Portland Indie Game Convention (PIG Con) is this weekend starting on May 29th, and tickets are going fast. PIG Squad has been a big help in the development of Star Rift Saga. It's where I was able to show the game off for the first time, gave me a lot of opportunities to get grea
Portland Indie Game Convention (PIG Con) is this weekend starting on May 29th, and tickets are going fast. PIG Squad has been a big help in the development of Star Rift Saga. It's where I was able to show the game off for the first time, gave me a lot of opportunities to get great feedback, and it's even where I met the artist that worked on just about all of the art for the game, Merlin. If you're in the area, it's sure to be a great event.
To celebrate, Star Rift Saga is on sale for 25% off and the soundtrack is 10% off until June 1. As always, you can get them in a bundle together.
Looking at the images promoting the event, I was pretty surprised to see that I made it into a picture. I'm in the one on the right, checking out a game made by another local developer. Pretty sure it's Snakewitch, but I'm not totally sure.
While Star Rift Saga won't be at the convention, (maybe I'll be ready to show off my next game by next year's con?) I'll be there wandering the convention and attending panels, and my firm is even sponsoring the event. Looking forward to the event and to meeting people in the area!
As part of the Metroidvania fusion festival, Star Rift Saga will be discounted until November 10th. You can pick up the game for 20% off and the soundtrack for 10% off. You can also save a little more with the game's bundle options. If you buy the game and soundtrack together, yo
As part of the Metroidvania fusion festival, Star Rift Saga will be discounted until November 10th. You can pick up the game for 20% off and the soundtrack for 10% off.
You can also save a little more with the game's bundle options. If you buy the game and soundtrack together, you can save another 20% on top of that, or you can purchase one of the other bundles that include other indie games from the Portland, Oregon area.
Introducing the first major content update for Star Rift Saga. This update features a variety of features aimed at improving the overall gameplay experience, as well as addressing some requests for features. Most of these changes are aimed at generally speeding things up by cutti
Introducing the first major content update for Star Rift Saga. This update features a variety of features aimed at improving the overall gameplay experience, as well as addressing some requests for features. Most of these changes are aimed at generally speeding things up by cutting down on travel time and just making things more convenient.
Plus like any good content update, there are new skill chips to play with, new toys are always fun.
You could heal before by going back to the outpost and using items to heal the rest, this just saves some time. Reaching a translocator room should feel like a relief. Previously, you could go back to the lab and talk to May to get healed to 50% of your max HP, and when you rescued them you could talk to the Nurse and Doctor to heal to a greater percentage. The healbot speeds that process up a bit by not requiring you to go back to the outpost at all.
-Healbots have been added to every translocator room. These bots will automatically heal you to a percentage of your max HP based on the people you have rescued.
-You can pay G to heal the remaining HP. The price is scaled so that it's slightly cheaper than buying and using items to get the same effect, but you can't take it with you.
-You can interact with the healbot to disable the automatic healing, which is useful if you have a build that relies on keeping your HP low.
You can now experiment, or set up for a specific challenge.
-You can now save and load 5 skill chip loadouts. To get started, press the pause (start/enter) button while on the skill grid. Press up and down to select a loadout. Your current loadout up until this point is number 1.
-You can now remove all skill chips at once. Hold the action button while selecting a loadout. This is something that I didn't want to include until the ability to change loadouts was in the game.
-The Skill Grid UI has been adjusted.
Item Shop Grouping
Star Rift Saga's menuing for the shop was clearly not built with the number of items (around 50) that the game ended up having. This lets you compact the long list for easier navigation once you have more than 10 or so items added to the shop. (In the screenshot here it has been enabled earlier to show off what it looks like when a group has two items in it.)
-The item shop can now have its items grouped by pressing the item buttons while shopping. Similar items will be grouped, and then you can select a group to select the individual item you want. This becomes available once you have enough total items in the shop's inventory.
Translocator Targets
Just general improvements to fast travel to get you around a little faster.
-Translocators can now be used to move from one translocator to another by selecting a different target.
-The translocator in the lab will now automatically open the interface to select a target if you interact with it instead of requiring you to use the nearby computer.
-New audio attached to teleporting.
-Translocator map now shows a name for the selected location's region.
Map Markers
-You can now select a tile in the map to add a marker. Tap again to change the marker, or select it later to remove it.
Controls
Due to the increased menu functionality potentially overlapping with menu controls, menu buttons are now bound to jump and action, with the ability to change the menu type on a keyboard/gamepad basis. This means that select and back can only be bound to the same buttons as other actions, but avoids potential for overlap. The control UI has been updated to reflect this. It should only affect really custom control schemes, and only in terms of menuing.
New Skill Chips
8 new chips have been added. This brings the total number of skill chips to 158. There is an achievement for getting 150 skill chips, which is now slightly easier since it does not require all of the skill chips, which is the intent.
Here's the list, don't read if you want to find them for yourself.
-Plasma Last Shot
-Air Tailwind
-Ice Hardpack
-Storm Ball Lightning
-Omni-Reload
-Dexterity L
-Critical Shieldsteal
-Last Bite
Skill Chip Tuning
Small adjustments.
-Storm First Strike rarity: Rare -> Uncommon. With a new skill chip in the Storm typing and a lot of them at rare, this one felt the least rare of the bunch, so it's been made slightly more common.
-Ice Cold Hearted: Chip Limit 3 -> 1. Adjusted the heal from 0-30% to 25-50%. This chip now heals you a bit regardless of the total freeze amount and scales to a higher number. It also can only have one equipped, but that one chip is now more potent. Existing saves that have multiple equipped should have them disappear on load, and the effect isn't multiplied either way.
Capsulopods
-Capsulopods now change the transparency of the chip cases inside if you don't have enough scrap to use them.
-The cost of crafting is now displayed above each capsulopod when you get close. The color changes if you don't have enough scrap.
-Chip colors have been corrected when selecting a chip to craft from a capsulopod.
Other Small Fixes
-Additional sound effects added to lifesteal effect.
-Fixed some shop inconsistency in the black market.
-Some added sound effects.
-Compressed some sound effects that weren't before. This means that the total install size actually went down despite this update adding new content.
-Some text fixes.
With this update in the books and getting in some features that I wanted to include from the start, I will soon be moving to starting on my next game in earnest. That does not mean the end of content for Star Rift Saga as I have some more things that I'd like to add, but I can't say when it will be coming.
Relatively small tuning update, mostly aimed at lifesteal, shieldsteal, and some late-game challenges. Lifesteal and Shieldsteal adjustments Lifesteal and shieldsteal can let you stay alive longer without using items, but in certain builds they could lead to near invincibility. A
Relatively small tuning update, mostly aimed at lifesteal, shieldsteal, and some late-game challenges.
Lifesteal and Shieldsteal adjustments Lifesteal and shieldsteal can let you stay alive longer without using items, but in certain builds they could lead to near invincibility. A lockout was introduced in order to reduce their effectiveness in extreme situations, but this patch instead adds a soft limitation in the form of a small reduction when particles are triggered in rapid succession. It's more intuitive and shouldn't make a difference in most scenarios. This is being done with the intent of potentially introducing more chips in a future update. -Lifesteal and Shieldsteal no longer have a lockout window, introduced in a previous patch, where they can't be triggered again for 15 frames. -Triggering multiple instances of lifesteal or shieldsteal at once will consolodate the particles into a single particle. -Lifesteal and Shieldsteal now have a "soft" cap, where the effect is decreased slightly and then increases back to full. Under normal circumstances this shouldn't be enough to make a signficant difference, but it acts as a soft limitation to prevent mass and instant healing when you deal a lot of damage very quickly.
Chip Adjustments -Storm Voltage: 50% increase in damage->30% increase. It was a lot. -Some descriptions have been adjusted.
Difficulty Tuning -Combat Training Facility challenge in the Dreadnaut has been adjusted slightly, now is slightly slower at lower intensities and speeds up at higher ones. Spawns have been reduced at lower intensities. -Trial of Endurance has been adjusted at higher intensities. It will now add more variation in bullet speeds, and even direction at maximum.
-Fixed Cheese. In this particular case, this means I fixed the item which was causing crashes, Cheese, rather than some exploit that players were doing like what usually gets patched in games.
-Fixed Cheese. In this particular case, this means I fixed the item which was causing crashes, Cheese, rather than some exploit that players were doing like what usually gets patched in games.
-Boss adjustments to Legion, Pandora, and Penny Rematch at higher intensities. All are now more aggressive at higher intensities are are either unchanged at normal or are slightly less aggressive. -Added a shortcut passage in the Forgotten Depths once you have found an optional p
-Boss adjustments to Legion, Pandora, and Penny Rematch at higher intensities. All are now more aggressive at higher intensities are are either unchanged at normal or are slightly less aggressive. -Added a shortcut passage in the Forgotten Depths once you have found an optional path allowing you to not have to go back the way you came. -Level geometry adjustements. -Many visual and sound effect improvements and fixes.
-Fixed a crash in the caverns that was introduced in the last patch with a bad variable reference. -Adjusted the difficulty of the Secudrome boss battle. Most drones now do slightly more to defend themselves at normal and higher intensities with the occasional attack independent
-Fixed a crash in the caverns that was introduced in the last patch with a bad variable reference.
-Adjusted the difficulty of the Secudrome boss battle. Most drones now do slightly more to defend themselves at normal and higher intensities with the occasional attack independent of the main unit, with attacks scaling with intensity. This ensures that you have to be a little more aware of them and it's not just the main unit that is attacking with a constant frequency. Additionally, the rate at which the main unit attacks has been increased at higher intensities, leading to less downtime.
This is mostly another tuning update including adjustments to rocket speeds. It is mostly directed at a few bosses in one section of the game, but adds in some additional polish throughout. Some slight spoilers for boss battles in the game ahead. Weapons -Rockets: Initial speed a
This is mostly another tuning update including adjustments to rocket speeds. It is mostly directed at a few bosses in one section of the game, but adds in some additional polish throughout.
Some slight spoilers for boss battles in the game ahead.
Weapons
-Rockets: Initial speed adjusted from 1 to 3. Acceleration delay decreased from 20 frames to 10.
-Power rocket acceleration delay decreased from 40 frames to 35 frames. Power rockets remain the same otherwise, including a slower startup speed.
Rockets are hard hitting, but hard to use. While that's intentional, they can sometimes err on the side of being too hard, to the point of being awkward to use, especially against flying or smaller enemies. This makes rockets feel more punchy and responsive, especially for newer players.
Power rockets are still slower, making the slightly harder to use in exchange for their increased damage. We'll say they're heavier.
Polish
-Adjusted the visual on the caverns switch wires.
-Additional sound effects added to certain actions and enemies.
-New visual effects added to collecting new equipment, power sparks, and life sparks.
-Added a main quest marker inside of the abandoned ship.
Enemies
-All slime enemies, Jelly, Custard, and Brulee are now slightly easier to kill with a lower base HP.
-Spike tank speed slightly reduced at higher intensities. It was a bit much, even at only slightly increased intensities.
-Bomb Droppers now avoid flying into lava.
-Starstormer movement reduced at higher intensities, but they fire slightly longer.
-Certain enemies (targets) that were very readily abusable now no longer count towards your defeated enemy total.
Bosses
Ur-Pisces
-Speed and intensity of attacks now scales with game intensity. It mostly did not before.
Penny
-HP and Max HP reduced.
-Delay between creation of flying heads increased, more at lower intensities. This should allow more opportunities to attack and less time chasing.
-At highest intensities, flying heads now have armor.
-Flying heads healing Penny now decrease their own HP more.
-Teleport delay increased across all intensities, more at lower intensities.
-Certain attacks can now no longer be chosen while their effects are still lingering. This means that there will be fewer unfair scenarios where chaos stacks on itself and you die earlier.
-Penny now fires status effect bullets more often at increased intensities.
-Destroying enemy summons now has a chance to create rocket ammo or small hearts at all intensities, but the chance goes down based on higher intensities.
-Other minor adjustments to the fight in general.
Penny has always been a bit of a difficulty spike, in part because of her ability to self-heal by draining her own summons. It doesn't help that the world and your own movement options open up considerably only after beating her. These adjustments are aimed at making her run and heal less and fight more. She will now heal less in general, but be slightly more aggressive across the board without throwing out lingering attacks consecutively. You are now also rewarded for destroying her summons, which will make you able to stay in the fight longer and use rockets without feeling as restricted. She now can also inflict several status effects at higher intensities or while at lower health, so come prepared.
Ur-Tauros
-Now creates bullets when opening up, with more bullets created at lower health and higher intensities.
-At higher intensities, can create burning bullets.
-Increased difficulty and speed of attacks across the board, but most especially at higher intensities.
Especially coming off of the heels of Penny, Ur-Tauros is relatively tame. Now it's slightly harder, with a new attack that keeps you from camping it as readily without being attacked. Normal intensity is mostly unchanged, with only slight adjustments to fire a few more bullets when the boss would otherwise be fairly passive.
Other
-Fixed an issue where music was not playing correctly in the ancient elevator.
-Reworked the music system entirely. It should now more reliably play the correct music and not get caught in infinite loops under certain circumstances. -Quick use item now works properly on healing items. -Capsule-o-pods now refund the correct amount of scrap when you have all
-Reworked the music system entirely. It should now more reliably play the correct music and not get caught in infinite loops under certain circumstances. -Quick use item now works properly on healing items. -Capsule-o-pods now refund the correct amount of scrap when you have all copies of a skill chip. -Adjusted detection for falling into water. -Added data validation to prevent phantom skill chips or items that don't actually exist.
Adjustments to a boss battle The giant enemy crab, Ur-Cancer : -Should now detect a perfect clear accurately. -Will now render lightning bolts properly in the Holosseum.
Adjustments to a boss battle The giant enemy crab, Ur-Cancer: -Should now detect a perfect clear accurately. -Will now render lightning bolts properly in the Holosseum.
-You can now hold the directional button to move the cursor on the compendium, skill grid, and shop. Note: There are more improvements in terms of usability that I have in mind for the shop in particular especially as the list becomes big in the late game. This is just the first
-You can now hold the directional button to move the cursor on the compendium, skill grid, and shop. Note: There are more improvements in terms of usability that I have in mind for the shop in particular especially as the list becomes big in the late game. This is just the first step of that. -Refined items (the four treasures and cheese) now count for the compendium. Note that selling the refined version of the items will also count for the base version. -The previous change increases the number of items required for the compendium. To help players search for the last few items, chests will now have a decent chance to reroll their item if you already have the item inside. As above, this is the first step to alleviate the process of finding every item with more in mind.
However, if you're struggling to find items, here are some tips: Having fewer items in your inventory increases the drop rate slightly. Check in with Shadie who runs the black market often. The item list there doesn't pull just from the items you have, so icon that's yellow is something you still need for the compendium.
While there have been many patches since launch addressing bugs and crashes (it is very hard for me to have found everything, so I am grateful for your patience and reports. It was not my intent to have any bugs/crashes at launch) this update is the first tuning update since laun
While there have been many patches since launch addressing bugs and crashes (it is very hard for me to have found everything, so I am grateful for your patience and reports. It was not my intent to have any bugs/crashes at launch) this update is the first tuning update since launch.
Tuning Philosophy
Inspired by a post by John Perry, I like to use the word "tuning" over "balance".
Balance implies that you're trying to get options balanced and fair relative to one another. That's often the better term for competitive multiplayer games. Tuning is not that. Tuning is adjusting values and mechanics in order to create an intended experience, rather than be strictly balanced.
This update focuses primarily on a few outliers in terms of damage output. The intended experience is not that you can absolutely destroy any boss or enemy in a single burst of damage. Big bursts of damage, especially with the Storm Beam, are being targeted here.
Breaking the game is fun, but when your game is linear it makes it so that it can invalidate the experience. As such, there's a fine line between fun and silly builds and still having to play the game that you don't have to aim for in something repeatable, like a roguelike. I'll still be aiming to let you do cool builds, but not so much on the completely game breaking side of things.
Patch Notes
Skill Chips:
-Critical Momentum: 5% ATK buff for 10 seconds per crit -> 4% ATK buff for 10 seconds with a maximum of +40% and -5% base ATK.
This chip allowed you to get incredibly high attack buffs with near 100% uptime with the right build, or even just a few skill chips that granted critical hits. It should still reward you for maintaining a steady output of critical hits, but should be down to a more reasonable level.
-Storm Split Beams: Adjusted behavior so that secondary beams can no longer critical hit. This adjustment also applies to Storm Thunder.
-Storm First Strike: 30% more damage to enemies with over 85% HP and 15% less otherwise -> The same, but now 30% less damage to enemies with less than 85% HP. Additionally, the effect actually matches the text, it was actually higher than the description had listed.
-Storm Voltage: Was 75% damage increase, now 50%. This was just too high.
-Resist BLI: 30% chance to resist blinds -> 35% chance. Chip limit has been reduced to 3. You shouldn't need that much resistance anyway.
Note that chance effects are multiplicative. In other words, you aren't adding more faces to a die, you're rolling more dice with the same number of hits. 3 chips is not 105% but is 74.5%. The intent is that if you want full resistance, use Null BLI instead.
Scavenger: 20% regen -> 15% regen. Also now actually works on chip cases. This was too high in light of how common drops ended up being.
Ice Flash Freeze: No longer triggers on Ice Shard hit.
General Mechanics:
Lifesteal and Shieldsteal effects can now each only trigger every 0.25 seconds. This shouldn't be a problem for a majority of builds, but the ability to deal huge bursts of damage and instantly heal were a little bit much. The intent of these abilities is to reliably sustain you over a long period of time, not fully burst you up. If you need burst healing, items are right there. Healing from chips should be somewhat more limited as such.
Enemy strength slightly increased at higher intensities.
Bug fixes:
-Fixed issue with final boss not triggering phases if dealt sufficient damage all at once.
-Fixed issue with final boss getting stuck if fought at maximum intensity. Also adjusted several moves at this difficulty level.
-Added additional safeguards against the music controller getting stuck.
-Other small fixes and text adjustments.
As the game gets more stable and I get fewer bug reports, I am aiming for a larger content update that focuses on ease of use and convenience. While I can't promise a ton of new content in the future (the game has not sold well enough to justify spending a ton more time on it) I do have a few things that I couldn't quite finish before launch as well as a few thoughts from player feedback.
-Adjusted the buy pricing on treasure items. They don't normally show up in the shop and only in the black market. The target is that they will be purchasable, when they show up, for a price higher than their sell price but less than their refined sell price. -Black market price
-Adjusted the buy pricing on treasure items. They don't normally show up in the shop and only in the black market. The target is that they will be purchasable, when they show up, for a price higher than their sell price but less than their refined sell price. -Black market price multiplier 2X->1.5X. -(Undocumented from previous patch) Fixed an issue with player states interacting with being removed at the wrong time.
Looking at the images promoting the event, I was pretty surprised to see that I made it into a picture. I'm in the one on the right, checking out a game made by another local developer. Pretty sure it's Snakewitch, but I'm not totally sure.
