Balancing - Reduced all shop prices on page 1 by a small amount as well as endless progression prices by a high amount. You can refund your gold to profit on those smaller prices if you bought them already (you get all your gold that you invested back regardless of current prices, and you can reinvest with lower prices afterwards). - Decreased Cooldown of Fire Drop + Fire Meteors (two spells that felt underwhelming) - Made some crow swarms more manageable that felt unfair before (less hp and larger gaps between swarms). - Reduced hp of enemies slightly that spawn in a ring around the player ("trap"): I originally didn't intend to people to try to actually break through the ring (at least without having enough meta upgrades), but after seeing that many try to break through anyways, fail and get frustrated, i try to make that an option too (although not an easy option). - Circle in the "Stay in the Circle" Mode now expands over time (and shrinks back over time) before/after bosses (instead of adjusting instantly). - Stepping outside the circle now does more damage to the player and scales with the player's max hp. - Reduced overall difficulty of caverns: Enemies have less hp. Buffed amount of xp crystal drops from rats and slimes slightly. Rats drop more food. - Decreased enemy strength in Speed Up Mode from +200% to +150% - Enabling modes might make the game significantly harder, especially at the beginning. That might not be obvious for new players, that's why i made them unlock only after finishing the first map now.
Music - Added a new title song for the main menu. - Forest now has a new song.
Bugfixes - Fixed a missing word in an achievement description. - Rounded gold in death screen.
Other - The game became now officially "playable" (instead of "unsupported") on steam deck since the last update. - Updated the demo to the latest version.
Improved readability of the settings menu Changed the specification that the car did not automatically respawn when the driver fell into the abyss while riding in the car. Added more objects
Our narrative designer walks us through the process of creating the world of Carillon. She was given the setting, style and main objective and used those elements to compose a narrative that best served the game.
That's how we ended up with a robot saving, prohibition themed, social deduction shooter!
Join the Ringleaders on Discord to chat with us and playtest!
This update is super important because it's our first measurable glimpse of how accurate I was with my workload planning + delivery time predictions.
You may recall 6 months ago I said this: In order to focus on the rest of the game I prefer to knock out a bunch of the little extras first. They will be the focus of these early updates as I venture to get them around 90% complete. Fleshing these systems out into something usable this early on means the game can be structured to support them much easier than if I tried to add them at the end of development.
Well, here we are!
The focus of this update will be around what I've done, what's still left to do and what that means for our release schedules - both in terms of private betas for those eligible, our demo for game expos and our eventual public release.
Let's start the recap...
Chaos Mode
Progress: 95%
I was able to knock out the majority of this system on the first pass through. The remaining 5% can't be done until Windswept is feature-complete because trying to affect elements of the game that don't exist yet isn't feasible. I'm no magician!
Randomizer Mode
Progress: 80%
One giant dependency associated with randomizer mode is having a fully-finished game so I can properly test the aspects of the mode that shuffle stage orders and whatnot. I got as much as I could done now but the final parts and balancing of this probably won't be happening until after every stage in Windswept is made.
Assists + Modifiers
Progress: 100%
All options I had planned to make are fully functional and feature-complete! I'm not closed off to the idea of adding more but I think what exists here covers the majority of use cases.
Arcade Minigames
Progress: 75%
Functionally, the most important part of each minigame is the [Title -> Game Mechanics -> Win/Lose -> Repeat] loop. All aspects of this loop are complete for each minigame. All that's left is to finalise the stage designs which need a bunch of environments/biomes to be made. We'll treat the remaining minigames as regular stages moving forward since they technically are.
Laamp's Shade (Exterior)
Progress: 95%
You can cash all those hard-earned Moon Coins in to unlock the door, access the special stages & all the goodies inside. Each world has its own Hut you can open up so the final 5% involves designing a dedicated screen for each area. It won't be all green and forested everywhere you go! Just like the minigames this part is dependent on the creation of environment art first.
Laamp's Shade (Interior)
Progress: 100%
There's so much packed into this small space. Laamp occupies two stalls and flies back and forth between them. You can make every light fixture move, boost through the arcade stools, the works.
Laamp's Bulb (Fortune Teller)
Progress: 50%
This feature is functional but it's missing a crucial piece of the puzzle - the overworld. Without the overworld you can't select which stage to enter + which coin to search for. This is just a demonstration of how it looks after you've made that selection. Honestly, the hard work here is done and I love how silly Laamp acts through this whole interaction.
Laamp's Jams (Jukebox)
Progress: 90%
Compression kinda killed the quality of this gif but oh well! Everything is here except for one crucial piece of info - I won't know how many songs will be in the game until I get closer to the end of development. Sometimes recycling a song just fits a stage vibe better than something new so there'll be a bit of trial and error in that sense. Regardless, the jukebox is a fully functional menu that plays music and that's all it needs to be.
I wanted to keep with the Laamp theming so the song progress bar is a lil vine that a lil laamp moth munches through from start to end.
Laamp's Stand (Action Figures)
Progress: 70%
You're gonna have to wait a bit longer to see this one in action fully! Functionally it's similar to the Jukebox - it fulfills its intended purpose, but until I can finalise the number of characters in Windswept the empty-looking menu and prices are just placeholders (I also wanna keep the character roster on the down-low). I've still got a week left of this year so I'll spend that time getting this menu finished up.
Laamp's Trials (Scoreboard)
Progress: 90%
It shouldn't surprise you at this point, but obviously the scoreboard progress won't reach 100% until there's a game state to trigger the achievement (I can't beat a game that isn't done!)
Still, it's is fully functional and comes complete with the ability to show/rehide trials. Column 1 is for Story, Column 2 for Collectibles, Column 3 for Arcade and the remaining 3 columns are silly miscellaneous challenges I thought would add a new dimension to the regular gameplay. All up, that's 30 achievements!
Game Platforms that support achievements (such as Steam, Playstation, etc), will have a couple of extra secret ones. The scoreboard is specific to each save file and the secret achievements require performing special actions from a new save so including them in-game would have made completing any one board impossible. I didn't want achievements to be separated from save files ~because of reasons~ so hopefully it's no big deal to any of you.
But anyway, that's a lot of side stuff! 10 things in 6 months, where 1 thing is 5 minigames. I also added 5 rideable animal buddies, made 3 stages, made a bunch of performance optimizations and a whole lot more.
I feel much more confident about the road ahead - everything mentioned here so far has been very programming heavy. Lots of writing, testing, head-scratching and googling.
2024 is going to be much more relaxed because most of the game is functional and all that's left is to slap some pretty graphics over the top. Marketing department is finally gonna get some content!
In the early days I used to stream a lot of stage development on my Twitch Channel - I plan to bring streams back again woo! If that sounds interesting feel free to drop a follow and say hi! I'm really looking forward to streaming development again because that's when all the silly bugs show up.
As you might expect, 2024 will be our final push to get Windswept developed so it can be ported and localized in time for a mid-2025 release. The schedule for these updates will now be quarterly instead of monthly. Stage & environment design is hard to talk about at length without just revealing everything and I want to keep some parts of the game a secret, y'know?
A quarterly update means I can focus on development for a longer period. Writing updates is time consuming, as is making a video, cutting it, etc. I usually write these a month in advance just so I'm not scrambling to get something out in time, having a longer time buffer couldn't hurt.
The other reason is because I think they'll be more impactful at that frequency. The monthlies have been bombarding you with something new every time. Things are gonna get quite samey from here onward. All stages, all the time!
If you're still reading, thanks a bunch for your time and attention! Tell me what your favourite/least favourite type of platformer stage is! Personally, I don't like arid desert-type stages because I get enough of that in my daily Australian life.
Adjusted the position of the leaderboard chart button and the leaderboard type text. Added a tutorial button: all help pages, leaderboard, settings. Adjusted the size and position of the tutorial button. Swapped the positions of the help button and the about button.
To each and every hero who has joined us on this quest, we extend our deepest gratitude. Your feedback, support, and enthusiasm have fueled our journey, shaping SpellBounders 2 into the world it is becoming.
We're thrilled to introduce today two new features for our first Early Access update.
🏰 Meet the Fence of Diretome Keep
The Fence has set up shop in Diretome Keep, offering a variety of items to aid you in your quest in exchange for your hard-earned essence. From potent potions to enchanted weaponry, the Fence has curated a selection of wares that will prove indispensable in the face of daunting challenges.
🏆 Leaderboards - Rise to Glory!
Now, not only will your heroic deeds echo through the halls of Diretome Keep, but the world shall witness your ascent to greatness.
🌐 Global Rankings - Measure Your Mettle Worldwide
Embark on a journey of comparison as the global leaderboard showcases the mightiest SpellBounders from every corner of the realm. Will you be the one to claim the top spot and etch your name in the annals of Diretome history?
🤝 Friends Leaderboard - Compete Among Companions
Forge stronger bonds with your fellow adventurers by challenging them on the Friends Leaderboard. See who can conquer Diretome Keep with the most finesse and efficiency. Bragging rights await the mightiest among friends!
📊 Track Your Progress - Climb the Ranks
Ascend the ranks by completing quests, defeating formidable foes, and showcasing your prowess in Diretome Keep. Your leaderboard position reflects your overall performance, so sharpen your skills and climb to new heights!