The largest content update so far has just arrived!
Launch² is a comprehensive reworking of the awkward middle half of Act 1, with new mechanics, cutscenes, and dungeons in tow. Follow Carter's journey to learn the secrets of magic, gaining new abilities along the way.
Kaliere Commune has received a total facelift, adding not just new NPC schedules and interactions, but fundamentally changing how you navigate around and relate to the space itself.
Spells have been introduced into the mix, one-off abilities that increase the options you have on the battlefield. I was always dissatisfied with the lack of options to control space in combat, and I'm happy to say you now have a plethora of options at your disposal, with more to come!
The character of Jalysus has gotten the most love out of anyone. At launch, he was a very simple character without much depth. We spent very little time with him, as the meat and bones of his character were originally planned to come much later down the line. Now, his role in Act 1 has been recast as a mentor figure; not just to Carter, in his quest to learn more about wizardry, but to an entire generation of wizards as well.
The motivations and backstory of the Helix have gotten far more attention. Learn more about their plans and what was happening behind the scenes before the epic moments at the end of Act 1. Who really are these allies of Elys?
No more running to a potion fountain or the Kaliere General Store! You can now craft potions on the fly. This mechanic is very exciting to me, so expect far more potions in future updates.
In addition to all of that, new enemies have arrived. See how many you can find!
NOTE TO RETURNING PLAYERS: As a result of the major structural changes, your old save files may work but are unsupported. Please, enjoy the new Chapter Select feature if you would like to skip to the new content. All efforts have been made to ensure this never happens again.
Now, for the more exhaustive changelog:
Gameplay
- The broom has been overhauled to control more in line with expectations
- Carter now always dodges in the direction you're holding, irrespective his current direction
- Spells have been added, launched by using LB on the controller after unlocking them
Bug fixes
- Addressed Moth Urgum instantly snapping into the air
- Enemies no longer perfectly track your movement
- You can no longer softlock the Wizard's College by backtracking
- King Lanky and Helix Monstrosity can now be hit by any weapon
- The camera no longer flies out of control during dense scenes, such as the "war" scene
- The broom and broadsword now correctly center during their "item get" cutscenes
- Fixed the wildly inconsistent sound design of Moth Urgum
- Fixed trees not colliding in the open world (this was the result of an optimization gone wrong)
- Targeting Ryval now looks correct
- Ocean water no longer becomes bright blue randomly
- Yolanda is now pregnant, rather than referring to a toddler that does not exist (O.o)
- Townies performing activities or poses no longer fail to look at you, and no longer snap out of their pose for a frame
Improvements
- New library art by the amazing Caim Luna!
- New music by the wonderful DEADi!
- Cutscene skipping is no longer a hidden feature
- The UI now has a more consistent control scheme
- Multiple save files are now supported, as well as in-game deletion
- Introduced a chapter select, which currently allows you to skip the old Wizard's College portion
- Added a quest log in the KellyPhone, which allows you to keep track of your objectives
- Added sound design to almost every interactive element in the game, and improved existing sound design in most cutscenes and for most behaviors
- The ally to enemy composition of the "war" scene has been altered for better gameplay
- Roaming enemy squads now spawn at night time
- Elys now has more attacks and is more resistant to being comboed
Kaliere
- Kaliere Commune has been remodeled
- The Kaliere General Store has been relocated
- New costumes have been added to Devira's Fashion Shop
- The New Wizard's College has been remodeled and repositioned, now towering over Kaliere Commune
- Two new shops have been added: The All-Wizard's Magic Shop and a store for potion reagents
- New props dot the landscape, some of which NPCs will autonomously interact with and use.
- Empty or otherwise pointless interiors have been closed off. Every enterable interior has something meaningful inside
- More guards have been added to defend the streets
Old Wizard's College
- Gear puzzles have been given sound design
- Minor cutscene changes and additions
- A new enemy encounter has been added
- Bugs with allied Elys battles have been fixed
Shooma
- More mushrooms have been added to improve the atmosphere
Unfortunately, there are a few known issues I am aware of
- All projectile systems have a bug recovering launched projectiles, this results in janky behavior in the flight sequence most particularly (not gamebreaking)
- Multi-scene cutscenes still have a minor 'hitch' where you can see the scene loading and initializing before fading into the cutscene. This will be fixed but requires touching too many systems to feel safe it will perform well in all scenarios
- Cutscene skipping does not work if a dialogue is open or about to become open
- The behavior of townies in Kaliere Commune is still slightly inconsistent and will likely receive further work in the future
- Certain UI elements are very hard to properly hover over with mouse and keyboard
- The timestamp in the KellyPhone does not properly reflect ingame state
- Spells still play some sound effects even when you're out of mana
- Drinking out of health fountains does not play a sound effect
- Interrupting Helix Melee-type enemies while they initiate their rock throw attack does not destroy the rock
In addition to the hour+ of new content, there is some side content that was cut for time. Expect even more spells, cutscenes, and dungeons in December! I will be working diligently over the next few weeks to give you even more stories from the world of Web!
Criticisms from the community directly led the efforts to expand the story and improve the gameplay. This wouldn't have happened without the amazing response the game got. I am truly humbled by the support I have received and I hope these additions stand the test of time.
To new and returning players, please enjoy this, and bare with me as we begin the long and difficult path to shipping Act 2!