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Below the Stone News

The "Dripdate", Dwarf Drip Update + Changelog

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[h2]Dapper dwarves, our fashion and quality of life update is here![/h2]

This update is focused around player reception and feedback we have received for the game after our Early Access release. We wanted to address immediate suggestions by players before we begin to turn our focus to the future major content updates like Caves Awaken Part 1 & Part 2. Everything we do as a development studio is based off player reception, so please write your suggestions and ideas in the comments!



[h2]Keybinds[/h2]

As a dwarf, you are in control of your destiny. We recently added the keybinds menu to the game, to allow keyboard and mouse users to customize their controls. We will soon follow up and do the same for controller users as well. This was a much requested feature that we wanted to deliver to everyone for a long time, and got it ready for this dripdate.



[h2]Wardrobe/Cosmetic[/h2]

Before you tunnel your way Below The Stone, it's time to slay with your fashion! A new wardrobe has appeared in your dwarven fortress, allowing for new styles to be equipped without risking their loss. Items equipped here will appear on the player, but not alter your current stats. There are 16+ new rare cosmetic items to find, with more to come in future updates.



[h2]PLAYER CUSTOMIZATION[/h2]

Strut into the depths with style that'll make the baddies jealous. From Mithril chic to bedazzled battle gear. Dwarves can now stun their enemies with new beard and hair customization options. Drag the perfect ensemble to match your stout heart. Remember, in the deep dark, it's not just about fighting; it's about shining. As more updates go out, we plan on expanding this customization further!



[h2]Testing QOL Features[/h2]
(New Descriptions, ALT key Functions)

New item descriptions will be more accurate to what the items do, and more helpful with guiding players in the future. Healing items will now show the exact amount of health they heal, and items which apply debuffs will show their effects.

[h2]CAVES AWAKEN Pt 1 PREVIEW[/h2]

As our roadmap has shown, Caves Awaken part 1 and part 2 will focus primarily on adding more to do in the caves, and more meta-style progression to the kingdom. The caves will have new events which will challenge players to spend too long in the caves, while also adding more things to do while on your descents. We will also be adding more meta-styled progression to your hub, allowing you to do more quests, upgrade your kingdom, and save new NPCs.

"Shade" enemies which will begin to spawn and threaten your runs!

Join our discord for more recent news!

CHANGELOG: Alpha 0.4


[Cosmetics]
* Player now has "cosmetic slots" that affect how your dwarf looks, but retains all the power of your legendary armor in your main armor slots.
* Added wardrobe to the kingdom, introducing the Cosmetic Item Slots feature. Where you can equip items and have them override your appearance, without affecting your armor stats.
* Added 16+ different cosmetic items that you can collect to customize your dwarf (which you can equip in the wardrobe)

[Dwarf Customization]
* Updated the interface to exist within our special "menu interface"
* You can now back out of the character customization ui on the main menu
* Added several new beards and hairs to choose from when creating a new dwarf.
* Added a green hair color type.

[New Features]
* Added a keybind system and UI to allow players to customize their controls (currently keyboard only).
* Added "Ore Identifier" visual to allow the player to know what ore they are looking at.
* Added "Alt Text" UI system to allow you to identify various nearby objects. You can press the "Alt" key to toggle this feature.
* Updated the "item pickup indicator" to show the item name, and is also now anchored to the top of the screen, and can show multiple item pickups.
* Added new visual indicators for throwable items and ranged weapons. Now you can snipe those kobolds and skeletons with a lot more ease!
* Improvements to throwable/ranged weapons on gamepad.

[Shopkeep]
* Fixed the Shopkeep tabs not being in the right position at some resolutions.
* Fixed issue where a sound would somtimes play very rapidly when opening the Shopkeep interface.

[Journal]
* You can no longer flip pages infinitely.
* Added "spam guard" on page flipping to avoid issues with too many page flips happening and causing visual issues.
* Various other fixes to page flipping.
* Added UI buttons for paging left and right in journal.
* Fixed controller icon still being visible when using keyboard.

[Improvements]
* Improved hitboxes on player and various static objects, including making many hitboxes smaller.
* Updated tooltips of consumable items (food items and potions, for example).
* Updated melee weapon tooltips to include info about effects they may apply.
* Updated various ore wall sprites, to help make them a bit more distinguishable.
* You can now skip the main menu animation by pressing space, to get into the game faster.

[Layer 2 Fixes]
* Exit points will now tell you on layer 2 that they will bring you back to the kingdom.
* Moving from layer 1 to layer 2 will no longer count as an embark.
* Exiting the cave at layer 2 via portals or holes (exit points) will no longer bypass your escape rewards; you will still get bonus chests in the kingdom.
* Leaving layer 2 via an exit point will count towards your "Total Successful Embarks".

[Fixes]
* Fixed item duping bug related to consumable items.
* Fixed spark effects playing at world origin.
* Projectiles will no longer hit "fallen rocks" (for example, an arrow hitting a falling rock from cave-ins or cave troll attacks).

Next Update Release Date + Beta Test Sign Up

The Below the Stone team has been spending the month of January unearthing the Fashion + Quality of Life update, and expect to have it out February 16th for you to dig into. We also have a special announcement for those who are interested in seeing what we're working on ahead of time...



BETA TESTING:


We've done beta testing throughout the entire development for Early Access, and we'd like to open the mines again for all the new followers who yearn to tunnel their way to new adventures. If you'd like to take part this week, it only takes a minute or two to sign up for an early test of the game. ːcraftsdwarfː

Sign up here: [h2]https://forms.gle/Cp54ASVNSGVyYhu87[/h2]

Promising dwarven roguelike indie game readies four big updates

A lot of fantastic roguelikes hit Steam throughout the past twelve months, but Below the Stone charmed me perhaps the most among them all. Mixing the top-down cave exploration of Crypt of the Necrodancer with the spirit of Spelunky and the rambunctious dwarven spirit that makes Deep Rock Galactic such a joy, this Steam Early Access indie game has my full attention, and I can't wait to see what gems developer Strollart digs up over the coming months.


Read the rest of the story...


RELATED LINKS:

Spelunky and Deep Rock Galactic collide in new Steam roguelike

Below the Stone Roadmap + 250 reviews!

REVIEW MILESTONE!


THANK YOU for getting us to above 250 reviews! We're getting SO CLOSE to 300 now, a huge milestone for the team working on this game. It amazes us every day seeing you all pour your love into this game, and letting us know what you want to see us work on next. That is what gamedev is all about, and it's a gem to be able to wake up every day and see you enjoying what we created. It only takes a couple minutes, but helps us a ton.

These are our plans we put together for the first half of 2024, based on what you the fans have told us you're excited most for. Feel free to dig on in.



Wew, big year ahead of us, we're diggin' it.


Below the Stone has always been incredibly community driven, so please feel free to join the discussion here on what you'd want to see in the next update, or join our discord to be a part of our big dwarven community theorizing what we are crafting for the game next.

Alpha 0.3.2 - Important News Coming Soon!

[h2]Tiny Update[/h2]

This update is mostly for disabling all of the holiday content, nothing fancy.
BUT, we did include one small change with the hopes of getting some feedback from our community.

In this latest update we reduced the size of the player's hitbox and collision box. We did this as a response to some of the feedback we've been getting from people.
So we'd like to have you all try this change out, and let us know if it feels better.

We will also be reducing the size of collision boxes for various other static objects in the caves, because it sounded like people were getting annoyed by occasionally getting caught on them in strange situations.

So let us know what you think! Thanks again!

[h2]Alpha 0.3.2[/h2]
* Removed all of the holiday stuff until another year.
* Slightly reduced the size of the player's hitbox and collider to see if that improves things.


[h2]Oh, and one last thing![/h2]
[h3]Keep an eye out for some more upcoming news on Below The Stone in 2024.[/h3]