Relics & Rot (and so much more)
Hello, Soulfallen. It's been almost three months since Soulfall released into Early Access, and I am extremely happy to announce the first major update. This update realistically should have released a month ago, but due to a combination of me being unwilling to push certain features to a future update, as well as my old PC dying and me having to port the entire game to a new computer and a newer engine version, it took a bit longer than I was hoping. Below I will include some features that have been added.
Relics
Probably one of the most exciting parts of this update is relics. These are special items that can equipped in relic slots, and change the gameplay in fundamental ways. This is where I really focused on the idea of "class synergy" and players being able to find and discover new meta builds. Relics are unlocked over time as you make your way through the 4 Acts, with the final relic slot being unlocked after beating Act 4, allowing you to begin experimenting as you work your way through the higher difficulty tiers.
Act 4 Overhaul
Act 4 initially started as an experiment, to see how "different" of a direction I could take a survivors style combat loop. Ultimately, I think I went overboard and the result was a pretty underwhelming Act 4. I have completely re-designed Act 4, including a new map, new enemies, new elites, while maintaining the semi-linear progression and ritual events of the original Act 4. If you enjoyed Acts 1-3 then I think you will really love Act 4.
Insanity Mode
If inferno mode was too easy for you, then you will love insanity mode. With environmental hazards, random enemy spawn order, increased spawn rate, double boss spawns, and insanely scaled difficulty, this will not be an easy challenge but the rewards are more than worth it. Insanity Mode on Act 4 has the option to turn into an endless run, with an insanity Hell portal spawning next to the usual blue town portal.
Insanity Runes/Endless Mode
Endless insanity mode on Act 4 features a pretty fun new mechanic: Insanity Runes. Essentially at the end of each Insanity Tier, you will choose one of three random runes, each with a Boon (positive effect) and a Bane (negative effect) that you will carry with you into the next insanity tier. These stack endlessly and their effects continue to compound, so if you take a rune with a Bane for increasing enemy movement speed, you may realize eventually that at higher insanity tiers enemies are practically flying across the map to kill you.
Afflictions/Status Effects
As you play the update, you may notice enemies glowing strange/unexpected colors after taking damage from spell book abilities. These are called afflictions, and they work similarly to status effects. There are minor and major afflictions, generally this works such that 10 minor stacks of an affliction will add 1 major stack of that variant, for example 10 stacks of Burn will turn into 1 Ignite stack (turning the afflicted enemy into a giant fireball and burning nearby enemies).
Class Specialization Buffs
I read through a ton of player feedback, especially for minion/follower builds and realized I really missed the mark. So I went back and re-designed these class specs nearly from scratch, to make them feel super fun and actually fulfill the class fantasy. I have never been the type to use a minion build, but after my necromancy rework I have found myself really loving just standing there and watching my skeletons obliterate everything. My philosophy is always: buff the boring stuff, and never ever ever ever nerf the fun stuff.
Weapon Variety
One weapon type for each class was a bit of an oversight. It made each class and class spec feel a bit too "samey" for my taste. So I quadrupled the amount of weapons in the game. That sounded simple in my head before starting but wow, it was a ton of work. The result is pretty fun, as there is now dual wielding, greatswords, crossbows, wands, magic sceptres, and more. All rely on slightly different playstyles and upgrades to really flourish, which I think adds a lot more replayability and importance to player decisions.
Challenges
Making the number go up and seeing progress bars slowly reach 100% is a super fun and satisfying feeling to get in between runs, so I wanted to add challenges for the more "completionist" type players. There are 40 total challenges, each with 3 tiers of difficulties offering some small rewards. I plan to expand on challenge rewards in the future, and likely tie them to achievements in some way, but for now these are completable and trackable. Some are borderline impossible, so good luck!
Class Stat Points
I originally intended the progression mechanic in this game to be purely based on loot, but that kind of ruined the power fantasy in some ways. A character has fought their way through the 4 Acts of Hell, and if you take off all their gear they are no stronger than they were at the start, it isn't logically consistent. So to combat this, I added stat points which can be added to your player on the inventory screen (left side). These stat points effect your baseline attributes, for example putting points into Fortitude will slightly increase your Base Health. This is a fun way to diversify characters further and allow yourself to lean into certain build styles.
Leaderboards
Who doesn't love a little competition? I want to greatly expand on this in the future, with friend leaderboards, act-specific and difficulty specific leaderboards, but at the moment it is a pure kill tracker. Whoever has gotten the most kills in any act, any difficulty, will show up at the #1 spot in the leaderboards.
Hardcore Characters
If you thought dying was already frustrating, have you considered the possibility of creating a Hardcore Character, where the punishment for death is permanent character deletion? If so, this part of the update is for you! Coming soon after this update will be hardcore specific leaderboards, so even after your character meets (near) certain demise their memory and bragging rights can live on forever, or until someone else beats their score.
New Level Up Traits
I nearly doubled the amount of level up traits the are presented as options to players on level up. The reason for this was that I realized if you played well and reached a high level (let's say 80-85), you could theoretically take every single possible level up trait. That results in an extremely uniform run, without much choice, player agency, or variability. So I wanted to make sure that players have to prioritize certain level up traits over others, and make decisions that may impact them later in a run.
QoL Changes
Helmet Toggle
Cape Toggle
Screenshake slider
Improved click registering for dropping/equipping items
Improved gamepad support in menus/on screen pop-ups
There are probably 20-30 other things I'm forgetting
Bug Fixes
Too many to possibly remember or add here
NOTE: If you find any bug at all please feel free to post about it on the community hub, the discord, or any way you are able to contact me. I tried to fix every single bug reported after the EA launch but is possible and very likely that some fell through the cracks. And with the amount of new content added, it's also likely there are some new bugs. I can not overstate how deeply appreciative I am whenever people take the time to report a bug. This makes my life so much easier and it helps improve the game for everyone. So thank you to all of you who have reported bugs, and a pre-emptive thanks to everyone who will report any bugs in the future.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, I am very happy with the direction Soulfall is going, but I have many more updates that I still want to add. Though hopefully I can get a bit faster with my update cadence, I feel bad making people wait so long for new content. This is not really an official roadmap but I have two major updates planned with a general idea of what will be included in both and I am incredibly excited to work on these new features and get them released.
Major update 2 will focus on the town area more than the major 4 acts, including some new ways to gather resources (active vs passive), and a very cool procedural boss level that will aid in creating a new tier of gear: Pinnacle, an ultra rare infinitely scaling gear type that allows trait customization through sacrificing powerful gear, as well as cosmetic customization.
Major update 3 will be the most ambitious update and likely the final step towards Soulfall leaving Early Access and getting a "Full" 1.0 Release. This update will include a new Act 5 Ethereal Realm, as well as multiplayer modes. When I say multiplayer I do not mean just local co-op (though that will certainly be included), I am talking about full scale multiplayer lobbies, PvP modes, PvPvE modes, and more. Multiplayer will of course be optional, the game will never force you to be "always online". You buy the game, you own it - forever.
That's all I've got for now, but if you enjoyed my ramblings and would like to read more of them, the discord is generally where I post my thoughts on new mechanics, including early versions of features as I work on them.
Wishing you and all of your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The world contains so much hope and beauty, and you are an irreplaceable part of that. Never forget that you are loved infinitely, and have the capacity to love others infinitely.