Dec 4, 2023

Riftbound - Elemental Fusion Patch v1.2.8

Demonlore - Barrel Smash Studios

Hello Adventurer!

Here is a the next patch for Riftbound. Thanks again to everyone on the Steam forums and Discord for the incredible feedback!

This patch applies to the Demonlore update that is currently on the public test branch (check the forums for how to access it).

From the Developers

[color=#54cbff]We know that plenty of players absolutely love obliterating enemies with spells, but we also know some players like to focus more on the units. The new mechanics in the Demonlore update have already gone a long way to improve this area (in particularly with veterancy bonuses), but we wanted something that focused more on synergies. So, we came up with a new Elemental Fusion system that works on top of the existing systems!

Speaking of veterancy, new veterancy bonuses have been added to round out the system, and all elementals (except Aether-Types) now have level 10 special veterancy upgrades, from the mighty Super Punch to the heated Fiery Vortex!

Based on player feedback we have reverted some aspects of the consumable system, notably Totems and Circles. These felt better as special items that you could obtain, and they were causing balance issues in mini-boss fights. So they will no longer be consumables and are only found in encounters as they were previously. The consumable system is still going strong however, and you can now find new types of potions to aid you in battle.

That's not all for this patch though, there is a lot of other new content, a new miniboss, consumable changes (based on player feedback), new enemy modifiers and new mutators.

Check out the patch notes below for the full details.[/color]

New Elemental Fusion System

This new system features 8 elemental runes that can be applied to the enemies in different ways. Some more simple than others. When the correct runes both exist on the enemy, they are consumed and turn into a fusion reaction which can apply its own effects and even apply different runes, There are also special runes that are more persistent and wont be consumed when they trigger a reaction, allowing you to trigger multiple reactions if you get the right combination of units.

Here is a chart showing an overview of how it works:

Unlike many of the other new mechanics in the Demonlore update, the really nice thing about this new system, is that it even works in the Classic Campaign!

What's Next?

As we are nearing the end of tasks for Phase 2 of the roadmap, we plan to release an updated roadmap and move on to Phase 3. We are really excited to bring everything together with the new Stage-5 in the main run and introduce the final 2 characters. Phase 3 will also have a big focus on quality of life improvements, controller improvements and keybinding improvements, so stay tuned for those.

❤️ Thanks!

A huge thanks to everyone that has been providing feedback. We are really happy with how the new Demonlore update has been received and are excited to proceed through the roadmap with you!

The best way you can support us is by leaving a review on Steam, as this gets more attention to our game on Steam, and will give us the flexibility to expand the game even more into the future.

Patch v1.2.8

[color=#fdda60]If you have a run in progress you can complete the run without any issues.[/color]

New Elemental Fusion system has been added, and the chart has been added to the escape menu. As part of this system you will see runes above enemies.
The Totem and Circle powerup consumable change has been reverted. They will no longer show as shop consumables and are now special items that you get from encounters that have a charge per battle.
A new miniboss, Grime, has entered the fray.
Updated some miniboss names so that they are easier to identify and more inline with their abilities. Malevolis = Arachne, Malegor = Gori, Corruptorix = Blightrix
New special high level (10+) veterancy bonuses have been added to Stoneling (Blocking), Rock Elemental (Blocking Aura), Jolt Elemental (Spiral Orbs), Ice Elemental (Scatter Shot), Granite Elemental (Super Punch), Jagged Elemental (Spike Shot) ,Lightning Elemental (Impact Strike), Blaze (Scorching), Pyro (Fiery Vortex)
New Veterancy Bonus: +2 Production (available for resource generating units)
New Veterancy Bonus: + Base Health (available in varying amounts for Stoneling, Rock, Granite & Jagged Elementals)
New Veterancy Bonus: +10% Multi-Shot (available to most units that fire projectiles, inherited by evolutions). MultiShot is a new accumulative (non chance based) mechanic for units (e.g 0.1 MultiShot means every 10th attack a unit does will be a double attack).
New Veterancy Bonus: +20% Damage, -10% Attack Speed
New Enemy Modifiers have been added and can now appear in some runs: Stun Immunity, Stinky, Attractive, Ice Shards & Lone Wolf.
New Mutators have been added to the pool: Chaarrggee!!, Forward Offensive & Creeping Forest.
Adjusted the runs on each path, replacing some previous mutators with the new mutators.
New consumable “Potion of Corrosion” has been added to the Moonlight Market shop.
New consumable “Potion of Protection” has been added to the Moonlight Market shop.
New consumable “Bottled Energy” has been added to the Moonlight Market shop.
New targeting indicator for potion consumables.

Characters

Any leftover Fire Shards generated by Incendria’s Combust tactic will now persist between battles. One-shot a boss, I dare you!
Characters Thundarius, Terrina and Incendria now have Recall as part of their starter kit.
Character kits no longer include totems, to bring them inline with the totem consumable change.
Character Aquilla now has 4 x healing potions as part of the starter kit.
Character Thundarius has replaced SideStep with a new unique Thunder Step tactic in the starter kit.

Balance

Miniboss Arachnea will no longer appear in the path of Ruin, as the new miniboss Grime will now appear through the path, and as the stage 3 key miniboss. Both Arachnea and Grime can appear in Path of Blight.
Minibosses are now correctly immune to the Freeze status.
Boss enemies can now have the Blocking Aura modifier from normal difficulty and higher (previous it was from unforgiving difficulty and higher).
Mini-Boss enemies can now have the Blocking Aura modifier from normal difficulty and higher, for bosses at Stage 2 or higher.
Mini-Boss enemies can now have the Strength Aura, Ice Shards, Stinky and Attractive modifiers.
Enemy Modifier Speedy has been removed, to avoid confusion with the Fast affix.
Enemy Modifier Energy Leech has been removed, to avoid situations that you can’t recover from.
Enemy Modifier Electric Resistance no longer makes enemies immune to stun.
Enemy Modifier Blocking Aura will now only give Block(1) instead of Block(+1) – meaning if the enemy has 1 or more stacks of block already it will not get another stack. This modifier was overperforming.
The cooldown on the Recall Tactic has been reduced from 10 to 5.
The enemy Commander, Fire Mage, Bone Launcher & Summoner will now cast a higher tier of their special ability based on the difficulty chosen, with Ruthless and higher difficulties using the “hard” versions of these specials. This lines up with how enemy special attacks work in the campaign mode difficulties.
Health of spiderlings from the Spider Queen miniboss changed from 60/70/75/80 (from neutral to merciless) to 50/60/65/70
The Knockback effect from veterancy upgrades will no longer push minibosses (or trigger their CC imunity)
Molten hound health reduced from 350 to 320.
Corrupted boar health reduced from 220 to 210.

Fixes

Fixed an issue where encounters that gave consumable rewards were not using the correct card backing artwork.
Fixed a bug where the veterancy hover list wasn’t showing evolution names for all elementals.
Fixed the incorrect name showing on the Fin’s Magic Box object.
Fixed the incorrect name showing on the Fae’s Popup Garden object.
Fixed a bug causing the healing potion consumable to do a visual effect on enemies (even though it didn’t heal them)
Fixed a bug causing miniboss Gori’s blight tree summoning to instantly destroy lane seals if it spawned in the leftmost tile of a lane.
Fixed Molten hounds attack which would not fire correctly in some positions at the start of the lane.
Fixed some consumables having a spell cost which was incorrect (Wisps of War and Potions).
Fixed a bug that prevented Burst Wisp projectiles from hitting bosses and minibosses
Fixed a bug that could prevent the Cleanse spell from removing blight tiles created by Blightrix
Fixed spider eggs still being selectable after they hatch.
Fixed a bug where the battle would unpause while the veterancy choices were visible, if you open and closed the menu.

⚡ If you enjoy the game please consider writing a Steam review, it really helps us small indie developers getting recognized in Steam. ❤️

Join Us!

We are very active devs, so you are more than welcome to join our discord or leave your feedback on the Steam forum with anything you would love to see in the future of the game. This is just the beginning of very exciting times ahead!
Join discord here

Dec 4, 2023

Rise Of Gun New Update Early Access 2.0.0

Rise of Gun - Pimp

Hello everyone! The time has come for the first major update "Early Access 2.0.0". It was tough, but I tried to combine it with the winter update, adding lots of new things and preparing for future updates. Just a reminder, this is still early access, and the game will continue updating. THERE'S MUCH MORE AHEAD! :)

WHAT'S BEEN ADDED:

1. New Year skins
Now in Rise of Gun, there are skins. In the future, this will turn into a part painting mechanic. Right now, there are parts with a New Year's theme making the weapons look cooler!

2. Added Christmas gifts
On the map, after midnight, gifts will appear where you can find various surprises - parts, money, candies.

3. New Year's decor
You can decorate your store with New Year's decorations like garlands, tinsel, Christmas stockings, and a Christmas tree.

4. Candies
During the winter update, a new currency - candies - has appeared. You can get them for completing missions or from gifts. You can spend them on parts with skins from a new vendor.

5. New vendor
The Christmas vendor sells parts with skins. He has absolutely all the parts, and you can buy them for candies.

6. New music
New thematic tracks, 6 new tracks initially, and the rest are hidden as cassette tapes on the map.

New music

7. New missions
Several Winter missions to diversify your gameplay. For completing missions, you'll get candies.

8. Water cooler
After building a cooler, customers can drink water and pay you for it. In the future, water will need replenishing, but for now, it's endless.

9. 14 new parts
Added 14 new parts for crafting your weapons. You'll be able to buy them from the parts vendor.

NEW FEATURES:

Basic Creative Mode version 1.0.0
Another game mode - Creative. This is a completely separate map where you can create as much weaponry as you want - because the chest has an infinite number of parts. Also, you can build your locations or a city, anything you want. Then you can exchange the map with friends :) In the future, I'll update this game mode and add more and more features, for example, spawning zombies or the ability to shoot from weapons. You'll be able to create your levels to pass and share them with friends or the community.

The rest:

Winter update

1. Added snow to the map;
2. Added Christmas hats to the residents;
3. Added footsteps sounds on snow;
4. Added a snowball game;
5. Added barrels for illumination;
6. Added a New Year's menu.

Added:

1. Added a pause;
2. Added labels on shelves with parts at the vendor;
3. Added versioning to game saves;
4. Added a warning about early access;
5. Added a news button;
6. Added a new hunger and energy mechanic;
7. Added a button to hide the interface;
8. Added stomach rumbling;
9. Added progress saving for the basketball;
10. Added new animations for residents when buying weapons;
11. Added a magnetic board to the workbench;
12. Added door animations for residents' houses;
13. Added a secret place;
14. Collectible items and cassette tapes are now highlighted.

Fixes:

1. Fixed weapon positions in hands;
2. Fixed constant notification about the maximum level at the vendor after loading;
3. Fixed level scale at the vendor;
4. Fixed errors with tips;
5. Fixed issue where weapon slots on shelves lit up if holding a part;
6. Fixed store closure;
7. Fixed part indicators not visible at night;
8. Fixed an issue where pressing tab could access storage;
9. Fixed incorrectly placed sights;
10. Fixed lights turning on at night;
11. Fixed weapon slots on shelves;
12. Fixed a part missing a piece;
13. Fixed save warning where notifications overlapped;
14. Fixed interface in some areas.

Balancing:

1. New hunger and energy system;
2. Adjusted construction prices;
3. Adjusted part prices.

Localization:

1. Fixed some places not localized;
2. Fixed some places - English translation;
3. Open-closed label will not be localized;
4. Preparing for a global localization replacement.

That's the end of the new features, but don't worry! There's more to come soon. Thank you to everyone who read till the end. Waiting for your feedback and thanking everyone for participating in the development. You've helped me a lot in finding bugs. I might have missed something since I'm working alone on the project, so I'll appreciate your activity, which will help Rise of Gun become better!"

Dec 4, 2023

Coffee Diary - December 2023

Exanima - Zetheros

TERRAIN IMPROVEMENTS

Last month we briefly mentioned we wanted to improve terrain and our tools. There are more improvements we could make, but this quite large body of work is done now. There's a lot to cover that's not easy to explain, so we recorded a quick video to show it better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijko1HMvXRg

There's a lot here to help us push development forward and very obvious visual improvements that you should be able to see first hand in game soon.

STONEWORK TOOLS

Basically all of Exanima's stonework, the walls and floors, are designed and created inside our tools. We generate very detailed 3D models with all the individual bricks or tiles, and then do a whole series of things to convert this into in game assets. This allows us to make very specific stonework with a very consistent style and results. This process and the quality of the assets has improved over time, but so far we've been limited to regular or simple geometric patterns. Now we've made new additions to these tools that allow us to generate irregular and more "organic" stonework as well. This allows us to make a wide variety of new types of floors and walls using the same methods. This is actually a really important addition to our tools and there's lots of things we plan to do with it. You can already see one of these irregular floors we created in the terrain improvements video.

64 BIT

When we started developing our engine it was still important to support 32 bit systems, but at this point it certainly isn't. So we decided it's finally time to make our engine and Exanima 64 bit. This means access to way more memory and more modern hardware features for low level optimisation. The memory has mostly been an issue in our development tools where we work with many millions of polygons and many high resolution images, but with the most recent update we started to feel the limits in the game too. More optimisation is also something that we need for new features and content we plan to add soon, but this is a different path to more performance that should remove the need for that, while also multiplying with it when we eventually do it. Essentially we get to kill two birds with one stone, this had to be done eventually.

Moving to 64 bit isn't usually a big problem, but everything in our engine is made by us, and it uses a very large amount of assembly code. This is code that deals directly with hardware level instructions rather than a more concise and human friendly language that a compiler converts to hardware code for you. The reason for using assembly is because we can write much faster code than the compiler. However it's very difficult to work with, and code written for 32 bit won't work in 64 bit.

These 64 bit hardware features provide some great optimisation opportunities, and so does working alongside a 64 bit compiler that is based around the same more modern hardware features in general. Madoc has been working tirelessly on new 64 bit versions of our code and testing optimisation strategies. The bulk of the work is done, and while we still don't know what the final result is, early tests promise a very significant improvement in performance. Performance is a currency to us, which we can spend on more and better physics, and as this is a multiplier to other optimisations we had already planned, we're very excited about the possibilities.

We should have all this properly wrapped up pretty soon and as a team we're busy working on many different things and making good progress. We are still looking at an intermediate update before the next big content release, but we're not sure yet about the scope of it. Check back with us next month for more.

Thanks!

Bare Mettle