Into the Necrovale News

Bugs

• The extra Crystals of Hope reward leftover from the Temple of Hope has been removed
  
• On Windows, attempt at fixing PS4 controllers
  
• Game Scripts are properly cleared when exiting to menus
  
• Items/Embers can no longer be lost when closing the Forge menu (Kayroky)
  
• Alchemist potions no longer scale with his level, but with the level he states (+1 after level 2)
  
• Blessing display now updates between Refinement Level upgrades
  

Balance

• The number of Crystals of Hope given at 100% Hope has been increased
  
• Individual level length no longer scales with difficulty, but only with progress into your run (run length still scales up)
  
• Base level length has been increased
  
• Reduced Strange Brew application time
  
• Improved Refinement Level scaling on potions
  

Misc.

• Feedback Panel now scales with larger monitors
  
• Reduces high-end on the coin pickup/sell sound
  
• Removed Cretin Shaman
  

The Hope/Despair system has always been a bit of an oddity. Often it feels irrelevant, as there are few rewards for having a lot of it. Sometimes it feels like an annoyance, as when you’re struggling, it can further punish you. So today’s update is an attempt at giving it more of an identity, and more of a function.

Previously, picking up Hope Crystals gave you Hope. Now that works the other way: You can turn your Hope into Hope Crystals. At the end of a run, praying to The Mother will convert any hope you’ve earned into Hope Crystals, which you can spend as normal. And as for earning Hope, it no longer drains while fighting, and you get a certain amount every time you clear a Combat level.

Without any other interactions, you will reach the end of a normal run with about 50 Hope, which will net you half the Crystal Reward from that level. However, any additional Hope you earn during the run will net you extra Hope Crystals. It works the other way, too. Any Hope you spend during the run, will be fewer Crystals you earn at the end.

My “hope”, is that this new system will start leading to some really interesting decision making in the game. As development proceeds, levels will more and more be asking, how many Crystals are you willing to give up to get a leg-up? How much challenge are you willing to accept to get more Crystals?

Thanks for playing my game, everyone. As usual, I love hearing your feedback. I will be listening. I don’t always get things right the first time. In the end, the game is for you, the people choosing to spend time in this world.

Bugs

• Melee attacks in sequence no longer reset earlier attacks
  
• Individual melee attacks can no longer hit an enemy multiple times
  
• Attack Damage Gain is no longer exponential on Melee Attacks
  
• Cretin’s Poker no longer misses enemies next to you
  

Balance

• Health Steal is now limited to the current health of the enemy. In other words, doing 1,000,000 damage to an enemy with 1% Health Steal won’t net you 10,000 health. Instead, it will get you, at most, all of his remaining health
  
• Reduced scaling on Winklepickers
  
• Deadeye pierce chance lowered, but now scales
  
• Pierce is now calculated on a per-hit basis
  
• Extra Targets stat has been removed
  
• Cobra Bow now has inherent pierce and seeking stats
  
• Cobra Necklace now grants pierce and seeking stats, negative damage modifier has been removed
  
• Slightly reduced pierce scaling on Heavy Strap
  

Misc.

• All active items (potions, blessings, curses) are now cleared when finishing a run
  
• After The Harlot sings in the Refuge, the music returns to the correct track
  
• Projectile Seeking is now a percentage, denoting how strong the seeking effect is
  

Bugs

• Prevent Brightness slider from going under 100%
  
• Bluetooth Xbox controllers should now work on Linux/SteamDeck
  
• Many other random controllers should work out of the box
  
• The Coward will now kick out items you leave in the trade window when it closes
  

Balance

• The Encampment is no longer a blood-bath
  
• Rebuilt enemy spawning algorithm. Should better adhere to the correct point value for a level now.
  

Misc.

• Hammer of Wotana power move should no longer crash the game with high Attack Count
  
• If the Coin Tally in the bottom right flips between negative and positive, it will reset
  
• With vsync off, the frame rate can no longer go into the thousands and cause so much coil whine
  
• Straggler enemies are no longer killed. Instead, the level will just complete.
  
• You can no longer heal the Innocent after the event completes
  

Additions

• Many things in the works…
  

Greetings Strangers,

Today's update focuses on improving the accessibility and usability of the game. That consists of three things:

Save Slots
Previously, it was a bit of a janky operation to start over. You had to navigate into hidden folders, delete files, prevent SteamCloud from replacing them, etc... Plus, you could only have one save at a time. With this update, there are now 4 save slots, and they can be deleted from in the game, like you would expect.

High Contrast Mode
I got some great feedback from colorblind players that certain things were difficult or impossible to parse. To address this, I've added a High Contrast Mode under the "Usability" options menu. Currently, it modifies certain colors in the Item Info popup that appears when you hover over an item. If you are colorblind, please let me know about any other difficulties you are having. I will add to the High Contrast mode so that it is more pleasant.

Aim Assist
This is a feature I've wanted to get in for a long while. Not only for the accessibility, but because I believe it makes play on a controller much more fun and intuitive. The option now exists under the "Gameplay" menu, as a percentage. What does it mean exactly? On a Gamepad, it specifies what percentage of a 90 degree window aim assist will correct within. On a mouse, it specifies how far from a target the aim assist will activate.

As an example, at 100% on a mouse, clicking "anywhere close to" an enemy will adjust to be right on top of the enemy. At 10%, there is a small margin around the enemy where it will be corrected. At 0%, it will function as it did previously, giving you precise control. On a Gamepad, 100% means that the nearest enemy to your "actual" aim, within 45 degrees on either side, will be automatically targeted. At 10%, it is only a small margin around which the aim will automatically click onto the target.

Full Notes

Bugs

• Elemental strike statuses are now calculated correctly
  

Balance

• Winklepickers now scale their amulet effect
  

Misc.

• Performance improvements
  
• Exploding attacks only happen at the end of fork chains
  
• Multiple projectiles from fork chains are pinched into fewer projectiles (the total damage is preserved)
  
• Stats are applied in three passes now: Additive, Multiplicative, Assignment
  

Additions

• Save Slots and save slot management added
  
• Added High Contrast mode to the Usability Options. If you have color blindness, please keep reporting anything that is unclear, and I will work on it. Thanks.
  
• Added an Aim Assist setting. The percentage can be adjust for a wider/narrower window of adjustment