Fixed a bug that would cause the alert pop-up to stay on screen after purchasing a new spell or item.
The Tactics Mode (Re)Update
I found time over the weekend to port over the direct fighter control from Early Access back into the game. It is now available as an option in the pause menu. This will allow players to send and recall fighters, and disable the AI-driven behavior.
A big apology for those players who really liked this feature before the removal. Early Access didn't have much feedback for existing features players actually liked, and the few who did comment were conflicted! So the initial reaction to removing direct fighter control initially seemed like the same response that came from other updates during development. But it looks like many of you really loved this EA feature, and still want to play(!), so for you all I hope this brings the game back to a good spot for you. Life changes will have me unable support the game much after this update, but I hope this wraps things for a while. Thanks for playing, and keep supporting weird indie games.
-Jay
Summer Sale Update
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer, here's a little update to tidy a few things up in the game. The biggest change is that players who breezed through the standard game difficulty can now test their skills in New Adventure+. Enjoy!
Features
New Adventure+ added! Players can choose a harder version of the game after beating it on regular difficulty. Enemies have 33% more health and damage.
End screen added after beating the Sewers. The game now rolls the credits and no longer loops back to the desert with increased difficulty.
Fixes
Large loot drops are much easier on the frame rate
Pyromancer bats should always spawn in-bounds
Bonus chest should always spawn in-bounds
Electric Beltaloo should attack the same enemy fewer times per charge
Hot-Fix: Guild Vendor Bug
Fixed a game-breaking bug where the player could be teleported outside of the Guild after talking to a vendor.
Looking For Heals OUT NOW!!
Good news everyone, Looking For Heals 1.0 is dropping today! Thanks so much for the support and feedback these last 2 years! IT'S HEALING TIME!
CHANGE LIST
Health bars are now much bigger and easier to see
Shrank down some dungeon sizes by one room
Player can now sprint when out of combat
Selection cursor for controller has been improved
So many UI tweaks!
Removed the enrage timer
Helper Overlay added to explain some newer mechanics
Fighters are now killed when essence is depleted (game over or quit)
Mana no longer works on 100%
Killed all the weird bugs that could occur after traveling back to the guild hall
Revive has larger area on the fighter
Level NPCs have been added for that narrative touch!
Lowered pricing on most unlockables
Fear when shielded no longer glitches
We now refill mana on combat finish
Moving during final cutscene in tutorial is disabled
Achievements have been added!
The bartender now talks to you for added immersion
Removed Ice block from elementalist, replaced with chain lightning on fighter death
Traps have been removed
Ice mage cast time reduced
Rescue Portal now shows up in the fourth slot on a fresh game
Update #18 The End of a Journey
After thousands of work-hours, hundreds of squashed bugs, tons of features, and enough iterations to make your head spin...I'm happy to announce that this will be the final update for Early Access.
This feels like a good time to reflect.
When Stu and I started this project 2 years ago, I had no idea where it would take us. We had high hopes for our weird little healing game, and were determined to make it a fully-fledged Steam title we could both be proud of. A lot has happened since those humble beginnings. We received a couple local awards, got to participate in the GDC Indie Megabooth, and even got a glimpse of the world of indie publishing. It ran the full spectrum of experiences in this industry. From its euphoric ups, to it's crushing downs.
I decided to go full-time on the project for most of 2019. Leaving a steady job to work on something you truly care about with no guarantee of success...it's pretty terrifying. You're never certain if you've made the right decision. In the end, I'm confident that we brought the game's super-risky design to a good spot...but it's true when they say a game is never truly finished, and it's time to start the next project. I hope the game brought a bit of fun into your lives, and thanks for all the support over the last two years.
So with that, here's the last update for Early Access. I hope you enjoy it.
See you at the release,
Jay
Updates:
Essence bar is now segmented for the amount of fighter deaths before a game over
Essence now increases in discrete amounts per player character essence
Mana potion is now a permanent item for all player classes, except Necro
Migrated class items over to be new player spells instead
Bosses now show up as trophy heads in the Guild Hall
Added help overlays for the gameplay and inventory screens
Added full description to unlockable items in the Guild Hall
FX pass on many game elements
Updated the controls page to reflect latest design
Added Cost, Cooldown, and Cast Time descriptions for spells in spell selection screen
UI fixes for non-standard resolutions
Balancing on most spells and enemies
Several major and minor bugs addressed
Update #17 New Spells, New Buffs, and Balancing
We're getting close to the end folks! Here's the follow up to last month's update, with more spells, items, buffs, and a boat-load of enemy balancing. Next up is the narrative pass, along with the last level of the game: Ice Mountain. After that, it's Steam integrations and the long-awaited polish pass. See you soon!
Updates
Added Crit, Block, and Dodge chances to all classes
New Support Item: Hot under pressure. Greatly increases crit chance when low on health
New Support Item: Iron shield. Increases your block chance
New Support Item: Sneakers. Increases your dodge chance
New Spell: Enrage. Increases crit chance on a fighter for a 8 seconds
New Spell: Phase Shift. Greatly increase dodge chance on a fighter for 10 seconds
New Spell: Rescue Portal. Teleport the fighter to the healer's location
New Spell: Evergreen. Heals the fighter continuously over several seconds
New Spell: Blessing of Light. Temporarily increases all healing on targeted fighter.
New Buff: Shield Aura. You are surrounded by an aura that blocks all damage. Goes on cooldown after each use.
New Buff: Comradery. All remaining fighters become enraged when an ally is downed.
New Buff: Timeout. All remaining fighters gain a shield when an ally is downed.
New Buff: Holy Word. All healing is increased for the first 10 seconds after entering a combat room.
Defender ability has been replaced with having higher block stats
Improved Enemy AI to not use certain powerful abilities if they are already being cast
Cooldown and healer speed buffs can stack, all others can only be applied once
Enemy health +33% and Damage +50% for each loop
Fixes
Changed ice mages to stop channeling their attacks periodically
Fixed a bug where the mini-map would stop generating
Improved ranged fighter position finding
Roll Troll and Rat Mother can now be attacked (Thanks MrMcBad)
Update #15: We're Back!
It's been a while since our last update, but thanks for your patience as we take this thing to the finish line in the coming weeks. We've made a major pass on the UIs that I think you'll like, and healer classes have new special abilities!
Features and Updates
New Song for the Guild Hall by Chris Sinnott!
Decreased the average size of all dungeon floors by 20%
Added a level progression bar to the loading title and game over screens
Updated Game Over Screen
Updated Level Title Screen
Updated Fighter Inventory Screen
Level up system has been streamlined! Health and Speed will gradually increase up to the new level cap.
Updated Choose Spell Screen
Updated Resume Popup at the Guild Hall
Healer Class Changes: All classes now use the same Heal/Shield/Rez slots, with special perks for each class
Priest starts with extra essence
Elementalist now freezes nearby enemies on First Strike.
Battle Medic now poisons nearby enemies on First Strike.
Paladin Healing Radius has been decreased
Necromancer is hardcore: Starts with less essence but gains it on each enemy kill. Also damages enemy health when nearby!
There's not much left for LFH but look forward to one more level, a narrative pass, and of course...achievements! Stay safe and healthy out there.
-Jay
Update #14: Sound Pass
We're back with a big pass of sounds from my old Dungeon Defenders colleague, Afshin Cohen. Updates will be a little lighter as we polish through the holidays, but the full release is nearly here!
Features and Changes:
Beastmaster pet now distracts enemies like the Vanguard
Ice Wizard now channels an ice storm instead of throwing ice balls
Pyromancers attack speed doubled
Most non-enemy sound FX have been replaced with shiny, new ones
Happy Halloween!
Update 13: Item Overhaul
Today's update gives the support items in the game a well-deserved boost in effectiveness. Many items that had a percent chance to proc will now always activate on the first hit made by fighters, as well as general damage increases across the board. See what crazy item combinations you can come up with! Defender and Assassin had some quality of life changes too so give them a shot.
Changes and Features:
Mark of the Death God: Now marks on First Strike
Scorpion Venom: Poisons on First Strike.
Shrunken head proc chances increased
Cats Paw: Teleport cooldown reduced
Bear Trap: Ensnares on First Strike, ensnare duration increased
Explosive Eel Essence: Explodes on First Strike
Nasty Knuckles: Stuns on First Strike, stun duration increased
Deadly Dragon: Now executes enemies on First Strike, threshold increased
Electric Explosives: Always procs now
Putrid Corpse Mine: Always procs now
Bottled Plague: Now procs on First Strike
Electric Beltaloo: Proc chance increased
Healing Amulet: Healing increased, when following healer
Nasty Knuckles: Stuns Enemy on First Strike
Milk of the Muscle: Now causes damage on First Strike
Shakira the shield fairy now casts an extended shield when entering combat rooms
Nitro Skin Proc chance increased
Goofy Ghost: On First Strike, fears an enemy.
Deadly Dynasty is now the Participation Medal: Spawn gold after every combat room
Teleporter turtle only works on attacking and chasing now
Terror Rez Spell: Fears all enemies on Rez
Removed Armored Salmon
Removed Healy Heals
Removed Life Leach
Removed Life God Totem
Stuns are interrupted by damage now
Assassin now Stuns enemies for an extra long time on First Strike.
New Adventure now directs players to the tutorial on first-time play
New Status added to the game: Fear
Defender changes: now blocks all damage on a cooldown
Bone King Fight has been tweaked
Bugs and Fixes (A big thanks to our Discord members):
Assassin no long inflicts bleed
Fixed Rat Mother fight to allow looping again
Removed back button on spell selection screen for now.
Fixed Drop item feature from dropping items that cost gold