Rack and Slay News

Big update and Switch release in 10 days!

Hi! Today I'm happy to let you know that work on the big new content update has been going great and the release will coincide with the brand-new Switch version: Both the PC-version update (1.2) and the first Switch release (1.13) will be available on August 19! (In case you're wondering, the new update will come to Switch shortly after and already include any potential hotfixes.)

[h2]A Big One[/h2]
As I already hinted at in the previous news post, this update will add to pretty much ALL types of content in the game (items, enemies, obstacles, pick-up, challenges, modifiers) and overall be significantly bigger than the first major update (1.1).

[h3]A few teasers![/h3]
The new Earthshaker item will literally shake the arena and hold quite a bit of multi-kill potential!

The new Gobbly enemy will happily eat another monster ball and might help you take out a dangerous foe in a pinch. But then you have to deal with its giant stuffed (but happy) version!

You asked for more challenge runs, and you'll get a 100% increase! Not spoiling details for now, but some will drastically change the economy, while others revolve around new enemy and obstacle types.

I'll be posting more teasers on the Discord and my Twitter until the update drops, so keep an eye out if you're interested. Doing my best to add a whole bunch of new combinations of fun wacky stuff all around with this update! And as usual, thank you so much for playing, supporting and reviewing! 🙏

Another big content update is coming + Switch

Hi! Given the huge optimization improvements from patch 1.13 have been pretty stable, it's been quiet for a little while in terms of quick-fire updates, BUT that doesn't mean I've been idling. In fact I'm knee-deep in working on the next big content update. Today I'd like to drop the first few teasers!

First things first though, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the game recently. The review number has been creeping up quite consistently and I'm so grateful to see the game is being well received. Really keeps the indie dev motivation going! ❤️
(Side note: This reception includes the recent article from roguelike afficionado Gideon's Gaming who really got what the game is going for and found it to be "incredibly clever, fast, and easy-to-play".)

[h2]What's coming?[/h2]
Now let's look at what's coming in the next big update though:

New items that shake the arena and smush enemies
New enemies, some charming and some very hungry
New obstacles, some of which are quite trigger-happy
New pick-ups revolving around tricky positional plays
New challenges runs to DOUBLE the number of challenges
New run modifiers for more Daily / Wild run variety

The amazing Estivador also started working on the new art assets already, and while everything's still in the works, here are a few teaser sketches:

Will the bananas be of the "Gros Michel" variety? Who knows!

[h2]Switch Release[/h2]

In other news, I'm very excited to announce Rack and Slay is coming to Switch on August 19! For now, it'll be on the European and Americas stores. The port and approval process have been an ongoing side project for a while, so I'm really happy to get this one out the door.

---

[h2]GORGON SHIELD[/h2]
Your friendly neighbourhood Publisher here, Graeme!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2446920/Gorgon_Shield/

Looking for more creative, genre-blending roguelikes? Check out the upcoming Gorgon Shield, from the creator of Swords and Sandals. It's a party-based RPG, arcade, roguelike. I can guarantee you haven't played another quite like it! Launching at just $8.99, be sure to wishlist the game so you don't miss out!

Patch 1.13

Hey! Time for another bunch of improvements! The biggest deal here is a rework of how runs are saved which results in way smaller save file sizes (up to a 100x reduction in my testing on high-level endless runs) and much (up to 10x) faster loading times. The new system has been tested with a wide variety of old and new save files, but of course please let me know if you encounter any issues. Thank you!
[h2]Patch notes (v1.13)[/h2]

Accessibility: You can now hold the aiming mouse button during a turn to fast-forward. No need to use the keyboard anymore.
Changes: These should primarily keep high-level endless mode or infinite-money craziness at bay and not affect "normal" runs all that much.
- Duplicator can’t be duplicated by Duplicators anymore.
- Duplicator now “only” triggers up to 50 times a level.
- Sleepies can’t spawn more Sleepies on defeat (even if the run modifier is active).
Optimization:
- Drastically reduced run save file size when holding a large number of items.
- Drastically reduced loading times when holding a large number of items.
- More visual effect optimizations.
Fixes:
- Fixed Veteran Spelunker sometimes removing too few obstacles.
- Fixed remaining item uses sometimes not showing.

Patch 1.12

Hey! Here's another set of improvements for endless mode (which might also help with some particularly broken pre-endless runs). As always, thanks for the feedback and support! :)

[h2]Patch notes (v1.12)[/h2]

If you have more than 10 item picks, you are now able to randomly roll your remaining ones and immediately leave the shop. (Especially useful for high-level endless runs.)
Fixed Wild Bomb bombs sometimes moving too slowly.
Fixed out-of-bounds enemies sometimes not getting cleaned up (which could result in turns or levels not ending properly).
Optimized lots of explosions being handled simultaneously.
Optimized memory footprint when holdings lots of items.

A favourite coffee-break game Rack and Slay now Steam Deck Verified plus a big update

Rack and Slay is a dungeon crawler where you're a billiard ball, and you've got to shoot yourself across every dungeon level to pot all the other very angry balls. It's good fun and now it's even better.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/06/a-favourite-coffee-break-game-rack-and-slay-now-steam-deck-verified-plus-a-big-update