Do You Dare Descent Into Darkness? - Update 5 OUT NOW!
Greetings Dice Slingers,
Update #5 has just been released for SpellRogue! This is a rather large update for us, full of exciting new ways to play along with new content, achievements, unlocks and a whole slew of improvements and reworks to supporting features and UI.
Ancient Remains of a Bygone Era
First off, Update #5 introduces the new boss Ancient Skull and Ribcage. A harrowing fight that certainly poses a threat. Do you choose to destroy the Ribcage to avoid it Vexing your dice and blocking damage, or is it better to go for the Skull to attempt to end the fight early?
“Descent” Difficulty
As mentioned in a previous post, we have reworked the difficulty system. We now call it “Descent” and there are currently 9 stages, each adding layers of challenges to overcome!
From the first stage a Mutator must be chosen at the start of each act. We really like this approach, as it spreads the difficulty bump and complexity out over a full run. This means you continue to make important decisions throughout a run and are less often pigeonholed into a build from the start. Other Descent stages provide increased difficulty in the form of increased enemy Health and Damage, less player starting Health, increased shop prices and of course increasing the severity of the Mutator draft itself. Mutators sometimes come with a cost or reward attached to it. These can range from gaining Potions, Artifacts and Shards to losing max HP, Spells or Gold and many other types too.
If you end up missing the previous difficulty system, don't worry! It is now available in the new Custom Mode system for those that prefer the large mutator draft at the start of a run.
Custom Mode
Update 5 also includes new ways to customize your experience of SpellRogue. Enabling "Custom Mode" allows you to put together a selection of Modifiers which can substantially change how you play, or you can simply make small tweaks to suit how you want to enjoy the game.
The system also includes a series of "Presets" which are groups of modifiers that go well together, and are a great place to start exploring what the system has to offer. You unlock Custom Mode once you have won 3 times, and more Presets and Modifiers as you continue to win additional games.
Customize your next run by selecting a Preset like Turbo, or mix and match Modifiers to your heart's content!
Note that Steam Achievements and Descent stage progression does not count for Custom Mode runs, as you could otherwise simply put together an easy-mode to reach the top stages - you gotta earn those wins!
The Codex and overhauled progression
The “meta layer” of the game has historically been somewhat confusing, so we put a ton of effort into how we present your progress and unlock new content. We now have a single menu - “The Codex” - that holds all your knowledge and any relevant information.
For instance, The Codex shows what you can unlock by completing objectives (such as “gain 25 Blessing”), or how far along you are in Descent with various Dice Slingers. It also contains the Run History and Catalogs for all the Items, Mutators and Enemies you encounter throughout the game.
We have also streamlined unlocks by removing the Gold Dice tokens and milestones in addition to improving the UI with added feedback such as showing pop ups whenever you complete an objective or achievement:
Each Dice Slinger now has 10 levels, where each “level up” unlocks either Spells and Artifacts you can start a run with.
Unlock Objectives are still available which unlock additional Spells, Artifacts and Rituals.
Steam Achievements - which in general are harder Objectives - no longer unlocks anything, and simply exist for bragging rights.
We also track which items you have seen in previous runs and which of them that you have won Runs with already, allowing you to challenge yourself playing with items which generally see less use. We now also display the highest Descent Stage win when picking loadouts and starter Artifacts, to give you more goals to pursue, while also providing a smoother introduction to the different features of the game.
Player Profiles
With all these meta changes in Update #5, we are also introducing Player Profiles! You can now easily start a new playthrough to experience SpellRogue from the beginning, and also let other people play on their own profile without impacting your progress.
NOTE: While we keep some progress from earlier versions, you might want to start a new profile when starting to play Update 5, if you want to experience the new progression flow in the intended way.
Map Optimization
As described in a previous Dev Blog post, we have made substantial upgrades and optimizations to how we generate maps. With this improved control we are better able to avoid generating identical paths and allow for even more meaningful choices. This is a somewhat subtle change, but we think it’s providing very engaging maps! As a bonus, the new flexibility allows us to make huge and unique maps for the new Custom Mode!
Simple Keywords
And finally a small but heavily requested change is simpler or shorter descriptions for Spells. We have added a setting in the options to toggle “keywords titles” off, which cuts down the text for e.g. Spells and Rituals. So give it a try - we can’t go back after having it on ourselves!
We are also considering increasing text size with this setting, but didn’t get to it in time for update #5.
Translations
We have unfortunately not been able to update other languages yet for all the new UI and content in this version, but rest assured that we will be adding translations for everything in future updates!
There’s a huge amount of changes besides the ones mentioned above, so have a look at the changelog below for more details!
SpellRogue 0.9.5: "Descent Into Darkness!"
Overview
New Act 1 boss: Ancient Skull and Ribcage!
9 new Spells, 7 artifacts!
28 new Mutators + their variants!
38 New Achievements & 29 New Unlock Objectives!
Feature: New “Descent” difficulty system with 9 stages
Feature: Added “Custom Mode” with Presets & Modifiers to customize runs
Feature: Added “Player Profiles” menu
Feature: Starting Artifact is now selected before the run
Overhauled progression: Additional stats and new Unlocks & Achievements
New map generation algorithm: Improved for speed and better results
QOL: Added “Show Keyword Names” option to shorten effect descriptions
QOL: Sanctuaries now auto close after choice has been made
QOL: Removed Shop’s “are you sure you want to leave” popup for mouse and keyboard
QOL: Various status effect icons changed
QOL: Made Yes/No dialog popups easier to read
QOL: Gamepad improvements and changes
QOL: Artifacts, Mutators and Status Effects plays a quick animation when about to trigger
UI: New "Codex" menu (progression & knowledge), accessible in character selection and Pause menu
UI: Overhauled loadout screen
UI: New Settings and Pause menu
UI: Added “Abandon Game” in Pause menu
UI: End Screen and Summary Screens improved
UI: Added “Win” star to Spells, Artifacts, Rituals, Mutators
UI: Added “Won with this Spell” text+icon when inspecting spells where this is true
UI: Added “Shard slot” UI to Signature spells
Balance: Buffed some Spells and Spell upgrades with low pick or win rates
Balance: Mutator values generally decreased across the board.
Balance: Adjusted frequency weights for how often certain Mutators appear in drafts.
Balance: Removed some Mutators that didn’t work well.
Balance: Some Rituals have gotten an earlier cast point.
Patch Notes
Bug fixes
Bug Fixes with 🧙 has been reported by the community. A gigantic thank you to all the testers and players who gives feedback and help us make SpellRogue what it is! ❤️
🧙Fixed Blood Circle not actually costing HP 🧙Fixed Shadowfire “No valid intent” 🧙Fixed Stifle+ only mutes 1 turn 🧙Fixed “No block on turn 2” Mutator 🧙Fixed various “Dice Rotation Issues” Fixed Critical VFX on enemies looking weird 🧙Fixed issue with Spells drafts having Runes they should not have (+2 block on Inner Storm) 🧙Fixed Spell Echo + Rising Torrent interaction 🧙Fixed Glacial triggering instead of Surf 🧙Fixed Stone Meld not being considered a source of Block by Everguard 🧙Fixed Artifact draft + UI menu clipping issue 🧙Fixed Lifelink not specifying it expires on end of turn 🧙Fixed Rod of Resurgence not triggering 🧙Fixed Ashfall + Broken interaction 🧙Fixed red HP loss text in upper left on final boss victory 🧙Fixed some various text and localization issues 🧙Fixed Staff of Lightning + Delicate issue Fixed some descriptions not using Attack-keyword Fixed Alchemy map issue 🧙Fixed Malady + Tempest trigger issue Fixed dice split/overflow weighted result due to bug 🧙Fixed Undying mutator + Djinn interaction 🧙Fixed Decrepit+ triggering only once 🧙Fixed Fluctuates Poison not affected by Elemental Overdrive 🧙Fixed Incendiary + Elemental Overdrive interactions Fixed Sanctuary disenchant spell option not working correctly with save/load Fixed that some Cursed Artifacts not showing up in Codex 🧙Fixed Rampart Upgrade A being able to target muted spells 🧙Fixed Red Minerals + no-charge spells interaction Fixed various unlocks and achievements not being progressed 🧙Fixed random Events being able to softlock game in some cases 🧙Fixed random Events “No valid targets” text issue 🧙Fixed Achievement “Voidstar” being transferred even though its substantially different 🧙Fixed Contamination upgraded tooltip issue 🧙Fixed M’olly and “On dice rolled” interactions Fixed several “Turn N:” artifacts not being previewed correctly
And tons more undocumented bugs.
Content Changes
NEW
NEW: Spell (Void) ANTI-LIFE 'Deal 6 Damage 2 times to all enemies. Receive 1 Vexed.' NEW: Spell (Void) ETHEREAL 'Gain 1 Dodge. Mute for 3 turns.' NEW: Spell (Void) INEXPLICABLE 'Apply 1 Dazed and 1 Marked to all enemies. Destroy random Dice.' NEW: Spell (Void) ONYX LANCE 'Deal 12 Damage. Enchant lowest Dice with Silence.' NEW: Spell (Earth) ANOINTED IMPACT 'Deal 6 Damage. Increase by 9 if able to remove 1 Blessing.' NEW: Spell (Earth) CONSECRATE 'Roll 1 dice1-dice4. Gain 1 Blessing.' NEW: Spell (Earth) INTERVENTION 'Gain 5 Block. Increase by 5 if able to remove 1 Blessing.' NEW: Spell (Fire) BOIL 'Deal 5 Damage. If Weak on target: Increase by 5.' NEW: Spell (Water) TRICKLE 'Apply 1 Poison. Increase by 1 per Attack Spell cast this turn.'
NEW: Artifact MONSOON MANTLE 'Cast 10 Countdown Spells: Gain 1 Rain.' NEW: Artifact NAUTILUS 'Turn 1: Gain 1 Reinforce.' NEW: Artifact SERPENT'S KISS 'Gain 5+ Block from a single Spell cast: Apply 1 Poison to random enemy.' NEW: Artifact TIDEBREAKER 'End of round: Block is converted to Fury.' NEW: Artifact COUP DE GRACE 'Apply 1 Marked to the first enemy that goes below 50% Health in a combat.' NEW: Artifact DUALITY DISC 'Turn 1: Increase a random Spell's Damage and another Spell's Block by 1.' NEW: Artifact IGNIS INSIGNIA 'Cast 4 Utility Spells: Apply 1 Weak to ALL enemies.'
NEW: Mutator ACCELERATED CHANGE 'When entering first 3 tiles, pick a level 1 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator ACCELERATED CHANGE+ 'When entering first 3 tiles, pick a level 2 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator ACCELERATED CHANGE++ 'When entering first 3 tiles, pick a level 3 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator ACCELERATED CHANGE+++ 'When entering first 3 tiles, pick a level 4 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator BOLSTERED 'Normal enemies have +15% max Health.' NEW: Mutator BOLSTERED+ 'Normal enemies have +30% max Health.' NEW: Mutator BOLSTERED++ 'Normal enemies have +50% max Health.' NEW: Mutator DEADLY 'During Normal Battles, enemies start with 1 Power.' NEW: Mutator DEADLY+ 'During Normal Battles, enemies start with 2 Power.' NEW: Mutator DEADLY++ 'During Normal Battles, enemies start with 3 Power.' NEW: Mutator DEADLY+++ 'During Normal Battles, enemies start with 4 Power.' NEW: Mutator DEADLY++++ 'During Normal Battles, enemies start with 5 Power.' NEW: Mutator DULLING 'After casting an Attack Spell, reduce its Damage by -1 until next turn.' NEW: Mutator DULLING+ 'After casting an Attack Spell, reduce its Damage by -2 until next turn.' NEW: Mutator ECHO SNARE 'Every 2nd turn: Receive 1 Suppress.' NEW: Mutator ECHO SNARE+ 'Every turn: Receive 1 Suppress.' NEW: Mutator EVOLVING ELITES 'When entering Elite battle, pick a level 1 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator EVOLVING ELITES+ 'When entering Elite battle, pick a level 2 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator EVOLVING ELITES++ 'When entering Elite battle, pick a level 3 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator EVOLVING ELITES+++ 'When entering Elite battle, pick a level 4 Mutator.' NEW: Mutator FATIGUED 'During turn 4, cannot gain any Block.' NEW: Mutator FATIGUED+ 'During turn 3, cannot gain any Block.' NEW: Mutator FATIGUED++ 'During turn 2, cannot gain any Block.' NEW: Mutator FINAL GIFT 'On enemy death: All enemies gain Undying.' NEW: Mutator FRANTIC 'End of each round: A random enemy gains 1 Power.' NEW: Mutator FRANTIC+ 'End of each round: A random enemy gains 2 Power.' NEW: Mutator FRANTIC++ 'End of each round: A random enemy gains 3 Power.' NEW: Mutator FRAIL MANA 'Combat start: Activate a Sap Trap' NEW: Mutator FUROR 'Combat start: A random enemy gains Frenzy.' NEW: Mutator FUROR+ 'Combat start: ALL enemies gains Frenzy.' NEW: Mutator HARMFUL MANA 'Combat start: Activate a Damage Trap.' NEW: Mutator HYSTERICAL STRENGTH 'Every 3rd turn: A random enemy gains 1 Critical.' NEW: Mutator HYSTERICAL STRENGTH+ 'Every 2nd turn: A random enemy gains 1 Critical.' NEW: Mutator HYSTERICAL STRENGTH++ 'Every turn: A random enemy gains 1 Critical.' NEW: Mutator IMPERVIOUS 'Turn 2: ALL enemies gain Invulnerable.' NEW: Mutator IMPERVIOUS+ 'Turn 1: ALL enemies gain Invulnerable.' NEW: Mutator IMPERVIOUS++ 'Turn 1 & 2: LL enemies gain Invulnerable.' NEW: Mutator LAST ACT 'During turn 1, whenever an enemy dies, receive 10 Damage.' NEW: Mutator LAST ACT+ 'During turn 1, whenever an enemy dies, receive 20 Damage.' NEW: Mutator MALADY+ 'End of each turn: Receive 2 Damage for each Charge left on Spells.' NEW: Mutator MALFORMATION 'Enemies start with 4 Regeneration.' NEW: Mutator MALFORMATION+ 'Enemies start with 8 Regeneration.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY BOSSES 'During Boss Battles, enemies start with 1 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY BOSSES+ 'During Boss Battles, enemies start with 2 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY BOSSES++ 'During Boss Battles, enemies start with 3 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY BOSSES+++ 'During Boss Battles, enemies start with 4 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY BOSSES++++ 'During Boss Battles, enemies start with 5 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY ELITES 'During Elite Battles, enemies start with 1 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY ELITES+ 'During Elite Battles, enemies start with 2 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY ELITES++ 'During Elite Battles, enemies start with 3 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY ELITES+++ 'During Elite Battles, enemies start with 4 Power.' NEW: Mutator MIGHTY ELITES++++ 'During Elite Battles, enemies start with 5 Power.' NEW: Mutator PERFORATING MANA 'Combat start: Activate a Rupture Trap.' NEW: Mutator PYROMANIAC 'Combat start: A random enemy gains Immolate.' NEW: Mutator PYROMANIAC+ 'Combat start: ALL enemies gains Immolate.' NEW: Mutator RALLYING CRY 'Turn 5: ALL enemies gain 3 Power.' NEW: Mutator RALLYING CRY+ 'Turn 4: ALL enemies gain 4 Power.' NEW: Mutator RALLYING CRY++ 'Turn 3: ALL enemies gain 5 Power.' NEW: Mutator REVERBERATION 'Combat start: A random enemy gains Spell Mirror.' NEW: Mutator REVERBERATION+ 'Each turn: A random enemy gains Spell Mirror.' NEW: Mutator SPELLBREAK+ 'Whenever losing Health, apply Broken to a random Spell.' NEW: Mutator STIFLE 'Combat start: Rightmost Spell becomes Mute for 1 turn.' NEW: Mutator STIFLE+ 'Combat start: Rightmost Spell becomes Mute for 2 turn.' NEW: Mutator STIFLE++ 'Combat start: Rightmost Spell becomes Mute for 4 turn.' NEW: Mutator STOUT BOSSES 'Boss enemies have +10% max Health.' NEW: Mutator STOUT BOSSES+ 'Boss enemies have +25% max Health.' NEW: Mutator STOUT BOSSES++ 'Boss enemies have +50% max Health.' NEW: Mutator STOUT ELITES 'Elite enemies have +10% max Health.' NEW: Mutator STOUT ELITES+ 'Elite enemies have +25% max Health.' NEW: Mutator STOUT ELITES++ 'Elite enemies have +50% max Health.' NEW: Mutator STRAINING MANA 'Combat start: Activate a Weak Trap.' NEW: Mutator THRESHOLD 'Reduce Damage and Health Loss enemies take to 25.' NEW: Mutator THRESHOLD+ 'Reduce Damage and Health Loss enemies take to 20.' NEW: Mutator THRESHOLD++ 'Reduce Damage and Health Loss enemies take to 15.' NEW: Mutator THRESHOLD+++ 'Reduce Damage and Health Loss enemies take to 12.' NEW: Mutator THRESHOLD++++ 'Reduce Damage and Health Loss enemies take to 10.' NEW: Mutator TOXIC MANA 'Combat start: Activate a Poison Trap.' NEW: Mutator UNRELENTING FOES++ 'Turn 1 & 2: ALL enemies receive Undying.' NEW: Mutator WILD RAGE 'Combat start: A random enemy gains Berserker.' NEW: Mutator WILD RAGE+ 'Combat start: ALL enemies gains Berserker.'
That's all for now! We hope you enjoy the update, and as always, we’d love to hear your feedback on the changes!
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim & Thorbjørn
Dev Blog #11: Public Test for Update 5
Greetings Dice Slingers!
We’re excited to open the Public Test for Update 5! Our primary goal is to provide players with firsthand experience of the update, and gather feedback on the changes to the Map, Game Modes, Content and the new UI. Additionally, by participating, you’ll help us identify and report any bugs, ensuring a smooth launch for Update 5!
Public Test for Update 5
Added a new Boss for Act 1
Added ~9 new Spells.
Overhauled progression: new Unlocks & Achievements.
Reworked difficulty system, 9 stages of “Descent”.
Added “Game Modes” and Modifiers.
Reworked the “Codex” book UI to focus on progression and knowledge.
Added “Player Profiles”.
Starting Artifact is now selected before the run.
New map generation algorithm, improved for speed and better results.
Added “Show Keyword Names” option to shorten effect descriptions.
We have already showcased some of these changes in Dev Blog #8, but a ton of things have also been added since, such as the new Mutator Draft for the Descent Stages that you will be drafting at the start of each act!
Descent Mutator Draft: Depending on the Mutator's value, your choice may also come with an added positive or negative effect, providing more variety and strategy to each decision.
The new map generation system is designed to be faster and more efficient, aiming to create more engaging decision points while cutting down on redundant routes and reducing the likelihood of obvious bad choices. We're still tinkering, tweaking and improving it, so please share your opinions on how it works now as we are very eager to hear your feedback on the changes.
There are also a ton of smaller changes, which we will go into further detail about when Update 5 is ready to go live for everyone, but here's a few examples of new spells and reworked Killshot for now:
New spells with the "Show Keywords Names" option disabled for shorter descriptions.
Feedback and expectations:
We are organizing the Public Test mostly through the SpellRogue Discord server where we will be posting more info about any ongoing changes. It is also the place where you can give us feedback or just discuss your favorite Custom Mode setup with fellow players. So please join and be an active part of SpellRogue’s future development!
Please note:Completing the new Steam Achievements won't be registered in Steam during this Public-Test, but we now have ingame popups for unlocks & achievements plus the Codex tracks what you have completed.
How to Access the Public Test on Steam:
Backup your save files! There’s always a small chance of something going wrong while testing!
Make a copy of the “SpellRogue” save folder at: %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Guidelight Games
Steps to Opt-in for the Public-Test
Right click on SpellRogue in your Steam library, and click Properties.
Select the Betas tab and enter the password “imadebackups”
Select the ”public-test - for testing upcoming changes (unstable)” from the dropdown.
Let Steam update SpellRogue and then Run the game.
To opt-out of the public test later, simply choose “None” in the dropdown instead.
Please note: Opting-in/out of the Public-Test will invalidate any currently active run. On the first time running the Public-Test, the game will transfer your progress to unlock most of the things you should already have unlocked apart from new/changed things.
Starting a new Player Profile
Given the significant changes we're making to progression and unlocks, we highly recommend starting a new Player Profile. You can do this by opening the menu located in the bottom-left corner of the Wizard Select screen, as shown below.
Starting fresh will let you experience the improved early game and help us spot any issues. We strongly recommend it for the best experience and to assist us in refining the game.
Thanks for sticking with us this far! We truly appreciate your time and we read all feedback even though we may not always respond to everything. This time around, we're especially interested in hearing how the adjusted map feels, which Game Modes you find the most fun, and your thoughts on the new unlocks and achievements along with any UI annoyances you run into. Thanks for helping us make SpellRogue even better!
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim, Thorbjørn & Paw
Dev Blog #10: Game Modes and the SPILL
Greetings Dice Slingers!
Today we're showing off one of the new features for the upcoming update: Game Modes!
NOTE: The above Modes & Modifiers are still under development and might be subject to change
At the top of the Game Mode menu is a list of presets of new interesting and challenging ways to play SpellRogue. The Game Modes affect how you build your character during a run, while some even modify the map, giving you a very different experience playing SpellRogue.
Under the hood each Game Mode is simply a list of Modifiers, which are shown below the modes. Using the "Custom" mode these modifiers are freely customizable, allowing you to to set up games exactly how you want to play! Experiment with weird and bonkers combinations, and challenge yourself and your friends to try combinations that are barely possible to win.
The SPILL
Coffee Stain and friends are putting on the streaming event “the SPILL” on October 8th with a bunch of fellow developers like Deep Rock Galactic, Satisfactory, Valheim and many more! We will be there talking about SpellRogue Update 5, the path to 1.0 and a few other interesting topics. So make sure to tune in - it's going to be a ton of fun!
To learn more, check out this video with Snutt from the Satisfactory Team, or head on over to the SPILL website to keep tabs on the schedule.
Finally, we are planning to run the open beta testing for Update 5 in the coming weeks, but we will let you know more in the next Steam post.
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim, Thorbjørn & Paw
Dev Blog #9: Roadmap Revision
Greetings Dice Slingers!
We are still hard at work on Update 5, and plan to start another public test in the near future. Meanwhile, we have updated our Roadmap to the full 1.0 release, so everyone can get a better sense of our current priorities.
A lot of you have been patiently waiting for the new playable character, so we’re happy to let you know we will be starting to implement it after Update 5! However, since this is a huge undertaking we are expecting it to first be ready at the full release of SpellRogue 1.0.
There are several other planned features, including a "True Ending" to the game, adding new and better enemies, as well as a lot of “quality of life” additions.
But without further ado, the revised Roadmap!
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim, Thorbjørn & Paw
Dev Blog #8: Upcoming Changes
Greetings Dice Slingers!
We have been happy to see that Update 4.1 and its changes to loadouts have been quite well received, so with that squared away, we have been working on the next update for the past couple of weeks. So today we’d like to reveal some of the things we have planned for Update 5!
Death stirs in the swamps
Long before the age of man, a far greater presence roamed the earth. Now, deep within the murky swamps, the ancient remains of this forgotten being have been reawakened, infused with void magic by a meteor's shattered shard. What once was lifeless now stirs with a dark and unnatural power.
We’re in the process of adding another boss to The Deadwoods! Currently the Rib Cage debuffs your dice and lowers your damage output, while the Skull ramps up its Power and attacks every turn. We are still in the design process and will likely change the behavior somewhat. While it is an early boss and shouldn’t overwhelm players in terms of complexity, we believe there's room for some more unique mechanics to set the fight more apart so please let us know what you think!
Achievements, Unlocks and Progression
We have long wanted to create more interesting Achievements, so for Update 5 we are adding a bunch more you can try your hand at. We’re also making a clearer distinction between achievements and unlocking content. This means the old "Vault" achievements that previously unlocked Artifacts are now simply Steam Achievements, to prove your mastery as a true Archmage.
Can you guess what some of the new achievements involve?
At the same time we are revising the unlock system: We felt the old system was needlessly complicated, so first of all we are replacing the old "Tomes"/"Vault” unlocks with a more intuitive set of challenges for unlocking the more complicated Spells, Artifacts and Rituals. We are also removing the "Gold Dice" token system and instead directly unlocking Loadouts and Wizards by leveling up characters.
We’re also making several improvements to the UI, including a new Overview-page that provides a better indication of your progress. The Collection menus have also been improved, with a better indication of Unlockable content and some rudimentary sorting features.
In development - still lots of things to improve!
Mutators, Descent and “New Ways to Play”
A major focus of Update 5 will be improvements to the Difficulty/Mutation system. We believe the old system has some flaws that are worth addressing, so we are currently experimenting with different new approaches, but we will reveal further in upcoming posts.
Part of the improvements we are planning is a new/redesigned set of Mutators.
Another feature we are working on is the addition of Game Modes. One particular idea we are planning is “Turbo Mode”, intended for those that want a shorter and more compressed experience. We have several other ideas for different ways to play SpellRogue, but we will let you know more when we get closer to the release of Update 5.
One final thing: We're planning to start beta testing in the near future. However since the update is affecting progression we want to make sure the build is in a relatively stable state first. We will let you know more within the next few weeks.
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim, Thorbjørn & Paw
Update 4.1: “Loadouts”
Greetings Dice Slingers,
Today's patch is not as big as our usual updates, hence the smaller version increment of 4.1. The focus of the update is addressing the recent feedback regarding Loadouts after they were simplified in Update 4. We added new unique starter Spells to each loadout once again, and in addition the “signature” Spell can now be upgraded, for finer control of synergies you are using in your runs.
The dice manipulating signature spells can now be upgraded to fit more strategies.
Each loadout now has a bit more unique identity, but we will likely continue to experiment with new options in character- and loadout (see Dev Blog #6: Loadouts for more).
Besides all this, we have also made some minor tweaks to the Sanctuary and Shop, rebalanced a few Spells and mutators, fixed bugs and some miscellaneous other things.
You can check out all the changes and new content added below!
SpellRogue 0.9.4.1: “Loadouts”
General:
Added 18 new unique starter offense and defense spells to Loadouts.
Signature Spells now have upgrades.
Sanctuary “disenchant spell” option also heals for 20%.
Hovering “End Turn” now shows charges being regained next turn (fixes some preview issues). Fixed cases where combat preview was shown for random effects. Fixed Unrestorable Spells able to get charge-Runes. Fixed Liquify killing Undying enemies. Fixed Stoneheart Amulet + Heavenly Acorn interaction. Fixed Earthsong half dice affected by Manifold & Exalted Medallion. Fixed Wound dice affecting Manifold & Exalted Medallion. Fixed Runes with “on X gained” not triggering if Spell applies X. Fixed Ritual and Artifact tiles not shown in Summary screen. Fixed Earth Bane missing description highlight. Fixed Twisted Scimitar refreshing instantly when ending turn. Fixed Exalted Medallion & Manifold interaction, +1 added after x2 multiplier. Fixed Malady playing animation when all spells depleted. Fixed Epiphany not previewing targeted cast spell. Fixed Artifact tile draft missing reroll option.
Upcoming changes
A major focus of the following update will be meta-progression, as we will work on adding more ways to play (e.g. mutators/mutation stages, game modes, loadout customizations), and improve the unlock- and achievement system. There are a lot of other planned changes that we are still sorting out, but we will share more over the following weeks.
In other news, our small dev team is growing as we have officially hired our first full time employee this past week. Paw is joining the Guidelight Games team as a Gameplay Programmer, and will be helping us design and implement future content and mechanics!
Finally, a big thank you to everyone who participated in the Public Test and gave us feedback on the new loadouts, it helped us tremendously to get everyone's perspectives!
May your dice roll true 🧙
Tim, Thorbjørn & Paw!
Dev Blog #7: Public Test
Greetings Dice Slingers!
We are opening up a Public Test on Steam today. The intent is to gather feedback and evaluate new content going into SpellRogue before releasing updates.
This first public test is going to be for the Update 4.1 which we explored ideas for in Dev Blog #6. We decided to focus on recreating interesting variants of the basic starter spells, and also give the signature spells upgrades which provide a starting point to build archetypes, better dice control and such. This means Signature spells are generally stronger and more versatile, but you will still need to make the decision to allocate one of your precious Shards. We know that some players still want more shards available, but we have chosen to not make changes on that front (for now).
Public Test for Update 4.1 (Loadouts)
Added 18 new unique starter offense and defense spells to Loadouts.
Signature Spells now have upgrades.
Sanctuary “disenchant spell” option also heals for 20%.
Fixed Runes with “on X gained” not triggering if Spell applies X
Fixed cases where combat preview was shown for random effects
Feedback and expectations:
There is now a Public Test section on our Discord where we will be posting more info about any ongoing changes. It is also the place where you can give us feedback or just discuss the changes with fellow players. So please join and be an active part of SpellRogue’s future development!
We want to stress that edge case bugs and issues may show up during this test, but this is also partially why we run it in the first place. So let us know if you see anything out of place and we will get to fixing things before properly releasing the update!
How to Access the Public Test on Steam:
Right click on SpellRogue in your Steam library, and click Properties.
Select the Betas tab and enter the password “imadebackups”
Select the ”public-test - for testing upcoming changes (unstable)” from the dropdown.
Let Steam update SpellRogue and then Run the game.
To opt-out of the public test later, simply choose “None” in the dropdown instead.
Please note: Opting-in/out of the Public Test will invalidate any currently active run, while all progression and unlocks is shared between the two versions. If you prefer to keep your current progression and/or active run, please make a backup of your save folder. (make a copy of the “SpellRogue” save folder at %userprofile%\AppData\LocalLow\Guidelight Games\SpellRogue)
This first Public Test is an experiment for us, but we hope to keep it running with continuous updates, to help us make more informed design choices. Finally, a big thank you to everyone who reports bugs and provides us feedback. We are looking forward to hear what you think about these new loadout changes!
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim & Thorbjørn
Hotfix #3
Greetings Dice Slingers!
This is just a small update to fix a few issues and interactions, notably Localization had a few bugs resulting in missing strings and a spell upgrade that did not work as intended.
Added missing translations.
Small updates/hotfixes can no longer break existing save files.
Fixed Multi Jet upgrade requiring dice it does not allow.
Fixed “Disenchant for Money” decreasing gold by 1 when owning Giant’s Pouch artifact.
Fixed Black Market “gain 2 random potions” tooltips.
Fixed “Infectious Ones” mutator getting ignored when having “M’olly” artifact.
Fixed upgrade UI is obstructing the socket change
Fixed Wounded tooltip now being shown in some cases.
May your dice roll true 🧙 Tim & Thorbjørn
Dev Blog #6: Loadouts
Greetings Dice Slingers!
In the previous update we focused on late game and ended up (over-)simplifying wizard loadouts, as we repurposed the starter attack/defense Spells (which we planned to rework, but ran out of time for the update). We recognize though - as many of you rightly pointed out - that this feels like a step back, so we are currently working on improving the Loadout system. Here's a quick peek into what we are experimenting with.
PLEASE NOTE: Screenshots below show experimental and untested content, some of which will never be implemented in the game
Experiment: New starter Spells
One approach we are exploring is basically reintroducing unique attack and defense Spell for each loadout, while attempting to have more build-defining Spells.
In Development example of a blood themed Loadout for Fire.
A potential new loadout focused on the Rain countdown mechanic.
A new set of attack/defense Spells for Mulch that relies on midrange dice values.
Experiment: Drafting attack/defense Spells
A struggle we always had with loadouts (and part of the reason for the simplification) is that we want to avoid players keeping all of their starting Spells throughout the game. Ideally, players are finetuning their build after each combat by for example switching out starter spells. Our approach has been making attack/defense Spells comparably weak, pushing you to replace them quickly as you are putting together your build. However this makes it (surprisingly) difficult and time consuming to design attack/defense Spells which both feel unique and interesting.
Another potential approach is using common Spells in loadouts, or draft attack/defense Spells at the start of each run.
Some combinations of Spells don't work well, so this approach might require a limited selection of Spells, or instead be an optional game mode.
Experiment: Signature Spell upgrades
The dice focused "signature" Spell that each loadout has, is what has always defined the loadout and is usually the only starting spell you keep throughout the game. Still, the signature Spells usually don't affect your build that much, as many of them behave similarly and are purely for dice control.
One experiment we are trying is adding upgrades to Signature Spells, as a way to support more uniqueness for each loadout.
The best types of upgrades are the ones letting you lean into your element’s mechanics.
Experiment: Unique starter Artifacts
For a long time we have had plans to make character selection more interesting by making loadouts even more unique, and have more ways to customize your starting condition.
One approach we are considering is having unique artifacts for loadouts, and/or allow choosing a specific artifact in the loadout selection process.
Different Artifacts that could be selected during character selection.
Although we think there is a lot of potential in this approach, we have found it difficult to design a large set of Artifacts like this. It also feels like some of these ideas could just be regular/starter Artifacts, and/or the examples above would be better suited for some form of optional "Challenge Mode" due to their very large impact on how you play. However, having unique Artifacts that lean into different build-archetypes could work well as an “intro” for the more complex build synergies, so they still seem worthwhile to explore further in some capacity.
With all this in mind, we’re looking into doing some public testing for the loadouts and the other features we’re working on, but we will have more to share about that in the near future.
May your dice roll true 🧙
Tim & Thorbjørn
Update 4: Hotfix #1
Greetings Dice Slingers,
Today’s Hotfix patch addresses some of the issues which you have been reporting over the last week, as well as balancing Spells, Artifacts and Enemies. One of our goals is to slightly reduce the difficulty in Act 1, so we have increased wizard starting health, made some Spells easier to cast, and lowered health/damage for a few Enemies.
Upcoming changes
We are currently working on a replacement for the simplified Loadouts from Update 4. We want to bring back the uniqueness from each loadout, and hope to give each of them even more speciality. We already started experimenting with new starter Spells, but we will share more about them in another Steam post early next week and hopefully start testing very soon!
We are still evaluating some of the other design changes from Update 4. Although some of you dislike the new “+value dice overflow” mechanic, we still want to give it a proper chance for it to accomplish the design intention. The goal was to keep turns interesting and avoid players casting the same order of Spells every turn. Sources that provide reliable access to specific dice values often devolve into players “automatically” placing dice which limits player agency and weakens the core of the game. This is also why we previously changed other dice generating effects to roll as larger value ranges such as the Fire “theme” rolling dice from 1-2 -> 1-3. With all that said we are still considering somehow we can bring back the old mechanic in some way.
Keep the feedback coming!
And a big thanks to everyone who has been reporting bugs, issues and voiced their opinion, we truly do read it all! And we will keep on monitoring raised complaints about Update 4 and look for ways to address the issues, but for now, here’s the changes for this patch:
SpellRogue 0.9.4 Hotfix #1:
General
Buffs to various spells, upgrades, artifacts. Slight nerfs to various enemies. Increased Wizard Health 50 -> 60. More Events have the option for “Rune Drafts”. Chance for Pre-Runed Spells in drafts has been increased slightly. Updated translations.
Bug fixes
Fixed Sentinel Sigil artifact, no longer double triggers and corrected charge amount. Rune Catalog now has a tighter layout to remove scrollbar. Fixed Runes seen in drafts not adding user knowledge. Fixed Fury Rune missing "Has Uses" requirement. Changed Stygian dice to not attack if slotted in Spell