Hello everyone! It’s XYZ and Berenger again, because your and our beloved Matt had to be out of the office for the release of this update. But don’t worry, we’re saving his writing skills for the Mother of All Update in November. And for this month, the update of [h2][b]the New Medallion System – Risks and Rewards[/b][/h2] - has arrived as promised! Ok, maybe a little later than promised ^^’ But hey, before we get into the main course, let’s enjoy the starter first: [h2][b]New Gameplay: Rescue[/b][/h2] You now have the possibility to bump into a little girl who is being hunted by the Huns’ corruption. The Prince never leaves one of his people in danger, so you will have to use your epic platforming and parkour skills to rescue her, just like in the reveal trailer! In return, generous rewards are waiting for you, hence the title of the update. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/f5bec091ccbb88514a5e178eaffe13ebf1605695.png[/img] Since the motto for this update was to bring more “Variety”, you can consider this as a kind of side quest which aims to bring a new dynamic to the gameplay, and, for those who keep asking for more challenging rooms in the level, this will definitely satisfy your desires! [i]Note: rescue missions will appear in a random biome and shall only appear once per run. If you want to skip this mission, you can just stand there for a few seconds until the corruption runs off the screen. [/i] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/d603371f2b56bb6658f74b5e701c337162dbcd28.gif[/img] [i]Follow the black mist of the corruption to destroy its origin and rescue the victims [/i] Hope you enjoy the starter and let’s see if the main course will surprise you more: [h2][b]Here comes a shiny new Medallion System![/b][/h2] [b]The medallion system before: [/b] Medallions should allow you to create your ‘build’ – a key part of pretty much every roguelite. The first version of this system was too complicated/obscure, so people were spending ages on the medallion selection menu (ergo not spending time enjoying the gameplay), didn’t see where to create synergies, and many medallions were too niche, so their triggers/synergies were rarely seen even if you knew what you’re doing. This had two effects – people didn’t realize that there’s this whole other layer to the game so they thought the game is too simple, which is rarely a good thing, and they also didn’t know how to reach higher levels of damage that you can get from good builds and so they got stuck at lower difficulties. [b]The medallion system now: [/b] We reworked the whole medallion system to solve all the problems we noticed above. It should be more intuitive, you should have more freedom when you create a build, and so there’s more fun and replayability in the game. If you play a few runs and find that it doesn’t achieve these things, then please do leave us your feedback as we want it to be perfect! [h3][b]System Main Changes: [/b][/h3] [b]The boosting effect based on adjacent medallion placement is removed[/b], no more strict limitations. [b]Gathering & Equipment [/b] [list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/a8c94889b72c1551fd0f1c96f9a61805887f58d6.png[/img] [*] You can now potentially equip 12 medallions (YES, 12) in a run, but with only 3 medallion slots unlocked at the beginning with the other 9 able to be unlocked during the run. [*] You will randomly gain medallions by killing enemies, while chests and altars still serve as the main source to obtain more. [*] The medallions you earned by killing will be automatically stored in your bag (congrats, you have a new bag as an update gift!). You can open the bag to see what medallions you’ve got and which ones you want to equip. [/list] [b]Upgrading Inventory & Medallions [/b] [list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/d0e265f6dcd22e8c100b6168b67535ea5792c6e8.gif[/img] [*] This upgrading system is all about trade-off – sacrificing 1 medallion to unlock 1 new medallion slot or to upgrade 1 medallion you’ve already got. [*] Astara will work full time on upgrading medallions, which means no more weapon upgrade at their shop. [*] Moksha Altar is reworked to give you new medallion slots (upgrade your inventory). [/list] With this new system, we are also bringing you: [h2][b]50 brand-new Medallions [/b][/h2] Meanwhile, all the legacy medallions have been removed, so let’s mourn them for 5 seconds... 5 4 3 2 1 You’ll see now there are way more badass builds, with many satisfying synergies between weapons and medallions. We hope that after finishing a run, you’ll start another run to chase that sweet OP build and feel the POWER. I will just put some screenshots here to show how fun it can be with the synergy effect without spoiling the build’s formula - we prefer to let you explore and try different stuff yourself! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/f54a585f97297059a2099279c64a634dec913db2.gif[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/1dcbc6384c02171f1a7b6f3c2eb7e26a000f8d3d.gif[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/e3ab9c2fb88a9bf74539a4ef681edf9141ac993d.gif[/img] However, the system is not flawless for the moment. [b]The effect of each medallion and the build you can create will certainly be a bit too OP sometimes.[/b] Our dev team is doing more balancing work which will be implemented soon. So enjoy the feeling of being an absolute god while you still can… Aside from the gameplay, we’ve also started to get stuck into the narration. Upon release, we received quite a lot of ‘mid’ reviews regarding the narration and dialogue. Part of the reason is that we only released the beginning of the story at first, but we can admit that a lot of elements that would flesh out the storytelling were just missing. Our talented designers are still working on the polish of the existing narration, as well as the second Act of the story, which is coming in November, but we still prepared something in this update for you to get familiar with this world in advance. So here we are, the dessert of this update: [h2][b]Book of Heads [/b][/h2] This is a book compiling all the stories & knowledge of the mobs and the bosses in this world, from which you will get to know the origin of corruption, the complex relationships between bosses & more… We don’t want to spoil it too much more, but if you are curious about the events of the invasion and what might happen in the future, just swing by Hun’s Camp, where a new NPC ‘Nyamtur’ will be waiting for you - he’ll tell you how to get this book. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44971889/247295db27bce8137e05d1dc830f7e4e800f156a.png[/img] This book will not give you such knowledge for free however, and you will have to complete numerous challenges to unlock what you seek. Above are all the major changes, here are also some small tweaks: [list] [*] Inventory rework to reflect the changes to medallions. [*] Medallions are now unlocked in packs instead of individually. [*] Moksha Altar is now a default ability, and the perk was removed from the skill tree. [*] Weapons can be upgraded at Blood Altars, at the cost of max HP. [*] Removed weapons from chests, they will only reward medallions now. [*] Improved boss rewards. There's now a special altar available after defeating a boss, with extra rewards. [*] Shop price is increased. [*] Audio polish (a lot, a lot, a lot...) [/list] [h3][b]As usual, there are a lot of bugs fixed alongside: [/b][/h3] [b]Biomes:[b] [list] [*] Fixed a level generation issue in Huns Camp. [*] Fixed an issue with some traps hitboxes that caused larger mobs to not receive damage. [*] Fixed pathfinding issues in some rooms of Huns camp. [*] Fixed an issue that caused challenge rooms to spawn too often. [/list] [b]Visuals:[b] [list] [*] Fixed a visual issue with the foreground in Oasis when using the kick. [/list] [b]Mobs:[b] [list] [*] Added a protection when elevators are active to prevent mobs from hitting the Prince. [*] Fixed archers not being able to target the player through some interactable items. [*] Fixed mobs not dying from water slide damage when landing on the edges. [/list] [b]Audio:[b] [list] [*] Fixed water SFX lingering after walking in a puddle. [*] Fixed Awakening Altar music bypassing music volume settings. [/list] [b]Menu/UI:[b] [list] [*] Fixed an issue with the main menu that didn't prevent from resuming and starting a new run/save at the same time. [*] Fixed weapon rack upgrade being purchasable from Paachi. [*] Fixed a translation issue with Censer's tooltip in English. [/list] [b]Miscellaneous:[b] [list] [*] Fixed an issue with rumble timing upon respawning in Oasis. [*] Fixed Soul Brazier causing a crash when too many glimmers are spawned. [/list] That’s pretty much everything! Now, stop reading this wayyyy tooo long post & go enjoy this succulent meal! XYZ, Berenger & EE