Frequently Asked Questions

Is ASSIMILATION really free?

Yes. The full game plays free in your browser with no install and no account. Optional purchases speed things up and support development — everything they contain is earnable in play, Legendary and Exotic gear is never sold, and campaign gates can't be bought.

Where is my save stored?

On your device, in your browser's local storage. Named accounts can additionally mirror saves to the cloud for free backup and cross-device play. Export/import is always available.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. Runs have dedicated portrait and landscape phone layouts — the board fills the screen and panels become drawers. Hub screens ask you to turn your phone sideways. In a mobile browser the layout fits around the address bar; on Android and iPad the game goes full screen on your first tap (Settings can turn that off), and on iPhone, Share ▸ Add to Home Screen gives you the game without the address bar. Native iOS/Android builds are on the roadmap.

Does it work offline?

Yes. After your first visit the game installs a service worker and runs fully offline. You can also install it as an app from your browser.

What does "deterministic" mean here?

A run is a pure function of its seed and your inputs: replaying it reproduces the exact same result, byte for byte. That is what makes replay links and fair daily leaderboards possible.

How do daily runs work?

Every UTC day generates one seed — the same biome, bosses, modifiers and tower pool for every player in the world. The leaderboard compares decisions, not luck.

I lost a run. Did I lose progress?

No. Biomass dies with the run; everything else — shards, genes, mastery, collections, unlocks — persists. Losing runs is part of the loop.

Will it come to Steam?

A Steam release is planned. The homepage will carry the wishlist link the day the store page is live.

How often does the game update?

Continuously — patch notes are generated straight from the development history. See the News page for the full record.

What is there to do each week?

The hive runs on a weekly clock: a daily seed every UTC day, three Champion Contracts on one worldwide board (sweep all three for a Perfect Week), a rotating quest ring, Weekly Directives, and a season pass fed by all of it. Everything credits from normal play — no chore lists.

What are Doctrines?

Optional run-start commitments — you sign exactly one, and it reshapes a rule for the whole run: your own math (Build), the enemy world (Protocol), or both (Pact). Harder doctrines pay reward premiums, and each ranks up as you master it.

Do I earn anything while I'm away?

Yes — the Idle Harvest accrues materials while you're gone, with its own small upgrade tree. It is deliberately the slower path: an automated economy guardrail keeps away-time income well below active play, so it welcomes you back without ever playing the game for you.

Are the hero abilities animated?

Every hero cast stages a procedural set-piece — the sky-dragon strafes the lane, the great eye opens and lances — and the damage lands exactly when the performance strikes. It is all drawn in code (no sprites or video), and it respects your reduced-motion setting.

How many maps are there?

13 battlefields, each with its own geometry — twin lanes, mazes, flank funnels, open fronts. The first campaign stages use fixed maps; deeper stages, the Daily and Infinite rotate through the rest.

What is Threat?

An optional difficulty ladder for content you've already beaten: 10 rungs per mode, each turning one named lever and paying a little more. Climbing earns titles, profile frames and achievements — never Power.

What does Hive Intelligence do?

One button that evaluates every Biomass purchase on the board and makes the best ones, keeping a reserve. It works on content you have already beaten (Infinite and campaign replays); on your frontier, in the Daily and in Boss Rush record runs the decisions stay yours.

Why can't I buy anything in Belgium or the Netherlands?

Loot-box law there treats randomized rewards bought with money — or with a currency bought with money — as gambling. So in those countries we don't sell anything that can end in a random reward. Everything in the game, containers included, stays earnable in play.

Do I need an account?

No. The game plays fully without one. A free named account adds cloud backup, cross-device play and leaderboard identity — and you can delete it in-game at any time.

How do I report a bug or give feedback?

Email assimilationtowerdefense@gmail.com — reports with a replay code attached are gold, because we can reproduce your exact run.