Heartbound News

I am unable to fix Heartbound on Mac due to an error with the build process. I have already spoken to other developers and Apple's support team about this. As of today we will be officially dropping Mac support for the foreseeable future. This may be resolved once we update to Game Maker: Studio 2.0

Below you will find the answers to a number of questions you may have. If you can't find an answer to your question please reach out to me directly via this email. [email protected]


[h3]Why did this happen?[/h3]
The Mac we use to make Heartbound forced an update to OS Catalina. This obsoleted XCode 9.3 which is required for GM:S 1.4. We make Heartbound in GM:S 1.4 so it's not something we can get rid of.


[h3]Why won't this work in XCode versions past 9.3?[/h3]
Attempting to get this to work in XCode 11 caused a libstdc++ library issue. After trying for multiple days to resolve this I was unable to do so. Even adding that library back to XCode 11 did not resolve this.

Running older versions of XCode lead to a generic error from the Apple machine. This could not be resolved using online guides over multiple days of testing. It also could not be resolved by talking to Apple support.

I attempted to downgrade to every version between XCode 11 and 9.3 that was compatible with OS Catalina. No version between 9.3 and 11 worked and I was unable to make a working build of Heartbound.


[h3]Did this happen because Apple dropped 32-bit application support?[/h3]
No. It has nothing to do with that.


[h3]Why can't I run the game without you doing this?[/h3]
Apple requires all software to be digitally signed. If XCode doesn't play nice we can't digitally sign the game and you can't run it on Apple hardware.


[h3]Why don't you update to GM:S 2.0 now?[/h3]
Updating Heartbound to GM:S 2.0 would potentially resolve this issue. However, doing so breaks every cutscene in the game and would take multiple months to fix. We will be updating to GM:S 2.0 after fully launching the game. GM:S 2.0 is required for us to make a build for Nintendo Switch.


[h3]What if you find a solution?[/h3]
Even if I do manage to resolve these issues there is no guarantee that the Apple build process won't break like this again. It has happened to us many times before during the development of Heartbound.


[h3]Can I still play Heartbound or will I have to buy it again?[/h3]
You do not have to buy the game again. If you bought Heartbound you have access to it on Windows and Linux currently. You can still play Heartbound on Windows or Linux.


[h3]What if I don't want to play on Windows or Linux?[/h3]
For those on Apple hardware that still want to play you may be able to try Parallels, Bootcamp, or Wine. I cannot guarantee that this will work now or in the future and I don't want to get your hopes up but you can try it. If this isn't something you want to do please refund the game.


If you're unable to make this work on Apple hardware or have no other solutions, please refund the game. I'm sorry I couldn't fix this.

-Thor

Now that Shaye and I are all moved up to WA and things have settled down we can continue development at a normal pace. A lot has changed in my life this last year and I'm sorry that things have slowed down as a result. Our entire studio is only three people so when any of us go through rough patches it can be tough to get stuff done. Thank you for understanding and I hope you like the new content!

I'm going to be launching Animus in updates over the next few months one character arc at a time to get feedback and test things. This patch has everything for Emelio in all languages and the start of Fern/Rhode in ENUS only.

There are also a huge amount of bug fixes, translation fixes, and new content in random spots. Also new tracks on the OST so enjoy those!

As always you can watch us build the game live. We stream 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. ːHBHeartː

[h2]New Content[/h2]

• You can now play through Emelio's storyline.
  
• You can now start Fern/Rhode's storyline in english.
  
• A new build was made for the Wiki Warriors to better help them archive the games different areas.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Nekanes potions no longer crash the game.
  
• Lore no longer pops forward one pixel after getting out of bed.
  
• Lore can no longer get stuck behind some... let's call them nightmares in a dark place
  
• Music no longer cuts out in Emelio's house
  
• Music no longer cuts out after the mines cutscenes.
  
• Lore can no longer slide through objects under specific conditions.
  
• Grayscale shader no longer allows color through alpha channel.
  
• Particle effects should now take reduced CPU on specific hardware setups.
  
• You can no longer talk to an object while transitioning to another environment.
  
• All sounds in the game and OST now have proper metadata.
  
• Muspelheim and Niflheim selection portal music now loops properly.
  

[h2]Design Changes[/h2]

• The memory mini-game during the Barghest fight now maxes at 5 steps.
  
• The memory mini-game during the Barghest fight now scales max steps more slowly.
  
• You now need to be less curious to reach Floor 0.
  
• You must drink the water to reach Floor 0.
  
• OScar is now company property.
  

[h2]Localization[/h2]

• A ton of PTBR translation fixes
  
• A ton of RU translation fixes
  
• A ton of FR translation fixes
  
• A ton of ESMX translation fixes
  
• Support for JP translation has begun.
  
• Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji are all supported.
  
• We can now support many more glyph based languages in the future.
  
• Ñ has been added to the font list.
  

[h2]OST[/h2]

• A bunch of new songs were added to the OST bringing the track list to 70.
  
• Metadata was added to all 70 songs so they should have information and cover art in things like Spotify.
  
• The OST was converted to the new Soundtrack category from the old DLC category on steam.
  

[h2]Upcoming Content[/h2]

• Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
  
• Fern and Rhode's storyline is up next!
  

Another year has come and gone and the Steam Awards are back in town. Heartbound is up for the "Outstanding Story-Rich Game" award this year. If you feel we've hit the mark please take a moment to vote for us!

This is the final patch before Animus is ready to launch. We just couldn't wait on some of the more significant engine changes such as full controller support and physics fixes. With those we rolled in a bunch of new secret areas and some fixes for story-line inconsistencies.

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. ːHBHeartː

• New Content
  
  
  
  
  • A new cutscene has been added when you first Continue.
    
  
  
• Bug Fixes
  
  
  
  
  • Lore can no longer slide through tentacles and become permanently stuck.
    
  • Crunchy dog noise is now louder.
    
  • Baron now has emotions in your dreams.
    
  • Insider Baseball can now be obtained right after combat ends.
    

• New Content
  
  
  
  
  • A new secret environment was added to The Tower.
    
  • A new secret character was added to The Tower.
    
  • Choices in The Tower now carry on with you.
    
  • The Artifact is now more aggressive here.
    
  • Sounds have been implemented for the Terminated sequence.
    
  • Floor 0 can now be accessed under different circumstances.
    
  • Curiosity and Fear now accumulate in The Tower.
    
  
  
• Bug Fixes
  
  
  
  
  • The artifact text in the void can no longer be skipped.
    
  • You can now skip text on the Floor 0 records computer.
    
  • The first memory sequence is no longer a black screen.
    
  • Lore now turns to face OScar during the Terminated sequence ending.
    
  • Boss transitions are now faster.
    

• New Content
  
  
  
  
  • A pocket watch has been implemented to better tell the time.
    
  • A new secret environment was added to Animus.
    
  • Ramul's storyline starter has been implemented.
    
  • You can now strike fear into the hearts of trees.
    
  • Time is now frozen in Animus when you first enter it.
    
  • Trees now have a ton of randomizations.
    
  • Lighting now fades based on the time of day and other lightsources in various locations.
    
  
  
• Bug Fixes
  
  
  
  
  • Curiousity in Animus no longer counts for The Tower.
    

• Bug Fixes
  
  
  
  
  • Muspelheim can now be accessed under different circumstances.
    

• New Content
  
  
  
  
  • A phone in your bedroom can now be used.
    
  • A new achievement was added.
    
  • Full Controller support has now been implemented.
    
    
    
    • You can plug/unplug controllers at will even during combat.
      
    • Let me know if anything goes wrong here. It's super new tech for us.
      
    
    
  
  
• Localization
  
  
  
  
  • A lot of new content was added here and there so some things may be missing.
    
  • ESMX translation has been released.
    
    
    
    • Please let us know if you find any missing translation sections or issues of any kind.
      
    
    
  
  
• OST
  
  
  
  
  • A new song was added to the OST.
    
  
  
• Bug Fixes
  
  
  
  
  • Collision calculations have been reduced significantly to improve performance.
    
    
    
    • This was a massive change and should help improve performance for a lot of people.
      
    
    
  • Missing dialog will now revert to English when possible.
    
  • Rotating text now takes longer before it starts spinning.
    
  • Rotating text from a space no longer causes letters to hang when they should be floating.
    

• Language
  
  
  
  
  • JP is now planned.
    
  
  
• New Content
  
  
  
  
  • Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
    
    
    
    • All of the environment art is finished.
      
    • All of the character sprites and animations are finished.
      
    • All of the environments are built and functional.
      
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      
    
    

We just got back from PAX West and we're back onto working on Heartbound. We have a bit of stuff to get out for the Kill The Moon Demo before we continue but that will be done by Friday. Hope to see you all on stream!

https://gopiratesoftware.com/twitch