Spirit Island News

Spirit Island has officially launched, and we're continuing to work on improving it! This update brings new visuals along with plenty of small features and fixes.

[h2]Alternate Thematic Map Style[/h2]
The Thematic Map has great artwork, but it can be hard to tell the lands apart during a heated game. A new option allows you to use the visual style of the Balanced Map on the Thematic Map.



This update includes several more improvements and fixes:

• Encompassing Ward is changed to read: "Target Spirit provides Defend 2 in each of its lands." This means that the Defend effect is updated if Presence is moved or removed.
  
• Difficulty levels are shown on Adversary panels.
  
• Adversary level can be changed in the New Game screen by clicking the full card directly.
  
• The Gain a Power interface allows interacting with the game behind it, and can be moved around on the screen by dragging it.
  
• Added an option to disable all animations in the game.
  
• Spirit artwork is shown on the map in their "home land" on their starting board.
  
• Fixed: The game can get stuck when losing due to Sweden's Heavy Mining effect.
  
• Fixed: The game can progress in the background while menus and other panels are visible.
  
• Fixed: The Thematic Map is missing some adjacencies between boards (at the center of the island, and between oceans and lands on other boards).
  
• Fixed: Using Winds of Rust and Atrophy can cause the game to lag while targeting.
  
• Fixed: The Ritual of Terror cannot be performed twice in the same phase.
  

[h2]What's Next[/h2]
We're breaking ground on the two promo Spirits unlocked by campaign stretch goals: Heart of the Wildfire and Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island. If you want to be the first to see them in action, follow our Twitch channel and tune in on Tuesday evenings for Handelabra Live!



[h2]Version 1.0.4 Hotfix Update[/h2]
Fixed: Using Undo with Ocean can cause a problem where it gathers Presence into the Ocean during Growth twice.

Version 1.0.2 is now available. This update fixes two serious issues:

• The game can freeze on the Loading screen on Windows 10 systems.
  
• Quick Play with 2 Spirits can generate an invalid thematic board layout.
  

We are working on a larger update with more fixes and new features, so stay tuned!

With every launch comes a few inevitable bugs, and Spirit Island is no exception! Version 1.0.1 is now available with a few quick fixes:

• The tutorial will no longer skip through the first section.
  
• Statistics for Adversaries and Scenarios will now be recorded correctly.
  
• Improved the icons for the Powers Awakened and Elemental Mastery achievements (and their progress indicators in the Card Library).
  
• You can no longer remove a board that would cause an illegal map in the New Game screen.
  
• Sweden's Stage II Escalation Effect no longer allows them to explore lands they shouldn't have.
  
• Added missing Thematic board adjacency between Northeast Ocean and East Jungle 1.
  

Spirit Island has left Early Access, and version 1.0 is now available!

To celebrate the launch, Spirit Island will be on 15% discount through August 5th. After that it will be at its regular price of $24.99 USD.


Optional thematic maps are now available on the New Game screen. These maps represent the canonical Spirit Island, and prioritize theme more highly than the front “balanced” sides: land types cluster together, wet terrains tend to be on the windward side of mountains, etc.



The Thematic Map is intended for experienced players, both because finding terrains at a glance is harder with the more realistic art style, and because some of the changes make the game more difficult: more lands per board, clustered terrains, more starting Invaders, etc.


Wondering what all the available Powers are, or what Fear cards might come up in a game? Visit the new Card Library screen to find out. It includes all of the cards in the game - Spirits and their unique Power cards, Major and Minor Power cards, Blight cards, Fear cards, Invader cards, Terror Level cards, Adversaries, and Scenarios. Remember, you can right click any card to view the full size with text and artwork!




Based on suggestions from players and designer Eric Reuss, we've updated the Quick Play feature with a couple of improvements. On Beginner experience level, it's the same as before - just one click to start a basic difficulty 0 game.

On Intermediate and Advanced experience levels, when you click Quick Play you will have the opportunity to choose a specific number of Spirits (or randomize) and a more granular difficulty range (or the default range for your experience level). All randomization in Quick Play is now done by difficulty range and can include thematic maps as well.



Remember, you can change your experience level at any time from the Options screen.


We've added 18 regular achievements to the game, along with a hidden achievement for those who attune themselves with the ways of the Island. Happy hunting!

Wins and losses are now tracked for each Spirit, Adversary, and Scenario. We're also keeping track of various other interesting data points. See how your progress in Spirit Island is going over time, and compare with the world!


This update includes a few other improvements and fixes:

• Optimized graphics and code to reduce the size of the game and make it run more smoothly.
  
• You may now view the contents of the Major and Minor Power decks and discard piles at any time.
  
• Improved navigation on the How to Play screen.
  
• Fixed: Using Lightning's Boon on Lightning as the last available power can incorrectly continue on to the Invader phase instead of letting you use more powers.
  
• Fixed: Unplaying a card with negative cost during the Blitz scenario could not cost energy if you had 0 energy.
  
• Fixed: Not auto-passing to the next state in certain situations during Rituals of Terror.
  
• Fixed: Setup for some spirits that must make a decision at the start of game not occurring.
  
• Fixed: Not properly handling use of powers that have changed hands mid-turn.
  
• Fixed: Military Response in the Dahan Insurrection scenario not allowing the player to choose a land for each invader when a choice is necessary.
  
• Fixed: Vengeance of the Dead timing issue when triggered by Ravage.
  
• Fixed: Blitz scenario allowing the player to undo after seeing the initial Explore.
  
• Fixed: Tidal Boon and Mantle of Dread asking for a land choice when there were no viable lands to select.
  

Spirit Island is officially released, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop working on it. We'll continue to fix bugs and make other improvements. Specifically we're planning to add more user interface improvements, visual effects, strategic planning features, and more!

We are planning to bring the game to mobile by the end of the year (at minimum to iPad and Android tablets).

Plus, there's still bonus content unlocked by the Indiegogo project to come:

• Promo Spirits: Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island & Heart of the Wildfire
  
• Adversary-specific Invader appearance
  
• Alternate terrain artwork
  
• Alternate Spirit artwork
  

Promo Spirits will be available as DLC, or included for backers who got the Deluxe Edition. The other features will be included in every copy of the game on Steam.


We've heard your demands, and we're considering several other major items for the future, including the Branch & Claw expansion and online multiplayer. And of course, we're all excited for the Jagged Earth expansion arriving on the tabletop this Fall!

Thanks for all your support during Early Access. This is just the beginning and we look forward to the future of Spirit Island!

The English invasion is at hand in the second major update of the Early Access period. Read on for all the details!


The final Adversary of the core game is now available!



Here is what the Kingdom of England is all about:

• Buildings, buildings, and more buildings - England sends so many immigrants that the colonies spill over into unexplored lands. It doesn’t start out fast, but constantly pushes its borders forward. They will push hard to found a capital during Stage II.
  
• England is notably easier for Spirits good at wrecking Towns (e.g. Lightning’s Swift Strike).
  
• This Adversary is notably harder for Spirits which rely on moving/killing Explorers to prevent
  Invader Builds (e.g. Shadows Flicker Like Flame).

With multiple Spirits in one game, there can be a lot going on. So much so that it can be hard to even see the Island!



Now with Spirit Focus mode, you can zoom in on what a single Spirit is doing at a time, with the other Spirits still just a click away.



Spirit Focus mode is the default when you are playing a single Spirit, and is always available with any number of Spirits by clicking the +/- buttons in the corners of the screen.


Our in-house maestro Jean-Marc has now created dynamic musical elements for all of the remaining Spirits in the core game: Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, A Spread of Rampant Green, Shadows Flicker Like Flame, and Thunderspeaker. These musical elements will come and go as Spirits take actions in the game.

The music will continue to evolve as we improve the game, but we hope you enjoy the complete musical landscape thus far!


This update includes a host of other bug fixes and improvements. Here's a list of a few notable ones:

Interactions:

• If you click to hide hints, they will stay hidden until you unhide them.
  
• Highlights on power cards are hidden when dragging a power.
  
• When new elements become available during a power resolution, they can be used for the power's threshold.
  
• You can choose the order of destroying Presence from the Blight card (since it may matter with Ocean).

Information Display:

• Display of increased health on pieces from effects such as Infinite Vitality or England.
  
• The Adversary level number (if any) is shown in the corner of its icon during the game.

Bugs Fixed:

• Downward Spiral's effect does not let you select more than one Spirit's presence in the same land.
  
• Repeating Land Thrashes in Furious Pain does not respect the land targeting restrictions of the card.
  
• Current energy displayed can be incorrect when playing/unplaying cards quickly.
  
• Infinite Vitality and Call of the Dahan Ways do not interact correctly.
  
• Undoing a ravage could cause incorrect ravage behavior with Sweden level 5.
  
• Undoing blight cascade could cause incorrect cascading behavior.
  
• Coordinated Assault (Dahan Insurrection) does not trigger Vengeance of the Dead.
  
• Sweden can show an incorrect message about adding extra blight when Infinite Vitality is in effect.
  
• Seek Safety (Terror Level 3) can incorrectly destroy damaged Invaders in certain cases.
  
• Using Undo during the reduced difficulty extra Growth can cause incorrect behavior.
  
• Scapegoats (Terror Level 3) could miss destroying towns incorrectly.
  
• Using Bringer of Dreams and Nightmare's innate power on a Spirit with no elements can cause the game to get stuck.
  
• A town being destroyed by being replaced from a damaged Dahan piece does not correctly trigger Vengeance of the Dead.
  
• Blazing Renewal cannot add presence to an ocean when it should be allowed to.
  
• Dahan pushed into and out of an ocean with Infinite Vitality effect could be incorrectly drowned.
  
• Vengeance of the Dead does not trigger correctly when Dahan are drowned.
  
• Try Again does not use Power Progression for a Spirit if you gained all the cards from their Progression Deck.
  

The last content item we're working on for the Early Access period is the thematic map. Plus, stay tuned for additional big features like a card library screen, Steam achievements, and statistics. See the store page description for the full list of major items.

When sending in feedback, please take a look first at our status Trello board to see if it's already on the list. For gameplay issues, check the official FAQ to make sure it's really a bug, and not a misunderstanding.

Thanks for playing and keep sending in your feedback!