Vampire Survivors News

Vampire Survivors may not seem like the most narratively rich videogame of all time, but that's not going to stop developer poncle and media company Story Kitchen from turning it into an animated television series...
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Now that the second DLC Tides of the Foscari is out (big thanks to everyone who played it and gave us feedback!), we wanted to give an update on what free patches and updates we are working on and some other news!

The first part is that we are working on a smaller patch that should launch in May (will have smaller additions and fixes, like a more detailed map for DLC stages) and we are also working on our next bigger patch, v1.5, which will be similar in size to the Bat Country update (new stage, relics etc.).
While we don’t have a firm date for this v1.5 patch yet, we are aiming for sometime this summer to give the team a bit more time after the busy DLC launch period. As always, we will try something a bit different with this patch!






The other Vampire Survivors news we wanted to share is that we are working on an animated series! If you had told me this a year ago, I wouldn't have believed you. I still don't believe you, but it's actually happening.

Because we're a small company and barely have any idea about how to make games, not to mention TV shows, we are partnering up with a company called Story Kitchen (their team includes Derek Kolstad, who is the writer/creator of John Wick, and Dmitri M. Johnson, who produced the Sonic films) to make the Vampire Survivors show.

As we all know, the most important thing in Vampire Survivors has always been the story, so we are very excited for this and we hope you are too! It’s still early days for the show, but I can already say that we will be involved so that we can ensure it doesn’t have any vampires (probably) and they will only cast the finest garlic. While we will be involved, this won't affect game development in any way.

Thanks to everyone who's been asking for this since the Moonspell trailer: sometimes bombarding the socials with requests actually works! :)

More info on Deadline.com

As always, thanks so much for playing Vampire Survivors and sticking with us!
Luca

Part of the fun of Vampire Survirors lies in discovering new weapons and items, and knowing that there are still surprises to uncover as you construct your monster murder machine. That thrill fades as complete more runs and reach the game's edges, but its DLCs are so far doing a good job of creating new, uncharted territory. The latest, Tides Of The Foscari, is out now.

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Vampire Survivors has gotten its second round of DLC, Tides of the Foscari, and like the first, Legacy of the Moonspell, there's a lot to love here: more characters, maps, items, and secrets for 2022's best roguelike, all for just two bucks. While the starting map, Lake Foscari, didn't immediately light my fire, the continuation of Vampire Survivor's signature secrets and unlocks really won me over...
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- 1 new batch for the Seal powerup, tied to an achievement
- 4 new music tracks that I won't spoil, but are very likely what you've been asking for very recently!


- changed sound effect of the Night Sword
- optional: new engine on beta branch

As anticipated previously, this patch is minuscule because we had to slow down more than expected on standard content due to all the changes required to bring the new engine on PC, but we have new content planned to release over the next few weeks of course!
In the meantime, the new engine is now available in private beta for everyone who wants to try it early. We'll only fully swap over to it once we've ironed out all the differences with the base version of the game. You can read more about the new engine, and how to enter the beta, on the Discord or here: ( https://steamcommunity.com/app/1794680/discussions/3/5769714637082190371/ )




Content:
- 1 new large stage, with different enemies spawning in different zones
- 8 new characters
- 13 new weapons and evolutions
- 7 new music tracks
- 21 new achievements, but some are... weird? Please follow the in-game list of Unlocks to uncover them all

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2313550/Vampire_Survivors_Tides_of_the_Foscari/

[previewyoutube][yt][/previewyoutube]



How to start the DLC?
The new stage, Lake Foscari, will appear right away at the bottom of the Stage Selection menu. You'll see new entries in the Unlocks menu to guide you through the rest of the content.
Can't see the new stage or weird stuff happens? Check on the main menu if the main game is at least on version 1.4.100. If not, quit the game and reboot Steam to trigger the download for the game update!

What if I want everything unlocked from the start?
There are Secret Spells you can use to unlock content quickly 🤫

There is no DLC when I start the game
Please make sure you're on game version 1.4, as older versions won't detect the content pack. Closing and reopening Steam to trigger an update should do the trick! Make sure the DLC is installed by right-clicking the game title, choosing Properties > DLC, and checking that it is active.

Will the main game keep receiving free updates and content?
Yes, DLCs will always be purely extra content in terms of Stages, Monsters, Weapons, Characters etc.
Items, Power-ups, game mechanics and more will continue to be added to the base game, so if you don't pick up the DLC you don't have to fear missing out.
We'll keep having free updates like the Tiny Bridge and Bat Country ones for example.

Is there an evolution for Party Popper?
No, it's supposed to be a joke weapon (I mean, more of a joke than the average weapon) for a joke character. Who knows what might happen in the future though...

Will the new music tracks be available in the Soundtrack?
Yes! The OST will be updated in the following days with all the new tracks. Even *those* ones.

Does the DLC have achievements?
Yes, I apologise to players who cares a lot about not losing their 100% achievement completion and I can say that we're working on something, but rather complicated and for the longer term, that should help with this issue among other things.
In the meantime, Achievement completion will not be prioritised over what's always been in the nature of the game: achievements tied to unlocks.

Is the DLC available on other platforms?
Yes, we're trying to launch around the same time on all platforms.

Why only $1.99?
Just like for the first DLC, the community is as usual very kind and we still get a lot of this type of comments, some intended just as a compliment, some are actually serious. While I'm very grateful for the sentiment, just like for the main game, the DLC has a price that "feels right" to me and that reflects the production value of it.

We've been growing as a company and have been pushing where we can, for example with having an actual orchestra to perform some pieces for the Foscari soundtrack, but poncle needs more time (and still more key people!) to be able to provide a higher production value. For this DLC I once again had to fill gaps by using asset packs for example, so a low price, and frequent discounts, simply seem fair.
We'll charge more for new stuff when we'll have something even better to offer, don't worry and thank you once again! 🙏

Is VS going to turn into a DLC fest?
We don't know and that is an option: what we do in terms of business decisions depends a lot on player feedback and on what we'd like to see as players ourselves. Personally, being able to pay a small fee to get more straightforward content for a game I'm really into sounds great ( ages ago I literally had dreams about spending €5 to buy a disk that would add 1 more stage to Valkyrie Profile 👀 ).
If DLCs are sustainable and are welcomed, why not make them?
While this kind of stuff is often associated with unfair business practices, that is often a byproduct of having games designed around monetization systems. What we're doing goes the other way around: we make things, then use the monetization tool and price tag that seems most appropriate to distribute them. Sometimes we have to charge, sometimes we can do it even for free!

As announced some time back, we'll be done with VS for real only once I - or you - get tired of it.

Hope you have fun with the DLC, and if not, please send us some feedback, we don't have time to always reply but we read and assimilate everyting, thank you!
- Luca