Hello Dreamers,

After the most challenging days since our launch, we're here with a critical announcement: "Strange Dream" has received a major update focused entirely on STABILITY.

We've heard every piece of feedback about crashes and fatal errors. This patch is our definitive answer to that most critical problem.

The Core of This Update:

• \[STABILITY IS EVERYTHING]: We have dedicated all our effort to fixing all known fatal crash bugs (especially underlying issues related to DX12 and third-party plugins). We can't claim the game is 100% perfect, but it is now stable enough for the vast majority of players to explore the dream world without interruption.

• \[QUALITY OF LIFE]: We have also reworked the early-game level order and added more guidance to address the "getting lost" issue.

To those who had a poor experience due to crashes, we offer our sincerest apologies. We invite you to give this reborn, far more stable dream another chance.

-- The Developer, GrassDW

Hello all!

This dev log will be shorter than the last. The demo is on track to be ready for mid-late December, all modes that were listed in the previous log are still going to be in it. A reminder that the demo is not the final product & all visuals are subject to change.

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

We updated our new steam capsule featuring The Warden and some new ghostly residents 👻

We had a ton of fun creating this one so check it out on our Steam page and tell us what you think, we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The store page has also been updated with new screenshots showing off different worlds and bosses striking some seriously cool poses! 📸✨

Oh, and while you’re there… a friendly reminder that Groovy is still on the loose! Catch it before it vanishes with the end of Steam Scream Fest!🎃

👇Play the new demo and catch Groovy!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3154150/SpookABoo/

This should be the last update needed, and uses the latest version of Ren'Py

- Added an "Invite" button in the main menu to open the Steam overlay.
- Fixed an issue preventing some players from connecting online due to geographical restrictions.

This patch fixes some issues with the companion preservation system. One of the errors caused the preserved companion equipment / cards to be saved after recruiting that companion and modifying them. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to fix and didn't want to wipe already saved companions, so there may be issues with them. It is advised that you start a new run and not recruit the companions that you had preserved and already had re-recruited before the patch.

- Fixed an error where preserved companion's perk was not saved correctly in certain cases.
- Fixed an error where state of preserved companions were being saved and default equipment / deck being overriden
- Fixed an error where it was possible to recruit the same preserved companion multiple times in a run in certain cases.
- Fixed a bug where re-opening recruit window applied stats and equipment attributes cumulatively.
- Fixed a bug where current XP value didn't reset after preserving companions.
- Companions with the same name now override already preserved companions.
- Companions now keep their new perk when being preserved after Behaviour Adjustment Pill item has been applied.

Hi everyone!

With the release getting closer, I'd like to give you a few tips and information about how to play Ell, the fire mage.

Ell is probably the simplest character to play in Joltt - Battle Pillars. She is available in the demo, so feel free to jump on the demo right after reading this. 😊

In a nutshell: Use her powerful feints to lure your enemy and take advantage of the situation.

Ell has 10 special moves in total.

Her basic moves A, B and X are as follow:

A: casts a horizontal projectile

B: casts a diagonal projectile

X: Feints a limited horizontal projectile, then casts a diagonal projectile.

By adding the forward direction to these 3 buttons, you gain access to a different or more powerful version of the special move. Keep in mind that recovery on these moves are much longer than on the simple versions seen above.

→ A: Feint a limited horizontal projectile, then casts a horizontal projectile

→ B: Casts two diagonal projectiles

→ X: Feints a diagonal projectile, then casts a horizontal projectile

She also has access to aerial moves:

(jump) A: Casts an aerial horizontal projectile

(jump) B: Casts an aerial diagonal projectile

(jump) X: Feints an aerial diagonal projectile, then casts an aerial horizontal projectile

Finally, pressing Y when the super gauge is filled will cast her devastating super move!

Use Ell's powerful feints to lure your enemy into a bad situation and take advantage of it.

The feints are limited in the distance they will travel, but while they are on screen, they are still true projectiles! This allow you to cancel your opponent's projectile with the feint and gain momentum with the second projectile.

Ell's standard projectiles are also the ones which are cast the quickest in the game. Only 0.1 second preparation time!

If you need to delay the moment you will fall on your pillar while jumping, jump X is golden.

Ell's Super is the fastest projectile in the game! When you have it ready, don't forget to use it!

I hope this will help you get started with Ell!

Feel free to share your own strategy and matchup analysis in the discussion board.

Cheers,

Pablo

When I started working on Alone on the Lost Isle, I didn't want to just make "another open world."

It's important to me that the island isn't an empty backdrop, but has a life of its own—quietly, without constant events or clues.

The player can go anywhere without seeing a task list on the screen.

I wanted the sense of direction to emerge naturally—from the environment, sounds, and light.

Sometimes smoke on the horizon will show the way, sometimes a dog suddenly running off.

The world doesn't overwhelm you; it simply waits for you to notice it.

I'm not aiming for a huge map.

It's more important that every part of the island has character—a place where you want to stop, look around, and reminisce.

Let it be compact but atmospheric, where every meter feels lived in.

There are no teleports or instant transitions in Alone on the Lost Isle.

Walking through a forest or cliffs takes time—and that's what creates a sense of isolation and a journey.

When you return to a place you've already been to, the place is still recognizable, but it feels different.

Perhaps you see it from a different perspective, or simply notice details you hadn't seen before.

Sometimes it's not about the world changing, but about how the player's perception itself changes.

The world isn't just a backdrop, it's part of the story.

It doesn't speak in words, but sometimes it conveys where you are and how you're feeling better than any dialogue.

Improvements:

• Reverted the maximum item level cap of random loot in Standard

• Luck scaling is increased slightly

• Plants have a random chance to regrow

• Plant knowledge skill costs were reduced

• Added new chests in the Blood Dungeon Level 2

• Lesser Undead base summon time was increased slightly

• Equipping weapons no longer removes the "lock" state

Bugfixes:

• removed affix chances from Grenkam's Might

• Resolved mapping issue in the Crystal Caverns

• The default camera movement method for keyboard and mouse controls has been changed to ​mouse sliding.

• ​Projectile/Spell performance optimization: Projectiles now default to ​bouncing off walls​ upon impact, and spells default to ​recognizing walls and moving away​ from them.

• Added ​ActionMotion​ to handle special enemy movement patterns.

• Enemies can now 'read' player commands: There is a chance they will perform a ​backstep​ when noticing a melee character attacking them, and a chance they will perform a ​sidestep​ when noticing a ranged character attacking them.

• Enemies can now ​jump across platforms.

• Enhanced the ​combat prowess​ and ​broadened the fighting styles​ of the Goblin Spearman.

• Added various ​controller vibration feedback​ effects.

• Improved the handling of ​any-key input.

• Optimized the processing of ​character sprite rotation​ direction.

• Refined the ​skill selection logic.

• Made enemy tracking of players ​smarter; enemies will now ​memorize the player's movement path.

• Improved the ​feel of the dash speed.

• ​Limited the vertical camera angle range​ that players can adjust.

• Enhanced the logic for ​coordinated enemy assaults.

• Added enemy ​collision detection with walls​ during movement, optimizing the pathfinding to attack positions.

• Fixed an issue where the ​Moonlight Guiding Assist​ would occasionally point towards the ​top-left corner of the screen.

• Fixed a stuttering movement issue that occurred when enemies got ​too close to the player.

• Fixed an issue where ​knockback force​ could sometimes have an ​invalid value.

• Fixed a bug where enemies would ​sometimes continue moving after death.

• Corrected the activation conditions for the ​​\[Aerial Dance] achievement.

• Adjusted the ​default loading height for the next level.