Hi, wonderful humans!
Proud to announce that Soulblaze is part of the Nonbinary Coded Games event which lasts from Jul 13th to 20th. The game is 25% off during that time!
But that's not all because the game is also receiving the newest update, adding a Nuzlocke mode, as well as the release of a supporter DLC that features alternative art for some starters.
Nuzlocke-Mode
The new mode, which is obviously inspired by the fan-driven difficulty mode from Pokémon, can now be toggled on during the starter selection. The mode throws some limitations at you which make the run more difficult but also reward you with a x1.5 score and marbles multiplier.
If you're unfamiliar with Nuzlocke mode, it means that you:
can only capture the first Animon you encounter per region
if you fail to capture the first Animon or accidentally kill it, you have to wait until the next region to try again
when an Animon gets defeated, it leaves your party
Nicknames!
You can now re-name your Animons and give them whatever nickname you prefer, like Ani McAnimon, Pancake, or Bob.
Steam Leaderboards
a bit experimental since community leaderboards are hard to test by yourself but the game now submits your score to the Steam leaderboard and (hopefully) lists your rank at the end of a run. Let's test it and see if it works and if it does, let's see how gets to the top during this week?!
Easier Beginning
The start of a run was quite difficult and depending on what random Tricks the wild Animons pulled, pretty punishing (yeah, looking at you Halazoom with a Backflip!). The start of a run is now easier with wild Animons starting with only a single die and their pool of random Tricks heavily reduced to some basic ones. Those reductions are happening within the first 10 colums of the first region.
Stop Rooms
I've added a new type of room that makes your token stop and enter the room even when you have movement left. That way, it can guarantee you get enough opportunities to capture an Animon or pass by a heal for example. At the moment there are 2 fixed map columns that have a wild stop room each and 1 colum that has an Animancer battle stop room.
Secret Animons
A new unlockable type of Animons has been added. Finding out secret requirements to fulfill these hidden quests, will reward you with a rare and stronger kind of Animon during a run. At the moment there is only 1 secret Animon with the dex number 40.
Supporter DLC
I have deliberately prices Soulblaze pretty low because, given how everything nowadays gets more and more expensive, I wanted people to be able to afford this game. However, for anyone who really wanted to chip in a bit more to support the development, I've added this DLC to show your support. It contains a few alternate sprites for Kalboo, Bahray, Fitaur, Haradi, and Minjaluna. Once you have the DLC, you can choose the looks on the customization screen, accessible from the starter selection.
Thank you for reading! I hope you'll enjoy the new content and help me test it. Please report any bugs through the in-game bug report tool in the pause menu.
Detailed Patch Notes
Added
added "free slots" info text on Animons when selecting Tricks
added sticker bending shader effect
implemented Steam leaderboard support
Added Stop Sign rooms
(TTS) added customization settings for cards
added option to give nicknames to Animons
added Nuzlocke-mode
added shortcut buttons to open backpack submenus (for gamepads and keyboard)
added Apply button to settings
implemented showing descriptions in settings
added secret Animon #40
implemented secret Animon mechanic
added tutorials for Trick Tinkering (form. Fusion)
added missing lines for German version
added dicebag and aspect dice tutorials
implemented battle start passive effects
added finished art for ignited Difdagua
added tooltip icon for when Toppings bonus applied
added Passive: Risky
added Passive: Ferocious
added Passive: Aquaphile
added status condition ignore mechanic
added enemy indicator icon to opponent's dice
(TTS) added successful Trick taught message
added sfx for teaching Trick
Added automatic crash report collection
added victory music to post-battle screens
Soulblaze form now has to be maintained + depletes from damage and time
(TTS) added Soulblaze descriptions for a few starters
(TTS) added messages for Soulblaze mechanic
added sfx to Soul Beam
added Collect node: +1 re-roll
(TTS) added message to hovering focus Animons
added sfx to Spit
Changed
Haste/Slow now consume stacks like buffer when dice values are changed
improved status condition icon UI animations
intelligence now aware of resonance triggered by paying one non-matching die
added affection exp text to affection bar display
Mutate now applies haste
changed Starcloak topping to require exactly 4
changed Gambit tutorial to play earlier
made dicebag screen more fun
replaced main font with one that supports German
increased party panel size on inventory screen
tweaked affection bar visuals
pretty-fied the party screen
improved saving of windowed-mode size/position
tweaked level up screen for smaller displays
increased wild Animon node weight from 8.5 to 9
added offset to damage numbers to fit with sprite
updated run menu visuals
collection screen can now be closed with Escape
"Pause Menu" button now resets settings to default
increased width of settings screen
Trick Fusion has been renamed to Trick Tinkering
Resonance bonus now happens for current Trick cost
updated visuals for some buttons and inventory screen
tweaked intelligence reroll score for less shield
reduced cost reduction from self-damage features
Nerfed Sweet Lie Poison stacks from 6 to 4
removed Double from Mirror Image, added Toppings
added Headbutt to Kalboo's starting Tricks
wild Animons in first 5 clms now only have 1 die
improved visuals for Passive Tricks
weaker Tricks for wild Animons in first 10 columns
improved sprite variants selection gui
added sive file to bug report attachments
improved die poison overlay text
starting a battle now gives active Animon +1 affct
(TTS) status condition message now tells you stack
changed Animon capture stats get saved after run
(TTS) improved damage and shield message in combat
using potion in battle selects active animon first
changed that all Animons affection lvl 1 = Starter
changed Parasite to cause Heal Debuffer and Poison
Fixed
fixed no-dragging mode
fixed level-up Animons learning trick from 1st
fixed dedicated TAG and damage buffer calculation
fixed Animon pay circle showing when not needed
fixed Buggy quirk applying stun via to other anim
fixed a couple of tooltip issues
fixed haste/slow applied to map dice
fixed gamepad issue w releasing after full party
fixed inventory not accessible during catching
fixed Picnic Basket only healing one Animon
fixed Chaos Karate possibly hitting 0 times
fixed dicebag loadout not cycling with 2 dice
inventory affection bar now shows correct amount
fixed text popups can block mouse input
fixed intelligence considering Passive techniques
fixed infinite re-roll bonus from sticker
fixed enemy stun applying weirdly
fixed gambit tutorial playing during enemy turn
fixed self-stun Tricks cost too high
fixed Kareem wrong dice loadouts
fixed some dice not cleaned up on run restart
fixed mouse damage healthbar preview not accurate
fixed Twitch mode issues
(TTS) fixed some shop cards not reading + tweaks
fixed inspect mode still working on victory screen
fixed victory music not looping
fixed Charge Beam triggering during catchin, crash
fixed dicebag tutorial
fixed inventory accessible during enemy turn
fixed promo animon unlock and storing
(TTS) fixed chest screen not reading first item
(TTS) fixed shop not reading cost info
(TTS) fixed Arcade not reading party list
(TTS) fixed junction paths order upside down
(TTS) updated battle controls hint to be correct
(TTS) fixed dice selectable when in backpack menu
(TTS) fixed sticker album intro message
prevent map dice from grab focus if backpack open
fixed outgoing damage difficulty settings
fixed 100% catch guarantee setting
Fusion now detects valid tag transfer items
fixed intelligence not using Gambit dice
fixed low health tutorial saying wrong Animon name
fixed dicebag unlocking with just curiosity die
fixed Sweet Lie not healing enemy
fixed small issue with tooltip dmg breakdown
fixed tooltip icon for damage bonus
fixed map crash when selecting room multiple times
fixed map re-rolls not consumed after resonance
fixed condition tutorial happening in enemy turn
fixed stun visuals playing when Bug is benched
fixed another instance of intelligence crashing
(TTS) fixed changing party leader null error
fixed rolling die not granting exp when re-rolled
(TTS) fixed case where level up screen got stuck
fixed status condition particles not showing
(TTS) fixed mastery panels not focus-able
fixed Tricks with special dmg source not crit x2
(TTS) added missing status condition to tooltips
fixed enemy getting stuck on death from poison die
(TTS) fixed error when inspecting on shop screen
fixed Reprise not resetting after turn end
fixed Moonriver quirk
fixed player auto-skipping stun turn
fixed capture popup showing after releasing animon
fixed Intelligence getting stuck on growing Trick
fixed Meditate adding 0 Damage buffers
fixed grow animation not showing
fixed crash when executing Trick during dialogue