1. Gnomancer
  2. News

Gnomancer News

Spit and polish

  • Food weighs a lot less, so players shouldn't get trapped by it
  • If you own FortressCraft, you'll get a free pet. Not balanced, working or optional. Feedback wanted!
  • Implemented a collision force pre-map to allow much much faster Gnome and Pet simulation.
  • Fixed an issue where progression of multiple slots was added together
  • Pets should no longer Leak
  • Pets should die if you die.
  • Added saving spinner. It's like an actual console game!
  • Fixed an issue with best time readouts
  • Tweaked the size of Combat Text
  • Added a cloud pass for daylight levels
  • Reworked the atmospherics and fog for dungeons
  • Fixed waggling Gnomes. Again. https://i.gyazo.com/a88bbce4cc1bc9890251ede0e0155e85.mp4

New levels, performance boosts and map polish.

After much discussion, I've decided to focus on Pets before Loot. Pets will be stat-boosting and upgradable. How they unlock, how they work has still to be decided, but a hard evening's work and it's already looking kinda neat.

On top of that, we're mostly happy with the initial raft of maps available, so I've extended it to cover 2 bosses and 3 dungeons across 12 levels. I spent about 6 hours playing the maps and making tweaks based on that today, so I'm happy to push this patch out now.

  • Auto detail should now smartly modulate Ambient Occlusion based on resolution.
  • Low Detail will now force you to 1280x720p, if you're in a regular 16:9 base resolution.
  • Another raft of polish across all current levels.
  • Unlocked access to level 12, allowing players access to 2 dungeons and 3 bosses.
  • Fixed an issue where choosing a new difficulty didn't update the accessible ring on the map.
  • Added different ways for Map Designers to spawn Gnomes into the map, to add to the variety. AutoGnomes should also have a significantly different look, so players shouldn't try and resurrect them.
  • Fixed super-high pitched pickup SFX
  • Started work on stat-boosting combat pets.

Polish takes such a long time.

  • Added the ability for Health Bars to be offset by mob type. Any health bars that aren't in the right place - let me know!
  • Changed upload timing of stats.
  • Changed the Limited performance option to better approach 30fps. This should only affect people on high-refresh rate monitors, where the divisor became really quite random. Again; this option is only designed for people who are trying to do Steam Remote Play or who are trying to save power/cool a laptop.
  • Tweaked rules on how and when Gnomes can teleport.

Week 2, Patch 1

  • Fixed some errors when Gnomes shoot at debris
  • Added Health Bars. Disable Damage Numbers under settings if they displease you.
  • Added achievements to track how far through the game's completion they are.

Week 1!

After a week in Early Access, things are going well. We've been watching live streams and Let's Plays and inviting people to play, and focusing our initial development time on addressing those. Whilst (as you'll see below) we've addressed and improved loads of things, the to-do list is just getting bigger - https://trello.com/b/gg63yuKC/gnomancer

So, if you're not following the daily updates, then here's a weekly digest for you!

  • Fixed some issues with stat tracking and achievements. This may mean your achievements reset, but re-running the game should force them to unlock again.
  • Updated some FAQ entries after watching a couple of streams. Keep 'em coming!
  • Wrote a threaded asyncronous texture loading system
  • Many textures are now dynamically loaded on-demand via a thread. This should greatly improve initial loading times. I've no idea why Unity doesn't support this out of the box, but it was a fun technical challenge just before release!
  • Locked away the skin menu. It's not done! Stop looking at it!
  • Added achievement for meeting (and rescuing) the King
  • Added achievement for defeating the Fire Golem, the first proper boss. Cat-in-a-box doesn't count.
  • Hooked up achievement correctly for freeing the Village
  • Made sure Gnomes can't ever get in your way. https://i.gyazo.com/20f37b3978b6a507c0433e87bb7035a7.mp4
  • Added 2/3/4 player achievements. Removed the ability to hax in extra players with keyboard shortcuts.
  • A ton more polish and detail on the first level
  • Blanked out the game camera when watching cutscenes in resolutions other than 16:9
  • Added army size achievements.
  • Tweaked the lookahead based on Army Offset for Shared camera games, affecting 2-4 player games.
  • Tweaked the point at which bosses trigger cutscenes.
  • XP per level is now displayed correctly again for people who aren't running at 300 fps. My clever system to keep the framerate up took too long to complete else!
  • Rune Rocks have got a V2 placeholder that should be a lot clearer when you've destroyed them.
  • Fixed Gnomes Raised readout, that broke when people raised over 100,000 Gnomes. You guys...
  • RuneStones no longer look at you when on higher difficulties.
  • Changed WSAD to WASD after someone nearly had an aneurism over it.
  • Added markers to show if a level is accessible, and where you need to stand
  • Added map-to-map markers to show where the next level is, when unlocked.
  • Fixed an issue with depth of field on Medium difficulty
  • Fixed alignment and tidy up in a lot of menus
  • Levels that are unlocked but not completed are now marked clearly on the map.
  • Tanks will no longer attempt to block insta-kill damage
  • Rogues will no longer attempt to dodge insta-kill damage
  • Gnomes you get bonus XP for no longer count towards Gnome deaths
  • Fixed collision on a number of fences, meaning powerups
  • Fixed an issue where mobs could move up in the air and over players at higher difficulties.