Jun 26, 2023

Lost Flame - hugeowl

Hey all,
Version 0.16 is going live! Join Lost Flame's discord if you want to follow the beta branch changes, or just chat!
This is another big update containing changes from the past 3 months of work and I can imagine in 2 or 3 such updates the game will reach 1.0 state (so somewhere between december and march).

Graphical overhaul

The update introduces smoother "animations" for characters moving and attacking, monsters gibbing into pieces when killed and on-screen status and damage indicators.

You can also find elements of the UI updated:

Semi-permadeath mode

The update introduces new optional semi-permadeath mode, which is explained in the new tutorial. When running the game for the first time it will be started in this mode.
In short: dying will reload the game to the last pyre that you've found (losing all progress since then) and get your character debuffed with more and more curses (which can be removed with some items). At some point you will get 'doomed' debuff, and if you die before removing it the game will be over.
This usually gives 2-3 additional chances, before the number of curses gets too overwhelming (although it's possible with some builds to survive more deaths).
This also replaces the previous difficulty level system - now the game is always played on former "normal" difficulty.

Mouse control QoL

This update introduces several improvements for mouse control, including things such as better inventory management, "smart" skill usage, better character control. You can find the details below:

added 'smart skills' when using mouse. When clicking an enemy that is 1 tile away your character will use the 'lunge' skill if it's available. If clicking an enemy that is 1 tile away and lunge is not available 'stab' will be used. When clicking behind a nearby enemy 'jump over' will be used if available. I plan to expand it with more skills in the future
double clicking or right clicking an item in inventory will cause a default action to happen depending on item type (equip/unequip/use)
when using mouse to walk around if any of allies stand in your way you will swap places with them instead of being stopped
you can use mouse wheel to browse through your skills
sped up the camera when using mouse controls
hovering mouse on doors, chest or enemy, will properly mark the tile visually
waiting using mouse (by clicking on your character) will rest until stamina is restored

Crimson pyre rework/Curse system

Crimson pyre event is completely reworked. Now carrying cursed items for a longer time will result in the player getting cursed. Curses are various effect which usually debuff the player's character. At some point if the player does not address those curses they will get doomed. Getting doomed makes all of the equipment cursed. The player will no longer be forced into Neith when doomed, however if whole equipment is cursed, the player will be given the option to travel to Neith through a pyre.
There are some ways to remove those curses and doomed debuff - either use blessed scrolls of remove curse, which remove one of such curses, or travel to Neith where blight eaters can be found. Blight eaters are unusual type of shades - they uncurse your equipment and killing them removes one of the curses from the player.

Abysm tunnels and new locations

The update introduces two small locations.
Desolate Lighthouse is a late game area just east of the Grey Shore accessible at the very start with a unique monster which built its nest around a blood-soaked scoria and absorbed some if its time controlling power.

The Buried Retreat hidden deep in the Abysm which introduces a campfire in a very remote location and an NPC offering a new way to trade with the player

The update also introduces a number of tunnels all over the Hiraeth. The tunnels are getting spread by the Abysm to reach something.. And you can use them to do some shortcutting between distant areas. One of such tunnels can be found before Tower of Mirth. Be aware that the tunnels are pretty dangerous!

Hurt boss tiles

All bosses received additional tiles showing them getting more and more hurt.

New ending

The update introduces new way to end the game - now you can try to restore the barrier that used to surround the Abysm.

Other changes

New content

blood-soaked scoria can now be empowered with scrolls of power, using it will bring your character back to the Gray Shore and regenerate all areas with beefed up versions of monsters (NG+ style)
achieving any of the game endings will show a text description of the consequences of the player's choices
added flavor texts for all potions, scrolls and a bunch of other items
scroll of travel now behaves slightly different, when used in some areas it will teleport you to other predefined places
changed how cursed scrolls of travel work - now they will also grab all nearby allies and enemies with you
Added a new type of "big" monsters abyss worms
Reworked the early game tutorial - the original tutorial level got removed, now when a new player starts a game their early levels will be generated slightly differently and will include stone tablets that can be read for some tips on how to play the game
Added 2 new types of shades
various mainland areas have names now - there is no "mainland" area name displayed anymore
added a simple rain effect to the swamps before the Tower of Mirth
added 13 new Steam achievements
added much more webs in the Northern Tunnel
blood-soaked scoria can now also be found deep in the Abysm
added a basic sea wave "animation" on the Grey Shore
added a very basic campfire "animation"
mages summoning flesh will no longer show blinking dots before the spell procs
some minor changes around Arnet's Quarters
when traveling through campfire you will appear on the other side of it, not top left corner every time
changed slightly how player's stats are shown in the inventory
added music to Sisterhood area
updated sprites for Children of Iphe

Bug fixes

added missing sounds to several different effects
fixed Deflector short sword's name being shown wrongly when unidentified
fixed ring of regeneration desription being shown twice
removed the mini blink when opening the first door at Tower of Mirth 3
fixed binding short cuts to items not being usable in the turn they were created
essence will no longer be generated cursed or blessed
changed the death message for automations to "crumbles to dust"
cleaned up description for brutality affix
cleaned up description for bleed effects
changed font in player inventory to a more readable one
bosses blocking stairs will now also block campfires (this only affects one area)
fixed scroll of power and scroll of travel interaction
changed the ladder tile to the correct one on passage between Hall of Candles 2 and Hall of Candles 1
cleaned up descriptions, fixed some typos for a bunch of items
Fixed a bug where sometimes you would hear the waves ambient sound in menu when quickly closing the game after start
Now both Arnet and Grand Executioner need to be killed to unblock the ladder at their area
the small hp bar near player's character is no longer displayed
fixed acid and web not being shown on an open door tile
fixed distorted monsters not having full hp after an area reset
Whirlwind spear no longer hits allies
fixed some singular/plural text messages for plural items (e.g. trousers, greaves)
fixed minimap not always scaling properly when changing resolution
fixed the sea ambient sound starting before the game actually starts sometimes
a small shadow no longer shows in the middle of a tile when standing below a "high" tile, such as a tree or Thayer's furnace
removed any graphical artifacts that sometimes shown on some graphical scaling values
killing children of Iphe will log them as children of Iphe, not whatever they were trasnformed into
fixed some monsters having corrupted name when being distorted
ring of blood spurt no longer harms allies
fixed a bug where low-stamina heavy breathing would sometimes not stop on death
fixed the color of feathered creature, depending if it's ally or not
ring of fowl now works correctly if given to bottle knight and does not agro npcs in Hythe
fixed a bug where game would behave weirdly if bottle knight had spear and rope and got disappeared when having a hooked enemy

QoL changes

distortion level is shown near the area's name above the minimap
when Calven Dunning is killed all other nearby enemies will die 1 by 1
essence is now autopicked up, like other consumables
using 'l'ook command will start the cursor from the player position instead of the mouse's cursor
Brokbrog's 'feed items' screen will no longer close after selecting an item, making it easier to feed him multiple items
increased the size of the box around status icons in top left corner
when carrying a shield and the shield is not readied, an empty shield icon will be displayed in the status area (top left corner)
changed the color of the chat notification whenever someone wins the game
lowered volume of poison damage and sword attacks slightly
changed the high pitched hound yelp into a different sound
added visual notifications for "petrifying", "stunned" and "confused" effects
Smasher great axe now has a text notification when its effect procs
changed the game default resolution, when starting it first time ever, to full screen borderless mode
added option to clear F1-F12 binding

Balance changes

reduced the weekly run score for the easier wins
added a few more campfires throughout the game
fixed the flame wave not disappearing when The Archmage escapes to Neith
Headguard of Frozen Dusk reduces sight even more, however enhanting it weakens the debuff
executioner's essence can no longer be used to craft executioner's ring - changed to ring of punishment
added petrification resistance for Archmage and Olivar Steros
being invisible now grants a dodge bonus
attacking from invisibility grants 20% to hit bonus
increased the probability of scrolls of travel and scrolls of power to spawn
sweep around greatsword attack no longer self stuns for 1 turn, increased stamina cost to 5
soulless witches got higher cooldown for 'teleport enemy' attack
scroll of antimagic - reduced the duration of the buff
scroll of antimagic now also grants polymorph immunity
when enemy disarms you, your weapon will always drop to the ground where you are standing. If any item was there before, the item will be displaced to a nearby free tile.
eating Iphe's essence will cause a random debuff (similar as when attacked by ||Primordial Child of Iphe||)
bottle knight no longer has a timer after which he disappears - he will only disappear when hurt heavily or after using square bottle again
wand of ice storm - increased the damage
executioner's ring - reduced the base percentage chance of beheading 20%->15%

Hope you have fun!
Bartek