On October 31, HELLSEED: All Chapters will be officially released. We have worked tirelessly for over four years to bring this game to life.
Recently, we revisited one of the first Early Access builds to compare it to the current version. The difference is remarkable, and we want to share this journey of improvement with you.
Below is a timeline of the major enhancements we’ve made since the initial Early Access launch:
November 30, 2022: Early Access Launch
The game was released but full of issues. Load times were long, and often led to crashes, performance was poor even on high-end GPUs, and Radeon drivers sometimes rendered the game unplayable due to graphics glitches and black screens. There were also game-breaking bugs: missing collisions, characters stuck in T-poses, and malfunctioning mechanics that blocked progression, like possession bugs disabling key triggers.
The player control system was rough and lacked polish; for instance, it didn’t allow running and crouching simultaneously. The audio system was completely broken, with stereo sound issues, glitches, missing sounds, and noise artifacts. The inventory interface was confusing, requiring too many steps for simple actions. Poor texture streaming caused severe slowdowns after prolonged gameplay, and loading a saved game would often make items disappear. Difficulty balancing, especially in action scenes, was off, and the default camera movement was uncomfortable for many players. There was no support for languages other than English, controller support was incomplete, and this was just part of the long list of issues (we’re aware it was extensive).
Patches and Fixes: December 2022 to March 2023
Over the next few months, we released numerous patches that addressed many (though not all) of these issues. We refined the player controls, enabling players to run and crouch at the same time, and introduced new camera options for a more comfortable experience. Other settings allowed for easier gameplay with flashing pick-ups, text-based hints, and automatic item use. We adjusted action sequences by increasing quick-time event durations and reducing enemy speed. Blocking issues like T-pose characters, collision bugs, and save/load issues were resolved, and we tackled compatibility issues with Radeon cards. This series of patches improved the game’s stability.
Despite these improvements, core issues remained: performance was still sluggish, load times were excessive, the audio system was unstable, and texture streaming still caused severe slowdowns. Additionally, the game still lacked multi-language support, complete controller support, and a finished story.
The Game Changer Update: June 2024
In June 2024, after a year of work on performance and optimization, we rolled out a major update that addressed most of the issues that had plagued the game since 2022. Previously, the entire game was loaded at once, causing prolonged loading times, high memory usage, and CPU bottlenecks due to the sheer number of objects. We restructured the game into multiple levels, dividing it into chapters. For Early Access, this meant five chapters, and it was one of the best decisions we made: the game became significantly faster, with reduced memory usage.
Alongside this, we overhauled the rendering system, improving the texture streaming and GPU memory consumption and adopting a technique that greatly reduced CPU demands and effectively doubled the average rendering speed. We also revamped the audio system, eliminating the glitches and performance issues that had troubled earlier versions. Finally, we streamlined the inventory UI, reducing the number of inputs required for basic operations, like exiting examination mode.
June 2024 to October 2024: Refinements and Completion
Since June, we’ve continued refining the game, adding six to seven new chapters, and creating the final scene. We implemented a multi-language support system, launching with Chinese and Italian, and plan to add more languages starting in November 2024. Controller support is now complete, allowing players to use a controller seamlessly from start to finish, including in the menus. In the final month, we also added additional features, like the red saturation shader and controller feedback, while conducting extensive testing.
After two years of intense development, HELLSEED is now ready for its full release, and you can finally experience the completed game.
Make this Halloween unforgettable—HELLSEED calls you into darkness on October 31st. Don’t miss it.
PROFENIX STUDIO
