Cyclopean News

This updates includes many small changes and some big ones. Read carefully!

[h3]No Saving in Dungeons[/h3]
You are no longer able to save the game in dungeons. Otherwise saving works the same as before. After having this ability, this may seem like it is a big inconvenience. However, I recommend sitting with it for a while before judging. My hope is that it will increase the tension and suspense in dungeons and make them feel more dangerous. I think this will improve the game. I may be wrong, but Early Access is for testing things like this out.

[h3]Treasure Maps[/h3]
In my recent play-throughs I found treasure maps to be kind of boring. I was not really motivated to use them, having enough gold, weapons and armor, and I ended up selling them. As a result I decided to spice them up a bit. There are two major changes to how treasure maps work now.

First, they no longer require mind to read, but rather rely on the player's level. Higher level maps will only be readable by higher level players. Now treasure maps can be used by any kind of player, independent of character stats.

The second, and maybe more important change, is that successful treasure hunts will grant considerable experience points. In the higher levels, gaining xp seemed to be one of the biggest bottlenecks to having fun. So once you are at higher levels, treasure maps will provide a solid way to grind your xp. I hope this makes the maps more useful to players.

[h3]Smaller Changes[/h3]

• Javelins will now automatically close the inventory menu once enemy is killed
  
• Reading the Cat Scrolls will heal sanity instead of depleting it
  
• Clicking the save button now closes the main menu - going right back to the gameplay
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Failing to load a game caused all sorts of issues, including not allowing a new game to be started!
  
• Fixes to some inquiry responses
  
• Missing correct ceiling tiles in Vaults of Zin
  
• Bones and monsters were competing for visibility when on the same tile
  

[h3]Vaults of Zin[/h3]
The Vaults of Zin have received an update. This time the layout has been further randomized. It looks more or less the same, but each level of the map may (or may not) have a different layout than the older maps.

[h3]Javelins[/h3]
You may find or purchase these items like any other. You can use them in combat as an alternative to attacking or marshaling your allies. Using javelins will prevent your enemy from attacking that turn.

[h3]Use Button[/h3]
In combat you will now see a "use" button. This will open your inventory, and allow you to use things like javelins, bandages and other stuff. The buttons for "flee" and "yield" have been combined. Once you attempt and fail to flee, you will then only see the option to yield.

There is nothing new in terms of gameplay, I just have been adding a little variety to the game's environment art. Here are a couple examples...

The previous build introduced a new bug. Enemies in the overworld would spawn just a bit higher up than they were supposed to. It looked the same in-game, since you are seeing everything from the top down, but they could not properly interact with the player. So while you could fight them, they could not fight you back, and you could not search their remains after a fight.

This should all be working now. However, if you saved a game in the previous build, you may have to enter a dungeon and return to the overworld in order to reset the enemy positions.

The game's overworld received some slight graphical changes. Nothing gameplay related. I felt like some areas, such as the Zoogs area, the Ghouls graveyard, and the Gug Kingdom were pretty dense visually, and other places were a bit too sparse.



I just added some a few different visual elements to help things look more consistent.