It's time to grab your quills and inkwells, Scribes; Early Access is now complete!
Welcome to Vellum 1.0 - let's take a look!
Together, you've helped us take Vellum on a journey through 23 major updates - crafting 13 new Spells, three new Signature Inks, hundreds of Pages of Power, new arenas and biomes, Torn Elites and Bosses , a dreamy new Illuminated Library, customizable Reading Nooks, and countless other improvements of all shapes and sizes!
Just to keep track - sneak a peek at all the progress we made since March 28, 2024! For the sake of an image that fit - we combined all the Interlude Patches into their nearest Major Chapter (the in-game roadmap remains uncollapsed, go check it out).
Raids - The Ultimate Test of Ink!
The saga of Scribes & Torn spills over into new ground as we come face to face with Vellum's most perilous challenges yet - Raids! The Grey Area and The Forgery are dangerous worlds containing brutal new bosses, devious encounters, and dramatic confrontations directly with the Torn Lords!
Scribes will be able to take on the intense and climactic challenges of two Raids - each with Normal and Hard modes - setting the perfect stage for uncovering and thwarting the Torn Lords' meticulous plots.
You'll face mechanically complex encounters all fully available solo or with your closest pen-pals. Normal difficulties unlock at Attunement 7 & 14 - tailored for a good early to mid-game challenge, while Hard Modes are built for an end-game experience (unlocking after completing Normal).
By the numbers - Scribes braving these newest threats to the Library will see 4 Major Encounters and 2 Vignettes in each Raid with typical runs targeting 30 - 45 minutes.
The Grey Area - Home of the Ravings
The Grey Area is the realm of the Ravings, a forested and decaying keep where Scribes will brave the Raving Lord's twisted view of beauty. If they can defeat an arachnid general, navigate a haunted forest, and nip a terrible plant in the bud - Scribes will reach the Raving Lord's citadel and the malevolent ambition within.
The Forgery - Land of the Splices
The Forgery is the realm of the Splices, a sandy lava-filled foundry, where Scribes will see the dazzlingly awful machinations of improperly used pages and ink. Here they will confront the Splice Lord after carving their way through his dreadful armory, fearsome constructs, and ever-unfinished fortress.
For the first time, Scribes will battle outside the books and without the help of the Library. How will their Ink fare in the dreaded Torn Realms?
Raid Rewards
This 1.0 update also brings many raid-related rewards including customization for your personal Reading Nooks and new Pages of Power to use in your Tome runs. We're also introducing a new way to customize your Scribe's wardrobe - Curiosities!
As Scribes encounter the terrors of the Torn Realms, the Codex will update to provide helpful Encounter Info about each challenge within the Raids. Every completion of a Raid will also Stamp Each Page, Spell, and Signature Ink used in your winning builds!
Quality of Life, Balance, and Everything
It just wouldn't be a Major Chapter without a whole list of other improvements, would it - and how better to wrap up Early Access than taking a crack at a few community-requested items? Let's review some!
In the eternal campaign to get everyone to read more... Status Effects are now hoverable and include as much supplemental information as possible! Though some select effects may retain their - uh - mysterious natures (we totally know what they do).
We've tackled more areas in pursuit of clarity - in fact - you can now see more areas with today's inclusion of Camera Distance and Camera FOV settings! The Torn never looked so menacingly scary... or so tiny, cute, and far away? On that topic...
Since early on, we've seen feedback on enemy visual clarity. Not only in moment to moment gameplay, but also when picking Torn Pages! Our strategy in 1.0 allows the dreaded Torn to soak up a hint of identifiable color from the Tomes they're invading - but only based on their type! You'll see a bit of Green in Raving foes and abilities, Red in Splices, and Blue in Tangents. This also applies to their names, allowing you to more confidently target the greenish bear over yonder after picking "Ravings will now sit and taunt you after missing 3 spells."
The Story Continues
The realms of the Torn hold many dangers and many answers - from the depths of the Raving Lords's Haunted Metaphorest to the Splice Lord's Maxim Excavation, the story of Vellum continues to unfold.
Scribes who best these Raids will prove themselves ready to defend the Illuminated Library from the Torn's next challenge - the confounding secrets of Yonder, home of the Tangent Lord. This third Raid will be available after launch.
Acknowledgments
Whether you've lived with Vellum over the last year or are just about to crack open the magic Tomes for the first time - we offer you our sincerest thanks and simply cannot wait for you to play.
We're always eager to hear about your experiences in Vellum - they continue to help us make the game better. If you play and enjoy the game, please consider joining our Discord and/or leaving a review on Steam (even if it's only to tell us the name of your favorite book of all time)!
Thank you for joining our book club - enjoy Vellum!
- The Vellum Team
Chapter XI: Vellum 1.0 - Full Patch Notes
Raids: The Grey Area & The Forgery
- Venture into the Realms of the Torn Lords
- 8 Total Major Encounters & 4 Total Raid Vignettes
- Normal & Hard Modes
- New Cosmetic Rewards: Curiosities
- New Page of Power Rewards
- New Nook Items
- Codex Stickerbook for Victorious Builds
- Music! - underscoring the climactic showdown with each Torn Lord!
- Lore! - uncover answers (and maybe more questions) about the Torn!
Quality of Life Spotlight
- The Torn have new clarity-focused colorations - Splices, Ravings, Tangents and their names and indicators are now splashed with Red, Green, and Blue
- Status Effects are now hover-able to see descriptions and icon
- New Camera Distance and Camera Field of View settings!
- Abandon Run option - Now you can return to the Library without leaving the game or your team
Balance, General, and Fixes
- Generator: Manifest proc chance returned to 50% (was 100% in some instances)
- Spender: Eclipse rebalancing (Duration 15s → 10s, Dmg 12 → 18, Tickrate .4 → .8s, Color Infuse rate every 3rd tick → every 4th)
- Teal: Plot Armor now resets on Death → Revive
- Teal: Resolved stacks increase Attack Speed, Move Speed, and Jump Height by 3% each (was 5%)
- Teal: Barrier regeneration reduced from 3 to 2 (will no longer overcap by default)
- Teal inscription clarification & typo fixes
- Green: Inkling indicator will behave properly at long distances
- Binding: Explosive will now properly show explosion radius in multiplayer
- Enemy Health Scaling curve has been slightly smoothed
- Page of Power: Cull the Weak is now Gulliver (deal +30% DMG to foes shorter than you)
- Page of Power: Giant Slayer adjusted effect: deal +30% damage to foes whose heads are above yours
- Library: Ball-related interaction
- Cosmetics: Names are now rarity/quality color-coded
- Cosmetics: unlocked items will continue to show their unlock method/source
- Pride and Profit: Motherlode can be mined in 3s (was 5s)
- Keyword: Marked now increases damage taken by targets by 30% (was 50%)
- Bonus Objective: Go Long now has adjusted visuals
- Splice: Slimes visual effects now properly scale
- Splice: Rattlespike spike trail ability more accurately matches character facing
- Reading Nooks: Some Coin items may now be placed closer together
- Spender: Weave should no longer seek invalid targets
- Book Club Steam Achievement should now be awarded at the appropriate time
- Signature Challenge: Orange Scour will no longer be improperly awarded
- Signature Challenge: Blue Blot will no longer be improperly awarded
- Tutorial: Joining a multiplayer game without selecting a Signature Ink should now properly equip one
- Cosmetics: Now have progress bars, where applicable
- Postgame UI: scrolling sensitivity increased when reviewing Pages of Power
- Various collision fixes in Arenas and Vignettes
- Self-revive should no longer confuse player control and camera
- Increased visibility of Elite healthbars
- Enhanced visibility for downed allied Scribes
- Improved player / enemy rag dolls
- Networked enemy ability cooldown fixes
- Library color tuning / ink FX update
- Improved metallic nature of mirrors in library
- Fix for Blue Mana interaction with Weave
- Fixed augment radius preview size issues
- Fixed typo in "Hail, Stranger!" page
- Fixed bright pixel in arrow HUD indicators
- Fixed issue with Weave VFX persisting if death occurs while charging
- Fixed issue with multiplayer sync of random enemy actions
- Fixed issue where Motherlode would kill the mining player