• Avatar Generator: updated with additional components such as Viking Helmet, Pirate Hat, Rabbit Ears, Cat Ears, Maid Hat and such.
  
• Avatar Gen. "Pig", "Dog" and "Frog": new avatar generators added representing a pig, dog and frog heads with corresponding customizations.
  
• Avatar Gen. "Chimp", "Bunny", "Rhino", "Cat", "Elephant", "Crocodile" and "Bear": new avatar generators.
  
• Menu UI: Announcement button icon updated (clip) for clarity it doesn't represent the chat.
  
• Level of Detail: minimum level of detail is now "few" (not "none" for all platforms).
  
• Language: latest translations added - Thanks :-D
  
• Language: make sure too long texts don't overlap (cut via "...").
  
• Language: misc. fixes for texts (e.g. male and female switched in translation guide).
  
• Maintenance: update for permission system (server).
  
• Maintenance: "PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy" privacy info file added (iOS).
  
• Bugfix: Victory table only counts each AI category once (otherwise problems adding to DB due to constraint issues).
  
• Bugfix: improved link-handling, i.e. when already handled, we don't pass it on further (e.g. user://).
  
• Bugfix: some animated images were not properly garbage collected and could still stay retained (causing out of memory errors).
  
• Bugfix: proper safe area insets for mobile (Droid & iOS).
  
• Bugfix: calculating cropped image (for mirrored frames).
  
• Bugfix: multiplayer setup option "Last Joinable" & "Game Start" (e.g. auto) were not available.
  
• Bugfix Crashes: when user account was not 'null' when loading a multiplayer game.
  
• Bugfix Crashes: badly formatted strings could produce a stack overflow.
  
• Bugfix Crashes: when animation was 'null' and could not be played.

We are excited to share our latest update, version 1.0.2! Now, players will be rewarded with special items when they collect the right amount of coins. These items range from new abilities to powerful auras and protective armor.

A new user interface (HUD) has been implemented to display which items the player possesses. Some items grant unique abilities, while others offer auras that can both heal and increase damage. The armor provides additional protection.



Furthermore, the way the player's life is displayed has been enhanced, now presented as a bar. During game pause, players will have access to detailed information about damage, aura, and protection.

We are extremely excited to share this new update with all of you and we thank you in advance for your continued support!

In this update, we have completely overhauled archery, introduced an additional new system for combat to make it more enjoyable, made many improvements to Survival based on player feedback, and fixed priority bugs.



Let's take a look!





Updated all bow animations for both first and third person views. Improved its locomotion and transitions.

After considering a lot of feedback, added a specific crosshair animation that plays along the string-pulling process and then disappears shortly after.

Made bow zoom attached to string pulling, right mouse button zooms and pulls. Reworked zooming to be smooth and effective.

Added a pulling time limit before autocancellation.



Added directional bow melee attacks. Choose a direction and use the mouse wheel forward/backward. You can even hit with your head (swing up and scroll the mouse wheel down).

Added dodges with the bow in different directions.

Improved shooting, arrow flight, and arrow hit sounds.

Fixed bow animations not changing after unequip and UI not removing.

Fixed bow and hands jittering when walking.

Removed movement slowdown when using the bow.

Fixed bow physics issues after equipping before the first shot.



Increased bow damage and adjusted how hitting different body parts causes damage.

Improved how pulling duration and shooting distance change damage.

Made deer and wolves killable by headshot.

Increased AI arrow dodge chance.

AI shooting is more accurate at longer distances but with a lower headshot chance.



Improved physics and weightiness, bodies collide more realistically, and the hits feel more weighted.

Made it possible to just click to block for a second instead of only holding down the block button.

Adjusted running accelerations during unarmed state to allow for more precise movement.





Added a system that helps in targeting enemies smoothly during stance mode and attacking.

It activates only when holding the attack button. While you hold it, the camera will smoothly adjust to keep your enemy in view.

You can still attack without it. Also, it can be fully deactivated in the Control Settings.

We welcome your thoughts on it after giving it a try.



Added No Combat Blur option, this allows you to turn off the depth of field effect (blur) during attacks.

Added No Interface option.

Added Motion Blur setting.





Added tree fall damage. Trees can now kill you.

Made trees not go through the ground but fall on it, added falling VFX, additional sound, and shake.

Increased delay before trees disappear.

Thin trees now give less wood than thick ones.

Removed screams during tree chopping.

Improved sounds of hits during chopping.

Improved timberaxe hit collision and physics.



Made pickup instant.

Improved tracing for easier aiming, now it's easier to pick up, noticeable improvement for the 3rd person view.

Fixed pickup issues for clients in co-op.



Fixed the issues causing items from one workstation, like the furnace, to be visible during processes in another one, such as the campfire. Items no longer mix in co-op either.



Fixed bots on the island not attacking.

Fixed falling under the Norse Lights map and adjusted some visual holes in it.

Made Shift + LMB move items stuck in inventory, in addition to RMB.

Addressed attacks stopping while performing, leaving only hand movement. This issue is hard to fully track, we think there is a chance it could still happen, please let us know if this is the case.



Lowered costs of many building elements that require wood to make it easier to build with.

Added more mushrooms around the map.

Increased Timberman axe durability.

Increased Raven sword durability.

Fixed pickaxe durability not working.



Increased delay before the last drain and started stamina regeneration.

Speeded up stamina regeneration significantly, making running across the map easier.


Thank you guys for sharing feedback. We hope you enjoy this update!


Skål!
Blackrose Arts

New game mode: "The Crystal Arena" (unlocked from Chapter 2)
+ 218 new missions.
+ 107 unlockable illustrations.
+ 28 new arcane cards.
+ 6 new unit cards
+ 3 new active powers.
+ 1 new Ultima.





New difficulty: "Nocivus" (unlocked at the end of the Chapter 7).
+ 16 new unique pieces of equipment.
+ 7 new consumables.



+ 4 new arcane cards "Festivity", "Burning Arrow", "Nephilim Oil" & "Thorny Whiplash" to be unlocked in Chapter 2 reminiscences.
+ 2 new arcane cards "Push into the void" & "Wheelblade" to be unlocked in Chapter 5.
+ 1 new "Klawnger Care" arcane card to be unlocked in Chapter 6.



+ cards are grey when it's not the character's turn to play.
+ When a character loses action points, a popup message displays the information.
+ New abilities have been added to the Tianok unit cards.
- The arcane card "Tianok Stable" reloads 1 action bar to all allied units.
- The spawn of aecrysts (crystals appearing on the ground and giving ether) have been recalculated. They no longer appear after a character's free action.

- Fixed a bug where equipment equipped on a character could be sold.
- Revenants with long-range attacks that pass through enemies can target the furthest opponents.

- Fixed a bug in mission 3-3 if not playing with Vesper.

- Added a visual effect for the vestals' base attack.
- Chapter 5 is slightly less difficult and the bosses less resistant.
- Remove the card limit of your deck (previously was 60 cards max).
- Mission 1-10 can now be completed with Sulcia, allowing you to complete the achievements from chapter 4.
- The "Scourge of the Rebellious I" ability does 25% more damage.
- The judge slows characters down by 25% instead of 50%.
- Ligrias' "Slash in the Knee I" attack slows characters down by 25% instead of 50%.
- The arcane card "Generous Donation" costs 3 ethers instead of 2.
- All Crimson spear powers now hit 2 squares.
- The unit "Benetactress" can heal.
- The unit "General of Sylvaestris" summons 2x faster.
- A bug with the healing spell of the unit "Conjurer" was corrected.
- The bonus of the item "The Hermit's cards" corrected.
- In missions where the ether gauge is deactivated, the blue bar is no longer animated.
- Djalynx, Redgrave and Joachim can no longer have passive bonuses for additional syl gains.

Potential fix for a soft lock caused by going through the door with a dying party.

**This blog was posted several months ago, and we will be posting the other months soon to catch up on the Steam news tab. If you want to see all of the blogs now, visit our website**

2024 Developer Blog: January



Hey there! It's been a while since we stuck to a true update schedule as we've been hard at work on Dark Deity 2 and keeping our heads down for the most part. I'm thinking it's time to really get down to it and let y'all know what we're up to throughout 2024! We're planning to bring you a developer blog at some point during each month this year, letting you know what we've been working on and where progress is sitting at with the game. That all being said, let's dive right into it, shall we?


Staying Flexible

In late 2023, we had our first significant batch of gameplay testing and looks at what a full playthrough of DD2 might look through. We'd reached the point where most systems in the game were playable - and even had nearly the full game's worth of levels and story to wade through (albeit in early stages of quality).

What we found was that we had some more conflict between systems than we had realized, and though we were happy with many of our gameplay systems individually, that didn't necessarily mean they were working in unison to be greater than the sum of their parts - something we hadn't quite achieved yet. In a somewhat funny twist, DD2 felt a LOT like DD1 at the time - lots of fun to be had engaging with the systems, but it felt like there were a ton of obvious ways in which it could be better - obviously not at all what we want out of a sequel.

This led us to commit to a full redesign on some of the most significant progression systems in the game and really go back to the drawing board to make sure everything we put in the game truly advances our goals and leads to tight design. Now having some true testing under our belt and enough content in the game to keep feeling things out as we go, we feel really good about where the game is headed.

With the rush around DD1 being my first game (and really my first real *career* job after graduating college mid-development and mid-covid), I just didn't really have the time, expertise, or ability to take these kinds of looks at the game, and it feels amazing to look at systems that feel good-not-great and say "I want this to be GREAT, let's go back to the drawing board."

Storytelling Focus

Around the same time in the final days of 2023, we finished the full first draft of DD2's story. Where the gameplay section of this blog is a big fat "we're still working things out", the story section is a resounding success. We feel really strongly that we've created a more grounded narrative that values character development above all else. The story is a big epic fantasy adventure, sure, but the focus is deeply rooted with the Sildairan family (pictured above) and their struggles, development, and bonds.

We'll likely have a blog post at some point in the year that focuses in on the difficult and fun parts of crafting a sequel to a story as flawed as DD1's was (my bad), written by the person actually doing all the writing.

Where We Are Now

The team is firing on all cylinders as we move into the new year, with (in theory) all of our roles filled outside of voice acting - which is of course one of our focuses for the coming months. We're ramping up our internal casting discussions as we get closer to finalizing scripts and knowing exactly what we need from different roles. We'll have some exciting news in that area soon.

I'll be finishing up the system redesigns in the coming weeks, as well as finishing up the level implementation for the final few chapters - meaning we'll be back to internally testing all 30 chapters of gameplay and progression some time in February. There is still a mountain of work to be done regarding side quests and training levels, so don't take that to mean the game is all that close to finished - but we have a really solid foundation to be making sure the game plays and feels amazing.

Twisted Destiny

Something that might be a bit of a downer is that we're in somewhat of a flux point with Twisted Destiny. The further we get into development, the more we've realized that we probably can't do a true roguelite mode the justice it deserves within the systems we have without an absolutely massive additional workload. A lesson we really wanted to learn from Dark Deity 1 was that we'd rather make a really good game that is less ambitious than one that tries to do a ton but gets stretched too thin. Twisted Destiny as we have discussed it looks more and more every day like it falls in the latter camp, and I won't compromise the quality of the game itself for a side mode (regardless of how badly I want to make it).

I want to apologize to those who were really excited for a true roguelite DD, it was a personal failing of mine letting scope creep get to me and talking about it publicly before it was far enough along to know we could really get it done. It's definitely a hard part of my journey as a developer accepting my own limitations and not trying to do too much, but I think it might just be the most important one. As a solo programmer and the only team member that works in engine, but also one of the 'idea guys', sometimes the "holy shit this idea is so cool" in me gets ahead of the "be serious we aren't there yet".

That being said, we are planning at the moment to take the grounding principles of Twisted Destiny and apply them to a different side mode that is a little less ambitious. Something people were really excited about back during the Kickstarter ideation process for DD1 was a possible endgame dungeon mode, and that's where we are leaning at the moment - though all of this is flexible at the moment. I will keep you posted throughout the year as Twisted Destiny twists and evolves along with the rest of the project.

TLDR

-We have been testing a ton and reworking progression systems.

-All 30 chapters of story and their accompanying gameplay are playable.

-We are super happy with the story and moving into the editing process.

-Twisted Destiny is being redesigned, stay posted for updates there.

-More dev blogs to come in future months this year.

-We're aiming for a more transparent 2024 and to let you all in on the processes of developing this sequel

**Once again, this developer blog was months ago, so have moved forward quite a bit since then. We will be posting the other developer blogs soon so we can get the Steam audience caught up!**

Before we delve into more details about the upcoming roadmap and the major updates the game will receive before it exits early access, we continue our commitment to enhancing the overall gaming experience. In this update and subsequent ones, you will primarily find bug fixes, visual enhancements, usability improvements, and quality of life features. Stay tuned for more!

Here are the patch notes for 0.51

• Added functionality for pioneers carrying an unconscious teammate on their back. It is now possible to reload their oxygen or remove their suit in the EVA cabin.
  
• Enhanced rover handling, which can now safely navigate more pathways.

We have implemented a game session recorder to assist in game improvement and balancing. This tracker does not transmit any private data. You can disable this option in the settings menu.

• Added multiple missing animations.
  
• Introduced a default animation for still missing animations.
  
• Added faces textures and rigs for characters as part of a broader initiative to enhance character quality during our early access.
  
• Improved the compute shader that calculates heat surfaces.
  
• Enhanced the visual impact of meteorite strikes.
  
• Added a light signal for setting explosives in sulfur pits.
  
• Enhanced the visual outline around characters.

• Removed several unused textures and compressed some textures to boost game performance.
  
• Adjusted materials to enhance both visual rendering and game performance.

• Fixed a major bug where characters died if their morale gauge hit zero instead of becoming depressed.
  
• Fixed a pathfinding bug that sometimes prevented characters from entering the control room.
  
• Fixed a bug that occurred when upgrading the treadmill while it was in use; characters now exit the machine properly.
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented the crane from detecting the rover under the hangar.
  
• Fixed a bug that occasionally hindered sulfur extraction even though the well was active.
  
• Fixed a bug related to oxygen exchange between characters.
  
• Fixed a display bug in the VFX of chimney explosions.
  
• Fixed several bugs related to recent events added (text or appearance probabilities).
  
• Fixed a bug in accounting for the "free diver" trait.
  
• Fixed a bug related to the drill positioning during a "drilling" action.
  
• Corrected several incorrect tooltips.
  
• Removed some "floating" assets above the terrain.
  
• Fixed a graphical bug that occasionally caused characters' eyes and skin to appear purple.
  
• Fixed a bug with the placement of the XP multiplier button on 32:9 resolutions.
  
• Addressed various bugs related to translation and save reliability.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1734390/

-Fixed a bug with the burst fire gun that prevented weapon switching
-Fixed collision issues with final boss
-Fixed coin spawning bug with Constructus mini enemy

- Hex range indication on Artillery gun deployments
- Valkerie deployment update
- FAPLA AAA Fire update