Witch It News

Happy Holidays! We're super excited to reveal our Winterdream 2022 event: full of new skins, props, structures, layouts, ambient sounds, and more! And of course - by popular demand, the Winterdream shop has reopened for a limited time. 🎄

[h3]Faraway Lands Update:[/h3]
The Official Map Contest of 2022, Faraway Lands, is currently being judged by Barrel Roll Games and the community staff team. We expect to reveal the winners in January alongside a patch including all the winning maps in our Official server map pool. 🏆

Check out all the entries by clicking here!

[h2]20+ New Winterdream Skins![/h2]
We've got plenty of new outfits ready for you to collect, including the Winterdream & Arcane Satyre sets, and the Temple & Mountain Yeti sets! Watch out for their horns...

Collect the limited-time "Winterdream 2022" icon by playing Witch It during the event - once Winterdream 2022 is over, the icon will never return! ⌛

Additionally, we've doubled the amount of skin sets that you can save and load between rounds!





Earning Winterdream 2022 Sets:
Open Witch It during the Winterdream 2022 event to earn 30 "Filled Boots". Combining 1 Filled Boot with 1 Cinnamon Star will craft 1 random Winterdream item (rare, very rare or whimsical).

To earn Cinnamon Stars, you must fill up the item cauldron with 250 experience points while playing one of our Winter maps: Snowbreeze or Fiskersted. The item cauldron fills up at the end of each round, during the level up screen. For every item cauldron opened on Snowbreeze or Fiskersted, there is a 40% chance that you'll receive 1 Cinnamon Star.

Crafting Winterdream items using Filled Boots and Cinnamon Stars grants a 50% chance of dropping a new Winterdream 2022 skin. You will receive the new sets more often than old sets!

Alternatively, you can earn these items through random drops during gameplay, or by crafting Winterdream item recipes in the Witches' Cauldron. You can also obtain these items through trading - we recommend using our trading channels in our Discord server! 🤝

[h2]8 New Props![/h2]
Find our 8 new props amongst our Christmas prop layouts on Snowbreeze and Fiskersted, including a Winter Wreath, a Perfume Atomizer, and even a spectacular Grandfather Clock! Props you collect on Official servers can also be used in your Creative Mode maps - so go get collecting! 🕰️



[h2]10 New Roof Structures![/h2]
Mappers rejoice! We've added 10 new roof structures to Creative Mode to give you more options with your custom buildings. Piece segments together to create the perfect roof length, or discover a unique use for them by scaling and rotating them - either way, we hope you enjoy these new structures! 🧱



[h2]Map Voting Screen Changes[/h2]
We appreciate all your feedback regarding the split map voting pools for low and high populated servers! Generally, people felt this feature was too restrictive, so we've made some changes to the map voting screen to give players more power in their map choices. 🗳️

The voting screen now includes two big and two small maps for voting, as well as an option to vote for the previous map again. All maps now have a player recommendation in the bottom corner of their thumbnail.



[h2]Winterdream Game Rules[/h2]
In the server list, look out for our "Winterdream" servers - these servers have altered game rules, allowing all players to move faster with reduced skill cooldowns. In this mode, chickens have a far smaller radius but can be spammed more frequently, and we've also added an experimental "Train Hunter" skill that can travel through walls! 🚂



[h2]Prop Layouts and Ambient Sounds![/h2]
We've added a third prop layout to Flint Falls, Twisted House and Grave Gulch - which means every Official map now has at least three unique prop layouts.

Ambient sounds have now been added to some previous map contest winners, including Lost Temple, Oasis Temple, Niemeyer Legacy and Pizza Factory. Listen out for them! 🔊

[h2]Imposturous Additions![/h2]
Vote kick functionality has arrived to Imposturous, so if someone is being a nuisance in your lobby, you can cast a vote that will remove them from the match (hopefully you'll never have to use it!).

Also, keep your eyes peeled for a special community painting in the Imposturous map... 🖌️

[h2]Winterdream Shop![/h2]
The Winterdream Shop has returned for a limited-time! If you wish to support Barrel Roll Games by purchasing some of our Winterdream sets or the animated "BRG Supporter" icon, please click here! 🛒

[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]
The Winterdream Festival has begun! Also, the shop has reopened. It will be active until January 10, 2023.

+ Added: 20+ new Winterdream skin items
+ Added: 8 new props
+ Added: New temporary Winterdream servers with new game rules, a little faster movement with slightly different skills and an early version of the Train Hunter skill (WIP).
+ Added: 10 new roof structures to Creative Mode
+ Added: Third prop layout to ‘Flint Falls’, ‘Twisted House’ & ‘Grave Gulch’ (Every official map now has at least three unique prop layouts!)
+ Added: More ambient sounds to ‘Lost Temple’, ‘Oasis Temple’, ‘Niemeyer Legacy’ & ‘Pizza Factory’
+ Added: A community painting on the Imposturous map
+ Added: Vote kick functionality for Imposturous game mode

↻ Changed: Hunters can now pick up buffs while using the Power Ball skill
↻ Changed: Hunters in Creative Mode no longer get kicked if idle
↻ Changed: ‘Tome of Bravery’ now also has a toggleable light
↻ Changed: Doubled number of possible skin sets
↻ Changed: Visuals for bodyslam, vacuum trap and garlic skills

✓ Fixed: Walkability of a giant spider web on ‘Grave Gulch’
✓ Fixed: Red lacquered wood walls are not see-through in Imposturous anymore.
✓ Fixed: Broken spots on ‘High Spruce Town’, ‘Grave Gulch’ & ‘Wardwell Wintry’
✓ Fixed: Collisions of tied wood spike and cloth structures in Creative Mode
✓ Fixed: Stretching textures on ‘Flint Falls’ and on ground tiles in Creative Mode
✓ Fixed: Imposturous custom matches starting with a 16 player capacity if that value was previously set for a different Game Mode
✓ Fixed: Some Hunter blocking doors in Custom Maps falsely being open during Hide Phase
✓ Fixed: Potato of Custom Match host sometimes flying in the wrong direction
✓ Fixed: Magic Blocker and Mushroom skill causing strange effects for mid-game joining players if those skills were used shortly by someone else before the player joined
✓ Fixed: Mushroom skill not despawning if the Witch got caught before the mushrooms sprouted
✓ Fixed: Spectator camera tilt erroneously kept when spawning as Hunter or Witch on match start
✓ Fixed: Player being stuck with menu controls if caught as Witch with open menu
✓ Fixed: Music instruments playing only one song
✓ Fixed: Several action prop states eg. open sunshade not copied if Witch transforms into them
✓ Fixed: Broken state if a Hunter activates the Power Ball skill while getting hit by the Clingy Luaq skill simultaneously
✓ Fixed: Some props changing scale when being interacted with
✓ Fixed: Gunpowder Barrel and Firework explosions not always visible
✓ Fixed: Players can change their skin and skills after the game has started while having customization popup open
✓ Fixed: Empty Creative Mode layouts stay playable for custom matches after exiting Creative Mode
✓ Fixed: “Player hooked a Witch” message appearing but no damage is dealt to the Witch
✓ Fixed: F1 Helpscreen got some layout fixes
✓ Fixed: Chicken doesn’t work with the jumppads
✓ Fixed: Chicken can use teleporters
✓ Fixed: Decoys can use teleporters

Happy Holidays! ❄️

Need some weekend plans?

For the next 3 days, Witch It is currently free to download and play for a limited time!
Now's the perfect time to introduce the game to your friends and family without having to spend a single coin... ːhunterfaceː

Witch It is currently free to download and play on Steam for a limited time, ending on Sunday at 1pm PST.

In addition, Witch It is also on a -75% discount until December 8th - so if you enjoy the free weekend, then make sure to grab a discounted copy for yourself or a buddy! ːpotatothrowː



We welcome all new players to join discord.gg/witchit, where you can organise matches, make trades, post suggestions, get involved with contests and much more!

Have fun during our free weekend. 💜

[h3]⭐ Please nominate Witch It for the "Labor of Love" Steam award![/h3]
What a year! 2022 has been packed full of incredible content...

🐯 Chinese New Year 2022!
🛕 Precious Palaces!
🐰 Spring Fever 2022!
🎂 5 Year Anniversary Event!
🍖 Dawn of the Potato!
🕸️ Halloween 2022!
📚 Faraway Lands! (ends 5th December - check it out!)

Please send your love and support to Barrel Roll Games by nominating Witch It for the "Labor of Love" award during the Steam Awards 2022! To do so, please tick the vote box at the top of this announcement, or head over to the nominations page! 💜



Witch It is also -75% off on Steam until November 29th, so make sure to pick up a copy or two for your weekend games night or upcoming Christmas celebrations! 🎄

We really appreciate all your love this year - thank you for continuing to support us into 2023! :luaq:

~The Witch It Community Team

⚠️ Update: Entries are now closed, and the results will be revealed soon. Stay tuned!

Across the endless tomes secured within Grunewald Library, tales and rumours of faraway lands fill the pages…

Chronicles of small-scale hamlets, landscapes and monuments tell stories of the magnificent architects that built them.

Now it’s your turn to write the next chapter!



🗺️ Theme: Small Maps - You must build a map suitable for 4-8 players!
Aside from the player capacity, there is no visual theme - get creative and build something unique!

🥇 Main Prizes | Official Implementation:

We will be implementing multiple winning maps into our Official servers, which will be added to our voting pool when a server contains under 8 players. We have no particular number of winners in mind. Winning maps will also be available in custom matches.

All winning maps will receive baked lighting, and will be played for thousands of rounds to come!

Each contributor in a winning map will also receive:
- 1x Witch It Steam Key (Giftable)!
- 10x Crystallized Moonlight!
- Your name added to the description of a Creative Mode structure!
- Grand Architect Discord Role!

Bonus: All Discord entrants will receive the "Architect" role after posting their map entry. Entrants who have participated in previous map contests may receive "Architect (x2)" or "Architect (x3)". We’ll grant these roles towards the end of the contest.

🖼️ [NEW] Presentation Prize:

This time, there are no community voting prizes. We are now offering a “Presentation Prize”, which is an additional reward granted to the three entries with the best presented workshop pages. To win this award, spend time making your workshop page visually appealing! You can add high quality screenshots, banners, a video (if you’d like), or anything else to make it stand out from the other entries. Feel free to add some lore or a backstory to your map too, but this won’t count towards the presentation prize!

Each contributor towards a map which wins the presentation prize will receive:

- 10 Crystallized Moonlight!
- Your name added to the description of a Creative Mode structure!

✔️ Participate in just 5 steps:

1. Create a custom Witch It map following our theme, rules and advice!

2. Upload your map to the Steam workshop!

3. Upload at least ONE screenshot onto your workshop page!

4. Add the hashtag #mapcontest2022 in the description - this helps us organise entries, as well as lets us know we can use your map on our servers!

5. Finally, post your entry in #map-entries on discord.gg/witchit or underneath this contest announcement on Steam!

📚 Are you still unsure what to do? View our detailed participation guide here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2203730812
⚠️ [Important!] Rules:

> You must build on an empty map containing no structures (interior, town day, island day, town night, ice day, graveyard night, magical forest, desert day, desert sunset, or jungle day)!
> If you wish to build in a default map containing pre-made structures, such as Grave Gulch or Port Plunder, you must build out-of-bounds!
> You can submit as many maps as you want (however, quality is always better than quantity)!
> You can either make your map solo, or collaborate with up to 3 other creators - please mark them as a contributor to your workshop item!
> You cannot enter using other creator's maps that you are not an original contributor on (we will check for stolen work)!
> You must design an entirely original map - it cannot be based on an existing map from another game!
> You cannot edit your existing maps to be smaller - please make an entirely new map!
> Offensive/NSFW content is strictly prohibited!
> All users can enter, including Grand Architects (previous winners) and staff members!

⚠️ [Update] Switches: Switches are allowed in maps.

⚠️ [Update] Water: If you're building in out-of-bounds water, the physics of the water do not work properly and therefore will be unbalanced for gameplay. For this reason, please avoid using out-of-bounds water in the playable areas of your maps.

🔨 Breaking these rules may result in disqualification from the contest!

📖 Advice for Creating Entries for Faraway Lands:
Below is some advice for creating maps suitable for our Official servers. Please read each section carefully!

📕 Size Matters
Your map must support 4-8 player lobbies! If your map is too small, Hunters will find it too easy to locate and eliminate Witches. If it’s too big, then Witches will have too many hiding options. Our hope is that you’ll create a map balanced somewhere in the middle. Be clever with how you tackle your map size - for example, start with a map segment, test it out, then expand. Or if you’re trying to fit more content in a narrow radius, consider extending your map vertically.

📙 Test Your Map
One benefit from building smaller maps is that you don’t need as many players to do a suitable test. Round up a few of your friends (or even other entrants) and test each others maps thoroughly! A great looking map may be unapprovable if the gameplay mechanics are inconsistent or broken. Some things to watch out for include stairs that don't work, ladders that cannot be climbed, doorways that are too small etc. Hunters should have a spawn area that they cannot leave until the hiding period is over.

📒 Optimise Your Maps
Ensure your map is smooth to run by optimising your structure and prop use - rather than using small wall segments, can you scale a single wall up to create the same effect? Have you removed objects in areas that aren't visible to the player during gameplay? Are there too many props?

Our recommendations:
- Stay below 500 props
- Use any amount of structures
- Do not stack lights or jump pads
- Frozen props shouldn't glitch when touched

📗 Broken Hiding Spots
Combining structures together can sometimes lead to small gaps in which props can fit into. This is most often seen with world boundaries, rocks, and ice structures - but can easily be avoided by vigorously checking intersections of structures. One small gap in a structure leading to a impossible-to-reach area for Hunters will result in a broken map. Please be mindful to ensure your maps have no broken hiding spots on them by testing during and after the creation of your map.

📘 Gamemode Compatibility
Your map must be compatible with Hide & Seek, Mobification and Hunt a Hag. Please consider using a variety of props and gameplay options for both teams, and take into account the skills each team may use.

⌛ Deadline
We are closing this contest on Monday, 5th December, 2022 (12:00am UTC)
Once the contest ends, we will review your entries and decide on the winners, which will be revealed shortly after.

We hope you enjoy creating your maps! #mapcontest2022

Patchnotes

+ Added: There are now official servers with small maps only

↻ Changed: Bees can now flap their wings

✓ Fixed: Propcollection is now working for the new props
✓ Fixed: Broken spots on ‘Grave Gulch’
✓ Fixed: Luaq visibility for Hunters
✓ Fixed: New Hunter heads are now fitting the hats better
✓ Fixed: Swapped icons for Witch doll set
✓ Fixed: Wrong rarity display of Fiery Pyramid