Genre: Simulator, Strategy, Indie, Card & Board Game
Spellcaster University
Spellcaster University at the TinyTeams festival
We are very happy to participate in the TinyTeams festival organized by Yogscas! It's a festival full of indie games developed by very small teams. For the duration of the event the game is at -10%, and it's also a great opportunity to discover a whole bunch of original creations made with passion.
The festival is here: https://bit.ly/TinyTeams20 ːsteamhappyː
I would like to take this opportunity to give you some information about our (tiny) team and the advancement of Spellcaster University. There's two of us on the team.There's my sister, who handles all the artwork, and there's me, the developer who's writing this post. It's very familial. From time to time we get help from family and friends for some tasks (Our artist brother made the music!), but all development and design is done by both of us. We've been on the project for more than two years, full time.
At the moment we are preparing the final release of Spellcaster University. There are still many things to do, and there are still some surprises and features to reveal between now and then. For the moment we still can't give a date.
Part of the engine is being re-written to improve stability and performance. We are also working with partners to bring new languages into the game. And of course we are planning new content! Here's a little preview that I stole from my graphic designer ;)
Thanks for reading !
Update - 0.94 Fire Witch
And here's our biggest content update since we started early access. Each room now has an improved visual as it evolves. That' s combined with a system of room upgrades that allows you to activate specific bonuses with the levels of your rooms. Ten new artefacts also join the game, and unlock themselves by playing the campaign in "Challenge" mode, which changes some of the rules of the game.
New : enhanced room improvement system. Earn points and unlock new options for your rooms by playing the room card again. New : Challenge mode, allowing to unlock new cards in all your games. Ten new artifacts to unlock. New : 30 new room options (ranging from "Oath of protection" to "Abyss Portal") New : Artifact "Painting"
Balance : chance of a positive outcome to the administrative dungeon event doubled. Balance : some events of the final "war victory" events now a bit easier. Balance : "Astrolabe" renamed "Armillary sphere" (because it's an armillary sphere and not an astrolabe, so it's a better name !) Balance : chances of magical aberrations dissipating on their own are reduced by 25%. Balance : chances of magical aberration apparition raised by 25%. Balance : "cristal ball" effect has been changed.
Fix : massive performance upgrade when looking at a character sheet. Fix : "Bloody Curse" now work correctly for every kind of ennemies (not only orcs). Fix : "Child-eater bed" now work as expected. Fix : settings window resizes correctly with variable resolutions. Fix : Archimage future conditions fixed. Fix : remove a crash because of water shader on greenhouse room. Fix : remove a bug with quest in the stats book. Fix : cards are now blocking raycast selection (you will now more pick a student by clicking on a card). Fix : events linked to the scriptorium are now working as expected. Fix : remove a bug on Pegasus that made him far too effective. Fix : remove a strange visual artifact from the options menu.
Meta : Upgrading the translation manager to allow for easier new translations of the game, and a better use of memory.
Update - 0.93 Brave Explorer
New : a new teacher for your school, she pays close attention to unruly students but doesn't always follow the magical safety rules.
Balance : normalization of component-generating artifacts (random component-generating artifacts are less efficient now, and other artifacts are more efficient now). Balance : recalculated ingredient generation system that makes winning combos a little less efficient, and removes the artificial limitation to two ingredients on hand. Balance : chance to get magical aberration increased by 4%. Balance : impact on evil advance when visiting orcs (third answer) reduced from 5% to 3%. Balance : reputation cost when visiting orcs (third answer) raised from -35 to -40. Balance : Trophy Room artifacts efficiency reduced from 100% to 50% (yeah... it's a huge nerf, but we must do it). Balance : teachers strike for coffe machine time reduced from 400s to 300s.
Fix : cumulative malus cannot produce negative learning anymore (a minimum rate has been set). Fix : remove a bug on dragging cards when loosing focus of the game. Fix : save menu show all saved games (even when there are a lot of saved games). Fix : remove some "stuck in the wall" bugs related to lateral rooms. Fix : corrupted saved game should no more block loading of another game. Fix : teachers hat, beard and hairs are now correctly outlined. Fix : remove a bug where changing alignment through item is always triggered. Fix : remove a bug where becoming syndicated through item is always triggered. Fix : cards dustbin no more stucked. Fix : global buff (like teachers strike) are now correctly removed. Fix : saved games now encoded in UTF-8. Should avoid corrupted files on some mac, some rare OS and in Korea (no jokes). Fix : remove a crash when speaking to the Adventurers Guild. Fix : remove a bug when right-clicking and moving students between houses. Fix : the grimoire artifact no longer gives bonuses to teachers. Fix : typos.
Update - 0.92 Vampire and Werewolf
This big update aims to introduce new content and migrate to a new version of Unity (our game engine). Many of the additions we're proposing will be refined (such as magic aberrations and special students) during early access. We are thinking about various ways to play with (new artifacts, new futures...). We have taken special care to keep the old savegames compatible, but the balance and dynamics of your games may be altered by the new additions (the infirmary should be much more interesting than before ;) ).
We are also trying to enrich the building mechanism of your schools: the trophy room is a first step towards that. We also want to make interactions with the factions more interesting, and we think the new alternative options mechanism is another step in the right direction.
Thank you for all your (often very kind <3) feedback. We are a very small team. We go as fast as we can when there is only one full time developer and one full time artist on a project. But we take note of every feedback / bug and one day they will be handled ...
New : 45 new futures to unlock New : magical aberrations affect students when learning magic. Use infirmary to heal them. New : a new teacher for your students, strong and charming ! New : 34 new alternative options when visiting neighbours, changing each time you go on the local map. New : Trophy room,"The artifacts, relics and decorations in this room also act on active characters in orthogonally adjacent rooms." New : 6 new events New : Vampire trait. Change skin and give powerful boost. New : Werewolf trait. Change skin and give powerful boost. New : Coffin bed. Transform user in vampire and produce shadow mana when vampire sleep. New : Lunar calendar atefact. Transform students in werewolf. Stronger with druidism. New : indicator on room cards when blocking top construction New : nicer support structure above cloister New : nicer support structure above Greenhouse New : Pegasus card can now be drawn New : Vampire recrutement card New : Werewolf recrutement card
Balance : werewolf spawn rate increased in forest level Balance : two more "Bright staff refectory" in Light deck (from 4 to 6) Balance : "Component supply" efficiency reduced by 15% Balance : money quest raised from 5000 to 6000 gold coins
Major fix : engine upgrade should improve global stability (moving from Unity 2018.1 to 2018.4) Fix : remove a buff in UI where some students sheets become small Fix : no more stucked students because of turtle map Fix : future list now correctly sized Fix : you can stop dragging a potion card without playing it Fix : fadeout at game loading longer Fix : time of day correctly saved now Fix : moving animals are leaving the school like other characters at end game Fix : better visibility for blocked event button Fix : music now correctly looping Fix : one Infirmary slot no more used as a work spot for the AI Fix : students no more in the Infirmary pointlessly Fix : infirmary now correctly healing life Fix : typos Fix : floating text positioning problem fixed Fix : remove a bug where sometimes the future window is shown by default on director office Fix : remove a bug preventing to open school rules Fix : remove a corruption problem of the Meta.xml file (which could crash the game at loading) Fix : some other minor bugs
Update - 0.91 Singing Raccoon
This update is in preparation for the big Mars update (expected in 3 weeks instead of 2). A bit of content, fixes, but we'll soon be back with new teachers, more futures, vampires and a lot of other stuff!
New : 31 new futures (many new "low level" futures giving mana, and some new "mid level" future giving new powers) New : more buffs icons New : details of the game modes available in the settings menu
Balance : the difficulty of the game now modifies the variation of needs, and can give additional resources / cards at the beginning of the game Balance : the speed of the game still affects the speed of the advance of the evil, but also affects the speed of learning of the students Balance : "Planeswalker" bonus reduced from 2% to 1.5% Balance : "Component supply" produce 50% less components Balance : "Ritual components" produce 50% less components Balance : standard components producer improved
Fix : typos (as ever) Fix : big bed version for teachers Fix : no more "?" at end of house name upon reloading Fix : removal of a large amount of unused assets (game a bit lighter) Fix : removal of an auto-screenshot system when leaving game, not used but error prone Fix : psy buff no more blocking needs augmentation Fix : "Remove" button for class now in correct language Fix : validated goals are correctly saved now Fix : automatic selection of future on end level doesn't break next future selection anymore Fix : no more books tooltip through rules and future list panel Fix : log cleaning resulting in a very slight but overall increase in performance on some configs Fix : remove a rare deck induced crash Fix : teachers are no longer looking to become student of the month (hopefully)
Update - 0.905 Grumpy Falcon
New : small banners with the names of the regions on the main map New : bigger and nicer button to close character sheet New : save files are much lighter (weight divided by about 5) New : tooltip show a timer for timed buff on characters New : more validation message for quests New : student ghost when students are killed (work in progress) New : the number of remaining steps is indicated on the final questline New : one new peasants event New : one new bureaucrat event (prepare to finally pay your Tax On Magic)
Balance : "Encyclopedia of magic beasts" prestige gain rise from 2 to 3 Balance : "Biography of the Lord of Evil" reputation gain rise from 30% to 50% Balance : "Ten simple tips to earn a lot" initial gold gain rise from 200 to 400 Balance : "Racist" trait no more allowed for new teachers, and renamed "Bully" Balance : "Archimage" future mana gain boost lowered from 2.5% to 1% Balance : "Archimage" future prestige raised from 3 to 4 Balance : "Coat of arms" prestige gain reduced by 17.5% Balance : all dragon efficiency increased by 50% (time to play some dragons !)
Fix : typos Fix : "Cloister of the Righteous" no longer show construction arrows on top Fix : "Stars Atlas" now working as expected Fix : diversified students are now able to gain good future as expected if powerful enough (like archmage, psionic, etc...) Fix : "Scholar's hand-eating flower" selection outline fixed Fix : "Tentacule" selection outline fixed Fix : "Patron" rule now working as expected Fix : "Annual competition" rule now working as expected Fix : "1 less year" rule now working as expected Fix : "Other" rules now correctly saved and loaded Fix : "Component supply" now much more efficient (as expected) Fix : "Paella ending" of the lake monster now working as expected Fix : Pirate captain option is now working as expected on final quest Fix : Trees should no longer go crazy when you do magic next to them Fix : buffs on teacher sheets are displayed from left (not center) Fix : characters no more stuck in the Stable with unicorn guinea pig Fix : "Barbarian" future recipe fixed Fix : smoother light change in desert and turtle stages Fix : camera correctly tuned to see high room on all stages Fix : remove a crash triggered by delayed events Fix : remove a bug when drawing cards from the adventurer guild Fix : "Red dragon" buff now working as expected
Update - 0.90 Tribal Queen
Another update focused on bugs. Some of the problems you reported are fixed (thanks to you), but not all of them. We are working on it. Your feedback regarding balance and gameplay is being discussed by the team, and we're thinking about what should (and shouldn't) be added to the game. See you in two weeks for the next update!
New : lowest graphics quality option offers better performance for low-end graphics cards than before
New / Fix : functional "room level" lens, displays the level of all rooms
New : increased firstname pool
Balance : the cost of answer 3 to the zombie visit event is now 425 instead of 325 shadow mana
Balance : accepting the Archimage quest give 10 prestige (instead of 5)
Fix : typos
Fix : fixes a crash caused by mouse hovering over corrupted objects
Fix : remove possibility to drag student sheet when choosing future
Fix : possibility to click on all classes when recruiting
Fix : selection bug on some artefact, improve stability on long game
Fix : the artifacts of the Guinea-pig tower are no longer removed at loading
Fix : the artifacts of the Bright Refectory are no longer removed at loading
Fix : remove a bug in student sheet in class menu
Fix : strange and mysterious "professor same recrutement sheet bug" is fixed (thanks to your feedback)
Fix : Weapons racks now produce the correct kind of mana
Fix : small performance boost for mac users (through graphics API autoselection)
Fix : no more "small" student sheet during recruitment
Fix : cards can only be moved with the left button pressed. Fixes some bugs / visual effects when playing cards
Fix : space bar no longer conflicts with the UI
Fix : joystick no longer conflicts with the camera
Fix : professor recrutement sheet only selectable using left click now
Fix : all futures are now shown on the director office panel (even clockmaker, ghoul, etc...)
Fix : students no longer pass through the walls of the rooms with walled side entrances
Fix : Balance no longer give a malus for next levels
Fix : Golem no longer give a malus for next levels
Some news about early access
Hi! We're making a little announcement to let you know about our ambitions for Spellcaster University. First of all, we're attentive to your numerous feedback. We take care to release an update at least every two weeks. Every update is an opportunity to improve some aspect of the game, but we are a small team and we can't promise to solve every problem in a few day, but we will fix it eventually. All the energy of our mini team is deployed on Spellcaster University.
In short, here is our roadmap in picture: Please keep in mind that these are the big steps. Between all this, we're working on the content, the bugs, and the UI. And maybe we'll have to add other big steps depending on your feedback.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you warmly for your enthusiasm and your exceptional support over the last few days.
So, we leave you now, your students are waiting for you!
Update 0.891 - Rude Warrior Hotfix
An update made quickly after the many feedback from this weekend to fix some major bugs. No new content so, only fixes.
Major fix : strange behaviour of needs on low or high difficulty fixed Fix : not more stuck in director's office Major fix : remove a crash caused by Balance or Golem on level change Major fix : fix a saved game corruption caused by golem and Balance Major fix : fix a specific forest crash Fix : playing two campaigns in a row no longer causes bugs at the end of the first level Fix : some typos Fix : visual artefact on dress change menu
0.88 Naive Halfling
This new update focuses mainly on various bugs and crashes. As usual, we still have a lot of things to fix (yeah, there is still some crashes) but it's progressing. Few new features though, but we are preparing two big things. In particular to extend the game's lifespan. Stay tuned :).
New : some new log texts
Balance : "Scholar's hand-eating flower" artefact is now stronger (lower life lost, improve boredom diminution)
Fix : typos Fix : map blinking at normal speed between two campaign levels Fix : cards language is correctly changed now Fix : crash with day-night light system fixed Fix : assassin and master assassin bonus work now as intended Major fix : crash caused by dynamic batching removed Fix : improved batching performances Fix : rare crash when removing a card from hand fixed Fix : crash at launch on some config fixed Fix : volume and music parameters now correctly saved Fix : timed events are now delayed like any other event Fix : restrict special character use for school name in order to avoid path bugs Fix : remove a crash when characters die in battle Fix : remove a crash when loading two games in same game session Fix : remove a bug on school rules panel opening
