Horde Hunters News

Hello. This update brings a new character but I don't think that's even the most exciting part (for me). I spent a lot of time on GUI changes and improvements to areas that have been neglected for some time. Hope you enjoy.

[h2]Dwarf character[/h2]

Please welcome Hjalgrim to the character roster. He brings a mighty dwarven hammer to the battle with a smash ability and of course ale as a power-up!



[h2]Character leveling/points[/h2]

Speaking of characters, there's new customization options. You now level up your character based on enemy kills and can then assign permanent character points to it. As this is the first iteration of this feature let me know how I succeeded and whether it needs further improvements.



[h2]Building improvements[/h2]

I try to make all the available map buildings somewhat useful at any point in the game. The bank is one of those buildings that had pretty limited use during a run. The interest rates now scale based on time so there's more incentive to use the bank early on too.


[h3]Local events[/h3]

Similarly the Pub (previously Winery), Church and Sacrificial Altar haven't had as much use as they could. There are now new local events that pop up from time to time (similar to missions) that offer better prices on said buildings. For example the Happy Hour event at the Pub offers discounts on all products. But hurry - these events don't last for long!

[h2]GUI changes[/h2]

[h3]Power-ups[/h3]

The power-ups menu has been a bit of a mess for the longest time. It has now been overhauled with tabs and more straight-forward purchase options.


[h3]Main[/h3]

I think I'm finally getting to the point where I'm starting to be happy with the main game UI. I've streamlined the new look by decluttering the space and opening up more visible space for the game area.

A quick overview of changes in the screenshot below:

• Consumables are front and center where you need them most
  
• Inventory weapons/items have been moved to the side
  
• Health and Ability bars moved to the top
  
• XP bar removed, but more text information is displayed for level progress
  
• Button/control hints removed (small loss but once you know the keys it's just extra noice)
  

[h3]Player damage[/h3]

Every time you take damage a visible healthbar is displayed near the player so you don't have to take your focus away as much.



That's the majority of the bigger changes. See the full changelog below for other smaller tweaks.

[h2]Competition reminder[/h2]

The Village Hardcore leaderboard competition got extended to June 13th. Top 5 players will receive keys to When the Light Dies. At the moment there's not even 5 players on the board so be sure to try the map if you want a key!

[h2]Weapon/Item ideas reminder[/h2]

Previously I've asked for ideas for new weapons and items as the recent poll suggested that is the most wanted content. So far I've received 0 ideas from the community. It's a bit disheartening but it is what it is. This doesn't mean I won't be adding new ones but it'll be a slower process and not as fun one. Remember there are no bad ideas or suggestions so feel free to suggest anything.

Full changelog:

General

• New character: Hjalgrim (Dwarf) - Melee fighter
  
• New consumable: Ale - +50% primary weapon damage for 10s
  
• New power-up: Ale Drinker - Ale lasting effect
  
• New power-up: Pocket Watch - Increases timer for missions and local events
  
• New local event: Happy Hour - xx% off on all products at the Pub
  
• New local event: Service - xx% off on healing at the Church
  
• New local event: Ritual - xx% off sacrificed health at the Altar
  
• New achievements (5) for Hjalgrim (Dwarf)
  
• New achievements (6) for Endless maps: Score 10000+
  
• New character customization: Points - Level up your character and assign permanent character points
  
• Bank changes: The returns now scale based on time, you can only deposit the full amount and withdrawal option has been removed
  
• Winery changes: Name changed to Pub, sells Ale as well, has happy hour discounts, removed option to buy wine with apples
  
• Church and Pub are available on all maps
  
• Main in-game GUI has been reworked
  
• Power-ups GUI has been reworked
  
• Player healthbar is displayed near the player for a couple of seconds every time taking damage
  
• Teleport addition: Leaves behind a clone for 3s
  
• Multi-Fire no longer gives double damage, increased lasting time from 5s to 10s
  
• Wine cost reduced, decreased lasting time from 12.5s to 10s
  
• Haste increased lasting time from 5s to 7.5s
  
• Jester's base health increased from 60 to 75
  
• Reduced Banker power-up max from 50% to 30%
  
• Tweaked all the timers so that they probably end after 1 (and don't stay in 0 for another second before going off)
  
• Leaderboard shows character stats when hovering over the character sprite (only for new records as data is being collected)
  
• Elite Rewards screen can be closed with Esc or Space
  
• Changed the Mountains map main ground tile colour for better contrast
  

Bugs

• Church Divinity would take a while to execute as it was fired from wrong coordinates
  
• Size on weapon info corrected so default is always 100%
  

Hello. From today onward you'll see a new bundle on the store page. I've teamed up with the nice people at PQube to truly test your survival skills. Featuring the gothic twin-stick When the Light Dies and of course Horde Hunters! I'm also announcing a new leaderboard competition for a chance to win a Steam key for When the Light Dies.


https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/41635/Hardcore_Survivors/

[h2]When the Light Dies[/h2]

When the Light Dies: A survival game with roguelite elements set in a desolate, frozen wilderness. Step into a murky world of shadow and obscurity as a lone survivor fighting to keep the darkness and the horrors that lurk within at bay.

Personal notes: I think it's best not to go into this thinking it's another bullet heaven game. Or even a bullet heaven game for that matter. It's a slower paced survival shooter with elements from many genres, including the bullet heaven one. What I like about this one is that it has a unique style and boldly tries new things. Although it has only started its early access journey it shows a lot of promise. Go check it out!

[h2]Leaderboard competition[/h2]

There's a new leaderboard competition taking place in the Village Hardcore map ending June 13th. The top 5 scores (excluding myself if I happen to be there) will win a free Steam key to When the Light Dies. Any existing scores will be counted too. Currently there's so few entries you'd be guaranteed a key so go give it your best shot!

[h2]Poll results[/h2]

Thank you to those that took part in the recent poll. I'll let the results speak for themselves.



Although there's a new update around the corner I want to already start focusing on expanding the weapons & items. Please help me with this task by voicing your suggestions over at the forums, discord or anywhere I might read them. A considerable time goes into coming up with weapons and items that are somewhat unique or interesting. I could really use the collective effort here. Thank you.

Hello. When Early Access started over a year ago I created a poll asking what content you would like me to prioritize on. I think it's time for another one of those polls!

[h2]Poll[/h2]

Link: https://take.supersurvey.com/poll5192058xf81d4136-156

For more specific feedback or discussion please use the forum or join our Discord.

[h2]Review[/h2]

While at it please take a moment to fill out a short review even if it's only a few words. As a small indie game Horde Hunters relies on its reputation to sell copies and reviews encourage the Steam algorithm to show the game to more people.

Many thanks,
Antti

A small patch to fix a critical bug.

Bugs

• Crash on Tutorial and Road Town when opening the map
  
• Flyby enemies may get pushed by elite causing them to go off route
  
• Village Hardcore showed the Mountains ranking on Summary page stats
  

Hello. This update brings new content and various QOL improvements. Thanks to a few Youtube videos I was able to pick up a number of suggestions that make for a better run experience.

There's also a new endless map called Village Hardcore which brings the pain. Let me know if you'd be interested in some other endless type maps to compete in.

General

• NEW party member: Cat - Good girl jump attacks enemies and scares them away
  
• NEW item: Energy Shield - Blocks one attack then goes to cooldown
  
• NEW consumable: Disco Ball - Murder on the dancefloor. Enemies are hit with damage or stun
  
• NEW power-up: Lantern - Activates at night for better visibility. Chance to scare enemies away
  
• NEW power-up: Rabbit's Foot - Better odds for rarer weapon and item types on level up
  
• NEW mission type: Protect - Stay within the area and keep the subject alive
  
• NEW endless map: Village Hardcore - Very Hard difficulty, 5 Power-ups
  
• Maximum power-ups you can have on a run increased from 8 to 10
  
• There's a new popup when trying to purchase something when the inventory slots are full
  
• Weapon slot initial purchase cost reduced from 50 to 35. Incremental cost increased from 25 to 35
  
• There's a level up reminder every 10s above the player as these tend to be missed by players in the heat of things
  
• There's a new button on level up to stop leveling up (and do it later) if you have many level ups queued
  
• Mission arrows will display a name in the first few seconds for better visibility
  
• Activating a rune gives a random consumable
  
• Chickens will change target if it gets too far away (some faster enemies for instance)
  
• Attack rate for party members is no longer boosted by player Agility
  
• Mission maps are no longer available from the start. You need to complete the Village first
  
• Improved the tutorial (training grounds) with more information
  
• Adjusted bandit camp and library to scale better with their benefits
  
• Replaced character selection buffs/debuffs with simple class type texts
  
• Better visibility for the Bulk Discount option
  
• Backpack power-up max level decreased from 5 to 4. Now gives random consumables instead of the character default
  
• The low health warning under the player is more noticeable
  
• On the map runes are labelled with their number and there's information at the bottom with how many are activated
  
• Jumping and dashing enemies will have a line indicator before their action
  
• Slowed down the flyby enemy groups a bit (~20%)
  
• Haste will slow down all enemy types and projectiles as well. Movement speed reduced from +100% to +50%
  
• Leaderboard has attack mode and ability mode information when hovering over the character sprite
  
• Power-ups changes: Character power-ups are saved separately for each map (old ones have been reset), Additional information panel on power-ups page, Unusable power-ups can't be selected
  
• Some GUI tweaks here and there
  
• Ongoing mission description will take precedence if moving over to some other building
  
• Music will lower in volume while in level up and other reward screens
  
• Chaos Stone default multiplier changed from 2.5 to 2
  
• Added Israel flag to leaderboard
  

Bugs

• Alt-tabbing early on in the night can make the playable area really dark for a while so you can't see anything
  
• Pausing the game caused the sandworm pull force to reset for player and enemies
  
• Buying weapon slots open had some issues
  
• You can pick a party member from mission rewards even though slots are full
  
• The compared item could be different to the base item on some maps
  
• Priest's Cross weapon attack rate was multiplied by INT rather than AGI
  
• The 3 max ongoing missions was doing the opposite - affected every other map except normal maps
  
• You could open character and map in shop while the upgrades were loading making them appear in the background
  
• Vortex made enemies push through the Protective Dome
  
• Armor Piercer always inflicted a fixed 50% of damage
  
• Chaos Stone always did a random 1-5x damage
  
• Enemy could action their special attack while in the process of dying