Hello everyone!

Today, we are pleased to announce the release of patch 0.9.

This patch is probably one of the largest in terms of content that we have been able to make along with patch 0.8, so grab some popcorn, we're going to explain everything to you in detail.

[h2]Backers' Tombs[/h2]

First novelty in this Patch, we have added the backers' tombs.

There were 3 types of tombs, so we integrated 3 different messages.
See the ticket about the tombs: https://steamcommunity.com/games/1760330/announcements/detail/3712699226994582946?snr=2___



We also added a very large commemorative stele to thank all the people who contributed to the Kickstarter!



[h2]The Bestiary[/h2]

In this update, we added a Bestiary that updates as you progress through your battles!
A bit of additional LORE through your victories ^-^



[h2]Steam Achievements[/h2]

This has been requested quite a bit, and it's finally available!
Please note, you'll need to start a new game from the beginning.

We still have some bugs and inconsistencies with the Achievements, so don't be surprised if changes occur in that area.



[h2]Biome 6 The Forgotten Fortress[/h2]

The Forgotten Fortress is the last area of the game that was missing.
Initially, we wanted to make it accessible in patch 0.8 but the graphical overhaul of the biomes took us much longer.

This area, completely optional to finish the game, is also the most difficult.

The secret of the ancient king is partly hidden here, it's up to you to decipher the messages we have left throughout the game world to understand the extent of your quest!



[h2]The True Ending[/h2]

Version 0.9 also adds the "true ending". We won't say much about it to avoid spoilers, just know that this true ending will require a lot of additional gameplay time and research.

If you're lost, take the time to read the content of the steles.

And if it becomes too difficult for you, don't hesitate to accumulate a lot of gold to be able to buy all the skill points.

Good luck!


[h2]Artistic Rework Biome 3 and 4 "in progress"[/h2]

In line with the graphical overhauls and the remaining work, we have begun the graphical overhaul of Biome 3 "The Ruins of Lemia".

This overhaul will be completed by the final release of the game, but no content will change.

Likewise, we still need to do the final overhaul of Biome 4 "The Cathedral".



[h2]Monster Balancing[/h2]

Noreya is a quite particular metroidvania since it has a bit of this "RPG" aspect that allows you to farm monsters to acquire new skill points and become stronger, all while searching throughout the world for what increases your attack damage.

Some combos are very powerful.

Rather than nerfing all these nice options, we decided to increase the difficulty of big monsters / end-game monsters, mainly by increasing their HP.

So it will be wiser to avoid certain monsters at the beginning, even if the confrontation is possible.

[h2]What's left to do[/h2]

Starting from 0.9, we consider the game as "complete".

This means that future updates will focus on balancing, technical optimization, and visual improvements.

There are still two places in the game that may suggest that something is missing, an area in Biome 1 and a door behind the statue of Aleph.

We had planned to do additional content, but with the problems encountered, this must be canceled.

Perhaps in a later update after the game is released?

[h2]Kickstarter Physical Rewards Status[/h2]

We receive a lot of requests for Kickstarter rewards!

We will develop this topic in a dedicated ticket! (it will be simpler).

But we can already show you a preview of the Tarot card games that will soon go into production!



The rest of the rewards will arrive gradually, and the physical versions (console) as well as the audio CDs/vinyls, will take the longest to arrive!

On behalf of the entire team, I personally apologize for this, but we are facing production delays that can only be launched when the game is fully finished.

[h2]When is the final release?[/h2]

Big news!
We can finally announce that the game will be released in its final version in June!

Just one more month to wait ^-^

We will make a special announcement soon to reveal the exact day.



[h2]Patch-Notes:[/h2]

[h3]Adds/improvements:[/h3]

• True ending Quest
  
• One more boss to fight
  
• Biome 6 The Forgotten Fortress
  
• Biome 3 Art Rework (still WIP)
  
• Bestiary
  
• Steam Achievements
  
• Backers tombs
  
• Change the Heal drop visual to make a difference with the HP+
  
• Add the difficulty mode and progression on the save slot
  
• Visual difference between the Dark Frog and the Dark Toad
  
• Add a progression circle when purchasing a Skill Point
  

• Black blink between cinematics
  
• Ghost Zombie no SFX on attack
  
• b4_18 remove useless door
  
• No music on cinematics
  
• LogBook translation issues
  
• LORE/Writing fixes
  
• Missing steles in the LogBook
  
• Ghost switch bug on the minimap
  
• Entity play a SFX before the screen is visible (during the loading)
  
• Boss 3 possible to go out of the map
  
• JumpingSkull freeze if knockback on a specific frame
  
• World map fixes
  
• Boss 6 many fixes
  
• Resolve save/faith issues when praying on a statue and leaving the game
  
• Many Skilltree fixes
  
• Detect items on the map should now works properly
  
• Camera stuck on Boss 2
  
• Various Level Design/Arts fixs
  
• many elevator lead to death/OOB
  
• Camera stuck against Golden Widow
  
• Fix Dash Gold
  
• Improve Skill Boss 1
  
• Limit faith gauge length
  

This is a news that relieves the team and will please many of you, we know.

Today's ticket provides an update on this matter (hoping that this will be the last ticket on this subject), as we want our community to know what's going on.
Perhaps our story will serve as a lesson to others, I hope so.

The life of an independent developer is already tough enough, we didn't need this on top of it.

After several months of having our morale completely shattered, we are moving forward and are on track to finish this game, which will be memorable!


[h2]At first, a Takedown[/h2]

In December 2023, we received a complaint from a supposed "rights holder" who had registered the trademark "Noreya" in a field of activity unrelated to video games.

Despite this blatant deviation and our prior rights in the United States, the Steam team considered it a trademark infringement and forced us to change the name.

Failing to find an agreement within the given timeframe, the game was removed from the platform.


[h2]Name Change to "Noseka"[/h2]

After several weeks of negotiations, it was accepted that the term "Noseka" was acceptable, and we therefore changed the name of the game.
Immediately, we initiated legal proceedings for copyright infringement and filed the name "Noreya: The Gold Project" specifically for video games and other cultural and artistic domains.

It is obvious that there is no connection between our game and the activity of our attacker, but the registration alone is not sufficient; one must arm oneself with patience and wait several months (or even years) for such a case to be resolved in court.


[h2]Return to the Name "Noreya"[/h2]

This took several months, despite our rightful claim and intellectual property. We had to reach an agreement with the attacker to be able to reuse the name of the game as quickly as possible. Even if it may seem unfair to you, that's the way it is, and we are not big/known enough to defend ourselves better than that.

It will take a few more weeks for our trademark application to be finalized. The only valid proof of our initial right.

Regarding the impact on the game, the attacker demanded that the "German" language be removed from the game on the platforms. A request that may seem unfair and unnecessary to you.
I totally agree because the impact on him is completely invisible; it's just a matter of principle to bother us, and in the end, the victims are the community.

The "German" option will therefore be unchecked on Steam, and the game will no longer appear in German stores.

We apologize to our German community. We will look for a way to open the game to language modding so that the German community can translate the game and add it via a mod, but not us.


This whole affair took a lot of time because we had to register the trademark under "video game" classification, then wait for it to be validated and registered.
Despite this trademark registration, Valve still required confirmation from our attacker.

This case will have had a significant impact on the game's image and reputation, and we hope it's now in a box that will stay in the past.

Unfortunately, this kind of case can happen to any other independent game company since very few register their names internationally due to lack of resources and knowledge.

We obviously hope that no one else will suffer a similar case, and our inbox remains open if you (or someone you know) ever have to undergo the same action.

The takedown is the worst thing that can happen to a game, and Valve's lawyers will not negotiate anything with you regardless of your legitimacy; they will go for the simplest solution according to a standardized procedure that apparently does not follow trademark law but ensures no risk is taken by the company (which remains understandable, albeit unfair).


[h2]Could this happen to another game?[/h2]

I dare say yes. Any game that has not a registered trademark would be forced to change its name or disappear.
Perhaps this is different for a company in the United States; in that case, perhaps Valve would recognize prior rights. But who can prove this until a similar situation happens?

In our case, we had American customers long before the opposing trademark existed, but that does not seem sufficient to assert our prior rights.


What is certain is: a lot of games that I personally love, have absolutely zero protection and could be the victim of trolling and unfair attacks, just like us.

In my opinion, the lesson to be learned from this case is as follows:

• Either you spend money protecting a name that may never bring you anything
  
• Or you accept that your prior rights and intellectual property are violated in favor of someone who seeks to harm you on principle / money
  

Hello everyone!

The 0.8 version was released almost a month ago, and as we finalize the last adjustments and content, we're also paying close attention to bug fixes!

There aren't many additions in this patch, and that's normal.

However, here's a little progress update to pique your interest:

• Artistic rework of Biome 3 "Ruins of Lemia" is currently in progress and advancing well.
  
• Biome 6 "The Forgotten Fortress" is now gameplay-complete, and we're starting the painting process (known as "Level Art").
  
• The "True Ending" is also progressing well (top secret, no spoilers).
  
• Achievements are almost all ready (some have already spotted our test achievements).
  
• A new menu screen will make its debut in version 0.9 .
  
• We'll soon have news about the final release date, so stay tuned for more updates!
  

• World Map: now display the items you took in gray
  
• World Map: now display the memorials/steles
  
• Icons to know which God you are praying for
  
• To save on the last statue now you just have to stay in front rather than switching pray (can skip with jump / dash, you must be fast)
  

• Fix Improve readability of texts in low resolution
  
• Many bug fix with the BOSS 5 - Giant Worm
  
• Fix some maps do not appear on the world map
  
• Fix cannot teleport to b3_36_statue with fast travel
  
• Art rework Biome 2 catacombs and dark catacombs is now 100% complete
  
• Fix Boss 6 - Salluste, many many bug fixed
  
• Fix hitbox on the body is not disabled fast enough when switching back to the body
  
• Fix can fight Boss 6 without defeating Boss 5
  
• Fix on the map the icon boss defeated is not updated when it should be
  
• Fix The Soul Slicer do not detect the Ghost player before taking a damage
  
• Fix Will o the wisp was invincible
  
• Fix Ghost Player projectiles self destroy in the air when facing Boss 4
  
• Fix double death when crushed + grab by hands
  
• Fix poison drop now have a max speed
  
• Fix we can be invincible against boss 6
  
• Fix Boss 5 tiles visual art (red instead of blue)
  
• Fix Butterfly blind attack off position
  
• Fix Biome/Boss names can appear when continuing the game
  
• Fix b5_07 death in elevator
  
• Fix b5_08 death in elevator
  
• Fix Boss 4 invincible
  
• Fix taking a hit after a heart piece misplace the new partial heart
  
• Fix Zombie groan during stage transition
  
• Fix death count and time can decrease when returning to the screen
  
• Fix Boss 1 wave cannot touch you in the corner
  

Hello everyone.

Only one week has passed and we already have a good patch to deploy, fixing various bugs !

Nothing major to say today, so let's get straight to the point.

[h2]Patch log 0.8.1[/h2]

• Fix Paramite going through the ceils and walls
  
• Fix Enemies spawned by the Boss 6 "Salluste" does not despawn
  
• Fix Slow-motion with the skeleton/ghost hands in various situations
  
• Fix Boss 2 "Golden Widow" stay stuck on the floor above us
  
• Fix Boss 6 "Salluste" jumping out of the area
  
• Fix Boss 1 "Golden Guardian" music starting after diying in the room when he is already dead
  
• Fix using keys in the paus menu prevent to cast the spell after closing the menu
  
• Fix Worms end chase trigger to early in b2_04
  
• Fix we can still move/jump/attack while cinematic is active againt Boss 6 "Salluste"
  
• Fix Lights map are offseted compared to standard/gold maps
  
• Fix Kali's sprite is off by 1 pixel when Jumping
  
• Fix Giant Worm is now visible in the darkness
  
• Fix cinematic when Giant Worm Boss goes in the middle of the room to change the phase
  
• Fix Boss 6 "Salluste" Switch is activated by default when facing him again
  
• Fix We can start the fight against the Giant Worm and run away with a frame-perfect jump
  
• Fix Player Chakram still active after death
  
• Fix Dash Attack Gold doesn't active when dashing from a slope
  

Hello everyone!

Today I am pleased to present you the patch 0.8 !

Also not to forget, but the game is 20% fo right now, so if you want to promote it to your friend to help us (and push the reviews !) it's the good timing!

I trust you are prepared for this phenomenal patch.
Indeed, version 0.8 is significant as it allows you to complete the game.



Let's delve into the details of this patch before addressing the bug fixes.


[h2]Critical Fix on Controller Management[/h2]
This issue has persisted for quite some time, and after conducting several tests on the "Steam Inputs" configuration, we discovered that simply disabling it was the solution!

Therefore, starting from this version, Xbox/PlayStation controllers and others should work (or at least work better/at the first attempt).

If you still encounter issues, please let us know via the Hub discussions! (A negative review due to a gamepad problem is a bit harsh, don't you think?)


[h2]Significant Fix on Memory Leak![/h2]

Many of you have been experiencing the effects of a memory leak in the game, affecting long gaming sessions.

Although there may still be hidden issues, we have identified and resolved some major memory leaks!

Consequently, the game should be much more stable over extended periods.

However, with the completion of the game and the addition of images and cinematics, memory consumption has increased.

We will continue to address this aspect in the upcoming updates.


[h2]Completion of the Skill Tree[/h2]

A few spells were still missing from the skill tree.
In this update, the skill tree is now complete.

Unleash your creative combos.

Please note that starting from this update, some skills cost more than 1 point!



One very useful skill is the ability to view items on the world map!
This will help you navigate and determine which area you need to explore next.

[h2]New Difficulty Mode Selection Screen[/h2]

This is part of the work we wanted to complete before considering this screen finished.
The difficulty mode screen is now much more visually appealing than before.
Additionally, its impact is explained.

We wish good luck to the ones who want to finish the game in hard (please note that in the 0.8, for bosses, only the life is impacted for now).



[h2]A New Boss Appears[/h2]

So far, there have been 4 guardians to defeat before facing the God of Greed.
In a previous update, I mentioned this 5th new boss, and the scenario was updated accordingly.

You will be able to confront it in Biome 4, "The Cathedral".

No spoilers about its identity!

We hope this new battle will bring a unique touch of originality.

[h2]Salluste, God of Greed - the End of the Game[/h2]
It is now possible to confront the God of Greed.

However, starting this battle will lead you directly to the end of the game.
Once defeated, you will have the freedom to resume exploring the world as you wish, so proceed with confidence; your save will not be compromised!



This battle still requires some adjustments, particularly regarding its difficulty.
We hope you will enjoy the blend of combat and story.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this!


[h2]Graphic Rework of the Catacombs (part 3)[/h2]

We continue our graphic overhaul of the Catacombs, with almost all the maps in the area being redesigned.


[h2]Next Steps[/h2]
The upcoming content will be lighter, as from this update, 90% of the world and content is in place.

Therefore, we will focus on bug fixes, balancing, and overall gameplay experience, while continuing the graphic overhaul of biomes and the final zone (Biome 6).

A quick note on this: I had announced that it would likely be available in this patch; however, we ended up spending time elsewhere, so Biome 6 will arrive in a future patch.

Although you can now complete the game, we still have some exciting surprises in store for you!


[h2]Patchnotes:[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]

• Final Boss 6: Salluste - God of Greed
  
• Boss 5: secret name !
  
• End of the game cutscenes and credits
  
• More Level Art rework in Biome 2
  
• Complete skill tree
  
• Items location in the world map (with the skill)
  
• New sounds type depending of the floor (not finished)
  
• New difficulty mode screen with details of the impact
  
• New statue location in the Biome 3
  
• New scenario on a few steles (still not complete)
  

• Fix Zombies falling
  
• Fix Memory Leak
  
• Many Level Design issues Fixed
  
• Fix: update the world map
  
• Fix many missing translations
  

I made this patch over the week-end to fix some softlock issue and "not so cool" bugs (like floating spikes).
I was able to made the windows build only, Linux will come Monday.

More Catacombs map art rework is available in this patch !

• fix floating spikes in Catacombs resulting in a Spawn/Loop death (sorry for that, caused by the art rework)
  
• fix Crawley keep walking at the same place after dead (only animation)
  
• fix Dark Frogs moonwalking
  
• fix Dark Frogs not attacking properly
  
• fix Golden Widow: lock your jump after death
  
• fix Golden Widow: softlock if you kill it to quickly
  
• fix Golden Widow: sparks remaining after death
  
• fix Spells Master: don't move (stuck ?)
  
• fix Swordmaster: acid bath error
  
• fix Swordmaster: sword going invisible
  
• fix Death in elevator
  
• fix Cropped text in B4_16_L
  
• fix Ghost lever can be activated through the wall
  
• fix regular music combat play in a boss fight on various situations
  
• fix level art mistakes (B2 in B3) bush and rocks, all B3 should be cleared now
  
• fix b2_06 damage to the worm is not saved
  
• fix b5_13 floating square
  

Some hotfix inb this minor Patch.

- Hard Mode: You can't respawn on the current map
- Easy Mode: Life was not well regenerated sometime
- Boss 1 waves and Ghost Soldiers attack stay stuck in the walls
- Player is attacking while praying for a God
- Ghost and wrong grab / wrong rotation
- Wrong bind with the input / inputs not binded to the menu
- Changed the "tabs inputs" in order to prevent inputs overlap, it is now binded on "Skill of Gold" and "Skill of Light" (X/C)
- Double skill points purchase
- Crawley has been nerfed more
- Reset inputs doesn't work everywhere
- Gold Gem do not respawn if dying on the map
- Wrong default lang in the settings menu
- BOSS 3 Balance
- Light Skill tree shape is to big

Thanks to the community for helping us chaasing those bugs !

We are proudly participating in the Metroidvania fusion event, which features a lot of Metroidvania games. It is a good event to discover new game of your favorite genre.

This event is a good time to offer a discount on the game so don't miss it!

A Metroidvania game in Early-Access is not common and the release of the 1.0 is coming very soon.

The next patch 0.8 will feature the final boss and the complete world map. The last patchs will be dedicated to polish and balancing the game.

You are more than welcome to participate giving feed back on Steam Hub or our Discord channel : https://discord.com/invite/6ZFJJR4bzC


If you want to be part of an incredible journey and push the game with us, you are more than welcome.

But be aware, the Gods are not as gentle as we are.

Hello everyone!

Here's a new interim patch before the colossal 0.8 patch.

Version 0.7.5 brings some improvements and bug fixes as we finish up the 0.8 patch.

[h2]Graphical Redesign of the Catacombs (Part 1)[/h2]

In the last patch, we reworked the first zone of the game, and we plan to rework the entire game before its final release.

Biome 2 "Catacombs" is undergoing a redesign, and in this patch, you can already enjoy the first zone of the biome.

A picture speaks better, so here's a little preview :)
[previewyoutube=P9yIySfV9Fs;full][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Combat Detection System to Change Music[/h2]

This is something we've wanted to do for a long time. Here's a first version that we'll refine with upcoming versions.

Now, when you play, the game automatically detects the monsters around you and decides to activate the combat music.

A small note, however, not all biomes have the "combat" music version yet, so don't be surprised.

We still have work on the audio part of the game, but it will come with the last few patches.

[h2]Improved Map Reading (Part 1)[/h2]

Now, the world map better displays boss icons, boss defeated and statues.


We are still improving this crucial aspect of the game, and it will also come in the next patches.

Feel free to let us know what you don't like about the current world map so that we can further enhance it!

That's all for today, a quick and efficient patch! I'm going back to my work (finishing up Biome 6 for the curious ones ;) ).

Get ready! The final battle is approaching.


Patchnotes:
[h2]Additions:[/h2]

• Add Music Combat detection
  
• Biome 2 Art Rework (Part 1, will be fully complete in the patch 0.8)
  
• New Boss icon on the Map (and a defeated icon)
  
• Heal is now a little bit faster
  
• Improve Map Statues outline
  
• Pause Menu tabs can now loop
  
• Crawley has been nerfed
  

• Fix color neutral in Skill tree
  
• Fix many broken No Respawn Zones
  
• Fix Lava Bug for Boss 3 and 4
  
• Fix Event reading when dying into the trigger box (Boss 1 bug)
  
• Fix B3_05 exit to B3 East leading to a soft lock
  
• Fix HP+ PowerUp hitbox size
  
• Fix B3 Doors timers
  
• Fix Monsters stuck between doors B2_19_2
  
• Fix Cinematic Sound Level
  
• Fix Flames not looping / flying
  
• Fix Boss 3 et 4 being stuck if picking the Orb to quickly
  
• Fix Skill tree light area
  
• Fix Boss 3 et 4 being stuck if picking the Orb to quickly
  
• Fix Skill tree light area
  

Hello everyone!

Version 0.7 is now available and brings a lot of changes, improvements, additions, and bug fixes!

With the Christmas takedown, we lost a lot of time and couldn't progress as much as we wanted on the game, but rest assured, 0.8 is close and will be memorable.

Also, I personally want to apologize to our Kickstarter contributors who have been waiting for their keys since mid-December. This "legal" matter of Noreya/Noseka has had a significant negative impact on my morale, and financial difficulties for the studio have been added to that.

It's challenging to be creative and original, and being attacked in this way when we have done no harm to anyone is mentally tough. It's unfair, but that's how it is, and we continue to move forward.

With this patch, you should all have received your keys (up to February 12).

No one will be left out, so feel free to contact us if you think you have been overlooked.

Let's move on to the content of this 0.7

[h2]Graphical Redesign of the Valsanre Forest and the World Tree.[/h2]
This was a task that was close to my heart for a long time, and it's now done. We have completely reworked the forest areas.

A picture is worth a thousand words.



According to our tests, the performance impact is minor. But if you notice that the game is not running as well as before, please let us know. We continue to work on the overall optimization of the game.

In the next patches, we will do the same work in the other areas of the game.

[h2]Update of Linux/Windows Versions and Demo Versions[/h2]
For this new update, we have rebuilt all the builds for Windows and Linux. As we are not Linux users, we have not been very active in maintaining this version, and we apologize for that.

This new version should (I hope) change your life!


About the Mac build, we are still trying to find the source of the issue. The initial builds worked, but since a Mac update, we haven't been able to make it work.

[h2]New Logbook Screen[/h2]

In the game, all the narration is told through Steles. Until now, it was impossible to know which ones were read or not. Only a "number of steles" indicator was present.

From now on, it is possible to browse the entire history of the steles.


I also specify that they are all organized in the chronological order of writing. So, if you want to uncover all the mysteries of the game's universe and the history of the Gods, you will have to find them all!

Some players who have greatly contributed to bug finding are now part of the story, and some steles are dedicated to them!

[h2]Completion of the Ruins of Lemia[/h2]
A few areas were missing in this biome to consider it finished, and that's done. However, this area is not yet finished artistically and is reserved for experienced/end-game players.

We won't talk about it more because it's an area that contains significant spoilers. But it's important to mention it so that players looking for new things know what we're talking about :)

[h2]What's Planned for Patch 0.8[/h2]
The next patch will be colossal as it will be the advent of the 5th and final major boss, as well as the final boss: the God of Avarice.



Many revelations are expected, so be prepared. The battles that await you are beyond what you can imagine.

We still have work to do before we can tag the game as 1.0, including the "true ending" that will be present between versions 0.9 and 1.0.

However, from version 0.8, you can consider the game to be finishable.

[h2]Final Words[/h2]
We do not yet have visibility to announce 1.0. However, we are confident in our progress and the work done.

Also, the console port is progressing well. We have made good progress for the Switch version, but there is still a lot of work, and we cannot announce anything concrete on that front.

A short preview of the rework we are doing in the Biome 2, it's a long work but I'm excited to finish it!


Patchnotes:
[h3]Additions:[/h3]

• Improvements of native build
  
• Dedicated Steles screen (history of each steles)
  
• Art Rework of the Forests Biomes
  
• Completion of the Biome 3 (visual not complete yet, but fully playable)
  
• The transition map from the Biome 5 to 6 is now accessible. Biome 6 will come next (map is b5_15)
  
• Distant attack is now weaker and degressive
  
• Dialog Box font size change if you are on SteamDeck
  
• Music for the Boss Gold Guardian
  
• Music for the MiniBoss Dark lady
  

• Boss 1 was stuck
  
• Walker out of map, Monsters walking on walls
  
• Reduced vision on respawn after Moth attack and death
  
• Nazgul not pausing during the door cutscene
  
• Ghost Soldier glitches between edge and ghost block
  
• Dash Through skill passes through spikes, poison and arms
  
• Sliding down a wall and dash, Boss 4 skill's dagger is thrown in the wrong direction
  
• Poison drops not landing on the wooden platform after sliding
  
• When changing map, Kali should continue running towards the exit, and the inputs are blocked
  
• Seeing the health bar during the boss cutscene
  
• Some exit trigger zones
  
• Gold nuggets overlap counter after a screen transition
  
• Fog and Map Obscurity problems
  
• Start/Escape not working anymore after death in a boss room
  
• Mouse cursor visible during cutscenes
  
• The fourth boss disappears after teleporting (its hitbox is still there) and only reappears after performing an attack
  
• Teleporting to inactive statue
  
• Game is broken when purchasing the 'last skill point' on the list
  
• The Dark Lady's fight doesn't summon her ghost
  
• The 'attack distance' buttons keep reactivating all the time
  
• Pot in the spikes, below a bridge platform, falling through it when entering the stage
  
• Death by collision inside elevator and slope after respawning
  
• Camera too low when entering the boss 3 room
  
• Boss 3 no damage taken with his sword
  
• b4_03 wrong warp
  
• Selection box that you can mouse hover while the intro
  
• Guardian Angel skill infinite after healing
  
• White hands wrong grabbing side
  
• White hands disable inputs double hit
  
• After purchasing the skill point for 3k, got an Undefined value and can't spend nuggets anymore
  
• Spawning above spikes in many places
  
• Misplaced hitbox after level reset [ Crawley ]
  
• Dash Through skills alpha level is now reset when wall jumping during dash
  
• b3_29 wrong door state
  
• b3_36_statue was impossible to teleport to
  
• Many warps fix in B3 East
  
• Many fix with the Hero Land animation
  
• Icy physics sometimes
  
• Fix Steam cloud save conflicts
  
• Some fixes in the Skill tree colors
  
• Fix many floating pixels
  

First of all, Happy new Year to everyone!
In the name of the team I have to apologize.
The game has been taken down by Valve because someone complained for a trademark infrigement.

Quick explanation, so you know what happened.
Then, content of the update and what is coming next !

[h2]The game is back on Steam, what happened? Is the name Noseka now?[/h2]

Mid 2023 someone registered the name "Noreya" in Europe. It's not to make a game, not at all, but that person decided to attack us for copyright infrigement.

We got a very little time to understand what was happening, in a buzy period when everyone is in vacation with their family.

I tried to understand/solve the issue talking with Valve's team but the time for my lawyer to get in, the game was down.

So, is the game name Noseka? Only on Steam for now.
We are claiming our copyright and intellectual property rights and defending our creation against this illegitime trademark attack. But all this paperwork thing will take time and in the meantime, we will move to Noseka on Steam.

Until when? I don't know, I cannot say, it is out of my scope and it is the first time someone is attacking "me" for a name that was not even in the "video game industry" or art.

But it is what it is and right now, I want to focus on the game with the team rather than fighting.

PS: also I do apologize for the Winter Sales, we are locked now and cannot start a new "sale" before 30 days. I asked the support if something can be done about that.

So... Let's do what indies do well: exciting games!



[h2]Change of the Walkthrough[/h2]
We have been working on this modification for several weeks because we were not sufficiently satisfied with the early game (the first 2-3 hours), which tended to lose players to much.

Indeed, Metroidvanias tend to give you powers regularly, in each biome. And usually, "exploring other areas" is punished or impossible.

However, in Noseka, we wanted to create a beginning that is both linear and permissive. Many of you thought you were not following the good path, so we made this modification hoping it improves the experience for new players!

[h2]Boss 4 - The Guardian of the Golden Swords[/h2]
It is not the first time in this game development story.
But this is not a definitive name.

This fourth major boss got a large golden sword.
Its gameplay will surprise you!
Another opponent that is completely different from the others.

Of course this is a first version, and we will make adjustments based on your initial impressions!

[h2]New Skills![/h2]
In this version, we have added some spells!

We have been working on improving the skill tree for a while. In this patch, in addition to several fixes, we have added new skills that will please you, including "fast-travel," which allows you to teleport from one statue to another, finally!



There are still some "hidden" skills that will arrive in January/February.

[h2]Aleph's Tomb[/h2]
It is a new off-map area that is now available!

For now, it is very small, but in the future, we will add some content inside. Perhaps more in the future ;)

You will find this ambiance/music in biome 6 "The Forgotten Fortress," which will be available in an upcoming patch!




[h2]What's next?[/h2]
The next patch "0.7" will feature more areas to explore and maybe one new boss if it is ready.
Some exciting features and an overall improvement.

We will post a dev blog very soon to talk more about the "behind the scenes" waiting for this new patch.


This blog post was supposed to concludes 2023, but it will mark the beginning of 2024 instead!

Thanks for all the supportive messages we received during this dark times.
We will do our best to make 2024 an exciting year and we will push the game as much as we can.

Hello everyone!

It's been a few weeks since we released patch 0.4.5, which was an intermediate patch between patch 0.4 and patch 0.5.

We took a bit more time than expected because you provided us with a lot of feedback, and we wanted to focus on those points before moving on to the content. Things are now generally stable, and we can, once again, add content to the game.

This new patch adds quite a few things, so let's dive in.



The Fallen King in Biome 5 "The Tree of Origins"
This is a new mini-boss joining the fray, offering a completely unique battle; we won't reveal more!
He lurks in biome 5.

Here's a small image to give you a hint.



The Fallen King is the last mini-boss planned in our initial game development, and he will provide you with the final fundamental skill required to complete the game.

Let's just say that from here on, we'll only be adding bosses!

Access to Biome 5 is now open, and you'll have quite a few new maps to explore.
Connections to Biome 6 are currently all closed and will be included in a future update.

Completion of Biome 4 "The Cathedral"
In this update, we've opened more access points in Biome 4 "The Cathedral," giving you new maps to explore and new paths to unlock.

Be warned, not everything is finished yet, and some paths will be opened in subsequent updates. Also, it's a very young area, so we're still testing the balance a lot; feel free to give us your feedback!



Names of Bosses, Biomes, and Cinematics
We've added these small elements that were sorely lacking in the game.

You will now see the boss's name displayed during its introduction, as well as the biome's name during a zone change.

Also, when a cinematic sequence is triggered, you'll have two black banners at the top and bottom of the screen.

Optimization and Console Porting
Many of you are asking "how is it going" regarding consoles, and we'll gradually start giving you updates.

We've started a major performance optimization task with Quentin. It's a bit technical, but in summary, we're trying to multithread many components of the game. For now, there are still issues, so it won't be available right away!

However, once finished, it should greatly optimize the game's performance, making it much smoother for many people and, more importantly, making it easier for us to port it to the Switch.
As we've mentioned before, console versions must wait for certification from manufacturers, which takes at least 3 months (excluding contractual aspects), and we have to send them the 1.0 version of the game.

We'll keep you informed as we progress with consoles and other platforms.
Now, here's the complete PATCH NOTE. Thanks again to everyone for your contributions and bug reports!

PATCH NOTE:
Additions:

• MINI-BOSS THE FALLEN KING
  
• Biome Tree of Origins Access
  
• New maps in Cathedral Biome
  
• New maps in The Catacombs and new challenges
  
• Boss name displayed during introduction
  
• Black bars during cinematics
  
• Biome name displayed during a transition
  
• Biome name displayed on the map
  
• New skills available in the skill tree!
  
• More variety of monsters in existing maps
  
• New music in B2 DARK
  

• Change of behavior on the soul devourer
  
• Several fixes with ghost/hand skeletons
  
• Several bugs with the "shockwave" spell, especially when dying on spikes
  
• Exiting the game during the respawn menu causes looping errors
  
• Double spike hit completely respawns the player
  
• Skill tree: Button of a skill that doesn't reset when leaving the menu
  
• Skill tree: The text "you must be next to a statue" was not displayed
  
• Bug when moving while talking to a stele
  
• New game via the "continue" menu = bug
  
• FIX many map transitions resulting in soft locks
  
• Overlay of hearts and money
  
• FIX many Out Of Bounds (OOB)
  
• FIX texts cut off a bit
  
• The displayed language is not correct
  
• Many FIXES against BOSS 2
  

Hello everyone!
I hope you're doing well and enjoying playing and discovering the world of Noreya. We've received a lot of feedback, help in finding bugs, ideas, and suggestions. Thank you all for your participation <3

Yesterday, on Friday, November 17th, we released patch "0.4.5," marking the transition between patches 0.4 and 0.5.
We've added quite a few things in this patch, including content that was supposed to be in 0.6/0.7! In a way, 0.5 takes longer to arrive, but subsequent updates will be faster.

Here are the highlights of this update.

[h2]STEAM CLOUD[/h2]
You asked for it, and we planned to integrate it. Your save will now follow you on all your devices!

We've also completely reworked our implementation of the Steam SDK and updated the game engine, which caused many bugs last time. So, we spent 2 days testing it on many different machines.

You shouldn't have any more controllers or other issues now.

This kernel update was crucial as it brings many performance improvements, especially for Steamdeck, Linux, and Mac.

Regarding Mac: we are still stuck, and we are looking for a solution. The old version worked very well, but the new versions won't... We haven't forgotten about you.
Thank you for your patience.

[h2]Biome 5: The World Tree, in progress[/h2]
Update 0.5, named "The Fallen King," will give you access to a new area, Biome 5: The World Tree!
To prepare for this update, we've added decorations to a map in Biome 1, "Valsanre Forest."
This "endgame" area will increase the difficulty, especially in terms of platforming. It won't be entirely revealed in the next patch because this zone includes a second sub-area: The Forgotten Fortress, which will be the subject of a future update.

[h2]New Monster Variations[/h2]
It's a classic in metroidvania games. However, when we worked on the game, we only imagined "unique" monsters because we thought it would be more interesting.
As development progresses, we realize how vital these variations are because they allow for easier monsters at the beginning and stronger ones later on.
I'll write a future article explaining specifically how our monster management works as you progress through the game (somewhat like Zelda BotW and TotK).
So, don't be surprised to see new variations arriving with each update!
That's, I think, the three most significant additions in this update. Here is the complete list.

[h2]PATCH NOTE:[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]

• STEAM CLOUD
  
• New version of the "kernel" Electron and change of the Steamwork SDK, which should bring better performance (all platforms combined) without blocking controllers.
  
• Biome 5 junction in Biome 1 (World Tree) to be opened in the next patch.
  
• Headless Zombie
  
• Crazy Zombie
  
• VFX Explosion against BOSS 3 (unnamed yet)
  
• New areas to explore in Biome 4 "Cathedral."
  
• Respawn outside the BOSS room in case of defeat, allowing you to leave if you don't want to face it again (applies to all bosses).
  
• Improved "multi-line" health gauge in-game UI and menus.
  
• Improved jump to make it more responsive (Shisheyu's feedback).
  
• Opening new paths in Biome 3 that were kept closed until now (but still accessible for players who "search").
  

• Language retrieved via Steam data.
  
• Missing scripting Camera bug.
  
• Zombies no longer move after attacking.
  
• BOSS Golden Widow: If you jump at the same time she breaks the ground, it can create several problems/bugs.
  
• BOSS Golden Widow: Behavior issue when she is invisible if you back into the wall.
  
• BOSS Golden Widow: Canceling a jump if you jump before she breaks the ground.
  
• BOSS Golden Widow: Spider webs do not disappear after a restart.
  
• BOSS Golden Widow: Ghost gets stuck on the previous floor.
  
• SkillTree PV Bonus not taken into account when choosing "continue a game."
  
• Losing control of Kali when returning to the starting map.
  
• Regaining control of Kali in the middle of dialogues/tutorials.
  
• Inconsistent health bar when changing maps.
  
• Poison drops do not have a regular behavior on slopes.
  
• BOSS 3 (unnamed yet): remains motionless at the beginning of the fight.
  
• Exiting the game during a map transition does not cut the music.
  
• Map corruption in a new game after manually deleting game data.
  
• Small spiders count as "killed enemies."
  
• Night Vision makes the entire room visible before the intro.
  
• BOSS Gold Iath: Wave stuck in the door, generating infinite sound.
  
• Improved BOSS loot placement.
  
• Ghost Assassin cannot touch the player.
  
• B3_15_L specific crash with Ghost Assassin.
  
• Shockwave gets stuck.
  
• Strange jump behavior when reading a stele.
  
• B1_07 collision boxes visible.
  
• B1_07 exit trigger not big enough.
  
• B3_09_02_G: rework.
  
• B2_01 and B2_05_1 several monsters appearing in the void.
  
• B1_09 and B3_14_2_L blocking an accidental exit by "the ceiling."
  
• B3_08_L switch not working.
  
• B3_14_5_L missing "temporary" door, leading to a "No Spawn in map xxx" error.
  
• Dying against Crawley sometimes unintentionally exits the map.
  
• "Lootable" objects that go behind.
  
• B2_17_1 map improvement to avoid cheating that could lead to subsequent errors/softlocks.
  
• B2_23 added ceiling webs.
  
• FIX some spikes that were not on the right layer.
  
• FIX Spawn B2_23_2.
  
• Added wooden walkways to prevent players from falling when arriving in B2_23_1.
  
• Fix torches that "fly" in some maps after killing BOSS Golden Widow.
  
• B3_14_L map improvement.
  
• B2_10 and B2_10_2 correction of exits.
  
• B3_13 added an exit on the ceiling.
  
• B2_24 monsters generating a Spawnkill.
  
• B4_13 misplaced light/curtains.
  
• B4_12 fix elevator => OOB.
  
• Bug with the counting of gold nuggets in the UI.
  
• The position of BOSS that remains on the map even defeated.
  
• 1 HP disappears when reloading the game.
  
• Corrected the position of statues on the map
  

Hello everyone.

We are now in Early Access, yay!
However, we continue to be proactive, listen to your feedback, and take note of the bugs very carefully!

We didn't post anything for the official 0.4 release because we were focused on the release, and it's important not to get distracted.

So here's a BIG patch note because we decided not to release 0.5 right away in order to focus more on the quality of 0.4 (and all the bugs). However, we added and prepared content that was supposed to be in 0.6!

We're also making many changes to the game's balance. There are now areas that are easier than before and others that will be much harder.

Please give us your feedback; it helps us move in the right direction.

Before we get to the notes, here is some dev blog story.

[h2]The Boss of the Biome 4 in the East Belfry still have no name[/h2]
You may ask how that is possible.
And, if you go back to the article How do we create monsters in Gold Project cf:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1760330/announcements/detail/3712699226994690497?snr=2_9_100000_

You know that making a monster (or a boss) is not a linear, predicted work.

Indeed for most of our monsters and bosses in the game we have an approximate idea of what we want to do, then we do some prototypes and test it.

But a lot of those monsters and Boss still have no name.


Do you have an idea of a name for this good boi? Share it with us here in the comments!
Here is some information about him.

• He is a spellcaster
  
• His twin brother is a fighter
  
• He live in the East Belfry
  
• He live in the Cathedral (Biome 4)
  
• He can turn into a Ghost
  

• Difficulty modes at the start of a new game
  
• Keyboard configuration
  
• Introduction cinematic
  
• Added a save slot system (3 slots) with summaries
  
• The starting screen that informs about the "save logo"
  
• Added shortcuts F11/Alt+Enter (full screen/windowed mode)
  
• Save logo
  
• Cathedral boss, East Wing. It doesn't have a name yet.
  
• Many new maps and areas (no spoilers here :) )
  
• Added a new previously inaccessible monster, the "Paramites"
  
• A lot of narrative additions
  
• Improved Linux support
  
• Biome 4 music (work in progress)
  
• Boss "Golden Giant" combat music
  
• Added an introduction to the "Golden Giant" boss fight
  
• Boss "Golden Widow" combat music
  
• Added an introduction to the "Golden Widow" boss fight
  
• Mini-Boss "Crawley" combat music
  
• Mini-Boss "Soul Devourer" combat music
  
• Biome 3 music (work in progress)
  
• Biome 2 music and combat variations, gold, and light
  
• Added Chinese
  
• Added Japanese
  
• Added Russian
  
• Added Ukrainian
  
• Font adapts to the language
  
• Improved dialog box (aesthetic)
  
• You can only modify your skills in front of a statue
  
• Improved input buffers
  
• New skill icons
  
• New icons on the world map
  
• Added hidden areas
  
• Added gold nuggets
  
• Changed button assignments to "make more sense"
  
• Changed poison to green for better readability
  
• Replaced the visual drop from bosses
  
• Global game rebalancing (still ongoing)
  
• Added a "headless zombie" version, weaker than the Zombie
  

• Golden spiders were counted as killed monsters
  
• World Map issues when deleting game files and starting a new game
  
• Hearts no longer overlap
  
• Ghost superimposition
  
• Invisible dark frog
  
• Missing waterfall on a map
  
• Difficulty mode and save logo not displayed on a new installation
  
• World map markers remained even after defeating the boss
  
• Kali floating as a ghost on a trampoline while being hit
  
• Ghost falls off platforms when pressing a key
  
• Global experience removed from the menu
  
• Several issues when quitting the game after speaking to Auria's statue
  
• Non-functional hidden area
  
• Sometimes impossible to read a stele with a controller
  
• Gold statue unlocked indirectly
  
• Ghost Zombie phases through platforms
  
• Incorrect Dreamirl logo size in "low" graphics settings
  
• Configuration missing for a wave in b2_19
  
• Body teleports when the ghost is active, causing a crash
  
• Error when changing language during gameplay
  
• Issues with certain skill stats when changing maps
  
• Fixed several monster-related bugs
  
• Praying to a statue by pressing S when exiting the menu
  
• Gold exchange is performed like healing, by holding down a key
  
• Inconsistent health bar in some scenarios (when quitting the game)
  
• Purchase of boss skills not saved
  
• Endless deaths from "hands"
  
• The "map" skill icon is gray the first time you open the skill tree
  
• Fixes to many skills
  
• Error when fighting Crawley if the game was quit after the fight and then restarted
  
• Error while navigating up/down in the save slot menu
  
• Error when the Giant Worm hits the lever in b2_14
  
• Dash bug with the ghost
  
• Map and "junction" configuration bugs (multiple reports)
  
• World map bug shifted by 1px
  
• World map displaying a location that was never visited
  

Minor locales fix
And a major bug fix on the map b3_42 (before the boss).

[previewyoutube=7hkY95q91PA;full][/previewyoutube]

Hello everyone!

Today, Noreya: The Gold Project lands on Steam Early-Access.
Which means you can purchase the game, with a special launch discount of 15%!


[h3]But you may ask, why make an Early-Access metroidvania game? good question, here is the answer.[/h3]

Its all about the community! At Dreamirl we believe in the power of the community, too many games are released and players simply are not happy with the game they play, we want every player to love playing the game as much as we love making it.

Our first Steam game Exoblast was in Early-Access until our community and us were happy with it. Throughout our journey we made a lot of changes and improvements, thanks to the feedback from our community.

Today with Noreya however, we are aiming way higher.
This Metroidvania is not like the others. Noreya features new unique mechanics unseen before in this genre.

With Noreya we tried to innovate for the better, we aimed to develop a game that was more fun, more fluid and more instinctive.
This is shown in our unique Karma mechanic system which required the most work, testing and balancing.

In Noreya you can:

• Experience a complete nonlinear experience, for those of you who do not know what that is. Each and every player plays the game in their own unique path or style, how you finish the game is up to you!
  
• Pray and explore 2 world-maps overlapping each other with shared places.
  
• Fight the bosses in the order you want!
  
• Enjoy a fluid and intense platformer.
  
• Our unique Ghost system will bend your mind with intense puzzle-platforming.
  
• Take part in thrilling and engaging game play while facing creepy monsters that chase you throughout caves and labyrinths of Noreyas landscape.
  

Hello everyone!

This is a quick post to shoot the Patch of the previous updates we've made, fixing a lot of issues in the game while adding some features and content.

We have made several update, so this is one post with all the content.

We will do a new post for the 0.4 with more details of each novelties.

PS: only Windows build for now, others platform are coming, we are fixing linux/mac also as we are running issues depending on the OS/Version.

PATCH NOTE 0.3.5 light (2023/10/18)
[h3]New features and improvements[/h3]

• Unlocked access to a new area! You can now visit the East Belfry, where a new Guardian is awaiting to be defeated (beta only)
  
• Reworked tutorials order for a better pacing
  
• Added boss related skills in the skill tree: each of them can be unlocked after defeating a boss
  
• Improved zombies AI
  
• Bosses 1 and 2 now have intro cutscenes
  
• Improved some visuals
  
• Improved menus
  
• Improved level art and level design on many maps
  
• The game has been slightly optimized
  

• Fixed an error occuring when using Steam chat while playing
  
• Exiting and continuing the game now correctly plays biome music
  
• Many skill tree related bugs have been fixed
  
• Most skills now work as intended
  
• Player menu now correctly display damage and heart pieces
  
• Maps should no longer be misplaced in map menu
  
• Player's animations are no longer stuck when going in ghost form
  
• Taking damage and dispawning ghost at the same time no longer inflicts knockback on the player's body
  
• Rotated levers no longer have a misplaced hitbox
  
• Collisions on the same tile than a trap (spikes or poison) no longer disappear
  
• Walking from a bridge to a slope no longer makes the player fall through the bridge
  
• All memorials now correctly freeze enemies and no longer display "undefined" texts
  
• Zombies in the intro cutscene no longer flicker
  
• The giant worm chases have been improved
  
• Fixed errors occuring with the giant worm, Crawley and in boss rooms
  
• Boss 1 no longer spawns its waves in the ground
  
• Most boss 2 related bugs have been fixed
  
• Fixed many level design and level art issues
  

• Experience points have been replaced by golden nuggets
  
• You can use golden nuggets to heal by pressing S on the keyboard or Y on the controller
  
• Golden nuggets can be exchanged for skill points in front of statues
  
• The transition animation between worlds of gold and light is faster and cleaner
  
• The tutorial dialogs with Auria and Hmnis have been modified to make more sense
  
• Fix: the skilltree tutorial now automatically focuses on the map skill
  
• Fix: worlds of gold and light are now correctly shown with first Auria and Hmnis statues
  
• Fix: the map no longer zooms in for one frame the first time the it is revealed
  
• Fix: wrong respawn in b2_17_1
  
• Fix: pots falling through a bridge in b2_21
  
• Fix: wrong warp from b4_04 to b4_05
  

• settings "graphics" now work and change the quality of the game (need a reboot)
  
• a tutorial about healing has been added (first hit)
  
• wrong music biome sometimes
  
• updated world map
  
• added hidden zones
  
• FIX some wrong teleport/spawn
  
• FIX jumping monsters going through OOB
  
• more translation
  
• FIX unwanted gold nuggets exchange when leaving the menu
  
• improve the text to not "teleport" by the end of the line
  
• FIX Ghost Fusion
  
• Kali tileset fixed
  
• FIX cannot unlock skills in skilltree
  
• LA bug fix / missing tiles
  
• FIX: gamepad/keyboard navigation do not work in some situation (need mouse)
  
• FIX: Localization UI
  
• FIX: change TextDialog about settings Graphics
  
• FIX: stuck sometimes after exchanging gold nuggets
  
• FIX: farming dedication by leaving the game
  
• FIX: heal while sliding
  
• FIX: can exchange nuggets on an empty statue slot
  

[h2]DEV BLOG 12 - PATCH 0.3 and Presentation of our roadmap![/h2]

Hello everyone!

Today, we are going to talk to you about our "patch" program. This way, you will know exactly what we have planned and the order.



Also, before we go any further, I must announce the following:

[h3]--
The release date has been postponed to November 7th, and it will be an early access release!
--[/h3]


Before you cry, let me explain a bit about this. You will quickly understand that we are not delaying it for fun or just to disappoint you, but to bring you even more enjoyment!


Firstly, we completely revamped biome 1 recently following playtests. This was unexpected work, and it took us quite some time.

Next, we created the biome 5, which was initially planned as part of a free DLC. However, we thought it would be much better if you had it from the beginning since it's a very important area.

Overall, we have reworked many things: monsters, bosses, balancing, level aesthetics, and more. We experienced delays due to unforeseen departures of partners working on the aesthetic aspects (cutscenes, monsters). As a result, it took us more time to find solutions.

In short, as you may have gathered, we are not postponing it for fun but because we want the game to meet your expectations and be able to release the game with the best content from version 1.0.

We want the game to be beautiful, grandiose, and not rushed out with lots of bugs.



Version 0.3 Content
With this "substantial" devblog comes the release of version 0.3.
We've added a large gameplay area, the Abysses of the Citadel!

This is a gameplay area partially shrouded in darkness.
A few new monsters, a new skill, a new mini-boss, and of course, the guardian of the place: The Golden Widow.

In total, this will add 1 to 2 hours of gameplay, depending on your level (potentially more).

Enough blabla, here's a little preview.



Some of our "beta testers" have already found and explored these areas. So we fixed some bugs, but we are aware that more are hiding in the darkness.

[h3]New platforms ![/h3]
This new patch also features the support of new platforms: Mac, Linux, and Steamdeck (not the same build as Linux).
We might still have issues with Linux and Mac builds as there are many OS versions out there, so please send us a ticket/message if you have any issue.



[h3]About the Steamdeck: [/h3]
As Steam have to make a manual review before setting the good build as default, right now you have to go into the settings cf:

Go to the game page and go to Settings > Properties > Compatibility. In this menu you should have a check box which is "Force the use of compatibility tools". You need to check it, and then under the list which will appear, you'll need to choose the option "Steam Linux Runtime" (should be GE-Proton7-50).
Then the game should redownload and everything should be great !


Beta Roadmap

Our beta program will rely on a series of major patches.

Before we go any further, I want to clarify that ALL OUR BACKERS (who chosed the platform Steam) will have access to the beta version starting from Patch 0.5 (end of October/early November).

Let me present you our "roadmap":



0.3 (The Abyss of the citadel) // DONE
0.4 (The East Belfry)
0.5 (The Fallen King)
0.6 (The Belfry's Twin)
0.7 "Karma zones"
0.8 "The Avarice"
0.9 Additional content / areas / LORE
1.0 The True Ending = THE COMPLETE GAME

Its a total of 7 big patches, and let me tell you that most of those patches are nearly done.


Why does it take so much time?

We understand your concerns and frustration. Despite our efforts, some things take a lot of time:

• Level art (creating beautiful levels).
  
• World karma, which requires us to create two worlds and do a lot of back-and-forth to make sure it works (and as you've seen, there are quite a few bugs because of "these things").
  
• cutscenes / scenario (mostly because we had to find a solution, and now its ok)
  
• we want to improve more a lot of things and add content
  

Have you played the Noreya Demo yet? Well its Steam next fest and we are here to play it with you and field your questions and feedback live on stream!

Hello everyone!

Since the release of the demo and the beta, we have released several patches that have allowed us to fix and improve the game on many aspects, thanks to you!

Many of you have tried the game and everything that was possible to do. Some of you have even found passages we thought were impossible. Congratulations to all of you because we are so used to the game that we always do the same thing and are not able to discover some bugs due to unusual manipulations.

Today, we are releasing a new patch 0.2.3 that brings new fixes as well as new languages to the game.


The next major patch is 0.3.0 and will bring a large new area of the game as well as 2 new bosses! This update will be released next week.
We will also announce the planned program for future updates and the game's release date (which will be modified).

Here is a summary of what is included in this patch, as well as a summary of previous patches:

PATCH NOTE 0.2.3 (2023/09/30)

• New Features:
  
• New Languages: German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Hungarian, Swedish, Polish, Norwegian
  
• You can now attack the "harmless little spiders"
  
• The statues of the gods have been changed
  
• Save data is preserved/migrated with version upgrades (unless there is no choice)
  
• New introduction/animation when starting a new game
  
• Add gamepad sensibility settings (deadzone)
  

• Skill tree: the "Blood Shield" skill now works correctly and protects against poison drops
  
• Skill tree: the skill selection animation now works correctly
  
• Skill tree: skills are saved and loaded correctly
  
• Graphical bug with floating pixels on phantom walls fixed
  
• Slight text modifications
  
• Missing English translations
  
• Reloading the game no longer restores all health
  
• It is no longer possible to exit the starting map with WallJump
  
• Pots now respawn
  
• The world map no longer displays "holes" (layers not taken into account)
  
• Cases of music overlapping have been resolved
  
• In-game timer now displays correct data
  
• No more farming of power-ups possible
  
• Other minor fixs over maps, spawn points, world map...
  

• Fix : b3_31_2, no more softlock because of the lever being not reset
  
• Fix : b3_33, no more FPS Drop against the Dark Lady
  
• Fix : no more music overlap when opening the settings menu
  
• Fix : no more invisible enemies
  
• Fix : the game should not crash if you quit the game right before dying
  
• Fix : b2_03 the giant worm do not chase you anymore
  
• Fix : the giant worm do not deals damage when you are in a safe spot
  
• Fix : the giant worm respawn correctly
  
• Fix : skilltree save/load is fixed (should be)
  
• Fix : skilltree now give you back your skill points
  
• Fix : skilltree do not try to unlock skills itself, without asking for permission
  
• Fix : it is not possible to buy locked skills anymore
  
• Fix : skilltree karma is now working as intended
  
• Fix: skill tree and karma logic
  
• Slightly improved skill tree UI
  
• Fix: the in-game timer is now saved if you close and restart the game
  
• Better map menu navigation (switched zoom buttons, and can now use the D-pad)
  
• We can now quit menus with the B button
  
• dark frogs (and all wall walkers ?) are struggling on the edge of a bounce/platform
  
• Other minor fixes
  

• You now have the "version number" on the screen (bottom right) which will help us to know the version you have without searching the build number
  
• fixed: the Hmnis statue now heal you
  
• fixed: it is not possible to abuse and farm allegiance points on the first Hmnis statue thanks to a bug
  
• fixed: some arts floating a few pixels above the ground in b3_10_2
  
• improve the hitbox on b2_06 and b2_04 to avoid/reduce floor glitch (until we improve the physics engine)
  
• add waterfall animation on b2_05 because it sounded like a bug
  
• move some spiderweb because the hitbox made the jump painful and not fun at all
  
• fix b1_14 camera area was to big
  
• fix: you can now read a memorial/stele as much as you want
  
• total xp display a big float value overlapping with the text
  

• blocks broken by the worm are now saved correctly
  
• musics overlap is fixed
  
• the spiderweb sound looping in the top of the map after the miniboss fight is fixed
  
• the error when reading the memorial after the wall jump obtention is fixed
  
• cannot pogo on flames anymore
  
• flying after respawn should be fixed
  
• third encounter with the giant worm in b2_06 has been removed, So bugs are fixed
  
• opening the menu over the "death screen" is not possible anymore
  
• gold champion attack has been fixed
  
• minor tiles fix
  
• minor level design and balance improvements
  
• other minor fix
  

Hello everyone.

Once again, this article is directly written by Inateno, for the sake of simplicity in writing.

In this new update, we will discuss the demo and closed beta.

First and foremost, if you are eligible to participate in the beta because you supported us on Kickstarter, please check your Kickstarter private messages to complete the process and receive your "beta" Steam key.

In any case, the demo will be publicly accessible to everyone starting at 6 PM, French time.

[h2]Demo Content[/h2]
The demo lasts from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your level of play. It allows you to battle 1 mini-boss and explore several areas of the game along with various mechanics.

We would like to showcase more in this demo, but it's always challenging to calibrate a demo to the right length. We won't hesitate to update the demo, whether it's to fix bugs or add content if we deem it necessary.


[h2]Beta Content[/h2]
Initially, the beta will have the same content as what was accessible during the playtests. Everything has been fixed and improved, but despite that, we know there are still imperfections. This initial phase will help us address many issues while preparing the upcoming game zones that still have many bugs.

After everything runs smoothly in this initial version, we will progressively open up new areas, extending the duration and content of the beta.

Theoretically, it is possible to face 7 bosses at the moment, but some maps that lead to them are not operational. Therefore, we need to place temporary barriers to prevent you from falling into the endless void.

We are doing our best to provide you access to as much content as possible.

In summary, for now, it is possible to confront 2 mini-bosses and 1 boss, with a gameplay duration of 1 to 3 hours.

Unfinished Areas: Please note that, for the time being, the beta's content is quite complete and finished. However, in the upcoming updates, you may arrive in levels that are empty or sparsely decorated. This is not a bug.

On the other hand, if you spot a floating tree, a misplaced pixel, or something "out of place," please do not hesitate to report it! Creating a game of this magnitude with our artistic direction is quite a challenge, and it's common for us to make very small mistakes.

[h2]How Long Will the Beta Last (Final Release Date)[/h2]
As of today, the game's release is expected in late October. However, time is moving forward, and we realize everything that's missing in the game to make it as great as we want it to be. Therefore, we will be updating the game's release date on Steam in a few weeks.

We don't know exactly what the final date will be yet, and there's also the matter of console porting. We want to do our best to deliver the game to everyone simultaneously (or at least with the least possible wait time).

So, the beta will last for at least one month and will extend as long as necessary because we want to balance, refine, and improve the game with your feedback.

If the beta's duration becomes too long, we will open access to all our backers and potentially everyone. Early access is therefore being considered. Please feel free to give us your feedback; it is essential to us.

[h2]How to Effectively Participate in the Beta (and Demo)[/h2]
As you know, the term "beta" is a bit of a catch-all these days. Our team wants to use the beta as a real means of communication with you. If we need to postpone the game because we realize, thanks to your feedback, that certain things are not working at all, we will do it.

To participate effectively, you need to know how to analyze a bug or an unusual situation. So, I will try to give you some tips on how to report bugs/suggestions effectively!

Firstly, a "bug list" will be made available on Discord and on the Steam forum. You should consult it before reporting a bug; this will help us save time (and thus release the game faster).

When you identify a bug, you must be able to reproduce it and describe "how" you manage to reproduce it; this is the most challenging step.

In your beta version, you will have access to certain developer tools to help you report problems. To do this, go to the Options menu and activate the developer mode.

The O key (not zero but the letter) will allow you to display the technical name of the map you are on, along with other data.


The P key will enable the "hitbox" mode if you encounter problems with collisions.


You can combine P and O.

Once the bug is identified, you will need to report to us the name of the map where the bug occurred.

The "hitbox" mode should only be used when you think there is a problem; this mode is heavy and not optimized. Moreover, it's a bit like cheating, which, in our opinion, spoils the gaming experience.

[h2]What Is the Schedule for the Beta[/h2]
We don't have a precise schedule; we work on the game every day and release updates as often as possible. We estimate being able to provide a regular update every week and a major update every month.

I've filled out the Kickstarter survey; when will I receive my rewards?
We sent you the survey recently because we needed your contact information to send you the Steam key. Not everyone has responded yet, but you should receive the email with your key today (for beta participants).

Regarding "physical" rewards, there will be a delay. You should know that a physical edition for a console requires a minimum of 6 months of lead time, once the game is completed and approved by the manufacturers. We can't do anything to speed this up, so you'll have to wait until 2024 for physical editions. Digital editions on consoles, on the other hand, require 2 to 3 months once the game is completed, so you will also have to wait until 2024.

As for other types of rewards, we are already working on them (while also finishing the game; rewards are not our top priority). We are considering the possibility of making two separate shipments to deliver the rewards as soon as possible (but this is not guaranteed).

Additionally, if you have the opportunity to meet us at a physical event, we will give you the rewards that are already available at that time. We will announce our events as they come up.

Here is list from the Kickstarter forms:

• 2023 - France - Toulouse Game Show, at Toulouse - November 25-26th 2023
  
• 2024 - USA - CA - GDC, at San Francisco - March 18-22 2024
  
• 2024 - France - TGS Montpellier, at Montpellier - April 6-7th 2024
  
• 2024 - France - TGS Springbreak, at Toulouse - June 1-2nd 2024
  
• 2024 - Germany - Gamescom - August 21-25 2024
  

Hello everyone,

Once again, this article is directly written by Inateno, for the sake of simplicity in writing.

Today, we have a condensed blog post in which we discuss quite a few things.
First and foremost, I invite you to add the game to your Steam wishlist, even if you don't plan on getting it from that platform. Wishlisting helps the game gain visibility, which is crucial for the project's future.
Share the game with your friends, family, on the internet and on social media it's really important. Thank you!

Here's a quick summary of what we will discuss in this dev blog.:

• New name
  
• Boing boing Monster
  
• Playtest date
  
• Beta date
  
• Demo date
  
• Release date
  

• Multiple endings won't be present (hence, no "true ending")
  
• Biome 5 / optional biome
  
• Certain maps may not be finished
  
• Bugs will naturally be present in the game, although we're doing our best to fix as many as possible
  
• The game will only be available on Steam; there may be issues with Mac/Linux versions initially since the development team only works with Windows. We'll allocate time to these OS versions as soon as we can
  
• Controller support may be partial
  
• Achievements, maps, etc. probably won't be integrated
  

• September 30 & October 1, 2023 - Pau Anime Game Show (Pau - France)
  
• November 25 & 26, 2023 - Toulouse Game Show (Toulouse - France)
  

Hello everyone!

Once again, this article is directly written by Inateno, for the sake of simplicity.

At the beginning of June, we launched a major call to our beta testers to help us with a first playtest session.

And the first word that comes to mind is "wow," followed by "Thank you!"

Indeed, "wow" because I was impressed by your participation and willingness to help us.

And truly, thank you because this session has taught us a lot!

It helped us find many bugs, of course, but above all, it helped us understand the strengths and weaknesses of the game. To be honest with you, we were afraid to launch these playtests! We didn't know how you would receive the game, whether you would like it or not.

And overall, among the 49 responses we received on the form, you all loved the experience and what the game offered.

Of course, nothing is perfect, and thanks to your feedback and our analysis system, we managed to identify the little hiccups that bother us.

This article is dedicated to the playtest debrief. We will explain "how it works" and show you some graphs!

PS:

• If you don't want to spoil anything from the game, I invite you not to read this article as we will go into details, content in the biomes, and map names.
  
• If you couldn't participate in this first playtest session but would like to participate in the second, don't worry, you can read this article without fear.
  

• To know what you think of the game as it is (graphics/gameplay).
  
• To check if you were getting lost too much in the world or not.
  
• To have an overview of the balancing and difficulty.
  
• To see what things are not necessarily understood or not obvious, in order to correct/improve all of that.
  

• 94% considered the game "neither too difficult nor too easy, 4% found it "too difficult" and 2% found it "too easy."
  
• 67% didn't feel lost but weren't sure where to go, 20% knew exactly where they were and where to go, 12% felt "a little lost," and 0% felt completely lost!
  
• 96% of people think they had "the required amount of lives", 2% found it too many, and 2% found it insufficient.
  
• Players mostly loved the platforming sequences.
  
• Regarding the first mini-boss, the overall feedback is good. As expected, players had "difficulty reading the patterns" and "felt destabilized," which are relevant insights, and a few people found it too difficult.
  
• On a scale of 0 to 5, we have 63% with a rating of 4, 30% with a rating of 5, and 6% with a rating of 3.
  
• As for whether they would like to participate in another playtest, it's a resounding yes at 92%, while the rest prefer to wait for the beta.
  

• The giant worm
  
• The demon that chases us and can't be killed but activates things for us.
  
• Some players particularly enjoyed the trampoline mechanic.
  
• Lastly, other players specifically liked the level design/platforming and the game's fluidity and movement.
  

• The villainous creature that takes the medal is, of course, the terrible sausage on legs, or "Dark Frogs" as nicknamed by one of the players (our technical name is "SpiderSwarm")
  
• Next, the trap monster (that burrows into the ground) was quite frustrating because players didn't know how to approach it. However, we have made improvements to it and hope it will be better now!
  

Once the game was launched, it was connected to a data server, and the game would send information about what each player was doing.


We didn't collect a ton of information because it wasn't necessarily immediately useful, but we had the following data:

• Player changes map (destination map with "time," allowing us to measure time spent per map)
  
• Player takes damage (with the ID of the entity that inflicted the damage)
  
• Player dies (also with the ID)
  
• Based on this data, we were able to generate the following graphs:
  

PS: The names you see on the X-axis are "technical" and temporary names. We didn't necessarily have names for the creatures when we were working on the game, and several of them need to be renamed!

[h3]Time spent by map[/h3]


In red, we have the maximum; in green, the minimum; in orange, the average; and in purple, the median.

As we can see from this first graph, a significant amount of time was spent on maps b2_01 and b2_02.

This is normal since these maps are quite large and introduce new mechanics and monsters.
The number of deaths/time spent was particularly high on these maps, considering they are relatively early in the game.

Therefore, we have decided to make modifications to these maps to make them less punishing and facilitate learning.

To measure the impact of our modifications, we calculated the number of deaths per map per day.
This provides a more meaningful perspective.

[h3]Deaths by map, day 1[/h3]

The first day of playtesting was busy in terms of session numbers, as if you all wanted to be the "first" ones, haha.



In any case, we can observe a sharp spike in deaths on maps b2_01 and b2_02, followed by a second spike on maps b2_06 and b2_07.

The second spike is not as problematic; b2_06 is a rather technical map where players are being chased, and b2_07 is the map with the first mini-boss.

Therefore, we didn't make major modifications to these maps, just some fixes.
However, as mentioned earlier, we made modifications to b2_01 and b2_02.


[h3]Deaths by map, day 2[/h3]

On Day 2, we can observe a slight decrease in deaths on b2_01, but it's not sufficient for b2_02.



There was a sequence of monsters/spikes that was quite challenging, and it was easy to fall into an "infernal spiral" and lose all of your health very quickly.
Therefore, we continued to make modifications to that specific map.

[h3]Deaths by map, day 3[/h3]

On this graph, we can observe a positive trend with a significant decrease in the average and median number of deaths on the problematic maps.



We continued to make some adjustments here and there, as you can see from the overall graph progression.

Day 3 had the lowest number of playtests, so we had fewer data points, and the analysis continues on Days 4 and 5 to confirm that the modifications are effective.


[h3]Deaths by map, day 4[/h3]


The downward trend is confirmed on Day 4.


[h3]Deaths by map, day 5[/h3]


Once again, the trend is confirmed on the 5th day, so we have validated the modifications made to those maps.

Naturally, if we look at the "maximum" number, we might be inclined to be influenced, which is why it is important to look at the average and median curves as well! We also analyze the "min" and "max" curves because in some cases, they can be revealing.


[h2]Why is it so important / Which curve is considered "good"?[/h2]
You might be wondering why we are putting so much effort into reducing the number of deaths on these particular maps.

As you know, I like to explain what happens behind the scenes in video game development.

Having a high number of deaths on a map can potentially lead to player frustration and even rage quitting, especially when the map is at the beginning of the game and the player hasn't fully engaged with it yet. It's easy to think, "This game sucks," and quit. However, as players become more immersed in the game, invested in the story or other elements, their tolerance for persistence increases. Similarly, when the stakes seem higher, death becomes more acceptable.

I can summarize this with the following statement: "Dying to an ant is frustrating, but dying to the first boss is expected."

And that's what this curve represents.

Our mistake as game designers was trying to introduce too many new elements at the beginning of Biome 2. As players, you weren't familiar with these monsters, and having too many of them at once, with tight placements and new behaviors, led to a higher-than-desired number of deaths.

Working on these maps was challenging because they were well-designed from the start, but not impossible to improve.

Additionally, I believe it will be necessary to add one or two maps that precede these challenging ones, allowing more time for fun and gradual discovery. Some players enjoy the hardcore aspect, but personally, I prefer a softer introduction, especially since a few maps later, the difficulty spike returns. However, the game is worth it, and the challenge is impressive enough not to frustrate players with repetitive deaths.

[h3]Total damage per enemy[/h3]

This graph isn't particularly meaningful because the total number of deaths or damage changes depending on the frequency at which an object/monster appears.

However, I find the numbers and graphs amusing, so we're sharing these graphs with you.


[h3]Total deaths per enemy[/h3]


[h2]What are the dates for the upcoming sessions/beta?[/h2]
We know that we want to have more sessions, but we're not sure about the exact dates yet! I think we'll have another session at the end of July, and maybe one last session in August!

The closed beta is expected to arrive in September/October! (we'll do our best ).

Until then, we'll be working hard to continue the game production, and we'll keep you updated on the dates.


[h2]The final name reveal is scheduled for Wednesday, July 12th at 8 PM (French time) in a live stream on our Twitch channel![/h2]
We've been waiting for this moment for a while. Join us on our Twitch channel on July 12th. We'll discuss the game, have a little Q&A session, and finally unveil the new game trailer along with the name reveal!

We hope to see you there

Our Twitch channel is located at: https://www.twitch.tv/dreamirl

And if you haven't already, we invite you to join the official Discord server, a place for discussion and chat about the game.

PS: please check your private message on Kickstarter / your email, as we sent a message to each beta backer.

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 04/21/2023


Hello everyone!

Once again, this article is directly written by Inateno for simplicity in writing.

A closer look at biome 2: an underground and labyrinthine biome in which you will face creatures capable of moving on walls and ceilings.

Creatures that will chase you and jump on you!

Today, I propose to delve a little into the content offered by this biome, but I still keep a lot of surprises for you.

Biome 2 therefore requires a type of enemy that can walk on walls, ceilings, and jump on us. And as you may already suspect, we naturally thought of spiders. Except that many of you are arachnophobic. After realizing this, we changed our plans.

Last time, I talked about my inspirations for creating Gold Project. Today, I will explain how and why we decided to remove the visual designs of spiders in the game, and what we replaced them with!

PS: throughout this article, I will show spider designs in pixel-art, no real spider images. I hope arachnophobes won't be too scared seeing these images, I apologize in advance if it bothered you.

Choosing spiders to meet the need for "monsters that walk on walls and ceilings" was obvious to us, so without thinking much, we started making this kind of design.



For non-arachnophobic individuals, it may seem cool. After some in-game tests, it was quite successful. Being chased by numerous spiders without any environment or music was already oppressive. That's exactly what we wanted... but.

But here's the thing, we didn't consider arachnophobia and how many players it affects.

After showing our progress to a friend who also works in the gaming industry, he mentioned arachnophobia and the fact that it affects nearly 30% of players!

We realized that we would have a problem, and surprisingly, we don't have anyone on the team who is arachnophobic... so we just didn't think about it.


[h2]Changing the spider design to something else...[/h2]

From a Game Design point of view, changing the spiders to "something else" is not a problem as long as the gameplay is respected, so we started discussing it.

In a previous article "DEV BLOG #4 - How we create monsters in Gold" I told you that sometimes monsters are created based on a joke.

Well, that's exactly what happened with these monsters!

After all, in the game's story, the monsters of shadows and gold are humans corrupted by gold to the point where they transform into deformed creatures.

So we came up with the idea of making monsters composed of arms and legs, like creepy assemblages.

And the drawing result was pretty cool in my opinion!


A first test sheet "spiders for arachnophobes"

[h3]A drawing is not pixel art[/h3]
Drawing on paper and making pixel-art are two different things.

If we create concepts as drawings, they may not necessarily work when converted into pixel art.


There are issues with readability, detail, and resolution. And in our specific case with Gold, there is a crucial factor: the monsters are all black with very little red/gold detail. Having a solid-colored body can blur the readability on potato-like shapes. To explain it simply, having a leg that passes in front of the body will be completely invisible with only one color.

Here's a diagram to illustrate the explanation.


PS: This is a high-quality diagram made on PAINT.net. There's a reason why I'm not the one doing the pixel art in the game!

I think you've got the idea. However, we'll still show you the pixelated version we ended up with.


Finally, we ended up with something completely different, which is not a spider.

Here is a new concept sheet to try to find readable monsters. Of course, not all of them are in the game. On this sheet, only 2 monsters have been selected.


[h3]The Boss of Biome 2, an exception to the rule[/h3]

I want to clarify that we still kept a design inspired by a spider for biome 2.

Named "the golden widow," we tried to avoid the small triggers that cause arachnophobia as much as possible.

After showing this design to several people who agreed to participate in our survey, it turns out that this boss, half-woman, half-spider, is "acceptable."


If this design has bothered you too much, I apologize, don't hesitate to come and discuss it with me either on Discord or on Twitter, we will do our best to adjust the design of this boss if we can get new data.

In your opinion, what will be the attacks of this boss?


[h3]General game progression, playtesting, and Beta access[/h3]

Many of you are asking us where we are, when will the Kickstarter rewards be delivered, what is the release date of the game, and when will the beta start.

For now, I can tell you that we are on schedule. The arachnophobia topic caused a bit of a delay in December, but we caught up, and overall, things are on track.

We want to do the playtest quickly, but I can't promise anything in terms of dates, so you'll have to be patient. The same goes for the beta. We are quite demanding on the version we will give you. A little more patience, but it's worth it!

That said, I can detail a bit the difference between beta and playtest:

• playtest = a version with a lot of missing visuals, few sounds and music, placeholders / blockouts, empty or missing maps, an incomplete game.
  
• beta = a game almost finished, some content is missing but the majority of the sounds and visuals are integrated into the game and the game is playable in most parts.
  

• the final mega boss
  
• the skill tree
  
• finalize the world map
  
• and bugs, as you can imagine!
  

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 03/10/2023

Many of you have asked us about it, and the "late Kickstarter" store is now available!

To keep exclusivity for Kickstarter participants, we have significantly changed the prices of certain packs and have not added all of them. It is still possible to join the "beta" or to have a tombstone with your name in the game.

Remember, pre-ordering the game provides us with considerable support to finish the game (thus allowing us to spend more time on the game and less time on client orders).


All information and articles have been compiled in one place: Gold Project


[h2]FAQ[/h2]
Will the price of the game increase?

Yes, the final price is expected to be 20 on PC and a little more on consoles (not yet defined). Crowdfunding and pre-orders help us a lot, so we want to keep a preferential price for buying the game!


Pre-order the game, Digital edition

How will I receive the game once it is released?

We will contact you to find out which platform you want to receive the game on.


If I purchase beta access, can I play on a console?

The beta is only available on PC! If you want the game on a console, no problem. You can participate in the beta on PC and then receive the game on the console of your choice!


Pre-order the game + beta access

Why is the physical pack so expensive? A game usually costs around 40 to 70.

You are not buying a game off the shelf at fnac. The purpose of this campaign is to support us financially! The price is higher because producing a small number of physical editions is expensive. Furthermore, it is an exclusive collector's edition. If the game is released in a physical edition later (which we hope), it will not be the same box! Also, in the pack, you will receive a "Tarot" card game. You will also have access to the beta on PC.


Pre-order the game - physical collector edition

If I buy "The Collector" pack, when will I receive the products, and how can I indicate my T-shirt size and name on the tombstone?

We will contact you to ask for your size, name, and confirm the address.


Pre-order the game - The Collector package with your name on a grave and a lot of things!

[h3]Until when can we pre-order the game?[/h3]

The game is scheduled to be released at the end of this year. We do not plan to release it in early access. The store will close a few months before the game's release, so you should be able to pre-order the game via our store until early summer! After that, it will no longer be possible to obtain limited editions or preferential rates, and you will have to buy the game directly from the relevant platform!


[h3]I have another question, where can I ask it?[/h3]

Anywhere! Whether it's here in the comments, on Discord, or on social media, we strive to be attentive to all messages.


[h3]BONUS: Two new monsters![/h3]
As you know by now, we are cautious about revealing visual things about the game. Not because there is nothing to show or that we don't want to, but because we want everything to be "perfect".

Nevertheless, we are making good progress, and over time we have things to show you.

Let's start by telling you about a new monster.

In a previous article, we told you about how we create monsters.

Today, a new monster has been added to the overall list. Initially, we had an idea that was difficult to realize (and we lost a lot of time on it).

Finally, we concluded that it would be something completely different. So, a new monster. And if we talk to you about this one rather than another, it's because it has a very specific behavior.


[h3]Halfway between a boss, a monster, and something invincible.[/h3]

This monster exists only once in the game, like a boss.

It will be present in several places in the game, exerting pressure on you, and will follow you throughout your progress.

It will be possible to confront and kill it, which is totally optional but possible (and it will be rather difficult and different from all the other monsters in the game).

It's hard to say more without spoiling it for you! So we will keep its appearance secret until the game is released.

And to conclude this article, here's the appearance of a monster we've never talked about before!

An animation sheet of the "Raging Berserker" monster, which is a "Hard" level monster.


One attack of the Berserker - Animation is not final

We won't say more to let you imagine the gameplay of such a creature!

We hope you like this visual and that it makes you want to face this monster!

We'll be back soon with an article titled "We planned spiders but decided to remove them, here's why."


See you soon!

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 03/02/2023

Hello everyone!

Today, Inateno is writing directly to you!

I hope you're doing well and found the previous articles interesting to read.

In this new article, I want to address a rather personal and subjective topic: what are the inspirations for Gold Project?

This is a question that comes up often, so I thought it would be interesting to discuss.

But before we dive into that, let's talk about the development progression!


[h2]Game Design and Level Design:[/h2]

Since the last update, we've made progress on new bosses and continued our work on biomes 3 and 4. We have 2 bosses left to design and some areas of the game that are not yet fully defined.

While the level design work won't be finished until the last minute, we can still consider it well advanced! In fact, almost all of Biome 2 is completed, Biome 3 is 70% done, and Biome 4 is 30% done (these are estimates, but as it's mainly my work, I don't think I'm too far off).

I estimate that we'll finish all of this work by April or May, but of course, there will be plenty of improvements to make after playtesting.


[h3]Programming:[/h3]

On the technical side, things are going well. We had some small delays in February due to other work not related to Gold, but since our refactoring, we're going faster! Bosses 1, 2, and 3 are finished, and we're happy with them (although they'll likely need some tweaking after playtesting). We still have 3 bosses to make (making a total of 6 bosses planned so far).

We've developed the mini-map, although it's not finished. We still have the skill tree to do, but the game mechanics and monsters AI are all finished or nearly finished.

By April, we think the game will be technically finished, and we can start preparing for publication on platforms and porting to consoles! And if all goes well, we can start a new project? We'll see!


[h3]Visual Art:[/h3]

We had some scheduling complications, especially with monsters. But since early February, we've had a bit of help from Christopher Legecky, who worked on the great "Stoneshard" and is helping our team sharpen its skills!

The monsters are therefore progressing at a slower pace than programming, but it won't delay the game's release (still planned for the end of 2023!). We have about 10 monsters and 2 mini-bosses to do, and they're currently in progress. The hardest part was deciding on their look (as discussed in the previous article) and how we were going to represent certain types of monsters.

Also, we had planned to include spiders, but we realized that arachnophobia was more prevalent than we had imagined! So we decided to remove aggressive spider designs and rework our designs while keeping something coherent with the gameplay. No teasing for now! We hope arachnophobes will appreciate this decision and the new designs!

Bosses take time, and none are fully finished yet, but the 3 bosses that are already implemented have their visuals. We're excited to see them come to life in the game's setting!

On the environmental side, Biome 1 has been finished since the January announcement, Biome 2 is almost finished, and Biome 3 is well advanced! The longest part will be dressing up the levels.


[h3]On the Audio and Music side:[/h3]

Not much to say on this front, mostly research and testing. It's hard to make concrete progress until the game's rhythm is finalized!

Well, we've been repeating the same thing for a while now, so to make it up to you, here's an exclusive sneak peek of one of the famous tests, created by Sarys.

I want to make it clear that this is an ultra-wip test, absolutely nothing is final or even planned for this track, it may not even make it into the game!



With this little update, I hope you have a good idea of "where we're at".

Now, let's talk about inspirations.


[h3]My inspirations for Gold Project[/h3]
I specify that what follows concerns only me "Inateno".

As Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, and Producer on the game, my inspirations inevitably have an impact on my part of the work, and it is very subjective. I can't talk in the name of the other members of the team about this.

Visual artists have their own inspirations, as do Sarys and MisterMV for music. Finally, people who do programming, such as Quentin or Maxime, also have their own inspirations when they will create a Boss, an attack, or a pattern.

Each person who works on the project brings their personal touch, influenced by their own inspirations.

My work directly impacts the player's feeling in terms of their progression and discovery in the game world, and maybe when you play the game, you will see them.


https://www.reddit.com/r/castlevania/comments/av6259/made_a_metroidvania_map/

If you want to discuss this kind of subject with me via Discord, it is possible. Do not hesitate to tell me what you like and what you don't like, maybe it will give me some ideas.

My love for metroidvanias genre began quite early in my life as a gamer. I had the Game Boy Color as my first console (before that, it was mostly at my parents friends houses that I could play on consoles, like the NES or the Saturn).

A little personal note, I'm just in my thirties. So if you're a few years older than me, it might make you smile, and if you're ten years younger, maybe you won't understand all the references. A good opportunity to learn about old or recent games (because you'll see, there's everything).

As far as I can remember, I think it was Castlevania on Game Boy Color that was my first contact, and frankly not the best since I didn't keep the game and I don't have more memories than that (I couldn't even name the exact opus, don't blame me). On the other hand, Metroid Fusionon Game Boy Advance was a revelation of the genre for me, and I just loved the game.



Since that game, I have played many games of the genre without even realizing it. There are obviously about all the Metroids that have passed through my hands, some Castlevanias (I'm a fan of that franchise).

Here is a list, ordered by release date, of some games that I remember that are "recognized" as metroidvania games (I deliberately exclude Metroids and Castlevania):

• Tails Adventure (sur Game Gear)
  
• Tombi! (sur Playstation) que je navais pas spcialement aim au passage
  
• VVVVVV (2010)
  
• Capsized (2011)
  
• Cave Story+ (2011)
  
• Hell Yeah! (2012)
  
• Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (2012)
  
• Gateways (2012)
  
• Toki Tori 2+ (2013)
  
• Antichamber (2013)
  
• Fez (2013)
  
• Dust: An Elysian Tail (2013
  
• Guacamelee! (2013)
  
• La Mulana (2013)
  
• Finding Teddy (2013)
  
• Steamworld Dig (2013, pas vraiment reconnu comme un metroidvania)
  
• Unepic (2014)
  
• Axiom Verge (2015)
  
• Chronicles of Teddy (2015) maybe I am not objective about this one as it is a friend who made it, same for Finding Teddy
  
• Wuppo (2016)
  
• Hollow Knight (2017)
  
• Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition (2018)
  

• I don't like games that are too much like Beat'em all with little variety and little platforming, like Dust an Elysian Tail, for example.
  
• I don't like it when there are too many gradual skills that give access here and there, in a repetitive way, like Metroid Dread, for example.
  
• I don't like it when the game world is way too big and unguided to the point of running around for 30 minutes for no reason, like in Hollow Knight, for example.
  
• I don't like it when "you must go here" is displayed too obviously on a map.
  
• I don't like maps that are not very useful and don't allow us to optimize our routes.
  

• I like a streamlined combat system, with a diversity of enemies and AI, like in Hollow Knight.
  
• I like a game in which we have the freedom of choice and order, and our skill makes the difference, like in Zelda BotW.
  
• I like a game in which we're not guided by the hand like a child, but the world's construction was designed so that we don't get lost, like in Metroid Dread.
  
• I like a game in which platforming is present, sometimes challenging, often satisfying, but not hardcore, like in Hollow Knight and Metroid Dread.
  
• I like skill and character improvement systems (life, for example), but I don't like it when it's abusive and can make a difference, or even required to finish the game.
  
• I like a detailed map that allows me to really "see the game world" and lets me try to guess what might be in a certain place, without being an active GPS that takes me by the hand.
  
• I like to have a story present and linked to progression, but I have no preference between "a lot of story" and "little story," I like both.
  

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 01/08/2023

Good news fella ! Today we are showing you some images

Of course, everything is not final and can change over the coming months.

We thought it would be cool to explain the process of creating monsters in the game.


[h2]What is the beginning ?[/h2]
Its a famous question players ask us many times how do you start the work ?. And the answer can sound frustrating as there is not one answer.

Sometimes the process will start with a quick drawing giving us ideas, it can also be based on a joke while chatting with the team. Or it can be when we try things in the code and something not planned happens (here comes the famous its not a bug, its a feature).

As there is no specific order or rules, we will try to explain those different steps.
Remember we do not use all of those steps in an exclusive way.

Before digging in, we must know what we need to make a monster.


[h3]How to make monsters by filling the games needs[/h3]
A bit of Game Design is required. When talking about needs of the game it will be: We need a monster who can

• fly
  
• have ranged attack
  
• walk on the ceiling
  
• blind the player
  
• jump in a specific way
  
• etc
  

• do not let the player jump over it
  
• force the player to do a specific action
  
• induce the player to go to a specific place
  

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 12/11/2022

Hello everyone!

Its already December, the end of the year is coming and today in this new blog post we wanted to do a global summary about what we have done so far, what is left and what is coming in 2023!

As a reminder, we had 4 biomes planned, a fifth has been unlocked with the KS stretchgoals. 19 monsters are planned, 3 mini-bosses and 6 bosses. When we are talking about progression there are many things to consider and Ill try to list all of them:

• Conception (Game Design)
  
• Technical stuff (mostly Programing)
  
• The artistic realization
  
• Integration (including assets in the project, tweaking, etc)
  
• validation (when everyone is happy of what we have)
  

• All the monsters in the game (AI code and behaviors).
  
• 2 Bosses, AI and behaviors (as mentioned above).
  
• Game mechanics for the biome 1, 2 and 3.
  
• The interactive world map.
  
• New karma system.
  
• The progression of the character (experience, unlock skills).
  
• The main skills of the character.
  
• Some optional skills.
  

• backers with The Collector tier, you can now claim a grave in the game with your name on it.
  

• backers with The Renowned tier, you will now get the chance to design with us a personalized statue with your name on it, that will be added to the game at release (we will reach out to you to organize a call with us to tell us what youd like as a statuette)
  

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 10/28/2022

Hello everyone, this is the second dev blog post about the Gold Project.

Today it is Inateno whos gonna talk about Game Design.
In order to make the writing and the reading easier, this dev blog is made using the first person.


Before jumping in, it is maybe useful to explain what is Game Design because it is something people heard a lot, but the meaning is probably unclear for you.

Most of the time, some people confuse design with something that is visual or is somehow related to visual arts.

To make it short, the Game Design is the making of the rules and mechanics which allow the game to exist and run, in order to let you live an experience (what you feel by playing).

When we say rules it is for example when the HP reaches 0 the player is dead.
When we say mechanics it is for example activate a switch.

Seems pretty simple right?

Today the focus is made on the mechanic of Karma and everything involved.

Some other aspects of the Game Design will be concerned, but we do our best to keep you away from the spoil, so this article is pretty safe.

The idea behind this dev blog is to explain how we represent Karma in order to create rules.

The word Karma is most of the time understood as good and evil (and you probably think about the game Fable right now). Some others use this word to describe the fact you receive good after being good, and bad after being bad.



Fable 3 screenshot and the Karma system.
Fable 3 screenshot and the Karma system.
We tend to think that Karma is the binary opposition of two states, like on and off.

And if, for most of the people, Karma is good or evil without anything in between, when you deep the definitions around the Karma and the origin coming from the Buddhism, we find this:
In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to actions driven by intention, a deed done deliberately through body, speech or mind, which leads to future consequences.

Make it short, Karma is a series of actions which will change destiny.

We decided to use the gauge of Karma with two ends, because it is the most simple form to understand it and draw it. You can be Luminated or Golded with a graduation.



Screenshot of the prototype during the preproduction with the old Karma system.
Screenshot of the prototype during the preproduction with the old Karma system.
It could have been more complicated, and it is pretty hard to make something that works without perturbing all the ecosystem of the game, including people (you !) must understand it, and many designers forget this and create overwhelming mechanics.

I have to say it again, none of the Light or Gold is good or evil, you can think that if its make you feel more comfortable or is easier to understand (and there is no problem with it), but you will be able to understand the true deepness of what we wanted to create by searching everywhere in the game!

At the beginning of the preproduction (before the prototype) we wanted to change the impact on the Karma each time you kill and absorb an enemy. This was laborious and boring. Too much repetitive.

Also the fact that you can change the balance of the Karma in any place was a huge problem and it was possible to lock the player in the game (while becoming Gold in a place you shouldnt be Gold for example).

It was required to think about this entire mechanic to find something more interesting that works with every part of the game.

As explained in the first dev blog, now you will have to find statues and decide to enlight/golden it, this will give a ratio and define your allegiance.

Those statues will also be used as checkpoints.

Sadly, I cant reveal everything hidden behind the statues without spoiling you and ruining the plot of the game, but some details can be explained.


[h3]The impact of Karma in the world, and the progression of the Player.[/h3]

I explained this quickly in the last dev blog:

> Now, the change in the level design will occur not by blocks but will be completely different levels with different paths.

> It is more work for us since we will have to make the same map many times, but we will have more control over the rendering and avoid cringe/buggy situations.

And as I said, it will require more work but we will have better control over the rendering and the pathing through the game.

I cannot show you a final rendering today, but I can show you some blockout levels to explain how it works.

PS: the following screenshots are what we call blockout or "blocking", it means this is how we design levels from a technical point of view.
It is not supposed to reflect the final rendering.
If you are curious about this, I suggest you should check on Twitter with the hashtag "blocktober", you can see many many games and I always like to watch how the others are doing! https://twitter.com/hashtag/Blocktober?src=hashtag_click



Blockout screenshot in Uncharted.
Blockout screenshot in Uncharted.
I must let you know this: the levels Im gonna show you are not final.
As designers we do dozens of test levels and we do many versions with different patterns, difficulty, monsters, and whatever can change before we keep only the best.

Then, once we decide which version we keep for the final game, we start again working on this level in order to adjust it to make the Level Art (what makes the game beautiful).

This can seem frustrating as we throw away a lot of work, but this is how we must proceed to have a result we like, and sometimes I wish I have more time to do more iterations, but we are ruled by time and money.

Final words, this iterative process lets us make very hard levels and pretty simple levels. We have some difficulty grades, types, and we can freely try anything without considering the biome we are working on.

This work is made before we think about the biome it will go in, and is a good process to make it easier for integration in the world, and adjust the difficulty.

Here is a level of Light.
The red line is the path of the player.


A level under the influence of Light.

And the same thing but with Gold.

A level under the influence of Gold.

Of course this example is an easy one. There is only one level that can change without changing the pathing.

But we can have different situations, and even if the end of the path remains the same, all the pathing, enemies and difficulty will be different.

One precision in case it is not clear, you cannot go in a Light Level while being Golden.

Here is a new example, a bit more complex, with many levels.
First, the Gold version.


A set of Gold Levels.

And the Light version.

A set of Light Levels.

[h3]How to find your way as a player[/h3]

In a metroidvania, the ability to find your way / use a map is crucial.

What will happen about those Karma areas is that when you find a Light level, it will show up on the mini-map.
But once you are Golden, each level of Light will disappear and show unknown fog again, until you discover those Gold levels.

The discovery of levels is saved so when you go back to Light, all the knowledge you had is preserved and restored into the mini-map.

We are thinking about a feature that could display both versions of the world at the same time, like a layer system, but we want to avoid adding complexity over things that are already complex by design.

The path, doors, and access will be visible on the mini-map. That way you will be able to analyze and understand what are the possible paths and guess which place you didnt find.


[h3]How are you sure that we can't get stuck with this mechanic?[/h3]

We changed all the systems to use statues.

Those statues will be placed at strategic places, outside of Karma zones.
So we have control over the quantity and the placement.

What we have to do is: be sure that every place of statues can be accessed at any time, whatever is your allegiance.


Change the side of the Karma

As previously explained, it is the ratio of all the active statues that will define your allegiance (and the level).

To change/reinforce it, you have to backtrack the game to change the statues already active, or keep going through the game to find new ones.

You will have many opportunities to go back to a known place because weve made the progression that way (a bit like in Metroid Dreads).

That way the pure backtrack is not required. What you will do depends on you and what you want to do, when.


[h3]The level of allegiance
[/h3]
The level of allegiance increases with the Karma gauge. The more you are dedicated to a god, the more your allegiance level increases!

This will let you unlock new skills but also some new paths.

It will be interesting for you to try it, if you want to discover everything in the game!

Right now, I cant talk much about this without spoiling you too much and trust me, this would ruin the best part of the game.

I will talk more about the allegiance levels in a future dev blog which will talk about skills.

The Karma is the main mechanic that will let you change the paths in the world of Gold Project,

Pay attention to the details, be curious and maybe we will find what we are hiding!

Also, and last thing for today: the Karma will have an impact on the end of the game.


I hope this new dev blog was cool to read and interesting. Until the next one, see you on the Discord !

Hello everyone!

We haven't been very active on Steam, and we apologize for that.
In order to have a continuous thread of DEV BLOG updates, we have decided to repost the articles originally posted on Kickstarter.

The other articles will follow shortly, and we hope you will enjoy reading them!

-- this article was originally posted: 09/02/2022

So here is the first post-campaign update of Project Gold!

First we apologize for the months of silence. We know you are a lot awaiting news of the game and we decided to not talk before we have enough to tell.

Making a game is not something to be rushed. It is a marathon and we decided to take the time we need to set up every required process in the team and for the production.

Today, we cannot show you anything yet because we want to show you the final rendering of the game. But time flies and we did not inform you of what was going on.

This post is only written stuff, and we will try to make others devblogs to tell the progress, what we are doing and where we are going.
And when we have the chance, we will show you very nice things!

Be aware, if you want to keep aside any kind of spoiler (even small) and discover the whole game once finished, you probably should stop reading from here, the goal of a devblog is to show and explain a part of our work.

Of course, we wont spoil the whole game and even if you decide to read this post, you will have plenty of things and secrets to discover!

Our goal is to reward curious players, be attentive to everything and maybe you will be able to find the mysteries we are hiding in the game.


[h3]What is the production status?[/h3]

Since the release of the playable prototype and the video made by MisterMV, we received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative.

Before working on the content of the game, we decided to:

• rework some game mechanics that were not that fun
  
• complete the documentation of the world and everything attached to it (what do we do, when, where, this is Game Design)
  
• rework the art rendering (we are excited to show it)
  
• rework most of our game engine, essentially the physics, in order to create new game mechanics (physic is always fun)