Tom vs. The Armies of Hell
Build Updated with bugfix and final cutscene
So, a new player identified a really crappy save-game bug that has been lurking. Basically, saves were corrupting themselves on load because I was dumb. I put in a quick fix, so it should no longer be an issue going forward. Sorry for the frustration.
Aside from that, I made a few gameplay tweaks (made the first boss a bit easier), and fixed a few general bugs. I also added in the final cutscene, so the game is now content complete for reals! The next step is to do a few more balance passes and make sure the game is playable/fun, and then I'll flip the switch for official release. If you run into any problems, please let me know (including balance/fun feedback) and I'll add them to the list.
-Sean
Full Game (Pre-Release) Update Live!
Title of the announcement is pretty self explanatory. After literally years of work (making a game this size as one person is not exactly a sane thing to go), I've just pushed out what you could consider the "Gold Master" update. That means every level is now unlocked, everything is playable, and the story is completable. The only unfinished piece of content is the final 2d portion of the final cinematic. It's got voice-over, music and everything, but its still just story-boards. That will be wrapped up hopefully this week and updated, but for now i wanted to finally get this in everyones hands.
With that said, the game is probably still super hard, even in non-challenge mode. That's somewhat intentional (I wanted it to be hard), but definitely let me know what your general feeling on balance is once you get the hang of the new weapon system. As I put together the official launch materials and figure out the official "release" date, I'm also going to be tweaking balance issues and fixing bugs, so definitely report anything you find.
-Sean
Status Update
Just wanted to stop by and give everyone a status update. I'm currently cranking away on finalizing the last 2 cinematics that are holding up release. To the surprise of absolutely no one, animation (even a mix of cut-out and hand drawn) is kind of... slow. To that end I've pulled in some help to finish the remaining stuff off. I've given up putting dates on it, but things are moving pretty well so far. As soon as I have more info, I'll post it (along with another update for early access supporters prior to the final release).
-Sean
Experimental changes moved to default branch
Major Update on Experimental Branch!
So... here's part one of the update I promised. I've kept levels 5/6 disabled for now because enabling them before the cutscenes are done would rob anyone who cared about the story of seeing it in its correct form, but rest assured I'm working on those cutscenes and as soon as thier done those two levels will unlock.
So, what's new then?
- New Gun System (soul absorbing based)
- No more crappy demon powers (long-press melee to use built up demon power as an aoe slam)
- New demon mode left-click attack
- better demon mode system (based on finding demon crystals)
- gadgets (items you can find in chests that tom can equip, and loses when he dies)
- steam achievments (no icons yet, but working on that)
- challenge mode version of each level with faster, tougher enemies
- and other stuff I'm almost certainly forgetting...
So... with an update this big I'm certain something will explode. If you find that something, please let me know, and I'll get on it as quick as I can. Really curious if challenge mode is way too stupid hard, or too easy... also same for the regular mode. Balance is a bit tricky for a one-man team ;)
-Sean
Major Update on Experimental Branch!
So... here's part one of the update I promised. I've kept levels 5/6 disabled for now because enabling them before the cutscenes are done would rob anyone who cared about the story of seeing it in its correct form, but rest assured I'm working on those cutscenes and as soon as thier done those two levels will unlock.
So, what's new then?
- New Gun System (soul absorbing based)
- No more crappy demon powers (long-press melee to use built up demon power as an aoe slam)
- New demon mode left-click attack
- better demon mode system (based on finding demon crystals)
- gadgets (items you can find in chests that tom can equip, and loses when he dies)
- steam achievments (no icons yet, but working on that)
- challenge mode version of each level with faster, tougher enemies
- and other stuff I'm almost certainly forgetting...
So... with an update this big I'm certain something will explode. If you find that something, please let me know, and I'll get on it as quick as I can. Really curious if challenge mode is way too stupid hard, or too easy... also same for the regular mode. Balance is a bit tricky for a one-man team ;)
-Sean
Almost ready for release!
Okay, it's finally happening! After a LOT of work and way too little sleep over way too long a time, I am thrilled to report that Tom vs. The Armies of Hell is nearing completion. I've been holding off on pushing my tester branch to everyone because after such a long wait, I don't want to put something up that will spoil story elements in a crappy way. However, the game itself is about 99% done. Currently I'm just working on some final polish (final balance stuff, which will inevitably be wrong anyway, and some simple tutorial screens), difficulty modes, and the final two animated cutscenes. The cutscenes are the reason for the spoiler fear, since currently you just skip where they would be, and have no idea how the heck you got to where you ended up.
Anyway, I know that's not quite the "ZOMG IT'S OUT!" message that I'd love to be posting, but I am confident in saying there will be an Early Access build up before the end of March with all the levels/content (maybe with animatics instead of final animation for those two cutscenes), and that the game will be fully released either at the end of Marhc or in early April. What I'll be doing in that time is revamping the store page/marketing material to actually make sense since there have been some large (in I think a very good way) changes since those were written.
Once again, sorry this has taken so long to get out the door. I very clearly bit off a much larger project than I could chew, especially in light of not getting any Kickstarter funding, but I sword one way or another I'd get this game out, and I'm very happy to be able to follow through on that pledge. For anyone not concerned about spoilers, I'll see if I can get a build up either this weekend or the next on the experimental branch. I'd put the current one up, but if you kill the last boss literally nothing happens right now, which is a bit broken even for Early Access, so I want to at least plug that hole first.
Now back to banging those last rough edges down...
-Sean
Almost ready for release!
Okay, it's finally happening! After a LOT of work and way too little sleep over way too long a time, I am thrilled to report that Tom vs. The Armies of Hell is nearing completion. I've been holding off on pushing my tester branch to everyone because after such a long wait, I don't want to put something up that will spoil story elements in a crappy way. However, the game itself is about 99% done. Currently I'm just working on some final polish (final balance stuff, which will inevitably be wrong anyway, and some simple tutorial screens), difficulty modes, and the final two animated cutscenes. The cutscenes are the reason for the spoiler fear, since currently you just skip where they would be, and have no idea how the heck you got to where you ended up.
Anyway, I know that's not quite the "ZOMG IT'S OUT!" message that I'd love to be posting, but I am confident in saying there will be an Early Access build up before the end of March with all the levels/content (maybe with animatics instead of final animation for those two cutscenes), and that the game will be fully released either at the end of Marhc or in early April. What I'll be doing in that time is revamping the store page/marketing material to actually make sense since there have been some large (in I think a very good way) changes since those were written.
Once again, sorry this has taken so long to get out the door. I very clearly bit off a much larger project than I could chew, especially in light of not getting any Kickstarter funding, but I sword one way or another I'd get this game out, and I'm very happy to be able to follow through on that pledge. For anyone not concerned about spoilers, I'll see if I can get a build up either this weekend or the next on the experimental branch. I'd put the current one up, but if you kill the last boss literally nothing happens right now, which is a bit broken even for Early Access, so I want to at least plug that hole first.
Now back to banging those last rough edges down...
-Sean
New Experimental Branch Version
Just pushed a preliminary versin of the update I mentioned to the experimental branch. If you'd like to try it out, switch over and load it up. Here's the important things to know:
<*>Back up your save games if you care about them. They will upgrade to a new format and potentially be unusable in the older builds. They might still work, now that I think about it, but they are untested, so just assume they won't.
<*>This is a very VERY experimental build. Its probably super buggy at best, but I wanted everyone to get to see the stuff I showed at the Whippering Indie Cup last week as soon as I could.
<*>Weapon upgrades are still around, but don't work... so just ignore them, they'll be updated to work with the new weapon system soonish.
<*>There is no tutorial for the soul blaster yet, it will come later
<*>To absorb souls (the ghosts) into the soul blaster, hold the weapon select button (defaults to left shift), and click the fire button. This will all be made clearer (and the button renamed) in a future update
<*>Colors are going to be off. I disabled the old buggy tone-mapping, and will be coming up with a better solution later. also, lighting is in flux... this is the experimental branch after all.
<*>soul balance and look isn't done yet... not even close.
<*>demon powers are still being reworked
<*>don't bother trying to shoot the souls, you either absorb them or let them fade away. i'll be making this clearer (visually and mechanically) soon.
Anyway, let me know if you find any obvious bugs, and if they aren't already on my list I'll add them and make sure they get addressed.
-Sean
Upcoming Gameplay Update
I'm still reasonably on track for release in February. I just gave a demo of a new version of the game at a fun indie event called the Whippering Indie Cup in San Francisco. Was a great time, and I got a lot of great feedback/data on the game. The thing I'm happiest to report is that the new weapon system I've been secretly working on seemed to go over really well, so I'm happy to announce it will be included in a pre-release update I'll hopefully push next weekend.
The update involves completely removing the existing weapon system, because its kind of boring/uninteresting. Ammo never felt fun, and selecting weapons less so. To solve this, and stay thematically consistent with the game, you will now be armed with the Questionable Technologies Soul Blaster x9000 (or some other name I come up with later). This gun will allow you to absorb and weaponize the souls of the demons you dispatch throughout the game. Mechanically speaking, when enemies die they have a chance to leave a soul behind (a small, brightly colored ghost). By using your guns soul-vac mode, you can fire out an energy lasso and suck the soul into your gun. The color of the soul you absorb will determine what your gun shoots, and when you run out of ammo (or want a new gun) you just need ot absorb a new soul.
Weapon upgrades will still be around, but will now all affect the soul-blaster in interesting ways, though maybe not in the initial update. Anyway, there's going to be more to the system than that, but even in its current state I think its a lot more fun, and I can't wait to get it out to everyone.
-Sean
PS: Thanks again for the continued patience. I know this has taken forever to get out the door. Managing a full-time job, family, and all the related time-challenges makes it tough to focus on the game as much as I'd like, but its definitely marching forward. I said way back at the begining, one way or the other this game was getting done, and while its taking longer than I wanted, its been very important to me not to half-ass anything and do it right. With any luck, that will show in the final product, and it will all be worth it.