Hand of Doom News

[p][/p][p]Torple has been keeping an eye on the Steam forums, and was able to track down some of those more pesky issues some of you have been running into!

Check out the chagelog below:[/p][h2]
Changelog:[/h2]

• [p]Fixed control binding/restore defaults UI softlock[/p]
• [p]Fixed the possibility of multiple pause menus overlapping each other.[/p]
• [p]The Bunsen burner puzzle should now automatically check whether you completed it before the update.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the issue where backtracking to a previous level would throw off objectives and progression.[/p]
• [p]Improved pause menu functionality.[/p]
• [p]Fixed instances where the mouse could incorrectly control the cursor and camera at the same time.[/p]
• [p]Made the camera view slightly narrower to match the intended look.[/p]
• [p]Fixed resolution and fullscreen settings not working.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thanks again for all the support, and if you have any issues, let us know in the Steam Discussions, email us at [email protected], or head over to our community Discord server.

[/p]

[p][/p][p]Since Torple released the big update, he's been keeping an eye on reports coming in and has put together an update that should fix some of those bugs!


Check out the chagelog below:[/p][h2]
Changelog:[/h2]

• [p]Fixed the soft lock caused by a blank screen when restoring default controls.[/p]
• [p]Fixed soft locks related to the bunsen burner and wall with torch puzzles in level 3.[/p]
• [p]Picking up the knife now adds the "Summon Marrowfiend" spell to the grimoire to try and prevent soft locks when quitting and reloading right after getting it.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a couple of instances of bugged sensitive camera control.[/p]
• [p]Fixed being able to see the tower sprite clipping through the audience chamber.[/p]
• [p]Fixed some achievements not triggering.[/p]
• [p]Added a sound effect to breaking the window in level 3.,[/p]
• [p]Several sound effects in level 3 should now correctly be affected by the sound effects audio setting.[/p]
• [p]Disabled a debug cheat code that was accidentally left in.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thanks again for all the support, and if you have any issues, let us know in the Steam Discussions, email us at [email protected] or head over to our community Discord server.

[/p]

[h2]What's up magelets and doomers.[/h2][p][/p][p]It’s been a long time, but I never forgot about Hand of Doom, or the many great people who have supported it. Thank you so much![/p][p][/p][p]Hand of Doom was released under very stressful circumstances and a combination of factors made it very difficult to spend any time on an update for a long time.[/p][p][/p][p]There have been bugs and issues in the game from the beginning that required a day one patch, but that never happened. Eventually, I was able to talk to the people at DreadXP about putting out an update, and they were very enthusiastic about it. Everyone at DreadXP has been very kind and supportive, and with their help I was able to put out something we’re both happy with. Thanks for sticking with me after such a long period of silence.[/p][p][/p][h2]Bug fixes:[/h2][p]First I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who submitted feedback and bug reports. I compiled a big list of all feedback over the time since release, and made sure to address as much as I possibly could. There were too many bug fixes to list, from major progression blockers all the way down to minor nitpicks, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without YOUR help.[/p][p][/p][p]One of the biggest issues that caused the most problems was the save system as a whole. Lots of bug reports about different game breaking issues stemmed from the save and objective systems not functioning properly. They have now been updated to fix many game breaking bugs and create a more stable experience overall.[/p][p][/p][p]Old saves will probably still start up, but will also probably retain any issues with save data or objectives that were present before. You will need to start a new save to ensure you get all the updates as intended.[/p][p][/p][h2]Combat rebalance[/h2][p][/p][p]Multiple boss fights had issues that made them either too easy or too confusing that have been addressed. For example, The Doomlord of nature’s totem shield now works as intended, the Wizard king’s ice and fire shield have had their visual effects swapped to make it more intuitive for the player, and The Nephilim boss’s ai has been adjusted to make it less trivial for a final boss.[/p][p][/p][p] Additionally, All enemies in the game have had their attributes adjusted to make combat more engaging and not just a matter clicking the punch button until you win.[/p][p][/p][h2]Mouse look/controls update[/h2][p][/p][p]There is now the option to have a more modern mouse-driven control scheme for those that prefer that over the intentionally clunky retro controls. Simply click the middle mouse button to swap between mouselook mode and keyboard controls mode, or hold right click to swap temporarily. [/p][p][/p][h2]Graphics settings update[/h2][p][/p][p]Freely adjust the crust with the brand new pixelization and fps options. Customize how eye-bleeding your experience is by adjusting the visuals to whatever resolution, pixelization, and framerate your heart desires. I even added an option for even less frames than default. You’re welcome. 🙂[/p][p][/p][h2]Achievements and trading cards[/h2][p][/p][p]Completionists rejoice! You can now spread word of your wizardly exploits across the realms with the new steam achievements and trading cards![/p][p]Thank you!!![/p][p][/p][p]- Added trading cards[/p][p]- Added achievements[/p][p]- Added invisible blockers to the hub that prevent you from accessing levels too early[/p][p]- Removed return portals from the beginning of levels 1, 2, and 3 To prevent being able to leave levels too early. They are enabled when the boss is beaten.[/p][p]- Fixed controls not saving changes[/p][p]- Updated the wizard king dialogues to enable and disable correctly[/p][p]- Fixed tower boss spikes not dealing damage[/p][p]- Dialogue window is now disabled if the object that started the dialogue is disabled. [/p][p]- Moved the monster form note away from the wall so there's more room to transform[/p][p]- Swapped the wizard king boss's ice and fire shield effects to make the fight more intuitive. Now the fire shield is weak to ice and vice versa.[/p][p]- Swapped the wizard king's shield colors to match[/p][p]- Made tree boss correctly invulnerable when shielded[/p][p]- Fixed Bumbling Wizard dialogue not playing[/p][p]- Made minimap zoom out when opening it in the grimoire and zoom in when closing it so that it stays the same relative zoom level[/p][p]- Blocked the tree near the rainy wizard from fireballs until the player enters the area and the firewall spawns. Prevents being able to skip that area.[/p][p]- Added save scripts to many objects gamewide. These things now save and load properly, preventing things like soft locks.[/p][p] - Tower: Tutorial objects[/p][p] - Level 1: Blazing wizard, spell scrolls, frogs, fire wall 2[/p][p] - level 2: Burning wizard portraits, save pushable block transforms, save unlockable chest lid transforms, save gate open states, save frozen block wizard state, save tchrinket note objects active, save wind portal active, fixed icy invocation note pickup dialogue[/p][p] - level 3: Reenabled blood pool in first third, added save scripts to all pipes and almost every interactable[/p][p] - level 4: Added save script to the ice block near the start[/p][p]- Updated the first controls popup in the tutorial zone[/p][p]- Removed controls window after getting the grimoire[/p][p]- Made the escape key close the grimoire instead of opening the pause menu[/p][p]- Limited the number of the master's summoned skeletons[/p][p]- Enemies now save their health values and will stay damaged or dead on load[/p][p]- Made audio sliders moveable again[/p][p]- Set resolution to native screen size by default[/p][p]- Options for crunchiness and framerate[/p][p] - Crust slider[/p][p] - Fps caps at 20, 25, 30, 60, and unlimited[/p][p]- Put a collider behind the level 2 portal to prevent being able to see through it[/p][p]- Added a warning before the wizard king fight that they won't be able to explore anymore[/p][p]- Combat rebalance. Made combat a little less trivial.[/p][p] - Slightly increased all weapon cooldowns[/p][p] - Decreased all enemy attack delays[/p][p] - When the nephilim is damaged, it now teleports a distance away in a random direction and immediately attacks[/p][p]- Added a compressor to master volume to limit the max volume[/p][p]- Fixed music resetting too loud on respawn[/p][p]- Added options for look sensitivity[/p]

[p]Hey everyone, in case this update brought you here, the game has just been updated to include the fix for the Unity security vulnerability. This update means the game is fully up to date and secure. You can read more about the Unity issue here:
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
Thanks for keeping your game updated, and as always, we appreciate your support![/p]

Hey everyone. I've been a little quiet since the game came out (by which I mean I have never interacted with the community once) and I thought I should finally tell you why that is.

First of all, Hand of Doom has not been abandoned, I have been taking note of your feedback and bug reports, and I do care. The reason I've been absent for the rest of the year since it came out is that the development of this game caused multiple significant problems in my personal life, and I had to step away for mental health and financial reasons.

[hr][/hr]
Hand of Doom is my first solo standalone game as Torple Dook. And while I did have an amazing team doing an extraordinary amount of work, the majority of the game rested on my shoulders. Over the year and a half that it took to make Hand of Doom I was subjected to more stress and more pressure than I had ever experienced before in my life. During the last six months of development, and for several months after, my mental health was absolutely destroyed. I went into a deep depression and had to force myself to just get the game across the finish line and released no matter what it took.

After release I was so happy that people were enjoying the game, but I couldn't bear to look it any more. I saw the feedback and the bug reports, but I simply didn't have the mental capacity to deal with them. Even if I did, my contract with DreadXP had ended at that point and I literally couldn't afford to work on it any more, so I was forced to move on whether I wanted to or not. There was simply no possible way that any further work could be done on the game, so it had to be left there, and I had to separate myself from game dev entirely for a very long time for my own health and sanity. I'm doing better now, but this has been a painful learning experience.

I've read every single review that has been left on the game. It has been immensely gratifying to see how many people enjoyed my game and really got what we were going for with it, so thank you all so much for that. I have also taken note of all the negative reviews, what issues people have with the game, and it's apparent abandonment. I promise I have not abandoned Hand of Doom. And while there aren't currently any plans in place to do an update at this moment, it has been on my mind this whole year, and I've been waiting for a time when I am ready to step back into that world, and when I'll be able to financially take the time to do so. You will know as soon as there's anything to know about it.

I know that's a whole lot of personal information you didn't ask for, but that's the transparent truth about why I look like a big jerk who abandoned his game and doesn't care about his players. Sorry for mentioning it 8 months late.

Thanks for sticking with me, thanks for playing Hand of Doom, and keep on ORTING, magelets. 👌🧙‍♂️🤘