Hero's Song
What's New in Hero's Song Alpha 3 Update 2
[B]Stability and Performance[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Improved start-up time and optimized memory usage
<*>Fixed an issue where the game would crash when the player character reached level 50
<*>Fixed several issues where the game would appear to freeze while on a loading screen after creating a second character in the same client session
<*>Fixed an issue where the player could not move or interact with the world after the player character exited an interior, dungeon, or the underworld
<*>Fixed an issue where the game could crash when the player character crossed geotiles
<*>Fixed an issue where leveling up could be out-of-sync between the client and server
<*>Fixed an issue where objects of a significantly greater weight could be knocked back
<*>Fixed an issue where objects of the same or similar weight would not collide properly
[/LIST][B]Multiplayer[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added a way for Steam friends to join the same worlds while the game is not running
<*>Temporarily spawn new players in the same racial starting town to facilitate grouping
[/LIST][B]Adventure and Exploration[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added new Stonehenge-like Fae regions to new worlds
<*>Removed enemies from starting rooms in dungeons and underworld
<*>Restricted spawned creature level range to between 1 and 60
<*>Dialogue
[LIST]
<*>Added more variation to combat barks
<*>Fixed an issue where Gnolls could not speak
[/LIST]
<*>Points of Interest
[LIST]
<*>Changed the fairy glen point of interest into a ring of stones
<*>Changed the demonic altar point of interest into a bloody altar for now
<*>Changed the vampire castle point of interest into a fight pit for now
[/LIST]
<*>Fixed an issue with world history generation creating unintended faction relationships
[/LIST][B]Balance[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Rebalanced the experience curve
[LIST]
<*>Increased kills per level and scaled experience per kill to character level
<*>Increased the max attainable character level to 50
<*>Increased the max geotile level to 60
[/LIST]
<*>Rebalanced generic stun effects used by NPCs
[LIST]
<*>Reduced stun duration to 1 second
<*>Increased reuse time to 20 seconds
[/LIST]
[/LIST][B]Classes[/B]
[LIST]
<*>[I]Alchemist[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Added Neophyte's Dagger to starting inventory
<*>Removed Wand from starting inventory
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Assassin[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Throwing Knife
[LIST]
<*>Fixed an issue where Throwing Knife would not deal damage to targets
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Dreadlord[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Added consumable Faith resource
<*>Dark Touch
[LIST]
<*>Dark Touch now deals 200/250/300/375/450% weapon damage to a single target
<*>Added sound and visual effects to Dark Touch
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Druid[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Gust Force
[LIST]
<*>Gust Force now applies 360-degree knockback effect that deals 50/90/130/170/210% crushing damage to nearby enemies with a 10/13/16/19/22% chance to disarm
[/LIST]
<*>Lightning Flow
[LIST]
<*>Lightning Flow now deals 100/140/180/220/240% weapon damage per second
[/LIST]
<*>Lightning Strike
[LIST]
<*>Changed Lightning Strike targeting mode to targeting cursor
[/LIST]
<*>Thornshield
[LIST]
<*>Thornshield now deflects 10/15/20/30/40% of incoming melee damage and deals 20/30/40/60/80% piercing damage to the attacker
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Illusionist[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Alternate Reality
[LIST]
<*>Alternate Reality now puts the target to sleep for 10/15/20/25/30 seconds (note: targets are not currently woken when attacked)
<*>Added sound and visual effects to first rank of Alternate Reality
[/LIST]
<*>Aneurysm
[LIST]
<*>Added sound and visual effects to all ranks of Aneurysm
[/LIST]
<*>Mind Shred
[LIST]
<*>Added sound and visual effects to all ranks of Mind Shred
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Monk[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Inner Peace
[LIST]
<*>Decreased invulnerability time to 5 seconds
<*>Increased recast time to 60 seconds
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Necromancer[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Lifetap
[LIST]
<*>Added five ranks of a new mouse button ability, Lifetap, that restores one health for every two points of damage dealt per second
[/LIST]
<*>Raise the Dead
[LIST]
<*>Fixed an issue where Raise the Dead had the incorrect requirements
<*>Added a notification for when Raise the Dead fails to summon a pet
<*>Disabled lights on Raise the Dead effect particles
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Paladin[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Divine Light
[LIST]
<*>Increased resource cost to 25 Faith
<*>Increased recast time to 15 seconds
<*>Reduced the visual intensity of the Divine Light effect
[/LIST]
<*>Holy Weapon
[LIST]
<*>Holy Weapon now increases melee damage by 200/220/240/260/280%
[/LIST]
<*>Righteous Strike
[LIST]
<*>Righteous Strike now deals 100/110/120/130/140% weapon damage
<*>Fixed an issue where the ability name did not indicate rank
[/LIST]
<*>Retribution
[LIST]
<*>Retribution now lasts for 4/6/8 seconds
<*>Increased reuse time to 30 seconds
[/LIST]
<*>Shield Bash
[LIST]
<*>Changed the reuse time and resource cost to match Warrior’s Shield Bash
[/LIST]
<*>Turn Undead
[LIST]
<*>Turn Undead now deals 150/165/180/195/210% weapon damage
<*>Increased resource cost to 20 Faith
<*>Increased reuse time to 12 seconds
<*>Increased ability range to 8/9/10/11/12
<*>Increased max targets to 10
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Shaman[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Staff Bunt
[LIST]
<*>Renamed Staff Bunt to Bash
[/LIST]
<*>Bash
[LIST]
<*>Added Crushing damage type to Bash
<*>Removed knockback from Bash
[/LIST]
<*>Curse
[LIST]
<*>Curse now lowers target attack speed by 30% and deals 7 poison damage per second for 5/6/7/8/9 seconds
<*>Added visual effects to Curse
[/LIST]
<*>Soul Burst
[LIST]
<*>Soul Burst now deals 150/200/250/300/350% weapon damage
<*>Added visual effects to Soul Burst
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Thief[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Poison
[LIST]
<*>Increased recast time to 45 seconds
<*>Fixed an issue where Poison would stack with itself
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
<*>[I]Warrior[/I]
[LIST]
<*>Shield Bash
[LIST]
<*>Changed the reuse time and resource cost to match Paladin’s Shield Bash
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
[/LIST][B]Crafting[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added recipe for Beeswax Candle
<*>Added recipe for Crocodile Soup
<*>Added recipe for Honey Sandwich
<*>Removed errant crafting requirement on Health Potion recipe
<*>Renamed recipe for Gold Inferno Sword
<*>Fixed an issue where recipes that required a campfire could not be crafted while near a campfire
<*>Fixed an issue where weapon recipes that required gold would require silver instead
<*>Fixed an issue where the player would incorrectly receive a “Crafting Interrupted” message after successfully completing a recipe
[/LIST][B]Loot[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Implemented item spawning in worlds
<*>Added dagger called Neophyte's Dagger for the Alchemist class
<*>Added stats, resistances, and coin values to chain and plate armor pieces
<*>Added Honeycomb to Bee loot
<*>Added Tough Leathery Skin and Severed Crocodile Tail to Crocodile loot
<*>Decreased the price of the Pickaxe from 100 to 25 coins
<*>Reduced harvestable item rarity to remove ground spawn visual effects
<*>Removed ground spawn visual effects from Broken Bones and Cracked Skulls
<*>Fixed an issue where the Fanged Necklace would crash the game
<*>Fixed an issue where the Health Potion would not heal the correct amount
<*>Fixed an issue where clams would not reliably appear near bodies of water
<*>Renamed the Flank Steak item to Steak
[/LIST][B]Creatures[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Bats, ghouls, and other nocturnal creatures will come out only at night
<*>Added Bee
<*>Added Treant with Fae region spawning preference
<*>Added hit-and-run behavior to bats
<*>Added poison attack to Wasp that deals minor damage over time
<*>Increased bat movement speed from 5 to 7
<*>Increased wasp movement speed from 5 to 7
<*>Changed gargoyle faction to neutral
<*>Changed undead faction to neutral
<*>Changed woodland creatures to prefer spawning in Fae regions
<*>Increased minimum spawn level for dragons to 40
<*>Further adjustments to the bats’ unique Sonic Blast ability
<*>Fixed an issue where creatures could spawn at level zero
<*>Fixed an issue where Dire Wolf Pack Leaders would attack their own pack
<*>Fixed an issue where Cave Spiders and Elathi were friendly
<*>Fixed an issue where dragon stats would not scale to level
<*>Fixed an issue where swashbuckler-class NPCs were not aggressive
<*>Fixed collision, vitals, sprites, and renderers for insects
[/LIST][B]Art, Graphics and Lighting[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added new visual effect for Wasp Poison ability
<*>Added new male and female bear and bear cub models, including Black Bear, Brown Bear, Grizzly Bear, and Polar Bear (not spawning yet)
<*>Added new world map icons for Player and Town
<*>Added new item icons for Scarab Rinds, Frog Legs, Bone Fragment, Voodoo Doll, Rotten Tomato, Rotten Potato, Tongue, Cacao Nibs, Candle, and Honeycomb
<*>Increased the light radius of the Torch and Campfire
<*>Fixed an issue where multiple character sprites would overlay a single character after a server crash
<*>Fixed an issue where night time light levels in snowy biomes would be higher than other biomes
[/LIST][B]Music and Sound Effects[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added desert ambience (not playing yet)
<*>Added sound effects for Bee, Deer, Rabbit, and Wasp
<*>Fixed sound effects that were playing too loud, specifically bats and dragons
<*>Reduced the duration of the dragon death sound effect
[/LIST][B]User Interface[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added the player character’s location to the World Map
<*>World Map now centers on player character location when first displayed
<*>Added map markers to World Map when near cities, points of interest, and dungeons
<*>Added historical event markers to the world map on the Recorded History screen
<*>Reduced size of world map on the Recorded History screen
<*>Fixed an issue where historical events were not focusing on the Recorded History screen
<*>Fixed an issue where placeholder text would be displayed when the game was run on operating systems using languages other than English
<*>Fixed an issue where equipping a container type item would generate an error
<*>Fixed an issue where ability spend buttons would not always show tooltips
<*>Fixed an issue where the experience bar would not appear full at level 50
<*>Fixed an issue where item activation buttons would sometimes not be displayed
<*>Fixed an issue where item tooltips would disappear after using the merchant window
<*>Fixed an issue where the player would not return to world selection after a server crash
<*>Fixed an issue where the Back button the Character Selection screen would not return the player to the previous screen, along with related issues
[/LIST][B]Testing and Debugging[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Implemented rotating timestamped log files
[/LIST]
What's New in Hero's Song Alpha 3 Update 1
[LIST]
<*>Fixed an issue where the player character would not immediately die around zero health
<*>Fixed an issue where the actual damage registered on the server did not match the floating text
<*>Fixed an issue where the player character could enter an interior and exit from an unrelated portal to a sometimes completely different exterior
[/LIST][B]Classes[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Druid
[LIST]
<*>Added ranks to Lightning Flow
<*>Increased reuse time for Storm Shock to 0.5
<*>Removed an HTML entity from the Druid class description
[/LIST]
<*>Paladin
[LIST]
<*>Increased reuse time for Righteous Strike to 0.5
[/LIST]
<*>Ranger
[LIST]
<*>Fixed an issue where the Ranger class would not always start with a bow and sword
<*>Increased reuse time for Strike and Arrow Shot to 0.5
[/LIST]
<*>Swashbuckler
[LIST]
<*>Improved upgrade progression for some abilities
[/LIST]
<*>Wizard
[LIST]
<*>Added ranks to Magic Bolt
<*>Increased reuse time for Magic Bolt to 0.5
<*>Tuned damage dealt by Magic Bolt
[/LIST]
[/LIST][B]Crafting[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added icons for Bellflower, Golden Nettle, Midnight Blossom, and Haggis
<*>Fixed an issue where recipes that required a campfire could not be crafted while the player character was near a campfire
[/LIST][B]Loot[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added coins to Wyvern loot
<*>Increased the drop frequency for Branch
<*>Decreased the drop frequency for Fresh Loaf of Bread
<*>Removed some junk items from wildlife loot
[/LIST][B]Creatures[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added visual and sound effects to Sonic Blast ability used by Bats
<*>Added Scorpion to desert biome
<*>Added Wyvern to desert and rocky biomes
[/LIST][B]Objects[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added wooden fences for desert and snow biomes
[/LIST][B]AI and Pathfinding[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Added a secondary attack behavior to Giant Bat and Small Bat
<*>Fixed an issue where entities would path diagonally from falling collision nodes
<*>Fixed an issue where immobile object collision was not registered with the server
<*>Optimized the pathing node removal process
[/LIST][B]Graphics[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Reduced quality setting options to Low, Medium, and High
<*>Enabled vertical sync for Low, Medium, and High quality settings
<*>Fixed an issue where the quality setting would default to the lowest option
<*>Fixed an issue where the game window could be resized outside 16:9 and 16:10 constraints
<*>Adjusted canvas to scale to only 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios
<*>Fixed light renderer to improve torches and reduce lighting artifacts
[/LIST][B]Music and Sound Effects[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Fixed the sound effects volume slider so that volume can be adjusted
[/LIST][B]User Interface[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Fixed the display locations of item and ability tooltips
<*>Fixed an issue where hovering the mouse cursor over abilities on the character creation screen would freeze the game instead of showing ability tooltips
[/LIST][B]Steamworks[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Fixed an issue where Hero's Song could not be launched directly from the executable
<*>Fixed an issue where Hero's Song would not launch Steam if executed without Steam running
<*>Fixed an issue where trying to join a friend through Steam would produce a black screen
[/LIST][B]Testing and Debugging[/B]
[LIST]
<*>Implemented server crash detection
<*>Added a dialog to display exceptions to player, including server crashes
[/LIST]
Alpha 3 now open!
We've automatically upgraded everyone who did not select a perk to the highest tier for which they qualify, so even if your intention was to donate, you'll be getting something anyway. Those keys will be e-mailed to the address used for your IndieGoGo perk along with instructions on adding your key(s) to Steam. If you do not see the email please check your spam folders.
Please create a user account on our forums, so you can follow all the latest news. The forums can be found at: http://forums.pixelmagegames.com/
If your IndieGoGo perk included Developer Forum Access, please send me a message through the forums, and I will authorize your account for access to that forum. Please ensure that your Pixelmage account e-mail address matches your IndieGoGo e-mail address.
I will be personally reaching out to those who selected perks that included tangible items for additional information.
Thank you for your support and see you in the game!
Michelle “Fyresong” Butler
Alpha 3 update!
We're finishing up the Alpha (3) build here and then we'll be sending out the emails with the codes you've been waiting for if you helped support us on Indiegogo.
We're excited to welcome you all to the worlds of Hero's Song.
The game is going to make tremendous progress on a regular basis. You can expect very frequent updates to the game as we progress through the different phases of Alpha. Alpha (4) is Early Access and that's coming up soon... so if you didn't get a chance to back us through Indiegogo you'll be able to buy the game soon enough.
How is the game?
It's early and it's still quite raw. There are a lot of good times to be had, but there are bugs and a lot of stuff that's still being implemented. We have a lot of work still to do and we're going to be posting a roadmap when we go live with Early Access that will outline just how aggressive the schedule is going to be. You can expect patches to come at a very rapid pace all throughout this phase as we make the game more fun and add all the stuff we want to do to make it the game we've been dreaming of.
Thanks very much for your support,
Smed
Alpha 3 approaching!
Launch Date and Roadmap for Alpha 3
--
Hello Everyone,
I wanted to give our backers an update on how things are shaping up and provide information about the status of both the game and delivering you all the things we promised you!
First, the game:
Hero's Song is shaping up nicely. We're currently in internal Alpha 2 and we intend to launch Alpha 3 on Thursday, October 27, or Friday, October 28, so it's just a few weeks away.
UPDATE: The Alpha 3 launch was moved to Monday, October 31.
What can you expect from Alpha 3?
- 15 of 21 classes will be live. They are still rough. I don't want anyone to think this is going to be a polished gameplay experience. It's going to have lots of bugs, and lots of balance issues. That's to be expected in Alpha.
- Multiplayer: Multiplayer will be in there, likely with up to 25-50 people. We won't be putting a cap on it, but we have a lot of work to do on our server to deliver the 200 people we've been talking about. We expect to increase that number over the course of Alpha 3 and Early Access on a constant basis.
- Dungeons: They are in, but they're basic. Just monsters to fight... no traps yet.
- Lots of monsters with a lot more coming: We have a great variety in there already, but we have a ton more coming in. We did get Dragons in there, so there are some very nasty things to die to.
- Underworld: Very basic right now. Essentially, we're going to be working on it in short order, but the Underworld needs a lot of love.
- Loot: In and working, but it's basic for Alpha 3 - What does this mean? Well as we're continuing to populate the world with interesting things this will get built out in a big way.
- Points of Interest: These are just coming in now. Lots of cool things to explore, but not a lot are in yet. That means the world will only get more interesting.
- NPC AI: This is in pretty good shape for Alpha 3, but we have a lot of work to do to make the AI use more interesting abilities as we create them for the enemies. A good example is the Goblins: they use nets to try and root people. We have a lot of NPCs, but need to work on making them do interesting things rather than just basic attacks. Also, the AI in towns will get a ton better over time as we give the NPCs things to actually do rather than wander. You'll see this improvement with every publish we do.
- Server Management Tools: For the opening of Alpha 3, these won't be ready or will be very basic, but this will come online within weeks. You'll still have the basic tools to launch the server, etc, but a lot of the fancier management stuff still is coming in.
- Steam Integration: We think you'll be happy with what we've done with our Steam integration. It's pretty well done and our goal for Alpha 3 is to allow you to easily join your friends right from Steam—and within the game, too, if you want, but only the "right from Steam" part will be in day 1 of Alpha 3.
- Gods: The gods are in from day 1 of Alpha 3, but they aren't going to appear physically in the game yet. They are vital in world creation and every element of the game, but we also intend to let you fight them. That won't be in until much later.
- Bugs: We have plenty for you to find.
- Performance: We're in pretty good shape on this, but there is still some hitching we're fighting and other stuff we want to improve on. Don't expect it to be perfectly silky smooth.
Early Access is still planned for early November. The exact date will be determined after we've had a few days of feedback from our Alpha 3 players.
In terms of delivering on the physical goods and other things promised in the campaign, we're working on all that now and intend to have it all delivered by the end of November. If you are worried because you didn't select a perk, please relax. We're going to make sure everyone gets what they thought they were going to get. We'll be handling this by reaching out individually to the people who didn't realize they needed to select a perk. Please don't be worried.
Last but not least, we're hiring a Community Manager to do a better job of updating you all!
Thanks for your patience and your support.
—Smed