Post by HiddenDarkHM in HUGE Demo Update comments

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Okay great news after playing the new update quite a lot: It has DRASTICALLY improved the Goblin. He's actually really fun to play now. He still struggles to get started a bit and if you don't get lucky enough to get some of his better cards he will get bodied but other than that he's excellent!

I think the main thing he still needs are:

The player version of Thorns being fixed.

A couple Flash cards.

Any way to defend himself from the huge hitting enemies like the Soul Hunter (like seriously when an enemy starts swinging at over 50 damage a hit even his stronger shields aren't going to do a thing and since he doesn't get evasion like the kitsune and doesn't have consistent healing they can be impossible to keep up with.)

I've noticed a couple of issues since the update. The game does appear to be freezing and crashing a bit more frequently, especially around the card reward screens.

Also there's a glitch I keep forgetting to get a screenshot of that mostly happens around the kitsune's Flash cards where if you move the card up to play it and either your finger slips off too soon or the game finishes the draw animation on another card (changing the position the card would return to if you let it go) the card can become stuck, hovering in place where you left it and even persisting into the map screen and other battles. The only way to fix it is to close and reopen the game altogether. It's not critical but it does become disabling when it blocks you from seeing your sockets or other cards. I've had it happen a couple times with other cards on either character but 90% of the time it's the kitsune's Flash cards that cause it.

It has been a LOT of fun playing more with all the relics. I've unlocked all but a couple so far. I'm super looking forward to the Ghoul coming out now 🥰

Eeriecast15 days ago

Ah the ol "make a big update but unlock new bugs" thing has occurred. Thank you for the notes! This is on the Android version right? And was the Soul Reaper in a Redux or normal first floor? And was it an alternate form (he "evolves" on the next floor if you defeat him on the previous up to two times)?

Some notes from me:

Soul Reaper Damage: His damage escalates if you play glyphs on the Soul sockets (big purple X). IF you can avoid those or maximize the value of those, that's a good bet. BUT they also remove all special sockets from those sockets when they're soul-marked.

Soul Reaper is also sort of a super boss (there are two super boss types in the game right now). They're not meant to be "get it on the first floor" enemies. It's more like "does my build feel good? Should I wait till the next floor?".

Goblin is my fave to play! And he's my most played. His thorns build was too strong when it worked "right" (thorns permanent, always stacking). So I had to fix it to be unique to my game (thorns are just blocks that deal damage back). I'll add a fix soon to make the enemies with thorns work the same - Their thorns aren't permanent but have to be regenerated if they're lost.

Also finally added your recommendation to make the sorting buttons toggles instead, and they are remembered upon each fresh hand draw.

I'm hesitant to grant Goblin flash cards as, currently to me those are a Kitsune archetype. In exchange, Goblin has heavy cards (powerful 3+ socket cards that become cheaper to use during combat under certain conditions). Consider him the big slow heavy hitter.

REQUEST:
One thing I need to refactor is blessings and some relics. Most of them are old and designed from an earlier version of the game, and that means they don't all keep up. So if you run into any blessings that are weak as hell across multiple runs, let me know! And thank you so much!

I'm excited about Ghoul, too! Currently in his re-brainstorming phase. Thinking about making him eat things until a meter fills up and can be activated in combat, turning him into a berserker and altering his glyphs for the rest of that combat.

HiddenDarkHM14 days ago (1 edit)

Haha trust me it happens to us all, fix one thing break 3 more lol. Part of the curse of being a game dev lol.

Haha I pretty much figured the intent of the soulhunter was to try to beat him every time he shows up, especially since that's one of the wish missions I thought it was expected to beat him on every level. The soulhunter rarely hits 50 damage out the gate on the first floor but usually by redux one it's more than likely. You did say something that made me curious though and some of the mechanics like curse and him have made me wonder before aa well: Are you supposed to be able to choose what socket you put your glyphs in? At least in the android version sockets always fill from beginning to end, there's no way to skip a socket so powering up the soul hunter is completely unavoidable, it's just kinda something you have to grit your teeth and mostly ignore as a mechanic, especially since he enchants most of your sockets, so if you're lucky you might have access to play one glyph per turn if you were going to try to avoid it (which would get you summarily flattened), and many times if your first few sockets are special that means no matter what you do it's 100% guaranteed and all you can do is hope to kill him before he ramps up to doing most of your health in one shot. I'm used to him hitting me like 16-18 times in one turn on any redux. Like cursed sockets you literally can't do anything about it but there's also no cleansing it so it's just unavoidable.

(A note on cursed sockets. I discovered that if you play a glyph that gives you bonus strength on a cursed socket the strength is given to the curser but unlike you it doesn't fade at the end of the turn, it becomes a permanent buff for them!)

As far as the Thorns go I can understand the idea of it being like a reflective shield, but as it is it's completely inviable as a build/strategy. Since the relic that is supposed to make it last doesn't work at all (I sent in a bug report on that) the fact they're SO hard to get and disappear instantly is just too difficult to be functional. The glyphs that give it are so few and far between and they give such piddly amounts like 3 thorns when I could instead use a glyph that gives me 9+ shield or hits for like 15 damage and also gives me 5 shield, or they add a semi-decent amount but take like 14 sockets to play and/or are phantasmal so you can only use them once. I could be wrong but it feels like there are more glyphs that have effects like "doubles your thorns" than glyphs that actually GIVE you thorns. Even with his evolution it's impossible to build up any decent amount so I pretty much never take it. I have a suggestion though for that that might be more of a middle ground: First, making it way more accessible, also changing the thorn golem's skill instead of stacking up whenever he deals damage to instead change all shield he gains into thorns. Making the thorns relic work as written would be fun for those rare runs where you get it but otherwise you could keep it temporary without it being useless.

Ah I can understand that with the flash cards. I just thought of them as a card type rather than being specific to the kitsune as a build type. Fair enough then, I withdraw that suggestion. 👍🏼

There are definitely some relics/blessings that are way better than others and some that are utterly useless. I've definitely had thoughts about some of them. Tomorrow at some point if I have time I'll make you a write-up on the ones that just aren't cutting it. 🫡

Eeriecast13 days ago

Love the big replies! Let me break it down.

Soulhunter: My goal with that boss was high-risk-high-reward. We want players to take risks and learn that failure is a common path for those risks. ALSO, his damage scaling was too high and his HP was too low, and we fixed both in the upcoming update. Overall, he feels much more fair and like a larger fight.

Socket Choice: No, you cannot pick which glyph goes where at this time, and I'm not sure we will ever implement that. Rather, you need to choose which glyphs go where to maximize value in any given turn. The soulhunter socket enchantment is meant to be a countdown timer.

Permanent enemy strength VS Temporary player strength: Another countdown timer. The player must *earn* their permanent buffs via a good run and planning. An enemy only exists within a given combat. So, the player has perma-buffs AND temp-buffs to strength and resilience, but many enemies have permanent strength buffs. This also serves as a countdown timer. Finish in good time or get punished, that's the idea for some fights, especially floor bosses. This is actually super important to the game design. If we DIDN'T do this, the player can permanently turtle up, infinitely heal, farm gold (depending on buffs/blessings), and so on.

Cursed Sockets: I'm thinking about removing the curse's effect except for damage, healing and block. Also, our upcoming update adds an obvious and cool "rotten" effect to cursed sockets to make them more clear. This also confused the fuck out of me during War Pig where I'd lose from hurting myself and I was like "WTF killed me?!"

Thorns: Thorns in Severwood are temporary. They're just block that hurts. We've made some very important balance updates to it this upcoming update. It used to be permanent in combat but this allowed players to stack it insanely in a few turns, getting like 60 thorns by turn 3, turning every fight into a farce. I like this design decision. Thorns now offer block, reflect damage, but for enemies AND player alike (in the upcoming update), they can be broken. We also reworked the blessing you mentioned regarding thorns! Also, your idea for the thorns passive rework on Goblin's evolution is... Actually fuckin' brilliant lol.

Anyway, hope this helps! This is a huge upcoming update where I also expanded the mobile screen width (the side black bars were too big before but now adapt more to wider/longer phones).

One more thing: I've got a zoom meeting tomorrow with an art studio about pricing the replacement of ALL our art with human made art.

I really believe in this game, and I don't want folks deciding its worthless because of ai-generated art.

A big thanks by the way because all this feedback and playtesting is the most helpful stuff!

HiddenDarkHM13 days ago

No problem! I always worry I'm overdoing it when I have too many thoughts about something so I'm glad it's helpful 😅

I think lowering the soul hunter's damage scaling but increasing his health is a great balance decision.

Good to know with the socket choice thing. I wasn't sure.

To clarify slightly, my complaint with the permanent enemy buffs vs temporary player ones, my issue was that the buff coming from MY glyphs due to curse was temporary for me but became permanent on the enemy. I don't mind then having some permanent buffs otherwise, it's just that if something is for 1 turn and gets mirrored it should be the same on both sides otherwise it's even harsher punishment than it already is. However, if you're going to be changing curse anyway this is a moot point and not something to belabor. :)

I think the thorns change makes sense and as long as the goblin has access to enough thorns to be worth it, then I think that'll be fine.

That's wonderful to hear about the artist. I also think this game has an enormous amount of potential. I do mind ai art myself but my thoughts are the same as yours, I'd hate for people to discount the game based off it. I hope you're able to find a good rate!

I have feedback on the blessings, I'll post it as a separate comment for you. :)

HiddenDarkHM13 days ago

Relics - Acid Phial - Very few enemies use shield but the Weak and Frail are nice. Dagger - Useless even on floor 1. 10 damage is no help, 20 is BARELY a help. Exploding Dagger - Fantastic, perfect amounts. No reason to have regular Dagger when it exists. Energy Drink - NGL, even after all the runs I've done I still pretty much have no clue what combo really does specifically outside of skills/glyphs that use it directly so I have no idea if this is good or bad.

Blessings -
Ember Ward - Maybe useful for the first couple turns but then useless. Aegis shield - Barely improved over Ember Ward. Maybe useful for the first floor at best. I see no reason to have both of these. (If one gave shield every turn it'd be better.)
Cinderhide Cloak - Is what the shields want to be but only giving 3 when augmented is super low. Maybe 5 would be more reasonable. Warding Stone - I think the ability is too vague. "Whenever you complete a full chain" meaning A>B>C? Or does it mean a full set of sockets? (I think the first form might have specified but once upgraded you can't see the previous form)
Swift Rapier - Excellent for late redux goblin, meh for anything else. Merchant's letter - The discount is fine but "one item per FLOOR is half off"?? That's hilariously bad. It should be per SHOP. Wishfinder - I'm not actually sure if it works or not? I used it once but didn't really notice much improvement. Plus each run gives a reasonable enough amount of wishes there's not really any time I'd choose this over another blessing.
Phantom Rook - Like Energy Drink I have no idea if this is good or not. Wild Spirit - Sorta same as the last but also with the addition that wild cards are so rare it comes into play so rarely. Echo Stone - One of the best blessings in the game 10/10 0 notes. Brew of patience - Why on earth would you ever use this? 75% extra damage isn't worth skipping your whole turn for.
Recall Stone - Honestly I feel like this should just be a feature or a permanent unlock, not an item. Momentum Stone - My love, my hero, the best. Tarot Deck: What the hell is a "devil socket"?? I've never seen that anywhere else in the game. Mutagen Vial - Only really good for your first couple runs, after you get a good idea of what the evolutions do I don't see any reason you'd be changing them mid-run. Dancer's Cuirass - I like the concept but it's way too low to be worth intentionally choosing, and way too low to be a Rare. Cursed Gauntlet - Only ever useful late-run in a high damage deck. Cursed Talisman - Only useful if you've got the un-curse glyph. Awful otherwise because of how devastating curse is. Cursed Seed - WAY too negative, I would never even consider this.
Cursed Vessel - See my prior comments about not being sure about how much effect combo has. Cursed Ledger - Why is this cursed? It's excellent!
Charge Blade - Cool but so rare I've only ever seen it once, when I wasn't even doing a Charge build. :(
Eager Tendril - You've already said you're working on this one.
Invulnerable Rosebud - Love the design, but too weak to be Rare.
Fox Mask - Debatable because it's slightly useful when you're not doing a burn build but if you ARE doing a full burn build you'll probably choose that evolution anyway which makes it useless.
Glass Armor - Way too low to be useful. 2 block when augmented is nothing.
Conjoined Soul - I think this might be glitched? I don't think it actually gives you the upgraded glyphs and I've seen it where one will be available with the upgraded symbol on it but it still has the unupgraded effect but then can't be upgraded after that.
Shimmering Orb - I have literally NO idea what this does.
Rat Charm - You don't get gold if you don't take a glyph so this is 100% useless.
Chicken Charm - "reforge option"? What on earth is it talking about? I've never seen whatever that is.

Eeriecast12 days ago

Yo big update coming soon and I think you're gonna love it. Massive blessing reworks, new features, better readability, and a nice little goblin evolution rework based on your suggestion.

I'll reply to some of the blessings stuff here that may not have been touched/touched much in this update:

Rat Charm: This works! You'll notice that if you open a rewards bag/chest, gold comes out. That's the normal gold reward. But if you get to the card reward and just click continue without a card, you'll pop up on the map screen and more gold comes flying out of the node you just left. THAT is the rat charm bonus gold.

Combo: One of the most important things in the game! Higher combos empower your glyphs. A 2 combo empowers a little, and a 9 combo empowers a SHIT TON. If you do a run in the future, try comparing the amounts a non-comboing glyph would do in a socket vs a glyph that would combo and see just how much it boosts it. A good example is Smash. It's a C, so if you place it by itself (outside of a combo) it just does what it says. But if you place it as a 3-hit combo, its damage and scare applications go up a lot, like giving an enemy 5 turns of scare instead of just 3. This effects everything. Block, strength gains, res gains, heals, damage, etc.

Another good way to test it? Save an energy drink. Put in a full combo socket chain, but don't click act yet. Instead, drink your energy drink then see how it effects your forecast numbers above the enemy head. Not to mention, combo numbers vastly effects certain cards/glyphs in the game.

Chicken Charm: This one is OP as fuck! Whenever you beat an elite, you get an upgrade (reforge) option instead of taking a new card. But with chicken charm, even normal battles grant you the upgrade card option!

I also have some bad news. YouTube demonetized me! Until we get it fixed, my income is halved. So I had to cancel that meeting with the art studio. That sucks a lot. What awful timing.

Update coming very soon! Thanks again!

HiddenDarkHM12 days ago (1 edit)

I read the notes on the update. It sounds like you made some EXCELLENT improvements! I didn't think you were gonna change being able to place the glyphs but I'm so glad you did. The way my brain works sometimes it's like "I know I want this glyph in socket 3 to get whatever benefit, I just need to remember that." and then I immediately forget and screw it up so being able to just put it straight in will be a HUGE help!

A lot of the blessings sound drastically improved I really like a lot of the choices you made! I'll have to go through them and read them all in game :D

I definitely appreciate you nerfing the floor 1 Maledicts too, having 2/3 sockets cursed was brutal so that will definitely help with early-game progression!

Thank you so much for the advice on how to test the combo differences. It's one thing to know it does SOMETHING but it's another to be able to see it directly.

For the rat and chicken charms I'll have to double check because I did test the rat once to see what my gold was before skipping a glyph choice and what it was after and I didn't notice a change. I thought that might be what the chicken one does but I'll have to double-check it too because at least previously it didn't seem to actually be giving the upgrade option.

Oh my beautiful dragon scale I will miss you so, but I definitely fully support your decision to limit it and Blue Moon Fang to their respective events. The werewolf event is actually my favorite one. I like the puzzle and the design of having to tap one of the 4 objects to solve it is really cool. The visual design and atmosphere of that whole event is also one of the ones that feels most true to your channel content too. The only downside is you only have a 1-in-4 chance for the werewolf fight to be a reward for hitting the right one. If the Blue Moon Fang is going to be limited to its event I think it might be better if the player can always choose to fight the werewolf if they get that event, though possibly strengthening it a bit. But maybe it'll be weakened or the player starts out with a buff if it's the correct solution to the puzzle or something like that.

And just to follow up on one you didn't mention: When the tarot deck says "devil socket" what does that mean? I've never seen that wording anywhere else in the game.

Omg I'm so sorry to hear about YouTube that's so awful. It's so frustrating to see how little they actually care about their creators and it's SO hard to get anything fixed with them. One vid is bad enough but the whole channel is just crazy. What reason did they give? (If any) I'll keep out good vibes for it to be fixed quickly!

It's really unfortunate that is going to interfere with the art meeting though. Is there any way you'd still be able to do the meeting and get a quote but also let them know you can't commit to anything until YouTube gets their shit worked out? Absolutely wishing you the best with that!

Eeriecast11 days ago

Yes I've actually requested a ballpark estimate, and they said they would see what they could do. Fingers crossed it's not insane.

I like the suggestion for the werewolf farm event. Perhaps instead of skipping if you click the wrong one, you get "punished" and forced to fight the werewolf. The werewolf also needs a unique kit because I recall sort of just tossing some abilities at him because the barn event itself took all day and night to put together.

Don't worry about the Tarot Deck! It's been reworked. The Devil Socket reference regarded an old special socket type that "craved" a glyph from your hand and would reward you for placing that glyph in its socket or punish you for not placing a glyph there. I thought it was too distracting and gameplay-irritating to keep in. Most of the time, a feature should give you an option to play a new way, not force you into it.

The game feels a tad to easy, imo, at the moment. Making a few of the encounters more challenging might help (Werewolf, Giant Rat and Chicken, Everwood Dragon are some side "bosses" that are a tad too easy, Cockatrice and the Gnome Gang don't present a challenge anymore, Sapfiend and Bone Piper feel like their HP is too low, etc.)

Also working on the enemies for Floor 2, then Floor 3, then I will likely begin work again on Ghoul.

P.S: There's a blessing that still feels like ass that I forgot to rework, so I need to figure out which it was and what to do with it. I think it was Brew of Patience. Only feels good when you have all 6 sockets and only when you've got half of them cursed or banished (only reason why you wouldn't want to use them). Thinking about just making it an escalating per turn power boost per combat. Like 5% / 8% more damage per turn with a hard cap of like 30% / 48%.

HiddenDarkHM11 days ago

Also I can confirm now that while I swear it wasn't doing it before, the chicken charm is working correctly (fantastically). Now that I know what I'm looking for I was also able to confirm the rat is working too, though the chicken is so good in comparison that I'm not sure why one would ever go for the rat.

Eeriecast11 days ago

BTW Dragon Scale will be back. Making it event-only was my bad - Only Greedy Dragon's Soul is event when it comes to the Everwood Dragon.

itch.io

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