Withering Rooms News

New Features

A new area - the Subterranean Grove - has been added to the bottom floor of the Labyrinth. This area includes a new NPC that can respec your character. This means you no longer have to wait until New Game + to respec - now you can do it as soon as Chapter 2.



Additionally, several new outfits were added:

* Medusa Head - found in Subterranean Grove
* Necromancer Helm - found in Labyrinth Jail Cells
* Top Hat - found randomly in Chapter 1/2, or for sale by Tomos in Chapter 3+

Polish

* Music mix has been improved
* Added a new haunting to the Valley Forest
* Reduced judder in Nightingale's run
* Some Japanese translation improvements courtesy of community members Ava Wade and Lapinyan
* The Bug Report and Input menus are now translated to Japanese

Bug Fixes

* Fix the upgrade ring screen closing immediately when using Japanese
* Fix some curses on random rings actually being blessings
* Fix a softlock that could occur when using the Item Shortcut Menu just as you enter a cutscene
* Fix the Recall Shrine not working when dying in the arena with a follower such as Nightingale's Creature in some circumstances
* Fix using the Pocket Mirror during Chapter 1 in New Game+ resulting in a black screen
* Fix allies like enchanted armor sometimes never unblocking doorways or getting "lost"
* Fix being able to move/interact when the game is returning to title
* Fix untranslated Gatehouse Residence room title in Chapter 2 appearing on map
* Fix several New Game + quests not completing when the item required was already in your inventory
* Fix Nightingale's Creature being affected by the use of Fashion Records
* Fix repeatedly editing the key bindings sometimes resulting in a corrupted keybind file
* Fix some instances of options reflecting the previous language when a new language is selected
* Fix Corpulent Zombie flashing/unflashing after death when the game is paused or the Item Shortcut Menu is active
* Fix Enchanted Candlestick projectile continuing to travel far off-screen
* Fix several places where changing the language wouldn't immediately affect text already on-screen
* Fix the New Game + boss leaving a bright light behind after death in some circumstances
* Fix the New Game + boss head not being able to be hit by certain projectiles such as jars
* Fix mirrors having a distorted reflection when viewed from odd angles, such as when using Fixed Camera Mode
* Fix the Foyer floor reflection looking odd when resolution scaling or blurring was in effect

Withering Rooms 1.18 (2023-11-3)

Hotfixes

* Fix an issue introduced in 1.17 where the level up screen could instantly close when using a controller

New Features

* Added the Puzzle Oracle, a device that will instantly solve a puzzle(before breaking). The price goes up with each purchase. Available for sale from the very first merchant.

Polish

* To prevent confusion for new players who may inadvertently turn it off, the Show HUD option is now unlocked only after completing the game
* The Organ Processing room clue is now placed in the Clues category and can be re-read

Balance Changes

* Added a stockpile of photographic plates to the Gatehouse in Chapter 2

Bug Fixes

* Fix Idol Keepers bursting through locked or broken doors
* Fix the ingredients for crafting hearts for Nightingale's Creature not being valid items

New features

* Added the Apprentice's Candlestick, a reusable spell tool that creates a small ball of flame in front of the caster, which can be found starting in Chapter 1

Polish



* On High/Very High graphics settings, the background blurs out when in the inventory or viewing new items to make text easier to read
* Your number of upgrades thus far is now displayed next to each stat type in the level up screen
* Enemies that die in doorways fall into the room
* Improve Advanced Wretch Gate dissipation FX
* The game no longer responds to input when not focused
* Optimized memory use, loading and saving speed
* Improvements to Fixed Camera Mode angles and spacing

Balance Changes

* Danger status effect now stays visible until cleared by healing
* Length of invulnerability when Danger status takes effect reduced from 4.5 seconds to 3 seconds
* Magical healing effects, such as Healing Barrier or vampirism, no longer work when in Danger
* Increased Pipe speed
* Gold Bear Ring, Silver Bear Ring and Rabbit's Heart Ring have been buffed
* Monsters are more aggressive when exiting doors
* Shield durability calculation has been changed to give additional durability for poise, and the Shield Ring's effect has been increased
* Increased the radius of Corpse Explosion
* Increased the spell toll reduction associated with leveling Weirdness
* The Doll in Chapter 2 has double the health
* Nightingale's Creature has dramatically higher health and damage(and higher scaling with upgrades)
* Apprentice's Candlestick and Throwable Knife are both sold by the Masked Man in Chapter 1, meaning spell/projectile only runs are viable from the start of the game
* Curse Rot immediately impacts health upon acquiring, rather than waiting a second
* Warding Candle healing ramp has been speed up, but the speed resets when acquiring Curse Rot

Bug Fixes

* Fix several instances of treasure chests being empty upon open
* Fix NPCs near interactable items, such as Rose, sometimes resulting in a softlock upon speaking to them
* Fix being able to talk to Margaret after she disappears during the Chapter 1 tutorial, potentially resulting in a softlock
* Fix tutorial and quest messages disappearing when entering the pause menu
* Fix equipping multiple resistance providing equipment potentially resulting in all damage being blocked for a particular damage type
* Fix spell scaling not properly applying to: Summon Spears, Annihilation, Corpse Explosion
* Fix enemies disappearing when they exit a room you are peeking into
* Fix the doll occasionally becoming invisible
* Fix some bosses, such as Beast Nightingale, not awarding a Blemished Bestiary Page
* Fix ghosts and other enemies that leave residue behind not awarding a Blemished Bestiary Page
* Fix being unable to click on a dialog option when an item icon is shown during the dialog
* Fix Ancient Greek subtitles not appearing properly when playing in Japanese
* Fix being rammed while exiting a room causing the player to teleport to the exit upon completion
* Fix having two controllers plugged in resulting in both button prompts appearing instead of the active one
* Fix L2/R2 prompts for Playstation controllers not using glyphs
* Fix the default PS5 controller bindings not being able to use the D-Pad to navigate menus
* Fix duplicated ladders in the valley basements
* Fix the Noise Effect causing some dark effects, such as being hit with cursed energy, to have an odd bright appearance
* Fix the NPC in the Organ Processing room not being responsive if wearing the witch outfit
* Fix keys not being able to be found in the Blackett House on some seeds
* Fix some story elements that require an enemy or NPC to be on-screen not working when playing in Fixed Camera Mode
* In Fixed Camera Mode, combat stance no longer causes zoom
* Fix an issue where peeking in Fixed Camera Mode could leave the camera in the peeked room
* Fix odd behavior when trying to cancel out of the circus ticket purchase screen
* Fix Nightingale's Creature Summoning Knife not reducing player to 10% health

Artifacts

A new item class has been added - the Artifact. When activated, artifacts change Nightingale's behavior, or have a positive and negative effect associated with them. Any number of Artifacts can be activated at a time.



Several rings and amulets have been changed into artifacts, so they can be equipped and unequipped more easily without taking up ring/amulet slots:

* Ghostly Ring -> Evasion Codex
* Perception Ring -> Perception Codex
* Guard Ring -> Guard Codex
* Lantern Necklace -> Lantern Familiar
* Nightingale Locket -> Nightingale Doll
* Second Chance Ring -> Second Chance Brooch
* Befouled Ring -> Befouled Head
* Curse Ring -> Small Cursed Snuffbox
* Robert's Ring -> Large Cursed Snuffbox
* Closed Gaze Ring -> Closed Gaze
* Inverted Gaze Ring -> Inveted Gaze

Additionally, a wholly new artifact has been added:

* Flight Codex - allows Nightingale to run much more quickly but accumulates cursed energy while doing so

Combat Revisions

In order to make the game more fluid and fun, combat has been significantly revised:



* All of Nightingale's actions now have points where they can be canceled out of to dodge, block, or run - this makes all actions in the game faster(and safer)
* Healing items can now be used while walking or running
* There is a new Danger status when Nightingale suffers a blow that would kill her - this reduces her to 1 health and gives her 3 seconds of invulnerability in order to find something to heal with
* The i-frames on the Evasion Codex(formerly Ghostly Ring) have been dramatically increased, making it much easier to dodge and avoid attacks
* Monsters no longer turn when Nightingale rolls or otherwise dodges past them, making rolling past monsters and attacking from behind possible
* Monsters briefly slow down after attacking to open more windows for counterattack
* Monsters take into account velocity when choosing to attack, making it easier to bait out attacks by changing direction suddenly or dodging
* All melee weapons have been adjusted and rebalanced to be somewhat faster and more satisfying
* Many monster attacks have been revised to be more dodgeable

Portable Crafting Kit

Craft spells and laboratory items anywhere(so long as no monsters are around). Purchase from Albert in the Byzantine Labyrinth in Chapter 2, 3 or 4.



Monster Drops

All monsters now can drop additional loot, reducing the need to visit the shop for crafting supplies significantly.

New Hauntings

Several new hauntings have been added for the extremely cursed. Most noticeably, it now rains blood outside.

New Items

* Shield Ring - doubles the durability of shields
* Necromancer's Ring - increases the health of summoned allies
* Corrupted Meat - poisons Nightingale but adds +75 health, dropped by various enemies

Polish

* A new accessibility feature - Sound Icons - has been added to the Audio Options menu, which adds icons to off-screen sounds such as footsteps, combat, gunshots and explosions
* Film grain(called Noise Effect in the options) has been reimplemented as a procedural effect instead of a video. This means it has more variety, will no longer crash some machines, and is finally compatible with Steam Deck builds.
* Significant memory optimizations mean the game works much better on machines with low VRAM.
* Significant CPU optimizations should increase loading and performance for machines with slower CPUs.
* The title screen loads much more quickly, with less time spent on a black screen, on lower end machines.
* The bell toll at the Moonless Formless logo has been removed to save your ears.
* In menus, the mouse cursor is now hidden once a gamepad is used, and is only shown again if the mouse is moved.

Balance Changes

* Nowhere now has a Comfy Chair and Remembrance Shrine in Chapter 1/2
* Bleeding and poison now deal 30% health - previously they did fixed amounts per 100 health - this makes it much easier to predict their behavior
* Healthy Roll heals 1% every 60 seconds, instead of 1 health
* First Aid Kit heals 50% of health instead of 100%
* Warding candles heal cursedness more smoothly and quickly
* Shield durability scales more with poise and base durability increases with each NG+ level
* Horace health increased and is now immune to poison/bleeding
* When the maximum value of a stat such as health changes, the current value now scales proportionally
* Burning Gentleman's flames go out on death
* Many NPCs have more and rarer items for sale, and some now have a Sell option that did not previously

Bug Fixes

* Instances where volumetric fog could still be seen when on lower quality levels, such as when outdoors, have been fixed(and the FPS in those areas will be higher now)
* Fix vampirism only applying a single source of vampirism, instead of all of them - this meant wearing multiple pieces of equipment with vampirism was not effective previously
* Fix cursed furniture transitioning into regular furniture occasionally causing furniture to become stuck halfway in the floor
* Fix several instances where taking a photo could result in a black screen and softlock the game
* Fix some enemies, such as the Cloaked Ghoul, being able to throw projectiles behind them
* Fix holding a Torch while using the Curious Statue causing Nightingale to disappear
* Fix Nightingale clipping through the door when unlocking it
* Fix odd shadow/shading issues on several outfits with short hair
* Fix some side attacks from monsters not turning fully before starting
* Fix odd collision on Cursed Armor
* Fix Angel (Greatsword) not doing damage with their sword
* Fix Mad Witch having odd behavior when cornered near a wall
* Executioner Wretches can no longer track the player when a spirit twig is used
* Fix Zombie Knight's wall charge not doing damager
* Fix Executioner Wretch's kick not doing damage
* Fix various enemy attacks not triggering as often as they should
* Fix collision on Skinned Witch making it hard to do heavy attacks against her
* Fix some missing textures and models introduced in v1.13's asset optimizations
* Fix odd camera behavior when using a ladder in Chapter 2

v1.15 contains hotfix for a treasure display freeze introduced in v1.14.