Dreamscaper gets some spooky new content for Halloween!
While we're well on our way to the next major update for Dreamscaper, we have a fun surprise to get you in the Halloween mood.
Check Dreamscaper out from the 29th of October to the 2nd of November to face down Cassidy's, limited time, Jack-o'-lantern nightmares!
You won't be going in without new items to help though. Summon a specter from beyond the veil with Cassidy's cherished, childhood Spirit Board to keep the nightmares at bay.
If you're in a devious mood, pick up the Trick-or-Treat keepsake and roll the dice for a chance to get a legendary treat, or a nasty trick.
The items are permanent additions to the game, while the enemies are just until November 2nd, 10am PT, so jump in to try it out.
For those of you looking forward to our next update, we'll have more info on that soon!
As always, if you haven't yet, please leave a review, we love to hear what you think!
- Ian, Paul, & Rob
Discover the Reflection Update!
We're kicking off the first of many future Major Updates packed with new content and features focusing on introspection:
[previewyoutube="xaACD4wlQ90;full"]
What's New?
Despite a more compressed schedule for this update (due to the Balance, Quality of Live and Engine Upgrade patches) we worked our butts off adding the following to The Reflection Update in the last month and a half since we launched Dreamscaper into Early Access:
New Boss: Negativity
Headlining our update is the new boss, "Negativity," which is the manifestation of how Cassidy feels about herself. Negativity has replaced the mini-boss at the end of the 5th floor.
New Character: Rose
Cassidy can now befriend an additional character who can be found in the new Waking World location, the local record shop. Rose adores music and that will be reflected in both the three hours of story she provides, as well as the items and upgradeable Influence she unlocks.
Enchantment Shop
We've heard the feedback that players want more control over their builds. Therefore we've introduced a new shop with three services that can be used in exchange for sand:
Upgrade Equipment to increase the level of items in your inventory, boosting the base stats.
Reforge Modifiers for more chances to synergize your equipment.
Destroy Keepsakes that you no longer want active in your build.
Secret Rooms
It's no secret that Dreamscaper has been heavily inspired by Binding of Isaac, especially when it comes to level generation and exploration. One feature that game borrowed from The Legend of Zelda was the ability to discover secret rooms in the map filled with extra goodies. Without ruining the surprise of finding and revealing them yourselves, we can confirm that they exist and we will continue to iterate on them across future updates.
New Items
An update wouldn't be complete without a sizable batch of new powerful items to unlock or discover in your runs. We feel that these items in particular are some of the most unique that you'll find in the game, from both a functional and thematic perspective:
New Upgradeable Influence
4 New Weapons
3 New Lucid Abilities
10 New Keepsakes
Supporter Edition Rewards
We'd like to once again apologize for not being able to provide a loyalty discount to those of you who purchased the Supporter's Edition DLC for our free Prologue demo earlier this year. While the ultimate decision was unfortunately out of our hands, we take responsibility for not setting expectations correctly. It has been important for us to show our appreciation for your support in other ways, which is why we've introduced two new exclusive weapons: Severing Blade & The Gnashty Hammer:
Loading the the game on Steam using an account that also owns the Supporter's Edition DLC should unlock these rewards. In order to maintain game balance, they share spawn rates with existing weapons and can be turned off if you'd prefer.
Where is this update?
The Reflection Update is available for free immediately to all of our players who have picked up Dreamscaper. We will be releasing similar updates every 1-2 months for the next 6-12 months and if you'd like to join our Early Access journey, consider picking up our game:
Over the next few weeks we will be revealing our plans for our second Major Update.
Want to help us out?
One of the most helpful things you can do is leave a review to let us know your thoughts so that we can continue to improve Dreamscaper based on your feedback.
We also encourage you to swing by our Discord if you encounter bugs or issues. We've built an incredible friendly community there and some of our best ideas come from members of that community.
Thank you to everyone for playing Dreamscaper and we look forward to building the next chapter in Cassidy's journey!
- Rob, Ian and Paul
Announcing the Reflection Update
Hey everyone!
We're excited to share with you that our first major content release, the Reflection Update, will be going live on October 2nd.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to give us great feedback, you'll be seeing a few of the most popular community suggested features making it into this update.
Here's what you can expect to see in the October 2nd update:
As we get closer to the launch, we'll be revealing more about some of these major pieces. Expect to see teasers of the new boss, secret rooms and new items.
In the meantime, drop by our Discord server and let us know what you think of the game! What would you like to see in future updates?
And as always, if you haven't had a chance yet, please leave a review for us, we love to hear your thoughts and are actively improving Dreamscaper with your feedback every day!
- Ian, Paul and Rob
Engine Upgrade + Stability Patch
Hey everyone,
As many of you know, Dreamscaper is built on Unreal Engine 4. More specifically, we started building our game on UE4.21 two years ago. Since then, Epic Games has made numerous improvements and fixed countless bugs / crashes and, earlier this year, they released UE4.25.
Normally once a game has been released into the wild, game developers won't take on the risk or the workload involved with upgrading engines. Two years of engine updates amounts to thousands of file changes and hundreds of thousands of line changes. You'd have to be crazy to try to upgrade that many engine versions.
So naturally we decided to upgrade directly to UE4.25 within the first month of our Early Access launch. Now, why would do that?
We love our players and want to get you the most up-to-date crash/bug fixes.
It lays the groundwork for future console ports.
We're hoping Early Access gives us some leeway when it comes to regressions.
Rob is very stubborn and was convinced he could pull it off. ;)
Thanks to the help of some incredible Dreamscapers in our Discord Server, we've spent the last week testing this new engine upgrade and today we've released it to all of you. While this update isn't as "sexy" as our content updates, there are some very important fixes and improvements:
BUG FIXES
Numerous GPU compatibility crashes should be fixed (D3D Device Lost).
Numerous PhysX crashes should be fixed.
Numerous miscellaneous engine fixes (e.g. drop down list bug w/ gamepads etc.)
IMPROVEMENTS
2 years worth of optimizations by Epic Games
25% reduction in file size on disk.
Logic to prevent Cassidy from getting stuck in geometry.
Logic to allow Cassidy to dodge out of corners when being mobbed.
Better support for future console ports.
Now, it's very likely that there will be some regressions from this upgrade. This means that new bugs will pop up that didn't exist before because those engine changes that we were relying on get moved around and create unintended consequences. Hopefully these are all just minor visual issues, but be sure to let us know when you find one and we'll be sure to fix them up by our next big content update at the latest.
A huge thanks to the following Discord users who already caught and helped us fix numerous regressions over the past two weeks: Shadow Sorcerer, notop, UnseenOak, Grimicus, Exvaris, FinW, jimminy, Goldy, Totes & JonJonLovesFood. We will always have those bloomed out Disco Nightmare memories. <3
Thanks again to everyone for helping us continue to improve Dreamscaper. If you haven't yet, please leave a review, it's very appreciated!
If you've enjoyed the beautiful work of Dale North, this is a must have! Over the course of Early Access, just like the game, you can expect the OST to be updated with new tracks.
As for the game, we've gathered a lot of fantastic feedback this past weekend and got right to work on adjusting things thanks to your help.
This mid-week patch that we just released focuses primarily on balance changes that improve the play experience. Let's dive in:
IMPROVEMENTS
Crafting the lowest tier for loadouts is now free. - thanks Decadent Darko & Adroit!
Players can no longer be killed by Poison or Burn - thanks Sacha & Exvaris!
Adjusted Breaker Sword second hit knockback to ensure third hit connects - thanks Exvaris!
Only Treasure, Choice and Merchant rooms spawn behind Locks or Reinforcements now - thanks j0hnnyclaymore!
BUG FIXES
Fixed collision across many levels - thanks Sacha & Totes
Fixed up the Crystal Barrier Text
Invisible Mage Bug Fixed -thanks JonJonLovesFood!
BALANCE CHANGES
Decreased all enemy damage at later levels
Decreased enemy health at later levels - thanks soil%)(*!
Balanced armor across all shields
Increased all ranged weapon damage
Increased health drops in Campground and later levels
Added more weak enemies to hometown
Rebalanced all exchange rooms to be more favorable to players
Increased parry trigger chance on Blowback
Reduced recovery on Feather-Foot Flip
Increased cooldown on Coldsnap
Increased leech effect chance of Vampire Fangs Keepsake
Increased shatter effect chance of Steel Ball Keepsake
Increased effect of Roller Rink Keepsake
Increased effect of Boxing Ring Keepsake
Increased effect of Bandage Keepsake
Increased effect of Pashmina Shawl Keepsake
Increased effect of Royal Flush Keepsake
Spring Feet Keepsake now confers Red Pit immunity
Tuned nightmare enemy configurations to be less overwhelming
Moved enemies away from doors to prevent players being hit on room entry - thanks YQMaoski:!
Further increased auto-fire ranged weapon damage to offset projectile consumption - thanks DaddyDeGrand!
Tomorrow we'll be answering your questions on an AMA over at Reddit at 1PM PT / 4PM ET, look for a link once it's live!
Next week we'll be releasing another stability and quality of life patch, before taking a break to work on larger pieces of content. Look for an announcement with more info soon!
As always thanks for sticking with us as we improve Dreamscaper, and keep your feedback coming. If you haven't yet, please leave a review, it's very appreciated!
- Ian, Rob & Paul
Major QoL Patch + New Lucid Attack!
Hey everyone!
Very excited to share our first major post-launch patch!
We spent the last week gathering your feedback and making improvements to Dreamscaper, here's what you can expect from today's patch:
NEW LUCID ATTACK
BREAKING
How else could we celebrate the launch of Dreamscaper into Early Access than with some sweet dance moves from Cassidy?
PATCH NOTES v. 0.10.14
You may need to reset steam to trigger the update to the right version.
Balance Changes
Health of enemies on the first two levels has been reduced. - thanks TheLastoftheRomans! Thunder Step triggers much quicker, but has reduced damage. Modified difficulty of Minibosses on Campground Pt 2 and Nightmare City Pt 1. Decreased enemy spawns in certain Nightmare City rooms. Decreased Spear enemy's leaping attack frequency. Decreased Ranged enemy's instant laser attack frequency. Bottle Rocket has faster recovery. Black Hole now applies status modifiers to enemies caught in its pull. Cooldown on Kilonova has increased. Cooldown on Rain of Blades has increased. Cooldown on Frost Fracture has increased. Cooldown on Skyfall has increased. Fear has slightly lowered health.
Improvements
Isolation (Campground Pt. 1 Boss) has new moves that make the fight more challenging and dynamic. Unlocks can now be toggled off in the dream journal so they no longer spawn. - thanks SniperFox47! Red pits now have a short window before damaging players that allows for more forgiving dodges. - thanks UnseenOak! Lucid attacks now have a "cooldown ready" sound. - thanks HolyForce! Items now display what class they belong to when interacting with them. - thanks Sup3rN3rd! Bosses are no longer resistant to status effects, with the exception of freeze. - thanks UnseenOak! Tile puzzle has clearer visuals. Many lucid attacks now have a more forgiving cooldown trigger window. - thanks Xii Alpha iiiXx! Bosses drop rewards further from Ascension Stones to prevent accidental ascensions.
Bug Fixes
Numerous crash fixes, stability should be much higher overall. Numerous fixes for hitching. Crystal Barrier no longer spawns with parry window modifier. Boss attacks now disappear when bosses are defeated. Fast Travel now works to and from visited Boss rooms. Fixed issue where sometimes Previous Inventory spawned in next run. Resources Tab in Crafting Menu is now populated correctly. Waking World collision fixes. Nightmare City occlusion, movement and collision fixes. Fixed hit react and audio bug with Stalwart Shield. Fixed visual bug when using two Coldsnaps in a row. Fixed visual bug where Cassidy blends up onto the bar stool when talking to Eve. - thanks VraelTheRider! Tutorial turret has firing sound now. Fixed visual bug with Isolation's blackout ability. Added missing VFX to Loss intro and outro sequence. Fixed numerous typos across the memory system. Fixed numerous typos across items. Fixed numerous typos across dialogue sequences. You can no longer parry Red Pits. Sorry.
FUTURE PLANS
We'll have more news about our first major update shortly, we'll be breaking down what content we plan to add and what the timeline looks like.
Today, we'll be streaming Dreamscaper on Twitch and answering your questions. Join us at 5PM EST / 2PM PST:
https://www.twitch.tv/dreamscapergame
Thank you all for playing Dreamscaper and spreading the word.
If you've had a chance to play, please leave a review, we'd love to hear your feedback!
We are 100% committed to making Dreamscaper a better game with your help and really do appreciate your early support.
- Ian, Rob & Paul
#3 Top Selling Early Access Game - THANK YOU!
As a small 3-person studio, we had low expectations for our Early Access launch.
Today, we are at a loss for words.
- #3 Top Selling Early Access game - 94% Review Score
Thanks to all of you, Steam has cycled us into the front page for the main capsules and we're #2 biggest stream! This would not have been possible without your support.
If you haven't already, be sure to leave a review once you've played for at least 30 minutes, and as always - tell your friends about this game!
We can't wait to get you your first content update! We've got great things planned for our Early Access period.
Cheers, Rob, Paul & Ian
Dreamscaper is available now!
Two years ago, the three of us quit our traditional game development jobs to go rogue and build our first indie game together.
Today we are thrilled to finally share our labor of love, Dreamscaper. Get it this week at 25% off for only $14.99 USD (or regional price):
For those curious if Dreamscaper is worth picking up in Early Access, we wanted to share with you just how much content we've already packed into the game at launch:
Over the following 6-12 months we'll be expanding on Cassidy's story, adding new bosses, levels and items and generally improving upon every aspect of our game. We are so excited for you to join us on this journey.
If you pick up the game, be sure to leave us a review to let us know what you think! We are always striving to make Dreamscaper a better experience for everyone.
Cheers, Rob, Ian & Paul
Dreamscaper Community Update #3 - Early Access Launch!
While all three Afterburners are busy burning the midnight oil, Rob found time to emerge from the code cave and deliver us one final devlog video before our launch on August 14th:
[previewyoutube="J5AhSBYZFeA;full"]
Cheers, Rob, Ian & Paul
Dreamscaper Launch Date Announcement
Hey Dreamscapers!
We're excited to finally reveal our EA launch date in the form of a short trailer. It teases some exciting new content you can expect to see when Dreamscaper releases into Early Access on Steam in just over 3 weeks!
