Dear Wizards!
A status update on the upcoming one-point-oh release.
Next patch will launch September 1st.
This patch will mark Rift Wizard's graduation from Early Access into Full Launch.
What does this mean?
It means I no longer consider Rift Wizard a rough prototype, aimed only at the hardest of hardcore rougelikers, but rather, a complete game, worthy of exploration by normal everyday gamers.
During Rift Wizard's early access, everything in the game was open to change and revision- and many mechanics were. At this point though, I'm pretty happy with how the mechanics in the game all fit together. Going forward, updates will mostly focus on adding more stuff- spells, shrines, monsters- rather than changing the way the game works. The only big system update I am still considering is mod support.
Many games add on an extra act or endboss when leaving early access. Rift Wizard does not lend itself well to this- the game has always been meant to be a full playable experience, with each update adding diversity and depth to each run rather than length. I will be adding a bit of plot information to the victory sequence however.
The patch itself will follow the last roadmap update post pretty closely- the only interesting additional change is the removal of 2-level scouting, which I felt was making optimal play a bit annoying. Check out the changes on the beta branch right now if your curious.
Anyways, big thanks to the many play-testers on the discord who helped shape the game into what it is! Entering early access, I wasn't sure anyone other than me would be interested in the game. I went from having 2-3 beta testers to having hundreds. The amount of insight I've been given on the game by play-testers has been mind blowing, and the game has come a long way in the past 14 months.
-Dylan