BattleJuice Alchemist News

Hey there!

First of all, I want to thank every single one of you for playing the open alpha playtest on Steam and for providing feedback. For those who want to join in the fun, make sure to stop by our community on Discord.

Of course we did a lot of bug fixing and quality of life improvements, but let's dive right into the recent changes that we consider the most important.


[h3]General Notes[/h3]
Update 0.15801 includes all changes from 0.15201 and above. When playing a character from an older version you may need to log into a game, leave and log in again for changes to take effect.


[h3]Gameplay[/h3]
We slightly increased game speed when in bullet time close combat to improve the flow of combat. Of course, it is still significantly slower than normal time.



We also shortened the animation when killing a foe in close combat. While it is endlessly satisfying to see them explode into a cloud of blood, we don't want players to wait too long until they can move on.


[h3]Items[/h3]
We added a new alchemical affix "Of Yonder". It makes your ranged flasks do more damage based on the distance you have to your enemies. "Of Yonder" is the counterpart to "Of Fury", which we talked about in the last patch notes.



Furthermore, we tweaked the algorithm that rolls affixes on items. If you are interested in the details, you may want to read the TL;DR section.


[h3]Enemies[/h3]
We decreased the damage reduction bonus on some enemies, because we felt that they were too robust in places. Please let us know what your experience in the lower character levels was like and whether enemies need more tweaking in your eyes.


[h3]NPCs[/h3]
Another heavily requested feature was to be able to converse in a slightly more polite manner. That's why there now is a "Goodbye" button to politely leave. Also, NPCs now greet you with a warm "Welcome back" instead of repeating their last line when you meet them again. Because good manners matter.


[h3]World[/h3]
Some players gave feedback about feeling sad that breakable objects did not spawn loot. Well, now they do!



By the way, you are now also able to break all those tasty barrels with the explosion from landing a Frog Hop jump.


[h3]What's next?[/h3]

I am currently working on strange new places to discover in the wilderness that work as mini events bringing new challenges for Juice, the alchemist. I'm really excited to share them with you not too far in the future.

If you enjoyed this update and if you want to support BattleJuice Alchemist, make sure to wishlist and check out the alpha playtest!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1384060/


[h3]TL;DR[/h3]
For those of you who want to dig really deep and know all about the minor changes, you can find those listed below. I hope you continue playing and please don't forget to give us feedback. Feedback really is essential so I can improve the game!

Alain

0.15801

Important
- When playing a character from an older version you may need to log into a game, leave and log in again for changes to take effect.

Mechanics
- Slightly increased game speed during bullet time.
- Duration of bullet time when killing an enemy was decreased.

World
- Fixed a problem where moving behind the altar inside churches was impossible.
- Fixed a bug where trees and other objects could become visible in the Crossroads during fights.

Various
- Slightly reduced size of demon icons on map.
- Fixed a bug where the signpost menu did not close properly.


0.15602

Items
- Fixed a bug where damage over time was deactivated for Juicified Freeze flasks.


0.15601

Items
- Added a new alchemical item affix "Of Yonder".
- Increased starting arm barrel's Liquid bonus to 25 (from 20) and starting cauldron's Health bonus to 25 (from 20).
- Calculation of number of boni rolled on items now takes player level into consideration.
- Rarity no longer affects number of random boni rolled on items.
- Legendary items now always have a bonus on smoke duration.
- The explosion from landing after using a Frog Hop flask now also destroys breakable objects.
- Breakable objects now spawn loot.
- Fixed a bug where items could have alchemical affix in addition to normal boni.
- Fixed a bug where quickly using a non-Juicified flask while a Juicified one was still flying could overwrite the later one's status as non-Juicified.
- Fixed a bug where quest items that were already picked up respawned after loading a game.

Enemies
- Decreased damage reduction bonus and health bonus for of enemies with "Robust" affix.

NPCs & Story
- Added a "Goodbye" button to the dialog window so you can be a polite alchemist.
- When you talk to an NPC you already talked to, they greet you with "Hello again." instead of repeating the last thing they said to you.
- Changed the way NPC dialogs are loaded. This means that NPC dialogs will be updated after patches even for older savegames / player characters. You need to enter a saved game, save and quit and enter again for the changes to take effect.
- Minor changes in quest log texts.

World
- Fixed a bug where the player could slightly walk into the hills that make up a level's border.

Various
- Changed to asynchronous saving and loading to prevent hick-ups.
- Improved player stuttering rotation navigating tight spaces and corners.
- Selecting a text field in the ritual mantra menu now clears all entered text. Chanting a mantra can be confirmed by pressing ENTER.
- Opening the pause menu via hotkey (default: ESC) now closes any open game menu like e.g. the inventory. Pressing the hotkey again opens the pause menu.
- Fixed a problem where using direct input controls resulted in stuttery movement at high agility values.
- Fixed a bug where you could not hover a ritual's entry in the rituals cast list.


0.15401

Items
- Minor flavor text fix on quest item "Allen's Note I".
- Text in scrolls changed to better readable font.
- The explosion caused by using a Juicified Frog Hop flask now has a screen shake effect.

Enemies
- Fixed a bug where demons did not spawn correctly.
- Demons now start spawning in the south and start overrunning the lands from there instead of randomly spawning anywhere.

NPCs & Story
- Minor fixes to Xen's dialogs. She now gives a hint where to find treasure chests.
- Prices of stackable items in stores are now only red if you cannot afford a single piece.
- Fixed navigation bug for enemies an NPCs.

World
- Fixed a bug where flasks could bounce off of invisible walls in the Crossroads.
- Fixed navigation on top of steps to second floor of farms.

Various
- Added visual and auditory feedback when Juicify button is pressed and Juice is full.
- Added M as secondary default key for Map.
- Money/Gold icon changed to be yellow everywhere to avoid confusion.
- Fixed minor visual bug in crafting menu.
- Fixed a bug where opening the options menu locked in pressed keys.

Hey everyone!

The time has come, you can play the BattleJuice Alchemist alpha playtest on Steam. All you have to do is to click the "Request Access" button on the store page.



I am really excited about this and hope you all enjoy to dive into the world I created over the last three years. To make BattleJuice Alchemist the best game I can, I would love to hear your feedback. So make sure to join our community on Discord. Talk to you soon!

Alain

Hey everyone!

It is only a few hours until the launch of the BattleJuice Alchemist alpha playtest on Steam. You will then be able to click the "Request Access" button on the store page. More infos will follow very soon.

Some people from our community (join Discord here) have already been playing for a few weeks. Since then, a lot of things have been changed and added, so here are the most important updates.


[h3]General Notes[/h3]
Update 0.15201 includes all changes from 0.14101 and above. After updating, your graphics, keybinding and other settings will be reset. Playing with your older characters should work.


[h3]Gameplay[/h3]
Maybe the biggest change to the gameplay is direct input: You can now move your favorite Alchemist with WASD or any keybinding you like. Classic action RPG movement via mouse clicking stays untouched, you just have the choice to also use keyboard movement, if you like. You may also bind the "movement click" any key and are not restricted to left clicking. Note that the default key bindings have been changed due to the addition of direct input controls.



The second big change is that we now have video quality settings, so you can squeeze more fps out of your computer. Please keep in mind that the inner workings behind these settings themselves still need to be worked on throughout development and are not at all perfect yet.


[h3]Items[/h3]
We recently re-worked the Shell flask, because it was not that popular with the players. The flask is now cheaper to use, the damage reduction was buffed and it now has the ability to prevent one debuff. The thorns damage was buffed and now hurts enemies no matter if they attack with a melee or ranged attack. We also added a new alchemical affix "Of Icicles" which enhances your Shell flask's thorns effect.



The Frog Hop flask also got a bit of love: The base damage and bonus damage from items for it was straight up doubled.

Furthermore we added a new alchemical affix called "Of Fury". I don't want to spoil too much, but it is meant to facilitate close combat oriented builds.


[h3]Enemies[/h3]
Enemies who defeat the player now only turn into demons 50% of the time to prevent a quick downward spiral because of the buffs demons provide to all enemies.

Another change to enemies was that their attack speed in close combat now improves with higher enemy levels, which just seems fair, as it is usually the same for the player.


[h3]Visuals[/h3]
There have been many visual changes that I won't bore you with, you can will see them yourself ingame. Let me just say that the focus was to make the environment easier to read and reduce very dark areas.



[h3]TL;DR[/h3]
For those of you who want to dig really deep and know all about the minor changes, you can find those listed below. I hope you are as excited as I am for the alpha playtest to start!

Alain

0.15201

Important
- Options will be reset upon updating to this version.

Various
- Exclamation marks on new quests and new craftable items replaced by "NEW" sign. Quests that were completed before quest menu is opened are not marked as "NEW".
- Fixed minor visual issues in crafting menu.
- Optimized inventory & storage slot performance.
- Added various quality settings to video options menu. Not all of them are perfectly balanced at the moment, because the game itself is still at an early version.
- Fixed a bug where resetting settings resulted in duplicate entries in dropdown menus.
- Fixed a bug where default settings were not restored properly.
- Fixed a bug where resetting to default settings would cause trouble with left clicking.
- Fixed a bug where camera could be moved via direct input in close combat.


0.15101

Items
- Alchemical effects do not roll on items before level 10.
- Reduced chance for rolling alchemical effects on items in general.

Enemies
- Porcupine walk cycle animation fix.
- Enemies who defeat the player in close combat only turn into demons 50% of the time.

World
- Opened chests and used altars are now shown on map for orientation. Note that quitting the game resets chests and altars.

Various
- Implemented direct movement input for movement (default: WASD).
- Added custom key binding for direct movement. Note that due to the addition of new controls all settings will be reset automatically when patching.
- Custom key binding for moving towards cursor (default: Left Mouse Button).
- Feedback form at end of playtest content. Link to feedback form auto-fill game version and playtime.
- Minor tweaks on main menu, social media links added.
- Added tutorial after dying three times.
- Fixed tooltips for HUD buttons showing "None" when no secondary key binding was set.


0.14802

Items
- Fixed a bug where "Of Ice" items caused all flasks were supercharged for free, not just Freeze flasks.

Enemies
- Increased maximum health of enemies on higher levels.

Various
- Corrected Devil's Bane tooltip stating now that it greatly reduces damage taken.
- Fixed sound concurrency of sound effect "negative badunk".


0.14801

Mechanics
- Fixed an issue where Juicified Health flask cancelled effects of Juicified Liquid and Juicified Juice flasks.
- Overhauled Juice per second calculation, which was unbalanced on higher levels.

Items
- Overhauled Juice per second boni from items.
- Thorns of Juicified Shell flask now hurt enemies no matter if they use ranged or melee attacks.
- Replaced "Of Turtle Doves" affix by "Of Icicles": Spikes of Juicified Shell flasks freeze enemies and apply ice damage over time.
- Reduced Juice cost for Juicified Shell flask to 20 Juice.
- Buffed Shell flask Damage reduction.
- Shell Flask now prevents a debuff, but gets canceled by the debuff it prevented.
- Fixed bug where Shell flask damage reduction boni from items were calculated wrong.
- Base damage and all item boni for Juicified Shell flask thorns doubled.
- Base damage and all item boni for Juicified Fro Hop flask doubled.

NPCs & Story
- Overhauled visuals of Exhibitchee character, also renamed to Xen.
- Fixed a bug where companions would not cast debuffs while showing items on ground was deactivated.
- Minor fixes in quest descriptions.

Enemies
- Stronger enemies' size in close combat reduced a bit so icons over head stay visible.
- Enemies' level now influences their attack speed: Reduced attack cooldown in close combat.
- Fixed calculation of enemies' attack speed according to their affixes (in fact, enemies that should have been faster were slower before).

World
- Overhauled visuals of starting town, also renamed to Caribou Creek.

Various
- Overhauled lighting & water & particles with regards to day- & night cycle.
- Minor cosmetic changes in equipment section of inventory UI.
- Reducing ingame video tutorials to necessary ones and re-recording of these
- Overhauled NPC and player walk cycle (more weight).
- Fixed sound concurrency of sound effect when learning multiple recipes.
- Various debug features for internal playtesting.
- Fixed that picking up items was possible while player was dead.
- Added a tutorial box with link to feedback form after one hour playtime or after completing the playtest's story line.
- Reduced Devil's Bane damage reduction from 50% to 34%.


0.14401

Mechanics
- Fixed a bug where flasks did not get drawn if they were the second of two in the cauldron. Also fixed that last used not last drawn flask was considered when determining which flask not to draw.

Items
- Changing equipment resets last flask drawn.
- Drop- & craft chance for alchemical effects set to 10% (alchemical effects rolled disproportionally often compared to regular affixes).
- New alchemical effect affix "Of Turtle Doves"

Various
- Fixed a bug where using explosive flask while "Of Fury" item equipped caused a fatal error (might need more investigating).
- Fixed a bug where game window was not focussed when starting in fullscreen mode from Steam icon in task bar.
- Added negative badunk sound when trying to move item to storage but storage is full.
- Fixed demon counter on map (was not taking killed demons into consideration).


0.14101

Mechanics
- Random flask drawing a bit less random: In case you have more than 3 flasks in your cauldron and use a random one from your belt, you cannot draw the same flask type again instantly.

Items
- Item description changed: If all equipment is of same rarity, item's description now correctly states "2x amount of dust found." (any dust, not only of that rarity).
- When determining if dust (magic, rare, unique, legendary) is dropped, enemies with the "Minion" affix now drop Sand. "Minions" did not drop anything on this drop slot before.
- "Of Barrels" affix can now roll on items
- New alchemical effect affix "Of Fury"

Enemies
- Demons only spawn when player is level 5 or higher. Demons spawned by the ritual Devil's Bane are excluded from this rule.
- Fixed an issue where enemies could get stuck in debuff animation loop in close combat.

NPCs & Story
- Minor dialog changes Danielle, Exhibitchee, Lord Bishop and quest descriptions.
- Minor text fix Allen's Notes II.

World
- Area behind tent in town should not be reachable by Frog Hop flask anymore.
- Fixed an issue where particle systems such as fires stayed visible when entering the Crossroads (close combat).

Various
- Brighness of ingame camera increased for better visibility on dark monitors (use gamma settings to tweak).
- Implemented smoother camera movement when moving vertically (less rough "bobbing" when walking over uneven terrain).

Hey everyone!

I have some great news to share: BattleJuice Alchemist took part in the WN Dev Contest for Unreal developers and is one of the winners! In this video I tell you a bit about the contest, but also about a new NPC in BattleJuice Alchemist. She is called Xen and part of the Caribou Creek overhaul. You can watch the video here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

You also get a sneak peek of a new item effect in the game that supports damage reflecting builds. In case you already have a key: Keep in mind that these changes are not live on Steam yet, but will be part of the big update that is coming when the Steam playtest goes public very soon. If you want to play before the Steam playtest officially goes public, just join the Discord server and send me a message.

Thank you for supporting me making BattleJuice Alchemist and have a great weekend!

Alain

Hey everyone! I'd like to share some of the things with you that have happened in the development of BattleJuice Alchemist recently.

The biggest change within the game was that the starting town "Cherokee Creek" is now "Caribou Creek". I had to admit to myself that I have very little understanding of Native American culture and could end up rehashing stereotypes. I would not want to be disrespectful to anybody, which is why I removed references to Native American culture. I feel like I simply could not do it in a proper way. I think I came up with new imagery that hopefully is not hurtful to anyone and even more in tune with the general theme of BattleJuice Alchemist.

There have also been changes to items, that I briefly go over in this video. They are all detailed in the patch notes, which will be released as soon as the new build goes live on the Steam playtest. If you want to play before the Steam playtest officially goes public, just join the Discord server and send me a message.

Check out the full video, if you want to find out the nitty-gritty details:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Thank you for supporting me making BattleJuice Alchemist!

Alain