We are going to make this new Build Available very soon,
Im working very diligently As is 378 Publishing to make sure that people know this game exists / will exist.!
A lot of Bullpucky happened over the past 15 days that really had nothing to do with
Game development (See the other announcement -_-)
This stuff happens though and unfortunately I have to sometimes wear my ‘Businessman hat’ Which I assure you is not a top hat or a fedora (they don’t suit my face) I felt compelled to release 2 statements, one regarding the lawsuit, and more importantly, this one regarding the game.
Im going to take this opportunity to open the community up for you guys, talk about a lot of the changes that have happened and what In particular I would like to hear in terms of feedback. All feedback is important of course, but there are some changes that are fairly drastic and I personally feel that they address many of the complaints from before, SO I am particularly interested in talking about that first.
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We are building a wiki
http://tyrfingcycle.com/wiki/doku.php?id=start&#gameplay Still needs a lot of work, but here are some important sub links
Bosses- http://tyrfingcycle.com/wiki/doku.php?id=bosses
Items/Gear - http://tyrfingcycle.com/wiki/doku.php?id=items
Follow Progress on twitter - https://twitter.com/TyrfingCycle
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Changes to the core Gameplay
The Combat in Tyrfing cycle is deceptively simple and the challenge comes from responding correctly to threats. Unlike the Vanilla build, enemies can spawn after the level is loaded and come from above, below or from behind.
To compliment this, the levels are more horizontally oriented, this also helps the fact that Hervor controls best on the x axis.
Jumping has been improved, and Hervor’s Downward acceleration due to gravity (my old nemesis…gravity) has been tweaked to make her feel less ‘floaty’
The “Blade Whirl” aka “Maelstrom” Move has been changed drastically.
- It has a wider area of effect (AOE) but does less damage. - The move has been repurposed to deflecting bullets and stunning enemies rather than killing them. - Enemies such as the Russers and Fallen who rush the player can be pushed back With this ability. - This move leaves the player open to attacks from behind however. - The Nordic shield is (for now) removed from the content list. It is frankly redundant and pointless now that Maelstrom can deflect bullets.
The stages are much larger, and offer secret rooms that will be tied to achievements down the road.
Acid Release has been improved – Acid release has a wider reach and infects more enemies. In addition to that, when an infected enemy dies it releases some pungent
Gas that has a chance of infecting or burning nearby enemies.
The new ‘Quick Counter’ System adds an element of risk and reward. Players who dodge melee attacks at the last second get a short Attack boost. The result is the next attack can absolutely DEVASTATE the enemy. Quick Countering is Required to play at your best,
-At the end of each Stage, the player is granted the opportunity to collect A stat boost or an idunns apple. - To obtain these things you must use quickcounters and combos effectively
Idunns apple automatically revives the player if killed in combat. This revival fully restores Mana and HP.
Death is less of a penalty, you may try again on the stage you died on, but at the cost of your powerups. (Idunns apple neglects this)
Pre run Load outs – After completing your first boss, you will gain access to the ‘pre run load out’ which allows you to customize what items you start with.
Slaying bosses will allow you to gain new load outs and more options.
Bosses are not Random Anymore – Each stage has a fixed boss. I noticed that because each boss is drastically different in terms of strategy that it was not a good idea to make the player fight a different one each time they played. So, the bosses are fixed per level. Bosses Should be a test of skill, and not so much blind luck, and in the vanilla build, most players were at the mercy of what items the game gave them.
Stages Are Randomated to a limited extent – Because platforming is a part of Tyrfing Cycle, forcing a player to learn a new pattern of jumping each run may cause frustration without merit. (ie Im p***ing off the player for no good reason ^_^)
-Enemy positions, numbers and types are pulled from a pool of templates. -Stage Geography ‘shuffles’ and pulls from a range of templates that are fairly similar - Stage order can shuffle - Items, power ups and goodies are random - Secrets are always located in the same ‘general area’
Im doing the best I can to maintain the roguelike elements while squashing the problems they might present. We are trying to achieve the best of both worlds
Each Stage is very different Visually.
You begin Helheim in the Odslig Bog, Move to the Svalta Catacombs, and so on and so forth. The Odslig bog is visually similar to Helheim in the vanialla build While the catacombs are very different. From there you may proceed to the Stage 3 which moves from the catacombs to Hela’s keep.
- This is to give a better sense of progress, as before in the Vanilla build, Helheim part 1 and 2 felt very similar, and based on what I heard, this negated any sense of progress. Jotunheim (world 2) makred the first true visual change and very few people made it that far due to the unpredictable difficulty and this is something I have hopefully resolved.
- Release attacks can be aimed with your mouse or Right analog stick.
Before “Release” attacks merely spawned on top of the player. Hurting adjacent enemies, but that made it difficult to deal with enemies out of range. Especially if you didn’t yet find a side arm. Being able to aim these abilities will grant you more control.
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Whats going to happen with the vanilla version?
There are a few things that we need to sort out before I have a definitive answer, but what matters most is insuring that those of you who paid for a copy get a copy.
I’ll admit that I am a little bit worried that because Blackshell had control over distribution and we had difficulties in communication that there might be a tonne of keys floating around unaccounted for. I’m going to choose to trust Them though and if I lose out I lose out. Sucks but I think it’s the right thing to do.
Those of you who own Cot Vanilla, Ill get keys to you guys, Im going to post a thread regarding that. Where you can request your key.
To be abundantly clear though, one owner, one key. Im not going to give you 5 keys because you have 4 friends who own it “totally for reelz”
Some Users expressed their concern that the vanilla build will be pulled, and that is the plan. There are numerous reasons for this, but I absolutely understand your concern, and I also acknowledge that there are people who like having old ‘rare’ games in their library. I think that’s pretty cool, but at the same time I cannot have 2 of the same games being sold concurrently. Im talking to a few users about what to do about this, and I want to do what feels right first and foremost.
We are working with youtubers and Twitch Streamers on a “Charity Challenge”
But this ‘challenge’ will be made open to anyone with an established gaming channel.
We have not yet officially announced the contest rules but I propose the following
- Any Gaming content creator may enter, there is no minimal sub requirement
However, your channel must be ‘established’ and at least 3 months old
- The video must be published to Youtube before the deadline
- View Count will not effect your score
- You may enter any number of times.
- Commentary is welcome, and the more enthusiasm the better! If it P***es you off Let us know, RAGE if need be
- We are willing to supply a game key, but encourage you to purchase the game (after all a cut goes to charity)
- We will judge Skill based on the following criteria.
- Amount of Damage taken
– Effective use of power ups
– If glitches are exploited (we encourage this ^_^)
– How many secrets are found
-How quickly the run is completed
Terms - Established Means your channel is active, and uploading regularly, and more than 3 months old. Glitches any design flaw, or error that was not intended by the developer
Prize
We will donate a percentage of Tyrfing Cycle’s earnings to a Charity of your choice !
We will guarantee that a minimal amount of money makes it to said charity!
we will donate these earnings (or the guaranteed minimal) for 3 months.
There will be 3 of these Challenges
This is the first of 3, each more difficult than the last!
We will not provide any proceeds to any political, religious or for profit organization, however. We are not opposed to charities endorsed by or founded by such organizations
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So what do you guys think? We are still working on the ifs ands or buts of the matter. As the Publisher (378 Publishing ) Is directly endorsing this, we need to make sure that the rules and conditions are fair, and that our publisher is ‘cool’ with it.
Throw us your feedback! And let us know what you think, the official Challenge will be announced very soon!