Vault of the Void News

Small Patch just updating a few key areas, and fixing balance !

[h3]Changes: [/h3]
- The font used on card names and energy has been tweaked
- More debuging support
- Have changed the way buttons appear in some sections. They will no longer appear as "disabled" when selected. Secondly to that, I've darkened the "unselected" state to make things read easier.
- Reduced the HP of the Forgotten by a small amount (they were cause a bit of grief!!).
- When you resize the window, it will no longer automatically centre
- Events will no longer spawn next to each other on the Map.
- 'Dispense' has been changed to 'Scrap', which better suits the keywords intentions.
- I've started to make efforts to pass over all references of "Rune" and "Gem" and bring them into line with "Void Stone". Please let me know if you notice any areas I've missed!
- I have colour coded all Enemy ability tooltips so it should be easy to pick up the details at a glance.
- The Enter key is now bound to the End Turn button.
- Artifact text should no longer overlap for items with long descriptions.
- Removed a bug that caused the room to reset on right mouse button.
- Have sped up the reshuffle speed.
- Grapeshot will now not inflict overkill.
- Have fixed an issue where Preparation wouldn't be consumed when playing a Weakness card

PATCH NOTES 0.2.8.5

- The Priest in the Disciple of Straw fight won't trigger damage when drawing a Void card, as this was a double punishment against the Daughter.
- Veiled Watcher (The Council) : have reduced their Poison damage and also reduced their AP
- Quick Escape now will not trigger its discard ability on Purge.
- Draw Potion should interact correctly with the Daughters ability now
- Bulwark no longer has the Block keyword, so will not trigger off itself
- You can no longer change stances when the deck viewer is showing.
- Cursed Items now only give 1 Void.
- View Map Button has now been added, allowing you to get a quick overview of the Map at anytime (during events, deckviewer etc)
- The Deck and Backpack buttons have been enabled during popups and other events, meaning you can check your deck to make decisions.
- There's been a change in the way the Past Runs system works. Because of this, your past runs will appear cleared (.json files still exist however). The new system is more robust and shouldn't have issues with ordering etc.
- Path Planning: when viewing the Map Rewards screen, you can no click on a card to "highlight" it. Closing the Map Rewards viewer will then show you which tiles contain the cards you have chosen.
- More Events and even more Artifacts!
- Mimics?

Soul Merchant
- Visual upgrade
- No longer sells Weapons (the items that gave cards). This isn't a permanent change, but rather something I'd like to change. Please let me know if you miss having this as an options
- He now sells Potion Packs instead, 2x various Potions.

Merchant, Treasure Room and Spell Child
- All have had a visual upgrade to include new art!

Patch Notes 0.2.8.0


[h3]The Daughter of the Void[/h3]
The Daughter of the Void is officially released! I’ll continue to monitor the data here for the next week or so to see where her balance is at. She definitely has a more advanced play style, relying on Corruption build up over time to unleash devastating attacks. Can’t wait to see the builds that emerge with her - please feel free to touch base re: any feedback via Discord ! https://discord.gg/PQ88DbB

[h3]Impossible Mode[/h3]
I’ve toned down the HP scaling in Impossible mode to see how things shake out. I’ll continue to the monitor the win rate over the next week or so and make another round of adjustments as needed.

[h3]Secret Room Event [/h3]
A Secret Room event has been added. How to access it, what it does, and where it spawns though will remain a… well, secret!

[h3]Potions! [/h3]
Potions are now given out in higher amounts, and work in a different way now. They still carry the "Item" rule, allowing you to add as many in your deck as you like, without them taking space. However, when you enter a fight, they'll be all pulled from your deck automatically and played (for free), applying their effects. They'll then be consumed.

[h3]Event System [/h3]
There has been continued progress on the new Event system. Feedback has been great, and I've continued to add more to the list and will try to add 2-3 each day until the pool has fleshed out. In the meantime, sorry for some feeling like they're showing up more and more often!

[h3]Smaller Updates[/h3]
- The "Cleanse" ability at the Shrine now removes 2 Weaknesses, instead of all. This is to fall in line with new events that can add many "funky" Weakness cards to your deck.
- Bug fixes on cards and items.
- Shift Key will now increase (zoom) in on the card you're hovering over across most places, except the ones in your hand for now.
- When viewing cards in Map Rewards, Backpack, Deck etc, mousing over will show you the upgrade version
- Many new Artifacts added
- Achievements have been added! Only a few to get started, however they're in there.
- The "motes" of energy that fly out when defeating a monster which get added to the Void Bar have been changed. They will now pool at higher amounts, meaning less on the screen when you do bigger damage
- Small price changes across all Merchants
- Large Fonts now should be more accommodating for people, becoming more readable
- The way Artifacts are displayed in game during battle has changed to accommodate large font mode, and to save on screen real-estate
- "Rebound" ability has changed to only allow the cards Void Stone to trigger of first play. No more easy infinite!

Wow - what a patch this one is. There's a lot that's gone on over the last week, so much so that keeping notes of all the changes became a task in and of itself. I'll keep things brief here with a quick rundown :

[h3]Card Changes [/h3]
One of the biggest changes yet. When Vault first started, cards were all contained within a "Global Card Pool", and each class just had a Artifact which would change the way they interacted with stuff.

As time has progressed, despite my reluctance at first to move to a full "Class Card" pool, I've begun to embrace the idea. With some amazing help from some of the community members (Gradiusic, Jinsaku, Knockout and PROPH37 in particular!), the massive task of reworking the card list, upgrades etc has been completed for The Hidden. The Hidden now, most importantly, feels great to play.
- Two distinct "builds", Bleed or Blade. Choose to use Bleed to debilitate your enemies, or use fast, low cost Blade cycle with Hidden Blades and Switchblades to cycle cards and apply damage.
- Bleed has now been moved over to a Class specific skill, unique to The Hidden.
- The Global Card Pool has been cut down, and all cards left have been tweaked in someway or another to make the generalised, and appealing.
- Upgrading cards should feel hard now, as all upgrades have been tinkered to suit better.
- Strength play has been massively reduced.
- Hunted and Leech have been removed
- Card Unlocks has changed, it's an automatic process based on your Void Points. The rewards shown aren't super tailored right now, and will be getting a pass in the next update.

The best part is, the second class, Daughter of the Void, is already in testing and will be released to the Beta hopefully this coming week. Expect a completely different play style as you master the art of Corruption!


[h3]Difficulty[/h3]
There has been some concerns re: difficulty. Whilst we had some players playing on Impossible and asking to make it harder, we also have some players (me included sometimes!) playing on Normal and struggling. Finding that balance is hard, and that's the main goal of this Closed Beta. A few things have been addressed here:
- Continued monitoring of data from fights, and many adjustments have been made. The curve has been tightened, and I feel like it's pretty close to a good spot.
- The "inbetween" issue. Sometimes, Easy is too easy, and Normal is too hard. Or Hard is too easy, but Impossible is stomp mode. I want players to feel challenged, so I implemented a Modifier system (again, thanks Gradiusic from the Discord channel for the idea!). Now, on each difficulty you'll be able to set "Peaceful" or "Enraged" as optional modifiers, tweaking the difficulty just a touch each way.


[h3]New Event System [/h3]
The event system has been overhauled. No longer do we have "Good Events" and "Bad Events", but it's been rolled into 1 "Event Tile". Lots of choices, lots of side effects. Now that system is in place, I'll be expanding the Events in the days to come, adding lots more!


[h3]Optimisation[/h3]
There has been a few reports of some performance issues. I've made a bunch of optimsation changes, so looking for feedback to see if thats helped some players - let me know!


[h3]Stances [/h3]
In for a few patches now, but just a reminder of the Stance system. Feedback has been great, so we're going to keep going with this in place.


There is a lot more than what's above, including new Creatures and Guardians!

Thanks again to all the players, and if you would like to join the Closed Beta feel free to get in touch, or join the Discord!

Till next time!

- Josh

CLOSED BETA: PATCH NOTES 0.2.7.0


[h3]Movement Changes[/h3]
I've reverted the movement system back to a way we had it previously, in a very early build. Basically, it's added the option to move diagonally now, which is the simplest way to explain it. This original way of moving, players liked, however I made the change to "always forward" under the assumption that making hard choices (this node or that node?) gave more decision points to the player, and a better experience.

Since then, the feedback has been that players would like to explore the map more, which this old movement system does. I've reverted back for now to gather feedback, however initial tests have been positive. It does, however, shift the powercurve a little as players can now "collect more stuff"

The full breakdown on how the process works: You're given choices between which node to move to. When you choose, the others you didn't selected are destroyed. However, the exception to this is if destroying one of those choices will isolate the player, where upon it won't destroy.


[h3]Strength and Stances: [/h3]
The Problem: Strength was a 2 for 1, buffing both Damage and Block
The Solution: I've implemented a new mechanic called Stances. You have Aggressive Stance and Defensive Stance. At the start of your turn, you can switch your stance to whatever you like (you just press spacebar and it switches back and forward). Once you play a card, you're locked into that Stance for that turn.

When in Aggressive stance, Strength applies to Damage on cards
When in Defensive Stance, Strength applies to Block on cards

Choosing which Stance to play for that turn adds another layer of depth and tactics

Other options: The obvious other option would of been to split it out. Have Strength and Resilience or something along those lines. However again, this is done a lot, and I want to be different. I want to provide a more tactical, decision based feeling to the game. This also means you don't have to manage cards for both Strength and Resilience, which will a fixed deck size could cause issues.

The Fallout: There is going to be some different results for sure with combats. Combats that were hard, might become harder. Combats that were easier might shift as well. Will be monitoring the data closely.

[h3]Past Runs Viewer: [/h3]
After your run is finished, a .json file is saved storing the results and information of your run. You can view your last 8 runs by clicking on your profile in the bottom left of the Main Menu, and then viewing past runs. This layout/system is very much still in development, so please provide any feedback you have.


[h3]Enemy Changes [/h3]
New Encounter: The Jaws of Death
Bruce the Ancient Beast can now be found on the first floor, as an Elite.

New Encounter: The Disciples of Straw
A new guardian has been added to the the first floor, The Disciples of Straw.


[h3]UI[/h3]
- Added a Map Rewards button to the map. This enables you, at a glance, to view what card rewards are currently in play on the map!



[h3]Gameplay Changes[/h3]
- Removed the ability to Purge cards with space bar, as this is now used for Stance Switching
- The map has had some extra nodes added, resulting in around 5-7 new tiles on average per floor.
- Card rewards have been increased greatly. This will have two effects: you'll get stronger cards with more Uncommon/Rares dropping, plus the card pool will appear to be greater as there is more cards being circulated. Hopefully this will give a sense of more unique decks each run.
- Card Unlocks are now cheaper to purchase with Void Points!
- When you beat a Guardian at the end of the floor, you will no longer be automatically given a Booster pack. Instead, you'll be given a choice of what bonus you'd like to recieve

[h3]Spell Changes[/h3]
- Backstab has now had it's cooldown reduced. A change is coming to give this a further buff in the next patch also.

[h3]Monster Changes [/h3]
- The Sisterhood has been tweaked on harder difficulties.
- My Pain, You Suffering: Will no longer cast more than once.
- Ancient Beast has been changed to just be immune to Vulnerable, Weak and Slow.

[h3]Card / Item Changes[/h3]
- A couple of new items have now been added, plus items should now add to your Compendium once seen, rather than purchased.
- Wishbone has been fixed to stop clashing with handsize.
- Coin of Good Fortune now correctly ticks up.
- Frequent Fighter will now not half you Essence.
- Parry is now Block 5(8).
- Scattershot now costs 3 energy.
- Enough now correctly heals the player, as the card states.
- Backup now correctly states 5 Slashes, and gives that many.
- Many additional small tweaks in energy/damage that may have slipped through documentation
- Couple new cards added for "The Hidden", many provided by the community.