Vault of the Void News

Hello everyone!

This weekend sees a small patch released, which contains a bunch of bug fixes I’ve noticed (most were hotfixed throughout the last week), and adds just a small collection of content updates.

Probably the biggest of these, is one that I’m not going to speak of at all. Because its... well you know, secret. But when you fetch find it, you’ll know...



[h2]New Challenge Coins![/h2]
Couple of new Challenge Coins have been added, one for the Enlightened and one for the Daughter of the Void!

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Onslaught
Death Strike doesn't work on 2+ cost cards. Your first Attack each turn costs 1 more but gives you 1 Death Strike.

Artifacts: Bladed Staff, Eldritch Blessing



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Fortune Teller
At the start of each turn, draw 1 less card.

Artifacts: Scrying Pool, Temporal Prism



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I hope you enjoy the new Coins! The feedback from the Challenge Coin system continues to be fantastic, and there is a concerted effort to continue adding more and more for you all to enjoy!

[h2]New Impossible+ Modifier[/h2]
One thing I really want to push towards with Impossible+, is adding more modifiers that aren’t just deprivation of resources. It’s very easy to fall into that trap when adding them, and I’ve spoken about an effort to steer away from them, from now on. Fog of War, Ambush etc are great examples of modifiers that I think really do change the way you play. Today, another such modifier has been added: Blind Spot.

Blind Spot reads: Combats will have no pre-fight information. This modifier makes it so there's no way to know who (or what?) you’re fighting.

As more of these types of modifiers are added to the game, I hope it allows players to enjoy playing the way they’d like. Impossible+50 should be tailored to how you like to play, and the more modifiers that get included, the closer we move to that goal!

[h2]Mystery Stuff[/h2]
Something fun, and often requested, has been added. First to find it gets a treat!

Thank you again everyone for playing Vault of the Void! It’s no secret that the past month has seen the biggest influx of new players and player counts when it comes to Vault, and I’m so happy you’re all enjoying it! I thank you as always for the reviews -- they really, really help with small devs like myself, without the big marketing budgets behind it!

Next time I post, it will be with the details of the Hidden rework, which is slated to start on Monday! (And yeah, expect the start of the class specific Potions in that one!)

Thank you everyone -- happy Void hunting!

All for now.
- Josh

Hello everyone! So I posted a preview about this change last week, and its finally here! The Potion rework is now live and ready to play. I’ll include some more details below, including the issues with the old system and the reason for the change. Apologies for it taking a bit longer to get out, I coupled this with UI updates to the Potion shop as well, so there was quite a bit of artwork to get sorted for this one change!

I hope you all enjoy the change. It's never easy to make a mechanic change like this to an already fully established system, and I always prefer to err on the side of caution when doing so. There were a number of ways to address the issue, and there was a lot of feedback and suggestions as well. In the end, I did like a lot of things about the Potion system as it stood, and wanted to ensure the change adhered to two of the main tenets of the game:

• Force players to make meaningful and lasting choices.
  
• Allow prior knowledge to inform choices.
  

As I mentioned in this preview post, the two main things I wanted to address were;

• Limiting the amount of Potions that could be used in a fight, promoting more use throughout the run, rather than the Potion dump that came at the end of a run, vs the Void.
  
• Allow an option for players to use Potions reactively, instead of proactively.
  

Also, as with everything in VotV, I really wanted to try and stay away from established systems in similar games, and look for something slightly different and unique, that fits the style of game that VotV really is, leaning into its idiosyncrasies.

Lets talk about the change in general, and how those ideas play into it.


Potions now have two effects, they’ll have a “Brew” effect, and also a “Belt” effect. Each of these are different (except the Health Potion). Before a fight, you’ll have the choice to assign a Potion to your Brew slot, and your Belt slot.



[h3]Brew[/h3]
Brew slot is where you assign a Potion to have its effects last the duration of the battle. This, in essence, is the old Potion system, just now with a limit of 1 Potion. Too often, Potions would be forgotten about or not used until it was too late, and saved up for the Void fight. I really liked how this system used to work, with a prior choice needing to be made before each fight. The limit to 1 now encourages people to use them more often during a run. It also harkens back to both of the core philosophies mentioned earlier. Once Brewed, that Potion is spent. And knowing which Potion to take into which fight comes from experience.

[h3]Belt[/h3]
Belt slot is a system which allows you to use Potions in a way that is familiar to other games. You can take a single Potion into a fight to be used reactively. If you don’t use your Belt Potion during an encounter, it isn’t consumed! (so there really is never a reason not to have something in there). Their effects are usually a single time strong effect, that may help swing the tide of battle in tense moments!

I wanted to answer a few of the most common questions I’ve had during this process:

Why the limit of 1 Belt Potion. I’d much prefer 2 or 3!
This actually was thought about quite a bit. In the end, Vault's potion drop amount makes it so that this becomes not much of a choice (there isn’t that many during a run). You'd easily just Belt up most of your Potions for fights, rather than actually have to think about which to take. Looking back at the core philosophy, Vault wants to make players make tough choices, ideally ones informed from past play, and opening up more slots (or access to any in your collection) removes a lot of that I feel.

Are you worried about the complexity of the system?
Originally it was something to be aware of, but the key I felt was delivering the UI in a simple and easy to use way that helped make the system make sense. Part of that was also auto equipping a Potion into your Belt, if it was empty. I think it also removes some weight in the fact they’re not cards anymore. Often that was confusing for players starting out.

At the end of the day, I know its a big change to an established system, and there might be some trepidation! I’ve been in close contact with those testing the new system and so far, even for those who were a bit hesitant, most have ended up with a positive response. I hope everyone gives it a try and finds it to be positive also!

In the end, thanks for sticking by me as I work through changes like this! Always a scary time as a dev!


So, you’re probably thinking “What about that Spider Nest fight?”. You know the one, the one you’d save all those Exploding and Crippling Potions for...

Yes, that fight has been tweaked!

So Dabor and I have sat down and gone over a bunch of balance changes. Nerfs, buffs etc. We’ve analyzed the data from the last few months and really addressed a few outliers (I see you Birth Pit, ending everyone's runs!). This is a constant ongoing process and we’ll continue to keep an eye on things moving forward. Expect a potential tickle up of things in the next week or two depending how this all shakes out as well! A full list of the changes can be found below.


So, there has been a surge of new players recently, which I’m very thankful for! Welcome to you all! However, one thing is a few more crashes have shown up, which is only natural. I’ve had my hands tied as this Potion patch has been brewing for sometime. However now the builds will be up to date - so I’ll be keeping a closer eye on things and hotfixing daily anything that shows up again.

I’m very sorry if you’ve been affected by these bugs. I’m usually able to tend to all bugs within 24-48 hours, however the way this patch cycle has gone, because of the major change, required a bit longer sorry!

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I’ll leave things here for now, this is already quite long and I feel bad for the awesome translators!! Thank you as always for the flood of lovely reviews, I’m so glad to hear you’re all enjoying Vault! There is lots more things in the works, can’t wait to share more with you all!

Thanks again -- happy Void hunting!

All for now.
- Josh




Patch Notes
- Brand new Potion system has been added!
- Two new Potions have been added.
- Forgotten Fuse now has a counter showing how much damage it will do.

Bugs
- Fixed a number of missing translations.
- Fixed the crash that was happening on the Soul Collector.
- Fixed a crash based on Tutorial display.
- Fixed a crash at the Spell Singer.
- Fixed a bug caused by card images losing their parent.
- Fixed a bug with card trails.
- Fixed a bug on card images caused by alternative artwork.
- Fixed a bug caused by monster previews being wrong.

Balance
- Void Spider AP increased by 1 and Frenzy lowered by 4 on all difficulties.
- Bruce's AP scales less later on the floor. Has 1 less AP and 1 more Frenzy on Impossible so he scales particularly less in long late-floor fights.
- Birth Pit has 2 less AP across all difficulties, and Pinkies have 1 less AP on Impossible
- Corpse Mound has 2 less AP on Impossible
- Dolus has 3 more AP across all difficulties
- Congregation's Peck replaced with do-nothing Squawk ability. Changed to have 2 AP with 2/3/4 Frenzy depending on difficulty.
- Arkaos Axe has 1 more AP on Normal and Hard
- Berserker has 1 more AP on Impossible
- Taxidermist Creations have 1 more AP on Impossible
- Hag applies 1 more Burn on Normal
- Starcallers have 2 more AP across all difficulties
- Dragon Whelpling on Impossible does 1 less Burn and traded 1 AP for 1 Frenzy (so he starts the same but scales less and is easier to debuff)
- Dragon Mother's block limiting is now 10/9/8 instead of 10/8/6 across Normal/Hard/Impossible
- Future tweaks will likely happen to Bloodhive (too easy on Impossible), the Council (too easy on all difficulties) and and Wicked Worshippers (killing side enemies isn't a viable strategy).

Hello everyone!

Today's post is a preview of stuff to come! I wanted to take some time to showcase where things are at with the new Potion system! Potions have been something which really needed addressing in Vault for sometime. They were quite easily forgettable -- and oftentimes you’d find yourself with a plethora of colorful bottles remaining at the end of a run, which you would then begin dunking on the void with.

There were a few things I wanted to address here:

Firstly -- limiting the amount of Potions that could be used in a fight. I think this was pretty important, as it very often ended up being a situation where you’d remember them at the last minute, and just unload them all in your last fight, which isn’t a super compelling choice. This was partly due to their front loading nature as well, which...

Secondly -- Potions were proactive. You had to equip one before you went into a fight, which had an emphasis on system mastery. I do like that aspect, where a player knowing they might be in a tough matchup would cause them to bring a potion. However, oftentimes, you’d be mid-fight, and things would take a bad turn, and you’d really wish you brought a Potion to help. With this new system both are possible! The key here was to allow the players to arm themselves with a "just incase" button.

And as a final goal -- continue trying to make a system that is interesting, different, and that encourages the player to make tough choices, rather than just a carbon copy of something else out there.

[h3]So, how does that look? [/h3]

In Vault of the Void, Potions now have two effects, Brew and Belt. You can choose to add one to your Brew slot before each fight, and also one to your Belt slot before each fight (only ever one of each!).

When you Brew a Potion, its effects trigger at the start of combat, and often last the entire battle -- the same effect as the current system. However now you can also add a Potion to your Belt, a quick slot ability that you can cast in a moment of panic (or triumph!) mid battle. Belt potions won’t be consumed automatically either -- so if you finish a fight without using that Stealth Potion, it will be there for the next fight.



Here’s an example of a few of the Potions, with their differing effects (note: subject to change)


[h3]Potion of Stealth[/h3]
Brew: Creatures will skip their first turn.
Belt: Halve your current Threat.



[h3]Strength Potion[/h3]
Brew: At the start of each turn, gain 50% Rage.
Belt: Rage 125%.

[h3]Exploding Bottle[/h3]
Brew: Deal 25 damage to all enemies.
Belt: Apply Vulnerable 1. Deal 40 damage. (Single target)

On top of all this -- the Potion Merchant is getting a full UI rework, and all Potions are getting new art to help with the expansion of things. If you feel this system sets itself up well for expanding into class specific Potions -- or even unique Potions from events... well you’d be right! :)

I really hope you like the new system, and are willing to give it a try! So far testing has been mostly positive, and I’m looking forward to rolling this out. The current plan is to have this live by next weekend! It should make its way to the Beta Branch a few days before that also.

Thanks everyone!

All for now
- Josh

Hello everyone!

So the localisation patch is now a little over a week old and I’ve been getting lots of positive feedback! I’m so glad that many of you are now able to enjoy Vault of the Void in your local language, and hope the experience has been pleasant.

I’m just sweeping in with a quick little hotfix today -- usually I wouldn’t put together patch notes for a small patch like this, but I’ve been seeing a particular issue affecting a decent amount of players, and so wanted to address it publicly. Basically, a handful of players have been experiencing a “crash”, probably without much context or explanation. It seems to happen at random times, and then also somewhat often when reloading the game.

This was due to some memory issues going on. From what I can tell, this was mostly targeting laptops, and the issue stems from the laptop and GPU usage. I’ve done some work to optimise this, and also shorten load times on boot up as well. If you were suffering from this issue -- please let me know if this fixes the problem! As usual, I’ll keep an eye on crash logs over the next few days.

I’ve also managed to bundle in a few bug fixes as well -- all will be listed below!

Thank you again everyone for all the support! Some lovely reviews coming in from people all around the world, great to see many new players!

Thank you everyone -- all for now!!
- Josh




Bugs Fixes
-Changed the way Locale files are loaded on startup, resulting in much, much faster load times.
-Optimisation for Laptops, and minor tweaks for Desktop PCs.
-Fixed an issue where floor specific Well of Stars rewards were getting jumbled (extra elite spawn after finishing floor 2, for example).
-Fixed an issue with Battle Progress not lining up on the pre-fight screen.
-Fixed an issue where one particular enemy was a high achiever, and had Battle Progress exceeding 100%
-Fixed an issue where some tooltips would break their bounds on spawned cards.
-The Favour of Cancer Artifact now has the correct artwork.
-Changed wording on the +/- Shock popover.
-Taunt ability is now translated correctly.
-Fixed some button text in the Compendium.
-Translated the Seed text in battle.

Hello everyone! No need for a preamble -- today I’m very excited to announce that Vault of the Void is now playable in 7 different languages: Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish!

[h2]Localisation Update[/h2]
The last few months have been a pretty extensive journey, as I learnt (the hard way) what it looks like to localize a game that wasn’t programmed to support it from the start. When I started working on Vault of the Void, my thinking was “If it gets to the point where it’s success means it requires localisation, then I’ll be fine doing it!”. I now know, there is a reason why all game dev tips start with Plan for localisation!

Funny enough -- the amount of work for me was nothing compared to the work of the amazing community translators themselves! Since December, the team across 6 languages have translated over 477,513 different words. It was very important for me to have translators working on the project who knew the game. All the translators were players first, and that was a huge benefit when it comes to supporting all the keywords, tooltips, interactions etc. Vault is a dense game, without a doubt, so having some prior knowledge before diving in was super important to ensuring the translation was as accurate as possible. A huge thank you to all who rallied together and made this possible -- very, very proud of the team that's been built.

Also, now that all my update posts have to be translated, I can’t waffle on as much as I used to! :D

That said, the job isn’t done! The team is very responsive to all feedback, and if you notice something is off, or displays incorrectly, or worse of all, is still in English -- there are two main ways to get in contact. Firstly, the Discord server! I’ve set up a new room called #localisation-feedback where you can provide any specific feedback! I’ve also created channels to chat with others in each of the new languages, so you’re more than welcome to come and hang out there.

The other place would be on the Forums -- there's a sticky post for Feedback. Many of the members are subscribed so they’ll see and action your feedback as it shows up!

So again -- another huge thank you to the team who made this possible. I’m so blessed to have such a great community form around this game. I’ve met so many wonderful people through Vault of the Void over the last 18 months, and my life is so much better for it!

[h2]The Mysterious Disappearance of Community Rewards[/h2]
Sadly, I was contacted by Steam and told to remove the Community Reward counter in the game -- I totally understand their standpoint there. It’s sad, I really enjoyed the process, and it was a huge help to myself (small, mostly solo dev with no publisher) to help spread the word. In light of this, my biggest issue is what to do with the 1,000 Reward? I had it already planned, I just need to get them animated!

Behold, the majesty of: the Treasure Goblin Affliction Pack!



I’ll get these all animated and find a way to get them to you all :) Even though there is no longer a Community Reward, I still really appreciate everyone who leaves a review for Vault of the Void. I’m very proud of the game that has formed from all the feedback and input from you all over the last 12-18 months.

[h2]Guest Artwork Packs[/h2]
So, I hinted at this last time, and since then, plans are in motion! With the setup to alternative artwork in place, keep your eyes peeled for some awesome guest artwork packs coming soon!

[h2]Challenge Coins [/h2]
Two new Challenge Coins have been added to the game! Couple of fun ones here, you’ll now be able to dive into “Great Devourer” and “Spell Roulette”. I hope you enjoy these CCs -- I know there's been a lot of great feedback when it comes to CCs, and hope they continue to help in mixing up your runs!

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Thats all from me for now -- I did manage to squeeze in a few bug fixes and graphical updates, as shown below. I should be back in a week or two with the new Potion update (they’re getting revamped!) as well as some more great content, including the promised balance pass!

All for now!
- Josh



Additions
===
- Localisation support! Vault of the Void is now fully playable in Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish
- Matron of Memories will now offer 4 *different* Potions!
- New UI design for Dark Idol
- 2 New Challenge Coins
- New UI for the Spellbook Screen

Bugs
===
- Celerity will now show correctly in the Compendium.
- Added a slight delay to Tooltips.
- Corrected an issue with save games not working, on very rare occasions.
- Fixed a bug when viewing Statistics on a fresh profile.
- Fixed the heading in battle when viewing your Expel pile.
- The game will now save at the Well of Stars, meaning you can exit and come back and still get your rewards