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Slormite Chronicles #53



Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #53!

We’ve been back at work since Monday, and as you can imagine, we haven’t made huge progress in just five days. Right now, we’re mostly at the brainstorming stage, not only about a potential upcoming update, but more broadly about how we want to organize the future of The Slormancer’s development and the new content we’d like to add.

It’s always a bit tricky to talk about possible additions. Whenever we say “we’d like to add this or that,” many players understandably take it as a promise. So here’s a quick disclaimer: everything we’ll talk about today is still just ideas. Nothing is final, we’re simply sharing what’s on our minds.

We’re asking ourselves: what kind of content would feel fresh for players, while also being exciting for us to develop? Then comes the question of structure: how to organize updates, how big they should be, and even when to eventually put a final bow on The Slormancer’s development. That day is still far away, but given how long game development takes (and the fact that we’d like to make new games in the future), we need to keep in mind the sustainability of creating updates for The Slormancer. The goal is to ensure we don’t run out of resources before finishing this project, and also leave room for the next one. That said, there’s still plenty of time to deliver meaningful updates before saying farewell.

[h2]Adding a New Game Mode[/h2]


That empty slot at the bottom of the Expeditions menu? It’s meant to be filled at some point. We’re currently exploring different directions for this last game mode. The main idea is to leverage the full horizontal variety of the game.

One of the challenges of making an RPG as a small team is that it’s not always “profitable”: players usually pick a single class and stick with it, which means they miss out on two-thirds of the content. Most don’t fully explore the Slorm Reapers they find, or try all the Skills available. In the end, someone rushing through The Slormancer might only see 10% of the effects and mechanics we’ve built.

That’s not necessarily a problem, but we’d love to give players fun, quick, and easy ways to discover all that content in different ways.

Rogue Mode?
One idea we’re considering is a roguelike-style run, where the hero starts from scratch (like in Hades or Dead Cells) for the duration of an Expedition. After each floor or level, players would pick upgrades, Skills, Reaper effects, Legendaries, Ancestral Skills, etc.... focusing only on short-term synergies for that run, without worrying about long-term progression.

Survivor Mode?
Here’s another concept we’re excited about: “Bryan’s Training Camp.”
In this mode, players would actually control Bryan, whose role is to keep the hero alive with supporting skills, while the hero moves and fights automatically (and often recklessly). Players could give simple orders or directly assist with Bryan’s arsenal of attacks and support spells.

This is the first idea we want to prototype, to see if the concept feels fun. We’re already imagining build options for Bryan through meta-progression, and for the hero via simple in-run choices.

Think of it as a system where the hero auto-casts skills (not limited to three) every X seconds, like Vampire Survivors.

This would be an entirely optional fifth mode, offering an alternative way to play alongside the existing content.

Other Ideas?
If you have suggestions, now’s the perfect time! We’re deep in brainstorming, so every bit of feedback helps.

No matter the mode, the goal would be to push as far as possible in each run, with rewards that feed back into the main game, an alternative to the Battlefield or Forge for farming gear, goldus, and more, but in a less repetitive way.

The goal is not to add another layer of endgame power creep. Instead, we want a fun alternative that lets players quickly experiment with everything, while still earning rewards.

[h2]The Business Model[/h2]
We’re also thinking about how best to release new content. Two models we really like are:
  • Old school: a paid “expansion” with a large chunk of new content released all at once.
  • Free-to-play style: new content released for free, alongside optional cosmetic skins to support development.


We’re exploring other possibilities, but it will probably be one of these two. Seasonal events and “games as a service” aren’t really our style, so that’s not the direction we want to take.

One thing Early Access has taught us is that each update delays development by 2–3 weeks (testing + bug fixing). For us, a full expansion would likely be the fastest way to deliver the final content we want to add.

Did Someone Say “Expansion”?
Yes, and of course, no expansion in a hack’n’slash would be complete without… new classes. Alongside a new game mode, new classes are something we’re strongly considering (but again, read the disclaimer, no promises yet!).

We’re really excited about this, since designing classes is honestly one of the most fun things for us. Now that the core game’s features are complete, it’s much easier to fit in new skills that work within the existing system.

Did someone say Necromancer?

[h2]A Pile of Ideas[/h2]
As you can see, things are still very up in the air, even for us. The next few weeks will mostly be about iterating on these game mode concepts to see what sticks.

In parallel, we’re also continuing work on new skins. Some concepts already exist, though nothing we can show just yet.

That’s all for now!
Cheers!

Slormite Chronicles #52



Hello everyone and welcome to The Slormite Chronicles #52!

We’re dropping in with a little Chronicle before vanishing once again into the warm embrace of summer. It’s official: we're on vacation! 😎

A few weeks ago, we released a patch mostly focused on bug fixes (which may have sneakily introduced a couple of new bugs). Since then, my biggest achievement has probably been the creation of the highly artistic banner for this Chronicle, a true masterpiece.

Apart from that, we haven't made any serious progress, we’ve been recharging our batteries and taking some time away from the game. And honestly, it feels great after 8 years of development.

While taking this short pause, we’re still keeping an eye on both the Steam forums and Discord to make sure we don’t miss anything important. Your feedback and bug reports are still being read and added to our to-do list.

From now on, with the last wave of bug fixes behind us, we'll resume working on bug fixes and QoL improvements, more likely through larger, more content-focused updates rather than frequent small patches.

Also, as you may have noticed in the latest Slormite Chronicles, we're currently implementing color schemes for our classes, and we’re working on adding skins as well. As you can imagine, designing skins requires a lot of effort as pixel art and hand drawn animations are very time consuming, and our art department (that one guy HyonD) is already running at full capacity. That’s why we’ve been looking for an additional artist to join the adventure. We’ve found someone promising, though it's still too early to say whether it will lead to glorious new skins for the three classes, but it’s a step forward, and an exciting one!

[h2]300 000 Sales![/h2]
In the meantime, we also have some incredible news to share:
The Slormancer has officially sold more than 300,000 copies!
An unbelievable milestone for us! Thanks again to everyone who gave The Slormancer a try!

[h2]The Slormancer is on discount![/h2]
Oh, and one last thing:
The Slormancer is currently 25% off for one week!
So if you have friends who haven’t tried it yet, or if you'd like to gift the game to someone, say, your stepfamily, now’s the perfect time!

That's about it for now!
We’ll be back soon, rested and ready for what’s next.
Until then, take care and enjoy your summer.

Cheers!

The Slormancer v1.0.2: is now available



Hello everyone!
The 1.0.2 patch is now live on the Default Branch. Mostly focused on fixing bugs.

[h2]Changes and Additions[/h2]
  • Added a new setting called "Dynamic Casting":
    • Enabled: The Skill is cast at the current position of the cursor when the animation ends. This is the default setting.
    • Disabled: The Skill is cast at the position of the cursor at the moment of activation.
[h2]Bugs Fixes[/h2]
Important
  • Fixed the issue preventing the game to start at fullscreen (I think).
General
  • Defeating an Obelisk of Illusion should now immediately grant 3 Choices for the next Challenge in The Great Forge.
  • Life and Mana Lock greyed parts should now be displayed properly.
  • The Gravity Cataclysm should now properly slow Projectiles with a modified Projectile Speed.
  • Ghosts (Suffering Souls) can now be dodged.
  • Ancestral Strikes from DoTs can now properly trigger Ancestral Effects (such as Gazloka's Conquest)
  • War Chests should no longer spawn when switching classes or loading other saves.
  • Achievements tracking Maxxed out Skills will no longer be removed once they have been awarded if players rank down a Skill. Same goes for Ancestral Skills and Attributes.
  • Achievements counting Floors in specific Environments will now also count Floor done inside The Netherworld.
  • Cataclysm : Reconstruction should now work properly and the timer should be reset on every hit.
  • On the Netherworld Map, Expeditions completed by other classes should now appear with the proper gold border.
  • "Map Transparency" is now called "Map Opacity".
  • Damage Numbers should now appear at the correct location even when using higher resolutions such as 2k and 4k.
  • Keybinds should now appear at the proper size when using higher resolutions such as 2k and 4k.
  • Automatically picking up lots of loot (and materials) should no longer slow the game down (at all).
  • Influence gained should now display the proper value on the result menu.
  • Fixed a rare crash occuring when displaying Enemies Buffs Icons.
  • Fixed a rare crash occuring when exiting the Blacksmith.
  • Fixed a bunch of typos.
Attributes
  • Willpower 45 should now grant the proper amount of Minion Increased Damage per minion.
  • Attributes with a condition such as "less than X% Mana" or "less than Y% Life" will now trigger when Life / Mana is less or equal. This includes:
    • Determination 60.
    • Toughness 60.
    • Savagery 30.
    • Willpower 15.
    • Dexterity 45.
Ancestral Legacy
  • Elemental Synergy should now count every equipped Aura.
  • Life and Mana per Second Skills should no longer display an incorrect Life / Mana Cost value when Elemental Swap is toggled on.
  • Elemental Pact is now properly set as a Conversion.
  • One Last Round now properly increase the stack limit of Enfeeble.
  • Power Surge now interracts properly will Skills scaling on Mana on Hit such as Arcane Missile / Voracious Missile.
  • To prevent people from going crazy, The Judge of Light's sound will stop looping after a few seconds.
  • Comfort Zone should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
The Mighty Knight
  • Grappling Hook / Commandeer should now have the proper Mana Cost.
  • Grappling Hook / Commandeer should no longer work on Obelisks.
  • Deflect should now properly deflect Projectiles from Light Totems.
  • Ascension / The Flying Man should no longer remove "cooldown debuffs" such as Reaper of the Bloodthirsty Beast passive effect.
The Fierce Huntress
  • Smoke Screen / Fairy Dust should now be properly removed when Smoke Screen ends.
  • Smoke Screen's damage buff should now work properly with Heavy Explosive Projectile.
  • Ravenous Daggers should now properly deal Additional Damage when being merged.
  • Using Steel Manipulator and Amulet of Transferance should no longer mess with Immortal Arrow's tooltip.
  • Fist of the Wild / Double Palm should now properly target two different enemies.
  • Void Arrow / Netherfire from the Void can now properly deal damage when dealing only Elemental Damage.
  • Self-Control now reads: "You have +25% Attack Speed. While Tormented or Delighted, this effect is disabled." (On top of making it clearer, this is also quite a buff)
  • While using Click to Move, Tumble should now always be cast toward your cursor.
  • Wandering Arrows should no longer be visible when not attacking inside The Netherworld.
The Mischievous Mage
  • Attunement Pulse / Reshape : Should now properly grant the "Projectile" tag to Attunement Pulse (and properly interact with effects such as Drum-Reaper of War).
  • Attunement Pulse / Elemental Weakness should now properly increase Elemental Weakness.
  • Orb of the Arcane Master / Drunken Master: Should now properly cast Additional Projectiles granted from % Additional Projectiles.
  • Arcane Clones now also benefit from your Attack Speed.
  • Chrono-Puncture / Chrono-Speed now properly displays Cooldown Reduction instead of Attack Speed, and now properly grants 2% per stack instead of 3%.
  • Arcane Breach / Arcane Explosion should no longer deal insane damage when casting Arcane Breach on top of an Orb of the Arcane Master.
  • Orb of the Arcane Master / Drunken Master should now cast the proper amount of projectiles no matter the Legendary effect or Reaper used.
  • Arcane Clones should now work properly with Drum-Staff of War.
Slorm Reapers
  • Equipping a Slorm Reaper will now reset Shield back to 0.
  • Reaper of the Untouchable One: Untouchable Dash should now always trigger when the key is pressed.
  • Reaper of Benediction should now heal the proper amount of Life.
  • Altior, Arah's Perfect Reaper should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Primordial Reaper of the Many's Life Projectile now deal the proper damage.
  • Heals from Reaper of Benediction should no longer be dodgeable.
  • Vengeance, Ohm Agad's Cursed Reaper should now properly apply its Max Life buff.
  • Reaper of the Many: Orbs of Life should now properly set damage to 0.
  • Reaper of Resonating Thunder should now properly calculate Ancestral Strike Chance.
Legendaries
  • Avg Skill Damage when using Steel Manipulator and Amulet of Transferance should now be properly calculated.
  • Arnaldow's Shimmering Pauldrons should now behave properly when Area Rapid Cast is off.
  • Celestial Shackles should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Celestial Shackles should no longer toggle itself off when leaving a map.
  • Chest of Immense Vitality should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Ultrasonic Bracers should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Immortal Grasp should now heal based on Skill and Elemental Damage.
  • The Awoken: Reaching Tormented by using a Support Skill will no longer trigger it twice.
  • Gloves of the Unleashed Surge should no longer trigger when casting Support Skills.
  • Armor of the Unstoppable Shaman will now trigger the Mini-Keeper.
  • Fulgurorn's Might should now properly trigger every 0.5 second.
  • Ultrasonic Bracers should no longer toggle itself off when leaving a map.
  • Boots of Extreme Confidence should now always work regardless of the direction.
  • Stacks from Ring of the Blood Seeker should now be properly removed when unequipping the Ring.
  • Damasius Awareness should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
  • Aiming Assistance Pads should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
  • Lowey's Wave of Fervor should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
  • Sahrusiel's Barrage: The Holy Spirit should no longer receive damage and / or die.
  • Steel Manipulator is now properly set as a Conversion.
  • Skyward Guardian Girdle's Celestial Protection should now work properly (and no longer disappear after 5 seconds).
  • Midos' Collector's Bracers should no longer slow the game down.
  • Inextricable Waistguard should no longer work on Bosses.



Edit: 1.0.2c
  • Fixed a crash occuring with The Fierce Huntress using Poison.
  • Fixed the Discord link in the menu.
  • Achievements linked to Slormites should no longer count Slormites that are being transfered back from The Slormitizer.
  • Coward's Belt should now work properly with Vengeance, Ohm Agad's Cursed Reaper.
  • Rune of the Shaman should now properly display Wood Sticks instead of Mighty Swing.


Cheers!

The Slormancer v1.0.2: Patch Notes



Hello everyone!
The 1.0.2 patch is now live on the Experimental Branch. Mostly focused on fixing bugs.

Just in case I've broken something while fixing another, this patch will stay on the Experimental Branch for a few days, until I'm sure that everything is working properly.

[h2]Changes and Additions[/h2]
  • Added a new setting called "Dynamic Casting":
    • Enabled: The Skill is cast at the current position of the cursor when the animation ends. This is the default setting.
    • Disabled: The Skill is cast at the position of the cursor at the moment of activation.
[h2]Bugs Fixes[/h2]
Important
  • Fixed the issue preventing the game to start at fullscreen (I think).
General
  • Defeating an Obelisk of Illusion should now immediately grant 3 Choices for the next Challenge in The Great Forge.
  • Life and Mana Lock greyed parts should now be displayed properly.
  • The Gravity Cataclysm should now properly slow Projectiles with a modified Projectile Speed.
  • Ghosts (Suffering Souls) can now be dodged.
  • Ancestral Strikes from DoTs can now properly trigger Ancestral Effects (such as Gazloka's Conquest)
  • War Chests should no longer spawn when switching classes or loading other saves.
  • Achievements tracking Maxxed out Skills will no longer be removed once they have been awarded if players rank down a Skill. Same goes for Ancestral Skills and Attributes.
  • Achievements counting Floors in specific Environments will now also count Floor done inside The Netherworld.
  • Cataclysm : Reconstruction should now work properly and the timer should be reset on every hit.
  • On the Netherworld Map, Expeditions completed by other classes should now appear with the proper gold border.
  • "Map Transparency" is now called "Map Opacity".
  • Damage Numbers should now appear at the correct location even when using higher resolutions such as 2k and 4k.
  • Keybinds should now appear at the proper size when using higher resolutions such as 2k and 4k.
  • Automatically picking up lots of loot (and materials) should no longer slow the game down (at all).
  • Influence gained should now display the proper value on the result menu.
  • Fixed a rare crash occuring when displaying Enemies Buffs Icons.
  • Fixed a rare crash occuring when exiting the Blacksmith.
  • Fixed a bunch of typos.
Attributes
  • Willpower 45 should now grant the proper amount of Minion Increased Damage per minion.
  • Attributes with a condition such as "less than X% Mana" or "less than Y% Life" will now trigger when Life / Mana is less or equal. This includes:
    • Determination 60.
    • Toughness 60.
    • Savagery 30.
    • Willpower 15.
    • Dexterity 45.
Ancestral Legacy
  • Elemental Synergy should now count every equipped Aura.
  • Life and Mana per Second Skills should no longer display an incorrect Life / Mana Cost value when Elemental Swap is toggled on.
  • Elemental Pact is now properly set as a Conversion.
  • One Last Round now properly increase the stack limit of Enfeeble.
  • Power Surge now interracts properly will Skills scaling on Mana on Hit such as Arcane Missile / Voracious Missile.
  • To prevent people from going crazy, The Judge of Light's sound will stop looping after a few seconds.
  • Comfort Zone should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
The Mighty Knight
  • Grappling Hook / Commandeer should now have the proper Mana Cost.
  • Grappling Hook / Commandeer should no longer work on Obelisks.
  • Deflect should now properly deflect Projectiles from Light Totems.
  • Ascension / The Flying Man should no longer remove "cooldown debuffs" such as Reaper of the Bloodthirsty Beast passive effect.
The Fierce Huntress
  • Smoke Screen / Fairy Dust should now be properly removed when Smoke Screen ends.
  • Smoke Screen's damage buff should now work properly with Heavy Explosive Projectile.
  • Ravenous Daggers should now properly deal Additional Damage when being merged.
  • Using Steel Manipulator and Amulet of Transferance should no longer mess with Immortal Arrow's tooltip.
  • Fist of the Wild / Double Palm should now properly target two different enemies.
  • Void Arrow / Netherfire from the Void can now properly deal damage when dealing only Elemental Damage.
  • Self-Control now reads: "You have +25% Attack Speed. While Tormented or Delighted, this effect is disabled." (On top of making it clearer, this is also quite a buff)
  • While using Click to Move, Tumble should now always be cast toward your cursor.
  • Wandering Arrows should no longer be visible when not attacking inside The Netherworld.
The Mischievous Mage
  • Attunement Pulse / Reshape : Should now properly grant the "Projectile" tag to Attunement Pulse (and properly interact with effects such as Drum-Reaper of War).
  • Attunement Pulse / Elemental Weakness should now properly increase Elemental Weakness.
  • Orb of the Arcane Master / Drunken Master: Should now properly cast Additional Projectiles granted from % Additional Projectiles.
  • Arcane Clones now also benefit from your Attack Speed.
  • Chrono-Puncture / Chrono-Speed now properly displays Cooldown Reduction instead of Attack Speed, and now properly grants 2% per stack instead of 3%.
  • Arcane Breach / Arcane Explosion should no longer deal insane damage when casting Arcane Breach on top of an Orb of the Arcane Master.
  • Orb of the Arcane Master / Drunken Master should now cast the proper amount of projectiles no matter the Legendary effect or Reaper used.
  • Arcane Clones should now work properly with Drum-Staff of War.
Slorm Reapers
  • Equipping a Slorm Reaper will now reset Shield back to 0.
  • Reaper of the Untouchable One: Untouchable Dash should now always trigger when the key is pressed.
  • Reaper of Benediction should now heal the proper amount of Life.
  • Altior, Arah's Perfect Reaper should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Primordial Reaper of the Many's Life Projectile now deal the proper damage.
  • Heals from Reaper of Benediction should no longer be dodgeable.
  • Vengeance, Ohm Agad's Cursed Reaper should now properly apply its Max Life buff.
  • Reaper of the Many: Orbs of Life should now properly set damage to 0.
  • Reaper of Resonating Thunder should now properly calculate Ancestral Strike Chance.
Legendaries
  • Avg Skill Damage when using Steel Manipulator and Amulet of Transferance should now be properly calculated.
  • Arnaldow's Shimmering Pauldrons should now behave properly when Area Rapid Cast is off.
  • Celestial Shackles should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Celestial Shackles should no longer toggle itself off when leaving a map.
  • Chest of Immense Vitality should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Ultrasonic Bracers should now properly benefit from Aura Increased Effect.
  • Immortal Grasp should now heal based on Skill and Elemental Damage.
  • The Awoken: Reaching Tormented by using a Support Skill will no longer trigger it twice.
  • Gloves of the Unleashed Surge should no longer trigger when casting Support Skills.
  • Armor of the Unstoppable Shaman will now trigger the Mini-Keeper.
  • Fulgurorn's Might should now properly trigger every 0.5 second.
  • Ultrasonic Bracers should no longer toggle itself off when leaving a map.
  • Boots of Extreme Confidence should now always work regardless of the direction.
  • Stacks from Ring of the Blood Seeker should now be properly removed when unequipping the Ring.
  • Damasius Awareness should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
  • Aiming Assistance Pads should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
  • Lowey's Wave of Fervor should now work properly with Indirect Damage.
  • Sahrusiel's Barrage: The Holy Spirit should no longer receive damage and / or die.
  • Steel Manipulator is now properly set as a Conversion.
  • Skyward Guardian Girdle's Celestial Protection should now work properly (and no longer disappear after 5 seconds).
  • Midos' Collector's Bracers should no longer slow the game down.
  • Inextricable Waistguard should no longer work on Bosses.



Edit: 1.0.2c
  • Fixed a crash occuring with The Fierce Huntress using Poison.
  • Fixed the Discord link in the menu.
  • Achievements linked to Slormites should no longer count Slormites that are being transfered back from The Slormitizer.
  • Coward's Belt should now work properly with Vengeance, Ohm Agad's Cursed Reaper.
  • Rune of the Shaman should now properly display Wood Sticks instead of Mighty Swing.


Cheers!

Slormite Chronicles #51



Hello everyone!

Welcome to Slormite Chronicles #51.

I've been pretty quiet over the past few weeks, but I've actually been hard at work squashing bugs. Since launch, I've compiled a list of about 100–150 bugs, ranging in importance, mostly caused by odd interactions between different effects.

I’m happy to say I’m almost done with that list!

One thing I managed to fix is the screen resolution issue on startup, I've got that going on for me, which is nice. Obviously, reaching a state of zero bugs is nearly impossible, but now that I’ve taken care of so many, I finally feel like I can move on to something else (like actual content!).

As I mentioned in a previous Slormite Chronicles, I’ve been working on whatever I feel like lately, mostly bugs, but also a few small features I wanted to play with. With bug-fixing almost wrapped up (until the next batch), I’m planning to push out an update next week, first on the Experimental Branch for a few days, then on the Live Branch once I’m sure nothing is broken.

If the update goes according to the plan, I should then be taking a break for the holidays (I can't seem to stop anyway, what's wrong with me) and come back to work on additional content and features.

Speaking of features, I’ve started preparing the new Skins system. Since we haven’t added skins to The Slormancer yet, I’m currently working on additional color variations for the default skin, along with the UI for the menu itself.

[h2]Skins (colors for now)[/h2]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Here’s a preview of the new Skins menu, featuring the Mischievous Mage. With my bro HyonD (the art department) off on holiday, I had to pick the colors myself, they’ll likely be adjusted before release.

If you're wondering, the second thumbnail will show Bryan McRipped’s and Breach Doors’ skin variations.

[h2]Tooltips and console port[/h2]
I’ve also started diving into the UI work required to increase font sizes throughout the game, a necessary step for a future Switch port, and to aim for that sweet “Steam Deck Verified” badge. While I was still deep into bugs, here’s a glimpse of the upcoming item tooltip redesign:



As you can see, small but meaningful tweaks going on behind the scenes.

[h2]Next update![/h2]
As mentioned above, a new update is coming to the Experimental Branch next week. It’ll include the big bug-fix pass, but won’t yet feature the Skins menu or the new tooltips, those are still in progress and planned for a future update.

Between the release itself, post-launch marketing, adjusting to our new pace, and fixing everything that popped up, this is one of those Slormite Chronicles without any big shiny surprises. But rest assured that we’re making solid progress. At the very least, the game is getting cleaner.

That’s all for now!
Cheers, and happy Slorm hunting!