Rusted Moss News

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Happy Halloween everybody! Please welcome the great witch Ameli as our third playable character to Rusted Moss!

Also here are some bug fixes we also addressed in this update:

• Bonus DLC: Enemies stuck in top ceilings fixed
  
• Bonus DLC (hard mode): Red velvet corridor room transitions fixed
  
• Maya dash through walls in the Robin fight fixed
  
• Level redesign in Mountainside so players no longer have to fight Freia to proceed if they do not have grenades (easier to backtrack)
  

Why this update
For Valentine's Day this year, we released a multiplayer version of Rusted Moss that included Ameli and Maya as fighters.

We thought it would be fun to import Ameli's code into the main game.

Warning!
Unlike Maya, Ameli was not made with the main game in mind. Her abilities were designed specifically for PvP in Rusted Moss Arena.

This is more of a fun silly update though we did end up changing some of her abilities in an attempt to better fit the main game.

How to access Ameli
Head to the character selection menu and input this code: up up down down left right left right


How to play Ameli
Ameli has three pets that follow her instead of guns. She commands her pets to attack. In order to attack again, she'll have to recall the pet (by grappling it or pressing Q which costs mana) or wait for it to come back. She has six different attacks and special attacks (By default, Q and E activate her special attacks). Ameli can also fly on her broomstick. To do so, press Down while she is in the air.

Behind the Scenes
I think Ameli has the largest wardrobe when compared to any other character in Rusted Moss. She has a unique outfit in Rusted Moss Arena. In the main game, she also wears different clothes when she is flying on her broom versus when she is on the ground. Her boss design also took a very long time to do and we went through several iterations. Despite that, I wouldn't say she is our favourite boss and I think a boss taking more time to design also doesn't guarantee it will be a better fight anyway.

Her troublesome development history makes It fitting that Emlise went through several outfit iterations when deciding what she should wear when included as a playable character. Because Ameli was designed for Rusted Moss Arena, her readability became an issue when she was placed in Rusted Moss and she blended into the background. Emlise was also not very happy with her stiff animations.

Ameli also had to be resized as Rusted Moss is designed around a player height of around 2 blocks.

Please take a look at all the variations Emlise ended up making! (Our development group chat felt a bit like a fashion show where Emlise would post Ameli in yet another outfit)



The initial concepts were felt to be too similar to Freia's colour scheme. We also felt the bright colours and light flowing skirt did not mesh well with Ameli's personality. However, the skirt did help circumvent some animation problems we were having.

Emlise tried other skirt variations and we ended up liking the direction of stiff longer skirts. They felt more like clothes Ameli would wear.

In the end, the spirit of Halloween (and Ameli's love of witches) compelled us to put her in a witch costume. The giant hat also helped distinguish her silhouette more from the other characters.

If you enjoy looking at behind the scenes images and dev stories, you can also check out the Rusted Moss artbook!



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This patch contains a completely reworked boss fight. Details in the spoiler section.

Bug fixes: Removed slopes from some rooms in bonus content as they were causing collision problems for enemies.

• Reworked boss: Robin, the Beloved Child (aka Puck)
  
• Ending D speedrun mode achievement has 2 minutes added to the timer to accommodate the updated fight
  
• Previous Robin fight is available in the boss rush room
  
• New Robin fight has empowered mode in the boss rush room
  

The final boss of Ending D was something we felt we weren't 100% happy with. Due to the way Rusted Moss is coded, there were a lot of limits on what we could do. While the boss fight did end up being unique, we also had the impression it was a bit out of place due to it asking the players to use new movement/skills that previous parts of the game didn't really require. We also wanted a more organic and flowing use of the grappling hook but the fight itself is on the claustrophobic side due to the size of the room and copious bullets.

With the major update out of the way and Rusted Moss development basically being slowed all the way down to just bug fixes, we decided we had the bandwidth to try rework the fight a little and take another look at it.

There were still limits as to what we could achieve... The idea of having an infinite grapple and going through a crazy chase sequence was one of the concepts we were not able to do.

We were also wondering whether to post this patch earlier in August but seeing that Rusted Moss ended up being one of the games run for RTA in Japan made us hold back on it. Sure, the speedrunner was probably using a stable version of the game but it would have been kinda funny to see them reach the Ending D boss and it ended up being a completely different fight to what they practised.

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[h2][/h2]
Build ID: 15454256

Thank you all for playing Rusted Moss!
We have rolled out a hotfix which fixes an error that caused the game to crash if any mods were enabled.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an error within mod-manager code that caused the game to crash if any mods were enabled..
  

We will continue to keep a close eye on your reports and feedback. If you would like to report a bug/issue, please use our pinned Bug Threads in the Discussions.

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[h2][/h2]
Build ID: 15389557

Thank you all for playing Rusted Moss!
After hearing your feedback and bug reports, we have rolled out a hotfix which fixes several bugs that were affecting the playability of the game.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• Fixed enemies getting stuck in the ceiling in certain rooms
  
• Fixed player sometimes getting stuck in certain rooms
  
• Fixed Map Completion stat
  
• Fixed softlock that occurred when talking to Hardmode Froy as Maya
  
• Fixed menu double-input issue
  
  [h3]Changes[/h3]
  
• Added more Mod functionality (For more info please visit Catspeak by Katsaii)
  
• Added savefile backup code (For more info please visit this thread)
  
• You can now disable the speedrun timer in the pause menu while in Maya mode
  

We will continue to keep a close eye on your reports and feedback. If you would like to report a bug/issue, please use our pinned Bug Threads in the Discussions.

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Can’t get enough of faerie stories? Curious about the inspirations behind Rusted Moss? Check out these stories depicting the fae, from the capricious to the malevolent!

In no particular order:

[h3]1) 50 Ways to Leave Your Fairy Lover by Aimee Picchi (Read here)[/h3]

Sweet and humorous, this short story gives some pointers on how to break up with an immortal fairy lover in a tactful way. A must-read if you ever find yourself in this situation and would like to not be horribly cursed as a result.

[h3]2) Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett[/h3]

If you’re a fan of a female protagonist that is dour, irascible, and doesn’t quite get along with other humans (more out of discomfort of social situations rather than spite), you might enjoy this book! Emily is a brilliant academic who collects faerie stories (and the faeries are suitably dangerous).

I loved the cool, clever voice that the book is written in. There is a romance with a similar dynamic to the novel Howl’s Moving Castle — though important, it’s light and fun enough that, as readers who are not into romance, we loved this series. It’s cosy but isn’t afraid to have stakes.

The sequel was released this year, and it only improves on the first!

[h3]3) The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett[/h3]

Tiffany Aching is a nine-year-old girl who journeys into faerie land to save her kidnapped brother, wielding nothing but an iron frying pan.

Brilliant story that subverts a lot of fairy tale tropes. If you’re tired of witches being wicked, this is a great novel to read.

This might be the first novel I read that depicted faeries as dangerous and strange. I ended up becoming a huge fan of Terry Prachett because of this novel. Expect witty writing and social commentary that’s both hilarious and insightful (something you’ll find in all his works).

[h3]4) Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett [/h3]

Okay, so this is another Terry Pratchett novel but his work is incredible. This novel directly inspired Rusted Moss — in particular, the idea that faeries need only bide their time to enter the mortal world, when iron rusts and humans die. That section inspired the cycles of the Ages of man and fae in Rusted Moss.

This novel isn’t afraid of showing just how nasty faeries can be, especially compared to modern sanitised fairy tales. Faeries invade the land and witches are there to stop them even as other humans fall to the deceptive faerie glamour.

There’s also a lot of fun references to Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

[h3]5) Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge[/h3]

We read this novel during Rusted Moss’ development. Sunnydaze had suggested it to me and I went in not knowing anything about it.

It’s very well done and feels like a classic children’s novel written in the modern age. I’m not sure if I should go into too much detail because it’s best enjoyed without knowing much about it.

However, I think the title gives a hint as to what it is about…

[h3]6) Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirlees[/h3]

Neil Gaiman put it best: “elegant, supple, effective and haunting: the author demands a great deal from her readers, which she repays many times over.” Lud-in-the-Mist is in his top 10 favourite books. It has some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. It was published in 1926 and is an absolute, criminally underrated classic.

Faeries and the supernatural do not make the most direct appearances but they feel ever-present, just in the corner of your eye. The story deals with the relationship between a human town and the ephemeral Fairyland that is both near and far from the townsfolk’s lives. The town of Lud-in-the-Mist has rejected the fantastical and resolved to mark everything fairy as taboo, but conflict arises when fairy fruit is smuggled into town.

Lud-in-the-Mist is a lush, complex read that deals with societal norms and the clash between art and the sensible.

[h3]7) An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson[/h3]

An artist who paints the fair folk (who cannot themselves partake in human crafts without crumbling into dust) makes a terrible mistake: she paints mortal sorrow into the eyes of the fairy prince, a weakness that could cost him his throne.

Cool premise, right? Most of this short book depicts the artist and the prince travelling through the beautiful, eerie fairy lands. Fair warning — it is a romance novel. Sunnydaze did not tell me this when she recommended it, and I was confused as to why the author spent so much time describing the love interest’s bronze curls and dimples. It was incredible how much I read without realising it was a romance (basically when the inevitable kiss scenes started). Nothing against the romance genre, but I just think some forewarning would have been nice so I could have read the book in a different headspace.

Even if romance isn’t your thing, An Enchantment of Ravens has some delightfully wicked portrayals of faeries. If you enjoy reading about strange faerie curses on humans that have somehow offended one of the fae or about the inner workings of a strange and cruel faerieland, this book has that. The characters were okay overall but I think it was the world building happening around them that was the most enjoyable part for me.

[h3]8) Stardust by Neil Gaiman[/h3]

A modern fairytale in which a boy, living in an English village on the border of Faerie, crosses the wall to retrieve a fallen star for the town beauty. Short, sweet and enchanting. You may have seen the movie, but the book is amazing!

That said, while Tristan ventures into Faerie, it’s more of a land of magic with witches and kings, than an exploration of faeries (though there are faeries in it).

I can so see the influence of Lud-in-the-Mist on this book. The mundane, mortal village on the border of a fairyland and the dreamy son who is drawn to it…

[h3]9) Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke[/h3]

Full disclosure — we haven’t read this one, but it comes recommended by our brother. He described it as “if a Jane Austen novel had magic in it”. The TV miniseries is excellent.

Set in an alternate 19th century England, Strange and Norrell are trying to bring magic back to England. Magic is understated and serious work, and in true English fashion, there is much fuss about what kind of magic is proper and gentlemanly. It’s a rich droll work that explores the intricacies of the role of magic in society and its historical context. The novel has a delicious amount of footnotes for those that appreciate it.

Fairies in the book are portrayed as insane, powerful, and amoral children.

[h3]10) Reader’s choice[/h3]

You tell us! We love our fae mean and weird, so let us know if you have any recommendations yourself!

Note: It is incredible how many different spellings of fairy there are. I feel each book uses its own.

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