HexWind News

Hey VR die-hards. Update 22 is live with an expanded set of worlds to explore and an overhaul on the visuals of the off-hand. Let’s dive in.

[h2]Procedurally Varying Environments[/h2]
After spending the last few weeks on combat it was time to turn our attention to the mission environments. We want every run through the HexWind board to feel fresh and unique so we have been working on an expanded set of environments and how we can introduce more variance into the world every time you enter a mission. This week we have introduced a few new Fire, Earth, Ice and Chaos environments for you to check out and some randomness in what you will see each time you enter.

There will be more of these to come as we continue to build out the world. You should see some more interesting battleground layouts and some great new visuals. Look out for the flaming skull in the sky. That’s one of our favourites!

[h2]Off-Hand Visual Refresh[/h2]

The off-hand has been taking on more abilities over the past few weeks. This week we reworked the visuals on the off-hand to be a little more functional while still delivering on beautiful visuals.

[h3]Shield and Dash[/h3]
The shield now stays stowed until you need it and you can bring it out in a flash by pressing the grip button. This also puts you into dash mode so you can punch through enemies with your fist. We now get the combo meter out of your way when you dash to make sure you don’t trigger a combo unintentionally.

[h3]Spell Ammo[/h3]
When you have a spell equipped on the off-hand you can always see how much ammo you have left with a clear bar of energy in the centre of your arm. This should read more clearly than the bracelet on the wrist we were previously using.

[h3]Dash Feedback[/h3]
We have tried to make it much clearer when you are ready to dash and when you are not. A new dash indicator has been added that shows you when you are in range and also whether you have enough mana to perform a dash so you can react accordingly in every situation.


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We hope you enjoy the new ways to experience HexWind that we added this update. Come on over to our Discord server at Discord server to let us know what you think!

The Charm Games Team

Hey VR die-hards. Update 21 is live with a new ability slot focusing on Dash and defensive magic, with three new elemental abilities. Let’s dive in.

[h2]Bracer (Passive) Slot[/h2]
The big change in this update is the new Bracer ability slot. Magic in this slot is intended to modify Dash or to provide a defensive advantage in combat. The bracer is the third and final ability slot we wanted to add in Early Access for HexWind, to give more options for defensive combat moves and choices for passive effects to take into combat. You’ll see new elemental themed visuals on your off-hand depending on which ability you’ve chosen in the bracer slot. With the bracer and the small shield attached to it, you can now deflect or absorb projectiles with both hands, giving a bit more control in the chaos of combat.

[h2]New Bracer Abilities[/h2]
To go along with the new bracer slot, we’ve included three new elemental abilities:

Storm Surge carries a shock of Storm Magic that damages your target and up to two nearby enemies when you land a punch after using Dash.

Cold Front projects a wave of Ice Magic when using Dash, damaging your target and any enemies behind it.

Flame Ward spawns up to three orbs of Fire Magic which orbit you and damage any enemy they touch. Orbs are consumed when they cause damage, and respawn over time.

We added these abilities in a slightly rough visual state just because we’re finding them so fun we didn’t want to sit on them. We’ll have updates to the visuals and combat feedback coming in Update 22. Check out the new abilities, come over to our Discord server to let us know what you think!

Hey VR die-hards. Update 20 is out now, and continuing our current focus on fleshing out combat mechanics we’ve revamped the Dash ability. Let’s dive in.

[h2]New and Improved Dash[/h2]

Updating and improving basic combat moves is our current focus and Dash is the first ability to get some love with significant changes this week. We wanted Dash to be more focused and tactical within combat versus the dodge-ish move it has acted like until now. We also wanted to make it a core combat move instead of unlocked only when you’ve chosen that card. So, Dash is now always available in combat regardless of your loadout, costing mana to use.



Dash is also now a targeted ability - you will see a round target indicator pop up on an enemy within range. To Dash, hold up your hand and punch toward that enemy - you’ll dash toward them and land a hit which will one-shot kill a basic enemy and damage stronger enemies. If you’ve played Arkham Shadow, you’ll get the general idea. Our team is enjoying the new Dash a ton, we hope you will too!

[h2]Daily Run Leaderboards[/h2]

Now that Daily Run mode is in place, you can browse through past leaderboards to see the winners. Check it out in the back of the Mausoleum behind the Sarcophagus, and go find your name there!

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We’re continuing to make big changes pretty quickly and your feedback helps a ton - come on over to our Discord server to let us know what you think!
The Charm Games Team

Hey VR die-hards. Update 19 is live with a teaser of a new game mode designed to show off some map variety and give your highest scoring game session a place in the HexWind record books. Let’s dive in.

[h2]Daily Run Mode[/h2]
With this update we’ve opened preview access to Daily Run mode. Every day at 10am Pacific, there will be a new map available to play and compete on against other players for the best map score. At the end of each day, the highest scoring player on that day’s map will get their name permanently added to the scoreboard for that map. Mission score is the first thing we’re tracking on the leaderboards, and we’ll be adding additional leaderboard stats soon.

We’ve tested Daily Run mode very thoroughly, but the Early Access tag applies in a big way on this update. It’s one of the more intricate features we’ve added so far in terms of potentially introducing stability issues. If you run into any problems, particularly blockers or situations where it seems like the run progression is broken, it’s a huge help if you come over to our Discord server to let us know so we can get a fix out ASAP.

Last week we rolled out the Beat the Devs competition - so far a few people have tried but no one has successfully knocked Cory off the top of the hill. We’re going to keep the contest open for at least another week, so you’ve still got time to jump into the contest!
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Check out the new Daily Run mode and come over to our Discord server to let us know what you think!

The Charm Games Team

Hey VR die-hards. Update 18 is live with scoreboards now implemented and we want you to come test your skills against our team! Let’s dive in.

[h2]Scoreboards[/h2]
We’ve been working on adding scoreboards to HexWind for a while and they’re finally here. In this update, you’ll see a global scoreboard for points tallied across a campaign. Right now you’ll see the list of top scorers, and you can see your total score. We still need to add the ability for you to see your rank on the global leaderboard, and that’s coming soon. We’ll also be adding other leaderboard statistics soon (speedrun times, for example). This feature is very much still in progress, so be warned we will have to reset leaderboard stats multiple times between now and when HexWind is ready to leave Early Access. Enjoy the competition in the meantime!

[h2]Beat the Devs Contest![/h2]
Now that we’ve got scores to tally, we want you to come test your skills against our team here at Charm. Between now and 10am Pacific Time on March 18, anyone who posts a score higher than our highest scoring person on the dev team will get a permanent in-game place of honor, with your Steam username listed on our upcoming Champion’s Wall in the Mausoleum. You can also come to our Discord server to get a free HexWind key to share with a friend. Folks on our team will have “Charm Games” at the end of their username. Our Audio Director Cory looks to be getting the early lead on this. That guy already has way too many awards and accolades to his name, so somebody please come in and knock him off the top!

[h2]Other Updates[/h2]
We also added a new board layout in this update which you’ll see in Act 2. Plus there are new music tracks (that’s Cory again), a new axe-throwing enemy variant, and some quality-of-life bugfixes to spell behaviour and other stuff listed in more detail in our build notes.

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We love hearing strong feelings so come on over to our Discord server to let us know what you think!
The Charm Games Team