Vault of the Void News

Hello everyone! It's finally here -- the 2.0 Beta is live right now and accessible for everyone! It's been a long journey -- the game has been literally reprogrammed from scratch using a more recent version of the engine, and better optimisation methods throughout. Scroll down for more details!

[h3]What is 2.0?[/h3]
2.0 was a massive undertaking, and whilst some new content was included, it shouldn’t be seen as a massive content patch. 2.0 is a commitment -- to the future of the game. Basically, by reprogramming the entire game, it has allowed us now to create a perfect foundation to work off for the future. This starts now, continues with the Mobile/Switch version and then goes into new classes, more content and game modes.

I hope you can forgive the time away from updates. Its been a long road, but I'm very excited now for the future of the game!

[h3]How To Access[/h3]
To access the Beta, all you need to do is go to your Steam Library, find Vault of the Void and right click -> Properties. You’ll see a “Betas” tab, if you click that, look in the dropdown for a branch called “rewrite-beta”, and you should be good to go!



[h3]How Is My Progress Affected[/h3]
When you first boot up 2.0, your original game profile will be ported to the new save file system. This should carry everything over, but is definitely the most intensive part of the merge. If you suffer any bugs in this stage, please reach out to me and we’ll ensure to get it fixed or manually port your profile. So far throughout our testing with players, we’ve had no issues in this process!

A note however -- this process only happens once. If you move back to 1.x, play some runs, then switch back to 2.0, those runs won’t be ported over. It should be a one time thing -- and I definitely suggest staying on 2.0 if you can! Once 2.0 goes live as well, you won’t lose any of your progress!

[h3]What is Missing?[/h3]
Currently in the Beta, two major things are missing: Controller Support and Daily Draft. These both should be included within the next week or two, all things going according to plan. 2.0 won’t launch live without these features.

The big concern here is just for Steam Deck players, who won’t be able to play 2.0 just yet. But I’m working hard to get the Controller Support fully implemented back so this is ready to go!

[h3]Reporting Bugs[/h3]
If you suffer any bugs, please join the Discord (if you’re able to) and reach out to me. Otherwise, you can add me as a friend on Steam, or send me an email ([email protected]), whatever is easiest for you! Please note, that any crashes will have their data sent to our crash log, and we should be able to patch and fix within 24 hours without need for contact.

[h3]So -- What's in it?[/h3]
As I said, 2.0 isn’t specifically a content patch, however it does have some content changed included! Here is a general overview on 2.0 changes, then a list of the Daughter of the Void Balance patch changes, plus some general things as well!



[h3]2.0 General Updates[/h3]
- New save file system, all .json, meaning human readable and easier setup for speed running events.
- Proper seeding system.
- Minor improvements to Threat Prediction.
- Full new scalable UI, with minor improvements everywhere. Perfect setup for small screen devices like Steam Deck, Mobile and Switch
- New minimal version UI for enemies, for small screens.
- ALL enemies are now animated.
- Tweaks to map generation system.
- PlayOps system for future custom cards and items (more on that to come). All cards and items have been fully reprogrammed to use this system.
- New text rendering engine.
- New simulation system, which means damage previews are always correct now. This also simulates artifacts and buffs, and displays their previews to the player.
- Enemy death preview when card or artifact plays will kill the enemy.
- Better particles effect system.
- Huge improvements to performance.

[h3]Content Updates[/h3]
- Self-Inflicted Agony: Moved to uncommon
- Strike with Blood: Changed to "Gain or reduce Soultithe until you have 10(6)."
- Soul Spot: Changed to always cost 3, stack, and add 50(75)% damage instead of 25(50).
- Maddening: Changed to 0 cost and deals +3 damage.
- Dance of Darkness: Now Rebounds at baseline, and the upgrade is Gain 2 Corruption instead.
- Dark Reflection: Costs 2 instead of 1 and gives Corruption equal to twice the cost now. Upgrade now triples the cost instead of rigging.
- Limit: The upgrade is now the baseline, and also has "Soultithe 1, 2(5) times."
- Shadow Utility: Has rebound at baseline. The upgrade adds "or Purge" and increases Delay Block from 2 to 4.
- Build Up: Changed the upgrade to "Add a Void Coin to Discard."
- Confession: -1 cost pre and post upgrade
- What Lies Waiting: No longer gives 2 extra corruption on upgrade.
- Unshackle: Now gives Rage 25% at baseline but Opener only gives 1(2) Deathstrike instead of 2(3). Upgrade also adds Rage 25% to the Opener.
- Tax Evasion: The upgrade adds "Threshold 13:" as a condition for it Expelling.
- Debt Repaid: Changed from "random enemy" to "all enemies" and lowered the Threshold from 5 to 4.
- Wreath: Added "Gain 3 Corruption." baseline
- Cursed Shield: Blocks +2 pre and post upgrade. The rest of the text is replaced with "Deal 3(4) damage to all enemies."
- Unleash Darkness: Changed the discard to "Discard: Gain 2 Corruption if below 20." - Upgrading it removes "if below 20."
- Proliferate: Deals +2 damage and has 2 lower threshold pre and post upgrade
- Actus Reus and Mens Rea: Changed the 10's to 13's
- Curse of Plenty: Gives +1 Corruption on Purge
- Father's Wallet: Changed to "Add 2 Void Coins to hand, and 1(2) to Deck. Opener: Add 1 Void Coin to hand."

[h3]Artifacts:[/h3]
- Void Manipulator (Daughter Starting Artifact): Daughter now always starts with a free Green Void Stone.
- Unceasing Gear: Its effects are now equal to twice leftover energy. Also has "If you end your turn with 0 energy, gain 1 energy." (This triggers before the check, so you always get at least 2 corruption and delay block)
- Discarded Totem: Moved to Common. Also restricted from showing up as a random artifact from shops.
- Page of Prayers: Won't show up as a random artifact from shops.
- Rubber Band: Also has Block 3 when you fail to meet a Threshold.
- Cracked Sundial: Also applies Vulnerable 1
- Ancient Idol: Increased Block from 4 to 6
- New Daughter Common Artifact: Unpaid Bill: At the end of the turn, if you didn't play any Attack cards, Delay Rage equal to your Rage (max 75%).
- New Daughter Common Artifact: First Penny: At the start of each Battle, add an Upgraded Void Coin to your Deck.
- New Daughter Uncommon Artifact: Dark Leash: At the start of every even turn, add an Upgraded Unleash Darkness to hand.
- New Daughter Uncommon Artifact: Old Couch: At the start of every ODD turn, add Void Coins to Discard equal to the current Battle Round.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact: Commemorative Coin: Each turn, the first Void Coin you add to Hand, Deck or Discard is Upgraded.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact Onyx Pendant: From turn 4 onward, your first card played each turn has Ghost.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact Nihil Guard: At the start of each turn, Block equal to the amount of Afflictions in Deck and Discard. Block 3 for each Affliction in hand.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact Entrenching Tool: At the start of each turn, Threshold 1: Rage 25%. Threshold 10: Draw & Discard 2.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact Synthetic Stone: Rigged cards cost 1 less.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact: Condemned Katana: All non-X cost Attacks only ever require 1 Death Strike.
- New Daughter Elite Artifact: Memento: At the start of each turn. draw an Affliction. If there are none in your deck, add a Void Coin to deck.
- New Daughter Rare Artifact: Seed Crystal: At the start of each battle, add a Blue Void Stone to each non-stoned card in your deck.

[h3]New Cards:[/h3]
- Contemplate: Rare Neutral Ability: 1 cost: Delay Draw 2. (Overcharge 1.)
- Plunge: Common Daughter Ability: X-cost: Gain 3 Corruption X times. (Block 3 X times.)
- Coin Toss: Common Daughter Ability: X-cost: Add X Void Coins to Deck. Add X Void Coins to Discard. Draw & Discard 1(2).
- Harvest Season: Common Daughter Ability: 1 cost: Death Strike 1. Your next attack costs 1(2) less.
- Torment: Common Daughter Attack: 1 cost: Deal 4(6) damage. Gain Corruption equal to damage dealt. Expel.
- Revel: Common Daughter Heavy Attack: 2 cost: Draw 2 Afflictions. Deal 15(20) damage. (Purge: Add a Void Coin to deck
- Possession: Uncommon Daughter Ability: 0 cost: This turn, deal damage to a random enemy equal to twice your excess Block and each time you discard a card, gain 1 Corruption. (Don't) Expel.
- Lament: Uncommon Daughter Attack, 2 cost: (Soultithe 2.) Deal damage to all enemies equal to Soultithe. Gain Corruption and Delay Block equal to Soultithe.
- Savings: Uncommon Daughter Ability: 1 cost: Add a Void Coin to Deck for every 6(5) threat. Draw & Discard 1 for every 12(10) threat. Expel. Discard: Gain 2(3) Corruption & Loop.
- Oppression: Uncommon Daughter Buff, 1(2) cost: At the end of each turn, deal 25(50)% Corruption damage to all enemies. Expel.
- Boiling Point: Rare Daughter Ability: 1(0) cost: Rage 25%. Death Strike 1. (Not) Inert. Expel. Discard: This triggers +1 next time it's played.
- Good Karma: Rare Enlightened Buff: 2 cost: If you end your turn in Zen, enter Zen at the start of your next turn.

[h3]Non-Daughter Changes[/h3]
- Sloth: Added "Delay Block 20 next turn." to it. Cripple no longer goes from 1 to 2 on upgrade.
- Envy: Costs 2 less pre and post upgrade.
- Replay: Increased Delay Block from 4 to 5.
- Smash: Is now Common.
- Killing Blow: Is now uncommon and deals +4 damage pre and post upgrade.
- Something Extra: Removed the Swift requirement. Is now 1 cost "All Attack cards played will also apply Bleed 2. Expel. (Rigged.)"
- State/Peace/Strength of Mind: All 3 buffs now have "Desync. Chain 1." to let them fold into Chains easily.
- That'll Sting: Is now. "Deal 7 damage. Apply Bleed equal to twice (thrice) damage dealt."
- Union: Is now "Deal 2(3) Future Strike, 6 times. Deal 6 Shii, 2(3) times."
- Wishbone: Is now "The first 2 times each turn you draw a Bane, Draw 1."
- Flask of Blue Juice: No longer takes Max HP to pick it up. Just is a flat "After winning a Battle, gain 90 Essence if it was Perfect."
- Celerity: Added "Purge: Draw & Discard 1."
- Opening Move: +2 damage pre and post upgrade. Upgrade now gives +1 Overcharge.
- Wound: Applies +2 vuln pre and post upgrade.
- Crippling Blow: Increased the damage to 25(30).
- Silver Medal: Changed from Uncommon to Common.

Hello everyone!

Thank you all for being so patient over the past 8+ months. As painful as its been not being able to publish an update, today I’m pleased to announce that Vault of the Void 2.0 will enter Open Beta on December 1st! (This also includes the changes for the Daughter of the Void Balance patch!)

The game has been in Internal Beta for the past 2 months, and it's finally time to open things up! A few major things will be missing in the first Beta round, mainly just Controller Support and Daily Draft, but those should be reimplemented again fairly quickly (smoothing out the new leaderboard system!).

Thank you everyone again for your commitment to the game! I’m so excited to finally be able to get updates moving again. Also, Vault is currently on sale for 25% off, a great to pick up a copy heading into what will be a great 12+ months for Vault (new class talks have already picked up again!)

All for now!
- Josh

Hello folks! Sorry it's been a HOT minute since the last Dev Diary update. Things ramped up hard and were progressing really well, I wanted to carry on momentum through with the code base as much as possible. Shu and I have been working hard here to get things at least into internal testing -- and today I’m pleased to announce that has finally started!

So far, internal testing only contains the Hidden. This is intentional, just to stress test some of the main systems and keep scope contained. So far, besides one minor issue that is now resolved, things have gone really well! Performance has increased substantially for testers so far, and support for smaller resolutions and lower end machines is much better! The Profile conversion process has also proceeded without a hitch, which is a huge relief!

[h2]When is Public Beta?[/h2]
The plan here right now is to wait until all Classes are ready, then push into Public Beta. This will properly still have the Daily Draft locked out at first. The one thing it will have, however, is the Daughter of the Void update. The plan is to launch the 2.0 version on PC with the (long awaited) Daughter of the Void update bundled in. I’m targeting November/December for all this still, as I’m still committed to get things out before the end of the year.

[h2]Custom Cards/Artifacts[/h2]
Whilst the systems are currently in place, we’re going to be putting together some documentation and scripts to better support this, however it will be after the 2.0 launch. We’ll also hold a few “workshops” to sit down with players and ensure that everything they want to do, they can do.

[h2]Mobile Testing[/h2]
Once the PC Steam version is fully up-to-date, I'll provide more details on Mobile testing. This has been something we’ve been mindful of throughout this re-write, so any bugs fixed on PC are going to flow right down. Pretty much all screens so far have a Mobile/Small Screen version ready to go, so this process should be smooth! I think the end of the year is still a possibility for Mobile, however that may bleed into January if something unforeseen shows up! Switch will then begin testing after that!

[hr][/hr]

Having such a long period of silence is never easy, and I apologize yet again for this! It's such a relief to finally have people playing this version, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you. Throughout this process, I’m so thankful for the continued support, and a huge welcome to all the new players! We’ll be back on track with constant content updates again before too long!

Also, a huge shoutout to everyone who has left reviews recently! It helps immensely for us, and has been the driving force for keeping things positive as we push through this rewrite.

All for now -- more soon!
Josh

Hey everyone -- time for me to swing in with another Dev Diary update, sharing a bit of progress on the 2.0 Patch coming!

Not much preamble here from me -- just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the words of support on the last Dev Diary re: pricing structure. I was worried that some may feel let down a little by my pivot there, but it was really reassuring to see that everyone agrees with the decision! Thank you all!

Okay let's dive into things...

[h2]Card/Item Structure[/h2]
So as I continue working through the battle screen, as I mentioned last week, it was time to get the cards working! I originally planned to continue with the old way of cards programming, where I just code up the effects manually in a card processor. Shu and I had a chat and want to try something however, and I’m glad we did!

Basically, the Card/Item/Void Stone code has now pivoted to a PlayOps system which uses JSON code on the card entries themselves to perform and list all the effects. The underlying setup here was a bit larger, however, the end result is a chance at something that everyone has been asking for -- mods(ish).

I’ll clarify a little bit more -- right now the way things are setup means that custom Cards and Items are technically possible. Shu and I will be working on some documentation to show what methods and calls are permitted from custom stuff, and how to code these. A lot of this we're still trying to figure out the best way forward, but we also don't want to clog up the pipeline of 2.0 and Mobile release too much right now. The ability to code and load your own custom cards and items probably won’t be ready at 2.0 -- we’re not pushing too much focus there right now. Rather, right now, we’re working on the infrastructure to allow this in the future. Here is an example of a few cards:

Slash:

[[{damage: 6}, {combo_add: 1, combo: 0}], [{damage: 9}, {combo_add: 1, combo: 0}]]

Smash:

[[{damage: 16}, {rage_increase: 50}], [{damage: 20}, {rage_increase: 50}]];

Time To Maim:

[[{block: 6, rage: 0}, {rage_increase: 50}], [{block: 6, rage: 0}, {rage_increase:50, rage: 0}, {rage_increase: 50}]];

These are a few more simple examples, however hopefully it shows how easy it will be to string some new cards together. More on this to come in the future, but very excited about how this is working!

[h2]Simulated Results[/h2]
One of the other major let downs of 1.x, is the damage preview scripts. Probably the most !bug reported issue on the Discord is based on damage previews being wrong on cards. Previously, this was mostly hand code with me, a 1300+ line script with many "ifs" and catchs and exceptions trying to semi-simulate results. This also never took into account Artifacts or other effects.

I decided to rectify this issue!

The way I’ve code things now, the game has a full card and artifact simulation process going on when you hold a card up to play. The game simulates the results before the card is played, showing the exact amount of damage, no matter the Void Stone, trigger count, Rage mid-trigger, enemy status etc. So far, it's perfectly accurate and the ability to preview Artifact effects at the same time is great as well!

Heres an example of Fan of Blades ready to trigger (I gave Smash Swift in this example to test the Rage stacking mid trigger). You can see the small amount of Bleed showing on preview.



It brings up a small discussion that's been going on internally right now -- and that is the simulation of random effects. Take for example, Grapeshot. As programmed right now, holding Grapeshot up to play will actually preview the exact damage results across enemies on the field. This has been a bit of a hot topic internally, and most people are leaning towards wanting this information not shown. Whilst the system is set up to support it, a decision on if it will be enabled or not will be made shortly!

Simulated Grapehot:


[h2]Event Rooms[/h2]
Shu has been actively working on Event Rooms, and as of this typing, I think it's just the Well of Stars left to code up! All events are in the Run JSON, predetermined, with the long standing bug of some rooms “not being re-enterable” finally fixed. I’ll be moving to these rooms and redoing the UI on all these after battle, to make sure they’re working to the new UI Scaling and small screen layouts.

[h2]Run JSON[/h2]
As part of the Event Rooms, Shu has also been working through the Run JSON to ensure its all in there, and cleaned up and ready to go. The structure seems pretty set in stone, and we’ll be testing it more over the next 2 weeks. However, if it gets the tick of approval, I’m going to be releasing an example of this JSON early here for you all. This means that those of you who like to make tools/websites etc for these games, you’ll be able to see how things are structured. Also, it means the Speed Running/Competition community can get an early look at things to set up processes on their end. More of that in the next blog!

[hr][/hr]

Overall, that's pretty much where things stand now. I just got the final few animations back from Sanjeev as well, so the Swamp Witch Totems and also the Voidling are all finally animated! There's much more happening and we’re working around the clock to get this finalised and released on PC, so you all can be playing this whilst we optimise the last few bits for Mobile and smallscreens.

I’m still optimistic about getting a PC Beta out hopefully around mid August, even if its just for the Hidden to start with. I can’t wait to have this done so we can start crushing out some awesome new content for Vault!

Thank you everyone for the kind reviews, and for staying so patient during this process. I’ll make sure it's worth the wait!

All for now
- Josh

Hello folks! Its been almost a full month now since the last Dev Diary -- I was so caught up in work I didn’t manage to step aside and get you all updated, sorry about that! I’m here now to give a full run down on where things are currently at.

[h3]Before I begin, a quick heads up to let you all know that Vault is currently on Sale for 25% off to celebrate the Steam Summer Sale![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1135810/Vault_of_the_Void/

For those new here, I'm currently in the middle of doing a full rewrite of the game code to support future content expansions, and most importantly, exporting to Mobile and Switch in the future. Today I'm giving another update on how things are progressing on that front :)

Alright let's dive in!

[h3]Animations[/h3]
Sanjeev the Animation Wizard has been hard at work just crushing out all the Monster Animations for the game, and converting them over. As of right now, all Monsters have been re-animated with both the condensed and expanded frame style, ready to be imported into the game! Export and re-import of all these is slated for later this week. A huge task and another exciting milestone.



[h3]Instability[/h3]
Shu has wrapped up the Instability screen and got it working very smoothly. The screen now also has been setup with pagination for smaller screens, (ignore my Max Instability here, we’ve been testing the unlocks there as well!)



[h3]Event Rooms[/h3]
Shu has now moved over to getting the Events queued up and working. To start with, work has begun on the black screen, full image style events (Matron of Memories, Shrine, Ravens Gift etc).

So far, completed are :

• Matron of Memories
  
• Ravens Gift
  
• Shrine
  
• Dark Idol
  
• Treasure Room
  
• Aftertifact Treasure Room
  

We have a meeting today to sweep over these and finalize the art/particles and get them squared away 100%. They also support 2 page styles for smaller screens (Mobile and Switch!) due to a lot of the text being quite long. Really happy with progress here, and we should be moving onto the rest of the rooms next!

[h3]Battle Screen[/h3]
This is one I’ve been putting off for some time, due to how ominous the task was. But I kicked myself into gear and have been progressing very nicely so far. The Battle screen is where you spend about 80% of your time, and I’m very particular about getting things right. This is not only an opportunity to fully optimise the system, but also to ensure that gameplay on Mobile and small screens is smooth and enjoyable, and doesn’t feel like a hacky port.

I started with the State Machine and rewrote that to be more robust and stable than the previous. I also defined a few more states to clarify things like “Start of Turn” and “Start of Players Turn” etc to help clearly define when things happen, at least in the code! I then started with “At the start of your turn” stuff, known internally as “Player Upkeep”. There were a huge amount of artifacts, abilities and effects to move over here, and that is now all setup correctly and working. Once I was able to progress through a turn, it was time to add the Enemies!

Migrating the Enemy code was a long job of copy and pasting and moving scripts over, but it also gave me a chance to audit their State Machine, and clear up a lot of stuff. Previously things like Bleed, Future Strike, Shii checks etc were all looped into the one state, so I was able to split that out for easier processing and triggering. As of right now, I have fully migrated over the Enemies, they now spawn, respawn, select their actions as they should, perform their actions as they should, and die like they (hopefully) should. Once I import over all the new animations, these should 100% be sorted!

So now -- it's onto probably the biggest component to a card game... the cards! I’ve got these all setup in deck viewer and external to battle, however it's now time to migrate over cards which are intractable and playable! I’ll be getting started with that later this week, and will have more to share in the next Dev Blog!

[h3]Pricing[/h3]
I wanted to take some time here to talk about pricing on other platforms. Although this post's goal is to update everyone on the Steam version, I did want to mention this briefly here. Firstly, I’ll admit I’m very new to this space so originally when I announced other platforms, I went with my gut. However, I’ve had some time now to talk with some other developers who have been super generous with their time, and learnt a bit more about the mobile market. So here is where I need to backtrack a little on what I said, and I’m really sorry about this. Originally I was going to have Vault priced on mobile as Free, with paid unlocks for the 3 later classes (Hidden would be unlocked automatically).

After learning a bit more about the mobile market, and the nature of “Free” games, I decided it’s really not the space where I want Vault to play in. I want to offer a fair priced product, with one off purchase unlocks, rather than try to compete with loot crates and predatory purchase models. For this reason, I’ve decided to move Vault of the Void to a single price upfront purchase on Mobile, which will have all content unlocked. At the end of the day, the price for the end user will be the same, but I really do apologize to anyone who was waiting hoping for a free upfront version of the game.

[h3]With that said, I do want to look into the possibility of a Steam Demo with this new version as well, allowing players a chance to try Vault of the Void on Steam obligation free. I’ll be looking more into that in the coming months! [/h3]

[hr][/hr]
Okay -- that's all from me here! I thank you all so much for your patience. It's so painful to not be able to provide you all with new content for so long, but I promise lots of awesome new stuff to come as soon as this is done. Both Shu and I are optimistic about getting a PC Beta out on Steam in the next 4-6 weeks or so, which will run on an opt-in branch whilst we finalize controller implementation and small screen displays. From there, I’ll provide details on other Betas!

Thank you everyone for all your support! I’ll be back in 2 weeks with more good news!

All for now.
- Josh