Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy
Patch 1.3.9
Behind the scenes we’ve also been working on a few other things, such as a new final level to host the prime elemental forge. It is set up to be a true, load-bearing adventure site. But it is not yet quite finished.
Generator Improvements
- Dialing up the cyclic generation for the crypts and similar interior levels for keeps, ruins, and temples.
- Better baseline patterns for corridors and side rooms.
- Better base decorative patterns for larger rooms.
- Better basic purpose and repurpose for dungeon rooms.
- Refactored the order of generation so that hazards and traps can take into account a room’s purpose.
Bug Fixes
- Changes to the wounded status do not cause old save files (version 1.0.8) to corrupt the game.
- Fixes an issue where key items could go missing if certain encounters were present.
- Teleporting spikes don’t teleport the Wayfarer when they damage other creatures.
- Fixes issue with rotated doors.
- Potential fix for issues with poorly generated ramps and stairs.
New patch improves travel flow (1.3.8)
Another big change is the spark reward we added to successful fortune tests. Obviously this will have an affect on the overall spark balance and we already tried to compensate for this, but only time will tell how the balance has shifted exactly and whether or not more tweaks are required.
Gameplay Changes
- Enemy and folk travel encounters are no longer encountered on the road, but on your next destination.
- You can now encounter tracks while traveling, which might place a prey encounter on your next destination.
- If you succeed at a fortune test you gain some sparks.
- Redesigned the Lore Flower fortune test.
- If you succeeded at a climbing test, you do not need to test again for making the same climb in the same direction.
- Reduces the chance you can find a spark by 20%.
- The feature to automatically face targets only applies to enemies.
Bug Fixes
- Dust devils and similar creatures don’t get a base ring when they are inactive.
- Fixes a connectivity issue with certain variants of the mountain top temple template.
- Catches a rare case where inns could not be placed correctly.
- Fixes a possible null-reference while camping.
- When you restore a game, the camera resets its focus on the hero correctly.
- Prevents repeated decoration from spawning in front of gates.
- The ‘no need to explore’ message doesn’t pop-up when certain fortunes are present on the destination.
- Fixes issue that caused certain encounters not to spawn correctly, which was very noticeable for farms and trading posts.
- Improves targeting interactive objects when many are close by.
Patch 1.3.8 improves travel flow
Another big change is the spark reward we added to successful fortune tests. Obviously this will have an affect on the overall spark balance and we already tried to compensate for this, but only time will tell how the balance has shifted exactly and whether or not more tweaks are required.
Gameplay Changes
- Enemy and folk travel encounters are no longer encountered on the road, but on your next destination.
- You can now encounter tracks while traveling, which might place a prey encounter on your next destination.
- If you succeed at a fortune test you gain some sparks.
- Redesigned the Lore Flower fortune test.
- If you succeeded at a climbing test, you do not need to test again for making the same climb in the same direction.
- Reduces the chance you can find a spark by 20%.
- The feature to automatically face targets only applies to enemies.
Bug Fixes
- Dust devils and similar creatures don’t get a base ring when they are inactive.
- Fixes an connectivity issue with certain variants of the mountain top temple template.
- Catches a rare case where inns could not be placed correctly.
- Fixes a possible null-reference while camping.
- When you restore a game, the camera resets its focus on the hero correctly.
- Prevents repeated decoration from spawning in front of gates.
- The ‘no need to explore’ message doesn’t pop-up when certain fortunes are present on the destination.
- Fixes issue that caused certain encounters not to spawn correctly, which was very noticeable for farms and trading posts.
- Improves targeting interactive objects when many are closeby.
Patch 1.3.7 improves AI further
Obviously there also have been a number of bug fixes and other minor changes. Most notably we have redesigned ‘base rings’ which indicate your target, their armor, and their orientation.
AI Improvements
- NPCs take time when picking up items during combat.
- NPCs are careful about when they pick up items during combat.
- NPCs can no longer see you through walls.
- Stealth and AI perception interacts better.
- NPCs navigate obstacles better during combat.
- NPCs navigate cliffs and ramps better during and outside of combat.
Gameplay Changes
- When a shield is ‘up’, it blocks regardless if you are taking an action with your other hand.
- When your shield is up, you cannot charge a power attack with the other weapon.
- The behavior and abilities of quan, quanites, and quanlings have been improved.
- Adding more variety to the type of ‘ruffian’ NPCs you can encounter.
- Tweaked the spread and speeds of the ‘forceful throw’ effect to make sure thrown weapons actually hit the target before the secondary bolts do.
- Tweaks some combat animations for better readability.
- Redesign of the ‘base ring’ to make armor easier to see.
- Base rings no longer get hidden below deep snow.
- Dust, shard, and ice devils have a new ‘hazard’ base ring.
Bug Fixes
- You cannot force gates during the tutorial.
- Asking Raaf to intervene on a bridge cannot push you over the edge and teleport you to the water below.
- The crafting conditions for Legacy Signets are implemented correctly.
- Improves targeting with the staff (the speed correction was off by a factor of 4).
- The soothing flute can be used to play sheet music.
- NPCs can no longer have two health components (it didn’t do them much good anyway).
- The time and weather in the tutorial isn’t copied from the last level you played.
- When the strength buff ends during camping it is removed correctly.
- Ranged weapons can hit shorter enemies when ranged attack aim assist is disabled.
- The death screen allows you to reload a save game with a controller.
- If clans cannot accept a gift they communicate the reason for it correctly.
- Prevents the generator from generating small holes filled with mud.
- Reduces the performance impact of ferns.
- Groups of NPCs remember better which ‘moves’ they already played.
Patch 1.3.6 Improves NPC AI
The most notable change should be that the AI now respects that for the player combat should be slow and deliberate, so it acts more slow and deliberate itself. Most of the time, anyway.
This is not the last of the AI issues we are currently working on. Problems remain with targeting, and we’ve seen that sometimes the AI acts somewhat erratically. Running NPCs sometimes have trouble getting through doors, and we haven’t really checked how the AI acts around doors that can be opened and closed. Still on the whole, the AI changes should be a pretty big improvement.
AI Improvements
- Removes many redundancy in the AI subsystems, which should lead to more consistent behavior overall.
- Improves AI combat behavior. It now acts slower and more deliberate in most cases.
- Improves the ability of the AI to find paths, follow paths, and follow leaders.
- Fixes a number of time-scale AI issues which caused AI to go idle for way too long in some cases...
Bug Fixes
- Addresses a generator issue where the container in the Dandelion Pit level was missing.
- Relocates enemies that spawn or are pushed ‘out-of-bounds’.
- When a clan is hostile there won’t be an envoy for them in Haven.
- You can craft bandages.
- Potential fix of a possible crash when talking to an NPC that can give you tasks.
- Fixes a case where the game generated inconsistent water levels.
- If you return to Haven after the end of an episode, puzzle items get discarded.
- When an NPC offers a conversation you don’t automatically turn to face them.
- When an NPC wants your attention, they don’t call out every 2 seconds.
- Small barrows generate more consistently.
- Hit boxes for ‘spitters creatures’ are pulled a little further out of the wall where they live, making hitting them more consistent.
- Flame spitters are actually immune to the flames of other flame spitters.
Other Changes
- Optimizes opening the inventory menu when you have many items.
- Removed the armor for lower level imperials.
- Removed the chance lower level imperials have shields.
- Changed the way the game calls up an explorer window after a bug report. Hopefully this behavior is now more consistent across different systems and OS settings.
- NPCs of a faction that is hostile towards you, but encounter you on the territory of another faction react to you as if they were only angry.
Hot fix: 1.3.5.1
- Generator avoids generating levels for which the structural template is missing.
- Using potions, scrolls, and herbs from the inventory directly doesn’t freeze the game.
Patch 1.3.5
New Features
- Lights from torches in sconces and similar features lerp when switched on or off.
- Occasionally you can search old mining equipment for old pickaxes.
- Vortex stone that allows you to affect the wind without using the staff.
- You can now frequently try to force barred gates that typically are opened by other means as well.
- New type of magic incantation that tests whether you are powerful enough to cast its spell.
- Careful, gates might be warded…
- Adds a couple of new puzzle types.
- The tutorial is no longer required for new players.
- The final level of the tutorial is redesigned to be much less dangerous and more straightforward.
Gameplay changes
- During the prologue, the groundskeeper warns you about the void, but the void does not actually show up, giving new players time to get adjusted.
- Far fewer enemies spawn at map destinations whose primary function is to provide possible camping spots and the occasional resource.
- The physical properties of ramps and stairs have been altered to make it easier to traverse them.
- ‘Hiding thorns’ and ‘trigger thorn’ plants have been redesigned to make them less of a drag to deal with.
- Sealed chests have become a (rare) thing again.
- Increased the acceleration, speed, and turning speed of the wayfarer and other creatures to increase control of movement.
- Increased the speed of the running animation of humanoids.
- Shadow wolves communicate their weakness a little better.
- Shadows of shadow wolves no longer shadow themselves.
Bug Fixes
- Restores the item descriptions and names of the journals of previous wayfarers.
- The button to equip Yendor now toggles the staff correctly.
- Further improvement to the map diagnostics to make sure nodes connecting the high pass to the first valley proper count as being inside the First Valley.
- Addresses an issue with paths unintentionally being blocked because they are generated on different elevations.
- You will not be branded a thief when you pick up items from ‘loot bags’ left by yourself or defeated enemies.
- Casts for armors actually have enough slots to forge the armor.
- When you are reading a book from your inventory, you see the hero’s portrait instead of an empty square.
- Reduces the chance you can squeeze past rotating rock gates near cliffs.
- Addresses an instance of possible placement of the ‘Raaf tribune’ too close to the entrance of the Hall of Records.
- Prevents the generator from trying to mix lava with oddreek fluid.
- Trailing spaces are removed automatically from text entry keys, addressing a common cause for text to go missing.
- Improves generation template for the spirit path to avoid portals cluttering in the same location.
- After you retire, your ‘base ring’ doesn’t leave a lasting impression on the ground.
- Fixes a generator issue that caused caves where you could blink to dead ends.
- Changes the hill-top ruin template to maximize the chance the interior level is actually generated.
- When a clan receives Branch they will correctly gain a power level and the forest dwellers trait.
- Repairs the fade in after you change a level.
- Fix for correct state when fortune test is opened after forging an item.
- Fix for controller support game over screen when retiring the Wayfarer.
- Fix for animation in fortune test.
- Tooltips always in front of the menu.
- Fixes an issue with the ‘b’ variant of spire locations.
- Fixes a few text issues.
Patch 1.3.4
New Features
- Items can be hidden in ‘search containers’: weapon racks and weapon pots.
- Electric eels might be found in some lakes, but they should be very rare for now.
- Adding new glowing crystals and rotating rock doors to the palette of cave features.
- If you have a provisions bag, herbs you carry dry before they spoil.
- Dried herbs stay good for 30 days, and can be used to craft potions with, but lose all other effects they might have.
- Pick axes can be used to smash through broken gates and brittle rocks, but this will likely damage them.
Gameplay Changes
- Pick axes are more common.
- Herbs are more commonly found as loot or tradegood.
- Potions are slightly less commonly found as treasure or tradegood.
Bug Fixes
- Addressing a generator issue that caused level features to go missing.
- Potentially fixes the issue that caused you to reload your ‘death scene’ if you restored a save game after you died.
- Fixes a potential freeze when you are pulled into the edge after encountering Valker.
- Fixes a bug that caused an exploit with save games and gift items.
- When you kill a creature with Oblivion’s Edge you gain Miserable and Awakened.
- Quickly patching a few outdated constructions in the root cave template (but the whole template has been put on the to-revise soon list).
- Fixes an issue that blocked movement near shallow water.
- The game can automatically recover should the traveling traders go missing at the start of a new run.
- Fixes generator issue that caused ‘rooms’ to become unnecessarily long.
- Prevents wildlife to be spawned at the same location as enemy camps.
- Fixes issue with appearance of black boxes in minor caves at machine levels.
- Healing potions can be brewed correctly in worlds where they are not rare.
- Fixes a freeze when you fail brewing a potion in an inn.
- When you (non-critically) fail a brewing test you keep the flask.
Patch 1.3.3 allows you to restore a save!
The game is more an RPG where individual heroes can live from many hours of gameplay, than it is a traditional roguelike with short runs. At the same time the game lacks a benevolent GM that makes sure a hero‘s death is fair and deserved. To make up for this, the game now makes an extra save game when you rest in an area that is relatively safe. You can restore this safe whenever you wish, even after your hero died.
The feature is optional and can be switched off from the gameplay options.
New Features
- New gameplay option: Save while resting. This option is on by default, but can be switched off in the gameplay options menu. When on, the game makes an extra save every time you rest in a safe camp. When you die you get the option to restore this save. You can also choose to restore one of these saves from the in-game pause menu.
- Extra decorations for Kobold dwellings: barricades and improvised lights.
- Adding the ‘full stomachs’ enroute encounter for wolf tribes.
Gameplay Changes
- Improves the way the Kobold cave dwelling encounter works. These dwellings now offer more services, some of them only to friends.
- Reducing the clutter in the HUD by hiding status effects that are eclipsed by other status effects.
- Shadow wolves should no longer spawn in challenge level 1 regions (new worlds only).
- Monster lairs spawn tracks instead of enemies outside.
- You can catch wolves napping in their lairs.
Bug Fixes
- Improves the way NPCs are assigned to factions to prevent incorrect ‘diplomatic incidents’.
- Improves the way NPC determine their disposition towards you to correctly reflect your current status.
- Fixes issue with dynamic lighting not switching on or off correctly.
- Improving the interrupt camp check for groups NPCs.
- Repairs controller navigation in the gameplay options and graphic options menus.
- Expands the map diagnostics to repair a possible issue with the connection of the secret tunnel to the First Valley.
- Restores the healing spell at the eternal flame.
Patch 1.3.2
There currently is only one of these episodes. It revolves around obtaining the Raaf Key from the garden. But to play it you need to generate a fresh world with the new ‘Experimental Content’ option activated. It probably could do with a slightly more pronounced start. But we haven’t figured out how to do that exactly. Also the content of this particular episode is subject to change.
Check out our Discord for a full overview of the changes, and more details about these new ‘episodes’.
Gameplay Changes
- The alignment of the keyboard can now be set to for options: camera, level, level (rotated), and mouse cursor.
- Magic from ruinous sprites can be used to destroy broken gates.
- Reduces the number of rats and bats spawned from ‘hollow trees/rocks’.
- Rats and bats spawning from ‘hollow trees’ are no longer triggered by you just being in the same room.
- During the prologue you cannot encounter hazards enroute to Haven, and once you get there you can only enter the town.
- Improving posture and feedback for sleeping creatures.
- The Hall of Records is now a more impressive location.
New Features
- A new minor spider lair encounter.
- Adds a dozen or so new ‘minor puzzles’ that might need to be dealt with in order to progress.
- New status effect: Watched
- New status effect: foul smell
- New sprite: Clarity
- New scroll: Chant of Slumber
- Adds a new, once per run, code for the pray for help menu: ‘Regenerate’
- Adds a button leading to the discord server on the pray for help menu.
Experimental Features
- ‘Raaf Key’ Episode, which seeds an encounter in the inn in Haven and adds dramatic developments to the Garden of Yendor.
Bug Fixes
- Shadow wolves are not the default encounter of a specific cave template. (It now is a rare encounter as it is supposed to be.)
- Fixing an issue with reading books like “The First Valley” in other locations.
- Raaf tribune asset can no longer block the entrance to the Hall of Records.
- Changes behavior of a debug report a little, so that hopefully the right folder with the relevant zip files are opened correctly.
- Fixes an bug with ‘projected encounters’ that caused encounters on the road to be less varied and not reflective of nearby enemies than they should have been.