Genre: Platform, Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Indie
Heroes of Umbra
1.4.0 Launch!
Update Notes
Hi, hello, long time, heroes! Hope you’re doing well. I just wanted to share a few updates that just went live in 1.4.0.
Game Servers
You can start your own game server from the character select screen. You’ll get a 4-letter code friends can use to join your game.
I looked into lots of server hosting solutions, matchmaking engines, steam networking options again, and ultimately ended up building something myself. I’m pretty proud of it! I hope it makes the game easier to play with friends.
This also kills the very buggy Steam networking options.
PS, you can enter /share in chat to share it to my discord server!
PPS, Servers are US-based for now but I can look into international servers if there’s demand.
Save Sync
If you’d like to back up your game data across multiple devices (including iOS + Android soon), consider subscribing to dreamstone. In addition to save synchronization, the service offers other perks like expanded inventory, rotating game shops, character customization, and more.
Game data is stored totally client-side otherwise, so this is also a great way to back up that character you’ve spent lots of time on. Plus, the subscription cost goes towards hosting all these fun new features!
Polish and Mechanic Changes
Overhauled and upgraded all the game’s libraries. (Better controller/hotswap support!)
Support variable refresh rates (144 is the new 60)
Smoother camera, UI
Added multicast: CSPD past 100 has a chance to cast certain spells multiple times. At 200 CSPD you’re guaranteed two casts, 350 is guaranteed 3 with a 50% chance for a 4th, etc.
Ongoing Rebirth Mode and Orb Garden balance
Bugfixes aplenty!
The game should not silently crash or enter a black screen if something does go wrong. Instead, you’ll get a copy-pasteable error message for me to quickly fix. (Please send any crashes my way!)
That’s most of the major changes! Check out the Releases page on the wiki for more details. I hope you enjoy the new stuff. If you encounter any issues reach out on discord or email support@alcuria.net.
Let me know what you’d like to see next. Take care!
Heroes of Umbra 1.3
Hello and welcome! Lots of updates have been cooking the past year or so, and they're now live on the default branch. Please check out the new-and-improved wiki for more information.
New Dungeon: Onyx Keep
The Onyx is a new dungeon intended for rebirth players.
It requires a consumable item found somewhere in the Orb Gardens
New Skill Tree: Summoner
Summon creatures to aid in combat and provide helpful auras to allies in battle.
Prestige Levels
Upon completing a rebirth playthrough, you may rebirth again, exchanging any Orb Ranks for permanent skills.
Learning these skills increases your Prestige Level
Orb Garden Improvements
Significantly revamped the Orb Gardens progression
Maze size increases and monster changes are more gradual
Tweaked medusa/snake exp.
Added several new chunk variants (more map variety).
Orb rank is deducted when you first enter the garden, not when you run out of time.
New vendor with a unique bartering system to obtain rare items.
Mystery gems acquired in gardens now have tiers.
Higher tiered gems have higher max levels and slightly better stats.
Higher ranking gardens will drop higher tiered gems.
Additional tiers of equipment can be unlocked by reaching higher leveled ranks
Added a gem shard trader in the boss room.
Included map variants: Purgatory, Fields, and more.
Fixed a bug where only up to 30 chests would spawn in the gardens.
Fixed a bug where some mazes would be unsolveable. (oops teehee)
Orb Leveling Changes
Cards cannot be sold for essence
Orbs destroyed will give essence equal to their level
The full amount must be paid upfront to level an orb, instead of 1 essence at a time. (This makes it easier to see at a glance if you have enough essence to level up an orb.)
Balancing Changes
The exp curve got an overhaul.
Every level takes a flat 20% more exp (rebirth and normal).
Rebirth compounded exp needed per rank reduced from +30% to +25%.
Attack speed is nerfed slightly
Dagger mastery now gives attack speed instead of damage
This is primarily to balance swords vs daggers, and keep the playstyles distinct. Attack speed in general is very powerful and easy to max. These changes should require a bit more specialization.
Crit past 100 gives a chance to deal Perfect Critical hits.
These have a new animation/sound effect and deal boosted damage.
Other Features and Additions
Items can be locked to prevent accidental selling/dropping.
Added many more Orbs
Rare items now have an aura/ping sound that plays when they're dropped
Summoned companions no longer need to be resummoned upon exiting/reloading a character.
Chests sparkle ✨
Many effect animations got a bit larger: impact/jump/cast
Many drop icons have been updated
Players can send emoticons to other players via Slash Commands.
Bugfixes
Weapon mastery wasn't working correctly with endure.
Stat points no longer go crazy with multiple rebirths.
Unopened gates no longer automatically open when relaunching the client.
Storage items no longer duplicate in specific circumstances.
Generating new mystery gear/gems now checks if you have enough inventory space, to prevent possibly losing gear.
1.2.9 Live
Hi there! Just a small bugfix update + support for some "official" server drops.
We'll be giving away copies of the game and a fun headgear if you are able to join in this Friday, July 16th, 7pm-9pm EST / 4pm-6pm PST.
1.2.8 is up with a few fixes from the past few weeks. Most notably:
Fixed a strange crash on the title screen for some architectures. (Thanks GB!)
Corrected some item names (Thanks TTRM!)
Prevent subsequent regeneration effects from canceling the first, preferring the longer duration. (Thanks TTRM!)
Fixed weird skill rolls on final equips
Corrected the death maps for the goosecopter minigame (Thanks TTRM!)
Set the nearest map from the fields to the snow village (Thanks TTRM!)
...Others I've forgotten!
In the works is an Android build distributed on google play, cross-play with desktop is possible. (iOS also might be feasible). Beyond that, I'd like to revisit some frustrations players have expressed with keybinding, steam networking (if possible), and maybe content after that? I don't have a clear roadmap, and there's no solid timeframe for any of this, but let me know what you'd like to see next.
If you encounter any issues or want to follow updates, please join us on discord. I'd also like to plug the "official" game server too if you want to run rebirth dungeons with other players. Just join: play.heroesofumbra.com. It's currently running 1.2.8 in rebirth mode.
Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great day. ːsteamhappyː
Heroes of Umbra 1.2.0
Hello Heroes!
I hope you're staying healthy and doing well in these unprecedented times. It's been over a year since launch, but I'm happy to report the first major content update is complete and in beta now. You can get a sneak peek of the changes below by right clicking Heroes of Umbra in your library, selecting Properties, and entering whowantsabodymassage on the Betas tab. Note, loading an old character upgrades your save file to 1.2.0; you won't be able to go back to the old version.
A lot has changed since the last steam build. It's far from perfect but I've taken feedback received to heart and done what I can to improve quality-of-life, fix bugs, and add new stuff. For specifics on what's changed, watch below and read on.
[previewyoutube="qOytYb1T500;full"]
Ranged Skill Tree
The Ranged skill tree focuses on skills to enhance the new Gun weapon type. Use laser sniping, grenades, rockets and more to destroy enemies from a distance. This skill tree introduces a new crit damage buff for party play and some mobility/accessory skills that might be useful for other skill trees as well. It may or may not be totally balanced. Let me know what you think.
Orb Gardens + Rebirth Balancing
When you finish the storyline you're given the option of restarting back at level 1. The second playthrough is now completely rebalanced with improved gear, much harder monsters, and new challenges to create even stronger characters. After defeating enough monsters on subsequent playthroughs, a portal to a new dungeon, the Orb Gardens, emerges. The map and boss attributes are slightly randomized every time. As you complete these dungeons you unlock new equippable Memory Orbs, gem upgrading, and other loot. Every completed Orb Garden increases your Orb Rank which unlocks more gear and makes subsequent gardens more dangerous.
Sunglade Highlands
Fourteen new field maps have been added after the third dungeon to help you prepare for the final dungeon. Unlock a vendor with unique items by completing the questline, defeat all-new monsters, and catch some sunshine before braving the final area.
Misc. Changes and Additions
Stackable items, dramatically reduced load times, new HP% and Crit Damage% attributes on some gear/gems, more performant minimaps, colorized world map, bouncy platforms, fancier loot, birds on the beach :), and others I can't remember.
Thanks for reading. Do let me know what you think and please continue to take care of yourself.
PS, Join us on Discord if you'd like to coordinate a playthrough of the new content or let me know what you think of the changes.
1.1.27 Release
Hello Heroes!
I want to thank everyone who has played so far. Opening weekend has been a whirl of excitement, stress, and gratitude. Thank you also for your forbearance as I deal with some of the unsuspecting bugs that crept up this weekend. The focus moving forward will be on bugfixing, some slight skill tree balancing, and then content.
Version 1.1.27 has a new "logging mode" to run the game and log any crashes that occur.
Version 1.1.27 addresses several bugs:
- |player| placeholders when players die in lava, etc should no longer appear
- Target dummies should no longer drop money when ransacked
- (Probably) fix an issue where the entire screen turns red when you encounter some elites
- Fix a crash with German localization
- Correct duration of Envenom when other players are on the same map as you
- Add a /kill command to kill your character (in the event that you get stuck somewhere)
- Heal no longer heals dead characters
- Reduce spawn rate of bosses
- Prevent all freezing with Hot Tea
- Start the player at the beach when completing the game, to not miss the prestige system.
- Mystery gems no longer crash the players when trying to upgrade
I warmly welcome your suggestions as well. Please email andrew@alcuria.net or join us on discord. Till next time!
1.1.26 Released - We're LIVE!
I'm pleased to report that Heroes of Umbra is now live and available for purchase TODAY!
This project has been in-progress since late 2012 (!!) and it wouldn't have seen the light of day without your interest and support. I'm excited to share it and begin to plant the seeds of a small community.
The game does not need to be played multiplayer, but as a reminder, we're hosting a few games on the discord server if you're looking for people to play with. There's also a Getting Started Wiki (Also available as a Steam guide) for your convenience.
If you run into any issues, have any feedback, or just want to chat, please do not hesitate to email support@alcuria.net or tweet @zexyu.
Join us on Discord!
Hello, Heroes.
Thanks again for your interest and support. Things are moving fast but I'm still on-track to release in 8 short days. I wanted to share with you our discord channel to discuss the game, get support, and coordinate playthroughs:
Games will be coordinated and hosted the weekend following launch; come join us! ːsteamhappyː
Launch Notes
Just five short weeks until the game goes live!
At that time, I'll be launching with Windows-only in the following locales: English, Portuguese, German, and Russian. Additional languages and operating systems will follow shortly after once things look stable.
Keep an eye out for guides, videos, screenshots, and other content in the mean time.
If there's anything you'd like to see, or you just want to chat feel free to email support@alcuria.net. Thank you for reading.
