Hey Warlocks,

As per last week's announcement, the Open Playtest of Project Warlock II: Reworked Chapter 1 is now live! It’s starting today and running all the way until next Monday.

The aim of this playtest is for everyone who hasn’t yet had the chance to play Project Warlock II to dip their feet into Reworked Chapter 1, which reflects changes to the game from the last two years of Early Access. You will be able to try out the upcoming improvements and help us reshape Chapter 1 as we add the finishing touches to the update.

Project Warlock II: Chapter 1 tells the story of Palmer, Warlock’s disciple, whose affinity for guns and a touch of magic fuels the fight against the ruthless demonic army. The reworked Chapter 1 is the fruit of player feedback in combination with paying homage to the original Project Warlock game, and is how we see Project Warlock II going forward with Chapters 2 and 3.



A quick recap of what’s changed from the previous version:

• A fully revamped upgrades, perks, and skills system
  
• Brand new weapons with new alt-fire methods
  
• Adjusted magical skills
  
• Elemental runes for weapon enchantment
  
• and much, much more

To join the playtest, head to Project Warlock II's store page, scroll down to the Playtest section below Demo, and request access. Since it's an open playtest, you will automatically gain access to the Playtest build, and Project Warlock II Playtest will show up in your Steam Library.

We've prepared a short Feedback Survey for you to fill out once you play a fair bit of the Reworked Chapter 1.

You can find it here: https://forms.gle/3GDd1pVAvTosVLrY7

We can't wait to hear your feedback - here on Steam forums, the feedback survey, or in our Discord.

This year's December 6th will mark the 5th Anniversary of Project Warlock launching on Steam. Five years of adventures where you took the titular Warlock for a spin and navigated the five episodes filled to the brim with devious enemies, fiendish secrets, powerful weapons, impactful spells and handy skills and perks.

All across both PC and consoles, physical editions - both console and PC, and literally hundreds of thousands of people enjoying what was the first step on the journey for the titular Warlock. In the meantime - as you are aware we embarked on another adventure to expand the roster of characters inhabiting the Warlock World before the inevitable explosive finale that will be Project Warlock III (when we announce it). Before we do that, though, we'd like to announce something a bit less expected.



Throughout the development of Project Warlock II the game went into an ambitious direction, taking a lot of the things that we felt made Project Warlock and created a bigger, more expansive, more detailed and more dynamic sequel. Nailing down the shape and scope of the game is something that is still on the way but the goal was always simple - to make sure the path to the sequel was not going to be the easiest one. A sort of Doom to Quake scenario.

We know a lot of you enjoy Project Warlock II, and a lot of the feedback we received after launching the game in Early Access last year helped impact the development and bring the vision closer to what you feel the game should be, while ate the same time allowing us to expand on everything that made the first game.

At the same time we do realise that many of you still enjoy the first game and wouldn't mind continuing the adventure that was set in motion half a decade ago. That's why, earlier this year work started on what is now unveiled before your very eyes. Project Warlock: Lost Chapters is a game that brings fans of original Project Warlock more of what they enjoyed, and allows us to keep working on Project Warlock II and expand on the premise of that game as well as per the team's vision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2K9DQncq10

Juggling two projects is no easy task, but that's why the past months we have been keeping quiet, to make sure we can be confident in the announcement of Lost Chapters, and make it work with the concurrent work on Chapter 2 of Project Warlock II.

https://youtu.be/2lhNaG9NQ4M

Project Warlock II Chapter 2 will be launching within the next couple of weeks, and in the meantime everyone can check out the demo that we release this week. Chapter 1 of Project Warlock II underwent fundamental visual overhaul that we will be showing and communicating soon, Chapter III design is already underway, and the final piece of the Warlock puzzle - Lost Chapters will launch later next year.

We have been waiting to share this news with you and are extremely grateful for your support and following. We wanted to make sure we can make this year worthy of the Warlock's 5th birthday.

The best way to celebrate this with us would be to wishlist Lost Chapters, play Project Warlock II Chapter 2 demo and wishlist or buy the game and provide feedback.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1043850/Project_Warlock_Lost_Chapters/




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Hey everyone!

We're excited to let you know that Project Warlock series is coming to Realms Deep 2023!

Join us this Saturday, 30 September at 8 PM CEST / 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT on https://twitch.tv/3drealms!

Make sure to grab snacks and drinks, and get ready for one of a kind show!

We hope to see you there,

Buckshot Software and Retrovibe

Hey Warlocks!

We're excited to let you know that Project Warlock is a part of the Lovecraftian Days 2023!

Join us on a livestream today, April 7, at 21:00 CEST for a chance to win 1 of 5 Project Warlock keys!

To celebrate Lovecraftian Days, you can get the Project Warlock x Project Warlock II bundle with 25% discount for the next 72 hours!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/26638/Project_Warlock_1__2/

Enjoy!

Hey again, Warlocks!

We're coming to you today with a hotfix that addresses issues that players have reported after our last patch.

Here are the changes:

• Fixed an issue with weapon order display on the weapon bar
  
• Claymore now destroys barrels and decorations
  
• Fixed the invincible zombie issue after destroying barrel with an axe
  
• Added OpenGL support

See you in the next one!

Buckshot Software & Retrovibe

Hey Warlocks!


First of all, we'd like to address the comments after our last update featuring key bindings changes. We've decided to revert the changes addressing key bindings. We appreciate your honesty and quick feedback, however harsh it may be.

Introducing Claymore was a bit more problematic than we would have expected, as with its inception one category had 3 weapons, while the players were able to assign only 2 weapons to a specific key as per Project Warlock’s code. To find a workaround we've decided to hard code specific key bindings and it seems that was not something anyone welcomed. At the same time we were working on the new difficulty level and the lives system. Over the course of the last few weeks we've tried to find solutions to the binding issue, but it turned out the best one was to revert to the pre-patch settings. So we did and moved Claymore to the 6th slot by default. At the same time we're removing the hard code to allow anyone to bind up to 2 weapons to a single key as before.


And now - to give you more insight into an update to the lives system, as well as one brand new difficulty option!

Difficulty levels and losing lives, specifically, has been a hot topic since the game launched in 2018. The original concept (have limited lives and restart the full game if you lost them) was optional, but still the choice didn’t really sit well with a lot of the players. Some of the issues with that stemmed from difficulty spikes in certain areas, so we tried amending that by making a lot of adjustments to the game’s balance. The aim was to provide fair gameplay for the players and reduce the frustration caused by losing all their lives on a single boss fight, or a stage.

Five years on Project Warlock still finds new players and we decided it’s time to shift approach to the lives system with this patch, and we’re introducing redefined difficulty levels and reworked lives system. For those of you seeking the most hellish experience that results in losing all your progress, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Here are the patch notes:

• 1-0 keys are no longer hardcoded
  
• You can assign up to 2 weapons to a single key
  
• The sword has been moved from Slot 1 to Slot 6 (by default)

• Reworked the functioning of lives. Instead of losing all progress, in any mode (sans the Single LIfe Mode) that offers limited lives you'll be sent back to your most recent Workshop visit with 3 lives

• Casual - Unlimited lives
  
• Standard - Limited lives, upon losing all lives go back to your most recent Workshop visit with 3 lives
  
• (NEW) Hard - Unlimited lives, double monster damage, fast monsters
  
• Hardcore - Limited lives, double monster damage, fast monsters, upon losing all lives go back to your most recent Workshop visit with 3 lives
  
• Single Life Mode - Single life, double monster damage, fast monsters, progress reset upon death

We hope these changes will allow more players to experience the deadlier difficulties of Project Warlock without worrying about losing all their progress, while still providing the most difficult experience in the Single Life Mode.

Make sure to let us know what you think about these changes, so if you’d like to share your feedback, or report any issues with the game, please do so on the Steam forum, or our official Discord server.

As always, please share Project Warlock with your friends and leave a Steam review if you’re enjoying the game to help us reach even more players.

See you in the next update!

Buckshot Software and Retrovibe

Hey Warlock fans!

After the last patch we’re coming in hot with another round of fixes for Project Warlock. See them below:

• Fixed Additional Weapon Binding - The keys 1-0 are now hardcoded and cannot be changed - additional bindings in the controls menu are now unable to be bound to those keys. You are still able to add alternative key bindings to the weapons, for example “X” to the Axe, etc.
  
• Added additional binding for Claymore to the keybinding menu. You can now quick-select the Claymore whenever you need it!
  
• Fixed Ghouls and Spiders being invincible after barrel spawn
  
• Fixed Dynamite throw physics

Thank you for reporting the issues and your feedback, we’re constantly trying to improve our now 4-year old game, while simultaneously working on the sequel.

If you’d like to share your feedback, or report any issues with the game, please do so on the Steam forum, or our official Discord server.

As always, please share Project Warlock with your friends and leave a Steam review if you’re enjoying the game to help us reach even more players.

See you in the next update!

Buckshot Software and Retrovibe

Hey all!

It’s been some time since we’ve posted an update for the original Project Warlock. Right now we are working hard on the Project Warlock II Early Access, but we are still dedicated to keep its predecessor alive and keep updating it.

So today we’ve got some cool stuff to share with you!

First of all, we’re adding a new weapon to the game - Claymore from Project Warlock II. This sharp as a…. sword… sword will cut through hordes of hellspawns like butter. Check it out in action:





Apart from Claymore, we’ve prepared two improvements to core game systems.

We improved mouse wheel functionality - removed scroll wheel hardcode from weapon switch code. This should address issues for some of the players when the mouse wheel was not working as effectively as it should.

And also we improved supersonic rocket launcher functionality - fixed the projectile direction when aiming into skybox/unhittable surfaces. This was a tricky one to find, as it was most prominently visible in the final phases of the final boss fight. Should be ok now!

Thanks for popping by, and make sure to let us know what you think about the changes and new features on Steam forums, or our official Discord server.

As always, please share Project Warlock with your friends and leave a Steam review if you’re enjoying the game to help us reach even more players.

Also check out our bexplosive BFF Vol.1 Bundle: Triple Threat featuring Retrovibe's three retro shooters, and more!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/30285/Triple_Threat/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/26638/Project_Warlock_1__2/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/29360/Project_Warlock_x_Impaler/

See you in the next one!

Buckshot Software and Retrovibe

Snow is falling, gamers are playing, and it’s time for Winter Sale 2022!

Project Warlock is now 77% off until January 5th! We all know that demon-slaying games make the best gifts for your friends and family… or yourselves!

Make sure to check out our special bundles too!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/26638/Project_Warlock_1__2/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/29360/Project_Warlock_x_Impaler/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/26867/Bloody_Nostalgia/

Have a wonderful holiday season! Stay safe and healthy. We wish you fruitful deal-hunting during the Winter Sale and a Retro New Year!

Hey everyone!

It’s been exactly four years since Project Warlock showed up on Steam. And – as we found out in the coming months – joined the ranks of excellent games such as Dusk and Amid Evil making up what is now considered a new wave of retro shooters.



The resurgence of the genre got recognized with this year’s Humble Bundle’s Boomer Shooter Bundle and we had the immense pleasure of teaming up with the legendary John Romero to release a special PC Big Box of Project Warlock.



The path to get there was a long one, with two earlier versions of the game (Exitium 3D and Cataclysm) helping shape the game that you got to know as Project Warlock.



With stellar pixel art by David and a six-hour behemoth of a soundtrack by Jerry and Luke Project Warlock laid the foundation for the next game that entered Early Access this year. Taking just another step on its way to fulfilling the dream of offering a trilogy of games set in the world of Project Warlock.

To celebrate Project Warlock turning four, you’re also helping us get to the verge of 3,000 reviews on Steam, and Project Warlock II sailing past 300 while still in its infancy (or, in Steam terms, Early Access).

This year’s Project Warlock II surpassed the launch numbers of the first game when it arrived on Steam and we’re looking at expanding on that in the coming months. Exciting announcements of Chapter 2 are coming soon and we are constantly working on shaping the game based on your feedback.



We also want to share the spotlight with other like-minded indie devs. That’s why we decided to cooperate with solo developer Apptivus who added Demoness and Harvester shotgun skins into his arena shooter Impaler. They’ll become a permanent addition to the game by popular demand.



We also prepared a special Steam bundle with an extra discount for everyone who owns Project Warlock, so be sure to give Impaler a try!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/29360/Project_Warlock_x_Impaler/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/29427/PROJECT_WARLOCK_II_x_Impaler/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1573090/Impaler/