HammerHelm News

Today's build includes a bunch of improvements and fixes:

• Fixed the text in the Tips UI.
  
• Pressing the Y button on the controller will no longer open the radial menu if you have a target in combat.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the title screen to lag if left running for 10+ minutes.
  
• Updated controller support for various UI, including adding the ability to scroll the list of Achievements.
  
• Improved some more transitions related to the blocking animation.
  
• Updated the Controller Toggle in the settings menu to always display keyboard button images in the UI if the toggle is off.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed controller inputs related to the build menu when the build tutorial UI was open.
  
• The radial menu will no longer display the Town Manager option or the Map option when you are on Orc Island.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused stamina to fail to regen when using auto-sprint.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's build includes some more improvements to the combat flow, new shop signs, and a big memory optimization.

I've refined the animation controller and combat system some more to make transitioning from rolling and blocking into power attacks much better. In the old system if your character finished a roll and you immediately pressed the power attack button, sometimes nothing would happen. This delay was actually being caused by the way the animation controller was set up for the character. The new system is way better and allows you to start a power attack immediately.

In the gif below you can see there is no delay now!




New shopkeeper signs! Every shop has a new, much improved, symbol. And, some buildings that were missing signs now have them, including the Fishing Pier, the Infirmary, and the Mage Tower!

(click to see full size)


If you look at Metalworker Shop on the left of the image you will also see the new ingots.

This build also includes a big memory optimization that reduced HammerHelm's memory use by about 15%! Most of this was related to optimizing the town so that all buildings now share the same texture. This change also bumped up framerate a little bit. One thing you may notice is some of the building roof colors are a bit different. This was a huge update and affected a ton of objects in the world in addition to the buildings. This was all done manually as well so it's possible I missed an object or two. So, if you see any bright pink/purple objects in the world, that's the result of a missing texture. Please let me know what object it was and where it was and I'll update it.

I want to do some experimenting first, but this change might also allow me to make all building roofs colorable! More on that later.

This build also includes some other improvements and fixes.

• Fixed a bug that caused the Y button to fail to open the radial menu.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the character to fail to jump when using a controller.
  
• Fixed a bug related to the Lantern Quest.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's update includes some balance changes and bug fixes based on player feedback!

Combat Improvements

I adjusted the animation controller for the player to make combat more smooth. You should notice that you can transition between attacking, rolling, and power attacks much more quickly now. Still working on improving this as I dive deeper into setting up animation controllers.

These changes should fix the bugs where you use a power attack or kick and the attack doesn't occur (but your cooldown does get reset) and the bug where rolling would sometimes not move you.

A Bunch of Other Good Stuff

• Reduced the amount of monster parts needed to craft a monster head trophy by about 30% - 50%.
  
• Doubled the chance of a monster part spawning as loot.
  
• Reduced the amount of resources needed to make the new decor items including the Firefly Lamppost, Apiaries, and the Trellis.
  
• Reduced the Quality Wood required to build a The Metalworker Shop from 25 to 15. I made this change because sometimes if you run through the tutorial quickly there isn't enough wood collected yet to build the shop and I didn't want there to be a delay.
  
• The Missing Saw will now correctly be removed from your inventory at the end of the Gazebo Quest. If you finished this quest and still have the saw, it will be removed when you load your save with this update.
  
• You can now open the treasure chest from the Shroomin' quest without having to close the NPC Dialogue UI.
  
• Made the Gold Axe a bit ticker as it looked too flat.
  
• If you place a farm in an area that has a road the plot will now correctly turn fully into dirt rather than leave behind the road. A bit difficult to grow crops in cobblestone!
  
• If you save your game with auto-sprint enabled, your character will remain in auto-sprint when loading the save. No need to toggle it on every time you load.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the dynamic occlusion system to fail to start until you opened the build menu. If you noticed a dip in performance the past few days, this fix should resolve it.
  
• Increased the delay between casting when a mage or the Lich uses their close range AOE attack.

Thank you again to everyone who sends me feedback. Your bug reports, comments, and ideas always give me a new perspective on the game, one I cannot get on my own, and I really appreciate it!

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's build is a quick update to improve something related to combat. Prior to this build, there was an odd delay between dodge rolling and when you could attack again. In the below gif, I'm clicking the attack button as the roll ends, but you can see there is a slight, but noticeable, pause before the attack swing occurs.



The updated animation controller allows for a much smoother transition to attack that syncs up with the roll ending.




This update also includes some other changes:

• Made the wisps in Willow Grove more of an orange color to distinguish them from fireflies.
  
• Updated the Lantern Light quest so that collecting any fireflies will advance the quest rather than just the fireflies spawned by the quest.
  
• Completing the Lantern Light quest now correctly displays the animated Quest Complete UI.

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco

Today's build includes the new Resource Gathering and Decor feature and a bunch of other cool stuff!

Wilderness Resources

The world of HammerHelm just got a lot more interesting!

While traveling between your quests and your town you can find valuable resources that help keep your townspeople happy, give you more resources to craft items, and allow you to place new structures in your town and your home!

Scattered around the map you can find a bunch of different resources, including:

Beehives - used to make Apiaries. When looking for these keep an ear out for the tell tale buzzing!



Rose Bushes and Fireflies - allow you to place Rose Bushes, Rose Trellises, and Firefly Lamps for your town and your home.



Cherry Blossom and Birch Tree Seeds - allow you to place Birch Trees and Cherry Blossoms



Medium Ore Deposits and Small Ore Deposits - contain a small amount of ore



Supply Crates - can contain leather, raw meat, raw veggies, wheat, cotton, handles, or coal.



Alchemy Logs - can contain any of the alchemy ingredients. Similar to ore deposits, what you find depends on how far you have progressed.



The system starts out placing only a few of each but as time progresses in the game, you'll find these items become slightly more available. I’ll likely play around with how often they spawn and how many spawn over time. But they aren't meant to be too common.

Some resources are found more often in specific areas of the map, so pay attention to where you find them so you can go back later and look for more!

New Town and Home Décor

This update includes seven new décor items for your town and your home, including:

Apiaries - Placing an Apiary near your Breweries will improve the mood buff bonus from having Beer.



Rose Bushes and a Rose Trellis


Birch Trees And Cherry Blossoms


Firefly Lamppost




Rose Bushes, Trellises, Birch Trees, Firefly Lampposts and Cherry Blossoms all improve Town Beauty.

Firefly Wall Lamp and Firefly Standing Lamp (player house)



But this is just the start. This update includes a LOT more!

New Level Up Effect with Spinning Hammers


A new quest to get a lantern for your character


Updated grass texture and flowers


A better gold effect when smashing crates in dungeons


All of the UI have been updated to allow you track your town's resources and give what you find to the town!



And there’s even more!

Town Updates

• Increased the build area for the town by about 10%.
  
• Picking up a Brewery now correctly removes the entire path
  
• Fixed a big that sometimes caused placing a Gazebo to fail to load the Gazebo asset
  
• Fixed a couple of bugs related to the Town Resource manager UI
  
• Fixed the blocking volumes on the Brewery so NPCs won't walk through the walls
  
• Fixed some bugs related to mood affecting structures such as sewers, water wells, etc.

Economy Updates

• Having a Woodchopper allows you to chop a tree in three hits rather than four
  
• Increased the amount of ore needed for armor and weapons a small amount to account for finding more ore in the wilderness
  
• Updated a bunch of the resource icons to look better and changed the beer icon from a mug to a keg

Combat Improvements

• Fixed a bug that caused Dash Attack to not do any damage
  
• The potion cooldown graphic will no longer appear when closing the Build menu
  
• Added text making it more clear that pressing ESC cancels your target
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the Kick tutorial UI to display the wrong key
  
• Monsters will no longer slide towards you when knocked down and will remain in place until they get back up
  
• Randomly spawned monster camps (those that aren't tied to a quest) will now have campfires, making them a bit easier to spot
  

Controller Updates

• Added full 360 directional movement when using the left stick
  
• The left stick can now be used to interact with the UI in addition to the D-Pad
  
• Jumping with a controller now has height
  
• Added the close button to the Settings menu for controllers

Other Changes and Fixes

• Fixed a bug that caused the UI for buttons to read ESCAPE rather than ESC
  
• Fixed a bug related to the display of shadows
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the player to not perform a run animation when strafing
  
• Fixed a bug that caused you to get stuck on the second Orc Hut quest
  
• Updated sandstone so you always automatically collect it after breaking it apart
  
• Fixed a bug that caused Dwarves to not get a mood buff from Beer (worst bug ever!)
  
• Fixed a bug related to the place furniture UI
  
• Fixed a bug that caused Hunters to get confused when getting a quest
  
• You will no longer get the Orc Beachhead quest twice at the same time
  
• Fixed a few typos

I want to give a big shout out to Alexis Bierschbach – she created the art for the Beehives, Apiaries, Rose Trellis, the new terrain flowers, and the Firefly Lamp. You can check out some of her work here: https://www.artstation.com/fraiselin. She’s also working on some other stuff for HammerHelm, but that’s for another time. ;)

This update has been one of the most fun updates I’ve worked on since launching HammerHelm. I want to thank everyone who gave me feedback and suggestions as the new features were in development and testing.

I appreciate all of the feedback and support!

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

• My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSixStudios
  
• Discord Channel: discord.gg/soedesco