The time has finally come. Two and a half years since we officially started working on the project, Heart&Slash is released on PC. It's been a long journey, including a successful Kickstarter, lots on iteration on the different ideas on how to properly tell Heart's journey and, most of all, lots of work. The release comes with the addition of the soundtrack as optional DLC. We are very proud of the final form the game has reached. Thanks to the feedback from our backers and Early Access players, we think we have managed to reach a level of polish we wouldn't have otherwise. So far, the Steam reviewes are there to back this impression. We hope it will remain the same and new players will enjoy it as much as we have creating it.

WHAT'S ON VERSION 1.0.0

For the official release we have implemented several fixes and improvements. These stack on top of the releases of the last couple of weeks, which introduced a new version of the third level, Super Elite versions of bots with randomized weaknesses and resistances and a refactor of how the heads worked. The most important changes coming in 1.0.0 are:

• Chances of getting a piece of equipment are greater if seen less often than others.
• COPGORE encounter improvements, including speed, collisions and difficulty.
• FRANK-Y encounter can be completed faster with physical equipment. But FRANK-Y is also a bit more vicious in its attacks.

And bugixes implemented:

• Recycling heads with a target locked no longer breaks the camera.
• Steps sound in third level fixed.
• Disco Bomb plays in the music channel.

Also included is a present for hardcore players who were trying to unlock all achievements. In the enemies encyclopedia you can now see how many enemies of each kind you have defeated, making it easier to plan your runs.

WHAT'S IN STORE FOR THE FUTURE

We still have a Kickstarter goal to complete: the Endless Dungeon mode. We will start working on it now. It should be ready in a few weeks and will be released on a beta channel before going live. We also have to work on some rewards for Kickstarter backers. We will get in touch with you as things progress. And, of course, we'll keep fixing bugs and making small improvements gradually.

FOR PLAYERS OF OLD BUILDS

If you were an Early Access player but have not played for some time, be adviced that some configuration files have changed in recent versions of the game. We recommend removing the settings files (and purging Steam's cloud sync for Heart&Slash) before playing again. Check the pinned discussion for information on how to do it. And that's all. Thanks for the journey and enjoy the game! Best wishes from the aheartfulofgames team.

[ 2016-08-09 16:28:57 CET ] [ Original post ]