Hello Exorcists,
We're starting this new year with a big update, with lots of additions and changes. Our desire has always been and will always be the improvement of the gaming experience, and for that we have prepared some little surprises, as well as: a new map, functional and graphic UI update, an area outside the van to deposit corrupted items, lots of bug fixes, and finally... public lobbies.
This update is sent on the "public pre-prod" version. To access it, in your Steam library, right click on Ghost Hunters Corp, then Ownership. In the beta tab, select the "public pre-prod" version
* HotFixed: Korean language updated. People who use Korean language can now see the Public Lobby option.
UPDATES & ADDITIONS
Languages
- Several languages have had several additions and updates.
- Any non-translated text will appear in the game as English. Some text may be translated with Google Translate. If you wish to submit language corrections, or translations, please do so by emailing: [email protected]
Multiplayer & Network
- We have added public lobbies! You can now create public lobbies, or join lobbies from your own country, your own continent, or worldwide if you prefer.
- Now, only the lobby Host will be able to select a contract/map. If you are a Client, you will see a different contract board, which will include some information for you to look at while you wait for the lobby Host to select a contract.
Systems
- We've added a random variable to the Free Contract selection board, so that the list of free contracts will no longer become perfectly syncronized with each other.
Maps & Generation
- A new map has been added: Sweden - Family Home A small-medium map designed for 1 to 3 players. Has a creepy basement. You can check the basement, I'll stay up top.
- We've adjusted Barony's Map Bonus. You will now have a very small payment bonus for completing contracts in the Barony.
Ghost AI & Behavior
- We've given the Child Entity type a voice ;) (Ghostly Voice On-Site)
User Interface
- We've completely overhauled the Contract board in the lobby. It now correctly matches the theme of the Tablet and computer in the vehicle. The new contract board will now always show Extreme contracts with a red outline, to prevent misclicking contracts you did not mean to select or buy. The contract board will now show icons/thumbnails for each and every map, as well as a much easier to understand visual "contract bonus system" which can will allow players to see the map-size bonus at a glance. The post-game contract board will now show you the correct evidence, as well as which evidence you incorrectly selected.
Gameplay & Balance
- Made minor adjustments to the economy of contracts. Very light nerf to Simple Long and Simple Short contract currency rewards. (we promise, the nerf is hardly even noticeable)
- Adjusted the price of photos. On either difficulty, photos in most categories will reward 10 currency. Photos of ghosts will reward 20. In general, this is a buff to the camera/photo rewards. Additional photos of the same type will reward a small percentage of the original value.
- We've made significant changes to the way experience is earned in the game. In a similar manner to the economy overhaul, we've adjusted all experience gains to more appropriately match the work and investment of the player. Collecting accurate evidence is now the most effective way to gain experience. Exorcising the entity still provides a large bonus to xp, and is critical to gaining all of the earned experience, without a penalty. Overall, players will earn the same experience on Simple Short contracts, but considerably more experience on Extreme Short, and a lot more on Extreme Long contracts. (there was a bug causing Extreme Short missions to give the same experience as Simple Long missions, this has been fixed, and adjusted). Extreme Short will now give about 45% more XP than previously, and Extreme Long will now give about 50% more XP than previously.
- Players will no longer lose the XP they've gathered before fainting/being knocked out, regardless of if the body was returned to the vehicle. This does not apply to currency. Currency is still lost upon fainting. You will now always keep the XP you've earned.
- We've added a "Deposit Zone" outside of the vehicle (to the rear, or side), so that while you're in a contract/mission, you can easily deposit cursed objects (or even equipment you wish to bring back to base, if you choose to abandon the mission). This zone should make it a lot easier to manage large-sized cursed objects. Simply drop any items you wish to bring back to HQ anywhere on the platform, inside of the lightposts.
- We've added a few additional incense sticks to the free/starter item pool on the shelves for Simple Difficulty contracts. Free of charge ;)"
- We have rebalanced level requirements and prices for almost all equipment in the game. The previous level requirements were simply placeholders until we completed the XP and Economy overhaul. For all exact level/price changes, see this page: Notion: The Economy Changes
Equipment
- The Crucifix and the Mary Statue will now slightly glow in dark enviornments, so players will always be aware if the defensive tools are destroyed or not. They will also slightly glow (when they are still active/healthy) in the Night Vision camera.
- Large equipment (the High-Def Camera, the Threat Detector, the Tripod Spotlight) will now spawn outside of the vehicle, on the new new 'Deposit Zone'. The Salt Shotgun will now spawn on the vehicle floor (same location as the Neutrino-Gun) This will help prevent clutter in the vehicle. (can we get a moment of silence for the legendary 'hallway of tripod spotlights'?)
- The Occult Meter has been overhauled. It will now signal if it detects Corrupt objects (the objects to destroy for exorcism). If you bring it within close proximity of a corrupt object, the face of the Occult Meter will pulse a red color. This is in additional to it's previous purpose of detecting normal cursed objects. The Occult Meter is now a starter/free item given to players during Simple Difficulty contracts.
- The Thermometer has been added to the free/starter items given to players during Simple Difficulty contracts.
- The MEL has been removed from the starter/free items which are given to players during Simple Difficulty contracts. This has been deemed a "high tier" piece of equipment, which is capable of doing the job of up to 4 other pieces of equipment all on it's own. Also, because of this, the MEL's price and level requirement has been increased.
- Tiger Eye textures and object shapes have been updated. On the free/starter Tiger Eye given to players, the object shape has been updated to allow a more consistant hitbox. This will help when throwing the stone at the entity. The "used" Tiger Eye texture has been updated to look slightly less like a grey blob.
BUG FIXES
Equipment
- Salt has been fixed! Salt did not interact correctly with the entity when it was thrown by hand. Salt will now trigger the appropriate effects if the salt contacts the entities body. Salt only works on entities which require salt to be exorcised. (no more throwing salt at ghostly feet! It's the small victories that feel the best, sometimes)
- Tiger Eye stone has been fixed! There was a bug which made it very difficult to throw the stone at the entity (and hit it) with the Tiger Eye. This has been fixed, and now players who hit the entity on any part of its body will now trigger the appropriate effect. It's important to remember, Tiger Eye stones and Salt only work on entities which require them to be exorcised, Also worth remembering: The "free" Tiger Eye stones are smaller in size, and have a smaller hitbox than the "paid/premium" tiger eye stones.
- The Thermometer has been fixed! Previously, players would only be able to get the ER.0 message by aiming the thermometer at the entities feet. This has been fixed, and players can now aim the thermometer anywhere on the entities body to get the ER.0 message. NOTE: The entity must be VISIBLE to the player while making the scan in order to get the ER.0 message."
- The Instant Camera (the free one given to players during Simple Difficulty missions) has been fixed. It was supposed to give players 3 charges/flashes, but it was only giving 2.
- Photos will no longer stack rewards! Previously, the XP and Currency reward per photo stacked infinitely, meaning you could photograph the same circumstance over and over to get an absurdly high photo reward. Now, photos will give you one large correct payout per subject, then all further photos of that subject will give 1/3 of the original reward.
Ghost AI & Behavior
- (Demon Laugh / Ghostly Voice on Site) Several instances of Demon laughter not triggering when it was supposed to have been fixed. In testing, all Ghostly Voice On-Site evidence now appears to function as intended (though changes may be coming in the future to help players understand the difference between Ghostly Voice evidence, and general ghostly screams, or aggression). PLEASE NOTE: To get Ghostly Voice On-Site evidence (which includes Demon Laugh), the player must be in close proximity to the entity when requesting it to speak. Roughly the same proximity as an MEL device. A Spirit-Box is NOT required to get this evidence, however using a Spirit-Box when making vocal requests to the entity can increase the chances the entity will speak back to you.
User Interface
- Fixed the circular experience bar, next to your avatar in the menu/tablet. It should now appropriately fill the circle as you become closer to leveling up!
Maps & Generation
- (St. Samael) We have corrected a massive door-gap that was upstairs next to the hallway bookshelf.
- (Lost House) We have fixed the art set (immediately inside of the house, in the room to the right, next to the painting easel). When this object was cursed, it used to require a camera flash to be picked up or moved, even if the object was already visible.
- (Lost House) There was a problem which broke all footstep sounds in Lost House. We have fixed this- so you should be able to hear yourself walking in the house again. We never intended for the players footstep sounds to be the phantom.
- (Cemetary) We have fixed many gravestones so that they are no longer stacked inside of each other.
- (Barony) The vines to the right of the entrance are now in contact with the wall.
- (Camp) The vehicle's headlights are now connected to the vehicle properly.
Multiplayer & Network
- We've mostly fixed a bug which can cause players to enter different maps at the same time (or be in two different instances of the same map at the same time). There will now be up to a 5 second delay after clicking the steering wheel (to start a contract) before the vehicle starts. This 5 second delay is used to give the User Clients time to automatically update to the Host's map selection (in case they have high latency, or a poor internet connection). If a Client or Host has severe ping or lag, it is still theoretically possible to go into two seperate maps at the same time, or experience other very strange desync issues. We will try to create a more complete fix at a later date.
Systems
- Some players have reported that they had game log files in excess of 3GB in size. We have made some changes to greatly reduce the size of game log file size.
Click to see our Development Roadmap!
Click to see our Bug Board (track all known bugs)!
Once again, thank you for reading, and thank you very much for your continued support and feedback!
There are many more changes, updates, and fixes in the coming update, and the full patchnotes will be available once we've released the update to the Public Pre-Production Beta branch.
Do not forget your Crucifixes and your Mary Statues!
- The Ghost Exorcism Inc. Team