Hello Ascenders!
It has been quite some time since we last spoke, but we would like to first say that we are extremely grateful for all of you who have started to as well as continue to play the Ascend to ZERO Demo. Players have been sending in their feedback through the survey, in the Discussions, as well as through our Discord.
With that being said, we are extremely excited to announce that a new demo will launch October 13! With this coming update, players can expect a vastly improved version of Ascend to ZERO that caters not only to current players, but also new players who want to get their feet wet. In this notice, we hope to give everyone a preview of things to come as well as answer a few questions that you will have, including what is going to happen to your save file (it’s safe, but please read the entire notice). Bear in mind that while some images in this notice are not fully translated, the demo will be fully translated.
As a side note, if you have any questions after this notice, feel free to leave a comment on this notice or on the Discord!
Less Grind, More Flow
One of the largest pieces of feedback that we got through Steam Next was that while the game was fast-paced, the grind element disrupted the overall flow of the game. Based on all the discussions and survey responses, players felt that to make meaningful progress in the game, they would need to commit time to grinding resources to be able to overcome obstacles.
With that in mind, we made various changes to make sure that Ascend to ZERO feels more like a fluid roguelike game. The main idea of the game is to let players feel powerful through their ability to grow stronger quickly, but if players are focused on accumulating resources, then that progression enters a stop-go situation rather than a naturally fluid motion.
In the coming update, we want to improve the flow in the following ways:
- Alleviate disruptions in gameplay caused by resource requirements
- Allowing players to obtain more upgrades and new items in a single run
- Reducing the difficulty of progression up to each stage boss
More details regarding these improvements (and more) will be in the patch notes with the update!
New Items
We want players to be able to experience vastly different runs each time they play, but to do that would mean that we would have to add new items, maybe some ways to change how weapons and skills operate, and more. Therefore, that is exactly what our team did.
With the next update, players can expect to obtain a lot more chips in one run. These chips include most of what is available now, but also includes chips that enhance the weapons that you take in with you, chips that increase your stats to unimaginable heights, as well as slot modules that affect the weapon that is in a specific slot. There is a lot of variety that is being added to the game, so we hope players dive in and see what new ways their favourite avatars take down enemies!
Speaking of new ways to take down enemies, we are adding some weapons that have a bit of flavor to the next update. While currently obtainable weapons that are focused on quality provide a sense of power, we realized that they also led to an overall lack of variety and led to a grind-heavy experience. With this new direction, we hope that players can mow down enemies with both power and fun!
Also making their way to the next update are new gadgets! We took in feedback to give some more unique purposes to gadgets. We don’t want to spoil too much, but here are some teasers for you to think about:
|
|
New Ways to Start a Run
Following player feedback, we added more content for the Time Machine through the genius, Gabriella. She will have ways for players to improve the capabilities of the Time Machine, allowing players to organize their entry bonuses with a bit more freedom - including increasing the max level of certain Time Machine abilities, additional stat options, and more!
On top of all of the things that a player can do to make an impact on their next run, Mimesis also gets an upgrade where players can drastically alter how a run potentially turns out. There are options that are great for beginners as well as options that can add another challenge for our veteran players!
Scope of the Next Demo
Aside from the things listed in this preview notice, there will be more additions and changes coming with the next update. The update patch notes will go into detail all of the different changes that is going to make its way into the game.
We received a lot of feedback on how the demo can be improved upon and made a lot of different changes to the demo experience, therefore a difficult decision had to be made. Because of the amount of things that are changing as well as the scope of those changes, the new demo will feature Stage 1 in its entirety and Stage 2 will be removed. This allows us to see how the new changes affect the initial gameplay, which will then inform our development for the stages that follow. We also feel that the new demo will be a better and more complete representation of what we envision the launch build will be.
But wait - does that mean my save file is going to be deleted? Unusable?
The short answer is no, your save file is not affected at all. You will be able to load your save file in the new demo without problems and be able to play the new demo with all of the improvements that are going to make its way to the update. You just won’t be able to go on to Stage 2.
What does this mean for Cold Moon Hacker?
Players who have already unlocked Cold Moon Hacker will be able to use the avatar in the new update if they load their save file. Starting a new save file would mean that Cold Moon Hacker would not be able to be unlocked as she can only be found in Stage 2.
What about my legendary gear?
Similar situation with the Cold Moon Hacker - those who already have it will be able to use the gear in the new update by loading their file. Starting a new file would mean that players would be able to unlock legendary gear through hard mode of Stage 1.
If Stage 2 is removed, what does that mean for the Next Fest Event reward?
Players who cleared Stage 2 and unlocked Chrono Child - White Night will be able to use the avatar in the updated demo. For the Steam Next Fest Event reward, the new demo does not affect your eligibility nor does it alter your save data, but please do not delete your save file. Deleting the save file can make it extremely difficult to deliver the reward at launch.
Is there a way to see the cool new things you guys are working on?
We honestly appreciate the amount of interest that everyone has in Ascend to ZERO and want to work with the community to develop a strong roguelike experience. After the new update, we are going to keep taking in feedback, communicate more often, and share updates through our official channels!
Road Ahead
We are excited for players to check out the new demo coming out on October 13! We hope that you get to not only have fun with the new update, but also continue to give us feedback to help us shape the best Ascend to ZERO experience possible. Follow us on all of our channels to stay up to date as we will be revealing more things as we head to the new update!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2697940/Ascend_to_ZERO/
X/Twitter: @AscendtoZERO
YouTube: @flywaygames
Discord: Join the community
- Ascend to ZERO Team