Hey Guild Leaders!

I've been making lots of progress on the new areas and classes.

Here's some details!



The Sewers

I've been fleshing out the upcoming Sewers area - one of the things I added was chunks of rubble on the ground, which make the sewers look more ruined and abandoned than before - as well as heightening the tiles it appears on.



This means that unlike water tiles, crossing rubble tiles doesn't cause slow.



I've also been working on different room layouts to keep things fresh, like this hatched floor.



And this one which has an area in the middle surrounded by water besides a few bridges.






The Damp Caves

The second upcoming area is the "Damp Caves" - full of odd mushroom enemies...



Here's a model for one enemy I want to add - while other mushroom-men debuff you, this guy pushes you away from them defensively, reducing your movement.

I've also started working on loot for this upcoming area!







(Mushroom shields)

New Class Progress

I've been wrapping up the Healer class abilities!



Mandrake Root: Buffing allies as well as enhancing and triggering bleed on enemies.



Cleansing Ritual: Cures the first (leftmost) negative status effect, heals +1 HP and buffs ally speed.

The abilities for the new classes are about 70% done, here's an overview:

• Alchemist: Abilities done (but might add more)
  
• Duelist: Abilities done (but might add more)
  
• Healer: Missing one ability
  
• Hero: No abilities yet
  

Change log 8/4/2024 | Version 0.224(A)

Additions:

• Option to disable controller support in main menu
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

I have a new update with two new abilities to share with you, as well as some progress on the new areas!

Also... can you believe Netherguild released into Steam early access exactly one year ago?

Netherguild grew a lot since early access release and I'm excited to see it growing even further.

In any case, without further ado...

Two New Abilities



Swampfire Arrow:
-A level 3. ability for the wanderer ranger which deals fire and poison status -
It's very powerful, but also risky! because it means you can't get close to that enemy or you will get burnt too...



Shield Wall:
-A level 3. ability for the mercenary knight (as well as for some possible future classes / backgrounds):
It has 2 uses and gives "Block" to all adjacent allies.
Very defensive, but also extremely helpful for survival.

Progress on new Classes
I've also been making steady progress towards the upcoming major update -



This is the Hero class! it's the final fourth class that I'm planning to add in the Upcoming Major Update, it'll be unlocked through the commoner faction.
There's several backgrounds planned for this class but this one will be the Inspiring Hero, and it will focus on powerful ally buffs.
I hope to finish all the classes by the end of April the latest (meaning all equipment, skills, speech lines)



I've also been working on more abilities for the other upcoming classes like the Alchemist - this is an ability called "Sulfur Firefly", it burns enemies and buffs allies!



Finally, here's an idle animation for the Mushroom Hulk..! it's anxiously waiting for adventurers to crush...

Fin

And that's all for this update!

Thank you for reading it, see you next time!

-David

Change log 26/3/2024 | Version 0.224

Added two new skills for existing backgrounds. Big news update post tomorrow!

Additions:

• Swampfire Arrow - Lvl 3. Ability for Wanderer Ranger (Poison, Burn).
  
• Shield Wall - Lvl 3. Ability for Mercenary Knight (Block to all in square adjacent range).
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Here's what I've been working on recently:

Improved Fleeing


Characters now speak when they successfully flee! And worry alongside you when they fail to flee...

The fleeing transition has been improved a bit too.

New Animations
I've been working on animations for the upcoming sewer enemies:









New Enemies

Here's some new enemies I've modeled!



An angry rabble of commoners will pursue you underground if you anger the Commoner faction too much!



Various noble units which will pursue you underground if you get on the wrong side of the Nobility.



Mushroom Hulks - Big enemies in the upcoming mushroom area.

What's Next?

Working on new areas
-One week
Spending some time focusing on the new areas!

Adding a couple skills and other small additions
-One week
I plan to add a skill or two and maybe more oddity options or loot.

Improved bonfire UI
-Two weeks
I want to make the bonfire interface clearer so players experience less fiddling and confusing when healing their characters.

Visual Overworld
-Three weeks
The Overworld interface is a bit lacking and gray - so I was thinking about redoing it by displaying some things like the guild with custom 3D visuals.

The End...?

For now, this is all I've got to show you :D

Thank you for checking out this update, see you next time!

-David

Change log 1/3/2024 | Version 0.223(A)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash caused by inspecting characters through right click or or 'inspect' before clicking on guild (Community find by Arkchiz)
  

Change log 26/2/2024 | Version 0.223


Additions:

• Added character speech on successfully fleeing, and speech for failing to flee.
  

• Changed transition slightly for returning to overworld, added same transition to character fleeing
  
• Fixed visuals of bloody bandit camp spikes, also reduces their likelihood to spawn
  

• Fixed a rare loading crash (Community find by Mr.StG77)
  
• Fixed bug where loading a save with a temporary ally causes following to not work properly
  
• Fixed softlock issue with characters following each other after loading with temporary ally
  
• Fixed crash on returning to overworld with loaded temporary allies
  

Change log 13/2/2024 | Version 0.222(B)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash related to character hiring bug
  

• Reduced amount of coins required for coin-sack sound to 12 (instead of repeating sound for individual coins)
  
• Fixed inspecting characters and clicking back button in overworld makes weird double sound
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Here's what I've been working on recently:


New Mechanic
"Waiting" is a new mechanic added to the game!

It makes the current character wait right until your next character's turn (or if they're already there, to wait right after your next character's turn), instead of ending your turn outright.

This is especially handy for buffs, or for giving block to allies before the right enemy turn.

Here's an example of how it works:
[previewyoutube=tQrnwqK1zRw;full][/previewyoutube]

I thought it'd be an important addition, especially with the upcoming healing and buffing classes (':


New Bandit Stronghold Content

I've added a new rare enemy to the Bandit Stronghold! There'd be one "Loot Bandit" per floor, they're a slow yet tanky enemy with a big loot chest that you can salvage after you defeat them.

Progress on the New Areas






I asked the players over on the Discord to vote on their favorite color option for the upcoming Sewers area...



They ended up picking this dark orange option!

While it's less visible compared to the other options, it will make the Sewers feel a lot more unique, and I think it would work well with the creepy Sewer enemies.
I still want to try it out with gameplay before I commit to it though haha




The upcoming Damp Caves area below the Sewers will be colored blue! (it was green before). Not to worry though, the green underground jungle area will be right below it.

What's Next?

Improving Fleeing and Small Improvements
-Two weeks
I want to make the fleeing mechanic feel more polished alongside smaller improvement and as much progress on the new areas as I can muster! More improvements and new stuff afterwards.


The End?

And that's all for this update!!

Thank you for checking it out, see you next time! (:

-David

Change log 6/2/2024 | Version 0.222

Additions:

• Added "waiting" mechanic which lets a character wait until the turn of the next allied character or until after the next allied character.
  
• Added rare "loot bandit" enemy to Bandit Stronghold (appears once per floor)
  
• Added lore oddity "bloody spikes" for second Bandit Stronghold teasing the appearance of moths later on
  

• Buffed Sheepskin Jacket to also provide Burn status resistance
  
• Buffed Leather Jerkin to provide 5 health and 3 speed (+1 health +1 speed change)
  

• Fixed Mist City shopkeeper invisible
  
• Possibly fixed a rare crash related to item dragging
  

• Fixed double sound when exiting character inspection in-dungeon
  

Hey Guild Leaders!
This last week and a half I've been working more on the upcoming classes and floors -



Walking inside the sewer water (or being dragged into it!) slows down your characters considerably...



I've also made the Sewers look better with smoother walls. Grasses and pipes sprout from the fetid water now too.



In addition to that, I started working on the upcoming mushroom area - but it's still very very early and work-in-progress.




I've added spawning for Foes in the Sewers now, who lurk in wait for their victims - as well as some skills for the new classes:



Duelist: A thousand cuts - which lengthens and empowers existing bleed on target as well as triggering it.



Duelist: Exploit - Which deals big damage depending on which status the enemy is afflicted by, with more damage the longer an enemy has "incapacitate".



Healer: Herbal Smoke - Disorients enemies in a line and deals bonus damage for each negative status.

(Note: These descriptions are not final and may change)

The End
And that's all for now!

Thank you for reading, see you next update! (:
-David

Change log 11/1/2024 | Version 0.221(A)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed default screen size in the main menu for big screens
  
• Fixed issue with fallen characters can be recovered multiple times (Community find by Jingseng)
  
• Fixed issue with fallen characters dropping their equipment (Community find by Jingseng)
  
• Fixed status icons remain when curing characters
  

• Improved combat start speech / enemies joining combat speech
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Today I have a new update with improvements to the speech system, new character lines as well as other small fixes and improvements.

Update Overview: What does this update contain?

[h3]Updating Speech in Existing Saves[/h3]
In the past, for players to update their character's speech lines, they'd have to start a new save - but no more!

Now when you load an older save, it'll update character speech - which means I can add new speech lines and they'd appear in your saves, just like that. To those who stayed here for a while, you might recall I added something similar with updating skill trees in existing saves before.


[h3]Added tech for new classes to appear in the guild[/h3]
(Work in progress gif above)

It should be extremely easy for me to unlock these classes using the faction system :D Look forward to that in the upcoming big update! (hopefully in a few months from now).


[h3]Speech Interruption[/h3]
Before, characters would ramble on before enter combat - and then the new speech bubble would overlap the old one. I didn't like how it looked so I changed it up a bit to look more natural!

Also don't worry, this doesn't make you miss any text - you can still see what characters intended to say in the action log in the bottom left of the screen.

[h3]New Speech Lines[/h3]
Characters can now chat about additional enemies joining combat, about killing enemies, about unlocking new currencies (like the silver crowns) and more. They can also be aware of which weapon they're holding when talking - so a shield holding Mercenary Knight has a small chance to comment on wanting to repair their shield when they rest near a bonfire.

You can also check out the full patch notes here:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3882729325726400950


What's next?

Working on new areas and classes
-A week and a half
I want to focus on making focused progress on the new areas and classes! I might work on other small additions during this time too.

Expanding the Bandit Stronghold
-Two weeks
I wanted to add a new rare enemy and an oddity to the Bandit Stronghold

Fin
That's all for this update!!
Thank you for reading and see you with all with an exciting new progress update in a week and a half hopefully :D

-David

Change log 6/1/2024 | Version 0.221

Character Speech Upgrades:

• Added the tech for adding other faction-based classes to the guild in the future
  
• Added the tech for updating character speech in existing saves
  
  
• Speech interruption system - when a character is interrupted while talking (like entering combat) they pause in the middle of a sentence like this-
  

• Characters can be aware of their held weapon when speaking
  
• Added sentences that are triggered on killing enemies or when enemies join combat
  

• Added settings: Mouse Lock and Controller Vibration (Rumble).
  
• Added settings: Hover animation (controls whether there's an animation for the hover window or if it appears and disappears instantly)
  

• Made feedback screen unavailable for controller and steam deck users to comply with Steam Deck rating
  

Hey Guild Leaders,

I wanted to write a quick update reviewing everything that was added to Netherguild so far since release in late March 2023 as well as my plans for next year. Here's a short summary of what was added!

Reverse Roadmap



That's excluding bugfixes, quality of life features and other improvements- such as making sure that dungeon generation never locks you from advancing (added two weeks after early access release) and the recent fix which prevents enemies outside the current room from joining combat when it starts.



Yearly overview and plans

In 2023, I feel like a lot of work was put into release and the more general aspects of the game such as fixing and polishing it, in addition to content that was added to add more depth - and while this it was absolutely necessary and helped improve Netherguild by a lot, in 2024 I want to super-charge progress on new content in Netherguild to get a step closer to the ultimate finish-line of a final release.

This means that I'm going to work my hardest to add new classes and areas as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for more info about them in future news updates!

The End?

That's about it for this post! I hope to release an update later this week which includes some new features for character speech (like the ability for me to update the speech of characters in existing saves!)

Sorry for the delay on it too, I got pretty sick throughout development but I'm feeling better now.

Thank you for reading and have a fantastic 2024!!!

-David

Change log 6/12/2023 | Version 0.22(A)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash caused by clicking too fast past the "start game" part in the main menu
  

Guild leaders,

After a long month (and a half) of preparation, controller support is finally here!



Feel free to try out Netherguild using a controller / Steam deck with full joystick support!
Feedback for everything you like & dislike about the controller support is more than welcome too :D

I've been copiously playtesting this update many times over, with and without a controller in hand (playtested it a couple times before writing these lines too), so hopefully everything should work as intended.

If you encounter any bugs, please report as soon as possible in the bug reporting Steam forum or on the Discord!

What's next?

I'll likely spend the next few days resting up after the update, fixing any new bugs players might encounter due to the new changes and additions, and fixing a few rare bugs that have accumulated this last and a half month.

Afterwards...!

More Speech
-Three weeks
There's two things I want to add during this update;
1. A system for updating the speech of existing characters
2. Expanding the speech system, adding more lines, context (for characters) and other improvements.

This update made me realize that I want to add new content - mainly new classes and new areas. Therefore, in the upcoming months I plan to do just that! Other planned updates of improving the UI are currently put aside in favor of more content.

Updates like More Speech one are crucial for adding new content (due to how classes and character personalities work).

I also really want to add three new skills. Might find some time to do that during this next update or right afterwards...

Thank you for reading and for your patience!

-David

Change log 2/12/2023 | Version 0.22

Additions:

• Controller support
  

• Fixed soft-lock caused by Tin Flamer enemies in the city of mist (community find by Jingseng)
  

• Hooked Shield: +2->+3 damage when attacker's remaining movement is 4 or more
  

• Fixed can hire Tin Soldier temporary ally with a lack of silver crowns (Anonymous community find)
  
• Fixed description for the camp below the City of Mist area
  
• Fixed missing text in "loot screen" (after returning to overworld) with non pixel text
  
• Fixed attempting to deconstruct, canceling and then deconstructing again doesn't show deconstruct tiles
  
• Clarified text of abilities that gain damage from movement (like hooked shield) to mention attacker's movement
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Just wanted to write a mini-update to let you know I'm making constant progress on adding controller support.

[h3]Here's what it looks like in the main menu:[/h3]



[h3]Inventory functionality:[/h3]



[h3]Dungeon Navigation:[/h3]



It's still not done and will take a week or two hopefully...

I feel a bit conflicted about controller support - because on one hand, it feels like it's taking too long! on the other hand, I wanted to add controller support at some point regardless (and I think taking a pause with it now would cost more time later!).

I honestly can't wait to add some new content, so I might add a content update with a few new skills / items right after controller support is added, or after the following update. We'll see...

However, for what it counts, controllers are pretty fun (': I need to buy a Steam deck someday just so I get to experience Netherguild on it too!

Thank you for reading and for your patience, see you next update (hopefully with controller support in-game!)

-David

Change log 26/10/2023 | Version 0.211(E)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed killing last enemy in combat with a side-step ability causes soft-lock issue (Community find by Darbie)
  
• Fixed rare crash caused by hovering over inventory items
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Since last update, two weeks ago, I've added two new achievements, fully planned out how controller support would work and made some progress on the new areas-

Here's an overview:

New Areas

I've been working more on the sewers area...

It's starting to really take shape - I want the water to be animated later on too, but for now I've added the function to make the water level rise / drop - water will have a slowing effect on player characters, so the idea is that some oddities could affect it!



I was thinking the exit from the sewers area could look like a massive grate - and it'd have a unique style based on where it's leading - whether to a (future) crystal area, the upcoming mushroom area, or to more sewers <.<

Also, to those of you who remember the upcoming Mushroom area (posted in a previous update)-


I've recently started setting up one of the enemy types for it -


Which will cover player units with poisonous spores that give them debuffs!








Controller Support?
This week I outlined what's going to be necessary for adding controller support in a neat little document, as well as which keys would be used for anything, etc.

This upcoming week and a half, I want to focus on trying to implement these new additions.

I'm definitely not certain I'll be able to complete it so please don't take it as a promise! But... I want to try!



I've also added a couple of achievements -
One for healing all your 4 characters to max health by eating
One for pushing an enemy off the map for the first time (which was added today)

What's next?
I want to spend the next week and a half working more on controller stuff, but afterwards...

More Speech
-Two to three weeks
There's two things I want to add during this update;
1. A system for updating the speech of existing characters
2. Expanding the speech system, adding more lines, context (for characters) and other improvements.

Improved bonfire UI
-Two weeks
I want to make the bonfire interface clearer so players experience less fiddling and confusing when healing their characters.

Visual Overworld
-Two to three weeks
The Overworld interface is a bit lacking and gray - so I was thinking about redoing it by displaying some things like the guild with custom 3D visuals.


The End

And that's all, thank you for checking out this update!
This week Netherguild also participated in the Steam sale for the Roguelike Celeberation, it's an annual event celebrating traditional roguelikes (which Netherguild is inspired by!).

Oh yeah, if you haven't yet, please review Netherguild if you've enjoyed it! Reviews help a ton :D or, if you have a specific feature / content you'd like to see before a review is added, then feel free to wait until then!
Thank you all for the kind comments in the feedback notes too (':

Until next time,
-David

Change log 22/10/2023 | Version 0.211(C)

Additions:

• Added "full heal" achievement
  

• Fixed pause menu issue where some settings are invisible due to non pixel font (Anonymous community find)
  

• Possibly fixed bug related to movement abilities
  
• Fixed in-dungeon load-game crash after descending (Community find by DeltaTwoFour)
  

Hey guild leaders!

Here's some of what I've been working on the last couple of weeks...

Player Requested Features

Community suggestions by Gamenaut and an anonymous user:



Last week, I added an optional setting for edge-scrolling!



Tested it out and it works well :D

It's disabled by default, but can be enabled through the main menu and pause menu.



You can also now rotate characters when inspecting them (inspect with right click) underground as well as in the guild. Nyooom!

New Achievements



Since releasing an update last week I've been working on adding new achievements to the game!

There's something just extremely rewarding about Steam achievements to me, so I figured adding a couple more to track your progress throughout the game would be fun :D

What's Next?
I plan on spending my time until next Tuesday continuing to work on more achievements and the new areas.

Here's what I plan to work on afterwards...

Controller Support Initial
-One week
I want to check out what I'd need to use to add controller support. I won't be adding it yet, but I want to outline what's necessary to add it.

More Speech
-Two to three weeks
There's two things I want to add during this update;
1. A system for updating the speech of existing characters
2. Expanding the speech system, adding more lines, context (for characters) and other improvements.

Improved bonfire UI
-Two weeks
I want to make the bonfire interface clearer so players experience less fiddling and confusing when healing their characters.

Visual Overworld
-Two to three weeks
The Overworld interface is a bit lacking and gray - so I was thinking about redoing it by displaying some things like the guild with custom 3D visuals.



P.S.

Progress and updates might be a tiny bit more sluggish due to the horrifying recent events and ongoing war happening here in Israel. That being said, I am safe and even if a tad bit slower, development on Netherguild continues regardless.

Thank you for your understanding - hope that you and your loved ones are safe!
-David

Change log 3/10/2023 | Version 0.211(A)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed gaining equipment from quests with max inventory makes it vanish (community find by Kermainen)
  
• Fixed softlock caused by Bandit Leader Pig dropping to 0HP by attacking with poison status (community find by Evermore)
  

• Added the ability to rotate characters when inspecting them underground
  (And improved the display of guild-rotation)
  
• Added the option for edge-scrolling
  
• Can rotate the overworld with Q and E (camera rotating keys)
  

Hey guild leaders!
Here's what I've been working on for the last few weeks:

Unique room layouts



Part of the idea for this update was adding rare unique layouts to the City of Mist - which should make exploring it more fun with more rare and unique encounters.

I also wanted to add some tech to make sure that adding new rooms won't impact players with saves in that dungeon - so that if you load a City of Mist dungeon from a former version, you dungeon won't change suddenly.

So far I've added the two layouts above as well as this special room below:




The workshop room!
For the longest time I've had the idea of a City of Mist room with broken automatons.


As well as some rare loot!


The sword-bearing "Broken automaton" enemies in this room have their own unique animations too.

There's also a whole bunch of other improvements, like -

Improved automaton AI
Automatons used to struggle with climbing up and down to reach player characters. The idea behind this was that automatons aren't as clever as living creatures, but it could result in some very un-challenging encounters in a middle-game area, which I didn't like - so now their AI has been improved.

Can rotate characters when inspecting them in the guild


Centipede rooms spawn the remains of a hunted moths and grubs


And small details like these little decorations -



What's Next?
Polishing and Quality of Life
-One to two weeks
I want to spend some time fixing the basics of Netherguild

Achievements 2 weeks
-Two weeks
I want to add more achievements for players to unlock!
For two weeks, I want to add

Controller Support Initial
-One week
I want to check out what I'd need to use to add controller support. I won't be adding it yet, but I want to outline what's necessary to add it.

More Speech
-Two to three weeks
There's two things I want to add during this update;
1. A system for updating the speech of existing characters
2. Expanding the speech system and adding

Improved bonfire UI
-Two weeks
I want to make the bonfire interface clearer so people have a better time

Visual Overworld
-Two to three weeks
The Overworld interface is a bit lacking and gray - so I was thinking about redoing it in a way of displaying

The End

And that's all for this update - apologies for the wait, this update ended up dragging on too long, something I hope to avoid with future updates!

Thank you for reading and see you next time :D
-David

Change log 27/9/2023 | Version 0.211


Additions:

• Added X rooms with unique layouts for the City of Mist area
  
• Added a special "workshop" room in the City of Mist with unique enemies and loot
  
• Added "face" and "lion" decorations in city of mist edges of room
  
• Added Moth food items spawning in Centipede rooms - dragged there from Centipede hunts
  
• Added a new hidden option for the Rigged Vault oddity in the City of Mist Criminal background[\spoiler]
  
• Can rotate characters when inspecting them in the guild screen
  

• Killing "Drunk Bandit" oddity gives all bandits in dungeon a passive effect: "Preparedness: +1 Initiative"
  
• Improved automaton AI in city of mist
  

• Fixed broken watchman Scout rig (loose voxel on backpack)
  
• Fixed sprite and name for Wrench-Bash attack
  
• Fixed spinning bludgeon passive effect
  

Hey Guild Leaders!
I have a surprise update for you today - including 2 main new additions!!

1. Improved Visuals





I added the visual change I mentioned last update into the engine! isn't it pretty? :D



2. Combat Encounters

Isn't it kind of annoying when you just start out the game and encounter a group of 7 BANDITS in floors 2 or 3?

Or even worse, when you accidentally trigger enemies across multiple rooms in the Bandit Stronghold / City of Mist...

That should be fixed! There are now invisible "barriers" that prevent enemies from activating other enemies in nearby rooms. However, you can still activate those far away enemies by yourself - if you chance upon them...



Still working on the Royal City Update!

Since adding new rooms might mess up existing saves, I added a system to prevent that (':

Dungeons will now save the version of the dungeon, so a player loading a save from a certain time will have the proper rooms instead of future rooms - until they descend into the dungeon again (or go down to the next floor).

I've also started working on some alternate room layouts.



Thank you for 50 reviews!

Massive thank you to everyone who enjoyed Netherguild and left a kind review. You rock!!



Surprise Update End!

And that's all! Just wanted to share this surprise update with you since I'm excited about finally releasing the new visuals and combat fix.

I'll try to update the store screenshots in the next few days too to reflect the new visuals - and sometime afterwards I'll finish making a new trailer.

Thank you for reading! See you next update (:

Change log 9/9/2023 | Version 0.21


Changes:

• Visuals have been changed to look a bit darker and better (picture at the bottom)
  
• Add a small visual effects of "returning to place" when moving mouse between attack / movement tiles
  

• Added fixes to prevent enemies (besides Crystal Shrimp) from activating enemies in other rooms. This should disable unintended big encounters - but watch out, you can still activate further enemies by witnessing them.
  Applies to all current areas.
  
  
• Fixed opening cutscene "Gate" scenes look blurry on 4K monitors
  

Hey Guild Leaders-

I have some exciting news this week!

But first of all... some eye-candy!

Animations





Idle animations for the Duelist class - this will be a medium armor noble class with sword and dagger proficiency. I plan for this background to be focused on control + big damage over time.


Since peasants in medieval times weren't allowed to wield weapons (or practice fighting, at least in some parts of the world), I imagined the Healer, a class belonging to the "Commoner" faction to instead know fighting thanks to a "martial dance" - which they'll practice every 15 seconds or so when doing an idle animation in combat.





Also made a bit of progress implementing the sewers in-game

I might have mentioned the sewers of the City of Mist, but that's the next area being added to Netherguild. The lovely Sewer-Crocodile from above is also a denizen of the sewers (:

Visual Improvements

New:

Old / current:


I plan on changing the visuals to have more pronounced ambient lighting - which should make Netherguild look better and make different things on the map more pronounced.

Let me know which style you prefer! over on the Discord, people overwhelmingly preferred the new style.

Last week I also planned to work on some quality of life stuff - it was related to the issue of starting combat with multiple rooms at the same time. I attempted to set it up but it ended up being more complicated than I originally though, so I'll attempt to tackle it again soon.


What's Next?
The Royal City
-Two to three weeks
Will improve the City of Mist with more details, special rooms and oddities.
(But I'll try to improve the visuals a bit before that too)


Strategy Fest

Netherguild is on the Steam strategy fest! so you can get it for 10% off if you wish.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1464220/Netherguild/

If you bought and enjoyed Netherguild, please don't forget to review it! reviews help a ton :D

WE'RE SO CLOSE TO 50

More examples of improved visuals:
New:

Old:

New:

Old:


Fin
And that's all for now!

Thank you for reading, see you next update! (:
-David

Change log 23/8/2023 | Version 0.208(A)

Minifixes:

• Fixed all moths are brown (not just ally moths)
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

These last two weeks I've been working on adding temporary allies to Netherguild:

What are temporary allies?

• Non-player character units that follow you around and fight with you on this floor
  
• You (the player) control their actions
  
• These units don't heal in bonfires
  
• These units don't return to the overworld or descend in the elevator
  

Change log 23/8/2023 | Version 0.208

Content additions:

• New oddity: Tin Ally
  
• New oddity: Hurt Moth
  
• Updated oddity: Rigged Safe (7.5% chance for temporary ally)
  

Change log 11/8/2023 | Version 0.207(A)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed ability panel hidden soft-lock when exiting in-dungeon market (community find by Akarnor)
  

• Fixed Armorer Bandits can buff Bandit Leader Pig when he's at 0 health
  
• Fixed clicking on chat bubbles may accidentally select a tile to move to
  
• Fixed dynamic combat music not stopping when taking the elevator in the city of mist floors (community find by Akarnor)
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

The time has come... for a grim update...



The Graveyard building has finally been added to Netherguild!



You can now visit your fallen guild members, reminisce about old times and even place flowers.






Quality of Life
I've also added a couple of quality of life additions to Netherguild!


You can now skip any character's speech by clicking on their text bubbles! :D
This works both above and below ground.


Skipping text when opening treasure was made even easier - it works when clicking anywhere (like the dialogue before the bossfight with the Bandit Leader).

The end... for now!

And that's about all for this update! A of a bit shorter and more focused update but with some nice little additions.

You can check the full patch notes here:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3672173806435151313

Thank you for reading and see you next time! :D

-David

P.S. Overview of current future plans and updates since Early Access;

What's Next?
Temporary Allies
-Two weeks
Will add one or more oddities that give the player a temporary ally to command underground, as well as the dev technology required for temporary allies.

The Royal City
-Two to three weeks
Will improve the City of Mist with more details, special rooms and oddities.

All these while secretly working on new areas and classes behind the scenes... before a big update in a few months!!!


Reverse Roadmap
An overview of the progress since early access release

Change log 8/8/2023 | Version 0.206(B)

Additions:

• Graveyard building - appears when a character dies and lets you reminisce about dead characters in your expedition, as well as placing flowers on their graves.
  

• Clicking on a speech bubble skips it (outside of bossfight and treasure, see below)
  
• Clicking anywhere when opening treasure skips speech
  

• Fixed pedestal torch oddity not rolling randomly.
  
• Fixed Burn status appears to spread when it has 0 remaining turns
  
• Fixed "level up skills available" text with level up skills
  
• Added character limit to character names: 20 characters
  

• Reclaimed Decorated Shield: Also receives "Increases uses between rests of 'Rally' attack by 1"
  

• "Bosco" random possible last name for Rangers (means "Forest" in Latin)
  
• "Castillo" random possible last name for Noble Knights (means "Castle" in Spanish)
  
• "Falco" random possible male name (means Hawk)
  
• "Monti" random possible last name for Mercenary Knight (Means "Mountain" in Italian)
  

Change log 30/7/2023 | Version 0.206(A)

Minifixes:

• Fixed automaton key can't be used to open rigged vaults in the City of Mist (Community find by Pochyowo)
  

Hey guild leaders!
For the last few weeks I've been working on this new update improving various aspects of the City of Mist area; here's a quick overview of everything that's been added and some of my future plans :D

Full patch notes:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3660914264330759952

What's New?
Two new rare automaton enemies were added: The Tin Flamer and Tin Champion.

The Flamer shoots oil and blankets your units with flames,


The Tin Champion pushes units two tiles away and stuns them.



Tin Champions will also drop this key - which can be handy for cracking open vaults safely.
Vaults also have a 10% chance for a nastier encounter including a tin champion and tin general, so these keys might come in handy...


As you explore the City of Mist, you might also encounter rare lore columns in certain rooms (especially the shrine oddity room), giving you some optional lore about the history of the city.


Another addition is the metal shop in the City of Mist - which lets you trade scrap metal you gain from defeated automatons into reclaimed metal which can be turned into solid but not amazing equipment in the overworld (besides one powerful item) - the idea here is giving the player an option to cover their bases when it comes to any missing equipment, regardless of random loot finding.



And as a final addition, your inventory is shown when interacting with the market, letting you know just how many logs are missing :D

What's Next?
Graveyard Update
-A week and a half
Adds a graveyard building in the overworld where you can visit your fallen heroes, as well as minor improvements to the game.

Temporary Allies
-Two weeks
Will add one or more oddities that give the player a temporary ally to command underground, as well as the technology required for temporary allies.

The Royal City
-Two to three weeks
Will improve the City of Mist with more details, special rooms and oddities.

All these while secretly working on new areas and classes behind the scenes... before a big update in a few months!!!

Speaking of this... here's some of what I've been working on in the background...

Tileset for a future area...

Class background models for the duelist (noble) and hero (commoner) classes

For the big update in a few months from now, I plan on adding 2 brand new areas - both with their own unique loot, oddities and enemies, as well as at least two new player classes (possibly more).

And that's all for this update, thank you for reading it so far :D
I'm off to rest up after playtesting the new additions all morning long - see you all next time! (:
Cheers!

-David

Reverse Roadmap
An overview of the progress since early access release

Change log 29/7/2023 | Version 0.206

Content Additions:

• Two new enemies: Tin Flamers and Tin Champions (1/5th likely to spawn as tin soldiers)
  
• Items: Scrap metal, reclaimed metal, Automaton key
  
• Mist City Metal Shop (80% chance to spawn in market rooms)
  
• 5 new items that can be crafted from reclaimed metal. Armors and shields (4 obvious ones and 1 hidden item)
  

• Can view inventory / warehouse when in market
  

• Fixed oil length to affect damage as well as length (new burn status damage = maximum between (new status / attack damage) and oil length)
  
• Fixed dead tin guardians are really shiny
  
• Fixed machine general drops silver ingots and turkey legs
  

Change log 15/7/2023 | Version 0.205(B)

Minifixes:

• Fixed "reinvigorated hunger" passive effect from Bluestone Mines Minerith oddity
  
• City of Mist "Ballista" oddity no longer triggers combat
  
• Added scroll effect when hovering over "upgrade building" button
  
• Fixed character inventory "X" buttons disappear when pressing right click to inspect through warehouse and then returning to warehouse.
  
• Fix for extremely rare fall crash one player experienced
  
• Possible fix / clarifying for boss related crash
  

Hey Guild Leaders!
This last week and a half I've been working on some quality of life improvements, a few slight improvements to the interface as well as handful of new loot items for the Nobles & Commoners factions.

Enemy initiative doesn't reveal positions



Before, when initiative rolled, hidden enemies would reveal their position with the "initiative rolled" text - but now only visible enemies display it.

This should make mobility and scouts an even more important part of your squads.

This is a big change so let me know if it's fun or if it messes things up in any way!

Item Snapping



Netherguild has a lot of inventory management... so I figured, why not make it a bit more comfortable?
Items now snap to their slot, making it easier to arrange items rather than having to carefully place them.

Chests and Vaults Remain Half Open


After opening a chest, it will remain half-open; this is to show it has been looted (by you) before.

A community feature originally requested by Mr.Delightful, this should make backtracking easier.

I've also added some tiny visual improvements to the rest of the interface:




As well as 2 new boot items and a new bow (for the Commoner set).
I wanted to improve the interface a bit more and maybe add a couple of additional items, but I ended up running out of time for it during this update... so I might do it anyway in the next few days or save it for the future (:


What's Next?

City of Mist - Metal Update
-three weeks
New automaton enemies in the City of Mist area, new loot and more. Stay tuned!

Multiple City of Mist Improvements
-???
Adding more content to the City of Mist across multiple game-updates while secretly working on new areas and classes behind the scenes... before a big update in a few months!!!


Reverse Roadmap

A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend of mine who worked on a couple other games (asked to remain anonymous for now).
I mentioned how I don't like roadmaps - which are good for hype, but make me worried about deadlines and delays...

So he came up with this clever idea of having a "reverse roadmap" - instead of a regular roadmap filled with hopeful promises, this is a list of things that have already been added to the game during early access.



I thought it'd be a good idea to 1) show new players that the game is being continuously updated, and 2) to show returning players everything new since they've last played at a glance.

This will mainly include exciting content and exclude other things like interface improvements, bugfixes and quality of life additions, which are important but would end up cluttering the list.

In any case, explanation over! expect to see it pop up throughout early access (:



And that's all for this update - thank you for checking it out (:

See you all in a few weeks with some brand new content for the City of Mist as well as more info on the big update that's dropping in a few months from now!

-David

Change log 5/7/2023 | Version 0.205(A)

Content Additions:

• Added 2 Commoner set equipment items
  Reinforced Boots, Shepherd's Bow
  
• Added 1 Noble set equipment items
  Steel Greaves
  

• Fixed overworld light affecting shopkeepers (/armory)
  
• The initiative rolls of enemies that weren't revealed yet don't float above their position on combat start (to avoid revealing their position)
  
• Various visual interface improvements
  
• Improved Silver Mace visuals to look like they're in a character's hand
  
• Fixed light boots lack effects
  
• "Build" panel now appears right above build button
  
• Can cancel build panel and placing building with right click or middle click now too
  
• Fixed "Spikey Charge" attack to only hit enemies (instead of players being able to choose empty tiles and allies)
  

Change log 28/6/2023 | Version 0.205

Quality of Life Improvements:

• Added item-snapping in inventory
  
• Chests and vaults remain half-open after being open for the first time (to prevents players mistaking them for unopened ones). Community suggestion by Mr. Delightful
  

• Fixed crash related to damaging invisible characters
  

• Fixed "fleeing" always works (33% chance again).
  
• Fixed re-rolling in guild building switches remaining character classes from intended classes (assassin->knight for example). Community find by simpleminded
  
• Fixed Champion Slash to increase attacker Strengthen (instead of target) and to have a custom attack sprite
  

Change log 25/6/2023 | Version 0.204(A)

Balancing changes:

• Medicine minimum Commoner standing: 5->3
  
• Research I minimum Noble standing: 4->2
  
• Hunt III minimum standing: 5->4
  

• Added "display effects" to newly gained equipment from quest window
  
• Fixed silver-mace bash attack lacks unique sprite
  
• Fixed black return sprites to be more accurate to when items are above containment limits
  

6 New Goals
So far, Netherguild only had a handful of goals (optional quests) - but today this changes as 6 new goals are added, for the Commoners, Nobles, as well as neutral factions like the Military and Church.

These provide the player with loot, crowns, challenges and some optional lore.


For new players, these new goals will pop up naturally as they explore -

However, for players with existing saves, this is how to activate the new goals:

Purge: visit the Bandit Stronghold
Justice II: 3 Commoner standing, completed Justice I, visit the Bandit Stronghold
Research: 3 Noble standing, visit the Mist City Entrance
Parade: visit the City of Mist (middle)
Hunt III: 5 Noble standing, completed Hunt II, visit the City of Mist (middle).
Medicine: 5 Commoner standing, completed Justice I, visit the City of Mist (middle).

Commoner equipment set AND Noble equipment set, each with their own unique items.


At the moment there's 10 new equipment items for the Commoner set and 11 new equipment items for the Nobles.

Full change log:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3664289336086423292

I plan on adding more over time, hopefully next week alongside the UI improvements and throughout early access.
Another thing I want to note is: currently the only way to unlock these items is through finishing quests, but in a few months when the faction system is added, these will be available through a faction shop or the armory.


Visual Improvements
I increased the post-processing effects in the current build to make things look better - so players at the "Good" and "Ultra" settings might notice a slight difference.

It shouldn't affect the frame-rate, but if you experience a slow frame-rate following the update, please let me know and I'll restore it to the previous settings.

In the future these visual settings will be customizable through the pause menu too.


Other Thoughts
I feel like I didn't have enough time to improve the visuals of goals this update with everything else that's being added - so I'll reserve that for next week.

What's Next?

Interface Improvements
-a week
Making the interface prettier and more comfortable!
Also adding more equipment for the Commoner and Noble sets.

City of Mist - Metal Update
-two to three weeks
New enemies and more. Stay tuned!

Multiple City of Mist Improvements
-???
Adding more content to the City of Mist across multiple game-updates while secretly working on new areas and classes behind the scenes... before a big update in a few months!!!



Idle animation for an enemy in the upcoming "Sewers" area

And that's all for this update!

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the new items and goals :D

-David

Change log 24/6/2023 | Version 0.204

Additions:

• New quests: Purge (Church), Justice II (Commoner), Research (Noble), Parade (Military), Hunt III (Noble), Medicine (Commoners).
  
• Commoner equipment set (10 items for now).
  

  Retired Champion's Sword,
  Butcher Knife, Horseshoe Dagger, Militia Dagger.
  Leather Jerkin, Sheepskin Jacket,
  Red Armor.
  Light Boots.
  Leather band, Spiky Pauldron.

  
  
• Noble equipment set (11 items for now).
  

  Blue-Tipped Rapier,
  Silver Mace,
  Courtier's Dagger, Poison Stiletto, Wide-Base Dagger.
  Silver Armor, Refined Armor.
  Ornamental Circlet, Noble Pauldron.

  
  

• Possibly healed broken saves with pig bossfight?
  

Change log 21/6/2023 | Version 0.203(E)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash when using Claw-Mace
  
• Fixed issue with loading during Pig's bossfight (this doesn't cure affected saves but it should prevent it from happening for future players)
  
• Fixed pushing for some rotated enemies (like shooting targets)
  

• Clarified attack "effect after damage" checking before damage is dealt (with things like cog mace: Stun target if health is above 8)
  

Change log 16/6/2023 | Version 0.203(D)

Balancing Changes:
Reduced "Whirlwind Dagger" max range 4->3

Bugfixes:

• Possibly fixed daggerstorm ability crash
  

• Fixed loading during combat in the City of Mist advances the Mist event
  
• Made Pig's Daggers a rare item
  
• Possibly fixed interface saying "Drink" on non drinkable items
  

Change log 13/6/2023 | Version 0.203(C)


Bugfixing:

• Additional fixes to loading during "Pig" bandit leader bossfight
  

Change log 13/6/2023 | Version 0.203(B)


Bugfixing:

• Fixed players pushing bandit leader "Pig" off the map, which shouldn't be possible and causes crashes (Community find by xTExSilent)
  This was an issue ever since pushing was improved a few updates ago, if you're suffering from this and have a broken save file you'd like me to fix, feel free to send it to me via the Discord.
  

Change log 10/6/2023 | Version 0.203(A)


Bugfixing:

• Fixed broken centipede shield event (Community find by Pochyowo)
  

• Fixed Lion shield missing attack
  

Hey Guild Leaders,

The Moth update for the City of Mist is finally here, so I wanted to write a bit about everything that was added as well as everything new I'm planning to add afterwards!

New additions (in summary):

• Mist Moth enemy
  
• 2 new food items
  
• 7 new equipment items across the game
  
• A couple new game mechanics
  
• Fixes and improvements to the City of Mist
  

• More enemies! (especially automatons)
  
• More oddities & events
  
• More LORE
  
• More utility to defeating automatons
  
• Moths being drown to flames
  

• More BIG enemies
  
• Temporary allies
  

Change log 9/6/2023 | Version 0.203


Content Additions:

• Mist Moths
  

• Red-Shard Bow (From Corrupted Bluestone Crystal event)
  
• Pig's Daggers (50% chance to drop from defeating Boss: Bandit Leader Pig)
  
  
• Cog Mace | City of Mist equipment set
  
• Claw Mace | City of Mist equipment set
  
• Lion Shield | City of Mist equipment set (Uncommon or more)
  
• Whirlwind Dagger | City of Mist equipment set
  
  
• Centipede Shield
  

• Centipede Plates (10% drop chance, can be turned into Centipede Shield)
  
• Mist Moth Wing, Food Item
  
• Mist Moth Flesh, Food Item
  

• Abilities that trigger status effects
  
• Abilities that increase status amount
  

• Ruin Centipede Stun Immunity->Stun Resistance
  
• Lightning Dance 5 uses->4 uses
  

• Items that go over the warehouse limit are now stored in "temporary storage" which can be accessed through the warehouse building.
  
• Improved shooting across pits in City of Mist and Bandit Stronghold areas, with abilities like "Piercing shot", "Line-breaker" and "Icicle Piercer"
  
• Fixed oddities appearing right next to each other in City of Mist area
  

• Pig's Hammer Description
  
• Red-Crystal Hammer Description
  

• In expedition return screen, fixed "mask" of inventory items and quests.
  
• Fixed centipedes drop Turkey Legs and Silver Bars (unintended)
  
• Fixed possible issue with lower city of mist floors lacking music
  
• Fix loading game after pushing enemies off cliff shows enemy corpses
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Since it's been a while - and there's still about a week before I finish with this update, I wanted to post a short update with some visuals to showcase what I've been working on.

New Enemies


For this upcoming update, I'm mainly focusing on the Mist Moths (enemy-wise)!
They should appear on the lower floors of the City of Mist and be a big, powerful opponent which buffs moth grubs, deal heavy damage and drops food items - kind of a counter-balance for the hives.




There's machine enemies I really want to add to the City of Mist too (image contains mockups for one of them), but I don't think I'd have time to add them until next Tuesday... so I'll probably save them for a near future update instead!

New Equipment




As well as a few more -
Each one of these new items also comes with their own skills! Which should make for some fun builds hopefully :D
Exact item counts and where they can be found would be published when the update drops!



Other News

I'm working on other fixes and improvements for the City of Mist and game in general - some of which I may have mentioned before in forum replies, like City of Mist softlocks due to level generation and Surfacing / Event Items exceeding limits in warehouses (and disappearing as a result).

Additionally, I've also started work on the tile-set for one of the new areas...




That's all for now,
Thank you for checking out this progress update!
-David

Change log 30/5/2023 | Version 0.202(Q)


Bugfixing:

• Fixed broken falling while pushing and related crashes for good
  
• Fixed broken pushing with Pressure Bash ability (possibly causing other issues too). (Community find by Pochyowo)
  

• Improved "breaking off crystal" chance success to only have one text.
  
• Fixed "First" and "Last" not showing up in expedition preparation with non pixel font.
  

• Rebalanced GearDagger ranged ability:
  

  Geardagger Launch- Ranged attack. (2-3 range)
  Requires dagger proficiency
  Deals Accuracy slashing damage.
  Cooldown: 2 turns. | Max uses: 8
  +3 damage when attacking from behind
  On kill user gains passive effect:
  Marskman Power
  Gain 3 additional Strength for 3 turns
  

  
  

Change log 25/5/2023 | Version 0.202(P)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed pushing related possible crash
  

• Fixed centipedes not using their own sounds (walking, hurt, death)
  
• Characters in the mist city speak after the mist prediction event
  
• Fixed "Long/Short return displayer" not using non-pixel font when non-pixel font option is selected
  
• Changed 'members' menu to not have gems
  

Change log 22/5/2023 | Version 0.202(O)

Warnings:

• Added warning for player units stepping on allied traps
  

• Possibly fixed pushing related bugs?
  

• "Unbloackable" attacks also remove all block
  

• Added particle effect to tin guardian attack to better communicate attack area
  
• Possibly fixed razor arrows hitting enemies twice in some builds?
  
• Fixed attacks not displaying when equipment has requirements (like "if class is assassin: gain attack")
  

Change log 21/5/2023 | Version 0.202(N)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash caused by enemies using spawning abilities (like spawning Block Automatons)
  Bug was introduced last update, sorry about that!
  

Change log 20/5/2023 | Version 0.202(M)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed Mist City centipedes appearing in the same tiles as fallen units (Community find by NickNack)
  
• Fixed Mist City hives spawning grubs in tiles occupied by inactive enemies (Community find by KiroRain)
  
• Fixed player trap-kills don't provide XP (Community find by simplemindead)
  
• Fixed archery targets considered "living" (Community find by simplemindead)
  

• Added "Uses and Cooldown" entry
  
• Improved "advanced strategy" entry a bit
  

Change log 18/5/2023 | Version 0.202(L)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed firing a characters in camp area until there's 0 causes softlock and game over on game re-load. (Community find by simplemindead)
  
• Fixed "vampiric bite" also recovering health from non living units (Community find by simplemindead)
  

• Removed "0%" from the attack description of non-damage dealing attacks like Shield Bash.
  

• Added "Ranged Attacks" entry
  
• Added "Area of Effect Attacks" entry
  

• Rules codex system (accessed from the pause menu)
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

I ended up spending most of this week on fixing bugs but...

I did find some time to add one handy little system...



Wait... what is a "rules codex"?

It's meant to be an "in-game manual" of sorts - containing:

Few handy tips for those who need 'em.


You may recognize it from the Full Release: Will, Want, Maybe post - it's named "Tutorial encyclopedia system" there.



You can access it yourself in the newest version via the pause menu - in the future I'd like to add other ways to access it too, as well as adding additional entries and prettying it up.

I also want to note - it's not meant to replaces player guides in any way.
instead it's just meant to be a handy reference for rules for players who want to refresh their knowledge on some things from the tutorial and for those who need some basic tips for how to strategize.

So... What's next?

I might spend tomorrow fixing a handful of other things, but right afterwards!

Mist City Enrichment
-About three weeks
New enemies! New equipment! more drops from existing enemies.
Improved and/or added oddities.

I also want to fix the issue where returned / crafted items disappear if you return to a full inventory that has no room for them during this update.

New Goals and Quests
-A week to two weeks
New quests for the new areas as well as improved rewards for various factions.

This is far from being the last City of Mist update too - I have a few more planned out. More on that in the future (:

Thank you for checking out this update!
-David

Change log 15/5/2023 | Version 0.202(J)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed descending in an elevator during Mist keeps character visibility turned off (Community find by NickNack)
  
• Fixed player units entering the same tile as an enemy unit when following into combat (Community find by KiroRain)
  
• Fixed shrimp nest spamming initiative rolls when items are taken and placed there (Community find by Specter)
  

• Fixed shrimp nest spamming dungeon-log message when items are taken and placed there
  
• Fixed "fixed camera" loading in combat doesn't set the starting camera position properly
  

Change log 12/5/2023 | Version 0.202(i)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed Mist load crash (possibly caused by props being visible in-combat). (Community find by Kiro Rain)
  
• Fixed possible crash due to dead/missing player characters when mist ends (Community find by Kiro Rain)
  
• Fixed mist re-rolling when loading the game out of combat
  

• Fixed typing feedback toggles map via hotkey (community find by RedditN1ck)
  
• Fixed oddities displaying "speech bubbles" when they're inactive & loaded (Community find by Akarnor)
  

Change log 11/5/2023 | Version 0.202(H)


UI Improvements:

• Improved pause menu to have icons
  
• Added an "appear animation" to controls screen in dungeon and overworld
  

• With fully non-pixel font option, healthbars and combat numbers now use the non-pixel font.
  

Change log 10/5/2023 | Version 0.202(G)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash due to friendly fire warning
  
• Fixed "Mechanical Flight" ability crash (community find by Pochy)
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

About a week and a half ago, I set out to add 2 interface features to Netherguild;

A "confirmation window", with warnings against firing characters / attacking allies, as well as being able to see your character's "true stats" in the guild (with skills + equipment) rather than beginner stats.

(This was mentioned last update:)

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3687927619424023118?l=english

Were they added?... (yes!)

Confirmation Window
Whenever I'd watch streamers play Netherguild, they'd often end up learning that friendly fire exists the hard way, which sometimes would lead to dead characters too.
Most streamers would laugh about it, but it was a genuine cause of frustration to some - well, not anymore!



Another issue players faced was accidentally firing characters - I received these comments through the in-game feedback feature:

"please add a confirmation pop-in to firing characters
the fire character button is too close to inspect character and could be clicked by mistake"

"I just accidentally fired my best warrior with an accidental click. Can you make that a confirmation screen? It made me sad. :("


Not anymore!
(Also I'm sorry :<)

Previewing Stats in Guild
I thought it'd be tough to add! but luckily it ended up being surprisingly easy.



And thus, both features were added...



I even added this little map - which should come in handy if you ever wish to take a closer look at the minimap to see which rooms you might have missed or where to head next. All of this is already in-game!

So... What's next?

There's a bit more I'd like to add and fix - so I'd like to spend another half a week to a week wrapping up this update.


Afterwards, I plan to work on these updates:

Mist City Enrichment
-About three weeks
New enemies! New equipment! more drops from existing enemies.
Improved and/or added oddities.

New Goals and Quests
-A week to two weeks
New quests for the new areas as well as improved rewards for various factions.


I have more planned too, but will keep it a secret for now (:
Thank you for reading!
-David

Change log 9/5/2023 | Version 0.202(F)

UI Improvements:

• Added an in-dungeon map
  

• Modifying keys in the controls window in-dungeon will also update hover tooltips
  
• Fixed not displaying correct skill tree hotkey (in tooltip) if skill tree button was modified in controls
  
• Fixed possible "click sound" issue playing on entering dungeon
  

Change log 7/5/2023 | Version 0.202(E)

UI Improvements:

• Can examine character stats in-guild
  (Should work with both modified stats & HP from both equipment and skill ups)
  
• Improved left side visuals of guild slightly
  

• Fixed choosing stat-ups in the overworld doesn't modify character stats
  (This doesn't work retroactively so I apologize if you lost character stat-ups due to this bug :<)
  

Change log 5/5/2023 | Version 0.202(D)

Quality of Life:

• When descending into "camp area", items stay in character inventories (community suggestion)
  

• Added sound effects to toggle
  

• Specified that "price increase" event happens after a certain amount of expeditions
  

Change log 5/5/2023 | Version 0.202(C)

UI Changes:

• Improved character counter in the overworld top right
  

• Fix to possible issues related to warnings & attacks
  

Change log 4/5/2023 | Version 0.202(B)

Minifixes:

• Fixed "Are you sure" still letting players hover over characters / buildings when it's active
  
• Fixed settings saying "Friendly fire warning" -> "Disable friendly fire warning" (wrong text!)
  

Change log 3/5/2023 | Version 0.202(A)

Warnings:

• Added warning when attacking an ally with a non-support attack
  
• Added a warning for firing allied characters
  

• "Click to inspect" in guild hiring is bigger and more readable
  
• When an enemy becomes visible in combat, they instantly appear in the turn order
  
• Changed goal description to appear right above goal instead of to the side
  
• Made bottom action panel wider
  

• Fixed "z-fighting" visual bug with assassin combat animation
  

Hey Guild Leaders,
I wanted to write a quick update to detail all the newly added content in the newest version of Netherguild as well as future plans. Let's get into it!

[h3]Table of Contents[/h3]

• Three New Skills (and item)
  
• Balancing
  
• What's next?
  

Icicle Piercer (Requires Bow)
Ranged Attack 1-5 area range, Accuracy + 1 Piercing
Cooldown: 3 | Uses: 3/3
Targets all units in line.
Unblockable.
+4 Damage when target has Slow status

Rigged Coin-Toss
Cooldown: 2 | Uses: 3/3
Targets the user.
Free Action- Doesn't end turn.
If fighting against more than 3 enemies:
Gain 3,1 Focus
If fighting against 3 or less enemies:
Gain 3,1 Strengthen
If health is 8 or less gain Block

Flare Arrow (Requires Bow)
Ranged Attack 2-8 range
Cooldown: 3 | Uses: 2/2
Inflicts 3,2 Burn: Deals 3 Fire damage every turn for 2 turn
Allies gain 1,3 Focus: Increases Accuracy by 1 for 3 turns

Change log 30/4/2023 | Version 0.202

New Content:

• "Rigged Coin-Toss" ability for Contractor Assassin
  
• "Icicle Piercer" ability for North Guard Ranger
  
• "Flare Arrow" ability for all Scouts
  
• Added "Grub Armor Plates" item (rare drop from Armored Grub enemies)
  as well as overworld event and "Grub Plating" trinket.
  

• "Sidestep" abilities now let you use your remaining movement (or move minimum 1 tile if you have none remaining)
  
• "Firebolts" skill increases uses of "Track" ability by 1
  
• "Explosive Charge" skill increases uses of "Track" ability by 1
  
• "Armored Dash" max uses reduced (5 -> 4)
  
• "King's Right Hand" will deal 50% strength damage, increased uses to 4, increased cooldown to 2.
  
• Reduced cooldown of "track" to 0. (for convenience while exploring)
  
• "Take Aim" bow ability uses reduced 10->5.
  
• "Killing Arrow" uses increased 10->13. Bonus damage reduced 1->0. Deals +2 damage if target has 10 or less health.
  

• Added system for updating skill trees in existing saves
  

• Fixed crash when clicking the discord icon through the feedback prompt in the main menu
  
• Fixed bug where enemies T-Pose / default pose / don't do "death animation" correctly when pushed outside of visible range
  
• Fixed rare bug where approaching a fallen ally during combat wouldn't let players save them afterwards
  

• Improved "requires x proficiency / background" to be dark green, and "if lacks x proficiency" to dark red
  
• "Ranged damage stat" hover text changed to accuracy description
  (Accuracy: Affects the damage of most ranged attacks.)
  
• Added check to make sure that players with high refresh rate monitors will have a capped frame rate by default to avoid lag due to rendering too many frames (due to v-sync)
  

Change log 20/4/2023 | Version 0.201(F)

Small additions:

• Added a little "growing" effect for attack hovering - example below.
  (Should make AoE and friendly fire attacks even more understandable, but if you happen to not like it do let me know).
  

• Fixed clicking the "New skills unlocked!" notification breaks pressing "escape" key for pause menu.
  

Hello Guild Leaders!

This last week a whole lot of bugs were fixed - including inventory glitches, "ability uses" not being stored properly with trinkets, and others!


Even this weird bug where text bubbles were cut off was fixed!



So now that Netherguild is far more stable...

Next up, for a week to two weeks I plan on adding a handful of skills to the game for build variety, as well as the infrastructure for updating skill trees in existing saves when they get modified in updates, and some possible much needed re-balances. Might add some extra polishing and equipment too if time allows!

If you have ideas and suggestions for new skills you'd like to see on any of the current classes / backgrounds, feel free to share them as comments on this post or in the #brainstorming channel on the Discord! (:



Also, I'm never really away from bugfixing - But since Netherguild became a lot more stable, I am shifting my focus towards new content... for now. As always, if there's persistent bugs in the game that weren't fixed so far and you'd like to see fixed in the future, feel free to let me know in the bug reporting forum or via the Discord.

Thank you for reading and see you next update!
-David

Change log 17/4/2023 | Version 0.201(E)

Setting additions:

• Minimap zoom level is saved (will persist when going underground)
  

• Fixed visual bug of selecting skills in the overworld not updating properly
  
• Fixed can end turn during oddity interaction by leveling up
  
• Fixed weird offset for hover text of character firing button
  
• Fixed inventory becomes weird when firing currently inspected character in guild
  
• Fixed speech bubbles sometimes looking weird with half a sentence being visible (image below)
  

Change log 15/4/2023 | Version 0.201(D)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed bug of glitchy inventory after bonfire
  

• Fixed lowecase 'p' in bandit stronghold bottom description (community find by Pyrowurm Pata)
  
• Mentioned players can also use 1-9 keys to select attacks in tutorial
  

• Fixed inventory auto-opening T-posing on load
  

Change log 14/4/2023 | Version 0.201(C)

Settings:

• Can remap controls in-dungeon and in the overworld
  

Change log 14/4/2023 | Version 0.201(B)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed trinket attack uses aren't saved when un-equipped (example: Switching from Flask -> Bluestone Crystal Amulet -> Flask regenerates uses).
  
• Fixed growing grub gains +5 speed per turn (to +1 speed per turn)
  
• Fixed controls editing stays green with keys that don't have alternative version
  

• Fixed "end combat" passive effects triggering when defeating an enemy in one hit (from far away or passive enemies). Examples of passive effects: Noble Blood (which heals +1 on combat end).
  
• Fixed can hear drunk bandit oddity even when it is invisible due to recent sound changes
  
• Improved audio panning for drunk bandit oddity
  
• Fixed "broken floor" details floating above stairs visual issue with bandit stronghold & city of mist
  

Change log 12/4/2023 | Version 0.201(A)

New Settings:

• FPS limiting option (for high refresh monitors, requested by anonymous user)
  

• Fixed rare crash by loading into mist in city of mist
  
• (Possibly fixed descending crash related to fallen enemies in a previous update)
  

• Fixed text always says "Ascend" when traveling from mist city camp
  
• Loading units on elevator / ladders instantly activates "Go Deeper" button and character count.
  
• Fixed spinning bludgeon and other passive effects don't reset when re-applied
  

[h3]Table of Contents[/h3]

• What was added since last week?
  
• Plans for next week
  
• Near future plans
  

Fixing a variety of other smaller crashes, visual bugs etc.


Most of everything was done! Pretty happy about completing 3.5/4 of these, knowing that deck players can have an easy time with synced saves & that no player will be blocked by terrain again :D

You can read more about some of these improvements here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3703688858575095512?l=english
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3703688858590554064?l=english



What's being worked on this week?

Since there are still many things I want to fix & improve as well as content I'd like to add, I'll do a bit of both next week!
I'll focus on remaining fixes & improvements first, and then slowly ease into starting work on new content towards the end of the week.


Near Future Plans
While I can animate and program, sticking to the exact day with long term plans is something I struggle with. Therefore, instead of a full roadmap, I'll share with you a mini-roadmap for now: a collection of near future updates as well as the general game-plan for updating Netherguild!

Near future updates include...

Skill Up
-Week to Two Weeks (Starting next week)
A few more skills for existing skill trees, one or more item drops from existing enemies.
Will also give me the ability to modify skill trees in existing saves.

Overworld Interface and More
-Week to two weeks
Inspecting characters in guilds shows true stats (rather than starter stats), "Are you sure?" window for firing characters / attacking allies, more info in the dungeon-log and other possible improvements.

Mist City Enrichment
-Two to three weeks
New enemies! New equipment! more drops from existing enemies.
Improved and/or added oddities.

New Goals and Quests
-A week to two weeks
New quests for the new areas as well as improved rewards for various factions.

As you can see, my general idea is to improve the City of Mist (as well as the other two areas to a lesser extent, and the game in general) over these next few months before marching confidently towards adding some of the big systems (faction system with new classes?) and more new areas. If there's something specific you'd like me to add that isn't mentioned here, feel free to comment on this post or in the Discord! (:

Also... this might be the final "Week X update"! - instead I'll switch to more specific update names (and/or monthly updates if I'm working on something big), as well as regular patch notes.


Thank you for playing Netherguild and for checking out this update!

-David

Change log 10/4/2023 | Version 0.201


Bugfixes:

• Fixed loading crash with dead player characters (Community find by |) |_)
  
• Fixed eating corrupted crystal shrimp leg ability disappears (this does NOT fix it in existing save files. Community find by Juke)
  
• Fixed progression-blocking because of stairs in city of mist as well! (by changing how random tile-heightening works. Community find by DatLamp)
  

• Fixed can walk into Mist City Shrine oddity (community find by Pyrowyrm Pata)
  

During these two weeks of early access, a few players encountered this issue:



Blocked from progressing by the terrain itself! This sucks :/

(More examples provided by players Trash & DatLamp):




People messaged me about it through the in-game feedback tool too... :'/





I've heard your plight! these last few days I've been working my hardest on creating an algorithm which makes it so that any room segments (and your path) being blocked by obstacles and oddities is impossible.

Some shining examples of newly generated terrain:


Enemies still can & will block your path! >:D (it's their thing)


A bit narrow, but still very reach-able...


(Here the algorithm considers the torch as an obstacle rather than clear tile - Tough luck if you're trying to put it out! but progression is still unstoppable :D)



This will fix tile-blocking for the Bandit Stronghold & Bluestone Mines!
If you have existing saves there:
-The layout of obstacles might get a bit messed up (loaded enemies appearing where obstacles are).
-If the path in your save was blocked, it shall now be unblocked!
Apologies if the former causes any temporary inconvenience - This can be fixed by returning from your expedition.

I've playtested this new feature throughly, but please let me know if any issues arise.

Cheers and thank you for playing Netherguild!


This is a rare issue that might occur in the City of Mist - it will require a different solution, which will take a while longer.


...Now onto other things to fix... I have many bugfixes that piled up these last few days D: Expect more patch notes in the near future! Thank you for your patience.
-David

Change log 9/4/2023 | Version 0.2(Y)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed obstacles / oddities blocking your path in the Bluestone Mines & Bandit Stronghold
  

• Fixed visual bug with healthbars falsely appearing full in inventory
  

Change log 6/4/2023 | Version 0.2(X)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed loading softlock with no movement
  
• Fixed spawning in barrels bug in bluestone mines
  
• Fixed visual bug of healthbar numbers not updating when a unit is being shot when out of your visibility sight
  
• Possibly fixed descending crash caused by bouncing units (again?)
  

• Disabled pre-expedition character hover panel being displayed when players are equipping supplies before expedition (because it looked weird).
  

Change log 6/4/2023 | Version 0.2(W)


Bugfixes:

• Possibly fixed descending crash related to pushed "bouncing" characters
  
• Fixed crash on exiting inspection of character in an underground camp (like the mist city camp)
  
• Fixed picking the "execute" option for pig changes faction favor as if chosen to interrogate him
  
• Fixed ballista oddity softlock
  

• Fixed "boot bolt" lacks visual effect
  
• Improved ballista visuals to not reflect player light
  

• Improved & fixed controls screen to account for alt keys (image below). Doesn't count main/alt keys as "already used keys" according to whichever mode is selected.
  
• Added Steam cloud saves! Note: These might be disabled for a few hours when mac support is added, will give ample warning & an update banner as warning when it happens.
  

Hey Guild Leaders!

Earlier today I added Steam cloud supports and ensured it works great on Windows, Linux, and between a computer and the Steam deck with the help of a few players (special thanks to Elo, PureParadox and SafetyValve).

What does this mean?
If you just use a single machine, nothing changes for you! (besides your saves also being backed up on the cloud now, just in case).

If you use multiple computers / Steam deck and have existing saves in both, make sure you don't have saves in the same slot because they might get overwritten - you can check your local saves on Windows & Linux by right clicking on Netherguild on Steam -> Netherguild_Data/StreamingAssets folder and backing up your save files (look like: SaveData1.save for the first slot for example).

Do note that cloud saves might be disabled for a few hours / a day at some point in the future when Mac support is added. This is because Mac uses a different location for save files and it'd have to be implemented differently.
When that happens, I'll be sure to let you know in a news update on Steam and in-game for the duration cloud saves are inactive.

Thank you for reading!
-David

Change log 4/4/2023 | Version 0.2(V)

Fixes:

• Fixed main menu hover text over "joining the Discord" button
  
• Fixed broken machine passive effects being applied to all enemies instead of just automatons
  (Community find by DatLamp)
  
• Fixed dagger requirement of "contractorial ops"->"contractor" background in Bandit Stronghold (Community find by DatLamp)
  
• Fixed Gear-dagger melee attack lacking proper sprite and having the wrong passive effect. (Community find by DatLamp)
  
• Fixed "garbage (1)" text in city of mist streets camp (Community find by DatLamp)
  
• Fixed Supply Depot oddity "kicked supply depot" event not dropping logs. (Community find by DatLamp)
  
• Fixed "Heavy Tipped Arrow" lacking arrow projectile (Community find by Wreve)
  
• Fixed level up skill "Noble Blood" - return to the overworld and descend to regain it. (Also possibly fixed issues with health ups. Community find by DatLamp)
  

Hey Guild Leaders,

I wanted to write an update on the status of Netherguild, including the early access launch as well as what I'm planning to work on next - this week and onward! So get ready for an expedition...

[h3]Table of Contents[/h3]

• State of Netherguild (Sales? Bugfixes?)
  
• Fixes & additions planned this week
  
• What's next?
  

• Adding Steam cloud saves
  
• Fixing room generation issue where players are blocked out of progressing or getting to certain enemies
  (Already have a fix in mind for this one)
  
• Fixing control re-binding with WASD & arrow keys and making it available in-dungeon and in the overworld too
  
• Fixing a variety of other smaller crashes, visual bugs etc.
  

Change log 3/4/2023 | Version 0.2(U)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed level generation crash caused by descending stairs
  
• Fixed crash when inspecting characters in mist city camp
  
• Fixed enemies climbing out when saved & quitted but not killed
  
• Likely fixed can't rotate camera during "Pig" bossfight
  

Change log 3/4/2023 | Version 0.2(T)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed loading bug with fallen / loaded block-automatons existing saves should be cured.
  

• Fixed "Incapacitate" status effect to disappear at turn instead of start of turn
  
• Fixed "heightened senses" passive from nest ambrosia (again)
  
• Fixed "minor regeneration" passive from regenerative flesh
  

Change log 3/4/2023 | Version 0.2(S)


Fixes:

• Fixed many broken passives (again)! these were broken by a former update:
  

• Rebelanced "lock-up" to slow by 5 for 1 turns and have 2 turns cooldown
  
• Rebelanced "Automatic-Block" to be free action ability
  

Change log 2/4/2023 | Version 0.2(R)

Many passive effects in the city of mist were fixed:

Fixes:

• Fixed "Scouted Accuracy" passive effect (from vantage point oddity)
  
• Fixed "Heightened Senses" passive effect from Nest Ambrosia item
  
• Fixed "Minor Regeneration" passive effect from Regenerating Flesh item
  

Change log 2/4/2023 | Version 0.2(Q)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed loading & advancing to the floor below crash due to Machine Generals in City of Mist
  

Change log 2/4/2023 | Version 0.2(P)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed loaded crush caused by supply depot oddity in city of mist
  

• Fixed "Gaian Fire" trinket equipment to have an effect (from City of Mist loot)
  
• Removed "Criminal" background option for rigged safe oddity (which did nothing when pressed) for now
  

Change log 2/4/2023 | Version 0.2(O)


Changes:

• Prevented creatures with no movement from teleporting to adjacent tiles in mist
  

• Fixed crash when combat starts right after descending
  
• Fixed possible crash from passive effect being applied to non-existing creature
  
• Possibly fixed hidden inventory healthbar related crash
  
• Fixed event panel crash due to hiding buttons during non-player turn
  

Change log 1/4/2023 | Version 0.2(N)


Additions:

• Added Unicorns, Unicorn horn item, Unicorn steak, "Puking Rainbows" passive effect.
  (Happy April fool's day! :D)
  

• Fixed crash when inspecting character in tower camp
  
• Fixed sidestep abilities not working properly and generally being massively broken by accident
  

• Fixed Reinvigorated hunger passive not working properly
  

Change log 1/4/2023 | Version 0.2(M)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash caused by resting in bonfire after running away from combat in enemies via elevator
  
• Fixed possible push multiplication bug
  
• Fixed air-canister random rotation crash when mist happens
  
• Fixed health upgrades from skills (for example: "Majestic Health" on Royal Guard Knight) not being re-applied when descending
  (if you're in dungeon with lower health than you should have, just return and descend again to fix)
  

• Fixed misspelling to "storage extension" in warehouse building
  
• Fixed misspelling to "counterfeit" in dialogue
  

• Added icon to machine general
  

Change log 31/3/2023 | Version 0.2(K) & Version 0.2(L)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed pushing "too slow" with some abilities on some computers leading to enemies not being truly pushed off into the next floor.
  
• Fixed possible crash due to ranged AI (Ranged Tin Soldiers, Bandit snipers)
  
• Fixed possible crash due to mist moving non-existent characters at the start of the turn
  

Change log 30/3/2023 | Version 0.2(J)

Improvements:

• Improved spatial sound to be less extreme and also work according to camera position
  

• Fixed crash due to attack re-rendering
  

Change log 30/3/2023 | Version 0.2(I)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash due to out of bounds animation effect
  
• Likely fixed crash due to attack tile re-display when hovering
  

Change log 30/3/2023 | Version 0.2(H)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed reversed audio panning
  
• Likely fixed softlock on running away from combat (by re-doing how it functions to be more reliable)
  
• Possibly fixed softlocks on loading game
  

Change log 30/3/2023 | Version 0.2(G)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed sidestep abilities starting combat limiting movement during first combat turn
  
• Fixed "quicken" status can't be saved / loaded crash
  

• Possibly fixed visual bug with highlighted buildings showing up in floor selection map
  

Change log 29/3/2023 | Version 0.2(F)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash from ending combat via distance (softlock not fixed yet, planning to work on fixing it next)
  

Change log 29/3/2023 | Version 0.2(E)


Bugfixes:

• Possibly fixed crash on loading into level 2/3 (due to mouse click mesh generation)
  
• Fixed softlock due to initiating combat with a side step ability (like using a trap ability on shrimp)
  
• Fixed softlock after killing final enemy with bleed with only one character
  

• Fixed heavy tipped arrow missing its sprite
  

Change log 29/3/2023 | Version 0.2(D)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed moth hive softlock when it's surrounded
  
• Fixed moth hives in mist city have weird rotation due to mist & when loaded
  
• Fixed loaded crash due to tracked enemies
  
• Fixed can't exit boss room after he's defeated if his turn is last
  
• Possible fix to attack tile hover crash
  

• Fixed camera doing weird auto-focusing after bonfire
  

Change log 29/3/2023 | Version 0.2(C)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed pushing dead explosive bandit off the cliff crash (community find by Catavist)
  
• Fixed crash on equipping armor after dropping to negative or 0 HP (after un-equipping armor)
  
• Fixed many passive effects to work as intended with ending (for example Re-Invigorated Hunger and Poisonous Meal)
  

• Fixed upgrading building text not working with non pixel font
  
• Fixed tutorial text to be below pause menu
  

Hello Guild Leaders,

Thank you all for your support!
I'm seriously humbled by your kindness... I'm so glad to a lot of you have enjoyed Netherguild in it's current early access release form :D
It makes me even more excited for things to come, too!

So, what's next?

First week (this week):
I plan on doing bugfixes to essential issues that players might encounter - also spreading the word about release, and if I find the time, chilling out after all the release preparations... I'm exhausted! (:

Oh yeah, some things that bugged players on launch were fixed - like the gate in the mist tower camp that required return to the overworld. Now you can access the new areas directly through it too -
You can see the full patch notes here:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3722828217772129775?l=english

Again, I'm dedicated to fixing other bugs throughout this week and overall through early access. Let me know in the Discord or bug sub-forum on Steam if you encounter anything!

Upcoming weeks:
Afterwards, I plan on adding new content / improving the existing content - especially in the city of mist. This means more enemies and more items - I plan on adding a handful of new skills to the existing classes too, as well as important quality of life additions.

Afterwards...
Over time I want to begin work on additional new areas and some of the major systems of the game! stay tuned for more news about that in the future.

Far future

In the meantime, if you want an overview of everything that's coming to the full release, I made a forum post about it recently!

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1464220/discussions/0/3825284962828543775/


Reviews

If you enjoyed Netherguild so far, please leave a review! reviews are so important for a solo developed indie game like mine with no publisher.

Really, reviews and word of mouth are the main ways that Netherguild can pop on Steam to other players - so if you have 5 minutes to write one or tell a friend who'd be interested about the game, I'd truly appreciate it.

Thank you again, and looking forward to seeing you in future updates! (:

Change log 28/3/2023 | Version 0.2(B)


Additions:

• Can descend below directly from mist city camp to the new areas (Bandit Stronghold, The City Of Mist).
  Areas were still accessible before, but many players missed that you can pick them from the overworld so this should help clarify things :D
  

• Fixed crossbow boots crash
  
• Fixed crash from enemies being added to combat
  
• Fixed can't select buildings in mist tower camp when pressing escape after selecting characters to return (community find by Bram & Another Persona
  

• Added text detailing what strength and accuracy do in character hiring.
  

[h3]Netherguild has RELEASED in EARLY ACCESS![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1464220/Netherguild/

IT'S OUT NOW!

I mentioned this in a previous post but... I still can't believe Netherguild is a real game you can buy on Steam now! It feels like just yesterday I was prototyping turn based mechanics before it really took shape and became the incredible, complex game it is today.

Early access is going to be a long and bumpy road filled with adventures, discovery and challenges - so I hope you're as excited as I am for this big new chapter in Netherguild's development towards full release and beyond! :D

Oh yeah, if you enjoyed Netherguild, please post a review on the Steam page!
Reviews are crucial for more players being able to discover the game on Steam, especially since this is a hand-crafted, solo developed game without any fancy marketing - I need as much of your help as I can get!

Stay tuned for an announcement tomorrow with some of my near future plans too.

Cheers!
-David



[h3]Follow Development:[/h3]

DISCORD - Includes weekly updates!
TWITTER
REDDIT

...Can you believe it?

I started working on Netherguild back in 2018 when it looked like this:



Since then, I've poured blood, sweat and tears (both literal and figurative) into it these last 5 years -

-and it'll finally launch in Early Access next week!



But really, it couldn't have done it without your support. Thank you for playing the public demo over these last few years - Netherguild wouldn't have been half as good as it is today without your feedback.



Obviously it's not the end of the road but just another step towards finishing Netherguild - with that being said, I'm really excited for everything I plan to add during early access - from the new areas and classes to the story and faction system.



I hope you're just as excited as I am! It'll be a long road full of trials and challenges, but it also contains many rewards for the brave of heart. I don't know if there's anything more symbolically fitting for this game!

Oh - and if you want to be notified when Early Access release happens on the 27th of March, you can wishlist the game on Steam to get an email on release.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1464220/Netherguild/

Cheers! Hope to see you on Early Access release.
-David

[previewyoutube=Sn75aKmif1U;full][/previewyoutube]

Netherguild will release in Early Access on the 27th of March 2023! HYPE

Hey Guild Leaders!
Welcome to the January monthly update.

This update is a tad bit late - however, it's also a big update! Including news from both January and December. Let's get into it!

[h2]New Enemies[/h2]


The bandit armorer uses his masterful smithing skills to buff other bandits enemies or debuff your units with a "weaken" status - reducing your melee damage! Watch out for deadly combos of him buffing bandit archers.


I've also added three variants of the grub - these will be more powerful and rarer than the common variety. These are, from left to right: Armored grub, Regenerating grub, Growing grub.

• Regenerating grubs heal every turn yet deal very little damage, being persistent little buggers that are tough to kill.
  
• Growing grubs increase in size, health and damage every turn (up to a limit). It's better get rid of them early on!
  

Hey guild leaders!
For the new year, I wanted to share some of what I worked on in 2022 and my plans for 2023 and beyond.


Bossfight against "pig", the leader of the purple bandits. No, he doesn't say "happy new year" in-game

2022 Overview

Some of the new additions this year include:

• Steam Demo
  
• Initial upgrading system for buildings in the overworld
  
• Improved inventory screen
  
• Vastly improved loot
  
• Visual effects that make Netherguild look amazing
  
  
• A whole lot of bugfixes, quality of life improvements and more, thanks to the community! <3
  

• A system for "pits" - will let you push enemies (or be pushed) into a lower floor!
  
• The Bandit Stronghold - a new area with a bossfight, 3 unique non-boss enemies (so far, possibly more before / after release), and 4 oddities.
  
  The living quarters of bandits - various oddities will appear here.
  
  A bandit fire-breather - watch out for these guys in prolonged fights.
  
  "Help!" Will you save this poor stranded soul?
  
  
• The city of Mist - a new area with 7 unique enemies (more being worked on!), 5 oddities, unique equipment and the "Mist" itself - a tough environmental hazard!
  
  A machine guardian has been defeated
  
  Bridges that swing in subterranean wind
  
  

Hey Guild Leaders!
Welcome to the November monthly update.

To those unfamiliar with these, I write a bit about Netherguild's development progress on the first Friday of each month and post it here on Steam (:

Without further ado, here's some of what I've been working on this month:

[h2]New oddities[/h2]
This month I started work on many oddities you might encounter while exploring the new areas...


Heeeelp!
Saving this stranded bandit might turn out more useful than you may expect...



I've created a few other oddities that present various opportunities, risk and rewards - really excited for players to encounter them in early access

[h2]New enemies[/h2]

Bandit Fire-Breathers will hamper your expeditions into the bandit stronghold with painful damage-over-time attacks... make sure you don't dilly dally, longer fights mean losing more health! a precious resource for all explorers...


Mist moth nests will spawn various grubs for you to fight against! I plan on adding additional grub-types in the future too.


I'm also working on other new enemies... but more on these in future updates!

[h2]More boss progress[/h2]
Continuing some of the progress from last month, I've worked more on the bossfight against bandit leader Pig.



His purple bandit lackeys will aim their bows at you in a telegraphed attack! Be sure to dodge or you'll be afflicted by slowness, which will make the battle a lot tougher...

[h2]Other details[/h2]


Broken flooring gives the two new areas - The City of Mist and the Bandit Stronghold - a more distinct and ruined look.


Netherguild will also be featured in the TurnBasedFest steam event in the beginning of December! It's made by the people who organize #TurnBasedThursday on twitter, and will include A LOT of other great turn based games with big discounts and demos.


[h2]Done! for now[/h2]
And that's all for this update! Thank you for checking it out.
Cheers, and have a great month!

-David

This is a summery of weekly updates over on the Netherguild Discord

Change log 25/11/2022 | Version 0.19(H)


Bugfixes:

• Fixed crashed caused by using WASD for movement and passing through ally positions standing on tiles that appear available (Community find by Napsalm)
  

• Fixed "alt" buttons in controls window for smaller screens (Community find by Pure Paradox)
  
• Fixed combat turn order going out of track when UI scaling changes (community find by Napsalm)
  

Change log 14/11/2022 | Version 0.19(F)


Quality of life:

• Added character healthbars in dungeon inventory (Anonymous community suggestion)
  

• Fixed another crash caused by recent movement changes
  

• Changed camera to also move on the up and down axis when following characters and projectiles (this is for the boss battle that's being added)
  
• Changes with being able to move camera during bonfire
  

Change log 7/11/2022 | Version 0.19(F)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash caused by recent movement changes
  
• Fixed crash caused by recent UI mode-switching changes (when the UI switches to combat at the start of the level)
  

Hey Guild Leaders! Welcome to the October monthly post. This one has some big news and more progress on the new areas!

Without further ado, here's some of what I've been working on this month:

[h2]Delayed release date[/h2]

I decided to delay the early access release of Netherguild to around February 2023.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/5348612868501339833
I talk about it more in the post above, but the main gist of it is that this delay will give me time to add all the new content, to polish and playtest it properly.



[h2]More Enemies[/h2]

I've worked on adding more enemies to the new areas! (The City of Mist and Bandit Stronghold)



These wind-up automatons will be found on many rooftops. They will be powerful and tanky, yet slow.



Explosive bandits are not suicide bombers! Rather, they're tanky units which attack tight knit formations. Spread out your units to avoid their wrath!

They'll also explode after being defeated... but more on that later in the post (;

[h2]Sound Effects[/h2]

I've also worked on fleshing out some of the enemies I posted last month-

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1464220/view/3292718815232067815
-which will now have their very own custom sound effects! Have a listen:

[previewyoutube=jiWFVCsYQ7o;full][/previewyoutube]

[previewyoutube=exXl3i5bng4;full][/previewyoutube]

Isn't the "hit" sound of the poison shot just so... wet and disgusting? I LOVE it :D

[h2]Boss Battle[/h2]

If you remember the words of a certain drunk bandit, he speaks of the leader of the bandits - a fella nicknamed "Pig".
Step through the gauntlet that is the Bandit Stronghold, and he'll be right there, waiting for you.



Oh yeah, 10 HP is only for playtesting - expect the bandit leader to have more.
And multiple phases.

But don't worry, you won't be fighting alone...




There's going to be an in-house audience! Which is going to be fighting you too. But more on that next update.

[h2]Misc.[/h2]

I've also worked on various other things for Netherguild this month!

[h3]Quality of Life[/h3]

Did you ever spend a little... too much time fiddling with clicking on the exit elevator?



I added a fix so that every "second click" on the elevator out of combat, all your units will get on it.
(second click meaning - traveling the elevator when a character is already there)

Should make exploring just a tiny bit more comfortable!

[h3]Danger Tiles[/h3]
Since I will need to telegraph certain attacks during the bossfight, I figured it was time... to add "danger tiles!"



And what better way to test it than... with the explosive bandit?
It would be fun to explore these "danger tiles" with some special hazards in future areas too.

[h3]Mist City Elevator[/h3]

Locomotion and the exits from different floors might look different! Since it doesn't make sense to use the same good ol' gray mining elevator everywhere.
Therefore... prepare to board this strange, cramped transport elevator for The City of Mist instead.

[h2]Until next time...[/h2]

And that's all for this update! Thank you for checking it out :D I'm pretty excited to show off more of the bandit boss fight next month.
Cheers, and have a great November!

-David

This is a summery of weekly updates over on the Netherguild Discord

Change log 2/11/2022 | Version 0.19(E)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed crash caused by stealing shrimp eggs
  

• Characters automatically get on the elevator if an ally stands on it already. This should make for less fiddling with the elevator. It's well playtested, but let me know if you encounter any softlock bugs with this one.
  

• Fixed resting near bonfire with an item on the floor causes inventory to open incorrectly
  
• Fixed saving player nickname for feedback now sends it properly too
  
• More centered camera zoom during bonfires
  
• Some oddity options display currency
  
• Improved how UI looks during enemy turns
  
• Can hover over proficiency / knowledge to learn about them in character hiring & inspection in the overworld (community suggestion by Cloud Winchester)
  

Change log 23/10/2022 | Version 0.19(D)

Minifixes:

• "Oddities" with currency-based options now can display currency panel (for example "logs" oddity)
  

• Fixed "Adjacent" text bugging out and appearing out of in-dungeon inventory
  
• Fixed "the pirate" in drunk bandit oddity
  

Important news, Guild Leaders!

Netherguild's early access will be delayed to around February 2023.

After much deliberation, I decided to delay release since I felt like I wouldn't have enough time to add all the fun & rare stuff that the new areas need to really shine - and that if I release in November, the new areas wouldn't be up to the same level of polish as the existing ones.

It feels wrong to release the new areas as relatively barren of cool surprises and variety, only to add that and fix everything after release. Therefore, as much as delaying sucks and I really wanted to release it this year, releasing Netherguild properly instead feels like the right move.

What does it mean for development?
I'm going to continue at the same pace - though now, I'll have time to properly playtest everything thoroughly & implement all the extra content the new areas need to be as fun as possible.
I could also address some other aspects of the game which bug me and players - like quality of life stuff and other improvements that make the game more fun to play.

Cheers and thank you for your patience,
-David

Change log 11/10/2022 | Version 0.19(C)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed camera position reset crash
  
• Fixed hovering over some attacks too quickly (ranger?) causes crash
  
• Fixed characters complaining about friendly fire from status damage
  

• Made buttons of skill tree make more sense (only shown as available when skill points are available)
  
• Fixed "burning" text appears for fire spreading even when the fire just burnt out
  
• In tutorial, says "press q / e ... to continue" now (to make it clearer its needed for progression).
  
• Fixed loaded bonfire ashes play sound on start
  

• Added red "lack of proficiency warning" to the overworld too
  

Hey Guild Leaders! This month I worked a lot on the new areas.

Without further ado, here's some of what I've been working on during September.

[h2]New Areas[/h2]

This month, I worked a lot on the new areas for early access - these two areas are:

1. The Bandit Stronghold



2. The City of Mist



With both of these areas, I've tried making them appear like they're places people live in (or used to live in, in the case of the city of mist).



Automatons will patrol the forgotten rooftop markets... (work-in-progress)



Vines of lichen will creep up the walls, while gears litter the ground.



And oddities might appear in the bandit's living quarters...



(And yes, you can shoot the targets)



Walking alongside the edge will make tiny bits of the towers fall below, reminding you of the danger of falling -
or making for a dramatic effect when one is pushed off the edge.



Bridges also animate (alongside with whomever is standing on top of them).



[h2]Mist System[/h2]

A vicious natural phenomena will affect your expeditions into the forgotten city of mist area - that is, the mist itself!

When descending a floor, you'll be greeted by a "weather prediction" -



Forecasting the mist in that area.

Every certain amount of combat rounds, the mist will rise up! It will stay there for a couple of turns and obscure your vision.

[previewyoutube=Md7ijLZjv7M;full][/previewyoutube]

It will pretty much "turn off" the vision of your non-current units.

On top of that, every time you start your turn in the mist, it'll rotate your character randomly and move them to an adjacent tile you can step on.

[previewyoutube=wMLlPsOLuJE;full][/previewyoutube]

When you do discover a unit, ally or enemy through the mist, they'll stay there for the reminder of your turn (not round).

WAIT! THAT SUCKS, THOUGH?
It totally does! The mist is an environmental hazard, and it turns combat into an information-gathering game.
But... there's ways to counter it, and upsides!!

For example...
- It only stays for a few rounds, so you can always wait it out. Maybe an ok option for defensive builds is stalling this way.
- High movement builds let you scout around better and discover enemies / allies and set up attacks.
- It can be countered to a limited degree with the "track" ability
- The "burn" status effect counters it to an extent too by appearing through the mist

The mist might be keeping something worse at bay, too...

[h2]Enemies[/h2]

I've started working on the enemies for the new area this month too!
Among them, two interesting ones are;





The "hungry grubs" - part of the mist moth hives. These little creatures swarm to your position. Even if they deal small damage and have low health, they're can become a real danger by cornering and overwhelming your characters with their numbers.





The "spitter grub" is going to spit weak but long poison at your characters from afar!
Poison activates when attacking, so if this spitter grub has support, getting rid of them (especially using "free action" abilities) becomes tougher.
On top of that, it'll slow your characters down, making reaching this enemy and stopping them tougher.
Its main weaknesses are its limited range and limited movement.



I've been working on other enemies too, which I'll post about at the next update in about a month from now (:

[h2]Composer[/h2]

After a long process of interviewing multiple composers and asking them for demo tracks for Netherguild, I teamed up with the extremely talented Daniele "Elrehon" Coppola!

[previewyoutube=hEvTZVeXX0M;full][/previewyoutube]

This is his demo submission for the bandit stronghold's soundtrack.

[h2]Notable Mentions...[/h2]

There's more things I worked on this month! Since I can't fit everything from the weekly Netherguild Discord, I figured I'd drop a few honorable mentions.


Shooting from (or towards) a high-up tile will work differently to how shooting is normally done - it's tougher to shoot higher tiles from below (so you can only really shoot the ledge).



This means heightened tiles give much needed tactical freedom to ranged characters.


"Air canisters" are an idea I've been toying with for the city of mist -
They'd work a bit like explosive barrels, but instead of dealing damage, they just push units away when exploding.
This opens up the way to new strategies like attacking gas canisters with melee characters or pushing the canisters themselves, for a deadly combo that eventually pushes an enemy off the ledge, down to the next floor.



Netherguild will also take part in the Dreamhack steam event in the middle of October! An updated demo might arrive before or around that time too (if I find time between all the work on the new areas!).

Also, welcome to all the new guild leaders who found about about Netherguild from the Tacticon event last month! Glad to have you here :D

[h2]The end[/h2]

And that's all for this update! What a productive month.
Thank you for checking it out, I hope it made for a fun read :D
Cheers and have a great October!

-David

This is a summery of weekly updates over on the Netherguild Discord

Change log 17/9/2022 | Version 0.19(B)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed enemies being invoked by bandit behaving weird and being semi in-combat
  
• Fixed clicking on goal-selection
  
• Fixed embassy has panel showing nobility that isn't functional
  
• Fixed can't send feedback in-dungeon
  

Change log 12/9/2022 | Version 0.19(A)

Bugfixes:

• Fixed combat start crash (likely caused by shrimp nests)
  
• Fixed equipment-comparison crash
  

Change log 11/9/2022 | Version 0.19

Bugfixes:

• Fixed shopkeep talks about the logs when the player buys non-log items
  
• Fixed how object placement is generated to not block the player
  
• Possibly fixed error caused by stealing shrimp eggs
  
• Fixed picking a skill in the overworld bug
  
• Fix starting combat by shooting shrimp + barrel doesn't activate barrel
  
• Fixed room softlock when exiting the tutorial before reaching the end of the locked portion
  

• Vastly Improved character overworld dragging behavior
  
• Fixed attack hovering not displaying uses properly
  
• Status stacking says it's amount as well as length
  
• Fixed clicking on goals "toggle" doesn't work as intended
  
• Changed how hovering over tile works internally to be more precise
  
• Fixed crowns not displayed correctly when mousing over current crowns after purchase
  
• Fixed can move right after pressing "go deeper" button
  
• Fix tutorial text cut-offs on steam deck
  
• Made it so that you can't spin the overworld when mouse is over UI
  
• Fixed friendly fire warning appearing with buff abilities too
  
• Fixed buying things that cost more than 70 crowns doesn't update currency
  
• Fixed clicking to buy upgrades is weird to click on
  
• Fixed clicking on equipment comparison increases its size every time its clicked on with a single comparison
  
• Fixed after a character rests at bonfire and another character dismantales it, cannot select character which tried to rest
  
• Removed vestigial equipment weight code which made things weird
  
• Fixed can't spin overworld after long return
  
• Can scale the screen in the "in-game" menu regardless of scaling mode (wasn't available with pixel scaling mode before)
  
• Enemy Turn text only appears in combat (Fixes enemy turn + combat starts text look weird together when starting combat by attacking barrel)
  
• Fixed level up button and notification not animating
  
• Fixed giant explosive barrel push direction
  
• Enabled equipment comparison by default
  

• Fixed scaling with guild width of background lore
  
• Character panel to right hides with scaling
  
• Fixed screen scaling messes up inventory character images
  

• Added an Inventory icon for bonfire inventory
  
• Small symbol next to char inspection to show rename (scroll / feather)
  
• Says "short return" or "long return" when returning from expedition (+explanations on hover)
  

• Changed the names of some class backgrounds:
  Wilderness Wanderer Ranger -> Wanderer Ranger
  Scouting Unit Soldier Scout -> Soldier Scout
  
• Made "burning cut" push one tile away too and change animation
  
• Made shrimp nest rooms rarer (3.75%->1.875% per room)
  
• Rebalanced fire-arrow "burn" status (2 damage, 3 turns -> 3 damage, 2 turns)
  
• A "goal" with no rewards to let players know that descending below the third floor is possible
  (appears if haven't reached below the third floor but finished one of the two starter goals)
  
• Added a new dagger: "Throwing Sharp Dagger" to the Bandit & Wesnor equipment sets
  
• Rebelanced debilitating dagger:
  3x2 bleed -> 2x2 bleed
  2 cooldown -> 1 cooldown
  +2 damage on bleed -> +3 damage on bleed
  
• Rebalanced quick dagger:
  Now has two attacks: "Knife stab" and "quick stab". Quick stab also deals 1x1->1x2 bleed
  

• Fixed "fleeing on"-"fleeing to the underworld" for flee
  
• "underground"->"the underground" in dungeon intro
  
• "Geological" -> Earthquakes for "Caved in miner" oddity
  
• Made it clearer that not all nobles are at fault with drunk bandit
  

Hey Guild Leaders! This month I worked a lot on the new areas.

Without further ado, here's some of what I've been working on during August.

[h2]Procedural Tile Heights[/h2]



The first step to making tile-height matter in gameplay: Having significant tile height difference! Here's another example:



But... that caused some issues with the mouse-aiming.



So I had to re-do the system for it (it uses proper colliders now!):



Should be much better now!



[h2]Procedural Stairs[/h2]

Continuing the trend of procedural additions, I added stairs that get generated in the new floor this week!



These should serve as natural chokepoints and should help make navigating the new floors more interesting.

[h2]Pushing with tiles of different Heights[/h2]

While messing around in the new areas, I noticed something uncanny...



I don't have to be an expert to tell you that this is NOT how pushing should look!

So I fixed it - walls are now proper obstacles for pushed units:



I also thought a bit about pushing enemies from higher platform to lower ones -


I figured it'd be pretty fun if they receive damage when dropping from a certain height - the rule here is similar to damage when pushing off a unit, the damage they receive is equal to a quarter of their max health.

But... what if they drop onto an obstacle? or another unit? I obviously can't have two units in the same tile...

So how about they just bounce?



[h2]Visuals & Fog[/h2]

In addition to all the procedural generation stuff, I also worked on the visuals of the new areas this month (you can see other versions of the visuals in the #wip channel in the Netherguild Discord).

Here's a mockup of how it'll look with enemies:



You may have noticed the fog (the red squares around the tiles!) a gray, impenetrable fog will have an effect on gameplay in the Mist City where the fog is denser, but for the Bandit Stronghold the red fog is purely visual.

[h2]Planning Out The Entire Game[/h2]

Every Sunday I reflect on my work that week and plan out the future of Netherguild -
This month I finished planning out the outline of the ENTIRE GAME.
This is an outline of more or less all the floors (actual levels or 'camp' floors) that I plan for Netherguild 1.0 to have on full release.



(Of course, subject to changes, removals and additions, but this is the general outline)

[h2]Release Date?[/h2]

Originally, I wanted to release Netherguild earlier - but with the amount of content I still want to add (like finishing the two new floors, adding a bossfight) before Early Access release, I ended up changing my plans to release it sometime during November this year.

[h2]- Until Next Time -[/h2]

And that's all for this update! Thank you for checking it out, hope it made for a fun read :D
Cheers and see you next time!!

-David

This is a summery of weekly updates over on the Netherguild Discord

Summery of weekly updates over on the Netherguild Discord

Hey Guild Leaders! here's some of what I've added to Netherguild during July.
This is a big update, so let's get into it!

[h2]Status Effect Improvements[/h2]

Something that irked me a bit in the past was status effects being all too similar to one another (for example Burn, Bleed and Poison just dealing damage over time).

So I decided to add some extra flavor to Burn and Poison...

[h3]Fire Increases Visibility[/h3]

And functions as a double edged sword - giving you more information about the battlefield, but perhaps attracting the unwanted attention of far-away enemies!

[h3]Fire Spreads[/h3]

When a unit is afflicted by "burn"- if it's alive after receiving status damage, the "burn" status spreads to adjacent units in its vicinity.

Why is this great?

• Makes fire-based builds feel a lot more interesting and unique
  
• Turns burning units into hazards; perhaps incapcitating a burning enemy keeps it safely far away from you, or having to step away from a burning enemy keeps the battlefield more dynamic.
  
• Fighting a burning unit in melee for too long is bad, seeing how you'll end up recieving the status yourself and getting damage until combat ends or the status expires!
  
• Unexpected creativity - things like adding "burn" to an enemy adjacent to an explosive barrel to ignite it!
  

Change log 22/7/2022 | Version 0.188

Big Changes:

• "Burn" status also spreads to adjacent tiles
  
• "Burn" status also lights up nearby tiles
  
• "Poison" status triggers when an afflicted unit is poisoned
  

• Fixed crash with assassin bandit path backup
  
• Fixed inventory display-crash
  
• Fixed blocking when stepping on trap crash
  

• Scrolled controls screen up by default
  
• Improved attack / ability hover
  

• Fixed "them" text in combat start initiative tooltip
  

Change log 2/7/2022 | Version 0.187(J)

Balancing:

• Removed one passive effect from flask (its description was way too long)
  

• Fixed sound goes out after resetting it.
  
• Fixed player character tiles become "walkable" when combat starts
  
• Shrimp nest doesn't auto-open if it's empty now
  
• Clicking on level up prompt opens skill tree
  

• Shortened oil status description
  

Summery of weekly updates over on the Netherguild Discord

Hey Guild Leaders! I bring you the newest progress on Netherguild from June.
This month I worked on the new areas, added some new content, and participated in Steam's next fest.

Lets get into it!

[h2]New Areas[/h2]


The (work in progress) bandit stronghold is really starting to look a lot more like the 3D concept model of it I posted in earlier updates!

I get further into the process of how it was made over on the Netherguild Discord, but in short: different towers have slightly different height, side spikes were added, bridges now hang neatly between towers and more.



What a satisfying arc - maybe it would be fun to have these sway from side to side as your expedition members cross them.

Concept for reference:





A few of the new enemies all rigged and ready to be animated!


[h2]New Content[/h2]
To spice up the game for players re-visiting Netherguild in the Next Fest, I added some rare rooms you might encounter on the third floor...




One of them is a room with many bandits but three chests... as well as well spaced obstacles in between to make zoning out enemies and fighting them more viable.

The other is a room with shrimp nests and two big shrimps... you might want to think twice about stealing their eggs, they will get angry!

[h2]Overworld Gets Tougher Over Time[/h2]
If you've descended more than three times for lengthy underground expeditions with the demo, you might have noticed this message!


The idea is that the overworld is going to get chaotic over time, so the player is fighting a somewhat invisible timer - with shortages, price increases and theft that become more harsh over the course of many expeditions... and eventually the plague itself.

However, there are also going to be many opportunities and random events that help you combat these ever-increasing challenges.

[h2]Some less major stuff...[/h2]
There was also some less major stuff I worked on this month:

[h2]Trap Buff[/h2]

Rangers and Assassins can now move one tile away after placing trap-type abilities! This helps them get away from would-be attackers.

[h2]Quality of Life Additions[/h2]

You can now click to switch to a character out of combat! It should make exploration underground a lot easier.

Not only that, you can now build bonfires with all characters as long as someone has logs, instead of having to shuffle to find the one character who does.

I plan to work on more of these quality of life additions during July, to try and make the experience of exploring and managing your guild as smooth as possible.

[h2]Events[/h2]
Thank you for playing the game during next fest!


You might have noticed some of the streams on the steam page during the fest - these ended up being a lot of fun.
Expect more possible streams during the Tiny Teams event on August!*
*Edit: Netherguild didn't get accepted to Tiny Teams this year, but do expect more streams in future events (:

[h2]-Welcome back, guild leader!-[/h2]

And that's all for this update! Hope it made for a fun read and thank you for checking it out.
See you next time! (:

-David

Change log 21/6/2022 | Version 0.187(H)

Quality of Life Additions:

• Can build bonfire with all characters if has logs (instead of only log-carrying character)
  
• Can select current character out of combat by left clicking (community suggestion by Conan, Logophile)
  

• Fixed underground inventory related crash (Community report by BlackDragonMagician)
  

• Fixed overworld speech being above hover text
  
• Made tile hovering more accurate (in preparation for the new areas)
  
• Fixed sitting animation sharp transition to be smoother
  
• Added "F5" (quicksave key) to controls screen, added "C" (inspect current character) to controls screen.
  

• Changed "All enemies" to "All units" for abilities which can target allies too, to avoid player confusion and be more accurate
  
• Removed tough to read bold text for piercing shot and other AoE attacks.
  

Change log 21/6/2022 | Version 0.187(H)

Additions:

• Added a "fixed camera" option
  

• Moved opening cutscene skipping to top right (for people in windowed mode who couldn't skip otherwise)
  
• Renaming characters also renames their inventory instantly in the overworld
  
• Fixes for non-pixel font option
  
• Fixed guild upgrades don't show up
  
• Fixed upgrading screen above coins screen
  

Join mshoboslayer on her quest to delve deep below! She'll be Streaming Netherguild on the Steam page at 7PM UTC this Sunday - click the "set reminder" button to the right be reminded when it happens.



You should also follow mshoboslayer on twitch https://www.twitch.tv/mshoboslayer - be sure to give her lots of support!

Join Halios as he tries out Netherguild for the second time! What challenges might he encounter on his expedition? The only way to find out is by watching the stream live on the Steam page!

Be sure to hit "set reminder" to be notified when the stream starts.

Halios can also be found on streaming on twitch or on Youtube on the Indie Buffet channel. Be sure to give him lots of support!

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/halios
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIndieBuffet/featured

He even covered Netherguild a few months back!

[previewyoutube=ly0h22MfBMU;full][/previewyoutube]

TheAngloGamer is going to be checking out Netherguild live this Saturday!

He'll be streaming on Netherguild's Steam page so be sure to check it out and set up a reminder to catch it live -



Be sure to show TheAngloGamer lots of support and also follow him on twitch where he regularly streams: https://www.twitch.tv/theanglogamer