Cursed Companions News

Thanks to the playtesters and going through hours of their streams, we've seen how different players handle the chaos of Cursed Companions, and some squads are really nailing it… and some, well, let's just say they need to work on their communication skills.


If you're new to the game or just looking to improve, here are some survival tips based on our own experiences and from watching playtesters play.

[h3]Start With Your Voice[/h3]
So we're not your typical shooter. Players won't have weapons at the start. But the main tool you have is your voice and at the risk of sounding cliche, your squad! So, starting with your voice:

• Speak your spells clearly (we know it's hard when you're panicking).
  
• Assign someone who can speak clearly, with clear pronunciation to be the Bookkeeper - they'll read from the spellbooks.
  
• Keep communicating. Keep talking, keep telling others what's going on
  

[h3]Squad Roles That Help You Survive[/h3]
We notice good teams assign roles to their teammates, which is something that we have envisioned all along and it's wonderful to see players naturally doing so, figuring it out as they play. So some roles that you can assign to your teammates are:

• The Torch Bearer: Walks ahead, warns of monsters, leads the group, familiar with the game. Someone who talks a lot.
  
• The Medic: Focuses on healing spells - keep everyone alive. Keep spamming those spells!
  
• The Porter: Hauls treasure and carries loot (give this player the right potions to increase their inventory slots), pair this player with the Wayhome Stone or Teleport Stone
  
• The Bookkeeper: Reads from the Dungeon Codex and Spell Books.
  

Working in pairs or trios works best. Going solo? Unless you're Sung Jin-woo, we don't recommend it.


[h3]Treasure and Loot Strategies[/h3]

• Stash treasures at dungeon exits - it's a time-tested strategy.
  
• Send your fastest player to run them home, either a player with extra speed boost or extra stamina boost
  
• If you hit your treasure goal, don't dump everything into the Treasure Chest! Save the extra Treasures for the next day. You don't get points for exceeding the quotas.
  

[h3]Monster Survival Tips[/h3]

• Foulmoth: Keep it G-rated, channel your inner Disney. This monster does its worst when the team gets into a sticky situation and starts to panic and starts cussing!
  
• Mannequin: Communication and teamwork is the key. Once you got that down, she's pretty much nullified. Good luck if you meet her solo (most likely results in your death).
  
• Boomer Mine: This is essential, once this is unlocked in the shop, get it straightaway. It gives you that one chance to get away from the monster and survive longer.
  

Sometimes, patience is key - wait for monsters to pass before pushing forward.

[h3]Late Game Strategy[/h3]

• Use the facilities like the Bath House and items like the Teleport ring to increase your chances of surviving the tough late game.
  
• Teleport Stones = lifesavers, use them strategically.
  
• Dark Shrine = load up on the Scroll of Praise, you'll never know when you'll encounter the Dark Shrine, but if you do, it's a free Treasure if you've got the scroll with you.
  

[h3]Teamwork is key[/h3]
If you want to survive, play as a team. It can be easy if you work together.

We hope those tips help! We're looking at more of your gameplay streams and seeing how you play the game. Maybe there's something out there we've not covered, we hope to see it in your streams!

Got a clever survival tactic? Come chat with us on Discord and share with the rest of the community!

And as always - WISHLIST!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3265230/Cursed_Companions/

[h2]What's New in our latest Demo[/h2][p]It's the time of game festivals, with the South East Asian Games Showcase, Steam Next Fest and Summer Game fest all under way, we thought we'd might crash the party with a new update for the Cursed Companions demo, featuring new maps, new traps, new monsters and a whole lot of other small improvements and game balancing.[/p][p]If you've already tried the demo, it’s a great time to jump back in![/p][p][/p][p]Special thanks to all the playtesters and streamers in our Discord community giving us great feedback, recording gameplay and being so patient with us. We're so grateful.[/p][p]Here's what we have done so far:[/p][h3]Demo Version 0.9.6 Changelog:[/h3]

• [p]Added new monsters for the Demo: Chatterbox, Meatgrinder and Red Anne[/p]
• [p]Demo is limited to THREE in-game days[/p]
• [p]Added new traps: Death Curse trap[/p]
• [p]Corridors now spawn Treasures[/p]
• [p]Spectators can now see the time remaining till the Day ends[/p]
• [p]Fixed various bugs in the Traitor mode (issues that occur when players die in Voting Hall, etc)[/p]
• [p]Game balancing tweaks[/p]
• [p]Players get notified when new players join the game, when new players leave the game and when a new Game host is assigned[/p]
• [p]Improved Dungeon generation, hopefully the rooms do not overlap each other[/p]
• [p]Added more side entrance room variations[/p]
• [p]Added more Dungeon rooms with obstacles[/p]
• [p]Added a new Map: Abandoned Island[/p]
• [p]Additional UI improvements (recharging sprint bar is now grey)Increased the audio distance for players' death sound effect so other players can hear when their teammate dies[/p]
• [p]Increased the 'You Died' view duration time (so players can see what killed them)[/p]
• [p]Brand new tutorial UI to improve handholding when players play the game for the first time[/p]
• [p]Portal and Dark Shrine now spawn in random locations on the Abyssal Lands[/p]
• [p]Improved Monster AI pathing[/p]
• [p]Updated Spells phrases for English langauge (with some inspired quotes from our fans)[/p]
• [p]Dark Shrine no longer penalizes players for not saying the Queen's greeting on time. It will wait until the player greets the Queen instead.[/p]
• [p]Added some tweaks to the vignetting, grain and a little chroma at the edges of the player camera[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]As always keep the feedback coming, we're getting closer and closer to our early access. If you like the demo, please leave a review on Steam or join our Discord to chat directly with the devs. We’re listening closely and using your input to shape the full game.[/p][p]And, as always - WISHLIST OUR GAME![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

[h2]Why we made it[/h2][p][/p][p]We built Traitor Mode because players were already trying to trick each other in Co-op Mode. They were trying to work the curse words into the conversation and killing their teammate for fun. So it became clear we had to build this new mechanic as it added a new dimension of fun. With just a few tweaks, this co-op game turned into a social deduction game. ːsteamhappyː[/p][p]
In this mode, players are split into two roles: Companions and Traitors. The game assigns these roles randomly at the start. The game Host sets how many traitors there are and can adjust some other settings.

[/p][h2]How it works:[/h2]

• [p]Traitors can see the curse words of Companions. They can use these to damage teammates by saying or baiting others into saying the wrong word.[/p]
• [p] Traitors can curse other players by firing a 'Death Curse projectile'. Only the Traitor firing the Death Curse can see the projectile. Other players can't tell who fired it. (Players who receive a death curse will have a Death Curse aura, everyone can see the aura.)[/p]
• [p]Traitors can even curse themselves to avoid suspicion. [/p]
• [p] Companions can’t see anyone’s curse words but their own.[/p]
• [p]Traitors can see who their fellow traitors are but they can't see their curse words[/p]
• [p] The main goal is to collect Treasure from the Dungeon, same as Co-op Mode, but now you only get 1 day to do it.[/p]
• [p] Each player can carry up to 4 Treasures (compared to 1 in co-op)[/p]
• [p] You get one Emergency Meeting per game. Anyone can call it by saying the trigger phrase - "Emergency Meeting". This teleports everyone who's still alive to the Voting Hall, where the group votes on who they think the traitor is.[/p]
• [p] The player with the most votes is eliminated.
  [/p]

[h2]Win conditions:[/h2]

• [p]Traitors win if all companions are dead, or if the companions fail to collect the required treasure.[/p]
• [p]Companions win by reaching the treasure goal before the Day ends.
  [/p]

[h2]A whole new way to play[/h2][p][/p][p]This mode changes the way you play completely. It adds social deduction to the mechanics. Players start watching what they say, reacting to suspicious behavior, and trying to figure out who’s working against the group. You’ll notice:[/p]

• [p] Traitors faking mistakes or "slipping up" to appear innocent [/p]
• [p]Teammates over-explaining or staying quiet to avoid attention (this is a dead giveaway, especially if they are really chatty beforehand) [/p]
• [p]Accidental "Death cursing" (firing the Death Curse projectile) from panicking or poor timing[/p]

[p]It’s a completely different vibe from Co-op Mode and it’s made for people who like to lie, bluff, or catch others in the act. [/p][p]If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go. Just don’t be surprised if your best friend is the one that curses you!! Wishlist us! [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p]

[h2]Words Have Power - How speech became a game mechanic [/h2]

When we first tested the voice activated mechanic, the idea was simple: you say the spell, and cool stuff happens. But so what, right? It's cool only the first time.

Then while test playing the proof-of-concept prototypes, we realized it was way more fun (and chaotic) when someone else could say it for you. Suddenly, you could rely on your friends to help you out. That teamwork angle really clicked, and it became one of the core pillars of the game.

But then we thought… if words could help, what if they could also harm?



That’s how the idea of curse words - literally, words that are cursed - were born. Saying the wrong word can doom your team and adds to the chaos and laughter.


Then taking this concept of 'taboo' words further, adding an imposter or traitor mode was the next natural step. In traitor mode, the chosen traitor (who can see curse words) can intentionally (and claim it was an accident!) say the wrong words to kill non-traitors and win the game.

[h2]Writing Spells 101[/h2]

At first, our spell phrases were super serious, like "Ashes to Ashes" or "Whispers of Ruin". But once we started testing (and messing about), the serious "wizardy" stuff didn't feel right, it was just funnier to say funny words and phrases.

Writing those spells wasn’t as simple as we thought. Under normal conditions, the spells trigger fine but when players panic, they speak faster, with a higher pitch, and mispronounce everything!

We had to craft spells that were short - around 3 to 4 syllables - and could be said clearly in under two seconds. We rewrote them so often, we ended up making a tool just to test them. We’re now working on releasing that tool to the community so you can make your own spells and share them. More on that soon.

The name Cursed Companions feels more perfect than ever. The pun on the word "Cursed" works so well. "Curse" as in hexed, and "curse" as in speaking foul words.

[h2]New demo coming, stay tuned[/h2]
Thanks for following along - we're still cooking. We have a new demo coming up for Next Fest so stay tuned for more updates. Drop by our Discord channel and say Hi.

And as always WISHLIST!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3265230/Cursed_Companions/

Howdy Companions! Part three of our progress update continues. We're covering topics such as user experience and improvements to the game mechanics.

[h2]UI/UX Improvements[/h2]

[h3]New Menu Screen[/h3]

In the Demo, most people didn't see our Traitor mode! That's why playtesting is so important (duh)! The new menu screen is designed to be more user-friendly. The two game modes - Co-op and Traitor - are now in a more prominent location.

[h3]Other UI/UX improvements and Bug fixes[/h3]

• Host Identification: There was earlier no way to know who the host was, especially if the earlier host disconnected and the host status was transferred to another client.
  
• UI improvements: We’ve made a few tweaks to the UI to make the game more intuitive. Pressing the Esc buttons will close the UI overlays first (before this, it always brought up the Settings screen). And other small improvements have been made for smoother navigation.
  
• Late Joiner Issues Resolved: Players who joined games in progress were experiencing syncing issues, which resulted in different gameplay experiences. E.g. Late joiners see open traps when it in actual fact was closed, or vastly different dungeons were generated. We’ve fixed this problem (hopefully).
  

[h2]Tweaks to Game Mechanics[/h2]

[h3]You get a curse! You get a curse! Everyone gets a curse![/h3]

All players get a Death Curse by default at the start, in the Co-op Mode. Why? The Death Curse mechanics only kicked in when players died and respawned on Day 2, which delayed the introduction of the Death Curse concept. Therefore we decided to give everyone a curse when they start! So the fun/chaos starts earlier too!

[h3]Inventory Tweaks and UI[/h3]

As you get deeper in the game, you may have upgraded your inventory and treasure carrying capability. And it was obvious that players needed a way to see how much they could carry. Secondly, we increased the item slot by one (now you can carry 5 items). This is also due to the change we made covered by the next point below.

[h3]Loot now includes potions and items[/h3]

Abyssal Lands and Dungeon loot drops includes items such as potions, items, along with the original Adventurer Parts and the Coins. This makes life a little better, especially if you have no Gold left to buy items, you may pick up some life-saving items in the Lands or in the Dungeons.

Say, you end up deep in the Dungeons, lost and destined for death, and through sheer luck pick up a Teleport Stone and survive! What a story to tell! That's what we want to achieve!

[h3]Other changes to the mechanics:[/h3]

• Gregory spawns on all maps now, previously it was a coin toss, 50/50 chance.
  
• Boomer Mine stuns Monsters (they slow down and attacks deal 0 damage) allowing you to escape
  
• Lurker, Bride, Mandrake, and Mannequin will re-target if they no longer detect you.
  
• Reward for completing each Quest loop (Gold and Black Coins)
  
• Dark Shrine will revive dead players at the Shrine instead of on the Island
  
• Multiple monsters can spawn in the same spawn spot in late stages
  
• Balance tweaks to Traitor mode (Players now can carry more than one Treasure, so Traitors don't always win)
  

[h2]Roadmap[/h2]

• Working on a tool for players to change the phrases: make your own phrases and share with your friends
  
• A new monster who doesn't like people to stare, plus a few more, but we won't ruin the surprise
  
• More Treasures with special abilities
  
• New Dungeon rooms and magic doors
  
• New languages for the spells and phrases
  

[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
We're working hard fixing bugs, and watching all the playtests and constantly improving the mechanics and user experience and content! Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, WISHLIST!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3265230/Cursed_Companions/

If you want to get in touch with us, join our Discord, or follow us on Twitter.

Regards,
The Devs at Crimson Forge Studios