Below the Stone News

We threw up our arms and said:
"You know what, this is getting out of hand. It's time we show these bugs who's in charge here!"
We really went crazy with this one. But we hope this helps make the game feel a lot more stable and polished.

Enjoy!

[h2]Alpha 0.9.1 - Bug Annihilation Update[/h2]

[h3][New Features][/h3]
* Added new escape theme (new music)
* Added cursed lodestone decor bricks (and added them to their respective structures)
* Added coal ore spawns to layer 2
[h3][Improvements][/h3]
* Added 3 more potions to gold loot chest
* Torch crafting recipe now gives 16 torches rather than 15
* Added logging for each time player generates a new cave system
* Reduced torch melee reach from 1.3 to 1.1
* Improvements to music crossfading in situations where it happens
* Small adjustment to escape sequence
[h3][Fixes][/h3]
* Fixed issue where knockback could be applied even when melee attacks were out of range
* Fixed issue where dashing while stun locked would still consume stamina
* Fixed issue where standing on top of a "broken drill pod" while fully repairing it would cause the player to instantly jump into the repaired pod, effectively ending the run, without realizing that would happen. You will now be prompted if you wish to leave.
* Fixed oddity where repairing a drill pod, and then pressing "summon drill pod" would effectively teleport the same drill pod to a different location based on the summon drill pod logic. It now creates a separate pod.
* Fixed dialog UI appearing behind minimap
* Fixed dialog UI appearing behind "deploy drill pod" button
* Fixed "old goblin" journal sprite and description
* Fixed issue where the "focus player" button on the Megamap would not be visible/clickable depending on your resolution
* Fixed some visual issues with tooltips in crafting UI
* Fixed a bug where the player could be killed while using the "layer escape hole" when it takes you back to the kingdom
* Fixed various sounds (including UI sounds) not being affected by current volume settings (and sliders)
* Fixed sort point of web cocoon entity
* Fixed some cursed lodestone structures using the wrong Megamap icon
* Fixed issues related to game unpausing while still on pause (ESC) menu
* Fixed issue where some sounds that should be treated as "sound effects" in the space of the game, but instead are treated as UI sounds, resulting in their volume being 100% and not attenuating with distance
* Fixed some minor visual/sorting issues with boomerang projectile
* Fixed issue where lodestone golems could still be damaged by other damage sources like projectiles
* Fixed controller icons not showing in several spots
* Fixed controllers not being able to access general settings
* Fixed baby spooder having strange movement compared to what it previously was
* Fixed fire troll also having strange movement compared to what it previously was (Also disabled collider and hitbox when doing his jump attack)
* Fixed some invisible objects in the tutorial scene

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



We've been hard at work in the mines addressing player feedback here, and wanted to make the game fit to everyone's playstyle. Based on your reviews, and your feedback, we have EVEN MORE HARDCORE elements for our roguelike-iest players to select, and also added easier playstyle adjustments for those who want to have a more casual time in the caves.

For our hardcore players...Locked away behind new dungeons to explore, there are Cursed Lodestones ~ Interacting with cursed lodestones now points you to the boss dungeon, buffs existing enemies, and eventually spawns the new Nightmare creature, BUT also rewards you by guiding you to layer 2 + gives you bonus loot when you open chests, mine, and kill enemies. And for our more casual dwarves... Players can buy back their gear from the goblin trader Imogen (this was already in, but we never mentioned it in a video and we also fixed how it would not save when you closed the game)... HOWEVER beware the curse of these lodestones, as they will make your items impossible to recover once you activate them! Play with cursed demonic magic, and taste the cursed flames. There's also a new mission type, elite enemy kill mission now available at Foreman.









With all these changes, we want to hear back from YOU the players, through all your amazing reviews letting us know what you like, and also letting us know any bugs or issues or features you'd like on our Discord community.


[h2]Alpha 0.9 - Demonic Dealings Update[/h2]

[h3]Key Feature:[/h3]
We have completely reinvented the "caves awakening" system from the ground up. Shades no longer spawn after being in the caves for X amount of time. Instead, shades are manually summoned through "Cursed Lodestones" found in new structures that spawn in the caves. Cursed lodestones grant certain buffs to the player, but in exchange, you are constantly pursued by shades. For each cursed lodestone you activate, you gain more and more buffs, and invite more and more dangerous shades to attack you. This all resets when you exit a layer.
The goal of these changes is to again allow people to play in the caves for as long as they want, while giving other players a more difficult experience, if they choose.
A hardcore mode, if you will.

[h3][New Features][/h3]
* Added Cursed Lodestone
* Added 6 new "Cursed Lodestone structures"
* Added Cursed Lodestone Guardians
* Added fire turrets
* Added new "kill elite enemy" mission to replace the existing "kill specific creature" mission
* Added Layer 2 chest (currently spawns in goblin structures)
* Added boomerang
* Added break action shotgun
* Added comically large spoon
* Added throwable flares (green and orange) that you can have a blast throwing around!

[h3][Improvements][/h3]
* Completely remade Nightmare shade (potentially fixing some bugs along the way)
* Improved the "buy back lost items" feature in Imogen Shopkeep to persist the lost items over game sessions
* Tweaks to various loot tables for chests
* Reduced the spawn radius of the Mole Trader to allow for him to be discovered more often
* Various additions and improvements to Mole Trader trades to add a bit more utility to him
* Small change to torch recipe
* Other various refactors and improvements to keep the programmers sane

[h3][Fixes][/h3]
* Fixed an error with falling kobolds
* Did we fix some bugs? Yea. Do we remember what they were? Not really. Maybe that's a good thing...

A happy holidays to all our depth dwellers! 20% off BELOW THE STONE!!!









We got plenty for you to dig into, from new enemies to fight, sub-biomes being implemented, new biome hazards such as falling shale rocks and slippery ice, as well as new unique layer 2 structures to explore!

This update was spent adding more content that players have been asking for with layer 2, and there is much more coming your way with our following updates we have planned.





In January, we hope to have a public road map to show what we're planning for our 1.0 release of Below the Stone. We want to make 2025 the big year of Below the Stone! Please join our Discord for more news on this as time goes on.



[h2][New Features][/h2]
* Introduced "sub biomes" where a single biome will have other smaller biomes that can generate within it. For this update, the Ice Biome is now a sub-biome of the Arctic biome.
* Added many new static decor objects to many Layer 2 biomes
* Added "ice slick" entity to ice biome. Stepping on it gives you a cartoonish speed boost.
* Added Ice Slime
* Added Ice Bat
* Added Rock Golem
* Added Tiny Little Rat
* Added Goblin (just a basic goblin)
* Added Kamikrazy Goblin (he loves his comically large dynamite)
* Added Baby Radiation Scorpion
* Added stamina regen potion
* Added ore glow potion
* Added "biome welcome ui" that appears when you enter a new biome for the first time. Now you know what they are called!
* Added falling shale hazard to shale biome
* Added the ability to buy back certain items that you lost from your previous death (at goblin trader). This currently does not persist across game sessions.
* Added many new goblin structures to Layer 2 to replace the existing kobold structures on Layer 2.
* Added Stabilizing Crystal item (found in geode biome)
* Added Ectoplasm Crystal item (found in haunted biome)
* Added Ripe Lava Leaf (drops from lava ferns)
* Added Fire Troll Fur (drops from fire troll)
* Added sound that plays when an item drop hits the ground

[h2][Improvements][/h2]
* Refactored and Updated character movement (both player and other creatures) to be more realistic. Objects now have proper surface friction when on the ground, and don't when in the air. Due to this, objects now also move slower in water.
* Ice is now slippery
* Fixes+Changes to how knockback is calculated
* Updated radiation crystals to play a low hum when you stand close to them, but they also deal small damage. Highly recommend checking them out.
* Nerfed bone's (skeletons) melee damage from 20 to 15, and ranged damage from 15 to 13. Also slightly buffed the basic goblin enemy, since it is meant to be mostly a Layer 2 creature. This is to help make general combat on Layer 1 more forgiving for new players, we hope.
* Various minor adjustments to the spawn rates of static entities on Layer 2.
* Changed ordering of biomes on Layer 2.
* Various updates to existing Layer 2 static entities
* Lava fern now spawns sparsely in shale biome
* Various improvements to sound
* "Escape Pod Summon" sound now plays positionally in the game's space. So it's generally quieter, and you can hear if the escape zone is to your left or right.
* Very tiny changes to bat ai. They may be less likely to make small flight paths now.
* Small change to Haunted Skull ai to give an opportunity to the player to hit them twice before orbiting again.
[h2][Fixes][/h2]
* Fixed tooltips for applied effects
* Fixed some visual issues with some particle effects
* Fixed a bug where players could dash through gate entities in structures, this also means that creatures can't see you through gates as well.
* Fixed unnoticeable error messages that would happen when the player opened the sound settings menu.
* Fixed Haunted Skull journal description being a copy/paste from the small slime.

As I (Andrew) typically do, here is the full change log for this update. I was not able to get it done on the day of the update this time around, but here it is.



[h2][New Features][/h2]
* Added Haunted biome to layer 2 (not strictly Halloween content).
* Added cosmetic pumpkin hat (can be found from Haunted Houses.
* Added pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.
* Added 4 Halloween candy items which can be collected from breakable pumpkins, each which give a different temporary effect.
* Added "pumpkin patch" and "haunted house" structures that generate during the Halloween season.
* Added seasonal Halloween decorations to the kingdom.
* Added "spooky wood" block type (for initial use in haunted house).
* Added "spooky wood with wallpaper" block type (for initial use in haunted house).
* Added "haunted" block type and floor type.
[h2][Fixes][/h2]
* Fixed a bug where small structures were not spawning as much as intended. So there should be more structures now, I think.

Spooky time is here! All the dwarves in Below the Stone are ready for the haunting experience that lies in the depths below!



As the year comes closer to a close, and we have most of the foundation we want with Below the Stone complete, we're now looking at doing a series of quicker, content rich updates for players to dig into. This includes fleshing out layer 2 content, with the team discussing what sort of NPCs we'd like to add next, and how we can expand on the lodestone/"Caves Awakening" shadeling timed difficulty event for dwarves who spend too long in the caves. We'd love to hear what players have to say, so please join our Discord and comment here to let us know what you look forward to most, we are constantly reading through your messages :)





-👻Haunted biome added to layer 2
-🎃New "Pumpkin Patch" structures spawn
- New Halloween dungeon
-🍬🍫Added new limited-time candy items with buffs!
-🦇Pumpkins with candy spawn in the caves
-🎃Limited time "pumpkin mask" item added
-🕙🎅Added "timed event" logic to game to allow for more future seasonal content
-🐛Various bug fixes

Thank you miners for your constant involvement in our community, now go get some sweet candy and ores while it still lingers in the caves!