It’s been awhile since we’ve had an update here on Steam. We usually do these types of updates on our Kickstarter page, but starting now, we will give these updates directly here on Steam, for all the players to be on the same page.
Game Content Updates - Where is it?
First, we are sorry for the long time without any updates, as well as the delays of the programmed content updates. It’s gonna take a while longer, and we don’t have a set date for that yet. We deeply apologize for that.
That being said, it’s not all doom and gloom - We had some rough bumps along the road the last 3 months, but we have not abandoned the game at all and today is a joyful occasion. So let’s talk about all the things related to this game and what's happening to it!
The Game Grows!
One of the biggest challenges to finish Gastova is the fact that, content wise, this game is constantly growing. A lot of the updates that we have been planning since forever are things that were not a part of the original premise and promises over at Kickstarter. That double edged sword is cause for much despair at times, but also joy, as we over here at Mechwolf feel we are doing a game we really love.
Boss Fights
We are working on the last 5 boss fights of this game. 4 are pre-final boss - This fight was going to be a gauntlet of 8 boss battles, but we felt that would drag unnecessarily and turn the fights quite empty. Instead, we will have a gauntlet of 4 boss fights right before the final boss. Here’s a sneak peek of the last round of bosses!
We have received feedback that some earlier boss fights are more engaging and interesting than late game boss fights. We have been working on that, as well as trying to fix some of the worst aspects of those boss fights. Aldebaran, being the biggest offender, will be receiving some important fixes.
We also would like to ask: What boss fights do you like the most? What boss fights do you like the least, and why? Let us know in the comments, or the forums, what your experience with the game so far has been like!
Game Balancing Issues
A set of very important game overhauls are going to happen. One of the most fundamental ones is the removal of the casting bar for boss fights. Why?
First, casting times and casting bars have been part of the issues of some boss fights. Sometimes, it allows the player to cheese the fight to the point of losing all fun. Instead, we plan to have visual or sound cues to represent the next attack, and change the behavior of bosses a little to accommodate that change.
A skill name window will appear so you know what attack the boss is going to land a little before it happens, but it won’t be as disruptive as the casting bar has been so far. This will change the pace of some boss fights, and we hope we can use this to create better challenges.
We will also be implementing several design overhauls in an attempt to make the gameplay feel tighter and more in control. Our hope is that with this change, all of the various mechanics such as summons, elemental bursts, staff attacks and buster attacks will work more in tandem with one another as opposed to feeling like separate mechanics without interactions.
And lastly, shop, currency and other upgrade overhauls will be done to make sure the game is more balanced, especially in regards to abuse of potions.
Fashion Witch?
We are happy to confirm the final game will contain 16 costumes for Gastova in total (including her default one). The vast majority will be unlocked in game as you play it. While these costumes add some minor mechanical changes to Gastova, they are not required for players to fully enjoy the game experience.
Voice Acting
The game will now have voice acting during important dialogues! We believe that while not strictly necessary, this will help us flesh out the character interactions a lot more. We have been working with some wonderful talents to achieve this (shoutout to you guys!), and we can’t wait to implement the lines in game!
Final Words
We would like to thank every single one of our players for the infinite patience and goodwill. You guys make all the struggles worth it, as we know we can’t give up with everyone cheering on us. We hope to deliver a good game, and that will only be possible because of you!
Lastly, we are going to take part in the Steam Summer Sale, and we hope that will invite new players to be a part of the Gastova family!
Thank you and stay safe and sound, everyone. Until next time!
Early Access Build 1.01c
Patch Notes for Early Access Build ver 1.01c
Changed the animation effects on Sophia's Flood ability.
Fixed Sophia's stone pillar ability not doing any damage.
Fixed an issue causing Isadora to bug out.
Fixed Fade music skip scene not working.
Fixed every astral after Virgo displaying new power.
Fixed several localization mistakes.
Fixed an issue causing Onyx Despair to bug out.
Early Access Build 1.01b
Patch Notes for Early Access Build ver 1.01b
Fixed text overflow for the list of warp destinations.
Fixed various localization issues pertaining to Treasure chests.
Major Game Update: Early Access Build 1.01a
Hello Everyone!
Today we are excited to provide you with a bit of good news! We have worked hard in the past week to finalize, implement, test and update some important language localizations for the game: Simplified/Traditional Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese.
Patch Notes for ver. Early Access Build 1.01a: What does this version contain?
The knights in the Haunted Mansion has had their resistances lowered, and are now vulnerable against all elemental attacks.
Fixed the lack of prompt for receiving the Guardian Robe.
Fixed damage popup not appearing for certain bosses.
Fixed not granting the Master of Some achievement. It will now be granted by going in and exiting the shop once the condition has been fulfilled.
Fixed several softlocking issues.
Fixed an issue with max potion not updating properly with the Regalia outfit.
Fixed an issue with the game crashing after going left from the Livra Caverns B save point.
Updated Tatsuko's seafood parade with new fishes, each with different damage value and effects.
Tatsuko's Element Burst has been implemented.
Changed the trail effects for the attacks of Tengu and Ice Fairy.
Localization for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese has now been added to the game.
Updated the graphics for Gastova's Festive Witch costume.
Next Steps
Our next goal is to continue developing the endgame contents of the game. We have most of it figured out. For now, the game stops after beating Aldebaran, but we have a new major content update coming up somewhere between mid to late January, so please, look forward to that one.
That wraps up our update today. Make sure to let us know via the Discussions what you think, we'll be happy to respond whatever questions you guys have!
Stay safe everyone!
Early Access Build 1.00i
Changes:
-Fixed a softlock in Caverns 1 Map 6 due to incorrectly placed jump platforms.
Sorry for the frequency of these updates. But we have to address soft lock and game breaking issues as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Early Access Build 1.00h
Changes:
-Fixed the incorrect behavior of the projectiles for Dryad enemies. -Fixed all the Astral Mirages displaying the new power image. Only Virgo displays it now. -Fixed getting stuck in Felicity's boss room when revisiting the room. -Fixed the bug of not properly granting the "Arsenal" achievement. -Interaction with NPC, Transfers and other objects has been changed from the Jump key to Up Arrow key. -Players are now able to shoot and jump when overlaping with interactable objects. -Hover icon has been changed uniformly to an Up Arrow key.
Early Access Build 1.00g Early Access Build 1.00g
Changes:
-Fixed a bug that was preventing players from using Down + Jump to drop through the ledge. -Fixed some controllers not being able to use Element Bursts with left trigger and minimap with Select/Back/Share.
Early Access Build 1.00f
Changes:
-Fixed incorrect minimap placement. Added "Next" objective tracker on the minimap so that it's easier to navigate to new areas. -Fixed keybind issue for Interact/Jump.
Demo Available Now!
Hello Everyone!
We're excited to announce a public demo for Gastova: the Witches of Arkana!
In this demo, the first two major areas of the game will be available: the Grottoes and the Forest. Unfortunately, The demo itself is in english only, so we apologize for the inconvenience.
So try it out now and let us know what you guys think!
For bug reports or even suggestions, send us an email at support@mechwolfpro.com, or open a thread here in the community and we'll do our best to address any issues. Thank you!
Stay safe everyone!
Release date changes
Hi everyone!
We're sorry to inform you that the release date for Gastova: Witches of Arkana has been pushed back several months. It would seem that our original release date was overly optimistic. We need a bit more time to polish the game and finish up the contents we'd like the game to have. As such, we're tentatively going to postpone announcing a fixed date for now. We'll be doing this to avoid the same issues that have plagued us so far. That being said, please rest assured that we'll be doing our best to deliver the game as soon as we can, and be reassured the release will still happen this year. We'll keep you all posted if there are any further changes in the coming days. Sorry again for the inconvenience!
Kickstarter post here, detailing our current progress situation: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gastova/gastova-the-witches-of-arkana/posts/3147266
