Chronicon News

Hey everyone!

Major Content Update #7 is finally here!
And it's a big one - in fact so big so the update notes don't fit in this announcement, so you'll find all of them over here.
You can also check out this little video I made to see some cool new stuff and builds.


This update introduces a new Endgame system based around the old Anomalies, however now you manually get to pick the difficulty without having to slog through 2000 floors before your über build faces a challenge. :-)

Numbers has also been squished a lot to be more easily balanced and maintained in the long run, so if you were hitting in the trillions before, you will most likely not do that anymore, though you should be getting through content of the same difficulty at the same pace regardless. Also please note that not all builds have been given the attention they deserve, and there will be a lot of updates leading up to 1.0 that adds new powers, balances sets and existing powers, etc. to bring as many builds as possible to great power and fun!

The Anomalies have been split into 3 different types:

• Random Anomaly - similar to the old system, with the exception that no bosses appear and they don't automatically scale.
  
• Dungeon Anomaly - generates a 3-floor anomaly with a similar layout on all floors, and ends with a boss fight in a dedicated boss room at the end. Rewards a big chest and special crafting materials and Runes.
  
• Elite Dungeon Anomaly - A Dungeon Anomaly but has a higher concentration of Elites and Champions, better rewards at the end, and you may not leave it until you are done, or die.
  

A new Rune system has been added:

• Runestones are received as rewards from Elite Dungeon Anomalies, and they can be transmuted with items with powers on them to extract the power from the item onto the rune. The Rune can then be transmuted with any item of the same type to apply the power to it, allowing double powers on items, or moving powers to those precious set items. Unique and Legendary items generate Lesser runes, and True Legendary items generate Greater runes - of which you can only have 3!
  
• Regular Dungeon Anomalies also reward Lesser Runes, however these Lesser Runes are different from the ones you create yourself. They can be applied to a wider array of items, and they hold new powers that aren't on any existing items! 47 such Runes have been added with this update, and more will be added over time.
  

Here's a few examples of new runes:



The Masteries have been totally revamped as well, turning each node in the entire Mastery tree into a multi-skill node allowing you to pick and mix from a large amount of passives and perks. Perks are more powerful, single-point, passives that define, alter, or add to playstyles and mechanics. For the sake of balance, all Masteries except the base stat ones have been capped. However, the base nodes (the ones that increased with each point spent) now increase base skill damage rather than elemental damage, so regardless of how you spend your points, all your skills will improve.

Here's two example of the base nodes:



In addition to all this, there has ben a ton of general improvements and balance tweaks, many performance boost, bug fixes, and other general quality of life changes. Not to mention, a ton of new equipment has been added and many existing Legendaries have had powers added to them! Refer to the massive update notes for a full list of changes.

As always, a big thanks to everyone who submitted bug reports, suggestions, and helped to test everything for this huge update!

I'll keep an eye on the forums in case any issues arise - I hope you enjoy this update!

Hello everyone!

As discussed in the previous announcement, I have some test builds up where you can try out the new features of the next update. I would like to invite anyone who is interested to check it out, and give an update on what the plans for next year is.


I've decided to invite everyone to the test build rather than make it a half-finished optional update, as there is still plenty to do so it would be a lesser experience. The test builds are different from the current live ones in a few ways:

• Separate saves are used, and no progress can be carried over to live, and no achievements can be earned
  
• Characters can be boosted to level 100 & mastery 1000
  
• All waypoints and content is unlocked
  
• Vendors carry all legendary sets, and a special vendor carry the new runes
  
• Crafting is largely free of cost
  
• There's various keyboard commands (listed on the Discord pins) to spawn enemies/items/other stuff
  
• Odd bugs :-)
  

I call these builds "Tinka builds". (As reference to the Goblin in the main hub doing maintenance work)

These are designed to make testing easy and comfortable and can easily be tweaked to lock out features or classes for focused testing etc. Currently only a few (new) things are locked out due to not being finished and/or stable.

• New rune system with several runes for Templar and Warden, and a few runes for Warlock and Berserker (many runes are yet to be added)
  
• New endgame system based on difficulty leagues that you can pick from freely, although so far it's only the "Random Anomaly" version that is testable (basically the current system but with controlled difficulty) - it is soon to be expanded with "dungeon anomalies"
  
• The complete new Mastery system
  
• A lot of changes to the base skills - for Templar the changes are pretty significant with new skills, but for others its mostly about number tweaking
  
• A lot of bug fixes
  
• General performance tweaks, however please note that the test build is *not* running the latest engine version that fixes the 144hz and other framerate issues, but the end goal is to have the update run on the latest engine version when it goes live
  

• If you want to provide feedback or just see what on earth I've been up to all this time.
  

• Locate Chronicon in your Steam library, then right-click it and select Properties
  
• Go to the BETAS tab, and click the field to enter a code
  
• Enter tinkaistheking and click CHECK CODE to enter the special test builds
  
• Wait for it to download and you're off!
  
• To get back to the normal game you simply pick "NONE - opt out ..." in the dropdown-list under the BETAS tab where you entered the code
  

Here's an invite link to the Discord where we talk a lot about the test builds, the games design (and bugs), and other ARPG's: https://discord.gg/nSKhPEA




Next year is going to be a big year, because next year is full release!
When? Can't say exactly - as this announcement alone is proof of, I always underestimate the time I need to finish an update, and I don't want to release an unfinished mess. But I am looking at the spring months currently, so I guess Q2 of 2019!

What's coming next year then?
First off, the current test build is going to go live as soon as it's ready. Then I am working on polishing all existing content and also releasing Act 5 - the last act of the game. I will likely split this up in a series of smaller updates, adding new runes, items, tweaks, fixes, community suggestions, and the items on the roadmap, etc as I am quietly making progress on act 5.


Well you get the full game, that's what!
The currently lower price will also be adjusted - as is listed in the Early Access info on the store page the current price is with all the bugs and missing content in mind, so expect it to go up a bit on release. I will do another announcement on this when we are getting closer to give everyone an honest chance to grab the game in a cheaper state. The price isn't yet decided but it's not going to be anything crazy - I'll let you know exactly what it's gonna be when the time comes.


I would love to add more content to the game after 1.0, both as free updates and larger paid DLC. Something that has been requested a lot is "supporter packs" with skins for your characters or other cosmetics, which I must say is very flattering (thank you!), and is also something I will keep in mind. Though my main focus for DLC would be expanded game features, mechanics, areas, and perhaps even a class or two. I am taking all your requests and wishes into account. I am also going to look at porting to consoles!

The priority of these issues depend entirely on how launch goes so I can't say what's going to happen and when - just know that I'm keeping every option open and I want to keep supporting the game and the awesome community around it for as long as I can.



I'll keep an eye on the Discord, forums, and other social media, and reply when I can, but I am now going to take some time off. I might get bored and update the test builds a bit but other than that, I'll be trying to relax and spend time with family and friends for the next week or two.

I hope this year has been good for you, and I'll see you in the next one!

Happy Holidays!
-Squarebit

Hello everyone!

I figured it was a good time to do a progress update. I was planning to have the next update out before Christmas, but I've realized I just don't have enough time to do everything I want to before then.

I don't want to cut anything out either, so the plan now is to upload what I have as an optional update this weekend, so you can check out the work-in-progress new stuff over the holidays if you want to.

I'll resume work on it after the holidays and do a proper update as soon as it's done! I'll make an announcement when the optional update is available, and explain how to get it (don't worry, it's very simple!).


The next update has...

• A full Mastery rework
  
• Endgame/Anomaly rework
  
• A new endgame crafting mechanic called Runes
  
• Many tweaks and fixes
  

Most likely not. If your build relied on an OP or broken mechanic/skill/interaction then it's probably nerfed in the sense that it is not OP anymore, however I've tried to keep everything "viable".
With big changes like these, the meta will change, new builds will emerge, and it'll require a few iterations to figure out what's fun and what needs work. So be sure to let me know what you think when this goes live! (Or join the testing, more on this at the bottom)
There has been an overall damage number "squish", so depending on how far you're into the endgame you might see lower numbers pop, but don't panic as everything is being tuned accordingly!
When designing the new Masteries these were my goals:

• Allow a wider array of builds (including adding better support for requested things like better companion build options and thorns scaling)
  
• Make things more fun by making point investment matter more
  
• Make future class changes/additions/tweaks easier to manage and balance
  

And based on initial feedback on test builds, things are looking good!

Here's some screenshots of the new Masteries:
A fully decked out Warlock Mastery
Wait what? Caps everywhere but the three in the middle left?
Yup, because now you get bonus damage to all skills in the entire tree when putting any point in the related line, like so:

And the middle three lines doing this:

Lets you build pretty freely and still always get stronger.


A new addition are the rhombus skills.. these are called perks!
Here's the final perk of the Corruptor line:

And the Class Masteries being the middle 3 lines, the only ones with skills without caps.. you still get powerful scaling without having to dump all points into a single skill, like before.

Here's a few other Perk exampels:

Grand Summoner being one of the picks for the last perk for the Class Masteries...

What do I mean "one of the picks"?
Well...

Ever single mastery works like the active skill slots in the regular skill trees - you get to pick what goes in the slot! And yes, that means all of them, not just the perks. However there's currently a special synergy slot that only has 1 option.

These are just a few examples from the Warlock class - every class has their own perks and passive picks. And they have a lot of them!

And here is the currently (work in progress) new endgame interface:



And a little peek at the Rune system:


And some good news for custom translations: I have also prepared all enchants and legendary powers for translators, as well as adding support for Cyrillic.


I think this update is going to be great :)


If you want to help test this as I am developing it, you are more than welcome to pop in on the Community Discord and join the "tinka builds" - special test builds that I frequently publish to gather feedback. All of the things I showed above are actually playable and available for testing there right now!

There's a pinned message in the discord with instructions on how to opt-in for these test builds. Join the Community Discord here: https://discord.gg/nSKhPEA

I hope I'll see you there!



Oh, and on December 20th the in-game Christmas event starts - so be sure to check that out. Tinka's been up to no good again...