Hello, all!
The next update may affect save games from previous game versions. While this is something I always try to avoid, in this case there are major changes that older save games may conflict with. This will not cause any instability, but some of the new areas (including the new castle area and portals) may not function properly due to load conflicts.
The complete update will be updated and live on the Beta branch later tonight, and will be live for everyone else on the main (non-beta) by tomorrow.
January Updates: Portals, Tutorial Updates, Mark & Recall, and Player Homesteading
Here is the latest development update for Hermit, including some upcoming new features as well as recent updates that came throughout the past few weeks.
Overall, there have been fewer patches this month. As the game becomes more stable I am receiving fewer and fewer bug reports. As always, if you find an issue, use the main-menu reporting tool and I will investigate and try fix any issues that arise.
Player Homesteading
Added a new home area that is accessible immediately following the tutorial
This change is intended to address balance issues around storage and crafting. In the main game, houses are available early. This created an unnecessary issue in the game demo when the player was not able to access a home for storage and crafting without completing a difficult quest
The new area addresses this problem by introducing homesteading much earlier
Portals
This patch also introduces portals, which have been in development for some time
Portals are designed to be "seamless-ish" and players should be able to see through to the other side before entering
Only one portal is available at this time until the feature is completely stable / complete
A portal has been opened by 'Mog The Blind' across from the tutorial dungeon exit
This portal leads to the new player homesteading area
New Teleport Magic
This patch also sees the first iteration of a new teleportation magic mechanic
Two new Hermit artifacts have been added for this
Golden Mushroom: Can be planted (deployed) to mark a location
Mushroom Pendant: Can be used to instantly teleport back to the golden Mushroom from anywhere
Tutorial Updates
The tutorial area has been updated with new arrow indicators to help smooth player experience, as some players got lost during the tutorial testing
Disabled left click to throw torches, as many testing players accidentally threw / lost their torches during the tutorial not realizing this
The hotkey 'T' to throw torch remains and work the same, but should be used less by accident
Worms (Giant Helminths)
A new Worm (Giant Helminth) enemy has been added somewhere on the map
Worms are a hazard only and do not drop any loot
Supporting the Project
If you've been enjoying the Hermit Demo and want to help support the game, some things you can do to help support the project:
Consider leaving a positive review for the Demo Page! It helps the game a lot, and allows me to focus more of my time on development rather than having to divert that time and energy toward advertising
Share the game Demo with friends / Discord servers you know might enjoy it
Submit bug reports using the reporting tool: if you find an issue, let me know. I can't reply to every report, but I do read them all and I make an effort to fix every issue that I can reproduce on my end