Astral Ascent - Some news from the Hibernian Workshop
Dear Astral Ascent players,
First of all, we wanted to thank you for the support and the love you've sent us since the release of the Early Access. It's a huge step for us after over 3 years of work on the game and we're so happy to see how many players enjoy playing Astral Ascent. 🌟
We have received some feedbacks about crashes and bugs related to performance issues. We are really sorry about that, we know that's is a major problem right now and we are working hard to fix this: for the next major update, the game will be ported with a new game exporter, much more optimized than the one we're using today. This change should solve most of the issues encountered and the game should run way smoother across the board.
While waiting for this update, we suggest you to take a look at our common issues guide. You'll find some temporary solutions to avoid crashes. This guide is updated each time a new solution is discovered. For example, recently, some players noticed a major performance boost by installing the game on a SSD. It turns out it helps a lot of players who had performance issues. So feel free to add a comment if it doesn't work or if you find a new solution.
If you encounter any more issues, you can join our Discord server and send a message in the #bug-report channel or in the thread of the common issues guide.
In the meantime, we are working on a small update that should come in the next few weeks. Some minor changes will be made there and you'll be able to play Astral Ascent in Japanese!
Thank you for everything and have a wonderful day, - The Hibernian Workshop Team ✨
Patch Notes - April 2022 - 0.33.7
⭐Changes inspired by our community!
Small Features
There's now a cooldown for meeting a Zodiac in a boss room after defeating the Zodiac there (1 run cooldown)
community inspired ⭐ Crystals currency are now auto-collected by player, as long as it enters on player sight at least once
community inspired ⭐ Players fall attack (pressing down+jump while in air) now recover one mana piece (just like any other basic attack)
community inspired ⭐ It's not possible to find spells with gambits placed on ""locked gambit slots"". This is to avoid confusion as if the gambit is working under this condition or not
At start of the game, players are now hinted about the possibility to play the game with a outline on some game related objects. This is a option intended to improve readibility wich might be prefered by some players.
Small buff on HP drop from enemies and HP found on quiet room
Poison / Explosion won't trigger the NG+ missile and NG+ thorn armor when they hit enemies as it could create chaos/ felt unfair.
More updates targeting better game performance
Balancing
Sagittarius challenge Timer changed from 45 to 35 seconds
NG+ random debuff: movevement speed debuff have been nerfed
Ice shards aura: Nerfed to spawn have more cooldown between ice orb spawn
Bug Fixes
When summoning Taurus as player 2, in co-op mode, the summon buff targeted player 1
Sagittarius summon didn't trigger it effect when summoned by player 2
The subtitle for NPC/PC real time dialog could disapear before it's audio finished
The volume of the music played in the hub area could change value incorrectly after opening the poetic peddler menu
Text tips we're lost after changing game language (until game was restarted)
Sometimes the text tips for effects could display hints wrongly (hints displayed for effects not presented in the spell/gambit/relic)
community inspired ⭐ It was possible to randomly be spawned in a gray screen when starting a new run, forcing player to restart the game
Going back to main menu during a zodiac challenge could trigger wierd behaviors when going back to the game hub
community inspired ⭐ Carnivorous Plants in World 1 does not attack you while looting anymore.
Deactivated World 2 fire statue while searching for replacements.
Performances improvements when hitting enemies.
Balancing
Enter room heal Aura: The Hp given back by this aura effect has been changed from 10 hp per room to 5% Hp per room
Missile on cast Aura: Behavior has been changed to spawn 2 missiles after casting a spell everytime. Cumulating this aura will also augment the number of missiles spawned
Yalee Revenge Aura: This aura will now spawn +1 Yalee per time you have it equiped (to a maximum of 4 yalee at once)
Yalee on spell refresh Aura: This aura will now spawn +1 Yalee per time you have it equiped (to a maximum of 4 yalee at once)
Level Design
Removed some Flame geyser in the special trap exploration room of World 2.
Removed some pirannah plants in the special trap exploration room of Wolrd 1.
Interface
community inspired ⭐ Next spells mana cost are now displayed in red if not enough mana to cast them.
community inspired ⭐ Added spell ID number and gambits icons next to each spell, including above player's head.
Bug Fixes
""New"" icon above NPCs would disappear weirdly but moving up.
French translations typos.
Preview spell would trigger even if pressing once instead of holding.
Sometimes it was possible for enemies to be hited even if player was not attacking it
URL links from the game main menu was not working properlly (social media links and patch notes)
community inspired ⭐ New Resolution Quality graphic option: It's possible now to reduce resolution quality through the game graphic options. This should help players with weaker graphic boards to player the game with better FPS
Small Features
Change the description of Summon Yalee Gambits, they will now display the number of Yalee that will be summoned at once.
Change the description of ""Elite or Higher"" gambits to ""Elite or boss""
Disabled the context dialog of getting a spell in intro room.
community inspired ⭐ Healing shards now restore 10 hp to players if they are full of shards when collecting it.
Balancing
Sagittarius summon nerf: Nerfed the duration of Sagittarius summon from 20 to 16 seconds.
Change fight room timer duration: Change the timer to 45 seconds instead of 30, this should make them a lot more doable while still being challenging.
NERF - SPIRIT SWORD: Duration of the spell has been reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Ai and damage is unchanged.
NERF - RAVAGING SPHERES: Damage output of the spell has been slightly reduced
BUFF - GLACIAL SPIKES: Damage output of the spell has been augmented.
NERF - SHATTERING STARS: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
NERF - MAGMA COMETS: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
BUFF - KI BLAST: Damage output of the spell has been augmented.
BUFF - DARK BURST: Damage output of the spell has been augmented.
NERF - N°012 ELECTRIC SCALPELS: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
NERF - LIGHTSPEED FIST: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
Minibosses and Zodiacs now spawn one spell / one gambit and one slot unlocker.
community inspired ⭐ Carnivorous Plants collider hitbox has been improved.
Reduced heals from Resting Rooms, from Zodiacs bosses rewards, and crystal healing shards are less frequents on enemies.
Common Spells are more frequent now.
Level Design
Removed some of the W2 geyser trap in the special exploration room so they don't bother you when trying to equip newly acquired loot.
Interface
community inspired ⭐ Dialogues are now skippable with ""enter"" and mouse inputs
community inspired ⭐ When leaving a run, warning message about losing current progression has been added.
Narrative Design
Fixed a minor issue with a french dialog displayed while being in english in the settings.
Bug Fixes
Game would bug after trying to unlock the last 3 colors of the Stylist NPC
Lottery could have chest stacking giving way too many rewards.
community inspired ⭐ Zodiacs not attacking from times to times.
community inspired ⭐ One color from Oloon was not unlockable.
community inspired ⭐ Gambits affecting ""elites or higher"" were not affecting minibosses.
Astral Spirits now runaway when being hit once.
community inspired ⭐ ""NaN"" displayed on Botanist interface.
community inspired ⭐ Spells/Gambits could spawn inside walls.
community inspired ⭐ New Resolution Quality graphic option: It's possible now to reduce resolution quality through the game graphic options. This should help players with weaker graphic boards to player the game with better FPS
Small Features
Change the description of Summon Yalee Gambits, they will now display the number of Yalee that will be summoned at once.
Change the description of ""Elite or Higher"" gambits to ""Elite or boss""
Disabled the context dialog of getting a spell in intro room.
community inspired ⭐ Healing shards now restore 10 hp to players if they are full of shards when collecting it.
Balancing
Sagittarius summon nerf: Nerfed the duration of Sagittarius summon from 20 to 16 seconds.
Change fight room timer duration: Change the timer to 45 seconds instead of 30, this should make them a lot more doable while still being challenging.
NERF - SPIRIT SWORD: Duration of the spell has been reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds. Ai and damage is unchanged.
NERF - RAVAGING SPHERES: Damage output of the spell has been slightly reduced
BUFF - GLACIAL SPIKES: Damage output of the spell has been augmented.
NERF - SHATTERING STARS: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
NERF - MAGMA COMETS: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
BUFF - KI BLAST: Damage output of the spell has been augmented.
BUFF - DARK BURST: Damage output of the spell has been augmented.
NERF - N°012 ELECTRIC SCALPELS: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
NERF - LIGHTSPEED FIST: Damage output of the spell has been reduced.
Minibosses and Zodiacs now spawn one spell / one gambit and one slot unlocker.
community inspired ⭐ Carnivorous Plants collider hitbox has been improved.
Reduced heals from Resting Rooms, from Zodiacs bosses rewards, and crystal healing shards are less frequents on enemies.
Common Spells are more frequent now.
Level Design
Removed some of the W2 geyser trap in the special exploration room so they don't bother you when trying to equip newly acquired loot.
Interface
community inspired ⭐ Dialogues are now skippable with ""enter"" and mouse inputs
community inspired ⭐ When leaving a run, warning message about losing current progression has been added.
Narrative Design
Fixed a minor issue with a french dialog displayed while being in english in the settings.
Bug Fixes
Game would bug after trying to unlock the last 3 colors of the Stylist NPC
Lottery could have chest stacking giving way too many rewards.
community inspired ⭐ Zodiacs not attacking from times to times.
community inspired ⭐ One color from Oloon was not unlockable.
community inspired ⭐ Gambits affecting ""elites or higher"" were not affecting minibosses.
Astral Spirits now runaway when being hit once.
community inspired ⭐ ""NaN"" displayed on Botanist interface.
community inspired ⭐ Spells/Gambits could spawn inside walls.
Added an option to reduce fullscreen quality for low settings
Dedicated Graphic Card picking: It was possible that for some users for their dedicated graphic card to not get picked to run the game in previous versions. Now the game should prioritize using the computer didicated graphic card
Small Features
Performances improvements on effects on enemies
Performances improvements on World 2 level design elements
Performances improvements on Falling Leaves
Interface
Hidden mouse cursor when playing with a controller
Let your friends and favorite content creators know about the game and don't hesitate to review the game on Steam! As we are self-publishing, we are even more counting on you!
The whole team has worked hard to deliver the best possible 2D Rogue-lite we could create, here is what you can expect -
2 out of the 5 playable characters
5 out of the 12 Zodiacs bosses
2 out of the 4 Worlds to explore
2 minibosses
Fully Voiced dialogs
New Game Plus feature
Local co-op
And this is not the end, we will provide updates through the Early Access with new worlds, new Zodiacs, new playable characters and more! We will also try to provide assistance on bugs and polishing.
Also, we have decided to only focus on Windows during Early Access but you can expect the game to be on Mac and Linux at the final release.
EARLY ACCESS KEYS
All Early Access keys have been sent by email to backers who either selected the Early Access pledge level or added a Steam Key as add-on to their pledges.
Important note - Please check your Spams if you didn't receive your key yet, we still have more than 500 of you who received the email but did not open it, the email is named Astral Ascent - Early Access Steam Key - Kickstarter Reward.
Hard working team
As always, have a wonderful day and great fun on the game!
-The Hibernian Workshop Team
Patch Notes - April 2022 - 0.29.3
⭐Changes inspired by our community!
Major Features
The path of destinies (NG+): The New Game + challenges have been completely redone to be much more meaningful adding unique challenge to your future runs!
Add of French, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean & Russian to the game
Added Zodiacs videos intro for each boss
Added a lot of new Malices for Destiny Path system (and removed some old ones)
Bonus damage from multiple sources could sometimes not trigger and stack correctly (leading to wrong result on total damage output)
Small Features
Added new contextual dialogs.(Chameleon and sitting on a bench)
Addition of a Sun pieces multiplier by progressing in the New Game + challenges. (from x1.25 to x3)
Added new rare specials exploration room.
Base pool of spells changes: The default pool of available spells have been changed with the recent addition of several new spells to the game.
Pacification displayed 1% per stack while it was 5%
Overall polish of languages displayed text
NG+ features improved
Price cost to active a Malice is down to 2 destiny fragment
Zim-Zim does not sell world 3 and world 4 updates anymore for now
Cetus is not dancing anymore when we are checking spells to equip
Optimisation on Andromeda's room
Added a lot of new Malices for Destiny Path system (and removed some old ones)
Several objects had too much radial blur, we could see sprites borders
NG+ Random Malus are better displayed when several of them on screen and last longer so we can read them
Better lisibility on Ghost enemies from NG+
Added bilinear to NG+ UI
Added NG+ icons to the NG+ menu
Changed camera behavior in most specific rooms
Added multiplier for Sun Pieces during runs for NG+
Chamaeleon unlock now triggers an achievement
When equipping a spell, spell on ground is now closed
Optimization in Pavo's room
Balancing
Virog summon damage have been slightly nerfed.
Faster level ups: The required XP points to level up have been reduced overall to make progression and unlocks faster.
Damage dealt by Fire portals in World 2 have been buffed.
Bonus damage buff have been nerfed to +50% instead of +100% damage.
Poison stacks damage have been slightly nerfed.
Reduced NG+ heal reduction from -40% to -30%
Mushroom spawner in world 1 have a bigger cooldown between spawn of fungal beings.
""Luck"" from Zim-Zim now gives 25% chances per level instead of 10%
Lava Spiders projeciles speed is divided by 2 when bouncing on solids
Level Design
Level design global polish
Improved some visual glitches in special rooms
Music & SFX
Added SFX to 28 spells and NG+ features
Interface
Vertical navigation in main menu is more precise with left stick
Unusable options in menus are now darker instead of invisible
Global polish on main menu interface
Return option on main menu adapts color to background color
Aura interface was displaying ""already unlocked"" on locked spells sometimes
P2 input sidescreen was hidden if sidescreen text was too long
Constellation UI now loops
If not enough tickets with Oloon, sun pieces counter would become red
New Input for Sire Bapy to collect all rewards at once
Player 2 can now move in Main Menu
Bug Fixes
Quartz were giving x3 for each quartz
Elite Shields were getting bigger with time + made sizes more accurate
Leo had broken SFX when being summoned
Sagittarius weapon could sometimes end up in front of her when you summoned another Zodiac against her
Healing orbs could heal dead players in co-op
Contextual dialog about having a lot of money and low life were playing at start of each new room
Sometimes players could get stuck with slodown buffer from enemy elite modificators
SFX was not displayed anymore on -> collecting aura effect -> spawning bosses chests (boss disappears) -> receiving bosses summon
Some spells were targetting NG+ ghosts like Magma Comet
Magma Comet and Shattering Stars spells were not spawning in the loot pool
Pointers to NPCs on hub could not display correctly at times that NPC had new upgrades for player
Player inventory could suddenly disapear in some ocaions during co-op mode
Challenge UI could display failed challenge objectives on top of each other
Sagittarius fire tentacles attack had no cooldown
Run progress UI (displayed when near portals) could display wrong info about current/next world
Destiny Path info on pause menu (displayed during runs) could sometimes behave wierdly (not showing up or overlaping other menu objects)
NPCs could sometimes move position in front of player when re-rolling dialogs
NPCs could sometimes move position in front of player when re-rolling dialogs
Contextual text about ""feeling better"" everytime we used crystal shards
Mana points were hidden behind the Fireballs spells after tutorial
Level design ingredients descriptions banners could be below other level design ingredients
Spawned missiles around players would grab any close particles spawned
NG+ sun pieces multiplicator could give float sun pieces to player
Zodiacs defeated while invisible would remain invisible
Zodiacs defeated while frozen would be invisible
If Leo was defeated during his spin attack, the associated SFX would never end
Lupus ultimate projectiles could spin forever
Removed collision with NG+ ghosts
Sidescreens could bug when moving from Sova to Kiran
Dialog icons in hub were often behind NPCs
Vulnerability was displaying 5% per stack while it was 3%
Astral Ascent is coming to Steam Early Access on April 12!
The whole team would like to thank you for the great support you have given us since the Kickstarter campaign started, we are now days away from releasing our first self-published game and it means a lot to us so thank you again for making this possible. 🌟
Fully voiced
We are so happy to tell you that we will have every dialogs voiced (English) for the Early Access release. We have worked with insanely talented voice actors, they gave life to each character and we absolutely love the result.
[previewyoutube="epzfgcQy2k4;full"]
New Game Plus
We have been hard working on the NG+ elements for some time and we were not really happy with what we had because we used to have small changes for each level. We changed that to focus on 12 levels of NG+ and each level makes a real change by making the game more fun & challenging.
You will find elements such as :
Dead enemies can revive as zombies
Bosses now have elite modificators
Elites are much more frequent and dangerous
and much more...
It can quickly become very hard to deal with and we cannot wait to see how far you will be able to go with this system! This system will evolve with time as we do not have all the Zodiacs in the game yet.
Have a wonderful day and see you for the release date!
-The Hibernian Workshop Team
Patch Notes - March 2022 - 0.25.0
⭐Changes inspired by our community!
Major Features
Lottery Rework: Improved visuals for the lottery coming with a new and mysterious NPC that you will meet in various places
New Spells: Many new spells to try and experiment
Added a new intro cutscene before intro tutorial, when starting a new game
Small Features
Rework Introduction room: Visual and level design changes
Staying idle too long in Andromeda's bar would unselect potions to buy
Feathers use are better explained
Barbecue was wrongly placed in Death Recap reward phase
Capricorn destroyed book are better feedbacked
End of level rewards are now only in co-op
Black Seeds enemies now predict better players movement to attack in advance
Taurus ultimate in co-op now has 2 jumps use per crystal in co-op
Player now dashes to the direction pressed in game pad over priority of direction that player sprite is facing
Game language is selected automatically depending on your steam settings
All the spells on inventory are better hightlighted when inventory is open (to hint that they can be selected to swap spells and equip gambits or feather)
Balancing
Removed the linked spells in intro room (with botanist upgrade)
Music & SFX
Added SFX on Scorpio meeting / Taurus Challenge and Leo Challenge
Added SFX when receiving currency from interface
New musics and improvements added for various places
Interface
Windowed options are now unavailable while fullscreen
You can now confirm category on merchant interface to get to latest element to buy
Empty utility spell (from inventory) were displaying a N/A icon
Wrong player icons in coop during Death Recap
Input changed for co-op revive
Visuals
Polished some special hub animations
World 2 statue projectile trail is now smootherly destroyed
Polished feathers spawning and visuals
Spell level icon was pixelated on interface
Bug Fixes
community inspired ⭐ You could farm highest damage achievements on Dummies
You could get stuck on Death Recap if you killed an enemy with XP point at the same frame
Icons above player head gameplay option was not working
Visual glitch on top left of the screen when entering controls menu
Flying platforms had a visual glitch when being activated
Sagittarius fire attack had no cooldown
World 2 golem flying rocks could not be destroyed
World 2 statues projectiles could be below level elements
Lupus projectiles could spin forever
Some achievements could not be validated (keys/stars use)
Andromeda dialog icon was in front of potions description
Sova saving player achievement was not working
community inspired ⭐ You could fall from a platform in the hub
We could see a lock icon behind the feathers loot
Pavo would only sacrifice player 1 health even if player 2 does the input
In ""better performance"" a lot of particles were never destroyed
Fixed some bugs related to music system (music could start in the wrong moments, or not fade out correctly)
Player now dashes to the direction pressed in game pad over priority of direction that player sprite is facing
Game language is selected automatically depending on your steam settings
Fixed godrays (from sun object) being broken under some circunstances
Collecting stars curency after entering portal could retrieve wrong amount of stars
community inspired ⭐ Game could behave wierdly when trying to switch between playable characters too fast
Aura descriptions in the Dragon npc could have broken text references
