Just to give an update: the game is in it's final stages of development (polishing actually) and the release date will be announced very soon. Initially it will be released for PC (Win, Mac, Linux), Consoles and Mobiles will follow.
Here's a new dev walkthrough by Chris Mathes (game's solo dev), who explains the basic mechanics of the game, pretty familiar to pnc gamers ofcourse. It also reveals the Murder board and in the in-game currency which is earned by epxloring the world.
Ether One is now 10 years old since we first launched on Steam.
We were fortunate enough to get onto Steam via the Greenlight process back in 2012. Since that moment, we've been able to create games for a living and have a distribution platform for our work. We'll be forever grateful for Steam giving us our first platform to release our work on and since then many more have opened their doors.
We recorded a full playthrough of Ether One with the development team in the same space the game was developed in. We discuss the origins of the game, the studio and how we released Ether One via Steam back in 2014.
Please come and share the journey with us as we revisit Pinwheel and look back on how Ether One came to be:
It all began a few years ago during an open day at ESA ESTEC. The experience was surreal. Walking through the corridors of a place where dreams of space exploration are turned into reality was like stepping into the future. But it was the presentation by a Romanian cosmonaut about the Space Race from the Soviet Union's perspective that truly ignited my imagination.
Their words painted a picture of a world where the Soviet Union was not just a geopolitical entity, also talked about some of the stories and things that happened behind the scenes. I found myself drawn to the raw power and idealism of their propaganda. What if those posters, those promises of a utopian future, were more than just paper? What if they were real?
Quite unlike our own world of course!
The beginning
This is where the journey begins. A journey into a world where Soviet aesthetics meet interstellar space eplxoration. A world where the impossible becomes possible.
This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for the next update about the game inspiration and the first few systems I've implemented during the last few months!
Fixed an issue where loot that applied to enemies at the start of combat wasn’t being reset between runs
Fixed a visual bug with the EXP Bar appearing filled when it should be empty.
Fixed a bug where stats would not properly reset on character death
Fixed an issue where enemies killed by HP Debuff stopped updating their UI
Fixed an issue where characters didn’t reset Fatigue on death
Fixed an issue where the Loot Display on the Character Select screen wouldn’t generate if entering on an enemy’s turn
Fixed an issue where Limbs and Heart End of combat loot wasn’t applying
Gameplay Updates
Updated Hemorrhage to deal % damage based on an enemy's Max HP
HP boosting Abnormality effects no longer cap at 1 if the remaining HP is less than the boosted HP
Enemies now get a small boost to HP, Max HP, Trauma, and Fluids - 5% per combat completed
Enemies now get a small boost to Bone and Sinew - 1 point per 2 combats completed
Removed move packages and reworked General Buff logic
Added a bleed effect to the Helping Hand's Nail Gun move
For a while I've wanted to differentiate between hemorrhage and bleed - one just seemed like a more immediate version of the other. By making Hemorrhage % based damage, and based off the Max HP of a character, it makes it more dangerous to characters with larger base health pools, and less dangerous to characters with smaller ones. this pairs better with Bleed being more dangerous to smaller Health-pool characters and less so for larger ones.
HP Buffs now kill you if they run out and you're in a deficit. Before, when an HP buff ran out it would just stop at 1 if there wasn't enough HP to remove. This was forgiving, but not very fair or predictable, and it allows me to make a few more creative choices for characters, enemies, and boss fights moving forward.
Enemy Scaling has also been a feature I've wanted to add for a bit - I'm starting small, but might add in difficulty options later to make it larger. The game is meant to have ~12 fights per run in it, so this should give a better gauge on how things are balanced. This also allows me to not worry about making enemies' base versions harder and harder for stronger players.
Packages were mainly just a placeholder loot system, and they caused a lot of issues logic-wise, but I'm hoping to replace them with actually niche upgrades worthy of a level up. The general stat buffs are now exclusive - if you've chosen a scaling buff, the equivalent version that's a flat upgrade won't appear, and vice versa.
The Helping Hand has a weaker fluids attack that I always wondered why it would logically use it - nails are sharp, why not add a bleed effect to make that a small threat? This also can act as a natural status effect tutorial for new players.
Cyclcopos Move Updates
Increased Cyclopos Base Trauma from 10 to 20
Decreased Cyclopos base Fluids from 40 to 30
Updated Blood Shot - No longer reduces total HP, updated to deal % damage on upgrades
Updated Luxation - slightly reduced scaling, Later levels only increase target fatigue by 1, added +1 fatigue to self, added fatigue effects to level 1 version
Cyclopos was meant to be a brawler type character, evening out their damage puts the character more in line with that identity. Bloodshot was already dealing direct damage, this update is to be in-line with the new Hemorrhage behavior. Luxation was a slight problem-move due to its ability to just stun lock anything and everything with the right setup, so I've changed it to more of a utility move.
Dopplegrabber Move Updates
Updated Finger Gun - reduced the jump between level 1 and level 2 bleed effects, evenly spaced out bleed scaling
Updated Bone Splinter - reduced damage of the bleed effect, increased duration to compensate, added a small self-applied bleed.
Updated Bile Bomb - reduced Bone/Sinew debuff to 5 for all levels, levels now increase duration, added debuff to level 1 version
Dopplegrabber's identity was a sort of persistence attacker, with moves like vampiric veins playing into the prolonged focusing of a single target. by reducing the values of moves but increasing their duration, that identity can more frequently come out. The bleed on self for Bone Splinter is setup for upgrades later down the line, and also allows some loot to be more properly utilized.
VasculurchMove Updates
Updated Heart Burn - updated to deal % damage
Updated Tachycarda - updated to deal % damage, Reduced Damage dealt to self, increased Damage buff to target, changed targeting type from Multi Attack to Single attack
Updated Palpitate - Reduced scaling/numbers, removed regeneration effect, Added +1 Fatigue on self, changed targeting type to Multi Target
Updated Hypertrophy - increased scaling on heal
Updated Pacifist gene - Ichor effect reduced from 1.75 to 1.5
Vasculurch was always seen to me as a "swing turn" character, making a big move that's specifically suited for the task at hand. By making Tachycardia single target and boosting its effects, it's more capable of boosting a single character. Palpitate was originally expected to be a multi-target heal, and Vasculurch was expected to have a fatigue of 4, so this is going back to those roots in a way. it also makes healing a set up event with how Hypertensive crisis boosts Ichor.
UI Updates Updated Main Menu Music Added small main menu animation Updated the "Low Player HP" Music track
Earn free and exclusive in-game items by watching on Twitch! Join us on https://brawlhalla.com/watch as we watch the best players in the game battle for their chance to be called Heimdall's Champion!
What a week for the return of Soundodger+! I wanted to do my best to preserve all of the fun quirks of the game (i.e. bugs), but unfortunately a new one was introduced that had no business being there. The good news is it's back to normal and you can now enjoy playing levels at 60fps without wondering why they're suddenly so much more difficult.