The Forbidden Arts
Patch 1.0.3.0 is live!
- Modified AI for the Frog Wizard. In dark zone areas the wizard will no longer teleport in front of the player, blocking the path which could result in a cheap death
- Reduced speed of the fire arrow projectiles in the Abandoned Mines, making these areas a bit less frustrating for the average player
- Updated and improved the input detection
- support for more game controllers as well as fix some minor issues related to controller input
- Improved efficiency and stability of drawing grass on the Overworld
- Modified the placement of the Switches in the Abandoned Mines to avoid player getting stuck between the wall and switch
- Modified some text and dialogue
- Player should no longer get stuck in a rare frozen state after shooting a fireball or performing a ground roll
- UI health bar now correctly displays proper health value in the Character Menu
- Proper text size is now displayed in the character menu when highlighting equipment
- Refactored and improved a lot of code
- Various other bug fixes
We just finished the Playstation 4 port of the game, and are still planning to launch in Q4, 2019. Version 1.0.3.0 will be submitted soon to both Switch and Xbox One.
Thank you to everyone who has shared feedback on what they like about the game or what they feel could be improved. While we may not change everything that's suggested, we do our best and listen to everything, so please don't think we ignore you just because we don't change something.
Stay posted for more updates in the future. Thanks for your interest in The Forbidden Arts.
Patch 1.0.2 is here!
Now that we're in full release, even though it's only been a few days since launch, we made a few changes to the game that are much more user friendly for a lot of players, without taking away the challenge that the game presents. Although I am personally a fan of old school platformers, with hard difficulty (TMNT on NES anyone?), I realize that difficulty does not necessarily equal fun, and thus there's a few things that have been removed from the game that didn't add to any "fun" factor:
1. Fall Damage. It's gone. If there was a demon in you that longed to fall from great heights and watch Phoenix collapse on impact, well, that demon is now laid to rest.
2. You can now double jump when falling/rolling off a ledge etc. This is pretty standard in a lot of platformers and has been suggested by a few people. Took quite a bit of re-coding, but it's in there now and I hope you guys enjoy it.
A lot of other things are patched, so here's what's new since the original 1.0 release:
- Added the ability to perform a jump when falling off any surface, so long as the player has not already performed a double jump
- Removed falling damage. Player will no longer take damage when falling from great heights
- Removed some flickering from the trees in the Abandoned Mines entrance
- AI animation adjustments
- Disable siphoning if player is siphoning fire during griffin cutscene
- Audio settings will now be properly saved when switching to different options sub menus
- Fixed some font display issues when changing from Japenese back to English
- Added a hint for how to unlock the swamp treasure chest
- Modified Chiromancer boss fight
- Minor level design modification in The Hives
- Various Bug fixes
Thanks for your interest in The Forbidden Arts. We are going to be focusing on finishing the Playstation 4 port of the game, but we will continue to improve the game and work other content into the game as people request it. We're open to ideas, and nothing is set in stone. We do have the final decision of course, but we listen so don't hesitate to reach out.
Sterling Selover
Stingbot Games
The Full Release is here!
After 4 years in development and 1.5 years in Early Access I'm happy to say the full release is here! I'd like to thank everyone who contributed feedback throughout Early Access. You know who you are, and the game wouldn't be what it is if not for you.
If anyone finds any bugs, needs assistance or anything else, do not hesitate to reach out. We will continue to support the game and ensure you are getting the most of what you pay for.
Thank you again, and we hope you enjoy The Forbidden Arts!
Sterling Selover
Stingbot Games
Full Release Aug 7, 2019! Details!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcYG5wmwhq0
The full version of the game also has several areas of polish, improvements and bug fixes not seen in Early Access.
There are new screenshots from the full release available to view on the Steam Page. We will be updating more assets as we get closer to launch day.
The Forbidden Arts has been in development for more than 4 years total, and 1.5 years in Early Access alone. As many of you know, this is a passion project, and it’s great to bring my vision to life. Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in the game and supported our development cycle. We have listened to so much feedback over the past 1.5 years and worked hard to integrate changes and make improvements.
The price of the game will increase to $14.99 USD on launch day, so if you are looking for any sort of discount, purchasing the game now will save you a couple bucks. At this point, I would advise against playing the Early Access version of the game as the full release is a bit more polished and only a few weeks out.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be writing/posting some Blogs about our development cycle, experience in Early Access, the challenges of porting and optimizing the game to Nintendo Switch, and possibly other topics. It’s a great time to reflect on the development of the game, and for those of you interested in reading my Blogs, just follow Stingbot on Twitter, like Forbidden Arts on Facebook or check out our Blog on our website: http://www.stingbotgames.com
August 7, 2019!
Thank you all for your interest in The Forbidden Arts. We truly hope you will enjoy the final product.
Sterling Selover
Stingbot Games
Version 0.9.8.0 is live! Almost there!
Due to a bug that was found when submitting specific achievements, we felt it necessary to upgrade the game and bring it closer to it's 1.0 counterpart. Lots of other significant changes/improvements are included in version 0.9.8.0:
- The Forbidden Arts is now compatible with Steam's offline mode
- Updated Achievments to work properly with the new save system. Certain achievement types like enemy kills will now update properly
- You no longer need to close down and reboot the game when changing quality settings. The game will now reset to the title screen.
- Updated Steamworks integration
- Updated Game Engine
- Screen resolution will now default to 1080p (if supported) on first bootup, regardless of native resolution. This is to balance performance across so many variations in hardware. If you want to play the game in a resolution higher than 1080p then you can set the resolution in the video options menu to whatever your monitor supports.
- Changed controller code for processing submit button
- Input is now disabled until the splash screen has finished displaying upon starting the game
- Fixed some collision issues on the overworld
- modified some dialogue
- Changed Harpy shriek particle FX shader
- Adjusted particle collision for water spray FX on the Swamp Challenge Level
- Adjusted and optimized mist in the swamp levels
- Bug fixes
If anyone experiences any issues on either the PC or Mac version of the game, please inform us and we'll be sure to address the issues.
Thanks for following along, and stay posted for some big announcements in the near future!
-Stingbot
Version 0.9.7.0 is live! Last Early Access Build?
We are finished with The Nintendo Switch and Xbox One versions of the game too. We are still working on the Ps4 version of the game, among other ports.
Unless any game breaking bugs are found and/or reported to us prior to the full release, we will likely not release any more updates to the game until the full release. Within the next month or two we will be uploading brand new screenshots and video trailers showcasing the final version of the game, so stay posted for new media assets and catch a glimpse of the final game in action!
We squashed more bugs in version 0.9.7.0 than any version prior and this is a huge improvement on polish and final settings of the game. We will not bother listing all the bug fixes because there were over 50 reported bugs fixed in this update. Besides all the fixes, here's a list of improvements and changes in version 0.9.7.0:
- Decreased Load Times
- Improved Audio Management code
- Improved wall jumping mechanics to feel more responsive
- Improved enemy AI - striking logic for enemies such as Bandits and Snakes
- Improved enemy AI - Charging enemies such as Golems and Minotaurs
- Improved Yeti AI
- Improved AI for Frogman warriors
- Improved AI for flying enemies
- Improved projectile logic for shooting enemies
- Cleaned up foliage in Desert overworld
- You can now skip the cutscene following the defeat of the hives boss
- Modified level design in Korrath Woods, Abandoned Mines, Mountains of Orin, Pools of Murk, Temple of Spirit, Northern Wastes, Palace
- Decreased amount of Frogman Wizards present during the Raft section in Pools of Murk
- Action HUD GUI is now hidden from the game view when the player pauses the game
- Fixed a rare bug with the assassin's shadow step attack in the green vale. Will no longer be able to shadow step down a ledge and get stuck in a wall.
- Fixed an issue with the golden spider performing his rage attack that would inflict damage to phoenix post attack for no apparent reason
- Golden Spider rage attack only inflicts 1 damage now, instead of 2
- Fixed some enemy rotation issues where the wrong animation would play under specific conditions
- Decreased fog and improved visibility on the Overworld
- Modified lighting and sky in the Northern Wastes Overworld
- Modified environment ambiance in Enchantress scene
- Added snow particles to the Aeromancer's scene
- Modified some animations for Bitty the Goblin
- Added 3d audio sfx to the fire arrows in the abandoned mines
- Modified music for The Mountains of Orin
- Fixed some issues with properly displaying lighting/snow settings in Mountains of Orin
- Tweaked UI in the Save and Load menus to be more intuitive
- Fixed camera logic when focusing on player at various spawn points. Smoother movement
- When deactivating heat vision while in the ice caves, the proper lighting settings will now display
- Adjusted projectile logic for shooting enemies
- Adjusted quality settings for each level of graphics
- You can now always shoot air fireballs when bouncing off of flowers in the hives, so long as you have enough fire pool
Thanks again for being a part of our journey into developing The Forbidden Arts. We appreciate your interest and support. Lots of cool things to come.
Version 0.9.6.0 is live! + Development Update
In any case, the PC version of the game is constantly improving as we make headway through the porting process. We should have some big announcements to make in the coming months. Until then, enjoy this new version of the game! Here's what's new in version 0.9.6.0:
- Sped up the player's melee attack speed by 25% to feel more fluid and responsive
- Greatly improved wall jumping and wall-latching detection
- Added a slight delay to ground rolling to prevent spamming the ability and enforce smoother movement and animation transitions
- Tweaked the player's animation controller, improving transitions and fixed some bugs
- Smoothed camera movement when zooming in/out
- Added a toggle to enable/disable HDR on HDR compatible monitors. The Forbidden Arts does support HDR, but is not fully optimized at this time and players may now choose to disable it within the Video Options menu if they so desire
- Cleaned up various scripts
- Modified level design in Green Vale Overworld, The Hives, Palace, The Abandoned Mines, Pools of Murk, Mountains of Orin and Title Screen
- Modified Lighting and environment Ambiance in the Palace
- Adjusted the Intro Cutscene. Extended by a couple of seconds and smoothed the fade out
- Tweaked the Hydromancer's Lair scene and fixed some collision issues
- Various dialogue text updates
- Audio management code updates
- Adjusted the light waypoint beacon on the overworld to be more visible
- When player attacks while hanging on a ledge or sliding down a wall, he will now drop to the ground in a clean animation transition
- Updated collision matrix
- Updated loading screen
- New Water shader and effects in the Desert scenes
- Adjusted enemy position in Temple of Spirit
- Modified Camera Paths in the Enchantress cutscene
- Fixed an issue where save type was not properly updating when overwriting a save file
- Cleaned up enemy detection AI. Enemies will no longer seem to sporatically rotate based on player distance or height. It's much more realistic now
- Lots of backend updates to prepare for version 1.0
- various bug fixes
Thanks for following along and showing your support and interest in The Forbidden Arts. We appreciate feedback as always, so feel free to reach out if you want to share anything.
Version 0.9.5.0 is live! We're in beta!
- Added localization support for Italian
- Modified level design in the Swamp Challenge Level, The Mountains of Orin, Korrath Village, and the World Map
- Added a tutorial in Korrath Woods demonstrating how to properly wall jump
- Increased the size of the crates in Green Vale overworld
- Removed animated grass from Black Fang Pass World overworld
- Improved texture quality, added normal map and enhanced lighting to the terrain texture in Black Fang Pass world map
- Fixed player's animation controller which could result in a rare bug where the player gets stuck in a stunned animation state
- Player can no longer switch abilities while collecting a health or power upgrade
- You can no longer spam the spirit tower assembly dialogue on the world map
- Changed the logic and improved performance in Hydromancer boss fight
- Optimized player controls and improved performance
- Updated Spirit of Flame ability icon
- If you die in a boss fight, the scene will automatically reload instead of reloading to previous save point
- Modifications to the Audio Management code
- Fixed a minor issue where geometry was being duplicated in the abandoned mines
- Adjusted particle effects for the Gnoll Shaman's attacks
- Performance boost and increase in FPS in most all scenes of the game
- Optimized and refactored hundreds of scripts
- major performance boost in The Hives and Mountains of Orin
- Tweaked level design and improved performance in all challenge levels
- Modified Guard Pathing in the Village
- cleaned up and improved grammar in various text dialogue
- Optimized animation rigs to improve performance
- Modified lighting in Mountains of Orin and Abandoned Mines
- Adjusted Physics for Phoenix to improve response time and accuracy of actions
- Adjusted camera visibility throughout Pools of Murk
- Updated Game Engine
- Adjusted shader for trees on the overworld (Green Vale and Black Fang Pass). Large obstructions will become transparent, improving camera visibility.
- Reduced the slippery factory when moving on ice
- Various bug fixes (dozens and dozens). Thank you to all the testers, and our early access community for finding them. We've fixed all that were found!
Thank you for following along as we continue to improve The Forbidden Arts. We look forward to finishing the game this year and can't wait to share the final product. For those that have purchased the game early, or provided feedback, we sincerely thank you for your support. You are awesome!
Version 0.9.4.0 is live!
Here's a list of what's new in version 0.9.4.0:
- Fireballs can now be shot airborne, immediately after learning the ability. Phoenix will no longer have to wait to obtain the ability to shoot an airborne fireball after defeating the Aeromancer.
- Updated textures for almost every character in the game
- Fixed some bugs related to the save system
- Updated shooting fireball animation logic
- Modified lighting, sky color, grass texture quality, color grading, and improved performance in the following scenes: Title Screen, Green Vale, Korrath Woods, Challenge Level 1
- Improved performance by 10% + in all dungeons. More optimizations to come in future builds.
- Minor Improvements to level design in Mountains of Orin
- Minor audio tweaks
- Tweaked the AI for the bear in Korrath Woods, and also fixed some bugs related to the AI
- Tweaked the ambient lighting in the Geomancer Lair scene
- Modified the projectiles of the Golden Spider and the Mushroom Men
- Adjusted AI for the frog wizards
- When re-loading after dying at Hydromancer's lair, the scene will no longer start in darkness
- Modified logic and fixed some bugs in the Aeromancer boss fight
- Tweaked some lighting in the challenge levels
- Modified the Hydromancer boss fight to make the difficulty feel more balanced
- Revised the Footstep SFX for the minotaur
- Modified the AI for the male assassin in Korrath Woods
- Modified player death logic
- Auto Saving will no longer spam when running through autosave checkpoints. There is now a 30 second cooldown timer on each checkpoint to prevent constant saving from re-entering the trigger area
- Decreased the size of the Geomancer's Hit Box when the Geomancer is charging back/forth
- Adjusted camera angle in the Hives over the moving platform section to allow more viewing space for the player
- Adjusted lighting and ambiance for Faedora's cutscene following the 2nd boss fight
- Adjusted text visibility for cutscenes and improved visual quality
- Improved player ledge grab detection
- Adjusted scenery in Palace of the Hives (Enchantress Boss Fight scene)
- Modified level design in Palace of the Hives
- Adjusted enemy placement in the Hives and The Abandoned Mines
- Adjusted AI for the golden spider
- Adjusted camera viewing space in Korrath Woods
- Tweaked the player controller settings on the world map
- Updated post processing settings
- Adjusted enemy activation logic, giving a massive boost to FPS in dungeons
- Fixed some enemy pathing in the abandoned mines
- Various optimizations in The Hives to boost performance
- Various bug fixes
If anyone has any feedback or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We listen, watch and respond to everything. Thank you for being a part of our journey, and stay posted for more updates as we continue development of The Forbidden Arts. More to come!
Version 0.9.3.0 is live! Must Read!
The most important thing in version 0.9.3.0 of the game is the new save/load system. It's lightning fast compared to the previous version. It's been rewritten from scratched and heavily optimized. Everything is now stored in single save files. The old system was always temporary, but you should see a huge difference in the save times and the game should feel a lot smoother. If anyone has any issues with their data transferring please get in touch with us and we will build you a custom save file for your game. Though hopefully there will be no issues as the game has been heavily tested and it appears to be working flawlessly, and all old data transfers perfect.
Beyond this, lots of other things have been improved. Here's what's new in version 0.9.3.0:
- Brand new save system
- Added localization for Japanese
- Improved game performance by 10-20% per scene!
- Adjusted and improved texture quality for Phoenix
- Upgraded textures for the Aeromancer, Bitty, Bear, Wolf and Mimic
- Smoothed camera movement in various parts of the game
- Adjusted ambient lighting in Black Fang Pass
- Adjusted ambient and directional lighting, color grading and texture color in The Hives
- Adjusted physics for giant snowballs
- Modified level design for Black Fang Pass overworld
- Tweaked some settings in the Hydromancer Boss Fight
- Tweaked the Dark Zone puzzle in Temple of Spirit
- Fixed some dialogue for the Chiromancer based on whether or not the player has acquired upgraded weapons
- Modified level design in Korrath Woods, Abandoned Mines, Mountains of Orin, Pools of Murk
- Fixed some text display issues when changing languages
- Fixed/Improved various AI
- Various bug fixes
Thanks for following along as we continue development. We're in the process of porting the game to other platforms as we continue development, so there's sure to be more improvements to come!