[img=http://www.acidwizardstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/alpha2-1024x576.jpg] Rejoice, mortals! Alpha 2 is here, just in time for Halloween! With it, changes big and small! This update focuses mainly on a huge rewrite of some of our back-end systems, meaning they are now more optimized, less buggy and allow for some cool stuff to happen. Highlights:

Brand new world

We basically rewrote the whole world generation system. The main thing you will notice is that the biomes are now grouped together, and getting through to the next biome requires a trip through a “gate” location. Borders are much more interesting now, and aren’t only impenetrable walls. [img=http://www.acidwizardstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mapa_alpha2-1024x1006.jpg] This system allows for a lot of new cool stuff. We’re tingling in excitement just thinking of the possibilities in future updates! For now, the benefits of this approach are mostly visible through better pacing (easier in the beginning, harder at the end of chapter 1), more rewarding exploration, more interesting navigation, and a better sense of progression. Even though we optimized the generation script quite a lot, the new world is now about 50% larger than the previous one, and in result creating a new one takes more or less the same amount of time. This will of course be optimized in the future. Some parts of the procedural generation system are turned off for now to avoid some bugs.

Modified combat

Combat in Darkwood is supposed to be slow, tactical, but lethal. It may be unintuitive at first, as you can’t spam attacks like in every other game with this perspective, but it is a lot of fun when you get used to it. We worked on it in this update to make it more responsive, but also made the Secondary Attack and Dodge skills available right from the start.

Optimizations and fixes

There are a ton of optimizations to pretty much everything. Less stuttering, better performance! We also fixed most of the reported bugs (including the dreaded Mac crash and disappearing Wolfman!). However, a lot of new features were added, which still need to be polished.

And also:

- New hideouts! Nights are different based on the hideout you are sleeping in. - New content to be found in the wilderness. - Wood is more plentiful, but to make use of it, you need to convert it to planks with the new Saw object. - New shader for trees. - Friend of the Forest skill has been nerfed. Animals will be less aggressive, instead of befriending you. - Rebalances to loot and enemies. - And a lot of other smaller (or secret) changes! We are pleased how these changes add to the game, and hope you feel the same! This is hopefully the last BIG rewrite of any of the systems, and we can return to more frequent updates. We would also like to thank our awesome testers for their hard work on hunting bugs! <3 Remember, the Acid Wizard sees all, so post your feedback on our forums or here on Steam!

[ 2014-10-30 15:53:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

PLEASE READ BEFORE BUYING:
Darkwood is in Early Access right now. This means that:
- The game will have bugs (ranging from minor annoyances to not being able to run the game at all) and will change during development.
- Your savegames will NOT be compatible between updates.
- New versions will be released in 1-2 month intervals.
- The difficulty will be unbalanced and unfair.
It is strongly recommended you ONLY buy the game if you want to influence the development. Otherwise, please wait for the final release.

PLEASE READ THE KNOWN ISSUES THREAD BEFORE BUYING

Darkwood is a unforgiving survival horror with a procedurally generated, open world. By blending RPG, roguelike and adventure elements together with a challenging difficulty, Darkwood aims to please players craving for a deep and rewarding experience.

The fear of unknown is powerful. Your senses will be deceived by Darkwood's surreal terrors. No answer will be given to you for free, yet somewhere in the woods lies the truth, an explanation to what has happened in this godforsaken place.

• By day, explore the randomly generated woods, scavenge for materials and weapons, discover secrets, solve mysteries and talk, trade with or kill the various inhabitants of Darkwood.
  
• By night, return to your hideout, barricade, set up traps and hide or defend yourself from the horrors that lurk in the dark.
  
• Gain skills or perks by extracting essence from mutated fauna and flora and injecting it into your bloodstream.
  
• Each action you take will have impact on Darkwood and its inhabitants. The choices you make will define the story which you will experience.
  
• As days go by, the lines between reality and nightmarish fantasies will begin to blur. You will start to question the protagonist's sanity, but may also stumble upon your own hidden fears...