Inkbound News

[h2]Letter from the Team[/h2]

We’re excited to announce a variety of new features that we’re launching in our 2nd Gods & Relics Mid-Season Update (0.3.5). We hope you’ll enjoy them and look forward to hearing your feedback.

In addition to this update we continue to work toward 1.0 with new content and features. We will talk more about the details of 1.0 in future community posts.

[h2]Release Timing[/h2]

This patch will be released at approximately 10 am PT (UTC-8) on December 20th, 2023.

[h2]New Features[/h2]

[h3]Records[/h3]
We added a new feature called Records that tracks your best performance over time in various categories. You can review your records in a new tab in the Logbook.



Additionally, we revamped the End Run screen to expose various Records, including allowing for fun comparisons between party member performance in multiplayer.



[h3]Matchmaking Improvements[/h3]
By popular demand we updated matchmaking to allow for choosing your desired party size. With this change, you'll be able to find parties of 3 and 4 players via matchmaking if you wish. Of course, depending on how many people are in the matchmaking pool at any one time, there may be a longer wait to find a party.

In addition, we now make an attempt to group players of similar Rank. This is to avoid the situation of a new player matching with a player near the highest ranks. While waiting in matchmaking the acceptable rank difference will expand over time, so it's still possible that someone at Rank 1 will match with someone at Rank 20 if those are the only two people looking for a match, but it's less likely to happen.



[h3]Option to Partially Delete Player Data[/h3]
We added the ability to do a partial deletion of your character save data from the settings menu. Data deleted: quest progress, Victory Board progress, Aspect unlocks, Vestige unlocks, Trinket unlocks, and Trinket keys. Data kept: cosmetics, Vault Dust, Season Level, Solo/Group Ranks, and your character name. In the future we plan to provide a way to change your character name.

The goal with deleting certain data and keeping other data is to allow you to restart quest progression and gameplay unlocks without losing your cosmetics, Dust, Season Level, or Rank.

This option can be found in the "Other" tab of Settings and is only usable from the main menu.



[h3]Many new Binding Ascension VFX[/h3]
Our goal is for every Binding Ascension to have unique visuals to both make them feel exciting to use and be clearly differentiated. This update adds over 30 new Binding Ascension VFX. For one example, an electric Godkeeper spear:



[h3]Trading Cards, Badges, and Emotes[/h3]
Along with this update we are launching a pack of Steam Community items including trading cards, badges, and emotes. Here's a few samples of the available emotes:



[h2]Other Changes[/h2]
[h3]General & Quests[/h3]
With our changes to no longer having season specific quests we are continuing to do work to roll quests out with logical progression. With this update new players won't have access to the Starship book until they hit a certain point in quest progression, and other elements of quest progression have been updated to make this clear and smooth.

1. Added missing NPCs to Raven villain chunk for quests.
   
2. Improved communication about where to find the Opal Slab.
   
3. Fixed group rank achievements to utilize the run difficulty rank instead of the individual player rank.
   
4. Fixed bug where Chainbreaker abilities counted towards Bonk quest progress.
   
5. Increased healing fountain heal from 10 HP >>> 15 HP.
   
6. Fixed Trinket Rose of Rubies occasionally causing incorrect damage previews.
   
7. Locked Starship book behind quest progression.
   
8. Crimson Kwillfish and Brain Tuna now correctly show on the status effect the amount of stat increase.
   
9. Renamed Rank 20 Villain Challenge Buff "Bombbastic" >>> "Blastback" due to existing Daily Challenge mutator with same name.
   
10. Fixed certain Sea Breaches not working with Chart of Stars trinket.
    
11. Fixed bug where Poison Dash quest wasn't progressing if you had an ascension.
    
12. Locked Star Captain unlock quest behind unlocking the Derelict Starship book.
    
13. Various quest fixes to misnamed Victory Board quests.
    
14. Changed shared objectives from Bromeo and Julius quest to solo.
    

[h3]Vestiges, Sets, and Trinkets[/h3]
We had two goals with our Trinket updates in this patch.

First off, we wanted to raise the power level of a few underperforming trinkets by bumping up their numbers.

Secondly, we modified how the four core status effect Trinkets function. Aside from giving +1 to their respective set they will now force Binding drafts to show the connected Binding (e.g. Talons of Cyn will cause Poison Vapor to appear in the Binding draft) but to balance it out these Trinkets no longer increase damage done by their respective status effects. This decision was made to give a more straightforward and consistently useful bonus.

1. Updated Uncommon vestige Verdant Sprout to grant Max HP and then heal, instead of healing then granting Max HP.
   
2. Fixed Trinket Union of the Needless granting revived player 3 Omni Damage instead of 30 Omni Damage.
   
3. Fixed Pincushion inflicting 2 stacks of Punctured instead of 1.
   
4. Fixed Rare vestige Inkley Map not updating stacks when picking up an orb. Fixed Inkley Map occasionally granting extra stacks with multiple of the vestige.
   
5. Twin Fangs now correctly has the text on its status effect match the effect of the Vestige.
   
6. Emblem of Enterprise: Increase the chance of Kwillings dropping by 30 >>> 35%.
   
7. Dial of Fate: only can select between Burn, Poison, or Bleed damage making it a more consistent damage dealing status effect choice.
   
8. Stone of Scholars: Magic power increased from 10 >>> 15.
   
9. Marker of the Unbound: Reduced the amount of Binding uses required from 6 >>> 5.
   
10. Heart of Hero: Fixed a typo in the Trinket stating it only gives 2 sets instead of 3.
    
11. Talons of Cyn, Blaze of Brigid, Everfrost of Arcturia, and Essence of Quillion no longer apply their related status effects. They now will force their related Binding to show up in Binding drafts.
    

[h3]Draftable Bindings[/h3]

1. Fixed Smoke Bomb ascension Cluster Bomb inflicting Shatter while having Shrapnel Smoke Bomb Uncommon upgrade instead of Shattering Smoke Bomb Rare upgrade.
   
2. Updated Chain Lightning Uncommon augment Empowering Lightning "+20 ability power until a Binding is uesed." >>> "+20 ability power until an Attack Binding is used."
   
3. Updated wording of Poison Vapor Uncommon augment Widespread Vapor for clarity. "Ascensions that affect a single target now affect all targets." >>> "...affect all targets in the area."
   
4. Fixed Grasp ascension Harpoon not properly granting +100 crit damage.
   
5. Blast, the Blink Ascension, is now correctly tagged as an Attack Binding.
   

[h3]Enemies[/h3]
Overall as we head towards 1.0 we're working hard on game balance, with many bigger changes coming in that update. In the meantime we wanted to increase the challenge just a little in a few areas where enemies were underpowered. To that end we increased the health slightly on very low hp enemies and also have increased the health across the board of enemies in multiplayer, especially at high player counts.

1. Scaled up enemy health more in multiplayer. Slightly in 2 player, and progressively more in 3 and 4 player.
   
2. Increased the health of many low HP enemies by a small amount.
   
3. Fixed Inkula not spawning consistently during Villain Argolath fight in Rank 20.
   

[h3]Magma Miner[/h3]

1. Fixed Smash Uncommon augment Wrecking Smash not stacking.
   

[h3]Star Captain[/h3]

1. Fixed Chillazer ascension Big Game Hunter not inflicting Shocked with Epic augment Shocking Chillazer.
   

[h3]Chainbreaker[/h3]

1. Updated Chainbreaker Binding icons to be more visually differentiated from each other to read better.
   

[h3]Godkeeper[/h3]

1. Updated Whirlwind Epic augment Elusive Whirlwind to not consume Velocity granted if you already have stacks of Velocity.
   

[h3]UI[/h3]

1. Fixed nodraft tag visible in ability upgrade tooltip.
   
2. Changed the "fell behind server" error message to suggest players try offline mode if they are having problems.
   
3. The delay between floating messages in combat has been slightly reduced.
   

[h3]Visuals[/h3]

1. Added VFX for Spiked Status and Shocked Status.
   
2. Added VFX to show what mode Mission Leader is in (Star Captain only).
   
3. Fixed Radiant Market book select portal VFX.
   

[h3]Audio[/h3]

1. Added partial Scribe VO.
   
2. Added partial Tinkerer VO.
   

[h3]Engine & Other Bug Fixes[/h3]

1. When playing in Steam Big Picture mode force the game into full-screen.
   

Hi, everyone!

As a lead up to Inkbound 1.0’s launch, we’re releasing an updated roadmap! You might see some familiar bullet points on the list like “steam deck support” or “controller support.” But have you seen some of the newest additions? Such as . . .

Localization - We know many of you have wanted to play Inkbound in more languages than English. Soon, you will! We’re working on bringing Chinese, Japanese, and more! Be on the lookout for future posts announcing the other languages soon.

Trading Cards & Badges - Love collecting cards on Steam as you play your favorite games? You soon will be able to do that for Inkbound as well!

Records Tracking and End Screen Stats - Just won an epic run? Want to dig deeper into your awesome build? You can in Inkbound 1.0!

These are just a few of the changes going live with Inkbound 1.0! The full list of updates can be found below:



Click the above image for a larger version.

A text version of the same information follows.

[h3]Inkbound 1.0 Updates[/h3]

• Steam Deck Support
  
• Controller Support
  
• Full Story Reveal
  
• Trading Cards & Badges
  
• Localization
  
• Win Streak Tracking
  
• Records Tracking
  
• End Screen Stats
  
• Vestige Mastery
  
• Prologue Cutscenes
  
• Reorder Vestiges
  
• Improved Matchmaking
  
• New Vestiges
  
• Reset Character Data Option
  
• New Vestige Sets
  
• Boss Variety
  
• More Cosmetics
  
• And a new, Ultimate Final Boss!
  

We’ve also got a few more surprises, but we’re keeping those for a later date. :3

Finally, although we’re not ready to disclose a date for Inkbound’s 1.0 launch, be on the lookout for an official announcement soon!

And, as always, thank you so much for your support of Shiny Shoe and Inkbound!

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

Surprise! Inkbound is now on Sale!

From now until December 20th, you can get Inkbound at a discounted price. Here are just a few things there is to explore in this roguelike that miiiiight just take over your weekend:

✨ Not one, not two, but EIGHT PLAYER ASPECTS to master!
✨ Compete against other players in chaotic DAILY CHALLENGE.
✨ Hang out and meet other players in the Inkbound social hub.
✨ Put together a stunning outfit with amazing cosmetics!

Thank you so much for all your support and we hope you enjoy this sale!

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

Hi there, I’m ModusPwnenz from the design team back again to chat about the design of the latest two Aspects; the Chainbreaker and the Godkeeper. Unlike my other blog post about the Star Captain, these two Aspects will be in game and playable when this article comes out so I won’t bore you with flowery descriptions and instead I want to talk some about their design process.

There were three key goals in my mind when coming up with the kits for each of these Aspects. I’ll break down each of these points and give my thoughts on them: what parts worked well, what didn’t, and what changed throughout their creation.

Goal #1: Synergize in compelling ways with the new movement system.

With the new movement system coming online in the previous major patch I wanted to have more ways to play around with it and give players tools to interact with it in interesting ways.

Runic Strike showcases how this manifested in the Chainbreaker as each punch sends them flying towards their target. The intention here was to give them a useful utility tool that allows them to conserve movement, but also one that could get you into sticky situations if you aren’t mindful. I wanted it to be something that could be spammed if you’re just building up Combos or when there is only one enemy left to beat down, but in situations where there are many enemies intelligent players can use them to ping pong themselves around the battlefield.



As a fun, thematic, side note, the Binding was changed from a “select” type Binding to a “skill shot” type Binding during development. The main reason was to make it easier to spam the binding to punch a target many times in a row rather than needing to select them each time, but it had another good “feel” impact in that it forces the Chainbreaker to stick more to targets unless they use their movement, giving a better sensation of a boxer beating down their opponent.

Godkeeper on the other hand is much more controlled with their mobility and only has one big burst of it by teleporting to their Celestial Spear after throwing it. However, the Spear has some interesting tactical implications in that it can be conserved until later turns or even used by your allies to get out of death zones.



Initially, the Celestial Spear could be picked up multiple times the turn it was used but it cost 1 Will to do so. This had some fun gameplay effects when matched up with certain augments but on the negative side led to weird flow issues where it became harder to understand when it could be used due to the Will requirement, and also had bad balance implications where it made certain Spear augments way too powerful (but boring) to use over and over instead of other abilities.



Goal #2: Their mechanics should integrate with drafted Bindings in a way that makes these Bindings feel different to use than with the other Aspects.

This goal is a bit more open ended but in my general idea was to give more ways to interact with drafted Bindings (current and any that we create in the future) in a way that could open up more opportunities for theorycrafting and creating OP builds.

Both Aspects approached this idea with their passives. Chainbreaker once again is a bit more in your face with the “Combo” mechanic.



The core idea here is that they punch enemies a bunch with their Runic Strike and this then makes their next Binding cheaper and come back faster. This allows for some interesting combinations with drafted Bindings. Want to be a gardener? Get the Cultivate binding and plant them at super speed. Going for a big boom magic build? Draft Jinx and make it rain destruction.

Godkeeper’s passive of Velocity is tied to Celestial Spear but also has a connection to movement based bindings. While this differs from Chainbreaker in that their options aren’t as open ended, it does give them reasons to take Bindings they might not otherwise. For the Godkeeper drafting Blink is now a viable offensive tool and not just a utility one.



Overall I think this style of juicing up certain types of Bindings is interesting but has a drawback of making the Aspect feel more pigeonholed into taking those I’m not sure I would take this style approach again in the future compared to the more open ended version that Chainbreaker utilizes.


Goal #3: Fill in gameplay gaps.

This goal is perhaps the least exciting but is essential in making the different gameplay mechanics feel represented enough so that players can make fun and powerful builds out of everything we give them. This boiled down to giving Smite and Bleed powers to the Godkeeper (via the “Celestial Spear” above, and their primary binding “Impale” below) and giving the Chainbreaker some advanced mechanics through their multi-strikes and hybrid damage builds (most easily seen in their powerful but expensive binding, “Eruption”). Both of course have many ways to build into these effects and tap into many other status effects as well. That is to say creating new Aspects is a good opportunity to bring lesser used but fun gameplay mechanics into the mainstream pool.





Which Aspect had which effect was partially determined by their look and theme, early on we knew that the Godkeeper would utilize both Bleed and Smite due to their weapon and feel, so it then was a matter of figuring out the supported mechanics of the Chainbreaker. Their dual fists suggested the magic and physical damage hybrid attacks, alternating between the two as a core theme to build off of. Access to multi-strike capabilities came from the idea of them being a martial arts brawler and giving them ways to combo more easily. With these ideas in place other supporting mechanics become more obvious, such as giving Vigor to Godkeeper and Sap to the Chainbreaker.

Overall both aspects were a ton of fun to work on and grow into what they are today, I hope you all enjoy playing them as much as I did making them!

[h2]Letter from the Team[/h2]

We are rushing this hotfix out to resolve a bug with Magma Miner's Heat and Mosscloak's Shuriken passive effects not working properly. We apologize for the regression.

There are no other changes.

The update will be released approximately on November 29, 2023 at 1:45 pm PT (GMT-8).

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

1. Fixed Magma Miner's Heat passive not stacking.
   
2. Fixed Mosscloak's Shuriken passive not stacking.