Ghostlore News

Hello everyone. I am Andrew and I am the main developer of Ghostlore. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all those who have joined us for this Early Access launch.

Giving Feedback
If you have a suggestion for things you’d like to see in the game, do join the Ghostlore discord as we are highly active over there. This is where being a small team works to our advantage. We are able to be nimble and responsive to player requests, without having to go through layers of bureaucracy as we would in a larger organisation.

If you encountered a bug, our programmer, Adam, has created a handy Upload Save feature:


We highly encourage using this feature. It makes it a lot easier for Adam to pinpoint the source of the bug if he has a save file that he can dissect and analyse.

Alternative control schemes
When we first started developing Ghostlore, we planned for only mouse movement like in other ARPGs such as Diablo and Path of Exile. So, we were quite surprised by the demand for alternative control schemes like controller support and WASD. We have done our best to cater to such requests over the past month. We’re pretty sure that everything in the game, from movement to combat to menus, is able to be controlled via the controller.

However, do take note that the default point and click controls are still the best way to experience the game. This is simply owing to the fact that the point and click controls has had a years head-start of development and refinement, over WASD and Controllers, which were only implemented last month.



New Maps and Enemies
Ghostlore currently has around 60% of the total maps and enemies planned. The remaining maps have already been planned out with almost all art assets completed. We plan to periodically release new maps with the new enemies and complete the storyline.



Fleshed Out Hell Levels
We plan to improve and flesh out the hell level mode until it is a challenging experience which can provide dozens of hours of fun on top of the base storyline. More procedurally generated bosses, enemies, and quests are planned.

Skills System
The original design goal of the skill upgrade system was to give the player control over as many parameters of a skill as possible. The initial idea was that, rather than a linear upgrade, you could adjust things like the damage radius, number of projectiles, effect duration and so on and so forth. We plan a major overhaul of the current skill system so that each skill upgrade provides a meaningful choice for players.

Improvements to items and crafting
Like with the skill system, we plan to expand and refine the current item, crafting, and food system. We plan for a deep system with many build options for beating deeper hell levels. Player feedback here will also be very helpful.

Improved Steam Workshop and Mod Support
Currently there is mod support for advanced code based mods and simple changes to game stats and abilities. However there is no easy way to add new game sprite or audio assets. We plan to add further support for players to easily add new enemies, items, and abilities with their own sprites and sound effects.

That’s all for now. I hope you will enjoy playing Ghostlore.

- Andrew

Hey everyone,

It is almost time for our Early Access launch, and we’re pleased to announce that we have managed to improve upon the things we mentioned in our last update. We’ve implemented the tutorial messages, fixed up issues with the pathing, and controller support is better than before. WASD still has some issues with regard to ranged attacks, but hopefully it will get sorted out before our launch date.

We are even ahead of schedule on some of the more highly requested features: Local Co-op, which we only thought we would get to after launch, will be present at launch. Also, we have expanded it to support 4 players instead of our initial goal of 2 players. Be warned however, that we have not thoroughly tested the feature, so play at your own risk!

One of the issues brought up on Discord by our Patreon Supporter, smattymatty, was that the inventory tends to get cluttered rather quickly.


We discussed the issue, and decided to implement a major QoL change known as the Commodity Cube.

As per the description, the Commodity Cube essentially gives extra inventory space and automatically stores items such as food ingredients and potions.

You'll receive the cube from Nadir after clearing the first temple mission.

If you are past that quest, don't worry! You should get the cube automatically the next time you load your character.

On a related note, as requested, food items are now on auto-pickup with a handy alert message at the corner of the screen:


Well, that’s all for now. The Early Access launch is really close so I must get back to work. Some of you might be surprised that we’re willing to implement such a drastic new feature so close to early access launch, but this is because we’re committed to taking player feedback. While it is tempting to think of Early Access Launch as some sort of finish line, we know that it is only the start of things, and will continue to take feedback and suggestions. So, keep playing! We hope our beta testers enjoy this new feature.

-Andrew

Hey everybody, Andrew here. I’m the main developer behind Ghostlore. We have gotten a lot of valuable feedback from players who tried the demo during Steam Next Fest, and have compiled it to come up with our next steps. Here are the biggest areas of improvement that we’ve identified:

[h3]Controls[/h3]
Many players have reported that it is tiring to have to hold down the mouse button to move. In the current beta build, you only have to click once and your character will path to the destination. We are looking at implementing other quality of life features, such as the option to restore controls to the default. Controller support and WASD is another thing that is highly requested, and is currently being worked on. Finally, there are also a couple of known serious bugs related to the re-binding of controls. These will be fixed before the Early Access launch.

Controller mock up

[h3]Procedural Map Generation[/h3]
Currently, the procedural generation creates many gaps in the terrain that players can run into. This is not intentional and many players are finding themselves stuck in various nooks and crannies. We'll be tightening up the procedural generation so that there is a clearer distinction between traversable and non-traversable areas.

[h3]Tutorial[/h3]
A lot of players have requested clearer instructions on how to do certain things which are not immediately apparent. An example of such is how to hold position and hold fire when using mouse controls, as well as how to buy or sell items in bulk. We plan to add a simple tutorial, as well as tooltips to convey features like these.

Tutorial mock up

[h3]NPCs[/h3]
Lastly, some players have said that shopkeeper NPCs blend into the background and they don’t realize that there are NPCs there. We will be adding an icon above the NPC heads as a visible indication that they can be interacted with. The icons indicate the type of shopkeeper, and will also be on the mini map.

NPC markers mock up

[h3]Other stuff[/h3]
On a more personal note, our only programmer, Adam, has been called up to serve in the army for 2 weeks, from 1st to 11th of March. This means we have very little time to implement all of the above changes. For those who are not from Singapore, men here are required by law to serve a tour of full-time military duty, and for 10 years or so after that, we remain on standby in our civilian lives for when they decide to call us back.

Because of all this, we have decided to push the Early Access launch back by two weeks, from the end of March to April 14th (PT). To make up for this, we will keep the demo running for an additional two weeks after Steam Next Fest, instead of taking it down immediately.

For those who have tried our demo, your concerns have been heard, and we want to ensure that they are properly addressed. In the meantime, please keep the feedback coming as it will help to improve the game. Thank you!

Want to see what other content the full game has that's not in the demo? Have a burning question about the game you want answered? Or just want a chance to win a Ghostlore beta key? You've come to the right place!

We invite you join us for a livestream on Sunday morning, Feb 27 @ 7am Pacific Time. For our friends in Singapore, that's Sunday, Feb 27 @ 11pm. This will be the final livestream for Steam Next Fest, so we're ending it with a bang and giving out some beta keys. Don't miss out on it!

In the meantime, check out the demo or come chat with us on Discord. You might have a little advantage for the giveaway if you're already in our Discord server 😉

We're kicking off Steam Next Fest with a livestream of the full game, hosted by POW Jams!