Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Adventure, Indie, Card & Board Game
Cultist Simulator
Sprint update - DEC #1: YOG-SOTHOTH
Hey all, and merry merry Christmas! Just a quick update on what we've been up to, seeing as everyone is about to scatter to the winds like festive moles running for cover from beglittered hawks.
We do these every month, and this month's was all about ASCENSIONS: upcoming new, harder-than-ever-before ways to win the game by fighting off AN ACTUAL ADVERSARY LONG. Because Cultist was too easy before, obviously.
New icons!
For the new, free content we're releasing at the end of January. These are but a select few of the new content and art you'll see in the game next year. We'll be announcing the release date shortly - stay tuned!
Opalia
If you're not already, follow our Twitter to play the creepiest, festive-ist interactive fiction adventure next week when we run our inaugural OPALIA event.
More info on release dates, new content, localisation and something that's so secret I may not even mention it by name in the new year. Have a lovely new year's, all! ♥
Main branch update: Expeditions rework (and six new expeditions)
The Expeditions update has spent a few weeks baking on the beta branch, and is now live on main.
The big change here is to reduce the amount of RNG in the midgame. Each expedition now has a set (and thematically consistent) set of rewards. This means *much* less grinding away at expeditions waiting for the ONE ITEM YOU STILL NEED FOR YOUR VICTORY to drop.
Exceptions: the last expedition in each area (Forsaken Reach, Kerisham, etc.) now give intentionally repeatable rewards, and will allow you to get rewards from earlier expeditions if a Rival snaffled that expedition.
There are also six new Expeditions with some significant snippets of lore (yes this is all a free update, I don't know what I was thinking).
All in all, this will make the game much more playable the first few times through, though less ultimately replayable.... but the Apostle legacies / Major Victories coming in January should provide a lot more playability.
More about those here: http://weatherfactory.biz/christophers-build/
beta branch update: Expeditions rework (and six new expeditions)
Hullo folks
I normally just post beta patch notes on the patch thread, but this is significant enough that I wanted it on the front page.
One of the (IMO more justifiable) complaints I hear about CS is that the mid-game gets grindy. I've reworked how Expeditions operate to make it easier and quicker to get the treasures you want.
The effect of this kind of change is all about player experience not specific balance... so it may have unintended effects, and I'm very interested in your feedback.
This is on the gateofhorn branch now.
v2018.11.e.1:
- Major Expeditions rework to reduce midgame grind, including six new Expeditions. Expeditions now give fixed, more thematically suitable, and usually more impressive, rewards. Default expeditions give you a chance to scoop up books from any Expeditions consumed by Rivals, and also can be repeated to gain Ingredients. (Details of which items show up in which Expeditions may shuffle around further).
- Fixed a rare issue where it was still sometimes possible to put a stack of >1 card in a slot (if you swapped out one card of that type for a stack of identical cards)
- Fixed an even rarer issue where saving the game with two funds in unstarted Expedition slots would leave you with only 1 Funds on reloading.
- 30% of the time, failing to use a Favour to save a Follower would leave you under suspicion instead. This should no longer happen.
- Removed Bloodshed, for now.
- Reduced Fleeting Reminiscence duration to make it more Fleeting.
We spent a bunch of this sprint planning Cultist's future, and have updated our roadmap accordingly. We've also confirmed what's gonna be in the next big update, Christopher's Build, coming out in the second half of January 2019. Here's what it'll be!
Free updates:
Apostle victories, which are three new 'tier 2' victories evolving the current Forge, Grail and Enlightenment victories. You'll only unlock these Apostle victories once you've won the game with one of the original three lore victories. Beware: Apostle victories are much harder than the basic victories, and will pit you against your very own Long nemesis...
New Expeditions, fixing issues with mid-game grind and item collection, as well as adding in a few new places to definitely not send Followers out to die in. We're talking the well-stocked Key-Hunter's Garret, spooky Forman House with definitely not a ghost, and deeply unsettling mass at St Felix of Schuren...
New HQs, partly replacing your current Temporary HQ, and partly making HQs more involved in the game.
Paid DLC:
Cultist Simulator's OST: from the wonderful Mickymar Productions, nab the 15 remastered in-game tracks along with nice artwork + a world-leading Erhu master. Because obvs we needed that.
There're also some changes to our Church of Merch store (plain paper notebooks, cheaper/tracked shipping, new freebies). Check the update out, and watch out for Christopher in the new year!
Finally, if you haven't yet left us a Steam review, please do! I feature some of 'em on our Twitter, and they make a real difference to us devs. Fanx, beloveds! ♥
We’ve released it with a whole bunch of free updates to the main game, so all in all the update adds an extra ~30% content (from ~72k words to ~95k words, now). So, er, it’s quite a big release.
Anyone who owns Perpetual Edition gets the update automatically and for free. Anyone who owns the normal edition of the game, don’t fret! It only costs a measly $2.99 / £2.50 / €2.39.
DANCER DLC: WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, EH
In the occult cabaret that calls itself the Ecdysis Club, the distinction between pleasure and pain is as delicate and essential as the human skin. It is all that keeps us from making the very worst mistakes.
Pursue a career as a Dancer at the Club. Determine which parts of yourself to surrender. Cross oceans in pursuit of the ancient rites that beat in the Wood. Consider the ascensions that open to you. Choose carefully.
The DLC includes:
Rise to unearthly fame as the Dancer, employed at the infamous Gaiety Theatre, Ecdysis Club or in some of the more exclusive city parlours.
Explore a trinity of insights into the powers of Heart, Moth, and those who came before. Realise your true form, and perhaps even tempt one of the enigmatic Ligeians to the Dance.
Some dances can only be performed in far places, and some cannot be performed in human shape.
It also brings with it a host of new achievements and lore, of course. But NO SPOILERS! 🤐🤐🤐
HOW DO I ACTUALLY FIND THE DANCER CONTENT IN-GAME?
There are a few ways! Firstly, to check if you have the Dancer DLC installed, check if you have the DLC_DANCER_dancer_legacy.json file.
Once you know you’ve got it, you have two ways to find your new content in-game:
★ Begin the game with the Dancer legacy. This will always be available if you win a minor work victory at Glover and Glover, and sometimes be available otherwise anyway.
★ Pursue the new Ascensions without being a Dancer, by finding Sulochana and speaking with her at the Ecdysis Club about your current Desire.
GIMME THAT SWEET, SWEET FREE STUFF
All righty! We’ve added:
Followers now learn from their mistakes. It’s much safer to send them on Expeditions, and though they’ll still die if they injured enough.
What could go wrong with workplace relationships when your office is an occult society dedicated to bringing the apocalypse? Court your cultists and date your disciples. It probably won’t end disastrously.
Mistreating NPCs now risks turning them against you and attempting to win the game faster than you can.
A smorgasbord of UI/UX improvements based on feedback since launch. Snap-to-grid cards, double-click card placement, intelligent card stacking… now nobody should get RSI. Yay!
ANYTHING ELSE THAT’S FUN?
Yes! Firstly, you can download A Beginner’s Guide to Cultist Simulator, a glimpse into the notebook of an occultist figuring their own way through to the House. It’s absolutely not comprehensive: it’s just fun, and I updated it to include info on the Dancer now that’s live.
Finally, we’re also on SALE for 48 hours on Steam, Humble and GOG as part of release! The base game’s now 25% off, if you know any would-be acolytes who just haven’t quite gotten around to buying the game yet.
Hope you like all the new updates! We feel it’s a much fuller, sparkly game now, so fingers crossed you agree. If you want to help us, shout about this DLC/the updates/the sale, and stay tuned for more DLC later down the line. In the meantime, you can follow our plans and progress via our roadmap. ♥
Dancer DLC release date announced!
Hey everyone! In case you didn't see it in the press, we announced that we're releasing our Dancer DLC on...
Apart from the particularly classy GIF, it includes:
★ One new Legacy! Rise to unearthly fame as the Dancer, employed at the infamous Gaiety Theatre, Ecdysis Club or in some of the more exclusive city parlours.
★ Two new Ascensions! Explore a trinity of insights into the powers of Heart, Moth, and those who came before. Realise your true form, and perhaps even tempt one of the enigmatic Ligeians to the Dance…
★ Animal spirit-selves! Some dances can only be performed in far places, and some cannot be performed in human shape.
If you own Perpetual Edition, you'll get the Dancer DLC automatically for free. For everyone else, don't worry! It only costs $2.99 / £2.50 / €2.39, so fingers crossed that everyone has enough Funds.
The DLC will come with a clutch of new updates for everyone, including Follower wounds/scars, romance, rebellion and a bunch of UI/UX improvements to make running your cult that bit more fun.
We go into this in a bit more detail in our latest sprint update. Keep your eyes on 16th October, and back soon with more news. :)
Sprint update - Sept #2: SHELLEY
Hey everyone! Just a short post to keep you up to date with Cultist's development. We posted our latest sprint review over on the blog. The major points are:
Church of merch!
We've recently opened an Etsy merch shop, so if you haven't already, have a look at our shiny, forbidden things.
Romance!
One of the free updates being released along with the paid Dancer DLC is being able to date (most of) your Followers.
Dancer DLC
We've not confirmed a specific release date for the Dancer DLC, but we have said it'll come around the middle of next month, and provide some design diagrams as teasers while you wait...
Stay tuned next week for a release date for the Dancer DLC. Alexis and I have been working on betrayal and spurned lovers and animal familiars and all that delectable stuff, so I hope you'll like it!
Remember, anyone who owns Perpetual Edition will get the DLC for free. However, we're making sure the DLC won't break anybody's bank if you weren't quick enough to nab Perpetual, so don't worry either way.
Hullo everyone. Lottie's escaped to Italy for a couple of days but she's still working even in a haunted villa: https://twitter.com/tronbevan/status/1036954807418933248
so she wrote this
and now I am posting it. Enjoy.
http://weatherfactory.biz/september-1-rossetti/
Sprint update - August #2: QUO VADIS
Hey all! Just a quick post to link you to our sprint review for August #2, which you can read over at our blog. We've also just announced the winners of our Lovecraftday competition, so have a look in our blogpost or on our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to see if you've won.
More updates coming soon, and to everyone who's sent in bug reports, we are ON 'em like a very hungry mouse on Époisses.
Trading cards, badges, emoticons & backgrounds!
Happy Lovecraftday, believers!
It's HP Lovecraft's 128th birthday today, so we're doing a bunch of FUN THINGS. Our giveaway competition ends tonight at midnight, we released a 'Which cult are you?' quiz to Scientifically Discern which one you should found, and we've just introduced a full suite of necronomnomnoms to the game...
Look away now if you don't want your game drops spoilered!
Trading cards
Eight delightful cultists up for grabs! I appear to have unlocked all of the male cultists, so I guess I'm a Grail cult leader?
Badges
Trade up yo card sets until you have the ultimate, glistening Tricuspid Badge!
Emoticons
I would love to see a chatlog which used only these to communicate.
Backgrounds
Three profile backgrounds to unlock! Two Mansus, one special.
Cultist's next big update will be coming at the end of September with our first paid DLC release, Teresa's Build. More on that soon, and you can track progress on our roadmap while you wait. Thanks for sticking with us!
