Inkbound News

Hi, Inklings!

[h3]HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! [/h3]

I wanted to share a heartfelt thank you to all of you for supporting the Shiny Shoe team and for the past year! Inkbound has such a special place in my and the other team members’ hearts. Although we aren’t able to continue forward with Inkbound as we would have liked, we’re very proud of what we accomplished and how we were able to finish the game.

To celebrate Inkbound’s first anniversary, I’ve asked a few of the designers for their favorite mechanics, characters, and/or moments from back in Inkbound developments.

Fan Art from the Vault:

A weekly highlight for myself and the rest of the Shiny Shoe team are ‘Fan Art Fridays.’ This is pretty much what it sounds like. On Fridays, I share community news along with any fan art players made. Here are a few of my favorites!

As a dev, you don't often see fan art figurines and Leto did not disappoint! This is the first in a series of statuettes made by the amazing Leto. Check out their work here.

Nib and Bin are two of my favorite characters in Inkbound and Catlaxy really brought them to life! See the masterpiece here!

Want to see more? Check out the Steam page or check out the server! Although we’re moving all Shiny Shoe games to a more central server, you can see fanart like this incredible imaginary class by Spark called ‘The Lamplighter’ on the original server!

To celebrate our one year anniversary, I asked members of the Shiny Shoe team for a few of their favorite memories, moments, or features that made it (or didn’t make it) into the game. And they did not disappoint. Here are just a few:

When asked which character was his favorite, Art Director Will responded with a resounding ‘Star Captain!’ He continued to explain how the Starship of Terror world would always be closest to his heart.

“I just love Tron,” explained Will and mentioned how he drew from the science fiction movie to come up with the world. The process of worldbuilding, he said, was by far his favorite part of Inkbound’s development.

ModusPwnenz, in true designer fashion, was more focused on the mechanics. His favorite design challenge was the Vestige Sets. In his words, “Designing the Sets happened near the end of the project, I felt like there was a bunch of fun ideas coming together. They are something I'd like to explore again in a future project for sure.”

And, finally but certainly not least, CEO Mark Cooke was nostalgic for the dance parties held in the Atheneum.

“One of my favorite moments on the publishing side was trying to organize a bunch of people in the Atheneum to record some footage for a video - dance party next to the Gatekeeper!” said Mark. “We should really make him break out in dance too if enough people nearby are dancing.”

When I asked Mark what was he most proud of regarding Inkbound, he answered that he was proud of how Shiny Shoe had stepped up to the challenge of developing a game like Inkbound.

“It [Inkbound] was the first title we developed with centrally hosted multiplayer. That was a large technical challenge. On the game design side, our combination of free movement and simultaneous multiplayer actions while in a turn-based structure took a lot of effort to try to get right. Finally, it was also both challenging and fun to self-publish and develop our skills in that area.”

While Inkbound’s development might have come with its own set of challenges, it certainly resulted in unique and memorable fun! To experience the fun for yourself, join me TODAY at 12:00 PM PST for a special first anniversary livestream on Twitch!

I hope to see you in the chat and thank you so much for supporting Inkbound and the Shiny Shoe team!

Hi, Inklings!

You’ve asked and we’ve delivered! The Inkbound soundtrack is officially available! Check out the latest (and, may I say, best) songs by the mind behind both Monster Train and Inkbound’s music, the amazing Jordan Chin!

If you don’t know Jordan yet, check out his dev post about his work here. In his blog, Jordan goes in depth about his creative process. For all those interested in a deep dive into how the team works, his post is a great read.

Inkbound’s soundtrack is available for $5.99 (standard regional pricing elsewhere) and is also available as part of the supporter pack bundle. To celebrate the soundtrack’s release, today is also the first day of Inkbound’s sale! From August 9th through to the 16th at 10:00 AM PST, Inkbound will be 40% off!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment here or head over to our Discord. As always, thank you so much for playing Inkbound and supporting the Shiny Shoe team. And please let me know which song is your favorite!

See you in the Atheneum!
~Cami
Community Manager at Shiny Shoe

[h2]Letter from the Team[/h2]

This is another small bug fix patch to the recent release of major update 1.1. We're rolling this out so soon after the last patch because we want to get a high impact performance improvement into players hands as soon as possible.

[h2]Release Timing[/h2]

This patch will be released at approximately 3:30 pm Pacific (UTC-7) on July 1, 2024.

[h2]Full Patch Notes[/h2]

[h3]Gameplay Bug Fixes[/h3]

1. Fixed Sundance's Challenge mutator "Anchored" letting players gain movement through potions.
   

[h3]Other Changes and Fixes[/h3]

1. Improved framerate outside of combat when a quest is tracked.
   

[h2]Letter from the Team[/h2]

This is a small bug fix patch to the recent release of major update 1.1.

[h2]Release Timing[/h2]

This patch will be released at approximately 10 am Pacific (UTC-7) on June 28, 2024.

[h2]Full Patch Notes[/h2]

[h3]Gameplay Bug Fixes[/h3]

1. Fixed Discharge not gaining Kinetic Charge after dying and then reviving in a multiplayer run.
   
2. Fixed Discharge Rare augment Maneuvering Discharge referring to Movement bindings instead of Teleport bindings.
   
3. Fixed Legendary vestige Aspect of Ash-Alun tooltip showing Smite Damage twice.
   
4. Fixed incorrect tooltip in Potent Invocation.
   
5. Fixed Invocation ascension Benediction not granting shield or heal.
   
6. Fixed Invocation Epic augment Divine Invocation not stacking.
   
7. Fixed Mutator "Commoner's Stockpile" showing higher rarity vestiges in 1st book carver shops.
   
8. Fixed Invocation Uncommon augment Swift Invocation not granting movement when hitting with Divine Touch.
   
9. Fixed Stigmatist's challenge letting you change your class after getting a copy of your class bindings.
   
10. Fixed Fabled Victory quest unlocking at Fabled 6 instead of Fabled 5.
    

[h3]Other Changes and Fixes[/h3]

1. Fixed a very rare issue where the game could take a long time to start on some PCs.
   

Welcome to Inkbound 1,1! This update includes two new run features, new Bindings along with Ascensions and Augments, new Vestiges, new Trinket, UI/UX updates, and gameplay changes. If you're interested in learning about all the details, read on!

[h2]Authored Challenges Feature[/h2]



Added new Authored Challenges feature. Authored Challenges can be accessed from the Inkwell Dive Rank interactable to the left of the voting platform in the Atheneum. A new button labeled “Authored Challenges” will appear beneath the Max Rank UI once you have achieved Rank 1 or higher in the game.

Players can select 10 different challenge runs to try. Each challenge comes with a set of mutators that augment the nature of the run, most of which are new. Most of these new mutators also can show up in the pool of mutators selected for Daily Challenges. Each challenge run upon completion will reward the player with 300 Vault Dust.

[h2]Casual Rank Feature[/h2]



Added new Casual Rank feature. Casual Rank makes the game easier than Rank 0 and is a perfect option for players looking to clear story content or quests without too much worry. Casual Rank can be accessed from the Inkwell Dive Rank interactable to the left of the voting platform in the Atheneum. It is accessible from the rank dropdown and is available regardless of player state, including at the start of the game.

Casual Rank specifically starts the player off with more Kwillings and Glyphs, more Movement per Turn, more Max HP, and more Will Reserve. It also reduces enemy Attack and Max HP.

[h2]New Bindings, Ascensions, and Augments[/h2]





We have added two new draftable Bindings to the game.

[h3]Discharge:[/h3]

• A hybrid offensive/defensive Binding that scales power off of Movement.
  
• Grants “Barrier”, which after reaching a certain number of stacks, grants shield. It functions similarly to “Shattered Will”.
  

[h3]Invocation[/h3]

• An offensive support Binding that gives access to Smite.
  
• Grants “Divine Touch” which lets you Smite on hitting.
  

These Bindings are not unique to any Aspect and will appear in the normal draftable pool. This is to increase the diversity of the early game by providing even more options that can show up for players.

[h2]New Vestiges[/h2]













We have added six new draftable Vestiges to the game. These Vestiges are not unique to any Aspect and will appear in the normal draftable pool. This is to increase the diversity of the early game by providing even more options that can show up for players.

1. Added five new draftable common Vestiges: Borrowed Feathers, Ink Catalyst, Ruhnstone Fragment, Scrapped Binding, and Unclaimed Boon
   
2. Added one new draftable uncommon Vestige: Unearthed Treasure.
   

[h2]New Trinket[/h2]



We have added one new unlockable Trinket to the game: Boon of the Godscourt. This is to provide more gameplay experiences related to the Smite gameplay mechanic. Due to the new Trinket addition, a Trinket Key was added to the Progression Reward track.

[h2]New Victory Board and Cosmetics[/h2]



We have refreshed the Victory Board in full with brand new quests. The new Victory Board includes six new cosmetic rewards, detailed later below.



The old Victory Board cosmetic rewards have been moved to the Cosmetic Vault. They can be found under the “Ye Olde Victory Board #3” page.

[h3]Victory Board Cosmetic Rewards[/h3]


Sopwith Camel. Unlocks at Victory Board Level 18.


Nekomimi Mode. Unlocks at Victory Board Level 36.


Pink Butterfly Wings. Unlocks at Victory Board Level 54.


Mahjong Kwill (Ton). Unlocks at Victory Board Level 72.


One-Wing. Unlocks at Victory Board Level 90.


Immaterial Wings. Unlocks at Victory Board Level 108.

[h3]New Cosmetic Vault Pages[/h3]





[h2]Changes to Bindings, Augments, and Ascensions[/h2]

1. Fixed Bonk Uncommon augment Oversized Bonk letting you use Bonk without a target.
   
2. Fixed Ironclap ascension Slam having no SFX when not hitting an enemy.
   
3. Fixed Infusion not being removed when allies hit an enemy with Infusion.
   
4. Increased Telekinesis range from 6 >>> 8.
   
5. Increased Psychic Pulse ascension Aura Surge damage form 75 >>> 90.
   
6. Increased Psychic Pulse ascension Psychic Beam damage from 125 >>> 175.
   
7. Increased Spirit Bomb damage from 100 >>> 125.
   
8. Increased Spirit Bomb ascension Spirit Cannon damage at Full charge from 300 >>> 400.
   
9. Fixed Spirit Bomb Rare augment Shielding Spirit Bomb not stacking.
   
10. Fixed Celestial Spear ascensions Battle Standard and Bloodrain having inconsistent sizes from the base Binding.
    
11. Fixed Whirlwind rare augment Smiting Whirlwind not applying on Crimson Edge and Endless March ascensions.
    
12. Fixed Eruption ascension Spirit Corruption not granting shield with Uncommon augment Benevolent Eruption.
    
13. Fixed damage number highlighting issues with Jinx and its Ascensions.
    
14. Fixed damage number highlighting issues with Dread and its Ascensions.
    
15. Fixed Lightning Bolt rare augment Charged Lightning with ascension Lightning Storm causing you to inflict Shocked to all enemies instead of an additional enemy.
    
16. Fixed Heal Aura preview not updating based on amount healed.
    
17. Fixed Poison Vapor ascension Putrify triggering Poison damage on enemies that aren't already inflicted Poison.
    
18. Fixed vestiges/potions spawning out of bounds when Pilfering from Argolath.
    
19. Fixed Cultivate ascension Crop Harvest shield gain not affected by shield gain modifiers like Contrition of Allyra.
    
20. Fixed Restoration epic augment Nurturing Restoration not granting Max HP on allies.
    

[h2]Changes to Vestiges and Vestige Sets[/h2]

1. Buffed a few Vestige Sets such as Ambusher, Alchemist, Inventor, and Kwilling Hoarder. Nerfed a few that gave too much power for where they were at, such as Poisonblood, Warden, and Inventor.
   
2. Updated Alchemist Set: 2, 4, 6 >>> 2, 3, 6.
   
3. Updated Ambusher Set: 4, 6, 9 >>> 3, 5, 10.
   
4. Updated Inventor Set: 2, 3, 5 >>> 2, 4, 6.
   
5. Updated Kwilling Hoarder Set 2: +20% Kwillings >>> +25% Kwillings.
   
6. Updated Kwilling Hoarder Set 3: 100 Kwillings >>> 75 Kwillings.
   
7. Updated Poisonblood Set: 2, 4 >>> 3, 5.
   
8. Updated Treasure Hunter Set: 2, 5, 8 >>> 2, 4, 7.
   
9. Updated Warden Set: 2, 4, 7 >>> 2, 4, 8.
   
10. Fixed Rare vestige Weathered Tracks not granting immunity to Ensnared.
    
11. Fixed Rare vestige Death's Scythe not triggering Ashes of the Fallen on the 2nd proc.
    
12. Fixed Passkey of the Future not granting cooldown reduction at 7 stacks.
    
13. Updated Dun's Remains to use Omni Power Enhancement instead of a hidden status effect that granted omni damage.
    
14. Fixed Rare vestige Chalice of Champions not gaining Omni Damage when picking up vestige during combat.
    
15. Fixed Shatter and Hex damage text not updating with Embellisher vestige set.
    

[h2]Changes to Trinkets[/h2]

1. Fixed Emblem of Enterprise granting 1 glyph instead of 2 when defeating a Guardian.
   
2. Fixed Heart of Hero trinket not granting sets after defeating Guardian of the Unbound.
   

[h2]Changes to Enemies, Challenge Buffs, and Mutators[/h2]

1. Updated Book 1 Captor challenge buff Sapping Shackles: +500 HP >>> +750 HP.
   
2. Updated Book 1 Captor challenge buff Captor's Minion Retrieval: +500 HP >>> +1200 HP.
   
3. Updated Book 2 Janus challenge buff Janus's Focus: +2000 HP >>> +3500 HP.
   
4. Updated Book 1 Lusk challenge buff Leaking Blightbag: +500 HP >>> +1200 HP.
   
5. Updated Book 2 Lusk challenge buff Lusk Explosion: +350 HP >>> +1500 HP.
   
6. Updated Book 1 and Book 2 Nim the Lost challenge buff Nim's Penance. Book 1: +500 HP >>> +2000 HP. Book 2: +2000 HP >>> +5000 HP.
   
7. Updated Book 2 Nim the Lost challenge buff Nim's Temper: "Nim deals +50% damage but takes +50% damage" >>> "Nim deals +50% damage but takes +35% damage.
   
8. Updated Book 1 Rhinferno challenge buff Molten Core: +400 HP >>> +1000 HP.
   
9. Updated Guardian generic challenge buff Slimpe Egg Assist: 3 slimpe eggs >>> 4 slimpe eggs.
   
10. Updated Guardian generic challenge buff Blastback: "On being hit, launch a bomb towards the player. Up to 2 times per turn" (+1 per additional player in party) >>> "...Up to 3 times per turn" (+1 per additional player in party).
    
11. Fixed Blotters and Shadowkwill challenge buffs sometimes not spawning units during the Argolath fight.
    
12. Slightly reduced number of enemies in fights before the Villain.
    
13. Increased Nim the Lost HP: Book 1 8000 >>> 8750, Book 2 33000 >>> 36000.
    
14. Adjusted balance on some difficult combats that were killing players above desired expectation.
    
15. Slightly increased Blotter hitboxes.
    
16. Updated Daily Challenge mutator Reaper's Touch: -35 HP >>> -25 HP.
    
17. Fixed Daily Challenge mutator Toxic Friendship enemies not spawning on Argolath stage.
    
18. Prevented mutators "Taste the Rainbow" and "Store of Legend" from appearing together in Daily Challenges since their effects on Vault/Shop rarities cancel out.
    
19. Fixed Janus the Malformed challenge buff Sentry Mode only removing dormant from direct hits rather than from all damage.
    
20. Prevented Guardian of the Unbound Key from gaining Bounty from Bounty of Sentient Beings.
    
21. Prevented Prey from being inflicted on Guardians and the Guardian of the Unbound Key.
    
22. Adjusted certain Daily Challenges that give Vestiges such that players cannot drop these Vestiges

[h2]Additional Gameplay Changes[/h2]

1. Increased player level cap from 999 to 9999.
   
2. Increased rate of Cosmetic Vault appearance after Guardian combat.
   
3. Updated Godkeeper quest to not require 30 physical to pull out spear due to issue when gaining physical power after entering book.
   
4. Fixed Combo, Starwalker, Witt's Book of Magic, Paradigm Shift, and Counselor's Ledger not reducing Will cost or Cooldown of Discharge and Invocation.
   
5. Fixed Tether not inflicting Threaded in a multiplayer scenario with another player that also has Tether.
   
6. Fixed Hex and Shatter incoming damage preview changing based on player stats.
   
7. Fixed Crush Damage being shown incorrectly when previewing from your Passive or your Bindings if you have Damage Resist.
   
8. Updated Celestial Spear to grant Velocity to allies that use the spear.
   
9. Fixed Blight gunk VFX mismatch on higher ranks.
   
10. Adjusted rate of middle option in Glyphs for Vestige Copy Sea Breach from 3 to 2.
    
11. Updated Phasing to remove on the enemy taking damage, such as from Smite.
    
12. Fixed Cost Discount of random Bindings sometimes reducing the Will cost of Bindings already at 0 Will.
    
13. Fixed Unbound Key of Binders shop interactable charging Glyphs from everyone in the party instead of just the player who interacted with it.
    
14. Fixed Steam achievements Solo Challenger, Solo Champion, Group Challenger, and Group Champion from being able to be triggered by an edge case while completing a run at a lower rank.

[h2]UI/UX and Text Changes[/h2]

1. Added Smite Damage to the in-game stat details screen.
   
2. Adjusted Collection screen in Logbook to allow searching for Ascensions by name.
   
3. Updated art on the Main Menu.
   
4. Adjusted sort order of Cosmetic Vault to be more logical.
   
5. Added class filters to the Cosmetic Vault.
   
6. Added toggle to hide fully owned pages in the Cosmetic Vault.
   
7. Added first and last page buttons to the Cosmetic Vault.
   
8. Allowed right-stick to control radial menus as well as left-stick on gamepad.
   
9. Removed small thumbnail of Villains from Villain tooltip.
   
10. Added display of rank and challenge to End Run Screen.
    
11. Added Cosmetic DLC information to the Main Menu screen if you do not have the DLC.
    
12. Added notification to game on DLC install when game is active and when you are not in the Atheneum.
    
13. Updated text in Sturdy Restoration description: “Upgrades” >>> “Ascensions”.
    
14. Updated text in Faded Mandela description: “less” >>> “fewer”.
    
15. Updated description of Sugar Rush for clarity.
    
16. Removed double-period from Cleansing Shroom description.
    
17. Clarified text on Ranked Run mutator for Guardian +Attack% gain post-phase change.
    
18. Added period to Teenage Lapi description.
    
19. Highlighted damage number in Stimulate ascension from Chillazer due to damage type changing from Magical to Physical.
    
20. Updated description on Nim's Penance for clarity.
    
21. Adjusted font size on Return Home button in Logbook to fit German label better.
    
22. Fixed issue with message that comes up when you try to grind a Millstone.
    
23. Updated description on Efu's Guise to clarify it doesn't stack.
    
24. Added Vestige Mastery filter to the Logbook.
    
25. Added ‘No Aspect’ option to Aspect filter in the Logbook.
    
26. Fixed end of run Logbook animation timing when going from mastered vestige to leaderboard tab in Daily Challenge post-run flow
    
27. Prevented player from ending turn and consuming potions and fish when targeting.
    
28. Added popup dialog and preference option for End Turn Remaining Will.
    
29. Fixed Throw damage text showing double damage while having Epic augment Spinning Throw.
    
30. Improved positioning of Party Button in Party Details context with respect to non-16:9 resolutions.
    
31. Adjusted Name Change and Code Redeem screens such that hitting Enter when the input field is empty closes them.
    
32. Added indicator for navigating radial gamepad menus so player can track where their control stick points.
    
33. Fixed visual issue where stat numbers in HUD could go off-screen.
    
34. Added Gamepad South as valid means to skip cutscenes, including Gamepad East.
    
35. Fixed issue where Delete Player Data button would not be enabled from the Main Menu context if you returned to it from the game.
    
36. Adjusted display of paginated elements to handle situations where there are no items to display due to filters.
    
37. Fixed bug where sometimes Logbook Collection filters would not be respected when changing tabs.
    
38. Fixed visual display for Authored and Daily Challenges that adjust Will Reserve when not in combat.
    
39. Added boss challenges to top-right Villain HUD tooltip after Villain vote.
    
40. Added a “No Aspect” dropdown filter to the Logbook Collection.
    
41. Adjusted gamepad swap highlighting to default to first available vestige or consumable, based on context.
    
42. Disabled the reroll button in drafts if the draft has no available remaining options.
    
43. Fixed positioning of reroll buttons in non-shop drafts.
    
44. Fixed typo in Frozen Flamethrower Vestige description.
    
45. Fixed numerals in text for Lucky Horseshoe Crab.
    
46. Fixed typo in Inky Might.
    
47. Adjusted difficulty adjustment of Track Star, Green Tunic, and Champion Alchemist daily challenge mutators, so that more beneficial mutators show up alongside them.
    
48. Fixed some story lines where VO lines did not exactly match English text.
    
49. Removed erroneous Inkdrain tooltip from Quad-Handed tooltip.

We are very excited to be releasing this major update and look forward to hearing your feedback! As always, thank you for playing Inkbound and for supporting the Shiny Shoe team!

See you in the Atheneum!

**Edit: Changed 'Updated Ambusher Set: 4, 6, 9 >>> 3, 5, 9' to 'Updated Ambusher Set: 4, 6, 9 >>> 3, 5, 10.'