Lost Flame
hotfix when playing in Steam offline mode
This is a small hotfix that sorts out the issue when log file is being spammed with error messages when Steam is in offline mode - that sometimes results in game crash.
Cheers,
Bartek
0.17.18b hotfix
This is a small hotfix:
- fixed autoexplore getting stuck in Hythe
- fixed game sometimes freezing when traveling through Pyres
- fixed wrong order of single handed/2handed encumbrance in item description
Cheers,
Bartek
0.17.18 is live
0.17.18 is live! This is another big update expanding Lost Flame in several directions. Please join Lost Flame's Discord server if you want to chat about the game, get notified about much more frequent beta branch updates or just hang around!
Autoexplore
Newest update introduces autoexplore. Just press 'z' and let your character automatically travel to the nearest unexplored tile while collecting valuable items. Once all accessible locations are explored, your character will travel to the nearest unused stairs. You can also use this function during more simple skirmishes as autoexplore will perform basic attacks and use basic skills against the enemies.
Dynamic attack markers
After this update monster attack markers will grow bigger the closer they are to landing. The most important "big" marker is shown 10 ticks before landing, so it allows to land an easy parry or lets you know that it's last opportunity to dodge (assuming you have base speed). If the marker is hovering on the player's character, the character is shown in black if the attack is <=10 ticks to landing and white otherwise. Of course some enemies are attacking faster, so the opportunity to perfectly dodge and parry will not always be there.
Encumbrance system & mobility
Ok, hear me out - this update introduces encumbrance system. Each equippable item (other than jewelry) has an encumbrance value assigned and with higher encumbrance some of the mobility skills are not available (e.g. jump over, lunge, jump away, etc.). However! now "heavy" armor items give stronger defense - most notably kite shields and tower shields. Heavy shields no longer need time to become readied, they just block 2-3 hits each turn at the cost of high encumbrance. But that's not all, now you can dual wield 2 heavy weapons (greatswords, halberds, etc) and be the heaviest hitter you can imagine, just the encumbrance cost of wielding 2 such weapons will be hefty.
To flesh it out new ability is being introduced - 'tumble'. Tumble allows to cross 2 tiles in 1 action. It's cooldown is dependent on encumbrance. With super low encumbrance it has no cooldown at all and costs no stamina, so you can actually try to just grab a short sword, buckler and nothing else and you can be a super mobile agile skirmisher.
Weapons and armor also got rebalanced - obsidian is the strongest but heaviest material, while silver is the lightest one, adamantite is something in between.
Another related change is a feasible unarmed build - no weapons and no shields allows you to strike twice for 1 base damage and parry with very low cooldown. Attacking stunned enemies with bare hands buffs the damage a lot. Also any rings buffing on-hit damage (of damage, glacier, etc) work on both strikes. Remember that you can also wield rings and amulets for 2 more jewelry slots, which still allows you to fight unarmed!
Evocations
Unlock the secrets of arcane magic with the introduction of three distinct schools of magic: witchcraft, waxmancy, and carnomancy, each boasting five related evocations. Discover items that boost your magic skill level (e.g., witchcraft +3) and gain access to new evocations as you progress your magic skill level.
Evocations are fueled by a new stat called attunement, which can also be increased by magical items. Attunement also increases the effectiveness of some of the wands and all elemental damage that you deal, so it's not a dead stat even without magic. Additionally, many rings that previously only affected weapon attacks now also augment damage-dealing evocations.
Hythe Monastery small rework and new alternate path
Hythe Monastery has undergone a transformation. Beneath its solemn halls lies a network of catacombs leading to the Castle Istimid, however every now and then there will be a new, optional, more intense (and shorter) path available which skips Istimid completely.
Shared leadeboard
Say farewell to weekly runs, as they make way for a more inclusive shared leaderboard. Now, all your runs are recorded, complete with detailed statistics and insights. The game tracks various types of stats across multiple runs, including enemies defeated, bottle knight summons, and successful parries. You can easily access and explore these stats from the menu, with plans to expand this feature with even more stat tracking in the future.
There are also multiple smaller changes and fixes introduced:
smaller but still noteworthy:
- added the option to switch left-right weapon at no stamina and time cost (hotkey 'p')
- added a small area near Hythe with all tutorial tablets if you want to reread them after you've completed tutorial
- blessed scrolls of teleport allow you to select where you want to teleport
- cursed scrolls of teleport will teleport you to a nearby group of monsters (similar like soulless witch ability)
- improved the game stability significantly
- added a warning icon to enemies which have weapons with potential very high damage equipped (e.g.
- of thirst,
- of brutality, Smasher unique axe)
- more options for crafting - added some randomized crafts too, so crafting options are not the same each game
- randomized crafts and items for sale are now based on world seed
- bottle knight will no longer equip identified cursed items (unless you hand it to him directly)
- new randomized rooms in Abysm
- new Abysm monsters
- multiple new affixes, uniques, rings and wands
- rings and amulets are now shown in a separate row in inventory
- shades in Neith now attack anything that is not a shade, not only you
- ranged enemies will be less willing to run away and will attack more aggressively, so chasing should be slightly easier
- some of the staves affixes are more potent when not wielding other weapons or shields (you can still wield a ring or amulet in your offhand)
- shades will now charge up before cursing your equipment, now you have around 20 ticks to either break line of sight or kill them before your equipment gets cursed
- bottle knight will avoid acid and poison better
- removed the penetration stat from the weapons
- enemies will use their push back attacks less often and those attack have been tuned down noticeably
- shortened some of the game areas (Mage's Chambers by 1 level, poison vault by 1 level, Castle Istimid has smaller maps)
- reworked halberds abilities a little bit (all are faster, stab instead of halberd strike, halberd slash is much faster but no longer strikes nearby tiles)
- most weapon skills now take attack speed into consideration (so slow monsters will no longer attack faster with skills such as stab, also most skills will be faster now from player's persepective)
- parry is now bound to the same key for all weapons (default: 'w')
- new music for Calven Duning
- added on-screen notification for monsters and player standing on acid or web, or when getting petrified
- most ranged enemies will appear even outside of FoW when attacking or aiming at the player (e.g flamelobbers, Nixie, all shades)
- cooldown for skills which are on cooldown is now shown on the skills tab
- if you hover over an enemy (with mouse or 'l'ook ability) only their attack markers will be shown, so if you want to you can analyze which enemy is attacking where in a bigger fight
- added a bunch of new strong affixes to staves
less noteworthy:
- fixed Arthar Duning attack marker not being accurate
- added multiple missing sounds
- world seed is shown in bottom right corner when starting the game
- Gargoyle's Cuirass no longer pushes allies away
- added the ability to attack only with right hand weapon (e.g. useful when wielding two heavy weapons, for lower stamina cost), hotkey 's'
- updated tutorial with new info tablets
- shield maiden's amulet no longer hurts allies
- fixed Olivar Steros teleporting the player to Royal Dungeon instead of Neith
- new sprites for tentacles
- cleaned up some items descriptions
- fixed some of the tiles not showing properly on minimap (e.g. prison bars)
- changed order of skills to be more consistent with other items for long swords and great axes
- fixed ctrl+move stopping at front of allies (now it will swap with them into travel direction)
- fixed section selection in vendors being reset to "all" after buying or crafting an item
- fixed wrong attack marker for Cyclone unique halberd
- lowered the acid damage from tentacle a little bit
- one new scroll
- Calven Duning's sword now always has the subdual affix
- ring of fires changed to exploding when hitting something (so still pretty bad for melee combat, but can be useful with evocations, or other ranged builds)
- The Archmage now does not heal after escaping to Neith
- staves now can parry
- cleared up some in-game text messages
- lowered the price for shields a little
- minor performance improvements (mostly when having lots of allies)
- mending stone now also heals all visible allies
- now monsters which are summoned in a distorted area/world will also get distorted
- fixed main menu not respecting keybindings from options.config
- multishot ability is now faster
- fixed some skill tooltips
- Ivar will spit back any key you try to feed him
- wands of summon monster will summon more powerful monsters with higher enchant
- Ngotraimuucs increasing poison level will displace items that were on a poison tile
- reduced the chance of enemies using shield bash attack
- fixed sparkling elixirs being generated from rings with affixes
- fixed swing and lunge being blocked by an enemy which died during swing part of the skill
- added ambient sound to the destroyed barrier near Abysm
- fixed arrows changing their enchant level randomly when being fired
- reworked gladiator's ring to being active when not wielding any shields
- children of Iphe will no longer transform into living obsidian
- reduced the size of the circular version of hungry caverns
- ctrl+move will no longer walk into acid or poison
- fixed mouse incorrectly showing which tile is aimed on smaller maps
- fixed polymorphed mobs not dropping their original equipment
- removed doors in Cadell's cell which could potentially hardlock the player if entering the room "from the back"
- fixed a bug which would freeze the game when quickly spamming enter near pyres
- living obsidian can no longer be randomly summoned in Hythe Monastery
- blood-soaked scoria is no longer destroyed in NG+
- fixed all campfires still accessible after moving to NG+
- fixed double kill notification appearing after killing a polymorphed unique monster
Hope you enjoy the new content!
Bartek
Added the option to force specific resolution in game and fixed on bug
- Open game console/chat (~)
- type resolution:WIDTHxHEIGHT e.g resolution:3840x2160
- Press enter
I suggest to use it with borderless or windowed mode. Non-standard resolution might not work in full screen
Also fixed on bug where game would crash if player got teleported onto a primordial Child of Iphe
0.16.16 small fixes
* fixed an issue where player's character would sometimes freeze randomly
* fixed mini map showing previous area after using scroll of travel
* fixed a performance bug related to mini map rendering
* fixed mini map sometimes slightly glitching when moving in a bigger area
* fixed a few spelling mistakes
* Nixie slightly less hp
* fixed visited locations and experienced events being mixed up in post game character log
* fixed no music being played in Prison Cells
* removed reference to dexterity from disarm skill description
* added a 16 tick delay to potion of polymorph effect, if the player cures during this period, the polymorph will not happen
Fixed game freezing when combining vital burst and elemental siphoning
Added a toggle to turn off the looped heavy breathing when out of stamina
0.16.15b is live on default branch
Version 0.16 is going live! Join Lost Flame's discord if you want to follow the beta branch changes, or just chat!
This is another big update containing changes from the past 3 months of work and I can imagine in 2 or 3 such updates the game will reach 1.0 state (so somewhere between december and march).
Graphical overhaul
The update introduces smoother "animations" for characters moving and attacking, monsters gibbing into pieces when killed and on-screen status and damage indicators.
You can also find elements of the UI updated:
Semi-permadeath mode
The update introduces new optional semi-permadeath mode, which is explained in the new tutorial. When running the game for the first time it will be started in this mode.
In short: dying will reload the game to the last pyre that you've found (losing all progress since then) and get your character debuffed with more and more curses (which can be removed with some items). At some point you will get 'doomed' debuff, and if you die before removing it the game will be over.
This usually gives 2-3 additional chances, before the number of curses gets too overwhelming (although it's possible with some builds to survive more deaths).
This also replaces the previous difficulty level system - now the game is always played on former "normal" difficulty.
Mouse control QoL
This update introduces several improvements for mouse control, including things such as better inventory management, "smart" skill usage, better character control. You can find the details below:
- added 'smart skills' when using mouse. When clicking an enemy that is 1 tile away your character will use the 'lunge' skill if it's available. If clicking an enemy that is 1 tile away and lunge is not available 'stab' will be used. When clicking behind a nearby enemy 'jump over' will be used if available. I plan to expand it with more skills in the future
- double clicking or right clicking an item in inventory will cause a default action to happen depending on item type (equip/unequip/use)
- when using mouse to walk around if any of allies stand in your way you will swap places with them instead of being stopped
- you can use mouse wheel to browse through your skills
- sped up the camera when using mouse controls
- hovering mouse on doors, chest or enemy, will properly mark the tile visually
- waiting using mouse (by clicking on your character) will rest until stamina is restored
Crimson pyre rework/Curse system
Crimson pyre event is completely reworked. Now carrying cursed items for a longer time will result in the player getting cursed. Curses are various effect which usually debuff the player's character. At some point if the player does not address those curses they will get doomed. Getting doomed makes all of the equipment cursed. The player will no longer be forced into Neith when doomed, however if whole equipment is cursed, the player will be given the option to travel to Neith through a pyre.
There are some ways to remove those curses and doomed debuff - either use blessed scrolls of remove curse, which remove one of such curses, or travel to Neith where blight eaters can be found. Blight eaters are unusual type of shades - they uncurse your equipment and killing them removes one of the curses from the player.
Abysm tunnels and new locations
The update introduces two small locations.
Desolate Lighthouse is a late game area just east of the Grey Shore accessible at the very start with a unique monster which built its nest around a blood-soaked scoria and absorbed some if its time controlling power.
The Buried Retreat hidden deep in the Abysm which introduces a campfire in a very remote location and an NPC offering a new way to trade with the player
The update also introduces a number of tunnels all over the Hiraeth. The tunnels are getting spread by the Abysm to reach something.. And you can use them to do some shortcutting between distant areas. One of such tunnels can be found before Tower of Mirth. Be aware that the tunnels are pretty dangerous!
Hurt boss tiles
All bosses received additional tiles showing them getting more and more hurt.
New ending
The update introduces new way to end the game - now you can try to restore the barrier that used to surround the Abysm.
Other changes
New content
- blood-soaked scoria can now be empowered with scrolls of power, using it will bring your character back to the Gray Shore and regenerate all areas with beefed up versions of monsters (NG+ style)
- achieving any of the game endings will show a text description of the consequences of the player's choices
- added flavor texts for all potions, scrolls and a bunch of other items
- scroll of travel now behaves slightly different, when used in some areas it will teleport you to other predefined places
- changed how cursed scrolls of travel work - now they will also grab all nearby allies and enemies with you
- Added a new type of "big" monsters abyss worms
- Reworked the early game tutorial - the original tutorial level got removed, now when a new player starts a game their early levels will be generated slightly differently and will include stone tablets that can be read for some tips on how to play the game
- Added 2 new types of shades
- various mainland areas have names now - there is no "mainland" area name displayed anymore
- added a simple rain effect to the swamps before the Tower of Mirth
- added 13 new Steam achievements
- added much more webs in the Northern Tunnel
- blood-soaked scoria can now also be found deep in the Abysm
- added a basic sea wave "animation" on the Grey Shore
- added a very basic campfire "animation"
- mages summoning flesh will no longer show blinking dots before the spell procs
- some minor changes around Arnet's Quarters
- when traveling through campfire you will appear on the other side of it, not top left corner every time
- changed slightly how player's stats are shown in the inventory
- added music to Sisterhood area
- updated sprites for Children of Iphe
Bug fixes
- added missing sounds to several different effects
- fixed Deflector short sword's name being shown wrongly when unidentified
- fixed ring of regeneration desription being shown twice
- removed the mini blink when opening the first door at Tower of Mirth 3
- fixed binding short cuts to items not being usable in the turn they were created
- essence will no longer be generated cursed or blessed
- changed the death message for automations to "crumbles to dust"
- cleaned up description for brutality affix
- cleaned up description for bleed effects
- changed font in player inventory to a more readable one
- bosses blocking stairs will now also block campfires (this only affects one area)
- fixed scroll of power and scroll of travel interaction
- changed the ladder tile to the correct one on passage between Hall of Candles 2 and Hall of Candles 1
- cleaned up descriptions, fixed some typos for a bunch of items
- Fixed a bug where sometimes you would hear the waves ambient sound in menu when quickly closing the game after start
- Now both Arnet and Grand Executioner need to be killed to unblock the ladder at their area
- the small hp bar near player's character is no longer displayed
- fixed acid and web not being shown on an open door tile
- fixed distorted monsters not having full hp after an area reset
- Whirlwind spear no longer hits allies
- fixed some singular/plural text messages for plural items (e.g. trousers, greaves)
- fixed minimap not always scaling properly when changing resolution
- fixed the sea ambient sound starting before the game actually starts sometimes
- a small shadow no longer shows in the middle of a tile when standing below a "high" tile, such as a tree or Thayer's furnace
- removed any graphical artifacts that sometimes shown on some graphical scaling values
- killing children of Iphe will log them as children of Iphe, not whatever they were trasnformed into
- fixed some monsters having corrupted name when being distorted
- ring of blood spurt no longer harms allies
- fixed a bug where low-stamina heavy breathing would sometimes not stop on death
- fixed the color of feathered creature, depending if it's ally or not
- ring of fowl now works correctly if given to bottle knight and does not agro npcs in Hythe
- fixed a bug where game would behave weirdly if bottle knight had spear and rope and got disappeared when having a hooked enemy
QoL changes
- distortion level is shown near the area's name above the minimap
- when Calven Dunning is killed all other nearby enemies will die 1 by 1
- essence is now autopicked up, like other consumables
- using 'l'ook command will start the cursor from the player position instead of the mouse's cursor
- Brokbrog's 'feed items' screen will no longer close after selecting an item, making it easier to feed him multiple items
- increased the size of the box around status icons in top left corner
- when carrying a shield and the shield is not readied, an empty shield icon will be displayed in the status area (top left corner)
- changed the color of the chat notification whenever someone wins the game
- lowered volume of poison damage and sword attacks slightly
- changed the high pitched hound yelp into a different sound
- added visual notifications for "petrifying", "stunned" and "confused" effects
- Smasher great axe now has a text notification when its effect procs
- changed the game default resolution, when starting it first time ever, to full screen borderless mode
- added option to clear F1-F12 binding
Balance changes
- reduced the weekly run score for the easier wins
- added a few more campfires throughout the game
- fixed the flame wave not disappearing when The Archmage escapes to Neith
- Headguard of Frozen Dusk reduces sight even more, however enhanting it weakens the debuff
- executioner's essence can no longer be used to craft executioner's ring - changed to ring of punishment
- added petrification resistance for Archmage and Olivar Steros
- being invisible now grants a dodge bonus
- attacking from invisibility grants 20% to hit bonus
- increased the probability of scrolls of travel and scrolls of power to spawn
- sweep around greatsword attack no longer self stuns for 1 turn, increased stamina cost to 5
- soulless witches got higher cooldown for 'teleport enemy' attack
- scroll of antimagic - reduced the duration of the buff
- scroll of antimagic now also grants polymorph immunity
- when enemy disarms you, your weapon will always drop to the ground where you are standing. If any item was there before, the item will be displaced to a nearby free tile.
- eating Iphe's essence will cause a random debuff (similar as when attacked by ||Primordial Child of Iphe||)
- bottle knight no longer has a timer after which he disappears - he will only disappear when hurt heavily or after using square bottle again
- wand of ice storm - increased the damage
- executioner's ring - reduced the base percentage chance of beheading 20%->15%
Hope you have fun!
Bartek