Update #50 -- The Enlightened, Ultrawide Support and Borderless Fullscreen
Hello everyone!
Firstly, I really apologize for the delay in getting this patch up. It's taken just over a month now which definitely isn’t the norm, nor my intention. However, it turns out that rewriting the resolution code for the game... was a bit of work haha. However, its done now, and I’m happy to finally get this patch out to you all! Let’s dive in.
Ultra-Wide Screen Support, and Resolution Changes
So the core of all this started with my push to provide support to all the Ultra-Wide players out there! I appreciate you all asking for it, and I’m happy to announce it's all done! The core change here required a full rewrite to the code which enabled the game to scale depending on the resolution selected. This turned out to be a monumental task, however the benefits also include the fact that the game now will scale perfectly to mobile devices (hint hint).
Just as a note -- there are a few screens like the Deckbuilder which could utilise the Ultra-wide space better. Those will be getting full redesigns to fit in the near future!
When you go into the game options now, you’ll have a resolution selector for you to choose your game resolution! I’ve tried to include all the main ones in there, however if any are missing please let me know and I’ll add them in! There is also a way to set a custom size by using the options file if need be.
Borderless Fullscreen
I can’t begin to explain how big a hurdle this was (and really, it shouldn't have been). But due to engine limitations, I’ve tried so many ways to get this implemented reliably. However, this latest version seems to be working well by testers so far, so I’m very happy to push this out live. Just a note on that, but very rarely, the fullscreen/borderless toggles won’t do anything. A quick restart of the game seems to fix this every time! (Sorry !!)
The Enlightened Changes
Now all the technical stuff is out of the way, let's dive into the fun content side of things! As promised, it's the Enlightened turn for an update! We sat down and worked through each of his cards, using analytics and player feedback across all difficulties to target various things to bump up. Overall, his rework wasn’t as extensive as the Hiddens (his starting artifact didn’t change, for example), but still a significant number of tweaks and balances. The goal was to just give him a gentle nudge upwards, and by bumping numbers in small ways, and adding a few more Fatigue sources, slightly speed up fights.
All in all, 12 Neutral/Hidden cards were changed, 25 Enlightened cards got tweaked in some way, and 11 new cards were added! There were also some small tweaks to the starting kit for Martial and a tweak to the Mindfulness Spell.
I’ll put a full list of changes at the bottom for those who’d like to look over things!
At the end of the day, Enlightened wasn't too far behind the curve when it comes to win rate, and just needed a few soft touches. But as always, we’ll keep and eye on things here and push numbers more where needed!
So there's a few things that didn’t quite make this patch. The biggest of which was the Alternative Art packs I wanted to add, for Sins and Afflictions. I’m currently getting those wrapped up and I’ll hopefully drop them in a small patch next week.
Further to that, a few people have been asking about 1.0. I’ve got some exciting news on that front! But -- can’t share it yet :)
Next up will be the Balance Update for the Daughter of the Void, and I’ll endeavor to get a few new Challenge Coins in before then as well!
Thank you everyone for your patience, and for all the lovely reviews and kind words! It really does make a difference and means the world! Looking forward to keeping this train rolling!
Take care! - Josh
Neutral/Hidden Card Changes
Grapeshot: +1 damage pre and post upgrade Salt in the Wound: -1 clot pre and post upgrade Opening Move: Opener also gives 1 Overcharge Killing Blow: +4 damage pre and post upgrade Yin Yang: +2 damage pre and post upgrade Arcane Overload and Furious Assault: +1 to per-card scaling pre and post upgrade Zig Zag: Cost reduced to 0 Cease Exertion: The conditional slows are now AoE. Unload: Changed to deal 20(22) damage and Sift 2(3). Surprise Attack: Does 3 more baseline damage pre and post upgrade Wound: +3 damage pre and post upgrade
The Enlightened Card Changes:
Smack to the Future: FS increased from 2x2(3x3) to 5x5(6x5) Mix Up: Increased FS by 1 pre and post upgrade. The upgrade also adds Purge: Trigger Void Stone. Union: Increased FS and Shii by 1 pre and post upgrade Harmony: Increased Block by 1 pre and post upgrade Unbalanced Fury: Increased FS from 6x2 to 6x3 Careful Advance and Cautious Blow: Both now cost 1. FS/Shii/Block/Delay Block values reduced to 5. Exhale: Increased Shii by 2 pre and post upgrade State of Mind: Increased Purge from 2 Shii to 4 Shii. Buff now scales so that it applies 4 Shii X times, instead of applying 4-times-X Shii. Meditation: Base card gains "Purge while Zen: Gain 1 Energy." Back in Time: +1 Shii pre and post upgrade Haste: Reduced cost by 1. Changed the upgrade to "Opener: Chain 1." Prophesized: +1 Shii pre and post upgrade Time Warp: Changed to be "this turn and next" Gaining Momentum: Deals 1 more FS pre and post upgrade. Increased cost by 1 and add "Draw 1" to its opener clause. Battle Insight: Zen: Vision 1 replaced with an unconditional Vision 2 Clear Image: Deals -2 Shii pre and post upgrade and has -1 cost Ankle Break: Changed to Deal 10 damage. Deal 5(7) Shii. Follow-Up: Apply Slow 1(2). Deceleration: The upgrade has now become the base card. The new upgrade adds "and Vulnerable 2" to the conditional. Age: Current upgrade removed. Gains Purge: Block 3(6). Timeless: Gains Purge: Rage 25%. Chaotic Blur: +2 block pre and post upgrade Opposing Force: +1 FS pre and post upgrade Undermine: Changed the FS to 5x1(8x1) and made it also apply Vulnerable 2 pre-upgrade. Bring the Thunder: Now an Uncommon. Rage 50% X(+1) times. Purge: Draw & Discard 1.
New Cards:
11 new cards added!
Other
Removed 1 copy of Gaining Momentum from the Martial starter replacing it with a 9th Lashing Kick. Focus (Mindfulness starting spell): Removed the Zen requirement from the Rage 25%
Moving Forward — The Enlightened, Ultra Wide Screen and 1000 Reviews!
Hello everyone!
I wanted to take the time to update you all on what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s been a bit of time since the big Hidden update, so lets recap what’s going on, how things went, and what’s next!
The Hidden Update
To cut a long story short, the Hidden Update (from pretty much all accounts) was a great success! A massive thank you to everyone who has reached out with feedback — it was great to see such a positive reaction around the changes.
The Numbers We had some target numbers in mind when it comes to win rates etc that we really wanted the new Hidden to fall into. As of right now, everything has trended upwards, and numbers fall (for the most part), within 1% of our goal. This is so great to see, The Hidden and the Tempest are both now sitting very close (no really, like… REALLY close) to each other in power level, win rate etc. Excatly what the goal was.
The Response But its not just about numbers for me! Always its important to know how the class feels to play — and on that front, its been almost exclusively positive as well. A lot of people commenting about the new changes to the artifact, the free combo, and being able to spend it now more willingly. The Hidden has been revitalised in a lot of peoples eyes, and people are enjoying the new power level.
Thank you again to everyone who has reached out, left comments, DM’ed me, chatted in the Discord etc. The only way to know how this stuff feels is to hear it from you all, and I appreciate anyone who takes the time to do so!
All in all, a great step forward for the Hidden and Vault of the Void overall. I’m excited to move onto the next class focus, the Enlightened.
The Enlightened
Work is already underway on the Enlightened changes. I will preface this by saying —don’t expect a major overhaul on anything with him. Right now he’s in a pretty decent spot, and the focus will be just bumping numbers up in a few places, adding a bunch of new cards, and addressing a few pain points (2 cost Openers, 2 costs in general etc). This process is already underway and you can expect to hear more about this next week as it moves into testing!
Resolution Changes — Ultra Wide Screen Support
Right now, when not spending time in the trenches discussing/changing the Enlightened, all my time is spent working on the new resolution changes for the game. The goal with this was primarily to extend support now to Ultra Wide screen monitors, and also address the “black bars” that appear on certain resolutions. It also means that when the game extends to handheld devices (Steam Deck, iPad, Switch etc), it will conform perfectly.
This is a pretty major overhaul to be honest. I’ve spent around 3 days on it full time so far, and only have 3 screens or “rooms” fully converted. When I first started working on Vault, I had zero knowledge when it came to programming, let alone game development. Ideally, this would have been something the game supported from the beginning — however now it's just something I have to cycle back and retrofit. I’ve learnt a lot in the last 3 years!
The downside to this, is just time. I need to continue working on this to ensure it's ready for the Enlightened update, and splitting an update its tough. I’m hoping the rest comes together pretty smoothly over the next week or so, but I apologise in advance if it delays the updates for a week or so as I get it all finalised. Once done, the game will have a proper resolution selector, it scales to the game window and scales all game assets in the same way.
Sorry again that this fall right in the middle of development — but once done we’ll be in a great place moving forward!
1000 Reviews
Over the last week or so we hit a very amazing milestone! 1000 total steam reviews — unreal! Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a review over the past 18 months. I’ve mentioned it before, but Vault doesn’t have a big marketing team or publisher behind it at all. Steam Reviews are the main way Vault gets out and shared with others, and hence I’m extremely thankful.
I previewed an alternative Affliction card artwork pack a while back, featuring the Treasure Goblin himself! The next patch I’ll include instructions on how to claim this in game, as a big thank you to you all for helping Vault become what it is!
That’s all from me for now! Thanks again to everyone for playing and enjoying Vault of the Void. The journey so far has been incredible and I’m excited for the future.
Take care, all for now! - Josh
Update #49 -- The Hidden Balance Patch -- New Cards and Card Updates!
Howdie folks! Well, it’s finally here -- many weeks of me saying “soon”, finally got a chance to sit down and go over the first of the Big Balance Updates. Rather than pass over everything at once, I decided to split things into each of the Classes. I prefer to push updates out at least every 2 weeks if possible, and doing things this way gives the testing team a bit more time to focus on new areas.
A big shoutout to Dabor and Breakshift for their work throughout this patch, but for their time during the concept stages. Lots of calls and discussions passing over everything, and I’m really happy where it landed. And, of course, a HUGE thank you to the Internal Testing Team and the Localisation team for getting everything through so quickly, and all the great feedback and bug finding throughout the process.
So, with that, let’s dive into the great Hidden Balance Pass.
Goals
So what needed to change with the Hidden? Firstly, it's been known for some time that the Tempest is the strongest of the 4 classes. WIth each class’s Balance Patch, the goal is to edge them closer towards the Tempest, rather than edge the Tempest down. The Hidden, Enlightened and the Daughter all want to be nudge up a bit in win rate.
More specifically, when it comes to play style, the goals were:
Make the starting decks feel more even - better Slash, weaker upgrade on Draw Blood. Give Quickness its own appeal compared to Lick the Knife
Make spending Combo as appealing as Balance spam -- give more Combo, and make Combo spenders stronger in general.
More Blade/Shiv and Combo generation in the common pool.
Better longevity -- more ways to apply raw Bleed, and give the starting Artifact a way to scale in longer fights.
Increase the card pool.
In total, there were:
36 changes to the current pool (34 buffs, 2 nerfs)
14 New Cards
If you’d like to see a full list of all the card changes, they will be listed below. If you’d like to check out the new cards, you can head to the Compendium and type in 1.4.44 into the search bar and it will list all the new cards!
One of the big changes is to the Hiddens starting Artifact (Sneak Artist), which now reads: At the start of each turn, if at Combo 0, Combo 1. Starting from Turn 4, your max Combo is increased by 1. Great source of free Combo each turn, and a little bump if fights start to take a bit longer!
Overall, I hope you like the new changes -- feedback so far has been really positive! The next step is passing over each of the Artifacts and adding some more, and balancing where needed. This will happen over the next week or two as the dust settles on this change!
Thanks everyone for being patient with me as I finally got around to all this!
Other Things...
Whilst I’m trying to keep these notes short, I have gone through and worked through a number of bugs which have shown up in Bug Reports over the last little while. I’ve also worked on the UI of the Daily Draft (expect some bigger changes there in the next little bit), which will now show how many times a player has placed top 3 in the Draft, and also tracks how many times you have as well! I've also been tending to a few other wording bugs etc that go along each patch.
One of the bigger changes is adding more visual feedback and clarity to Echo Wall. Right now, it was an effect that did confuse players a little bit because of its lack of visual feedback, but also due to poor wording. It’s been updated to reference Threat now (as it triggers when the creature attacks, not when you take damage), and I’ve added a slight pause and visual pow-wow when they get smacked back from it.
Feedback
Thank you to everyone for the lovely feedback and support over the last few weeks! Some really nice reviews have rolled through and I appreciate everyone who takes the time to share their thoughts! It's awesome to think we're nearly at 1000 Reviews, a milestone I never thought I'd see!
I hope you all enjoy the new changes and updates, and I'll be swinging back in before too long to update the Aritfacts, and forge a plan for the next class's update!
Thank you everyone!
All for now. - Josh
Full Change List
- Slash Changed to: Deal 6(9) damage. If at Combo 0, Combo 1. [[1 less copy in starter deck, replaced with another Underhanded Tactics]] - Draw Blood Changed: Make the upgrade "Add an upgraded Silent Shiv to hand" instead of "Add 2 Silent Shivs to hand." - For The Throat Changed: Apply Bleed 6(9). - Quickness Changed: Combo 1. Block equal to Combo. (Rebound.) - Backpedal Changed: +1 damage both pre and post upgrade - Bladestorm Changed: +1 bleed both pre and post upgrade - Bleed It Out: Increase the purge-bleed on upgrade to 3 - Bloodlust Changed: +1 block both pre and post upgrade - Bloodthirst Changed: Change damage to 8(11) - Exploit Vulnerability Changed: Apply Vulnerable 2(3). Apply Bleed equal to (combined) Vulnerable(, Weak, and Slow). - First Blood Changed: If target is below 10 Bleed, deal 14(20) damage. Otherwise, Apply Bleed 6(9). - Hemolysis Changed: +1 block both pre and post upgrade - Light It Up Changed: Deal 9(10) damage. Overcharge 1(2). Expel. - Main Gauche Changed: +1 block pre-upgrade - Scatter Shot Changed: +3 damage pre and post upgrade - Slick Strike Changed: +2 damage pre and post upgrade - Splatter Changed: Deal 9(10) damage. Clot 2(1): Deal 5(6) damage. - Surprise Attack: Move to Neutral card pool. - Thousand Cuts Changed: +3 bleed pre and post upgrade - Underhanded Tactics Changed: Deal 4(7) damage. If the target is Attacking, apply Weak 1 and Vulnerable 1. - Blender Changed: +1 bleed pre and post upgrade - Blood Siphon Changed: (Trigger target's Bleed.) Remove target's Bleed. Gain that much Block. Purge: Block 4. - Cease Exertion Changed: Both Clots go down from 3 to 2 - Grapeshot Changed: Deal 5(7) damage to a random enemy 8 times. Purge: Sift 1. - Lacerations Changed: Lower the cost pre-upgrade to 1 - Opportunist Changed: Deal 5(8) damage, or 9(12) if the target is Bleeding, to all enemies. - Response Changed: Increase upgrade to 4 cost. - Rip and Tear Changed: +1 bleed pre and post upgrade - Slice in Twain Changed: Increase the damage from 10(12) to 20(24) - That'll Sting Changed: +1 damage pre and post upgrade - Blades Upon Blades Changed: +1 damage pre and post upgrade - Open Up Changed: Change the "15"s to "18"s - Sustenance Changed: +1 block pre and post upgrade - Flaying Flesh Changed: Just +1 damage pre and post upgrade
Update #48 -- Coins, a Modifier and... Secrets?
Hello everyone!
This weekend sees a small patch released, which contains a bunch of bug fixes I’ve noticed (most were hotfixed throughout the last week), and adds just a small collection of content updates.
Probably the biggest of these, is one that I’m not going to speak of at all. Because its... well you know, secret. But when you fetch find it, you’ll know...
New Challenge Coins!
Couple of new Challenge Coins have been added, one for the Enlightened and one for the Daughter of the Void!
Onslaught Death Strike doesn't work on 2+ cost cards. Your first Attack each turn costs 1 more but gives you 1 Death Strike.
Artifacts: Bladed Staff, Eldritch Blessing
Fortune Teller At the start of each turn, draw 1 less card.
Artifacts: Scrying Pool, Temporal Prism
I hope you enjoy the new Coins! The feedback from the Challenge Coin system continues to be fantastic, and there is a concerted effort to continue adding more and more for you all to enjoy!
New Impossible+ Modifier
One thing I really want to push towards with Impossible+, is adding more modifiers that aren’t just deprivation of resources. It’s very easy to fall into that trap when adding them, and I’ve spoken about an effort to steer away from them, from now on. Fog of War, Ambush etc are great examples of modifiers that I think really do change the way you play. Today, another such modifier has been added: Blind Spot.
Blind Spot reads: Combats will have no pre-fight information. This modifier makes it so there's no way to know who (or what?) you’re fighting.
As more of these types of modifiers are added to the game, I hope it allows players to enjoy playing the way they’d like. Impossible+50 should be tailored to how you like to play, and the more modifiers that get included, the closer we move to that goal!
Mystery Stuff
Something fun, and often requested, has been added. First to find it gets a treat!
Thank you again everyone for playing Vault of the Void! It’s no secret that the past month has seen the biggest influx of new players and player counts when it comes to Vault, and I’m so happy you’re all enjoying it! I thank you as always for the reviews -- they really, really help with small devs like myself, without the big marketing budgets behind it!
Next time I post, it will be with the details of the Hidden rework, which is slated to start on Monday! (And yeah, expect the start of the class specific Potions in that one!)
Thank you everyone -- happy Void hunting!
All for now. - Josh
Update #47 -- The Potion Change + Balance Pass
Hello everyone! So I posted a preview about this change last week, and its finally here! The Potion rework is now live and ready to play. I’ll include some more details below, including the issues with the old system and the reason for the change. Apologies for it taking a bit longer to get out, I coupled this with UI updates to the Potion shop as well, so there was quite a bit of artwork to get sorted for this one change!
I hope you all enjoy the change. It's never easy to make a mechanic change like this to an already fully established system, and I always prefer to err on the side of caution when doing so. There were a number of ways to address the issue, and there was a lot of feedback and suggestions as well. In the end, I did like a lot of things about the Potion system as it stood, and wanted to ensure the change adhered to two of the main tenets of the game:
Force players to make meaningful and lasting choices.
Allow prior knowledge to inform choices.
As I mentioned in this preview post, the two main things I wanted to address were;
Limiting the amount of Potions that could be used in a fight, promoting more use throughout the run, rather than the Potion dump that came at the end of a run, vs the Void.
Allow an option for players to use Potions reactively, instead of proactively.
Also, as with everything in VotV, I really wanted to try and stay away from established systems in similar games, and look for something slightly different and unique, that fits the style of game that VotV really is, leaning into its idiosyncrasies.
Lets talk about the change in general, and how those ideas play into it.
Potion Changes
Potions now have two effects, they’ll have a “Brew” effect, and also a “Belt” effect. Each of these are different (except the Health Potion). Before a fight, you’ll have the choice to assign a Potion to your Brew slot, and your Belt slot.
Brew
Brew slot is where you assign a Potion to have its effects last the duration of the battle. This, in essence, is the old Potion system, just now with a limit of 1 Potion. Too often, Potions would be forgotten about or not used until it was too late, and saved up for the Void fight. I really liked how this system used to work, with a prior choice needing to be made before each fight. The limit to 1 now encourages people to use them more often during a run. It also harkens back to both of the core philosophies mentioned earlier. Once Brewed, that Potion is spent. And knowing which Potion to take into which fight comes from experience.
Belt
Belt slot is a system which allows you to use Potions in a way that is familiar to other games. You can take a single Potion into a fight to be used reactively. If you don’t use your Belt Potion during an encounter, it isn’t consumed! (so there really is never a reason not to have something in there). Their effects are usually a single time strong effect, that may help swing the tide of battle in tense moments!
I wanted to answer a few of the most common questions I’ve had during this process:
Why the limit of 1 Belt Potion. I’d much prefer 2 or 3! This actually was thought about quite a bit. In the end, Vault's potion drop amount makes it so that this becomes not much of a choice (there isn’t that many during a run). You'd easily just Belt up most of your Potions for fights, rather than actually have to think about which to take. Looking back at the core philosophy, Vault wants to make players make tough choices, ideally ones informed from past play, and opening up more slots (or access to any in your collection) removes a lot of that I feel.
Are you worried about the complexity of the system? Originally it was something to be aware of, but the key I felt was delivering the UI in a simple and easy to use way that helped make the system make sense. Part of that was also auto equipping a Potion into your Belt, if it was empty. I think it also removes some weight in the fact they’re not cards anymore. Often that was confusing for players starting out.
At the end of the day, I know its a big change to an established system, and there might be some trepidation! I’ve been in close contact with those testing the new system and so far, even for those who were a bit hesitant, most have ended up with a positive response. I hope everyone gives it a try and finds it to be positive also!
In the end, thanks for sticking by me as I work through changes like this! Always a scary time as a dev!
Balance Changes
So, you’re probably thinking “What about that Spider Nest fight?”. You know the one, the one you’d save all those Exploding and Crippling Potions for...
Yes, that fight has been tweaked!
So Dabor and I have sat down and gone over a bunch of balance changes. Nerfs, buffs etc. We’ve analyzed the data from the last few months and really addressed a few outliers (I see you Birth Pit, ending everyone's runs!). This is a constant ongoing process and we’ll continue to keep an eye on things moving forward. Expect a potential tickle up of things in the next week or two depending how this all shakes out as well! A full list of the changes can be found below.
Bug Fixes
So, there has been a surge of new players recently, which I’m very thankful for! Welcome to you all! However, one thing is a few more crashes have shown up, which is only natural. I’ve had my hands tied as this Potion patch has been brewing for sometime. However now the builds will be up to date - so I’ll be keeping a closer eye on things and hotfixing daily anything that shows up again.
I’m very sorry if you’ve been affected by these bugs. I’m usually able to tend to all bugs within 24-48 hours, however the way this patch cycle has gone, because of the major change, required a bit longer sorry!
I’ll leave things here for now, this is already quite long and I feel bad for the awesome translators!! Thank you as always for the flood of lovely reviews, I’m so glad to hear you’re all enjoying Vault! There is lots more things in the works, can’t wait to share more with you all!
Thanks again -- happy Void hunting!
All for now. - Josh
Patch Notes - Brand new Potion system has been added! - Two new Potions have been added. - Forgotten Fuse now has a counter showing how much damage it will do.
Bugs - Fixed a number of missing translations. - Fixed the crash that was happening on the Soul Collector. - Fixed a crash based on Tutorial display. - Fixed a crash at the Spell Singer. - Fixed a bug caused by card images losing their parent. - Fixed a bug with card trails. - Fixed a bug on card images caused by alternative artwork. - Fixed a bug caused by monster previews being wrong.
Balance - Void Spider AP increased by 1 and Frenzy lowered by 4 on all difficulties. - Bruce's AP scales less later on the floor. Has 1 less AP and 1 more Frenzy on Impossible so he scales particularly less in long late-floor fights. - Birth Pit has 2 less AP across all difficulties, and Pinkies have 1 less AP on Impossible - Corpse Mound has 2 less AP on Impossible - Dolus has 3 more AP across all difficulties - Congregation's Peck replaced with do-nothing Squawk ability. Changed to have 2 AP with 2/3/4 Frenzy depending on difficulty. - Arkaos Axe has 1 more AP on Normal and Hard - Berserker has 1 more AP on Impossible - Taxidermist Creations have 1 more AP on Impossible - Hag applies 1 more Burn on Normal - Starcallers have 2 more AP across all difficulties - Dragon Whelpling on Impossible does 1 less Burn and traded 1 AP for 1 Frenzy (so he starts the same but scales less and is easier to debuff) - Dragon Mother's block limiting is now 10/9/8 instead of 10/8/6 across Normal/Hard/Impossible - Future tweaks will likely happen to Bloodhive (too easy on Impossible), the Council (too easy on all difficulties) and and Wicked Worshippers (killing side enemies isn't a viable strategy).
Preview: New Potion System!
Hello everyone!
Today's post is a preview of stuff to come! I wanted to take some time to showcase where things are at with the new Potion system! Potions have been something which really needed addressing in Vault for sometime. They were quite easily forgettable -- and oftentimes you’d find yourself with a plethora of colorful bottles remaining at the end of a run, which you would then begin dunking on the void with.
There were a few things I wanted to address here:
Firstly -- limiting the amount of Potions that could be used in a fight. I think this was pretty important, as it very often ended up being a situation where you’d remember them at the last minute, and just unload them all in your last fight, which isn’t a super compelling choice. This was partly due to their front loading nature as well, which...
Secondly -- Potions were proactive. You had to equip one before you went into a fight, which had an emphasis on system mastery. I do like that aspect, where a player knowing they might be in a tough matchup would cause them to bring a potion. However, oftentimes, you’d be mid-fight, and things would take a bad turn, and you’d really wish you brought a Potion to help. With this new system both are possible! The key here was to allow the players to arm themselves with a "just incase" button.
And as a final goal -- continue trying to make a system that is interesting, different, and that encourages the player to make tough choices, rather than just a carbon copy of something else out there.
So, how does that look?
In Vault of the Void, Potions now have two effects, Brew and Belt. You can choose to add one to your Brew slot before each fight, and also one to your Belt slot before each fight (only ever one of each!).
When you Brew a Potion, its effects trigger at the start of combat, and often last the entire battle -- the same effect as the current system. However now you can also add a Potion to your Belt, a quick slot ability that you can cast in a moment of panic (or triumph!) mid battle. Belt potions won’t be consumed automatically either -- so if you finish a fight without using that Stealth Potion, it will be there for the next fight.
Here’s an example of a few of the Potions, with their differing effects (note: subject to change)
Potion of Stealth
Brew: Creatures will skip their first turn. Belt: Halve your current Threat.
Strength Potion
Brew: At the start of each turn, gain 50% Rage. Belt: Rage 125%.
Exploding Bottle
Brew: Deal 25 damage to all enemies. Belt: Apply Vulnerable 1. Deal 40 damage. (Single target)
On top of all this -- the Potion Merchant is getting a full UI rework, and all Potions are getting new art to help with the expansion of things. If you feel this system sets itself up well for expanding into class specific Potions -- or even unique Potions from events... well you’d be right! :)
I really hope you like the new system, and are willing to give it a try! So far testing has been mostly positive, and I’m looking forward to rolling this out. The current plan is to have this live by next weekend! It should make its way to the Beta Branch a few days before that also.
Thanks everyone!
All for now - Josh
Update #46 -- Laptop Memory + General Bug Fixes
Hello everyone!
So the localisation patch is now a little over a week old and I’ve been getting lots of positive feedback! I’m so glad that many of you are now able to enjoy Vault of the Void in your local language, and hope the experience has been pleasant.
I’m just sweeping in with a quick little hotfix today -- usually I wouldn’t put together patch notes for a small patch like this, but I’ve been seeing a particular issue affecting a decent amount of players, and so wanted to address it publicly. Basically, a handful of players have been experiencing a “crash”, probably without much context or explanation. It seems to happen at random times, and then also somewhat often when reloading the game.
This was due to some memory issues going on. From what I can tell, this was mostly targeting laptops, and the issue stems from the laptop and GPU usage. I’ve done some work to optimise this, and also shorten load times on boot up as well. If you were suffering from this issue -- please let me know if this fixes the problem! As usual, I’ll keep an eye on crash logs over the next few days.
I’ve also managed to bundle in a few bug fixes as well -- all will be listed below!
Thank you again everyone for all the support! Some lovely reviews coming in from people all around the world, great to see many new players!
Thank you everyone -- all for now!! - Josh
Bugs Fixes -Changed the way Locale files are loaded on startup, resulting in much, much faster load times. -Optimisation for Laptops, and minor tweaks for Desktop PCs. -Fixed an issue where floor specific Well of Stars rewards were getting jumbled (extra elite spawn after finishing floor 2, for example). -Fixed an issue with Battle Progress not lining up on the pre-fight screen. -Fixed an issue where one particular enemy was a high achiever, and had Battle Progress exceeding 100% -Fixed an issue where some tooltips would break their bounds on spawned cards. -The Favour of Cancer Artifact now has the correct artwork. -Changed wording on the +/- Shock popover. -Taunt ability is now translated correctly. -Fixed some button text in the Compendium. -Translated the Seed text in battle.
Update #45 -- The Language Update + New Challenge Coins!
Hello everyone! No need for a preamble -- today I’m very excited to announce that Vault of the Void is now playable in 7 different languages: Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish!
Localisation Update
The last few months have been a pretty extensive journey, as I learnt (the hard way) what it looks like to localize a game that wasn’t programmed to support it from the start. When I started working on Vault of the Void, my thinking was “If it gets to the point where it’s success means it requires localisation, then I’ll be fine doing it!”. I now know, there is a reason why all game dev tips start with Plan for localisation!
Funny enough -- the amount of work for me was nothing compared to the work of the amazing community translators themselves! Since December, the team across 6 languages have translated over 477,513 different words. It was very important for me to have translators working on the project who knew the game. All the translators were players first, and that was a huge benefit when it comes to supporting all the keywords, tooltips, interactions etc. Vault is a dense game, without a doubt, so having some prior knowledge before diving in was super important to ensuring the translation was as accurate as possible. A huge thank you to all who rallied together and made this possible -- very, very proud of the team that's been built.
Also, now that all my update posts have to be translated, I can’t waffle on as much as I used to! :D
That said, the job isn’t done! The team is very responsive to all feedback, and if you notice something is off, or displays incorrectly, or worse of all, is still in English -- there are two main ways to get in contact. Firstly, the Discord server! I’ve set up a new room called #localisation-feedback where you can provide any specific feedback! I’ve also created channels to chat with others in each of the new languages, so you’re more than welcome to come and hang out there.
The other place would be on the Forums -- there's a sticky post for Feedback. Many of the members are subscribed so they’ll see and action your feedback as it shows up!
So again -- another huge thank you to the team who made this possible. I’m so blessed to have such a great community form around this game. I’ve met so many wonderful people through Vault of the Void over the last 18 months, and my life is so much better for it!
The Mysterious Disappearance of Community Rewards
Sadly, I was contacted by Steam and told to remove the Community Reward counter in the game -- I totally understand their standpoint there. It’s sad, I really enjoyed the process, and it was a huge help to myself (small, mostly solo dev with no publisher) to help spread the word. In light of this, my biggest issue is what to do with the 1,000 Reward? I had it already planned, I just need to get them animated!
Behold, the majesty of: the Treasure Goblin Affliction Pack!
I’ll get these all animated and find a way to get them to you all :) Even though there is no longer a Community Reward, I still really appreciate everyone who leaves a review for Vault of the Void. I’m very proud of the game that has formed from all the feedback and input from you all over the last 12-18 months.
Guest Artwork Packs
So, I hinted at this last time, and since then, plans are in motion! With the setup to alternative artwork in place, keep your eyes peeled for some awesome guest artwork packs coming soon!
Challenge Coins
Two new Challenge Coins have been added to the game! Couple of fun ones here, you’ll now be able to dive into “Great Devourer” and “Spell Roulette”. I hope you enjoy these CCs -- I know there's been a lot of great feedback when it comes to CCs, and hope they continue to help in mixing up your runs!
Thats all from me for now -- I did manage to squeeze in a few bug fixes and graphical updates, as shown below. I should be back in a week or two with the new Potion update (they’re getting revamped!) as well as some more great content, including the promised balance pass!
All for now! - Josh
Additions === - Localisation support! Vault of the Void is now fully playable in Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish - Matron of Memories will now offer 4 *different* Potions! - New UI design for Dark Idol - 2 New Challenge Coins - New UI for the Spellbook Screen
Bugs === - Celerity will now show correctly in the Compendium. - Added a slight delay to Tooltips. - Corrected an issue with save games not working, on very rare occasions. - Fixed a bug when viewing Statistics on a fresh profile. - Fixed the heading in battle when viewing your Expel pile. - The game will now save at the Well of Stars, meaning you can exit and come back and still get your rewards
Localisation Testing -- Call to Arms!
Hello everyone! I apologise for my silence over the last few weeks. It’s been a real grind, I’ve been heavily focused on getting the Localisation setup for Vault of the Void. And today -- finally -- I have some great news!
So, with a massive thank you to the amazing community members who have volunteered their time, Vault of the Void is now available to opt in and play in 6 different languages: Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French and German.
As of right now -- this is a public opt-in branch to ensure everything is all smooth, and things aren’t missing! If all goes well, then I’ll publish this to the live branch next weekend, March 4th!
As a note, I know this isn’t super exciting news for all players. I’d love to be swinging in with a bunch of new content for you all to digest! However, the nature of things is that Localisation had to get done, and it was a big demand in terms of my time. Also, being a solo-developer, that means that all my time spent there leaves 0 for other stuff sadly.
Fear not however! The update next week will come bundled with 2 new Challenge coins, and I’ll also preview some new Alternative Artwork which I’m super excited about, as well as an update on plans for new stuff coming!!
Okay, so first up, some details!
How do I opt-in? It’s actually really easy!
Head to your Steam Library and find Vault of the Void.
Right click and select Properties
You’ll see a “Betas” option on the left. If you head there, drop down the box and select “Localisation”.
Close that screen and Steam will do the rest!
Will my save files carry over? Yes! Any data you had before will carry over between branches, and all games logged on the Localisation branch will indeed be logged to your main profile. Please keep in mind though -- going back to the Live Branch may cause some characters to not appear in game logs etc, as the Live Branch version doesn’t have the support fonts and language files. Ideally, it would be best to play on the Localisation branch until the Live Branch is updated on March 4th.
I’m an English speaker -- any benefit to moving over? There were also a few small bug fixes included in this build, although to be fair, most of the time was in translation work. However, with all the new font and string changes, it would be awesome to confirm testing in English as well!
Where can I log feedback? As always, the Discord is a great place to reach out re: this stuff. However, I’ve also set up a stickied forum post right here. I’ll be cycling through this everyday for any issues.
As always, I'm here to answer any questions you may have! I can't stress enough how thankful I am, and I'm sure we all are collectively to the AMAZING people who helped to translate this. Vault of the Void ended up with over 40,000 words that required translation, and I'm blown away by the out pouring of support over the last few months.
谢谢, ありがとう, Grazie, Gracias, Merci & Danke!!
Update #44: Community Codes, Challenge Coins and COVID
Hello everyone!
Ahh - I finally got here. I’ll admit -- I took the scenic route it seems.. let me explain!
I had originally planned to have this patch out late last week, or over the weekend at the latest. However, life had other plans -- including hitting my family and I with a bout of COVID! Thankfully, it was pretty light for me, only lasting a day or two, but it did set things back a little. My appologies for taking so long with these fixes -- I'd much rather have them out eariler but with Localisation still going on its hard to find a break point to push a build inbetween thing!
However we’re here now, and I’m excited to get this out. Translation is still going on (I’m still pulling strings out of the game!) -- and progressing very well (the game is actually playable in several languages!). However I’ve managed to sneak this update in between all that. Let’s dive in.
Bug Fixes
Let’s start with the boring stuff first hey? Bugs. Ew. But -- there's been a bunch of them. The biggest issues I’ve seen reported seem to be around missing strings. This was because of all the Localisation stuff going on -- really sorry about that. Desync now has a tooltip -- and that tooltip isn’t the Shii tooltip like it’s been. I’ll post a full patch notes below of all the bugs I remember fixing -- I’m sure there were much more!
Card Stacking
So this is something which is a working prototype right now -- card stacking! One of the coolest features (I think) of Vault of the Void is -- no hand size limit. But, that can lead to some ... interesting things when it comes to Hidden Blade spam. Fun to play -- but tricky to interact with.
No longer! Card stacking is now a thing which allows those cards to form up into a neat little stack, once added to your hand! Please let me know of any issues you have with this -- if all is well I’ll probably roll this out to Banes, Dazes and the likes as well!
Save Game - again..
So, I’ve still been battling some issues with Save Game files. I think I’ve found the solution now! Huge thanks to Valouvalou (who made Loop Odyssey -- go check it out!). Similar situtation with them (and many others), and it looks like they’ve found a solution! I’ve rolled out a simliar fix in this update -- please let me know if you have any more profile/save game wipes (useually this occurs during a black out or PC crash).
Fingers crossed!!
Challenge Coins
So -- whilst my hands are tied a little expanding too much right now with the Localisation process going on -- there is one thing I can add more off. Challenge Coins! 4 new coins have been added, one for each Class! The reception to the Challenge Coin update has been overwhelming, I apprecaite each and everyone one of you who have enjoyed the new system, and taken the time to let me know! The quest to fill this out with more and more coins will continue!
I hope you enjoy these new ones as much as the past ones!
750 Review Reward
Okay -- so I’m blown away, but we’ve actually already hit the 750 Review Count (just ticked over today)! Unreal -- I can’t thank you all enough. The 750 Community Reward is ready to be claimed in game. Some of you may have seen a new system implemented last patch -- the Alternative Artwork screen under unlocks. Here is a chance for me to start giving out some awesome rewards, in the form of cool artwork variations, animated cards, themed sets -- lots to expand upon.
I’m actually pretty excited about this system -- it has a lot of cool potential! I’d love to see guest artwork featured, crossovers with other games, all fun things like that!
First cab of the rank -- some alternative artwork for everyone's favorite Hidden Blade! That’s right, the Soul Knife can be claimed with the code ‘SoulKnife’ right now! It’s full size, animated, and I hope you like it!! Rather than boring Hidden Blades -- why not weild a weapon powered by the very Souls you collected!
It’s an absolute pleasure to be able to take a little time to make cool rewards and cosmetic unlocks like this. I’ve already got the reward for 1000 Reviews in the making -- a set of Alternative Artwork cards. And the theme is... well... interesting ...
Oh you want to see a preview? Okay...
Oh no? Oh, yessss!
500 Review Reward
So on a slightly more serious note... anyone who has read my posts before knows how upset I was about the 500 Reward situation. I did everything I could to try and avoid something like this happening, and sadly the way the situation unfolded wasn’t great. However, I’m pleased to annouce that -- its finally ready.
Firstly, huge thank you to my fellow artist Mengo for helping me with the base layout here. We worked on this together, I threw down the final rendering and setup things for animation -- and then Sanjeev my animator crushed it. Again. (As a reward, looks like he'll be animated a bunch of Treasure Goblins realllll soon)
So I’ll be upfront, I mentioned this in the Discord, but I was pretty nervous when it game to this. Because of how overdue it is, the drama surronding it, and the anticipation, I was very worried it would be a flop and a let down. An "Oh. Is that it?"...
However, everyone who’s tested it so far has had great things to say -- so I really hope you all think the same!
Firstly -- the code. ‘LateToTheParty’ will unlock this gem for you.
Elements of the board react and light up to things you do -- ending turn, taking threat, killing mobs etc. There is also a little hidden gem in there if you’re feeling particularly... musical. A huge shoutout to Cody from CpawsMusic, (who has done the soundtrack for VotV), but was an absolute legend in helping me out with the Rune sounds. You'll find out when you click on them :)
Who’s going to be the first one to send me a video of them playing a song on the Runes? :D
In closing with all this -- I'm going to vow to never let this happen again. I'm really, REALLY sorry it was overdue. You all did your part in leaving the Reviews. I didn't. I really do hope you enjoy the Battlefield however :)
Woo ! At the bottom already? I'll close with my usual thank you for all the amazing support and kind words. At least once a day I have someone join the Discord, reach out on Reddit, Twitter or email to express how much Vault means to them and how much they enjoy it. Game dev is exhausting -- but you all make it so worthwhile and such a rewarding experience. Thank you!
More Localisation work for me over the next few weeks. Then -- into that balance pass I've promised (can't do that mid translation :( ) and into some fresh content!!
Take care everyone -- all for now!
- Josh
New things! - There is an option in the menu to auto add Potions during the Void fight - Hidden Blades and Silent Shivs now stack in your hand! This is a prototype still and will be rolled out to other cards eventually - Alternative Artwork is now a thing - use the code 'SoulKnife' for the alternative Hidden Blade artwork! (750 Community Reward) - Finally - the Interactive Background is finished! You can unlock it by using the code 'LateToTheParty'! - 4 new Challenge Coins - In your Run History, there is now a Copy Seed button, which you can use with the new... - Paste Seed button! - Finally, new artwork for Bane, Daze, Exhaustion, Infection and Remorse. - In the options menu, there is an option to have a Discovery Tooltip visible. This means that in game, any artifact or card you haven't "Discovered" will gain an extra tooltip - Void Stones can now be viewed in the Compendium - Yet again, another Save file system update. Please let me know if you have any issues with data loss! - The Community Reward tracker has been bumped to 1000! - New Spell Button on the top bar - allowing you to quickly view your spells in a Tooltip.
Bugs - Fixed Bruce not having a description on his Passive ability - Fixed the Soul Merchant showing "0" on the Void Stones - Fixed an issue with random targeting on some cards - Finally fixed the min price tooltip when playing with Tight Pockets! - Fixed the Desync tooltip turning into the Shii tooltip - Fixed the link to Noxious's Twitter on the Store page - Added Bane, Daze, Exhaustion, Infection and Remorse to the Compendium - Fixed an issue with the Merchant, flickering buttons and the Zeal Menu - Fixed an issue with Fortitude effecting damage prediction - Fixed the Treasusre Chest re-roll issue - Fixed an issue with targeting an immune enemy with a Shii attack - Winged Circlet text fixed - Bare Bones Coin Challenge now will allow you get the Upgrade Point in the Artifact Chest - Fixed a bug which stopped Volatile cards from glowing when Discarding - Fixed Discharge from Tesla Trident ignoring Reroute - Fixed a bug with Jewel of the Void - Debt Repaid Purge now affected by Rage - State of Mind Purge no longer affected by Rage - Removed the Artifact Chest on the Pre-Fight for Daily Draft - Fixed issues with Jade Mantis - Vanguard Shield fixed - Reworked some card keyword stuff in setup for Localisation - Tweaking to the Compendium and Card Discovery numbers - You can now re-enable the Community Reward Main Menu feature from Options-> Debug - Hold to End Turn now extends to the shortcut (Space Bar) - Unholy Effigy will now affect Fumble correctly
