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Below the Crown News

Beta Update!

[p]Our last major update before launch! Here's a quick video describing some of the new features: [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Hop on in: converse with the Emperor, save your replays, make things easier with new difficulty settings, and try the infinite dungeon! Feedback is always appreciated via the in-game bug/feedback button, on the Steam forums, or in the Discord - keep in mind they'll likely be some bugs. We also have a FUTURE beta branch for those always looking to help us test the latest features![/p][p][/p][p]Here's a more detailed list that includes the bigger changes since our December Update: [/p][p][/p][p]Default Branch: v1.91[/p]
  • [p]Save/View Replays and a new Replay Room[/p]
  • [p]New Emperor Narrative elements (when you return from runs - playing with a clean save file will give the full experience)[/p]
  • [p]Infinite Dungeon Mode (we haven't really tested this much so beware!)[/p]
  • [p]New difficulty settings to make things easier for players that need it[/p]
  • [p]Escape Rooms overhaul (Key added, rebalanced)[/p]
  • [p]So many new animations and artwork (stores, victory, etc.)[/p]
  • [p]New Scoreboard & info window[/p]
  • [p]New opening song (do you like it or prefer the old one?)[/p]
  • [p]Store Screens Overhaul[/p]
  • [p]Rebalanced Wizards[/p]
  • [p]New Dungeon Boards[/p]
  • [p]Piece movement tweaked (feedback on whether it looks right appreciated)[/p]
  • [p]Knight King boss got new animation for Lightning ability[/p]
  • [p]Gave Knight piece to Rook Wizard (feel strong enough?)[/p]
  • [p]At Spell Store, see your empty Spell slots[/p]
  • [p]Fog hazard visuals redone[/p]
  • [p]All victory/loss dialog should now go down to the bottom of the screen, not blocking the Board[/p]
  • [p]New Death animations[/p]
  • [p]Game Over Animation[/p]
  • [p]New Audio sound effects[/p]
[p][/p][p]Thanks so much for all the support, looking forward to launching in April![/p][p]- Tim [/p]

Beta Update is almost here...

[p]Be first to try the Beta update (our last update before launch!) and help us get it stable enough for everyone else! Hop into the FUTURE beta branch and report any issues via the in-game bug/feedback button, on the Steam forums, or in the Discord - keep in mind this may be unstable, but you can always revert to the default branch if you want stability 🙂 [/p][p][/p][p]Future Branch: v1.89[/p]
  • [p]Save/View Replays and a new Replay Room[/p]
  • [p]New Emperor Narrative elements (when you return from runs - playing with a clean save file will give the full experience)[/p]
  • [p]Infinite Dungeon Mode (we haven't really tested this much so beware!)[/p]
  • [p]New Piece to unlock: the Hopper (bringing checkers into Chess!)[/p]
  • [p]New difficulty settings to make things easier for players that need it[/p]
  • [p]Escape Rooms overhaul (Key added, rebalanced)[/p]
  • [p]So many new animations and artwork (stores, victory, etc.)[/p]
  • [p]New Scoreboard & info window[/p]
  • [p]New opening song (do you like it or prefer the old one?)[/p]
  • [p]Store Screens Overhaul[/p]
  • [p]Rebalanced Wizards[/p]
  • [p]New Dungeon Boards[/p]
  • [p]Piece movement tweaked (feedback on whether it looks right appreciated)[/p]
  • [p]Knight King boss got new animation for Lightning ability[/p]
  • [p]Gave Knight piece to Rook Wizard (feel strong enough?)[/p]
  • [p]At Spell Store, see your empty Spell slots[/p]
  • [p]Fog hazard visuals redone[/p]
  • [p]All victory/loss dialog should now go down to the bottom of the screen, not blocking the Board[/p]
  • [p]New Death animations[/p]
  • [p]Game Over Animation[/p]
  • [p]New Audio sound effects[/p]
[p][/p][p]Thx![/p][p][/p][p]-Tim[/p]

IGF Honorable Mention & 1.0 Coming in April

[p]Below the Crown has been named an Honorable Mention as part of this year’s IGF selections! We're honored, and love the trend as our last game (Duskers) was nominated by IGF for Excellence in Design :) [/p][p]To celebrate, we’re re-running our Early Access launch discount for the next week![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We also just announced that 1.0 is coming in April with a new trailer remix![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]And in a few weeks we'll have we'll have our final Early Access update with our Beta Update. Here's a quick look at the big ticket items coming in the Beta Update: [/p]
  • [p]New Piece: Hopper[/p]
  • [p]Save and watch Replays of your battles![/p]
  • [p]Infinite Dungeon[/p]
  • [p]Escape Room overhaul[/p]
  • [p]Reworked stores, animations, & sounds [/p]
  • [p]Rebalanced Wizards[/p]
  • [p]Narrative: The Emperor makes an appearance and more psych evaluations...[/p]
[p][/p][p]In a week or two we'll update the FUTURE beta branch for those looking to help us test the latest features before we launch the Beta Update. [/p][p]Special thanks goes out to everyone that has sent along their support, thoughts, feedback, etc. during Early Access. If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a user review for the game as it allows more folks to discover it on Steam.[/p][p]More updates on the way, stay tuned![/p][p][/p][p]- Tim [/p]

December Update!

[p]The holidays come early for the wizards exploring Below the Crown. Here's a quick video describing some of the new features: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]This is our first major update since Early Access, so we're excited to hear what you think. We've got a ways to go before 1.0 so feedback is appreciated via the in-game bug/feedback button, on the Steam forums, or in the Discord - keep in mind they'll likely be some bugs. We also have a FUTURE beta branch for those always looking to help us test the latest features![/p][p][/p][p]Here's a more detailed list that includes the bigger changes since our Early Access launch: [/p][p]v1.84[/p]
  • [p]2 more runes opened up[/p]
  • [p]Rook Wizard unblocked [/p]
  • [p]Mad Queen piece[/p]
  • [p]Teleport Spell[/p]
  • [p]Explosive Upgrade[/p]
  • [p]Protect Upgrade[/p]
  • [p]Medic Skill[/p]
  • [p]Spell Junky Skill[/p]
  • [p]Changed Bishop Wizard to start with Teleport Spell, Rook Wizard to start with Return Spell[/p]
  • [p]Escape Rooms: Spawn embers/lava sooner, Board Gold reward Increased[/p]
  • [p]Fixed bug report[/p]
  • [p]Knight King nerf: Act 1 version no longer spawns slimes over time.[/p]
  • [p]SFX Volume update[/p]
  • [p]Daily Challenges were inconsistent if statues were present[/p]
  • [p]Replay file was duplicating turns[/p]
  • [p]Warning for users on Steam Deck/Linux (letting them know not "officially" supported yet)[/p]
  • [p]New error dialog if we detect certain AI issues[/p]
  • [p]Linux/Steam Deck memory leak improvement, but not totally gone :( - Note that we still don't "support" Linux, but this takes a step toward it [/p]
  • [p]AI updates: hopefully fixes some odd checkmate issues - please report any funny business![/p]
  • [p]Make choosing a Champion less confusing[/p]
  • [p]Training ground notification Icon when a new category is unlocked[/p]
  • [p]Demoting a piece could get you locked pieces (pieces which then have bugs we haven't fixed...)[/p]
  • [p]A hidden animation in plain site[/p]
  • [p]Lot's of AI & Replay bug fixes[/p]
  • [p]Misc Bug Fixes (snoooooze)[/p]
[p][/p][p]Thanks so much for all the support, Happy Holidays![/p][p]- Tim [/p]

December Update is almost here...

[p]Be first to try the December update and help us get it stable enough for everyone else! Hop into the FUTURE beta branch and report any issues via the in-game bug/feedback button, on the Steam forums, or in the Discord - keep in mind this may be unstable, but you can always revert to the default branch if you want stability 🙂 [/p][p][/p][p]Future Branch: v1.81[/p]
  • [p]Teleport Spell[/p]
  • [p]Lure Spell[/p]
  • [p]Explosive Upgrade[/p]
  • [p]Medic Skill[/p]
  • [p]Spell Junky (Spell)[/p]
  • [p]Changed Bishop Wizard to start with Teleport Spell, Rook Wizard to start with Return Spell[/p]
  • [p]Escape Rooms: Spawn embers/lava sooner, Board Gold reward Increased[/p]
  • [p]Fixed bug report[/p]
  • [p]Knight King nerf: Act 1 version no longer spawns slimes over time.[/p]
  • [p]SFX Volume update[/p]
  • [p]Lure adjustments[/p]
  • [p]MANY bug fixes (mostly for the new stuff)[/p]
[p][/p][p]And don't forget about all the features added by Future Branch: v1.77[/p]
  • [p]2 more runes opened up[/p]
  • [p]Rook Wizard unblocked (we need to adjust the new "Escape" rooms)[/p]
  • [p]Mad Queen piece unblocked (we need to fix replay issues)[/p]
  • [p]Daily Challenges were inconsistent if statues were present[/p]
  • [p]Replay file was duplicating turns[/p]
  • [p]Warning for users on Steam Deck/Linux (letting them know not "officially" supported yet)[/p]
  • [p]New error dialog if we detect certain AI issues[/p]
  • [p]Linux/Steam Deck memory leak fixed and the apparently not :( - Note that we still don't "support" Linux, but this takes a step toward it [/p]
  • [p]AI updates: hopefully fixes some odd checkmate issues - please report any funny business!,[/p]
  • [p]Make choosing a Champion less confusing[/p]
  • [p]Training ground notification Icon when a new category is unlocked[/p]
  • [p]Demoting a piece could get you locked pieces (pieces which then have bugs we haven't fixed...)[/p]
  • [p]A hidden animation in plain site[/p]
  • [p]Lot's of AI & Replay bug fixes[/p]
  • [p]Misc Bug Fixes (snoooooze)[/p]