Unterholz 2.00 Update
After releasing Unterholz in 2024 and receiving a lot of positive and constructive feedback, I decided to get back to the drawing board once again and implement the things I weren't able to include before. With a lot more experience under my belt and after lots of additional tests and play sessions, I felt ready to go a step further than what I achieved with the base game and its 1.0 release!
The world of Unterholz is now even more fleshed-out, filled with more things to see and do and the sword combat feels more satisfying with new mechanics and gameplay elements.
I took a lot of the feedback from the streamers, reviewers and curators who played the game into account to make exploration and overall progress more rewarding.
Here are some of the changes I have implemented in the soon-to-be-released version 2.0 of Unterholz:
Content and Gameplay Changes
Tactical Limb Locking
A completely reworked combat system for every armoured enemy adds more depth to each duel. During a fight specific body parts of a locked enemy are highlighted and can easily be selected by looking at them with the camera. Pressing the lock-on button again will target the specific body part with your next attack and another part of the enemy will be highlighted. Doing this three times in a row counts as a combo and will deal massive damage to the enemy. A diegetic and minimalist UI design will conveniently show you the combo status and current health of the enemy.
New Merchant
Enemies will have a chance to drop specific crystals called "gles" that can be used to enhance the player's weapon. All chests are filled with items and in case you collected a lot of guldens, you can now spend them at Stranded Jacobus' hidden emporium.
Gilded Armour
You can acquire an alternative historical armour based on authentic gilded renaissance armament, a historically accurate claymore to wield instead of the default longsword or change the colour of the crystal to a wintery cool blue.
Historical reference and ingame representation
Workbench: A new immersive interface to customise unlocked appearances
Mini Bounties
Someone has also placed a few bounties on a withered board in the lost village at the beginning. It seems someone needs help with their unfinished business...
Nightfall
Delve deeper into the lore of the lands by uncovering additional secrets and abandoned places. Darken the skies at will and play Unterholz in the new "night mode" with slightly more difficult enemies alongside greater rewards.
And more...
Other new features include performance updates (I am still purposefully utilising version 4.27.2 of Unreal Engine which has proven more performant in my specific use cases instead of migrating to a newer generation), various map and bug fixes, new cutscenes, enemy types, movement control and camera polish, user interface optimisations, a brand new ending and more.
Behind the Scenes
I also decided to put the earnings from version 1.0 of Unterholz into new custom made assets, additional voice acting and graphical designs in addition to the development of all the new features for version 2.0. Through these enhancements I am confident that the game has now reached its intended form to bring even more fun and mystery to players than its first iteration!
Artwork
Tractatus Moriendi
For an even more authentic interpretation of the "Tractatus Moriendi", the fictional medieval text about the mysterious ghosts, central to the lore of Unterholz, I contacted illustrator and book designer Sottis to create intricate illuminations, echoing the style of real 15th century book pages.
My full text about these spectral entities was then translated into historically accurate Early Modern High German by my friend Ansgar. We used an authentic 15th century typeface and placed the letters by hand, including typical inconsistencies for each letter, to achieve the final texture. The resulting document can be inspected closely and from all sides in the game.
Modelling
Rose Seals
The heraldic rose image, reoccuring in the game several times, is also reflected in a unique model of a seal, attached to the player. It will appear based on his experience gain throughout this tiny adventure. Modelled by Edoardo Toninelli, it conveys the impression of a regal seal made of wax with an actual fragment of text attached to it.
Voice Acting
During development I was fortunate enough to assemble a varied cast of excellent actors to lend their voices to the characters of Unterholz:
Martin Whiskin with his brooding interpretation of The Hunter will narrate a brand new ending.
Rebecca Wilkie is reading the lost diary of the Devoted Lady.
And introducing Matt Cyphers, aka "Witchcraft Voice", as the stranded merchant Jacobus.
Including a moving performance from Rupert Wycliffe-Taylor as the thought-provoking Famished Owl.
Update 2.0 of Unterholz will be out soon, so stay tuned and thanks for playing!
Version 2.0
Changelog
Engine:
- General performance optimisations
- Reduced pop-In
- Revised lighting for faster rendering
- Fixed several object clipping issues
- Particle optimisations
- Changed animation timing for player and enemies
- Optimised seal clipping through armour
Gameplay:
- Reworked camera system
- New boss mechanics for the final battle
- Doubled sprint stamina
- Reworked and enhanced tactical sword combat system
- Added timed perfect blocks
- Added player choice to decide how to approach the ending
Content:
- Added buyable alternative sword, armour and crystal
- Added workbench to alchemist's chamber to toggle unlocked appearances of the sword, armour and crystal
- Added voice-acted merchant to purchase cosmetics
- Added possibility to upgrade player sword
- Updated model for the king
- Additional Cutscene when entering the black chamber
- Reworked several special effects
- "Outer Gatehouse" area in the swamp accessible
- Added "Abandoned Mill" area
- Two additional duels
- Additional enemy types
- Additional epilogue cutscene and narration for "true" ending
- Added secret night mode with slightly stronger enemies
- Additional signpost shortcut location near the decrepit church
- Sword reacts to obstacles when swung
- Added alternate sword sheathe position toggle
- Added mini bounties to a board in the abandoned village
Misc:
- Enabled physics for fallen enemies
- Mirages now fade out after kill
- Fixed calling inspect involuntary while locking on enemies
- Additional UI animation polish
- Added toggle between fullscreen and 21:9 cinemascope display
- Added vintage gothic mode to play the game in black & white with narrowed audio
- Updated and polished camera system
- Fixed collision when spawning Mirages
- Updated location designs and detailing for the decrepit church and old monastery
- Fixed rain effects when inside certain buildings