Vidar is an Official Selection for Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX West!
Hi friends!
I wanted to share the good news, that Vidar has been chosen for the Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX West this coming September! It's an insane honor, and I can't believe the game is going to be sharing space with some mega-indie titans like Ron Gilbert's Thimbleweed Park, and Lucas Pope's new game as well.
I'm preparing a special demo experience just for PAX players, so if you happened to be one of the lucky ones to grab a badge, make sure to stop by the booth!
- Dean
Hotfix 1.0.1.1
Hi friends!
So the last patch managed to do a little damage to the Boulder Cave. I'm deploying a hot fix that should resolve that, including correctly spawning some blocks that were missing in the puzzles. If you've had any crashes of bizarre puzzle spawning in the Boulder Cave, this should address it.
Additionally, this hotfix resolves bug related to ending the day while still latched onto a gargoyle. The gargoyle should now correctly disengage when you return to town.
- Dean
Hotfix 1.0.1.0
Hi friends!
It's been just under 2 weeks since launch, and already it's been really exciting to see people playing, posting videos on Youtube, and of course reporting bugs. Vidar has gotten some great coverage in IndieGames.com, KeenGamer, Siliconera, and elsewhere.
Also, some of y'all have achievements that I don't have, and that seems unfair. So I should probably get on that.
Today I've pushed a hotfix that addresses a handful of crashes and other nasty things. The nice thing is that, as a result, it unlocks a brand new quest ("Smoke Them Out") which basically wasn't accessible before, and it allows completion of another one ("Vodka Stinger"). Fun fact, until a bug report came in about Vodka Stinger, I had completely forgotten it existed. In hundreds of playthroughs, I had never seen it.
Thanks so much for bearing with me with the inevitably-rocky launch, and hopefully your visits to Vidar going forward are a little more stable!
- Dean
Hotfix 1.0.1.0
Quests Smoke Them Out
]Fixed a crash in Barnabas' dialogue that prevented receiving this quest
Dig sites now spawn in the Boulder Cave
Adjusted the charity values for various items; additionally, the reward can no longer be donated to Csaba
Vodka Stinger
Fixed a crash in Dani's dialogue on completing this quest
Giving away mushrooms as part of this quest or Dr. Spore all properly updated the journal entries for other quests involving mushrooms
Dani will not complete this quest unless the player has all of the necessary items in their inventory
General
1.0 is Live!
Hi friends!
Vidar 1.0 is finally here! This patch includesan entire architectural overhaul for the Windows build that brings it into conformity with the Mac and Linux clients (and moves the Windows client off of RPG Maker's default code entirely). This includes enabling the Steam overlay (and taking screenshots!), reducing lag, improving legibility, and all sorts of other fun stuff.
New Game+ is also available. For those of you who have already beaten the game during Early Access, you'll need to load up your last save file and finish it again to activate New Game+ in the title menu.
Enjoy!
- Dean
Vidar 1.0
The windows client has been migrated to JRGSS; this brings the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions into conformity.
The Steam overlay is now enabled on Windows, and everything that it entails has been activated (including the ability to capture screenshots!)
Lag has been reduced, particularly in the Boulder Cave and Ruins
Pixel fidelity has been improved
New Game+ has been added. Completeing the game once will unlock the option from the title screen. In games created in this mode, you can choose who dies each night, rather than the choice being random.
A new loading screen added at the beginning of any new save file when Vidar is being generated
A new Game Over screen, autosave icon, and client icons have been added
Audio:
Dozens of new sound effects and ambient sounds have been added throughout the game
Various voices have been normalized (looking at you, Extremely Loud Gusztav)
Barnabas now has a voice
Default audio levels have been reset
Fixed some audio issues with the back room of the Church
Fixed some audio issues at Barnabas's house
Quests: Bring Him Home:
This quest now fails if there are no helpers alive
Elek will now update the journal correctly if he assists with this quest
All helpers are less likely to get stuck on this quest after it's completed
Boy's Best Friend
If Groa is dead, Cail will be lost somewhere inaccessible in the cave until you receive this quest
Cail joins Tomi wherever he's living at the completion of the quest (rather than always going to the poor house)
Dr. Spore
This quest now fails if, at some point after Gusztav dies, Robert can no longer inherit it
Giving Back
Lots of improvements to Csaba's dialogue
Csaba can now properly give you this even if Groa is dead
Fixes to the cutscene that occurs if Groa is alive when you receive this quest
Groa and Csaba correctly act as weights for pressure plates while standing alone
Any character in your party now acts as a pressure plate while following you
Additional bug fixes
Hair of the Dog
Dani's rewards will change for this quest if the player already has the lantern
Historic Preservation
The conditions to reach this quest are no longer logically impossible
Reading Is Fundamental
Fixed some of the concluding text message placement
Rewriting History
Tons of fixes to this quest, including in receipt, cutscenes, and completion
Sketched Out
The effect for journal update now correctly plays when you sketch a fossil
Spirit Walk
It is now possible to cancel out of the teleport menu when at the graves after completion of this quest
The Name Game
Fixed a crash in the middle of this quest
Maps:
Boulder Cave 2 has been removed - the Boulder Cave is now 3 rooms long
Fixed a ton of pathing and drawing issues in the Dark Cave
Fixed some pathing in Boulder Cave 1
Consolidated the layout in Ruins 1
Fixed a bug where residents of the second floor of the inn would occasionally not show up
Fish are way less likely to freak out and get stuck now
A path back has been added to the entrance to the cave
Leaving the cave entrance now correctly reenables footprints and town music in Vidar
Added easily accessible oil barrels to the entrance of Dark Cave 3
The Imp Oil Lantern now properly works throughout the rest of the cave
Fixed a rare passage issue in the Water Cave
Puzzles:
Puzzle 80 in the Ruins has been broken into 3 separate puzzles for the sake of internal "checkpoints" in the puzzle (only applies to new games created in version 1.0 or later)
Shortened puzzle 66, Option 0 (only applies to new games created in version 1.0 or later)
Fixed a crash when resetting an already completed puzzle in the Dark Cave
Fixed various crashes in the Ruins
Moved doors in Puzzle 25, Option 0 so you can't race to them using the Leather Boots
Fixed an issue where completed water cave puzzles would bug out on loading a save file
Pillars in frozen Dark Cave puzzles will no longer glitch if you return to that room later
Lots of little changes and fixes to Ruins puzzle layout
Misc: <*> Fixed a layering issue involving Cecilia
<*> Fixed a bug where game over would never trigger
<*> The Journal UI is now more intuitive, with new icons and a new default selection
<*> "Reset Puzzle" will not be included in the menu list unless you're inside the cave
<*> Names of items in the inventory and quests in the journal will no longer be scrunched up
<*> Added a few more graves in town
<*> Entries in the directory are now properly saved
<*> Fixed various typos in dialogues, including replacing unrenderable curly quotes with straight quotes (really)
<*> New animations have been added for using the pick and the shovel
Mac/Linux: The Mac and Linux client has been *dramatically* updated, so much so that a change list isn't possible. There should be a lot less lag, the build is far more stable and less likely to crash, and a host of things too long to list have been fixed. Notably, readability and memory management have both been significantly improved.
Hotfix 0.8.1.1
Hi friends!
We just patched the Mac and Linux client to fix a few bugs introduced with the latest content patch. Specifically, saving works consistently now! Hooray! For your information, the game autosaves after every in-game night (similar to Stardew Valley, if you've played that). It also saves after the puzzle generation at the beginning of the game, and after you get your first quest in town.
This patch also fixes a crash associated with the journal and directory in those clients.
Thanks so much for your patience!
- Dean
Patch 0.8.1.0 "Caught In Your Web" Is Out!
Hi friends!
We've got a new patch with new quests, town events, puzzles, bug fixes, and UI. Some of the new material requires you to start a new game to take advantage of it, so that's my recommendation - plus, you get to see a brand new story ;)
Last week we previewed the new mechanics and UI. Here's a quick preview of two more quests.
Vigil
Borbalo's faith-driven quest has been expanded into the Dark Cave with the addition of "Vigil." This quest follows "Faith in the Dead" and can finally fill that cold, empty church that Borbalo insists on tending, if even for one night.
Venom
Vidar's next town event is "Venom." This event involves Dorottya, Katarina, Elek, Gusztav (or Robert, if he's the Doctor), Arpad, and Sandor. In order to trigger it, you'll need to have at least received the quest "Clearing the Way." The rewards here are huge: sprint shoes, the hammer, and more. But the costs of failure are pretty brutal, as two of your villagers can die in a single night.
Without further ado, the patch notes!
Alpha 0.8.1.0 - "Caught In Your Web"
General
A new menu interface has been added
Inventory has been reenabled in town; items that have a cave-specific effect cannot be used while in town
A directory has been added to the journal. Use this to review the faces, sprites, and bios of each person in town whom you have met. The directory also keeps track of who is alive and dead. Villagers will not be shown in the directory until you meet them, and the directory is not available until and unless you get the journal.
Fonts have been adjusted throughout
Fixed a crash at the ending if Piri, Barnabas and Cecilia are dead AND Borbalo or Bernadett are alive
Puzzles & Maps
New Mechanic (Water Cave): Retractable Bridges
New Mechanic (Water Cave): Floating Crates
New Mechanic (Water Cave): Waterwheel Switches
New Side Puzzle Room (Water Cave): Spiders' Lair
Five new puzzle options have been added to the Ruins
Spiders can now be killed with hookshot
Spiders pooping out cobwebs has been updated: they cannot spawn in nonpassable places, and are random rather than guaranteed
Torch dialogue has been updated to reflect that it cannot be lit with flint and steel
The map tool now properly shows the layout for all water cave rooms
Pulling a red-based mirror with a party member now works correctly
Fixed a crash in the Ice Cave Waypoint
Quests
New Town Event: Venom. Spiders lurk in Katarina's tunnel.
New Quest: A Test Of Leadership. Adorjan's message to Arpad was loud and clear.
New Quest: Music To My Ears. Mihaly isn't the only one interested in the Boy King's music box.
New Quest: Vigil. Borbalo wants to hold a Church service.
New Quest: Make It Work. Arpad is ready to help.
Dr. Spore
Some journal update fixes
Hunting Party
Fixed a bug where Groa would never let you leave the Wolves' Den
Completing this quest now adds to Csaba's charity value
Man's Best Friend / Boy's Best Friend
Groa and Tomi will not get caught in dialogue if you complete this quest before they give it to you
Reading is Fundamental
This quest now properly fails if you give away "Well Read" before entering the library
Sketched Out
Sketching is disabled if Szabina is dead
Fixed a crash in Szabina's reminder dialogue
Szabina will now collect the sketches and quill after completion of this quest
Spirit Walk
Fixed a bug where you could only teleport to a grave once
The Second Son
Regardless of what happens, the cave leading to this puzzle will clear on Day 3
Threnody
This quest now properly fails if you give away "Well Read" before entering the library
Wake
This quest now properly fails if you give away "Well Read" before entering the library
Janika now spawns in the room if she's attending the Wake
Misc.
Removed an autosave from the 2nd floor of the inn
Fixed a bug where inn residents were not appearing on the second floor at the start of a day
"Caught In Your Web" First Looks
Hi friends!
I've been nose to the grindstone getting the next big patch ready (coming out on April 4). This one is called "Caught In Your Web," and it's going to be a biggun. In addition to lots of bugs fixes, I'll have some extra content and quality-of-life improvements. I'm ready to show off some of these new features today!
Improved Menus
Remember that ugly, small window that showed up when you opened the menu in game? With a black background? And it was all very boring? Yeah that's gone.
The inventory menu and journal have also seen some additional improvements, so that navigating these will all be both easier and more aesthetically pleasing. I've also added a new directory option for you to find citizens in town a little easier. This directory maps faces to names, gives you a brief bio of each citizen, and updates based on whether you've met a person and whether that person is still alive. It's designed to bridge the gap in "I have the map, but I need to deliver this scotch to Borablo. Which one is Borbalo?"
New Paths to Familiar Territory
Some of the quests in the upcoming patch are brand new, top-to-bottom. But some are specifically designed to allow you to see content already in the game, but to come at it from a different path. Two new quests - "Make it Work" and "Music to My Ears" - have been added to help you reach the Wolf Cave and Library in different paths than are currently available. The rewards for these quests are different, and they have differing impacts on various NPCs.
The Library in particular was troubling - if Mihaly died, it was a huge zone that was completely foreclosed to you, along with a ton of dependent quests. I'm happy to have another method of entry for you that, while not 100% guaranteed (nothing is in this game!) is a solid fallback.
New Water Cave Puzzle Mechanics
I've also added a few new items to interact with in the Water Cave.
I'm continuing to look for ways to play with water levels in this biome, and the crate is the most straight forward. We'll see additional improvements to this particular mechanic throughout Early Access, because there's nothing you can't do with a box ;)
We'll have another preview post in a few weeks about the additional quests and our new town event, "Venom."
***
Thanks so much for your patience as I continue to work out the bugs in Vidar, and for all of the bug reports you've already sent! Don't forget to tell your friends about the game <3
Mac and Linux Client Update
Hi friends!
The Mac and Linux clients have been updated with the latest patch, and this includes the fixes in the past two versions. Check those notes for the bugs that were squashed and things that were changed.
In addition, the following Mac/Linux-specific issues have been fixed:
Receiving Piri's blessing twice should no longer crash the game
Fixed a null-pointer exception which popped up at unpredictable times, but typically in the Dark Cave
Fixed a bug where the music could stop playing
From here on out, unless we see other major progress blocking bugs, we're likely to include any bug fixes in the upcoming content patch, coming on April 4!
- Dean
Alpha 0.8.0.2 is out!
Hi friends!
Tonight we're launching a patch that fixes a lot of the progress blocking bugs identified in the Windows build. I can't thank you all enough for putting up with the early pains of early access - your feedback in this incredibly randomized, way-too-ambitious project has been invaluable.
This build is, again, Windows only. We've noticed two pretty egregious bugs - one from Piri's blessing, and one from the Dark Cave - that are crashing the game for Mac and Linux users. We'll be fixing those this weekend, and deploying a patch for Mac and Linux that includes those plus all of the fixes from this patch and the last one. Mac and Linux are not natively supported with RPG Maker VX Ace, so everything is a little wonkier on that side.
This patch also removes Dark Cave 4 entirely. The room felt way too penalizing, and the puzzles were not accomplishing what I wanted. Plus, I've been wanting to take out a single room from all biomes (bringing each down to 3) for balance reasons. But that's a big disentangling project, in part because (as I discovered for this patch), I need to scan the removed room for any important quest items that may have spawned and move them into another room.
At some point, the puzzles and mechanics in Dark Cave 4 will be redesigned brought back in as an alternate possible room to explore. Until then, you're saved from the horrors of that room!
We are doing previews of upcoming content patches on www.vidarthegame.com - the next one, "Caught In Your Web," is coming on April 4! We'll be showcasing the extra quests, zones, and puzzles as we approach that date.
Alpha 0.8.0.2
<*>Games created in version 0.8.0.0 or prior with a buggy Dark Cave 3 are now fixed
<*>Fixed a crash in Dorottya's dialogue
<*>Fixed a crash in Gusztav's dialogue
<*>Dark Cave 4 has been removed from the game.
<*>Dark Cave 3 has been redesigned slightly to accomodate this fact
<*>"Clearing the Way" now only extends the tunnel for 3 rooms
<*>"Sketched Out" now only requires three sketches to complete
<*>Quest Items for "Bring Him Home," "Light in the Darkness," "Dr. Spore", "Not a Thief," and the entrance to the library have been moved out of Dark Cave 4 (if they spawned there) and scattered throughout the remaining 3 rooms.
<*>Time is now stopped in the Library and the Wolf Cave
<*>Fixed a bug that revealed Dark Cave 1 before you picked up the lantern. If you managed to advance to the Dark Cave without picking up the lantern, it has been added to your inventory. This should resolve the bug that some reported as being unable to switch tools in the cave.
<*>Rubble for "Clearing the Way" will now spawn correctly in Dark Cave 2b
<*>Removed a glowing tile that was blocking a path in Boulder Cave 3
<*>Fixed a reset issue in Dark Cave 1 that could cause you to get stuck in the last puzzle
<*>Fixed a bug in Puzzle 35, Option 5 where a torch could spawn on the wolf cave entrance
<*>If you have read all of the books for this quest for "Reading is Fundamental", but use a campfire instead of returning to town, this quest will no longer complete. Instead, a person will die as usual and the quest will not complete until you actually return to town.
<*>Fixed Szabina's text if "Sketched Out" is complete with 2 of 3 helpers
<*>Time will not unfreeze in the Ice Cave or Dark Cave Waypoints after a dialogue window is displayed
Hotfix 0.8.0.1
Hi friends!
Before I jump in I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have bought the game already! You're all amazing, and a particular shoutout to those sharing bug reports here or on Reddit, to those emailing me with feedback, and to those leaving reviews on the store page. Vidar is a massive game (about 15 hours of gameplay!) almost all of which is randomized in ways that make it incredibly difficult to test. So to those hitting walls in the game, I'm sorry; and to those telling me about it so I can fix it, thank you again <3
My goal going forward is bigger, more meaningful patches. During Alpha we had content patches with 2-3 quests, a few puzzle options, etc. coming out every few weeks. Moving forward, my goal is to combine these into a bigger patch roughly every two months, so it gives you something to really sink your teeth into. And for those who have beaten the game, it gives you something you can try to track down, not just a one-off quest. We're keeping roughly the same schedule for Early Access, and still plan to launch in late Fall. But reducing the frequency of patches I think is better for you (so there's more to play) and better for me (so I can do more thorough testing, and am less likely to introduce new issues every 2 weeks).
That being said, today we've got a small hotfix! This is to primarily address an issue where a ghost could spawn in Ice Cave 4b in a place that would block your path. That spawn location has been removed from any future new files. If you've run into this problem already, the ghost will be moved to a wider area the next time you load the game.
Please note this build is for Windows only right now. We'll move it to Mac/Linux next week, along with a fix to Piri's blessing that is impacting only those clients.
- Dean
Alpha 0.8.0.1 (Windows)
Fixed a crash in Puzzle 48, option 1
Fixed pathing issues in the Castle Ruins
Gave you escape options in case Szabina tries to trap you in the Castle Ruins
Fixed a hidden crash in Erik's cave
The camera now centers appropriately in Erik's Cave - Door Version
