We've received a lot of feedback on Steam reviews and we've been thinking about some improvements we can do to the game:
First of all, it seems that the mouse control in the options is not visible enough. Thus, we decided to highlight this option by making it mandatory when launching the game for the first time - just like the choice of language.
Next, mouse support will be improved with more feedbacks: indicators will follow the mouse and the cards outlines will be animated when the player hovers their mouse over them.
Finally, you will be able to customize your deck by excluding cards when choosing stories in order to highlight the "card game" dimension - because The First Spine is above all a card game.
We hope that this next update, which will be released on September 23, will allow you to make the most of the experience we want to offer you.
Teddy
Update #1
This update offers bug fixes as well as some changes to player choices.
New features:
Highlighting the choice to give or steal a gem from the Faith Memorial
Changed the behavior of the Rescued Scholar in the second part of the story
Fixes:
Some destiny cards on the Conjurer had issues
A player's online actions are no longer triggered in their own adventure
Exiting the Early Access phase
We are happy to release the game from its early access phase and bring you the last three stories of the game! These stories have never-before-seen features and we hope you enjoy them.
Note that the price of the game now goes to 9.90€. If you have installed the early version, the game will remain free.
New Features:
New story: The Moss
New Story: The Stone
New Story: The Monarch
New Covenant: Followers of Mara
New Covenant: The Mother of Lost Faith
What are we going to do in the future?
We will rest and support the game by only releasing quality of life improvements and bug fixes until the end of July. After this well-deserved rest, we will turn to free additional content that will highlight certain aspects of the game:
New game +, new game +2 - after the end of the game, you can choose to restart a game keeping your level and acquired items. New cards can be unlocked, and enemies will have additional cards in their deck.
Ghostly Cards - in each story you will have the option to send other players cards with unique effects along with a message. These cards can be unlocked randomly at the end of the fights.
As you can see from the roadmap above, this additional content has been planned for release in early October. We won't reveal too much about what this new version will contain, but it could well give a particular direction to a future project that we have in the boxes.
And above all…
Thanks. Thank you for supporting this game while it was being designed and finished, we received lots of positive feedback, as well as a ton of community feedback which helped the game to have this quality that we are proud of.
We don't have the media coverage or the budget of some games, but it's been a real pleasure to dive into this adventure - and it will be a pleasure to continue it with you.
Early access update #7
We have decided to postpone the release of the Early Access phase to July 8 so as not to be drowned in Steam Summer Sales offers.
So here is a small early access update that fixes some issues and integrates Steam achievements.
New features:
Support for Steam Achievements
Improvements:
The end of story rewards screen is now animated
Fixed issues:
Sometimes the Between Two story did not launch properly after completing the first 3 stories
The back of the Aibell card was fixed after it was beaten
At the end of a story, the modifiers offered following a won bet were added to the player's deck instead of going to the list of mods
Ending of the early access phase postponed
Steam summer sales are fast approaching and unfortunately our release coincides with this period. The Steam team therefore advised us to postpone the release of early access in order to avoid being drowned in discounts.
We will therefore deliver in a few days a new early access update which will include some bug fixes as well as the integration of Steam achievements.
We are really sorry for this inconvenience and give you an appointment on July 8.
Teddy
Mise à jour de l'accès anticipé #6
This update includes a brand new story, adds support for logging in with Facebook to participate in asynchronous multiplayer events.
This is the last Early Access update before the final release of the game.
New features:
New story: Betwixt
Facebook login support
Problems fixed:
In the story selection screen, if the Scholars story was completed first, the next story was not highlighted
After connecting to servers the “continue” button was not selected correctly
Improvements:
Added animations on end of story & fight messages
Added animations on the loots at the end of the battles
Added light effects when fighting and destroying cards
Added illustrations on cards representing modifiers
What we’ll do after the finale release? We plan to support the game with fixes and improvements from the community. There will also release a big update in early September that will serve storytelling and replayability:
NG+ and NG+2 modes with new cards in enemy decks and new cards for players
You’ll can put marks to environments in order to influence other players' worlds to highlight asynchronous multiplayer functionality
These features matured throughout the game's production process and we didn't include them in the final version to avoid falling into what's called "scope creep".
Also know that it was with passion that we developed this baby and that - even if it does not have the quality of a AAA and it does not have the media coverage of a Slay the Spire - we are very satisfied and proud of our game. And we hope that you are having - and will have - a great time!
Early access update #5
This emergency update introduces a few fixes following player bug reports following the previous update.
Problems fixed:
Gems are no longer displayed in the rewards screen if there are no gems
The number of moves when betting in the “Scholars” story has been fixed
Improvements:
Messages have been added during multiplayer events
Community improvements: These improvements were submitted by our players! Thank you all for all your feedback!
Successful bets now give random modifiers
Early access update #4
This new update includes quality of life improvements and the addition of asynchronous multiplayer events.
New features:
Added asynchronous multiplayer events
Problems fixed:
Some punctuation with a non-breaking space have been fixed in French
English translations was added in “River of Ashes” story
Improvements:
Added missing artwork on some items
The title screen was revamped
The buttons was revamped
The number of cards to pick for bets was reworked
A preview of the final game
As we incorporate community feedback we are also moving forward to produce the latest stories. So the final version - upon release from Free Early Access - will have three additional stories which you can preview below:
These stories will tie into the events you've already experienced in the Early Access and will help you to unravel the mystery surrounding the Forgotten Valley.
Here are some new mechanics that will make an appearance in these stories:
Two new modifiers: Solidity & Power
Four new items: Miraculous Stone, Mana Stone, Volk'ha Statue, Stone of the Mother of Lost Faith
Two new covenants: The Followers of Mara & The Mother of Lost Faith
Your card may have its stats permanently altered
The world will change making your progress more difficult
You will have a limited time to perform certain actions
We can't wait for you to play the final version that will include these new features. Note that upon release from Early Access, the game will become paid and you will no longer be able to tip the developers to appear in the end credits.
Early Access update #3
This new update includes a whole new story as well as quality of life improvements. We were also able to integrate the first illustration of Meleyfir who is actively working on the illustrations of the game's environments.
New features:
New illustrations of Meleyfir in The Dead Forest
New Story: River of Ashes
New Covenant: Hunters on Borrowed Time
New card: The Sacrifice
New mechanic: some cards are placed randomly to make the story less predictable
New mechanic: the player can now lose life while exploring
Bugs fixes:
Fixed click areas when exploring
The covenant trick could not appear in the forest
Correction on the Putrefaction card in the intro
Fixed texts on Dead Forest direction
On some resolutions tips were not displayed correctly
Fixed a bug when the player displays the menu while a merchant's interface is already displayed
Improvements:
An indicator is now displayed to highlight the player's current position
Textures have been added on floors
Improvements from the community:
These improvements were submitted by our players! Thank you everyone for all your feedbacks!
Putrefaction card readability has been improved
Modifier names have been added to the interface
Added modifier tip
Added feedback when the player uses an item in the menu
Added messages to cancel an action in progress during fights and to exit the menu
Addition of a counter of remaining moves to win the bet chosen at the beginning of the story
All the cards are now removed when the player is lost in the Dead Forest
