Version 0.599i (+ivy+inca+ipman+irl)

[Teddy]

I'm with you. Hopefully the walls won't break down completely. I'll spend much of tomorrow playing the game myself using different skills that have undergone changes to see if crazy stuff happens. I think the game will be okay stability wise (or at least not much worse off than normal), although I would've preferred to give it another week.

So about Monday, here's the context:

A billion years ago, when we wanted to go into Steam Early Access, people were really pissed about it (Early Access as a concept - not us doing it). I don't remember the details but there had been some actual scam and a few abandoned projects or something along those lines, and people were understandably mad.

When we wanted to join, our Steam rep said he rather we didn't, and so we asked him if we could do our own thing, which we got the go ahead for.

Since then, Valve have found their groove with Early Access, it's been more normalized, and the Steam Early access rules were changed without us knowing about them. One of the key additions? You can't run an Early Access-like setup without also appearing on Early Access. A very fair rule, for sure - we were just caught up doing what we'd always been doing.

So anyway, our Steam Contact has since left Valve, and very recently we heard from them and learned that we're currently in violation of the Early Access rules. It's a bit ironic how close we were to releasing on Steam Early Access for other reasons entirely.

Rather than give Valve lip about how we'd rather hold it off for another week, we thought the more tactful approach would be to admit fault (for not reading up on things) and just push out the game swiftly.

Again, it's not like the game is a flaming mess right now. More like... in a rather peaceful valley surrounded by a dozen volcanoes that may or may not turn said valley into said flaming mess

 

[Own]

Rather than give Valve lip about how we'd rather hold it off for another week, we thought the more tactful approach would be to admit fault (for not reading up on things) and just push out the game swiftly.

Admitting fault for doing something you were given approval from a Valve employee to do and never directly notified when the rules were changed seems pretty sucky. They dropped the ball on you guys, hopefully this doesn't affect your relationship in the future.

It does seem your hands are essentially tied, though. Do you have all the screenshots and videos prepared for the store page? Something showing off some of the gold charges would be pretty sweet~

Here's hoping Monday goes smoothly for you all.

 

[Hobo]

Rather than give Valve lip about how we'd rather hold it off for another week, we thought the more tactful approach would be to admit fault (for not reading up on things) and just push out the game swiftly.

I hope this doesn't mean you intend to release it without the early access title, as many people will think the game was never "finished" and the reviews will not be pretty.

 

[Teddy]

I hope this doesn't mean you intend to release it without the early access title, as many people will think the game was never "finished" and the reviews will not be pretty.

No way. It's going to be an Early Access title and we'll be perfectly clear about the state of the game!

Releasing an Early Access version that might be slightly buggy, but overall very playable is something we're willing to do, albeit reluctantly. Releasing the game as "finished" would be downright anti-consumer, and luckily not something Valve wants us to do

 

[Own]

Snowbuddy: Feels about right.

Gold Smash: Feels extremely weak and lackluster for a skill that requires such precision. This is a skill you have to take time and line up just right with multiple enemies, and for you to get small damage with it makes it not worth the time. And considering that many bosses are alone, I can't see myself ever using Smash. My full damage gear in Story Mode with Smash at Gold does about 400 damage to Red Gigaslime. Sure, if I line up one of the adds and smack it into him that's 1,000 damage, but compare that to a battle like Winter, Phaseman, Gundam, Marino, Hydras or Fairies - where you can slam nothing into nothing. Smash seems unviable as a skill unless something like Smashballs are introduced. Maybe using Smash should just summon a Smash ball into your room that gets stronger depending on the charge level. I don't know.

Compare to Titan's Throw, which does more damage, is easier to aim and requires significantly less aiming. Maybe there could be a line of Talents that have a chance to summon a temporary Smashball when attacking enemies, I dunno.

Blade Flurry: Should have some mini-stun until the end of the skill at Gold Charge. Otherwise you're going to take damage before it finishes.

Dodging Strike: Is "Marked" considered a debuff for Insult To Injury?

 

[Teddy]

Do you have all the screenshots and videos prepared for the store page? Something showing off some of the gold charges would be pretty sweet~

The Store Page is in a presentable state! Fred has update the trailer with Temple of Seasons footage and some Winterland footage from Arcade Mode. No gold charges though! We'll have to remember that to next trailer iteration

hopefully this doesn't affect your relationship in the future.

I told them the backstory as briefly and to-the-point that I could. That, combined with us just doing as told, hopefully keeps us off some theoretical blacklist

 

[Teddy]

Patch 0.599irl

HERRRP DEERRRP PATCHYS! With the haircuts out and highscores reset, I'll just spend the first half of tomorrow trying to safely fix any critical bugs as they appear. Then I'll spend the second half of tomorrow trying to fix any critical bugs as they appear. Then I'll spend the rest of my days trying to fix bugs.

Changes

• You look different today! Did you get a haircut?
• The Arcade Mode highscores have moved on to SEASON 3 baby!
  
• The exp level of the Season Knights, the Season Mages and the Yeti has been increased to make more sense

Bug Fixes

• Frosty Friends should no longer block players during cutscenes, making them go to whacky places
  
• A plethora of Static Touch multiplayer issues have been fixed
  
• The Stun status effect now interact properly with Crippling Blast and Insult To Injury
  
• Earth Spike's stun at gold charge no longer ignores immunities

 

[Teddy]

Seriously though. The transfer from our own pre-orders to Steam Early access shouldn't be that crazy. It's not like we're media blitzing this release, and Steam do very little marketing for non-huge Early Access titles.

 

[Own]

Seriously though. The transfer from our own pre-orders to Steam Early access shouldn't be that crazy. It's not like we're media blitzing this release, and Steam do very little marketing for non-huge Early Access titles.

So, no bombarding youtubers with keys, no 5-10% discount like most Early Access people debut with to snag impulse buyers, no PR storm?

That should be one of the most relaxing Steam debuts, then. Shame you'll have to keep an eye on both the Steam forums and here, though. Two seperate forums to monitor / two different bug lists to check seems overwhelming.

 

[Crazyfighter]

I can not get the reward of Ice Fishing in the version。Where is my mustache

 

[Teddy]

I can not get the reward of Ice Fishing in the version。Where is my mustache

What fishes have you caught so far? :O

So, no bombarding youtubers with keys, no 5-10% discount like most Early Access people debut with to snag impulse buyers, no PR storm?

None of that right now, no

Regarding the discounts we have what weirdly enough seems to be a controversial philosophy, which is that having sales on an Early Access game doesn't make any sense. I mean, I'm sure it makes financial sense sometimes, which is probably why the highly successful game Prison Architect has reached 85 % off marks before it's even finished, but for us it would be weird.

Our reasons for how we're distributing the game have always been greatly influenced by things other than getting cash (even though said cash is vital to our operations nowadays).

For example, in 2014 our decision to launch had three major reasons:

1. Dreams of not having to scrape by on student loans (now we scrape by on wages lower than the loans, but oh well )
2. Having to constantly decline enthusiastic fans private beta invites was very stressful
3. The private beta was being leaked and pirated, and we don't want non-pirates being disadvantaged for wanting to pay for the game

Likewise, our decision to launch on Steam Early Access properly was influenced by a decent chunk of people not being able to pay through the Humble Bundle payment options, and the fact that Steam players have their experience diminished by our weird hidden state. Getting more sales did never factor into that equation at all.

So our stance is basically: Want to play the game even though it's unfinished? Very well! Welcome aboard - please leave your $15 donation by the door, and please do mind the step - it's a bit buggy!

Price dumping via sales is obviously not conducive to that! When the game is finished, we'll of course change our stance to "Hey guise have u seen our game OMG IT'S A-M-A-Z-I-N-G u gotta try it!!!" and proceed down the expected path of a pricetag rollercoaster

TL;DR: We currently only want players that really understand the state of the game, and timed sales pollute that decision making, thus not being compatible with our Early Access philosophy. Also #hobos4lyfe

Two seperate forums to monitor / two different bug lists to check seems overwhelming

We'll continue to try to funnel people here via the sticky on the Steam discussion forum, and have the Steam community be more of a social place. Of course, we're still going to have to keep a closer eye on that place than now, but I'm hoping it won't get out of hand!

 

[Own]

It seems like, on top of Whirlslash's decreased damage, it also has increased EP cost? Not listed in the updates.

25 old version for basic, 30 new version.

 

[Teddy]

It seems like, on top of Whirlslash's decreased damage, it also has increased EP cost? Not listed in the updates.

25 old version for basic, 30 new version.

Oh, yeah, you're right! There are a few cost tweaks here and there that I completely forgot to document. Mostly they were about making higher charge level less expensive, though!

 

[Teddy]

Patch 0.599italy

Fixing bugs less than 3 hours before release! We AAA now, boys!

Bug Fixes

• Whirlslash and Blade Flurry should no longer cause other spells to be deleted on clients

 

[Own]

Does the demo have the updated character portraits and talents system, or is it still the old old old demo?

 

[Teddy]

Does the demo have the updated character portraits and talents system, or is it still the old old old demo?

It's a new new new demo!

 

[Yuuki]

It's a new new new demo!

Is it possible to play online with the demo while on Frontline?
I want to convince a friend to buy the game

 

[Teddy]

Is it possible to play online with the demo while on Frontline?
I want to convince a friend to buy the game

Huh. Very good point, actually. I don't think you can by default, but I'm 100 % sure that there are some games that do this. Stanley Parable comes to mind.

I'll have a word with the guys at the Steam forums if they can set this up for us, as I agree it would make the recruiting of new players a lot easier!

 

[Teddy]

If you mean connecting directly via the full version, then I think that's impossible due to Steam using the game's AppID when sending packets. If we manage to set it up the way I'm talking about, you're going to have to download the demo next to the full game!

 

[Yuuki]

Huh. Very good point, actually. I don't think you can by default, but I'm 100 % sure that there are some games that do this. Stanley Parable comes to mind.

I'll have a word with the guys at the Steam forums if they can set this up for us, as I agree it would make the recruiting of new players a lot easier!

You could in theory also offer an demo that is always updated but capped at a certain level like some mmorpgs to.
No idea how much work that is through.