engaging conversations on the Hero Mages community forum that helped shaped this next release.

“We’re serious about giving the fans what they want, and what better way to show that then having direct one-on-one conversations with our players?” – Ross Przybylski, Manager of D20Studios, LLC

In addition to a plethora of balance changes that aim to improve the flow and excitement of battle, v1.3 will also contain several new features.

NEW FEATURES

•  Party Builder, added to the game lobby, allows you to discover the different heroes of Papillion and create your own custom team in a fun and interactive way.  Additionally, it will remember your hero choices during the same login session, allowing you to make quick adjustments to your selection as needed between games.
•  Minotaur, a new Guardian hero, has been added to the hero roster.  Access to this exclusive character is reserved for members who participate in promotional events to help build the Hero Mages community.  Stay tuned for updates from D20Studios on how to earn this fearsome ally.
•  Hot Keys have been added for all actions within the game.
•  Visual Indicators added to various game effects make it even easier to assess the battlefield.  Dice that hit now glow, stunned units are now tinted blue, immobilized units are tinted purple, popup messages alert players when magical effects miss or are resisted, and spells you cannot cast yet are now grayed out.
•  Improved Targeting Interface was implemented to reduce the number of clicks required to perform actions.