Thanks so much for your continued interest in Heroes of Umbra. This project started in 2012 as a weird experiment in building my own engine from scratch, learning pixel art, and creating something that reminded me of some of my favorite games. As something I've continued to add content to for over a decade (yikes!), it's become a bigger part of my life than I could ever imagine.
I'm at a point now where most of the main things I've wanted to do with Heroes of Umbra are completed. If you haven't played in a while, I've now built six skill trees, an optionally hard superboss, a prestige system, player-hosted servers with 4-digit join codes, save synchronization, a bidirectionally syncing wiki, and implemented a major java version upgrade. All this added to the game, and it's discounted 50% off for the Autumn Sale. If for some reason you haven't played yet... talk about value!
The Next (First) Game
This past year I've shifted focus to the next game, which was actually the previous game.
Prior to Heroes of Umbra, I actually got my start with RPG Maker 2003. From 2002 to 2013 or so I developed a moderately successful JRPG. (It was in PC Gamer!!) Heroes of Umbra in many ways was born out of frustrations with RPG Maker 2003.
Back in 2020 I experimented with a few engines, prototyping little games here and there, and landed on Gamemaker. Compared to HoU, there's a heavier emphasis on story. Multiplayer makes a return (couch co-op! I've done my time with network programming!!)
I've been inching towards moving the game out of beta, and I'd be humbled if you check it out:
Wishlist Starless Umbra
And So
As a solo developer with a full-time job that unfortunately isn't making either of these games, my focus has shifted to the next one. I'll continue to monitor for bugs and patch things periodically as needed. Even if I get quiet I'm around, feel free to send me your bug reports, feature requests, or even say hi! My games are like my children and I love them all equally.
Thanks for all your support. Seriously! Stay cool, take care of yourself, and keep in touch.
-Andrew
PS If any generous people want to contribute anything ho HoU: equips, assets, custom maps (there's a built-in tiled map reader ingame) -- I'm totally open to it!