Dead Beacon
Update 1.07 - Fixes
- Replaced English strings with a proofreaded version by Omar Enezi (Quillcannon).
- Fixed an issue in which players would get slowed down after skipping the Butcher’s flute animation.
- The problem in which some enemies push players out of bounds should be moderately mitigated, report if this happens again since I’m tweaking a parameter until an ‘optimal’ value is reached.
- Players should now recover their breath instantly when entering a new room.
- Adjusted a bit the colliders for the hanging corpses in the Butcher’s room, that way they will block less bullets.
- Reduced animations skipping times, I’ve checked all of them and seems all right but please report if this has introduced any undesired malfunction.
- Fixed Receive Socketed Gem randomizer option (couldn’t interact with it)
- Stoneskin will now flinch when succesfully doing the QTE.
- Fixed an issue which prevented randomizer to work on Journey mode.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from getting the replaced item in the Artifact’s Room in the randomizer.
- Time now starts counting from the moment the player press Start Game, until now it was from when the boat scene finish loading.
- Fixed an issue which made the Stoneskin enemy unkillable (all bulbs would explode but it would keep going)
- Solved the issue in which sometimes the player would die twice.
- Taking a stamina syringe now fully recovers your stamina, probably only useful in the speedrun route.
1.06. Randomizer update
- Implemented the randomizer option, it is available at the bottom of the New Game’s menu.
- New Achievement: Horror Master Challenge: Clear Dead Beacon’s Randomizer in Nightmare skill (Ending A) setting the enemy randomization type to Total, setting Randomize Soul Dagger to No and without saving. Apologies beforehand.
- Added an arachnophobia toggle in Options Menu. It will replace the spider’s main model with two basic spheres with eyes.
- Skipping the animation in the lighthouse’s top will now skip to the end scene instantly.
- Fixed an issue in which the player would get bitten instantly (even at distance) if failing or not having enough stamina for the grasp-release QTE.
- Fixed an issue in which the crawling skeleton would remain stuck in place.
- Fixed an issue in which items would fail to stack in Journey mode (due to the extended stack size in this skill)
+ Randomizer characteristics:
- Breakables that were empty in the main game may contain items.
- The code to access the new wing is randomized and so are the sapphires for getting the code!
- Weapons are randomized but compensated for a better experience, p.e. you will find the shotgun in your first visit to the manor but in a different room. Pistol will always spawn either in the port or in the first garden, etc.
- Players can choose to have all the inventory slots from the start (recommended since it is easy to run into inventory problems). Also, players can choose to have the Socketed Gem from the start for those not familiar with all items’ spots.
- Players can choose to NOT randomize the Soul Dagger, this will require to hunt more items in order to unlock all bosses areas (like necessarily finding two ballista bolts to take Gargoyle down).
- Coins and spinels are not randomized for now but the items in the vendors are.
- Some items (and enemies) could be visible from outside their containers or diggable lumps, players should be able to grab most of them for now. It’s the magic of randomizing.
- The Nightmare Spawn is not randomized, at least for now. It requires special pathfinding for its wandering behavior (also it’s fat and won’t fit in 80% of rooms).
- Remember that in Hard and Nightmare randomizer you may not be able to find a candle to save easily, woops (The first candle in the cottage is not randomized, to provide players a chance to early save).
A randomizer informer exists when pressing Escape, it tells the player which main items are in which room. Only intended for reporting purposes or if you’re desperate. :P
If any game translators want to update the new few strings in main menu related to the randomizer, I’ve updated the localization topic files with them.
Update 1.05, Randomizer news & speedruns!
If you are interested in the speedrunning scene, Gnydsmelt (who ran Nightmare of Decay in the last Games Done Quick) has configured the Dead Beacon's page in speedrun.com and did a placeholder run. If you want to contribute feel free to post your thoughts (or your runs!) in the forums' topic Gnydsmelt just posted (it is pinned on top now).
Changelog for 1.05:
- Added Ukrainian localization (Thanks to SuNightFox, Zick Fleming, Mykola Pinchuk (СТОЯТИ))
- Beacon Keeper health recovery rate is now halved in Journey mode.
- Fixed an issue in the Garden Key’s lamp puzzle where pressing the last lamp too fast would play the solving animation but won’t open the key wardrobe, hence softlocking the game until loading. (Thanks to Emile)
- Main keys and the trapdoor pole will now be red-crossed on inventory when the game thinks you’re done with them. This should help alliviate some players’ problem with inventory space.
- Fixed an issue in which quickly changing weapons in the ranges while reloading would sometimes consume ammunition. (Thanks to Gnydsmelt)
- Fixed wrong player positioning in map in the bridge above the Dance Hall. (Thanks to Gnydsmelt)
- Fixed a small issue in which you could travel from the Crypt into the Maze without lowering the gate first. (Thanks to Gnydsmelt)
- Fixed the Acid Spitter death animation offset (won’t go into a wall anymore)
- Fixed the little forward ‘momentum’ when player stops pressing the movement keys.
- Fixed a giant spider that should only appear in Nightmare difficulty in the New Bedroom. (Thanks to TezlaTower 23 for reporting it in the YT video).
- Trying to run while reloading shouldn’t consume stamina now.
- Spectral Knight now uses a different material for its sword, hopefully this helps with new players trying to shoot it as part of this fight's mechanics.
- Two last rewards for shotgun range are now decreased by 20 points each.
- Fixed an issue in which you could escape the StoneSkin monster grasp instantly.
- By popular demand, maximum limit for stackable items is now tripled in Journey difficulty.
- Fixed Sockected Gem shining to certain items it shouldn’t, like some lategame objects and the door pentagrams. (Report again if you think it shines in any place it shouldn’t)
- Skill achievements under a certain difficulty are now automatically given. (P.e. beating hard also gives the normal achievement)
- Fixed a spot in final combat where enemies could ‘visually’ sink.
Update 1.04
- Crosshair will now turn red if an enemy is inside your melee range.
- Base zombies and skeletons heads now react to hits more realistically.
- New difficulty: Nightmare. This skill features a new wandering enemy mostly found in exterior big areas, it is dangerous and tanky so you should avoid its patrols. It also features a lot more enemies compared to hard and only a few more ammo spawns so only the players who have mastered the game’s mechanics should try this under their own risk.
- Implemented a new achievement for clearing new difficulty.
- Fixed an issue in which you couldn’t set any audio values to 0 (damn you logarithms!)
- Player footsteps and melee weapons ‘whoosh’ sound wouldn’t be affected by any audio setting. Fixed.
- Skipping the key drop animation during the Drone Master fight can bug the boss so that skip in particular is deactivated until I can find the cause.
- Fixed an issue in which the game would take a candle if you opened the saving altar but closed the menu without saving.
- Fixed an issue in which the Socketed Gem would shine in the Raven Key bridge but no more items are actually there. Report if you think more rooms have this ‘gem problem’.
- Main Entrance puzzle animation wouldn’t play if you skipped this room’s other animation in the first place. Fixed.
- Added another candle inside the final passage.
1.03 Update
- Added russian localization, thanks to Artyom Shilko (aCupOfPee)
- Added italian localization, thanks to Alessandro Del Casale (Gordon-Ale)
- Reload isn't interrupted by enemies attacks now, with the exception of shotgun which recharges bullet by bullet. Feel free to report if you find any untested issues due to this new implementation.
- Hovering over one room in map will now highlight it and show its name on the bottom left corner.
- Introduced a new graphic variable in options to simulate reduced resolution. Deactivating antialiasing and setting reduced resolution to a value between 2 and 4 gives the game an old look you might like.
- Introduced a new graphic variable in options to deactivate Antialiasing.
- Chimney NPC will now reference that Gargoyle boss can be actually left as the last sub-boss.
- Decreased slightly 'that door' damage and left a new medipatch close to it.
- Slightly nerfed the Butcher’s and the Spectral Knight melee reach.
- Melee weapons now have small animation variations.
- Fixed an issue in which the Acid Spitter pain/flinch sound wouldn't play.
Update 1.02
Thank you for all suggestions and reports, they’re slowly being implemented in the game. Votes tab in main menu is now closed. Changelog:
- Added Polish localization, thanks to Marcin “Drenz” Swiszcz!
- New Achievement - Beacon’s Master: clear the game on hard difficulty without saving.
- New Achievement – Time’s Ticking: clear the game on hard difficulty in under 90 minutes.
- New Achievement – Triplet: get the triple kill with the rifle in the day zone inside the New Wing.
- Nerfed bosses HP in Journey mode by an amount between 30% and 50% of their total health. Also extra skeletons during The Butcher’s fight have a bit less HP in Journey mode.
- Nerfed the Spectral Knight’s health in Normal mode just enough so two perfect cycles are enough to beat him. He remains the same in hard skill.
- Altered animation & reload speeds for the shotgun, they should sync now better. (Have still to tweak the final bullet reload)
- Added a bit more ammunition to final fight.
- Fixed a bug which sometimes gave a free candle when loading game in hard.
- Placing the sheet note on the piano now plays the first 6 notes of Moonlight Sonata (Requested by some RE lovers)
- For the invisible-teleporting maze puzzle room, players no longer need the required visit to that other room depicting the maze’s solution. (It was required before to prevent bruteforcing)
- If an enemy dies while grabbing you, you should be released instantly now. Like, a grenade triggering or the ‘perfect-frame’ situation in which you and the enemy hurt each other at the same time.
- Fixed an issue in which you can softlock if you skip the flute kitchen’s cutscene. (Thanks to chefff47)
- Fixed an issue in which Gargoyle would stay flying around in its arena after defeating it. (Thanks to chefff47 again)
- Fixed an issue in which you could get softlocked after opening the Sun Chest inside the Interior Garden. (Thanks to vdyakuin)
- Fixed an issue in which you could infinitely keep using the last medipatch over and over as long as you didn’t exit inventory.
- Fixed an issue in which bosses health bars would fail to update in hard mode at the start of their fights.
- Had reports of footsteps sounds being too spaced away, increased their frequency.
- Stairs icons are now marked too in interactive map mode.
- Fixed wooden chest’s hit sound.
- Moved a zombie that would instantly bite you if you exited from the Spectral Knight’s room.
Update 1.01 & voting progress
Changelog:
- Implemented a first iteration of the system for freeing oneself from base zombies grasp. Press left and right alternatively when grabbed until a bar appearing below the stamina fills, you will consume around a 25% stamina for freeing yourself. The number of times you have to press the keys during this event depends on the skill chosen and the number of enemies surrounding you. If successful you will only receive around half damage.
- Increased the amount of stamina players have from the start of the game and decreased a bit the amount the stamina syringes give, but there is a positive increase nevertheless. Also, staminas syringes now increase your recovery speed slightly.
- Fixed an issue related to fighting Gargoyle prematurely without visiting the Old Tower. (Thanks to Spud)
- Fixed an issue in which the Socketed Gem wouldn’t react to Spinels. (Thanks to Daniel Kay)
- A base zombie’s speed and bite distance is now reduced if you cripple one of his legs.
- Increased slightly the lesser zombies flinch time (stun time that shots can randomly provoke)
- Fixed an issue in which The Drone Master would stop summoning drones after a certain time.
- Increased lead pipe range a bit.
- Fixed an issue in which you couldn’t go over the Stoneskin monster once dead (the one with red bulbs).
- Zombies audio will stop if their head explode now.
- Added extra shotgun ammo in The Butcher’s room and removed a bit from the late-game. Don’t waste it :P
- Reduced a bit the collider of the picture enemy since it can push players into the walls.
- Stamina doesn’t drop now when trying to run while grabbed by an enemy.
The ‘freeing oneself’ from zombies system is a new addition, I haven’t found any bug in my testings but if you find any issue regarding it, feel free to reach me in Steam forums.
Dead Beacon 1.0. is out!
- As requested a new easier difficulty called Journey has been added to the game, for those wanting a more relaxed experience (you will probably end with a nice bag of ammo).
- If you wish your language to be added to the game, please refer to the pinned topic in Steam forums related to this.
- As expected, there will be problems or bugs that playtesters and I haven’t found. Please report them to me using forums or the gmail account: Selianidev@gmail.com . Even if it’s version 1.0. the game will probably be have to be rebalanced based on players’ conclusions.
- In the game’s main screen you will be able to vote which major addition should be added next to the game, of course, you can propose other extras using the ways described above.
- In the next hours, I’ll be posting in Youtube a Hard difficulty walkthrough of the game, just in case anyone gets stuck and wants to check a guide. I’ll also create a topic in the forums with the links.
Finally, I’ll also create in forums a F.A.Q. topic this night. Hope you enjoy the game!
Final Release Date
- A more responsive Player Controller.
- Changes to lighting in plenty of rooms in order to improve graphics.
- Improvement to melee combat and the situations in which the player is grabbed by an enemy (melee is not the main focus of the game though, use your ranged weapons!)
- More ambience in areas (sounds and such)
The game is almost done, only some final rooms and the final boss remains. In total it will feature:
- 114 locations, some big, some tiny, some exterior, some interior.
- 6 bosses
- Around a dozen different enemies, 8 weapons, upgrade items, valuables, etc.
The store page has been updated with additional screenshots, I'll also post them in the discussions forums.
Release Date News
As of now, I’ve fixed the release date of Dead Beacon at 28th October in the official Steam page. As much as I’d love the release to be in Spooktober, if by the two previous weeks I consider that the game requires a bit more time for polishing, the release date may be postponed to November.
I’ll post further news during October in any case and update the store page with more screenshots.
In other news, the demo has been updated with some QOL features.