The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth News

Beloved roguelike traumatic-childhood-em-up The Binding Of Issac: Rebirth turned 10 yesterday, and it’s half off on Steam to celebrate. What’s more, maker Edmund McMillen has announced that the foretold online co-op update is due on the 18th of this month, alongside a “considerable” balance update. Consider me considering the considerability of said considerable update!

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Welcome back to the Isaac Online BetaAlpha! We have some bug fixes and game improvements ready for you all!

As mentioned last time, this is a Beta Alpha, so not all planned features and game modes are available right now. We also STRONGLY RECOMMEND that all players participating in the Beta Alpha make backup copies of your save data files in a safe folder. For those who have made backups but lost their progress marks, the steps to get your back is at the end of this post.

BUG REPORTING

Where to report bugs: [email protected]
Subject line: #IsaacOnlineBeta 1.9.5

DO NOT EMAIL ANY OTHER EMAIL ADDRESS. WE WON'T SEE THOSE REPORTS. You can message me on twitter, but send bug ports to the email above with the subject above please

Include the version number in your subject line, in the exact format listed above. This is very important for us to filter and keep track of the most current issues. The version number can be found on the title screen, main menu, online menu, lobby screen and in-game pause menu. It's everywhere now :)

If you encounter a crash, your crash log files are extremely helpful for us to diagnose the issue. Here's where to find them.

In a file explorer window, navigate to Documents>My Games>Binding of Isaac Repentance>crash_dumps

There are 2 files for each crash, A DMP file and a TXT file. Attach both of these to your email and our developer wizards will be very happy."



CHANGELOG

v1.9.5
- Mom's bed now revives all players
- Online Matches Hard Mode online

Fixes
- Pedestal item functionality
- Book of Virtues + Mr. Me! wisps killing themselves on cooldown doors
- Easter egg menu
- Player off-screen indicators would sometimes display the wrong character
- Desync if a player paused while a fullscreen overlay (ex. rainbow poop) was going
- Aimed attacks (ex. Marked, Ludovico, etc.) could slightly move the camera of other players
- Players revived after special bosses (ex. Mother)
- Lilith ghost baby from shooting
- Wisps staying around after player dies
- Lockup in text chat under specific conditions



ONLINE BETA OPT-IN




Are you ready for round 2? Here's how to start playing online:
Step 1: Have The Binding of Isaac: Repentance installed in your Steam Library
Step 2: right-click on the title in your library and select Properties
Step 3: go to the Betas tab and type the beta key [insert beta key] into the Private Betas box and click Check Code.
Step 4: Click the button that will appear that says "Opt in to [beta branch name]. You should then also see [beta branch name] in the Betas Participation box in that same tab.

Following this, your game should update, and the next time you launch it you should see "Online Beta" at the title screen, and the "Online" option at the main menu.
To return to the standard release version of Repentance, simply open the Betas tab again and set the Betas Participation tab to "None".

Be sure to use the new password: theyvegonetoplaid

Keep reading if you need help with other stuff! See you online XOXO.



Lost Completion Marks
Here are the steps that should help in restoring your missing Completion Marks, if this issue has affected you.
Step 1: Have your save file backups handy! Hopefully you heeded our advice in the Online Beta announcement post to make save file backups before joining the Beta, because without them, this method will not work.

Step 2: In your Steam library, right click on The Binding of Isaac and open the ‘Properties’ window

Step 3: On the ‘General’ Properties tab, click on the ‘Steam Cloud’ switch to temporarily disable the Steam Cloud function.

Step 4: Open the folder where your active Binding of Isaac save files are kept. Take the backup save file you want to use, and copy it into this folder. Rename this file “persistentgamedata1.dat” for it to take the place of your slot 1 save. For save slots 2 and 3, copy backup saves to this folder and rename them “persistentgamedata2.dat” and “persistentgamedata3.dat”, respectively.

Step 5: Next, launch the game. At the save file select screen, you should now see your backup save files restored, and when you go to the character select screen, you should see your Completion Marks restored as well.

Step 6: Close the game, then open the ‘Properties” window again, and click the Steam Cloud switch again to turn the Steam Cloud function back on.

Step 7: Launch the game again. Steam should notify you that the Steam Cloud files and local files do not match, and will prompt you to proceed with either the local files or the cloud files. Choose ‘local files’, and the backup saves you just copied will overwrite the Steam Cloud files.

From there, the game should again function normally, with your Completion Marks restored.

It is me, your amigo, Tyrone

Hello and welcome to the Binding of Isaac Online Beta!

The Nicalis team has been hard at work getting Online working for your favorite game. This beta program is for anyone who owns Repentance on Windows+Steam. This free update allows you to play the game in co-op multiplayer mode online, with friends and/or other players online.

I want to go over some details regarding the Online Beta here. This will be a longer post, but I'm hoping you make the time to read it as it will be useful for your experience.

SAVE BACKUP
Before you start, please keep in mind that this is a Beta, and not all features may be available right away. We also STRONGLY RECOMMEND that all players participating in the Beta make backup copies of your save data files in a safe folder, in the event of any bugs that could cause you to lose hard-earned progress.



BETA SCHEDULE
The team will continue to work towards a release candidate into the future. That said, the beta will generally be available two weeks out of each month and offline the other two weeks. The Nicalis team will work on fixes and improvements from feedback and bug reports during the Beta. So please send whatever you can find :)

A new opt-in password will be posted here or on my Twitter account, X, whatever you wan to call it, around the end of each month for the subsequent version. This cycle will repeat until we feel online mode is ready for its official release, near the end of 2024.

BUG REPORTING
This is VERY IMPORTANT and I can't stress how much we would love your help to make the online experience better for everyone.

Where to report bugs: [email protected]
Subject line: #IsaacOnlineBeta 1.9.1



The subject is very specific for filtering, to ensure it gets seen and properly flagged by the Nicalis development team.
- Do not add any spaces between words in the hashtag.
- Do not change any format of the subject line, such as removing the hashtag
- Do not create your own subject line

For example:

Yes: #IsaacOnlineBeta 1.9.1
NO: #Isaaac Online Beta1.9.1, #IsaacOnline Beta, #OnlineBeta, #BetaIsaac, I found a bug in Isaac

We need the exact string in quotes "#IsaacOnlineBeta 1.9.1" (without the quotes). The only thing that will change for your subject line with future updates will be the version number.

BUG DETAILS
OK, so your game crashed, desynced or something else—describe the issue as thoroughly as you can, and include the seed number if possible. Including links to videos or screenshots of your bug can also be very helpful to us. Please DO NOT attach large files as they'll get filtered and deleted.

As a reminder, this mode is in beta and bug encounters are expected, so we highly recommend making copies of your save data files in a safe backup folder. Details about this at the top of this post, in case you missed it

We know most of you are not professional testers and that's OK :) but the more info you can provide in your bug reports, the quicker we can fix bugs in online mode. Here are some example bug reports:

Great!:
game crashed on Caves 2 when picking up Breakfast item after beating the boss
boss was Peep
seed was XYZW-0123
3 players: Isaac, Azazel, and ???. Isaac and Azazel were in for entire match, ??? joined on Basement 2
happened immediately after pickup animation finished
log file and save data are attached

Good:
game crashed on Caves 2 when picking up an item
3 players: Isaac, Azazel, and ???
happened after the pickup animation finished

Bad:
game crashed

In these three examples, the last one "bad" is completely unusable as a bug report. We can't do anything to fix it without more details.

PLAYABLE MODES
For the initial beta release, Normal mode will be available to play in Online Beta mode. We plan to make more game modes available in 2024.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND UNLOCKS IN ONLINE
Achievements will still be available in Online Beta, with some caveats. Players who join a match already in progress will not earn achievements for that run. A special icon will appear to let you know that you will not receive achievements for the current run.

COMPLETION MARKS
Completion marks will be available in Online Beta, but these ones will not cross over with the ones that appear on your singleplayer character select screen. Online multiplayer will have its own separate collection of completion marks! Similar to achievements, players who join a match in progress will not earn completion marks for that run.

UI UPDATES
We've made UI and HUD changes for online. Several options have been added to the Options Menu to make this UI more customizable, including making the display HUD for your co-op partners' health meters and pocket items more compact, more minimal, or even hidden if you prefer.

VERSION COMPATIBILITY
The Online Beta is being developed for The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, and will not be available for past versions (Rebirth, Afterbirth, Afterbirth+) ever.

This update does not include new content such as additional new items, characters, etc.
However, the Online Multiplayer does have a few updated game mechanics to improve the fun of playing Isaac in co-op mode.


ONLINE BETA OPT-IN
With all that out of the way, how do you play?



Step 1: Have The Binding of Isaac: Repentance installed in your Steam Library
Step 2: right-click on the title in your library and select Properties
Step 3: go to the Betas tab and type the beta key into the Private Betas box and click Check Code.
Step 4: Click the button that will appear that says "Opt in to [beta branch name]. You should then also see [beta branch name] in the Betas Participation box in that same tab.



Following this, your game should update, and the next time you launch it you should see a prompt that you will have to read and accept, then you'll see "Online Beta" at the title screen, and the "Online" option at the main menu.
To return to the standard release version of Repentance, simply open the Betas tab again and set the Betas Participation tab to "None".

That's it! I think? Oh yes, you need the password don't you? combthedesert

Changes
- The Cantripped! challenge now only spawns active item cards, item cards can be swapped out when picking up new cards when all card slots are already full
- Tainted Cain now has the same starting stats as Cain (increased damage and reduced range)
- Salvaging Tainted Cain's active item no longer spawns special drops in special rooms (such as secret rooms)
- The fire aura granted by Breath of Life + Judas' Birthright no longer destroys projectiles
- Adjusted the active to passive item ratio from TMTRAINER from 1/2 to 1/4
- Glitch items can no longer destroy Cathedral light beams, ending chests and challenge trophies
- Enemies respawned by the D7 no longer drop loot when killed if they were champions and no longer grant score in daily runs
- Great Gideon's crawlspace no longer appears in the Ascent (as it crashed the game when entered)
- Expansion Pack can no longer trigger the Glowing Hourglass
- Items in the Death Certificate area now spawn as "option" items similarly to items in Boss Rush and Angel rooms - the player is automatically returned to the main floor whenever picking up an item would cause other items in the room to disappear
- Added rubber banding to Star of Bethlehem - it now moves faster off screen when the player is ahead of it along the path to the boss room and slows down if the player is lagging behind
- Star of Bethlehem now moves towards Mega Satan's room in the Chest and the Dark Room if its door was unlocked
- Vanishing Twin is now shared by both of Tainted Lazarus' forms - this also fixes several bugs that occur when flipping while Vanishing Twin is copying a boss
- Spindown Dice is now available in challenges and daily runs, items that are tagged to never appear in those modes are considered locked and will be skipped over
- Bag of Crafting is now available in challenges and daily runs, as well as when playing as Tainted Lost
- Bag of Crafting now obeys changes to item availability such as challenges, daily runs and Tainted Lost's adjusted item pools and will not craft items that cannot be normally obtained
- Death Certificate now ignores changes to item availability caused by items or characters (i.e. Tainted Lost or Sacred Orb) and will only refrain from spawning items locked behind achievements or current game rules (challenges or daily runs)
- Added new co-op babies
- Updated some of Eden's hair styles
- Updated a few item qualities
- Updated localization files

Fixes
- Fixed a crash that could occur when firing large amounts of Haemolacria shots with laser attacks
- Fixed a crash caused by killing Siren while she has control of Lil Delirium
- Fixed reward plates crashing the game when attempting to spawn enemies in Home
- Fixed devil room doors and other temporary doors leaving an invisible door with an invalid state behind when removed (this could cause crashes with certain items such as Mr. Me)
- Fixed dying from taking a devil deal sometimes displaying the wrong portrait on the game over screen
- Fixed enemies attempting to pathfind through Bomb Grimaces and Quake Grimaces
- Fixed We Need to go Deeper/Mom's Shovel being unable to create crawlspaces with Car Battery
- Fixed item pedestals duplicated by Crooked Penny forgetting their option group, allowing all duplicated options to be picked up
- Fixed instant death when turning into Keeper using Clicker while having 2 or more broken hearts
- Fixed instant death when Esau Jr. grants Heartbreak when used as Keeper
- Fixed Tainted Lazarus becoming intangible when using Flip with Car Battery and Birthright
- Fixed The Empress? not applying its speed decrease as intended
- Fixed The Empress? not tracking HP overflow correctly, removing more hearts than intended upon wearing off in certain situations
- Fixed The High Priestess being able to target Dark Esau and Blood Puppy
- Fixed Tooth and Nail not ticking while Isaac is holding an item above his head (this could be abused for near-infinite invincibility)
- Fixed Tooth and Nail not removing its invincibility effect until the room is left if the item is dropped or destroyed
- Fixed the Broken Modem sometimes causing enemies to remain frozen forever if the item is dropped or destroyed when enemies are present in the room
- Fixed the Book of Shadows visually giving wings to Isaac when he also has Jupiter
- Fixed items gained through full run reroll effects (such as D4) not contributing towards transformations
- Fixed transformation progress not being properly decreased when holding several copies of the same passive item and losing one or more
- Fixed active items losing their transformation progress when crafting a new one as Tainted Cain
- Fixed active items losing their transformation progress when dropping them with Butter!
- Fixed not being able to shoot or interact after using a pill while flying during the Mega Mush effect
- Fixed a softlock that could occur when saving and resuming a run while picking up Dad's Note
- Fixed being able to use Soul of Isaac on Dad's Note
- Fixed Trisagion effects lingering when combined with Lachryphagy or Angelic Prism
- Fixed Star of Bethlehem not entering special boss rooms in the Blue Womb and Corpse II
- Fixed the D10 being able to devolve permanently charmed enemies
- Fixed the Book of Revelations replacing Mother's boss room with Death in the Red Redemption challenge
- Fixed Chub, C.H.A.D. and Carrion Queen missing their body segments when spawned by Delirious
- Fixed Technology 2's laser persisting when changing form as the Forgotten or when it is removed/rerolled
- Fixed Cursed Eye only allowing the Forgotten to charge up to 4 attacks rather than the intended 5
- Fixed a softlock caused by using Clicker or reviving from Lazarus' Rags as Tainted Forgotten while his body is in a location that would be inaccessible without flight
- Fixed Lilith being able to shoot tears normally when using the Glowing Hourglass after reviving as a different character
- Fixed the Glowing Hourglass not losing its uses when used in the Beast fight and behaving like an infinitely reusable teleport
- Fixed the Glowing Hourglass not losing its uses when rewinding to a state where it is inside Moving Box
- Fixed the Glowing Hourglass triggering effects that normally trigger at the start of a new level when rewinding back to a previous level
- Fixed Twisted Pair entering a bugged state when rewinding with the Glowing Hourglass or starting a victory lap
- Fixed Guppy's Eye incorrectly predicting item drops from shopkeepers
- Fixed enemies rarely spawning behind rocks in certain challenge room/Greed mode waves
- Fixed a minor hitch in the loop of The Lamb's fight theme
- Fixed The Sad Onion's costume not appearing on most characters

Modding changes
- Added extra safety checks to prevent crashing on startup after disabling mods that contain custom characters or items
- Fixed a crash when resuming a run that was stopped while in the temporary room created by the goto command
- Fixed not being able to register more than one MC_PRE_PLAYER_COLLISION callback
- Added a new debug flag (14) which displays Lua memory usage as a graph
- Added a dedicated memory pool for use by Lua scripts (this should prevent issues with loading sounds and textures when many large mods are loaded at the same time)
- Moved all callback related logic to Lua (this should improve performance when many callbacks are registered)
- Added Isaac.RunCallback(callbackId, entityId, ...), runs all functions tied to the given callback and entityId (entityId can be nil for callbacks that do not depend on specific entity types)
- Isaac.AddCallback, Isaac.RemoveCallback and Isaac.RunCallback now accept any value as a callback ID, even non-numeric values such as strings, this may be used by mods to define custom callbacks for other mods to use
- The full list of changes can be found here: https://pastebin.com/raw/ujwS23xf