ATTENTION ALL STAFF Our Human Resources department have made a push to improve workplace morale. We believe a safer work environment will lead to happier employees - and greater productivity. We've introduced several safety enhancements in the form of safety equipment, access key-cards and general workplace improvements. MALUM CO. Changing lives.
Hey guys, It's been a while since the last update (again...). I'm hoping this one is worth the wait.
I'm calling this the 'Human Resources update'. An update focused on improving the game with a few new mechanics (which bring new strategic opportunities), new rooms, new items and general game polish and bug fixing.
A few of these fixes come from things pointed out by players - thanks for the continued support!
Cheers, Roarke
KEYCARD: I've added a keycard with the intention of opening up new strategies and elevating under-valued game mechanics. The keycard is a once-per-run pickup (spawning based on character Luck) which allows you to unlock the exit elevator and leave a floor whenever you choose. This could be used to save an entire floor's worth of ammo (if you evade/stealth passed monsters). It could be used to aid in speed runs - working around finding the best floor to skip in your current speed run seed. At some point you'll probably used it to save your skin and escape to the next floor if you find yourself low on supplies and hunted by multiple foes.
BODY ARMOUR: I've reworked the game's damage system to introduce body armour. This should further expand possible strategies and synergise with the games current pool of upgrades. Body Armour is a once-per-run pickup (spawning based on character Luck) which applies in front of your health bar. It can FULLY protect you from a few hits of ANY amount of damage (the Void and the Pit beneath the boss fight will still one-shot you). The armour might save you in a pinch. It might be just the thing you need to cross an unfortunately placed pool of acid. Perhaps, combined with clever use of the keycard and dodges, you could take full body armour all the way to the boss fight and make yourself much safer during the climactic showdown.
Upgrade items: After reworking the damage system, I added several 'safety equipment' upgrades which add general damage resistance (and can be stacked, to great effect).
Safety Goggles
Overalls
Gloves
Construction Helmet
NEW ROOMS:
Reception (Offices)
Server Room (Offices)
Crystal Research (Mines)
SMALLER IMPROVEMENTS:
Polished the bat swarms by adding idle sounds and dead bat visual effects
Improved spacial audio of lasers
Added bucked and mop world item which is now placed throughout runs to add another source of water (as water interacts with acid and electricity I wanted to make it more common).
Improved acid audio
BUG FIXES:
Fix for inventory bug in tutorial
Fix for HUD which stopped upgrade collection from displaying
Fix for rare crash when loading new scenes while having a status effect on your character
Fix for laser display through walls bug
Fixed steam overlay pause bug
Stopped characters being able to jump into boss fight hole during the fight (fix for getting stuck in there)
Fix for no item selection on upgrade screen
UPDATE 1.2
ATTENTION ALL STAFF The corporate has recently made a push for improved productivity in the workplace. The IT department is pushing a software update to help with this. A UI update which should help remove some ambiguity and improve the employee workflow. MALUM CO. Changing lives.
Hey guys, Been a while since I've done an update. I've had a lot going on lately (nothing new there), but I'm still driven to improve Heartless Dark.
I'm calling this the 'Workflow update' as I feel it helps bring some clarity to certain elements of the game. It's a UI update - I added some new systems with the objective of making some game-play more transparent and allow for planning. This update is concise but I feel it really lays the foundation for update 1.3 which will probably be more sizeable.
This thumbnail image is a a story panel from the game. Illustration by Samuel Burnett.
Cheers, Roarke
NEW FEATURES:
In-game text notifier system
This allows me to display some non-intrusive text panels throughout game-play and make things a bit easier to understand. 'Objective complete', 'Level Scourge' etc. I've tried to used it sparingly to maintain the game's ambiguity/mystery.
Upgrade tracking
A new grid in the inventory now tracks all upgrades you've collected. Note a big thing but this will allow players to keep track of their perks/skills. It might help more experienced players remember their upgrades, make plans and build synergies.
Check inventory while upgrading
This is not really major - but I felt it would be critical to see your current upgrade collection while choosing the next one in order to make plans and synergies.
BUG FIXES:
Medpacks spawning inside upgrades
Inventory display exploit
Audio tweaks
General stability
UPDATE 1.1
ATTENTION ALL STAFF Due to recent changes in Health and Safety regulations we've made some changes to our offices. First-aid kits can now be found throughout the workplace - to help reduce the workplace casualty rate. Our experimental technology is now available to staff for testing. The new wings of the offices are also open for use (aligning well with the new wings of our mining operation).
Hey guys, So this is the first content update for Heartless Dark.
I'm calling this one the 'Health and Safety' update. I've tried to add some things to make the game a bit easier while still requiring careful play, knowledge of systems and a certain amount of luck. I've added a bunch of defensive upgrades which help with maintaining supplies, healing or simply evading enemies or hazards.
I planned to get it out sooner but life has been a whirlwind lately. Rest assured this is the first of several content updates I have in mind.
This thumbnail image is a a story panel from the game. An illustration by my talented friend Samuel Burnett.
Cheers, Roarke
NEW CONTENT
Medpacks
10 new office room tiles
6 new mine room tiles
6 new special rooms
13 new upgrade items
New 'Abundant' level scourge
Small update to spatial audio calculations (sounds should sound a bit more accurately directional now).
Bug Fix Patch
ATTENTION ALL STAFF
Our IT department have been working around the clock to make some much needed improvements to our workflow here in the offices.
MALUM Co. Changing lives.
Hey Roarke here.
Firstly I would like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who has picked up Heartless Dark thus far. Your support has been a massive encouragement and a huge help towards future support of the game.
This patch is just a lot of general bug fixing and should make the current experience a lot smoother to play. Notes below.
Thanks again. I'll see you at the next staff meeting.
Cheers, Roarke
PATCH NOTES: -Huge fixes to controller UI navigation (controller navigation of UI should now work easily and as expected on all screens)
-Fixed issue of opening up store page when trying to select an upgrade (weird hidden button functionality left in from the Next Fest demo)
-Fixed some AI issues causing patrolling enemies to get stuck on certain props (may still show up here and there and I'm still working on it but it should be drastically reduced)
-Bookshelves now break into multiple smaller pieces to stop broken shelves getting lodged in doorways and barring the path
-Fixed a lot of player submitted spelling mistakes
Heartless Dark OUT NOW!!!
ATTENTION ALL STAFF
Heartless Dark is now available for purchase. Again, we implore every employee who values their job to become an early adopter of this application.
MALUM Co. Changing lives.
Hey Roarke here,
Heartless Dark is out!! It's been a long road and I am super stoked to have the game released to the public.
