Hello you sheep in sheep's clothing,
Sven has been back for 5 weeks now! Plenty of time to gather feedback and take a hard look at the game. You've played, commented and streamed a lot since the release. So we sat down on our collective plushy hinds and put together a patch package that should bring a first batch of improvements into the game.
So naturally we want to give you a quick overview of the new features going live in the patch. In addition, we want to share some information about coming changes beyond this first patch, because it won't just be bug fixes.
But first on to the patch, more precisely:
One of the major criticisms by far was that the levels aren't really challenging. And that gameplay doesn't change too much once you've completed all levels. There already were difficulty modifiers, if you complete a run in World or Area mode and then continue playing. But many of you either perceived them as lacking in either difficulty or variation or didn't even discover them at all! In addition, they did not have any effect on high score values. That's why many of you were disappointed with the lackluster high score hunt.
To address these issues, the main focus of this first patch is a complete overhaul of the modifiers, on both the gameplay side and in the UI.
Starting off, in the new version you will immediately notice that there is now a display for the current level of difficulty on the world map. Difficulty levels will still be tied to repeated world or/area runs in world and area mode and will increase to the next level of difficulty after each run. In Level mode, however, the level of difficulty can now be freely selected.
ncrease to the next level of difficulty after each run. In Level mode, however, the level of difficulty can now be freely selected.
Each difficulty level now activates a different set of difficulty modifiers for each level.
Each modifier has specific properties. They influence for example:
- speed of opponents
- the items that appear
- The moodiness of the sheep
Here’s a small overview of all the different modifiers in game:
The impact on gameplay depends on the level of the modifier. The higher the level, the stronger the effect.
The difficulty level now also affects the score you receive on completing the level. Depending on the difficulty level a percentage bonus will be applied to the base score.
This makes the high score hunt a bit more demanding and should make chaining world and area runs significantly more challenging.
Of course, there are some additional adjustments that aren't related to difficulty. These are just the most significant ones, the exact list can be found in the changelog below.
Immunity on getting caught
If you were caught by Lars or Wotan, you could still be flattened by stones or cars. With this patch you become invulnerable for the duration of the fight (Lars or Wotan too). After that, however, you can be caught again directly.
Ka-Baa-Sutra Display in the Pause Menu
Don't remember if you have already unlocked the Ka-Baa-Sutra entry for the current level? Or what exactly you need to do to unlock it? Don't worry, because now you can take a quick peek in the pause menu and check the requirements and state right there.
Sheep Locator
All by yourself again? You can't find a partner again and company is few and far between? Never fear, for the sheep locator is here to show you the way to the last remaining sheep!
Of course, we also heard by far the biggest criticism, the dissatisfaction with the overall scope of the game. We can see very clearly that previous “Sven” titles in comparison offered more content in the form of levels, characters and items. However, that is well outside of what we can do as a small studio, when we have to individually rebuild, animate, texture and bring each character to a modern level of gameplay. In the early stages of development we took care to extensively play and analyze every “Sven” title. Looking through all previous features we decided that given the scope of the rework and design, “Sven - Completely Screwed" should be an homage to the first two “Sven” entries, concentrating on core elements that defined the series, expanding them to make proper use of the 3D environment.
We want this title to do justice to the series. That is why there will be at least one additional patch, the first in the next 2 months, which will expand the game by additional levels.
Patch 2 - Refocused Area design
Main theme of this patch will be a “rework” of the separate areas’ differing gameplay mechanics. There have been comments that some of the areas don't differ enough on the gameplay side. Existing unique gameplay elements will be expanded upon or supplemented to create more variety here. Each area will receive a brand new level, with everything that goes with it, meaning new unlockable content in the Ka-Baa-Sutra. Depending on the feedback received for Patch 1.1.0, balancing changes and/or new modifiers will also be considered.
Beyond patch 2
We are in talks with our publisher, to evaluate how we could continue to create additional content for the game. We still have ideas for additional areas and characters. But please bear in mind that at the current time we cannot say when that would happen or if it will happen at all. Release date and general feasibility depend heavily on the success of "Sven - Completely Screwed".
We don't want to raise false hopes in advance that we can't fulfill in the end. If there is any news, we will let you know.
Otherwise we wish you a lot of fun with the update!
New Features:
- added icons for difficulty modifiers
- added difficulty new difficulty modifiers
- added difficulty level indicator/switcher on map screen, pause screen and ready screen
- added tooltip showing current difficulty modifiers on map screen, pause screen and ready screen
- added additional Ka-Baa-Sutra entries for modifiers
- added score influence to difficulty levels
- completely reworked difficulty modifier combinations for all levels
- added indicator pointing in direction of last remaining sheep
- adjusted item spawn frequency across all levels to better match level sizes
- Wotan and Lars now get briefly incapacitated on being hit by something
- added unlock hint to pause screen to show current Ka-Baa-Sutra unlock state and condition
- Baa?
Bugfixes:
- fixed an issue where Lars and Wotan would move around after being hit by something
- fixed an issue where Sven model would not stay in incapacitated mode after losing all lives
- fixed an issue where multiple enemies could pick up the same item
- fixed an issue where both players and enemies could still be damaged during brawl
- fixed an issue where player could be damaged by hazards while still being in an incapacitated state
- fixed an issue where Wotan & Lars reacted too quickly after getting distracted by an item
- fixed an issue where Sven could be beaten up while hidden
- fixed an issue where Sven could enter a hiding place or puddle during a brawl
- fixed an issue where status effects would not be properly reapplied if activating an item while its effects were still active
- fixed Wotan and Lars diving head first into poison rivers
- fixed an issue where player lives could fall below 0
- fixed an issue where player could move out of bounds in Vineyard 03
- fixed an issue where Lars and Wotan sometimes would not lose aggression if vanishing during their bark/yell phase
- fixed an issue where players would sometimes still be penalized if UFO had already locked onto a sheep that the player then still managed to mate with
- fixed an issue where player score would be calculated and shown twice when dying in versus mode
- fixed an issue where ui interaction was still possible during rebinding
- fixed Sven map indicator not showing particles + animations
- fixed game mode selected on map not being restored after leaving game
- quitting the game via the pause screen now quits back to the map screen instead of main menu
- fixed orientation of Sven indicator on map
- fixed an issue where PS4/PS5/Switch Pro Controllers would not be recognized