Heya!
What's up everyone, I (Caden) am back at it again!
We at the Bookwyrm post-development team have been hard at work creating, tweaking, debugging and testing new content, quality of life changes, the creation of a NEW LEVEL, and fixes to problems that have been brought to our attention by the community. We have put an great amount of emphasis on game-feel, intention, and refinement over the time that we've been working -- let's get into it.
The Cathedral
In the remnants of the Archmage's tower after the events of the base game, it has been left to crumble and fall from the sky. Bounding from wreckage to debris, pieces of the once-stalwart tower rush past forgotten arenas and piece-wise sections where speed is king. This free additional level was created with the intent of letting the player accelerate and blast away dozens of enemies in a final cathartic display of skill and power, where spell-pages are plentiful and reaching maximum speed is far easier than in other play-spaces.
The Tutorial
Now present in the main menu is a 'Tutorial' tab. This is a new, short, excursion where scrolls are present giving more insight into the intricacies of the associated movement techniques present in GRIMWAR, such as Aero Sliding, and Aero boosting.
Ensure that you have 'tutorials' turned on in the in-game pause menu in order to see the scrolls, or otherwise the level will appear empty!
Decor and Visual Identity
GRIMWAR was originally released in a state where, while we were satisfied with how the game played, there were areas that were left throughout the Archmage's tower that still needed attention. Rough geometry, and barren areas were common.
In this update, these barren areas have been addressed and setdressed, new meshes and decor have been made, new textures are being used, and generally attempts to increase the efficacy of the vibe we've intended.
Additionally, areas that were difficult to navigate due to jagged geometry have been smoothed-out and should no longer be as rough around the edges.
The Paladin
The Paladin is the foil to the player, and is the second 'high priority' enemy that has been added to GRIMWAR. Using it's spell-cannon, it mirrors the player's usage and utilization of spells like Gravity, Dreams, Gravity, and Lightning. It will target the player from a medium range, and be an oppressive tank that will seek the player in cover, and seek out cover for itself when it gets heavily damaged.
We cannot wait until players are able to take a look and fight The Paladin in the forthcoming days.
The Urchin
The Urchin is a small enemy that has a very high defense, and likes to hang to walls. It doesn't seek to harm the Thaumaturge, but these crustaceans pack a serious punch if the Thaumaturge comes into contact with them.
Full Changelog
THE CATHEDRAL is now selectable from the main menu.
TUTORIAL is now selectable from the main menu.
The Paladin, hostile spellslinger has been added to the roster of the oppressive forces of the Archmage's tower
The Urchin, living mine has been added to the roster of the oppressive forces of the Archmage's tower.
The Thaumaturge's hand-sprites now are more responsive to camera movements and are generally more resilient to bugs pertaining to movement.
The Thaumaturge's default spell 'Aero' now has SFX for both the invoke and invoke2 (Destroy) effect.
Certain kill-floors have instead been replaced with repositioning triggers that return the player back to the initial jump-point.
The Dungeon's arenas have had visual interest and points of interest added to each one.
The Dungeon's clarity of navigation has been improved through rotation of doors and addition of guiding wind.
All water in the Dungeon has seen a visual overhaul, other associated visual overhaul and setdressing are present throughout.
The Lab has seen conveyance improvements and particle effects to assist with navigation.
The flow of The Lab's second-to-last platforming section has been improved.
The Core has seen numerous changes pertaining to progression and clarity. Numerous areas have been re-lit for clarity.
All textures in the Core have been re-made and are now animated.
Every arena in the Core has been re-built from the ground-up
Passageways and skill-challenges leading to each heart-core the Core have been re-vamped and have had visual overhauls.
Assets from the Cathedral have been retroactively added to other levels to keep visual identity consistent.
General Lighting Improvement
General Bugfixes
Exeunt
This will be the final update for GRIMWAR.
As final update, there will be no further changes or additions to the flow or gameplay of GRIMWAR, nor will there be attempts to fix any bugs that propagate from henceforth.
If you do run into a game-breaking bug while playing. Please feel free to use the Quick Restart button in the pause menu, located above the resume button to start the level again.
As we close the book (ha) on this project, there are a few things that I personally would like to say.
GRIMWAR was initially created as a senior thesis for university, and has since grown to have a small community from all around the world that have taken the time to not only play GRIMWAR, but also take the time to optimize routes, find bugs, learn movement techniques, determine favorite spells, and create fan-content from the game. Content that we have wanted to create for you, the player, after this point has been a work of passion and the want to create something tangible and fun, and we hope that you enjoy the work that we have put in over the past year to give you something that you can devote some of your time to.
To any person that has played GRIMWAR, to anyone that has left a review for GRIMWAR, to anyone who has thought about GRIMWAR.
Thank you.
(Update artwork by Ema Purmensky)