After six weeks of hard work, free locomotion update is finally ready! This is what you, dear players, asked for and... you know what? You were totally right! We can’t wait for the feedback after you try the game with free movement and free teleportation. But that’s not all. We’re also introducing plenty of new features to enhance the experience of free exploration.

HIGHLIGHTS:

We’ve been waiting for this moment for the long time and we hope that you’ll like the new movement schemes and new possibilities as much as we do. Please be forgiving if you encounter any bugs. Redesigning the whole game for free locomotion might generate more bugs than we could detect.

When you run the game for the first time after the update, you’ll have to finish a new tutorial, even if you’ve already played The Wizards. We’d also like to encourage everyone who have played the game before to revisit Stage One on Ruins. Now, it’s longer, with new encounters, puzzles and precious items to collect.


In the following weeks, we’re going to release some small patches that would fix bugs and be a response to your suggestions. Next major update will introduce Arcade Mode with two new stages and a new spell. We’re open to your ideas so please join our Discord server and Discussion on Community Hub.




GENERAL CHANGES

• Added free locomotion
  - Added free movement
  - Added free teleportation
  - Changes in node-based teleportation
  - Customization options for movement
  
  
• Rework of tutorial area
  - Pocket dimension is now bigger and more interesting visually
  - Added tutorials for free movement, teleportation and shield
  - Objectives help to guide the player
  - More 2D graphics explaining keybindings and required actions
  - Added silhouettes helping to cast spells
  - Changes in tutorial glyphs
  
  
• Rework of Ruins Stage 1
  - Added new area - castle
  - Added new encounter
  - Changes in first encounter
  - Removed metal gates from the crystal battle
  - Changed the timing of enemies during the crystal battle
  - Added environmental puzzle
  
  
• Added immersive mode - you can now hide the interface
  
• Dungeon Region is now fully explorable
  
• Fate Cards now need to be found in chests
  
• Added Hourglasses (restore HP / rewards with points if HP is full)
  
• Added Crystal Shards rewarding player with Spell Potential
  
• Added grab-and-rotate mechanic for crank handles
  
• Fate cards are from now unlocked right after finishing tutorial
  
• Minecart now stops when colliding with player
  
• Leaderboards are now always visible in HUB
  
• Interface (health and tutorials) is now following camera faster
  
• Teleporter traps have been completely removed from game
  
• Banners can now be burned
  
• Player's hands reflect now more light
  
• Experimental - WASD support for VR treadmills

SPELLS

• Minor auto-aim fixes to projectile spells
  
• Idle Arcane Missiles are now more lively

Frost Bow:

• Changed the bow and arrow visuals.
  
• Added trail to the arrow

Fireball:

• Complete visual rework. Fireball is now more fire than ball.
  
• Added fiery trail behind fireball
  
• Fixed the lack of auto-aim when thrown with the left hand

Arcane Shield:

• Shield is now unlocked from the beginning
  
• Added the ability to block melee attacks
  
• Moved the shield closer to the player

ENEMIES

• Minor AI tweaks
  
• All enemies have now knockback effect when blocked with a shield
  
• Enemy projectiles are now faster
  
• Fixed the bug making Spell Catcher ignore fireballs thrown with left hand

AUDIO

• Minor changes in arcane missiles SFX
  
• Added sounds for blocking with shield
  
• Improved enemy footsteps
  
• Added player’s footsteps
  
• Improved audio of orange glyphs on levels.
  
• Minor fixes in Chinese dubbing
  
• New voices and sounds for Pocket Dimension and for Ruins Stage 1
  
• Ice Bow’s SFXes are now a bit louder
  
• New SFX for channelling

KNOWN ISSUES

• “Level of Details” of objects need changes. Currently textures change quality at player’s eyes.

After six weeks of hard work, free locomotion update is finally ready! This is what you, dear players, asked for and... you know what? You were totally right! We can’t wait for the feedback after you try the game with free movement and free teleportation. But that’s not all. We’re also introducing plenty of new features to enhance the experience of free exploration.

HIGHLIGHTS:

We’ve been waiting for this moment for the long time and we hope that you’ll like the new movement schemes and new possibilities as much as we do. Please be forgiving if you encounter any bugs. Redesigning the whole game for free locomotion might generate more bugs than we could detect.

When you run the game for the first time after the update, you’ll have to finish a new tutorial, even if you’ve already played The Wizards. We’d also like to encourage everyone who have played the game before to revisit Stage One on Ruins. Now, it’s longer, with new encounters, puzzles and precious items to collect.


In the following weeks, we’re going to release some small patches that would fix bugs and be a response to your suggestions. Next major update will introduce Arcade Mode with two new stages and a new spell. We’re open to your ideas so please join our Discord server and Discussion on Community Hub.




GENERAL CHANGES

• Added free locomotion
  - Added free movement
  - Added free teleportation
  - Changes in node-based teleportation
  - Customization options for movement
  
  
• Rework of tutorial area
  - Pocket dimension is now bigger and more interesting visually
  - Added tutorials for free movement, teleportation and shield
  - Objectives help to guide the player
  - More 2D graphics explaining keybindings and required actions
  - Added silhouettes helping to cast spells
  - Changes in tutorial glyphs
  
  
• Rework of Ruins Stage 1
  - Added new area - castle
  - Added new encounter
  - Changes in first encounter
  - Removed metal gates from the crystal battle
  - Changed the timing of enemies during the crystal battle
  - Added environmental puzzle
  
  
• Added immersive mode - you can now hide the interface
  
• Dungeon Region is now fully explorable
  
• Fate Cards now need to be found in chests
  
• Added Hourglasses (restore HP / rewards with points if HP is full)
  
• Added Crystal Shards rewarding player with Spell Potential
  
• Added grab-and-rotate mechanic for crank handles
  
• Fate cards are from now unlocked right after finishing tutorial
  
• Minecart now stops when colliding with player
  
• Leaderboards are now always visible in HUB
  
• Interface (health and tutorials) is now following camera faster
  
• Teleporter traps have been completely removed from game
  
• Banners can now be burned
  
• Player's hands reflect now more light
  
• Experimental - WASD support for VR treadmills

SPELLS

• Minor auto-aim fixes to projectile spells
  
• Idle Arcane Missiles are now more lively

Frost Bow:

• Changed the bow and arrow visuals.
  
• Added trail to the arrow

Fireball:

• Complete visual rework. Fireball is now more fire than ball.
  
• Added fiery trail behind fireball
  
• Fixed the lack of auto-aim when thrown with the left hand

Arcane Shield:

• Shield is now unlocked from the beginning
  
• Added the ability to block melee attacks
  
• Moved the shield closer to the player

ENEMIES

• Minor AI tweaks
  
• All enemies have now knockback effect when blocked with a shield
  
• Enemy projectiles are now faster
  
• Fixed the bug making Spell Catcher ignore fireballs thrown with left hand

AUDIO

• Minor changes in arcane missiles SFX
  
• Added sounds for blocking with shield
  
• Improved enemy footsteps
  
• Added player’s footsteps
  
• Improved audio of orange glyphs on levels.
  
• Minor fixes in Chinese dubbing
  
• New voices and sounds for Pocket Dimension and for Ruins Stage 1
  
• Ice Bow’s SFXes are now a bit louder
  
• New SFX for channelling

KNOWN ISSUES

• “Level of Details” of objects need changes. Currently textures change quality at player’s eyes.

As promised, we're working on adding free movement and free teleportation to the game. The progress on this update is so advanced, that it's time for you to join the cause and tell us what you think about it.

So if you:

• Own The Wizards on Steam
  
• Want to help us to test the free locomotion in the game
  
• Have some time to test the beta and fill in the post-beta survey

Please follow this link and sign up for the beta.

Also make sure you join our Discord server


Here's a preview video of the beta:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNqRZcyizMY

As promised, we're working on adding free movement and free teleportation to the game. The progress on this update is so advanced, that it's time for you to join the cause and tell us what you think about it.

So if you:

• Own The Wizards on Steam
  
• Want to help us to test the free locomotion in the game
  
• Have some time to test the beta and fill in the post-beta survey

Please follow this link and sign up for the beta.

Also make sure you join our Discord server


Here's a preview video of the beta:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNqRZcyizMY

Thank you for your amazing support and constructive feedback. We've just released a patch that fixes reported bugs and improves casting spells.

We'd also like to ensure you that we're working on adding free movement in full swing and this update should be ready in a few weeks. You can let us know what things should we fix in the next patch. Future content updates will come after implementation of free movement.

[update] We've pushed another small patch with bugfixes. Details below.



GENERAL CHANGES

• Added note informing about early access upon startup
  
• Added scoreboard next to the level summary after each stage
  
• Teleporters next to the crystal encounter are now easier to notice on stage Ruins 0
  
• Added missing Motion Controller vibrations to world interactions
  
• Changed interactive torches’ burn time from 4 to 10 seconds

SPELLS

• Added missing Motion Controller vibrations to some spells
  
  
• Pyroblast:
  - Slightly reduced the maximal size
  - Moved the orb slightly from the head in order not to clip into the player’s camera
  
  
• Frost Bow:
  - Added visual effects indicating how many arrows can be shot
  - Increased the size of the quiver area behind player’s head
  - Added the ability to grab arrows using Trigger on the Motion Controller
  - Slightly increased gesture error tolerance while casting
  - Improved Frost Bow’s behaviour when firing arrows in a rapid succession
  
  
• Arcane Missiles: Slightly increased gesture error tolerance while casting

• Fixed the bug making Pause Menu in HUB non-interactive
  
• Early Access disclaimer is now translated to German and Chinese
  
• All spells got a little bigger error tolerance while casting
  
• Fireball and Pyroblast should now be easier to cast
  
• Opening Pause Menu while holding bow will no longer duplicate arrow counter.

You're welcome to join our Discord server and share your feedback!

Thank you for your amazing support and constructive feedback. We've just released a patch that fixes reported bugs and improves casting spells.

We'd also like to ensure you that we're working on adding free movement in full swing and this update should be ready in a few weeks. You can let us know what things should we fix in the next patch. Future content updates will come after implementation of free movement.

[update] We've pushed another small patch with bugfixes. Details below.



GENERAL CHANGES

• Added note informing about early access upon startup
  
• Added scoreboard next to the level summary after each stage
  
• Teleporters next to the crystal encounter are now easier to notice on stage Ruins 0
  
• Added missing Motion Controller vibrations to world interactions
  
• Changed interactive torches’ burn time from 4 to 10 seconds

SPELLS

• Added missing Motion Controller vibrations to some spells
  
  
• Pyroblast:
  - Slightly reduced the maximal size
  - Moved the orb slightly from the head in order not to clip into the player’s camera
  
  
• Frost Bow:
  - Added visual effects indicating how many arrows can be shot
  - Increased the size of the quiver area behind player’s head
  - Added the ability to grab arrows using Trigger on the Motion Controller
  - Slightly increased gesture error tolerance while casting
  - Improved Frost Bow’s behaviour when firing arrows in a rapid succession
  
  
• Arcane Missiles: Slightly increased gesture error tolerance while casting

• Fixed the bug making Pause Menu in HUB non-interactive
  
• Early Access disclaimer is now translated to German and Chinese
  
• All spells got a little bigger error tolerance while casting
  
• Fireball and Pyroblast should now be easier to cast
  
• Opening Pause Menu while holding bow will no longer duplicate arrow counter.

You're welcome to join our Discord server and share your feedback!

Brave Wizards,
Many thanks for the amazing support, constructive feedback and great ideas we've got from you during the release weekend! We are excited to announce that we've decided to implement free movement in The Wizards. Lack of free locomotion is the most commonly raised subject in your reviews and comments, which prompted us to change our initial updates plan and focus on meeting your expectations.

We plan to add free movement as an alternative and a complement to teleportation. It means that it will still be possible to finish the entire game with the use of teleportation, however, the players will also be able to move freely around most locations in the game and mix free movement with teleportation. We'll also change node-based teleportation to free teleportation, to make the exploration more engaging also for the players prone to motion sickness.

Today our whole team started working on this new movement scheme and we hope to have it ready within few weeks. After free movement is ready, we'll start working on scheduled content updates and implementing your suggestions regarding combat and enemies.

Stay tuned for more updates on the status of implementation of free movement. We're also working on a patch that will fix bugs you have reported and introduce several improvements to Frost Bow and Arcane Missiles. This patch will go live in the upcoming days.

P.S. We've decided to use Onward as a reference while implementing free movement. Let us know do you think about this choice.

Brave Wizards,
Many thanks for the amazing support, constructive feedback and great ideas we've got from you during the release weekend! We are excited to announce that we've decided to implement free movement in The Wizards. Lack of free locomotion is the most commonly raised subject in your reviews and comments, which prompted us to change our initial updates plan and focus on meeting your expectations.

We plan to add free movement as an alternative and a complement to teleportation. It means that it will still be possible to finish the entire game with the use of teleportation, however, the players will also be able to move freely around most locations in the game and mix free movement with teleportation. We'll also change node-based teleportation to free teleportation, to make the exploration more engaging also for the players prone to motion sickness.

Today our whole team started working on this new movement scheme and we hope to have it ready within few weeks. After free movement is ready, we'll start working on scheduled content updates and implementing your suggestions regarding combat and enemies.

Stay tuned for more updates on the status of implementation of free movement. We're also working on a patch that will fix bugs you have reported and introduce several improvements to Frost Bow and Arcane Missiles. This patch will go live in the upcoming days.

P.S. We've decided to use Onward as a reference while implementing free movement. Let us know do you think about this choice.

The Wizards was nominated for Best Graphic, Best Narrative and Best VR Game at Casual Connect Asia 2017! The game has won the Best VR Game Award!

More info here