CrossCode reached version 1.0 about one month ago. During the last month we've been mostly busy with the aftermath of the release. That means we fixed bugs. A lot of them. Now, 10 Hotfix releases later, we finally have the time to focus on new content and features again. And today we release the first bunch of them with version 1.0.1!
Version 1.0.1: New Features
CrossCode is a game designed with challenge in mind for both combat and puzzles. However, not all players appreciate this higher difficulty and for some the game becomes downright inaccessible because of it.
That's why version 1.0.1 introduces the Assist Mode that allows you to tweak the difficulty of the game in a detailed manner. If combat is too fast and enemies too hard hitting for you, you can downscale attack frequency and received damage respectively. And if the timed puzzled are too annoying for you to solve, you can downscale the speed / increase the duration of puzzle elements to simplify the execution.
Apart from this, version 1.0.1 also comes with the following features:
NW.js and Steam Beta Branch changes
We released CrossCode 1.0 using the new NW.js version, but as a lot of players experienced crash issues we quickly downgraded to the old version again, offering the new version through the nwjs_new beta branch. Through a number of Hotfixes we managed to reduce the amount of crashes, which is why we decided to now use the new NW.js version by default as it runs better for most players. Instead, we now offer the nwjs_old BETA branch to switch back to the old version in case the new one still doesn't run well for you.
Next Steps
Next we will finally focus on properly implementing Steam Achievements which will be directly connected to your Trophies. That means if you already collected all your Trophies they will be automatically synchronized with Steam Achievements once you start up the game. That's at least the plan.
Another feature we want to look at soon will be Steam Trading Cards. We're still figuring out how to get the right artworks.
And beyond that, there is still the list of promised End Game content:
All of this content will be released with free updates over the next few months. We will try to get a good part of it done this year, but it's possible that some of these features may have to wait until early 2019.
The Post Game Episode
Those of you that already finished the game might be aware that we hinted to a potential extension of the story. Originally, we planned to end the game at this point. However, since CrossCode has been pretty successful for quite a while already and there is still an abundance of stupid ideas™, it'd be honestly weird to just end things like this.
That's why we plan to start working on the Post Game Episode after we have finished all the End Game content. We hope to released it as a DLC sometime in 2019!
And that's all for now, until next time!
CrossCode Soundtrack Released + 1.0.0-7 Update is out
Full game just came out! If you've enjoyed the music of the game, we have great news for you:
CrossCode's soundtrack, which was made by our composer Deniz Akbulut, is available for purchase on many platforms including Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Steam thanks to Materia Collective. We're also very excited to announce that the soundtrack can be pre-ordered as a Limited Edition CD album now, which will be handled by the fine folks at First Press Games.
It will come with 2 CDs, a high quality clear jewel case, 12-page booklet and it will even include an obi/spine which is typical for a Japanese soundtrack release. The CD album will ship around November 15th. You're able to pre-order the album on Bandcamp (US shipping) and directly from First Press Games (Europe shipping).
Deniz is of course also very thrilled about having his debut soundtrack be released on CD! He is always very thankful to anyone who has supported him and bought the soundtrack.
Hotfix 1.0.0-7
Since the initial full release we went through several hotfix updates and the game finally reached a (somewhat) stable state.
Crashes might still happen though. This is mostly when you use the new NW.js version for CrossCode (which is default on most platforms and when using the nwjs_new branch on Steam) together with a high sample rate of over 100kHz in your audio output device settings, since it makes NW.js (the "Web Audio API" in particular) extremely wasteful with memory.
We now did two things to hopefully reduce the amount of crashes.
Hopefully this will reduce the amount of crashes. If you are a Steam user currently on the default branch, you can try to switch to the nwjs_new beta branch to check if crashes still happen or not. Feedback would be highly appreciated!
And that's all for now.
Maybe now we can actually afford to take a little break~
Hotfixes 1.0.0-8 and 1.0.0-9
A couple more hotfixes have been added over the last week.
New Features:
Critical Hotfix 1.0.0-1 - How to deal with crash issues
Game is just out and we already encountered quite a few critical issues.
This is why we now release Hotfix version 1.0.0-1 hoping to fix things.
What changed
We downgraded NW.js (the "engine" of CrossCode) again by default.
We were forced to do this since too many player experienced game-crashing issues with the new NW.js version.
The downside of this is, that the game might run slower for other players.
For those players we now added the following option:
Upgrade NW.js by switching to the nwjs_new beta branch
There is a new beta branch available called nwjs_new. By switching to this branch you get CrossCode again with the new NW.js version.
You switch to the branch like this:
Rightclick CrossCode in your library
Select Properties
Select the BETAS tab
In the top select box, choose nwjs_new
Verify game files or reinstall
This is confusing what does this mean?!
Instead of talking about technical stuff lets go through the most common user experiences here:
Case 1: The game was running fine with 1.0.0 but with 1.0.0-1 it's worse
=> Switch to the nwjs_new branch
Case 2: The game was crashing with 1.0.0 and you fixed it by downgrading NW.js
=> Nothing you need to do. The new version has the downgraded NW.js by default.
Case 3: The game was crashing with 1.0.0 and you fixed it without downgrading NW.js
=> If the new version runs worse for you, you can also switch to nwjs_new
More Infos and Troubleshooting
For more detailed troubleshooting, please visit this thread:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/368340/discussions/1/1733213724900972605/
Sorry for all the trouble to those player experience the crash issues! We're hard at work to find a good solution that works for as many players as possible!
More Hotfixes
Version 1.0.0-2:
You can enter the Grabby Cave again
Fixes issue where you could't get credits anymore
Tucos pathfinding issue fixed (hopefully)
Version 1.0.0-3:
Fixing a WORSE Credits bug
You now can't teleport anymore after select to "continue the story"
Version 1.0.0-4:
Fixed crash in last tab of Statistics menu
Fixed crashes for certain boss fights.
Version 1.0.0-5:
Fixed crash issues for the last few boss fights
Version 1.0.0-6:
No crash when using lvl2 cold throw arts at element shield orbs
Lots of smaller fixes
Version 1.0.0-7
Windows now changed to 64bit application for nwjs_new branch
Lot of loading optimizations for certain maps, loading time should be greatly reduced and less likely to crash
Text updates for all localizations, fixing several small issues
You now have 99 stamps per area
Lots of smaller bugfixes
CrossCode 1.0 Out Now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkk_omvFSOU
It's here. The day has come. After 7 years of development, half of which were in Early Access, CrossCode 1.0 finally releases!
Well, what can we say? What a crazy long journey it was. When we started out with CrossCode we've been a small team of inexperienced indie developers. So obviously, we decided to create a fully-featured RPG. Which was stupid ambitious. Yet still... we somehow did it.
And that's because of you! All you amazing people that backed us on Indiegogo or bought the Early Access version, supported us through the years with feedback, suggestions, tons... TONS of typo fixes or just by cheering us on over all this time. You made it possible for us to not only develop all the content we originally planned, but also to improve the game even further, suggesting features and improvements we never originally thought of.
We want you to know that this means a lot to us. It's really hard to describe how we feel right now. Especially since we had to write this text 3 days in advance. It's probably a mixture of extreme happiness and total exhaustion.
We would also like to thank all of our publishers who greatly helped us getting the word out all across the world.
And now the game is out. So it's up to you to play and hopefully enjoy this game of ours. Let us know what you think!
Missing Content
Just because CrossCode hit full release, doesn't mean it's complete...!
Well, we already warned you that we might not make it in time and that's pretty much what happened. Steam Achievements and Trading Cards are unfortunately not available yet. However, we'll work on this right away and hopefully add those features within the following weeks.
Note that the game already keeps tracks of achievements internally, so there is no need to replay the game after Steam Achievements have been added - you will automatically get all the achievements you already collected once you boot the game.
Other things, that are still missing and will be added in following updates:
We'll also have another post in the upcoming weeks to talk more about our Post-Game content plans.
Join our Discord
If you feel like sharing your experience of the game with other players, here's just another reminder that you can join our official Discord server:
discord.gg/crosscode
Again, thanks so much for all your support. Now go play the game already!
Meanwhile, we'll try to squeeze in a little break to recover from the crunch.
That's why we thought it would be appropriate to have a very special live stream on September 20 when we release the game!
The big difference: we will meet up in Frankfurt, visit our Publisher Deck13 and stream live from their office! Most RFG developers will be there and guests as well!
Get ready for some talking about behind the scenes stuff, reflecting on the overall development and of course... Anime talk. Probably. A little bit.
You might also be able to win some stuff! Please gief view!
With this post we also release a small update for the game! And it's entirely content-free!
... That means this update doesn't add any new content. Or fixes. Or any other changes to the game, really.
Instead, we finally updated the version of NW.js, the software we use to run CrossCode! From our experience so far, this hopefully means that the game will run faster and more stable for most of you. If instead you have troubles with the new version, please let us know in the forum or via E-Mail ( contact@radicalfishgames.com )!
Downgrading NW.js
If the new version doesn't work for you at all, you have the option to manually downgrade NW.js back to the old version using one of the following instructions:
For Windows and Linux
For Mac
Note: Whenever CrossCode is updated by Steam (or other platforms) it automatically updates NW.js again, so you will have to repeat those steps after each update. Sorry!
To Do List Update
Since we're so close to release, we thought it's okay to skip the To Do List update for August. Those are actually quite a bit of work. In any case, the short version is: most content has been completed.
Until very soon!
CrossCode will leave Early Access on September 20!
(Note: this artwork is still work-in-progress)
It's official now!
After almost 7 years of development
and over 3 years of Early Access,
CrossCode will finally hit Version 1.0 on September 20, 2018!!
The full release will be huge and by far the biggest update the game has had so far.
Here is a list of things you can expect from CrossCode 1.0:
Also hopefully less buggy than previous major releases, since we do some internal testing this time!
Other features that we still hope to finish but are not 100% certain yet:
We will try our best to implement these in time for the 1.0 release. If we won't make it, however, you can expect these features to be added very soon in a follow-up update. Don't worry about achievements, the game already tracks all achievements internally, so you will still get all the Steam achievements you already collected before the update.
Soundtrack Release
CrossCode 1.0 will also come with over 20 new music tracks! With this, the complete soundtrack will include a total of 64 tracks. And of course you will be able to buy that one, too!
(Album artwork by Nemuri)
The Original Soundtrack of CrossCode will be released together with version 1.0! Available on Steam and Bandcamp!
Development on CrossCode won't stop right at the 1.0 release. There are several feature and content we promised and we plan to keep that promise.
Most of the following content will be released as a free update after the 1.0 release:
Beyond that, we have a long, long list of stupid ideas and other content we'd love to add to the game, most likely as a DLC of sorts. But this of course depends on how the release will work out. So no promises on that yet!
...And that's pretty much it!
Now it's time for the final phase of development!
Until next time!
Hi-Lights + July To Do List Update
Hello everyball!
The sun is currently BURNING over here in Germany... relatively speaking at least. So far we had an unexpectedly hot summer and it doesn't exactly help for the development. Still, we kept working and made some good progress in July. And now it's time for another progress report!
In July we kept working on end game content, getting closer to the final conclusion of the story. Overall, we're still optimistic that all mandatory content will be completed in September.
However, since work went slower than expected due to the heat, we might have to postpone the release of a couple optional quests to a (free) update after the 1.0 release. We decided it's more important to focus on the main story content and polishing rather than cramping in 100% of all quest we originally planned. All of these quest will be relevant for the end game, so you can still enjoy them when you're at the very end of the plot.
Anyway, here a few more spoiler-free impressions of recent development:
We made a lot of progress with Rhombus Square, which now features a fancy overview map to travel around quickly!
New parts of the city have been added! While you won't be able to visit every spot of the city in version 1.0, it's still gonna be a huge place!
We also started adding interiors for some of the buildings. Here a fancy equipment store!
And here the item store! That's exactly how supermarkets will look like in the future, right?
Also in work: new quests. This one is pretty basic, really. Nothing unusual going on here. Next image!
A lot of (more important) NPCs now have fully colored portraits, including all of the faction leaders and the beloved Master Sensei!
Finally we also found the time to further improve the Equipment Menu! You now see equipment icons in the middle. There are even fancy animations as you can see here
RELEASE DATE WHEN?
We promised to announce the release date in "early August", but we'd like to have another week before we finally do it! That's mostly because we want to prepare something nice before that. Don't worry, it will still be in September.
And that's all for now. Stressful times lay ahead of us, but things are looking good!
Until next time!
About the Release, Gamescom and Discounts
Hello everyball!
We have a small update outside of our usual schedule for you!
About the Release
Things are more or less fixed now.
That's why we're happy to announce:
CrossCode 1.0 will be released in September 2018!!
We'll have a bigger announcement with the exact release date around the beginning of August with all the bling and shing, but September is locked-in for sure!
Gamescom 2018
We will once again attend Gamescom in Cologne, Germany! We won't have a booth, but will be strolling around as visitors on Tuesday (Business day) and Wednesday! If you want to meetup and maybe get a CrossCode sticker, let us know, best via Twitter (DMs are open) or in our Discord Server.
To Hell with Hell Loyalty Discount
Finally: Thanks to your publisher Deck13 we have a little Loyalty Discount for To Hell with Hell!
This means that any owner of CrossCode on Steam will receive a 10% discount (in addition to the current 20% discount) for To Hell with Hell! Just in case anyone is interesting in helping out Natasia down there... in hell. It's a classic Bullet Hell rogue-like crawler with juicy pixelart still in Early Access!
And that's all for now! More details in August!
CrossCode: Hi-Lights + June To Do List Update
Hello everyball!
June has been one month of 100% CrossCode gamedev. And as a result, we made a lot of progress! Getting really close!
In June we finally managed to decently chip down on those numbers! We made a lot of progress with story and cut scenes, finished another major battle sequence and completed a whole bunch of quests!
That's why we are still optimistic for a 1.0 release around end of summer (late August-September)!
We still didn't decide on precise release date yet, but that might happen soonish as well.
And of course, here a few more spoiler-free screenshot of recent progress:
Here a very ambigious screenshot of a recently finished story event that hopefully doesn't spoil anything... Look! It's a shiny cave!
We further worked on Rhombus Square, roughly completing another part of the city... except for that one large house in the lower left. That still needs some work.
The Botanics Quest has been completed so you now get a lot of fancy rewards for your progress!
Henry's quest chain has been roughly completed as well! More searching of those devices!
Strange new Plants have appeared in CrossWorlds and might hold the key to the Old Man's Secret!
Another small feature: The game will now include "Add-Ons" that allow you to enable/disable things independent of equipment! Equipment like "Holiday Hat" and "Sparkling Boots" that change your appearance/add visual effects have been converted to "Add-Ons" so you can "wear" them at any time, without having to use outdated equipment!
And that's pretty much it. Until next time! Hopefully with some great news regarding a 1.0 release.
Hi-Lights + May To Do List Update
Hello everyball!
May is already over so it's time to update that To Do list and talk about recent progress! Also a short recap of last month's events and more!
May was the month we attended both BitSummit and Dokomi - which included a fair bit of preparation and traveling. That is why we expected (and calculated) that less work would get done this month. However, despite all this we actually made some pretty good progress, especially towards the end of the month.
With the way things are going, we still hope for a release of version 1.0 around end of Summer.
Now as for what exactly happened this month... there are at least a few things we can show without spoiling too much:
Things are happening in Sapphire Ridge and it somehow involves this bamboo fountain.
Additionally, new optional temples are emerging in Gaia's Garden!
Finally, we even managed to squeeze in a little quality of life improvement: availability information in the inventory. Note: the information shown in this screen is just an example and not accurate! No, Hedgehags will not start dropping bare Junk Metal!
Events and Awards in May
As announced in last post, we attended both BitSummit and Dokomi presenting CrossCode!
CrossCode at BitSummit next to all those other great games published by Dangen like Fight Knight and Super Sportmatchen... check them out!
