Unsurprisingly, work continues on Slay the Spire 2. Though we're not quite ready to reveal gameplay footage yet, let's have a sneak peek at some quality of life and UI changes that come with StS2. Do keep in mind that the Early Access release is still a bit off (it's not going to be released January 1, 2025). Any screenshots and the contents within are a work in progress.
Shinier Shinies
Okay, so it sounds obvious, but rare things should be shiny! Working in a fancier game engine allows us to make effects easier so that's been fun. VFX work is behind as it's lower priority and rarely introduces bugs (we tend to work on scarier/buggier things first) but I felt inspired ✨.
I warned you about work in progress; these two new cards have already been reworked...
Map Changes
One day, I tried playing Slay the Spire on my phone and it was hard to click on the little icons on the map. Differentiating some of the room types was also quite hard on these tiny screens. As I don't play video games on the phone, I wasn't aware of this... until now (or about 4 years ago, to be exact). So we slapped some color on there and bumped up the size of the icons.
There's a Colored Map mod for Slay the Spire 1. Somebody showed me that you can also draw on maps and I said, “That's a fun idea. Let's steal it.” That's right modders, that's what you get for not filing Game Mechanic Patents (that is a joke, don't actually do that).
Top Bar Changes
Sure, this is in the screenshots of the game but there are some small changes here. The height of the bar has gone from 64px -> 80px. That's a 25% increase in hitbox size for things in the top bar, making it easier to select potions, open the map, etc. We also made it less wordy. Goodbye names, people were censoring their names in screenshots anyways. We like privacy too! There will be more things in this top area but for now, keeping it nice and roomy feels good. Oh oops, let's censor these relics for now…
The icon next to the stair icon indicates what type of room you're in
Run Info Panel
A nice little pop-up to let you know what run you'll be continuing! Neato.
Enemy Preview Time
This month we show off a cute little gummy bear looking creature. How adorable :). We hope everyone will love this cutie. Definitely not an enemy that will upset you in the future.
Translators Update
We're starting to onboard some translators but it's been a bit slow as it's the season of sickness. Apologies for the lack of response to many of you. The amount of responses to the localization sign up form has been quite a lot more than expected. This has been great, but a lot of work. I'm trying my best! As some non-English speakers will notice–this Neowsletter is translated on Steam! Wahoo!! How do you translate "Wahoo"?
Also, we're also getting some translations of our previous Neowsletter up as well :). If that's been helpful do let us know, even if we can't read your comments (lol).
So Much Merch
Ok, now Demi’s section begins! First things first, we’ve got some big merch drops to tell you all about!
This plushie of The Champ may be tiny, but he is also MIGHTY!! He’s also VERY limited edition; there’s less than a week left on the campaign, so be sure to grab your own from Makeship here before November 12!
Also, The Yetee recently released a bunch of stickers, including sticker sheets of EVERY relic in the game and some very boss-looking boss stickers! And (as their namesake would imply) the drop also includes a t-shirt, featuring Neow and the Corrupt Heart in a metal concert tee style! Get your hands on these and lots of other items from our Yetee collection here.
StS Connections
Another Neowletter, another Slay the Spire Connections puzzle! Last month’s was on the easier side, so let’s see if we can up the difficulty rating a little with this one…
Community Roundup
If you tuned in last month, you’d know that we just held our annual Mega Crit-or-Treat event! We got LOTS of spooky submissions via Discord and Twitter, and while we couldn’t possibly show them all, here are just some of the highlights of what our community created last month!
Another resplendent rendition of The Ironclad in his fiery, spooky Demon Form by @JoQuerol
A very cute illustration of a Halloween costume party at the Spire by @chizifsd
A super detailed Ironclad cosplay, featuring a belt of homebrewed potions and glowing eyes by TheGuyFromThatThing
That’s it for this Neowsletter, tune in next month for more details on this year’s Mega Critmas event and, as always, more behind-the-scenes looks at Slay the Spire 2’s development!
ICYMI, we announced our November Stage Jam and played a variety of 5X5 stages so you can see what's available in this week's HUMANITY Hub Community Stream. Check the replay now, then select PLAY STAGES from the title screen to try them yourself!
We stream HUMANITY weekly, usually on Wednesdays at 4 pm Eastern / 1 pm Pacific time. Stay tuned to our News posts on Steam to know precisely when we're streaming that week. We play through user-created stages, STORY MODE, and talk to other HUMANITY fans and content creators. Join the chat and hang out with us on our Twitch or YouTube channels.
Added Play with Devs Countdown Localization improvements
QoL
Increased player volume max Voice-chat toggleable when you are KOed. In Gather phase, Koed player can talk. In Ritual/Sacrifice players cannot talk, but can vote. Fixed some graphical issues with some hint popups.
Bugs
Hid the Cardboard box in lobby area, which lead to being stun-locked into the kick animation Jail: If player gets morphed: won't magically phase through jail wails to leave jail or go into jail.
Performance
Increased each game server capacity to handle 8 player lobbies to be more smooth
Your feedback is crucial as we continue shaping the game. We're inviting all players to participate in our latest survey to help us make more informed decisions for future updates. While we can't promise every suggestion will make it into the game, we genuinely value your input and look forward to hearing your thoughts.
New Anniversary Event added—celebrate with us! Increased drop chance for better loot rewards. Fixed various interface issues for smoother gameplay. Resolved issue with wings disappearing for some players.
Hello my psyquine students! The Noiramore Academy Kickstarter only has 16 hours left! I am extremely happy to say that we are FULLY FUNDED! Next, we are trying to reach our stretch goals, the first of which is for full voice acting!
Paris here with a major game update. You read the title, you saw the picture, that's right, there's a new playable character to unlock in Zoners!
INTRODUCING DUM-E... AGAIN?
Most of you would have encountered Dum-E when you used them during the games Basic and Advanced tutorials instead of one of the cast. In that mode, they had a very simple moveset designed to be easily used and understood by beginner players.
And that moveset still exists... HOWEVER, once you've unlocked Dum-E for use in ALL modes, they won't play quite the same.
MOVESET ROULETTE When you play as Dum-E in a Match Maker match or the Zoners Cup campaign, every single match your moveset will be randomised between all 9 playable characters. I'm not just talking about getting a single characters moves, I mean each individual one is randomised!
For example, you might have Piro's Melee, Bzzt's Projectile, Ringressa's Super, Gluup's Hyper & Princess' Spin properties. You won't know what you've got until you start using it, only for everything to randomised the next character you face. This also includes Dum-E's original moveset in the randomisation, just for extra fun. You might be completely overpowered, or struggling to make it all gel, but that's half the fun!
SO. MUCH. WORK. Being a 2D sprite based game, this required a LOT of forethought and execution in order to get functional. Some of the groundwork was laid for this last year when I completely rewrote how the moves were written and referenced. However, this gimmick makes Dum-E a real wild card that adds something unique to the cast you can't get from any of the others.
STORY TIME And let's not forget they have their own story and ending in the cup too!
CONCLUSIONS
Really glad to have this character properly playable in the game at last. If you want to know how to unlock Dum-E, read the patch notes below for the full details.
There's also the usual smattering of fixes and tweaks, so make sure to see if any issues you had are covered.
Hoping to get the next update out before the end of this month if everything goes to plan, so keep your eyes peeled.
Peace & Love Paris
ZONERS v0.6 Patch Notes
ADDITIONS
New playable character Dum-E is now unlockable. Dum-E is the training dummy character you use during the tutorials, and they are out for revenge! However, unlike their training mode form, the fully playable version of Dum-E has a unique gimmick. Every new match their Melee, Projectile, Super, Hyper and Spin type each individually get randomised to one of the 9 playable characters moves. You might be overpowered, or underpowered, who knows?! They also have their own cup storyline and a surprising ending screen.
Unlock them from the shop via one of the following methods: Play a complete match on the Hologram House stage in Match Maker mode 10 times OR Complete the cup with all characters on any difficulty
FIXES & CHANGES GAMEPLAY
Fixed crash when projectiles that aren't the players destroy in the tutorials
Fixed bug where King battle would only do same move
Dum-E colours for various effects and UI changed
MENUS
Controls overview and "Player Ready" now displays in 2v2 Match Maker matches as well for up to 4 players
When backing out of the Jukebox in the Gallery you can no longer go out of the gallery before the transition animation has played
Fixed multiple bugs when using keyboard to name a new custom match template
Hall of Fame colours collected stat now updates correctly
Hall of Fame various misc stats updated to reflect game additions
MISC
Playing 2v2 with 3 or 4 human players counts those additional players character uses to milestones
One of the Stardom Stadium stage unlock in shop requirements has been reduced from completing the cup with every character to completing it with 4 characters
Condenced save files into one "save.ini" file, excluding "options.ini". You will lose any current suspended cup progress and saved custom match templates from any previous updates as a result of this change the first time you boot the game, everything else should carry over and work as normal.