Hey Handy Harry's fans, I've got some very exciting news! This is the final update to H4S before the 1.0 Full Version release update coming later this year. I know a lot of you are dying for some new content and while this maybe isn't the update you were hoping for, I can assure you that the largest content update is right around the corner. I will be announcing the final release date very soon!
Here's what's new in this version:
Overhauled player animations!
Glow sticks can now be picked back up (or stolen).
Massively improved network efficiency and stability.
Added TV head hat. Thanks to jobo the hobo for the suggestion!
Added surprised face skin.
Improved flashlight ambient lighting.
Improved hell pit door animation
Added option in settings to reduce light flickering.
I'd also like to take this moment to apologise for the lack of updates during the last few months. I have been hard at work on other exciting projects such as Space Gourmet: Delivery and some other secret projects. But I assure you I haven't forgotten about H4S. I hope the upcoming launch update as you excited as I am. More details coming soon! Thanks for the patience and support,
Ben.
Update Beta 3.2
Lads! Some maniac has gone around installing doorbells indoors! Who the hell would even do that? And don't even think about ringing any of those damn doorbells. We've been getting conflicting reports as to what happens when you press them... Best you don't try your luck.
Here's what's new:
Trick or treat doorbells!
New "Gut Buster" 3D skin.
New "Banana" flashlight.
Added Halloween Theme.
Enjoy, have fun and I wish you all a SpOoOoOoky Halloween! Ben.
Update Beta 3.1
Lads! It's been 3 years since Handy Harry's Haunted House Services first went into business! I can't believe we've made it this far! I think it's time we celebrate with a little party! So I've prepared a little BONUS STORY!
Here's what's new:
BONUS MINI STORY! Featuring an exclusive new ghost and unique objectives!
New 3 year party hat!
Minor bug fixes.
I hope you all enjoy these new bonus missions, I had a lot of fun making them. I also want to thank everyone for your 3 years of support! I can't believe H4S is still going strong! See you in the next update!
Have fun, get spooked! Ben.
Update Beta 3.0a
Hey guys, Here are this update's patch notes:
PVP ghost no longer floats above the ground.
PVP ghost player gets blinded and teleported when stunned by a player.
Fixed PVP ghost animation.
Players will no longer die if standing near a player who is being turned into a ghost before the start of a game.
PVP ghost can no longer enter the elevator.
I'd like to apologise to everyone who was trying to play PVP mode. Due to update 3.0's changes to ghost AI, the PVP ghost had to be re-programmed and unfortunately due to time constraints, it was not tested and debugged correctly.
Please let me know if you experience any other issues or have any kind of feedback. Quickest way of getting in touch with me is by joining the discord group here: https://discord.gg/fJWwnSS
Have fun, get Spooked! Ben.
Career Update - Beta 3.0
It's finally here! The long awaited Career Update!
Congratulations! You've just been officially hired by Handy Harry's Haunted House Services Incorporated! Jump into the career mode and see where this new job will take you! I'm sure nothing terrible will happen...
The H4S story mode features 20 thrilling levels with progressively larger and more complex layouts as well as 4 different ghost types. The new ghost AI replaces the old randomised AI behaviour with new individually programmed ghosts. Each with their own unique behaviour and attack patterns.
This is H4S' most ambitious update.
And here's what's in it:
What's New?
Story Mode
20 Hand made levels!
Boss-battles!
Up to 4 players!
Handy Harry is Here!
4 New Ghost Types! Each with their own behaviours and attack patterns.
Spectre: Run away!
Slasher: Run and hide, stay out of sight!
Summoner: Nobody is safe!
Spider: Don't get stuck in it's spider webs!
Logo Cap Hat.
Dynamite Stick Flashlight.
Player Level & XP: Earn XP by completing jobs and level up!
What's Better?
Maps now display a layout of the level.
Maps no longer display completed repairs.
Huge performance improvements = more FPS.
Repair radar now shows direction and distance of nearest repair.
PvP ghost now has it's own ghost type: The Haunted Handyman
Redesigned the Main Menu.
Certain level decorations now hint to what kind of ghost is in the level.
Improved AI teleportation method for improved reliability.
Tuned the pixelation to look better.
Door handles
Gun flashlight now makes a shooting sound.
Added a sound effect when picking up a battery.
What's Fixed?
Fixed players respawning still webbed.
Fixed players being able to join games running a different version of the game.
Fixed several AI path finding glitches.
Other minor improvements and bug fixes.
I hope you will all enjoy this new update. I know it's been way to long since the last large content update, but believe it will have been worth the wait. There are still many things planned on the horizon, including Steam Deck support amongst other things!
Nothing in the game is final, so if you have any suggestions please don't be afraid to get in touch with me via the discord: https://discord.gg/fJWwnSS I'd love to hear your ideas, if you experience any bugs or if there are things you don't quite like.
As always: Enjoy, have fun and get spooked! Ben.
Update Beta 2.4
Merry Spookmas fellow handymen! I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! This update is just a little patch adding a Xmas theme to H4S. There is unfortunately no new content. I know this is probably quite disappointing, and for that, I'm sorry.
I promise I'm still working on the next update, which should be not only the biggest, but also the most game changing update that has ever been released for H4S. I unfortunately haven't had the time to work on it as much I I'd like. However progress has been made towards the new ghost AI (I think you guys are gonna like it!). But I can't say exactly when the update will be ready by.
Here's a small list of what's planned for the next update:
Missions and level progression.
Ghost AI overhaul #2. With specialised ghost AI. Different ghost types with different behaviours and attack patterns.
Better room variation.
Dropping batteries for other players.
Steamdeck compatibility,
And MUCH more!
(*these mechanics are not final and may be changed or removed)
As you can probably imagine, these changes are not easy, and will take time to develop and test before they are ready for release. I hope you all can bare with me, I know you're excited for new content and I promise I will deliver!
But most importantly, I want to thank everyone for an amazing year! I never imagined H4S would be as loved as it is, let alone still be played and enjoyed by so many people, two and a half years after it's early access release! It's crazy, and it's all thanks to the support and encouragement from you guys. I wish you all an amazing end of 2022 and an even more amazing start to 2023!!!
See you all for Update 3.0! ;)
Enjoy, have fun and I wish you all a spooktacular spookmas! Ben.
Update Beta 2.3
Happy Halloween fellow handymen! I hope everyone is having a spooktacular spooktober! it's time for our third Halloween update. It's not a big one but I've got some exciting things coming!
Here's what's new in this year's Halloween update:
The Halloween theme is back! As part of the Steam Scream Fest and of course, the spookiest day of the year!
Jack-O-Lantern flashlight!
Vampire face skin!
Candy bowl hat!
Number of ghostlings spawned in endless mode is more fair.
I know what you're thinking... Geez it's been ages since the last update and this is all there is? Yes. I wish I could have done more. I've started working on some very exciting new mechanics, however I did not manage to get these finished in time for this update. So rather than releasing incomplete mechanics, I decided to delay these to the next update while I work on improving and polishing these. This does mean that this year's spooktober update is a bit lacklustre, and for that I sincerely apologise. But I know that the next update will make up for it ;)
What are these new mechanics you might be wondering... Well I don't wan't to spoil the surprise but I think you deserve a little teaser:
Missions and level progression.
Ghost AI overhaul #2. With specialised ghost AI. Different ghost types with different behaviours and attack patterns.
Better room variation.
Dropping batteries for other players.
Steamdeck compatibility,
And MUCH more!
(*these mechanics are not final and may be changed or removed)
Enjoy, have fun and I wish you all a SpOoOoOoky Halloween! Ben.
Update Beta 2.2a,b
Hey guys, Here are this update's patch notes: 2.2a:
Improved connection stability during small internet interruptions. If the game experiences a disconnect, it will attempt to reconnect each second for about 10 seconds instead of immediately disconnecting.
Fixed issue where players near a cobwebbed player would would also be affected.
Fixed issue where cobweb debuff would remain after being teleported.
Fixed missing equip button on the sticker page of the shop.
Removed anniversary theme.
2.2b:
Fixed crash that would randomly occur.
Please let me know if you experience any other issues or have any kind of feedback. Quickest way of getting in touch with me is by joining the discord group here: https://discord.gg/fJWwnSS
Have fun, get Spooked! Ben.
Update Beta 2.2a
Hey guys, Here are this update's patch notes:
Improved connection stability during small internet interruptions. If the game experiences a disconnect, it will attempt to reconnect each second for about 10 seconds instead of immediately disconnecting.
Fixed issue where players near a cobwebbed player would would also be affected.
Fixed issue where cobweb debuff would remain after being teleported.
Fixed missing equip button on the sticker page of the shop.
Removed anniversary theme.
Please let me know if you experience any other issues or have any kind of feedback. Quickest way of getting in touch with me is by joining the discord group here: https://discord.gg/fJWwnSS
Have fun, get Spooked! Ben.
Update Beta 2.2
Greetings fellow handymen, old and new!
I can't believe it's been 2 years since the early access release of H4S! Thank you to everyone who's supported this silly indie game. It was only ever supposed to be a game that I quickly made to have some fun with friends on a Covid-19 locked-down weekend. And it somehow snowballed into a game that is (apparently) beloved by so many people.
I know what you're probably thinking... "Geez when is this game ever going to be finished?" And to be honest, the reason I haven't just thrown a few updates together and called it done is because of you guys! Nobody motivates me to work on this game more than the people who play it. And for that reason I want to make H4S the best damn $5 you ever spend!
As for you H4S veterans out there, I don't want you to be bored either. I want you to keep coming back for more! Many of you have indeed been playing this game since the early Alpha days. And I think you need a new challenge!
Steam trading cards! 13 new trading cards, 8 awesome profile backgrounds and 10 amazing emoji!
Escape timer! Flipped the master switch? Get to the elevator quickly before you run out of time!
Upgraded ghost AI! Hide, turn off your flashlight, stand really still and you just might survive.
Ghost has a new vision system. Try to stay out of it's field of view.
Turning off your flashlight will give you a greater chance of not getting caught.
Ghost will walk slower and will search more carefully if it senses you near it.
Ghost will no longer detect players that are very close unless they have their flashlight on.
New leaderboards! Most deaths, wins/loses, batteries collected and more!
Added birthday theme.
Cake flashlight.
Added a bug report button to the main menu.
What's Better?
Viewmodel flashlight is not rendered on a different layer and is not affected by FOV settings.
Players that fall off the map are now teleported into the map instead of falling for ever.
Ghosts (PVP mode included) are teleported away once a revive has finished to prevent spawn camping.
Ghost will teleport further away from players to prevent sudden unexpected death.
Ghosts can no longer teleport to the first room outside the elevator.
Buy button in the shop now acts an a "equip" button once the item is purchased.
Optimised ghost stunning. This should hopefully prevent certain crashes from happening.
You can now change your input device for VOIP from the settings menu.
What's Fixed?
Fixed joining players seeing doors that the host player did not.
Fixed door variations not applying to client players.
Fixed player color not applying to spectated players.
Fixed bug where ghostlings path-finding would break and then they would not despawn.
Fixed PVP ghost vision detecting the ghost player themselves.
Minor UI tweaks.
Other minor bugfixes.
Thank you again to everyone who has supported the game in the last 2 years! It's been a fantastic experience and I'm excited to keep this train rolling! I still have plenty of updates planed ahead.
As always, things in the game are not final, so if you have any suggestions please don't be afraid to get in touch with me via the discord: https://discord.gg/fJWwnSS I'd love to hear your ideas, if you experience any bugs or if there are things you don't quite like.
