Halls of Torment News

We’re proud to announce that Halls of Torment is now available on Steam Early Access!
Choose one of (currently!) seven unlockable characters and descend into the dark depths where demonic horrors lurk. Slay hordes of monsters, unlock new abilities, and find new equipment that will help you overcome the challenges further down below.

[h2]Important Information for PRELUDE Players[/h2]
If you’ve played the PRELUDE version of Halls of Torment and want your progress to carry over to the full version of the game there are a few prerequisites:

• On the machine you want to continue with your PRELUDE progress, the PRELUDE save file must be locally available. Normally this should be the case, if you haven’t switched to another device or cleared your system for some reason.
  
• If you are on a new machine since playing the PRELUDE, you can ensure that your progress is copied by installing the PRELUDE version and starting it once.
  

In case you don’t see your progress reflected in the Early Access version, try following these simple steps:
Start the game (Early Access version)

• Open the settings menu
  
• Click on the button “Import PRELUDE Savegame” in the lower left corner
  
• Confirm the dialog with “Yes”
  
• The game should restart automatically with your prelude progress restored in the full game.
  

[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]
While monitoring the game and being on the lookout for any reported issues, we’ll be preparing new content for future updates. We still have plenty of interesting things we want to put into the Halls, and we can’t wait to share them with you. But more details on that will follow soon.

Until then, enjoy! 😈

In just one week, Halls of Torment will enter Early Access! Later today we’ll stream a bit of gameplay, answer any of your questions, and respond to your feedback. Join us on Twitch (17:30 CEST / GMT+2) - If you can’t join, don’t worry, the VOD will be available later on Twitch and Youtube.

If you’d prefer to see more professional video content, also don’t worry, we’ll be sending out the first keys to content creators within the next 48 hours! For that we are preparing an update of Halls of Torment (not the PRELUDE) which is a preview of the Early Access version. However, there might still be rough edges, since we’re in the midst of finalizing and polishing the game for the EA release. If you are a content creator and would like to request a key, please contact us via [email protected] or via keymailer


[h2]EA Content Overview[/h2]


[h3]FORGOTTEN VIADUCT[/h3]

• A new stage with new enemies, bosses and characters to unlock
  
• It’s the first stage in which we want to try out different layouts and enemy behaviours.
  
• Enemy behaviours are tailored to the stage geometry.
  
• Forgotten Viaduct can be unlocked by defeating the 2nd boss on Ember Grounds.
  
• A new NPC to discover. (work in progress)
  

[note] Balancing is still work in progress and might not be final until the release.


[h3]CHARACTERS[/h3]

• 4 new unlockable player characters
  
• Cleric: Built around debuffs and regeneration, has a magic short range attack that deals its total damage evenly spread among all hit enemies.
  
• Warlock: Can exchange health for attack power and focus on summons. Attacks with summon type projectiles that are chasing enemies.
  
• Shield Maiden: Has a shield besides her main weapon which she can also use to attack and knock back enemies. The attack of the shield scales with her block strength.
  
• Sorceress: Queen of Thunder, can cast Chain Lightning to either focus single enemies or spread it among the enemy rows.
  

[h3]STAGES GENERAL[/h3]

• Ember Grounds enemy spawns got adjusted for new boss encounters.
  
• Increased number of Abilities that can be found on Ember Ground.
  
• Haunted Caverns have an upgraded look and design, making it more spooky.
  
• It’s possible to unlock starting abilities on all stages.
  
• Power ups can now spawn on stages. (work in progress)
  
• Hand of Greed now has a marker displaying its location.
  
• Each stage starts with a Hand of Greed spawned.
  
• The relative gold drop on stages has been reduced.
  
• Stages now reward gold based on defeated enemies and time survived.
  
• XP Curves have been adjusted for a more consistent levelling experience.
  

[h3]ABILITIES[/h3]

• Added 4 new abilities to the game. (Radiant Aura, Clay Golem, Kugelblitz, Meteor Strike)
  
• Abilities can be unlocked by finishing character quests.
  
• Changed the traits for all abilities, there are now 6 paths for each trait type.
  
• Each ability starts with 2 trait types unlocked, additional types must be unlocked.
  
• Abilities can be ‘levelled’ 10 times. The possible trait types for each level vary.
  
• When abilities reach level 3 and 6 they can be upgraded with ability scrolls.
  
• All abilities have currently 2 upgrades, most upgrades must be unlocked.
  
• Damage dealt and max. DPS reached for all abilities are now listed at the end of each stage.
  
• Damage from effects are listed separately as they stack and can influence each other.
  
• Added a new damage type: Lightning, which can cause Electrify status effects.
  
• Electrify deals damage based on the applied stacks. The tick time reduces with more stacks and the stack amount decreases with each tick.
  
• Abilities will now include information about important functions and have their types listed.
  

[h3]QUESTS[/h3]

• Added over a hundred new quests
  
• All quests are tied to achievements on Steam
  
• New Icons for quests (work in progress)
  
• Locked quest boards are no longer displayed
  
• Quests without unlocks now reward gold
  
• Additional information about completion rate
  
• Completed quests are now displayed at the end of a run (work in progress)
  
• Endscreen also displays suggested next quests (work in progress)
  
• Bonus XP from quests are now displayed on the quest board and as a buff
  

[h3]ITEMS[/h3]

• Added several new items with more to come over the next few weeks.
  
• Not all planned items are in the game for the current progress, yet. Expect more over the next few weeks.
  
• Added rings to summon minions to fulfil your need to play summon focussed builds.
  
• New items around the new Lightning damage type.
  
• Several other new items to be discovered.
  
• We are rebalancing items to avoid having totally over- or underpowered items. This is work in progress and we’ll adjust them over the coming weeks.
  

[h3]FEATURES[/h3]

• Added the option to target while auto aim is on to override target direction.
  
• To override with the mouse, clicking the left mouse button is necessary.
  
• Added the affliction effect that makes enemies more vulnerable to damage over time effects.
  
• Upgraded endscreen with statistics and completed quests.
  

[h3]OTHER CONTENT[/h3]

• New Blessings (Duration, Lightning Damage, On Hit Chance, Block Strength)
  
• New Traits (Lightning Affinity, Channelling, False Blessing, Multihit & Piercing Wind II, Demonic Exchange, Bulwark)
  
• New Pickups (Attack, Attack Speed, Invincibility, Food) (Work in Progress)
  

[h3]BALANCING[/h3]

• Gold values will increase, more gold will drop and be rewarded in general.
  
• Blessings and Items will cost more gold.
  
• Some general base traits have been adjusted for more well rounded balancing.
  
• Critical Hits and other chances can now exceed 100% and be applied several times at once.
  
• All effects have increased chances to apply and can stack multiple times to increase effectivity
  

Don’t forget to wishlist the game if you haven’t done already:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2218750/Halls_of_Torment/

Also follow us: Twitter, Discord, Youtube, Twitch


[h3]- Cheers
Chasing Carrots[/h3]

[h2]Hello Adventurers![/h2]

We’re happy to announce that Halls or Torment will launch into Early Access on 24th May with a price tag of $4.99 | €4.99!

During the next couple of days you might see a bit more activity on our part again. Prior to the release we’ll be streaming the game on Twitch on Tuesday, 16th May. We’d love to see you join us over here: https://www.twitch.tv/chasingcarrots


[h3]Wishlist now![/h3]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2218750/Halls_of_Torment/



If you’re a streamer, content creator, or from the press, we’re going to start sending out keys for you on 17th May. Contact us either via email [email protected] or via keymailer.

To all our players out there: Thank you for your overwhelming support! 94% of the 763 reviews have been positive! Over 45 000 of you have tried the PRELUDE and given us valuable feedback, bug reports, and suggestions. We’re thrilled to see the success Halls of Torment has had so far and we’re eager to bring you new and exciting content throughout the upcoming Early Access phase.



[h3]What new stuff is coming with the EA release?[/h3]

• 4 new characters (Cleric, Warlock, Sorceress, Shield Maiden)
  
• 4 new abilities (Radiant Aura, Summon Golem, Meteor Strike, Kugelblitz)
  
• 2 major upgrades for each ability
  
• all abilities will get more and better specialized traits
  
• an entirely new stage, the Forgotten Viaduct
  
• new bosses in Ember Grounds and an updated look for Haunted Caverns
  
• a new elemental effect which can be a powerful boss slayer: Electrify
  
• many new quests that will be all hooked up to the Steam Achievements
  
• a new NPC in trouble on the Forgotten Viaduct
  
• many new items to discover and retrieve from the halls
  
• a couple of new quality of life features
  

[h3]And afterwards?![/h3]
We’re planning to update the game regularly. There are many ideas for new characters, abilities, items, stages, NPCs, enemies, game modes, and many other features. We do not have a fixed roadmap and we’re not planning to establish one. Instead we’d rather stay in touch with our community and figure out what would be best to add next.



[h3]Short FAQ for newcomers and interested:[/h3]
What is Halls of Torment?
A roguelite horde survival game, similar to Vampire Survivors but with a strong inspiration from classic action RPGs

Who are you?
We are Chasing Carrots, a handful of developers from Germany. We’ve been making games for over 10 years. https://www.chasing-carrots.com

Which platforms are supported?
Windows, Linux, and Steamdeck.

In which languages will HoT be available?
For now it’s English only. It’s possible that we’re going to add more languages when releasing the 1.0 version.

Where are you active?
Steam & Steam forums
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/chasingcarrots
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chasing_Carrots
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/chasingcarrots
Mail: [email protected]



[h3]- Cheers
Chasing Carrots[/h3]

Today we are releasing just a small patch for the PRELUDE. We are still in the middle of getting ready for Early Access. But we have some additional information for you regarding Early Access today.
We’ve already mentioned a couple of things about this during our DevStream on Tuesday. If you’ve missed it you can watch it here on YouTube

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Early Access will start with 7 characters, 11 abilities and 3 stages. We will expand upon abilities giving you the possibility to upgrade or evolve them, depending on how you want to call it. Each ability upgrade should be roughly as powerful as the initial ability itself. Ability upgrades can be chosen instead of a new ability when for example picking up the Scroll of Mastery.





But our main focus has been on playable characters.
The 4 additional characters for the Early Access will be:

• Cleric (Debuffs & Regeneration)
  
• Warlock (Summonings)
  
• Shield Maiden (Blocking & Crowd Control)
  
• Sorceress (Lightning Damage & Electrify Effect)
  

For more information, we recommend looking into the DevStream. We’ve played all characters during the stream and gave a first glance at additional abilities. Please be aware that we played a development build, so many things are not finalized, yet 😉

But now for today’s changes on the PRELUDE


[h2]Change Log 2023-04-27[/h2]

[h3]POLISH & QOL[/h3]

• Updated effect markers (Slow & Fragile).
  
• Burn effect damage numbers are now displayed differently than normal damage.
  
• Rats from the rat ring have now proper sprites
  

[h3]BUG FIXES[/h3]

• Stun is now also setting the attack speed of enemies to 0.
  
• Fixing the Bogged Boots, they actually slow down now.
  
• Rat ring can’t be used to spawn endless rats anymore.
  
• Arrows and Swordsman hits with fire damage are not unblockable anymore.
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed item duping.
  
• Settings wouldn’t save on the first start of the game.
  
• Adding backup save games in case of corrupted save games, so not the whole progress is wiped.
  

[h2]What's Next?[/h2]
We are currently working on a lot of new content and finishing features for the EA. This includes ability upgrades, changes on ability traits, the third Level “Forgotten Viaduct”, and much more. In mid May we’ll have a bigger update on the EA and what will be included in the release. We’ll probably share a date and update plans afterwards.
When releasing the EA we also intend to update the PRELUDE to match the changes of the early game in the EA version.

[h3]Stay Fresh! 🥕
- Chasing Carrots[/h3]

[h3]Hello everyone,[/h3]

We are making good progress towards the EA. We’d like to show you the most recent progress and talk about it in our next dev stream. If you can’t join us live, don’t worry - you’ll be able to watch VODs on Twitch or YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJQDnWBP6oKKQt56riGw_9T9gNQcxVeGT

Also, for later next week we intend to release a Patch for the PRELUDE with some additional QoL items and Bug Fixes. Some of this will be shown during the stream.

Stream Date: 25th April 2023
Stream Start: 17:00 CEST | 15:00 UTC | 08:00 am PST
Link: https://www.twitch.tv/chasingcarrots

We hope to see you there!
- Chasing Carrots