Jupiter Hell 1.3 "Valhalla" brings an overhaul to Callisto branches and mainline, a new boss at Valhalla Spaceport, level generation improvements, manufacturer perks, slowing smoke, experimental localization (Polish and German for now) and secrets! [previewyoutube=8vzw5q9DEII;full][/previewyoutube] There's one big secret in the game, for which you won't find spoilers anywhere, but hopefully the search for it will stir the community - jump by the Jupiter Hell discord if you want to take part in the hunt! https://discord.gg/jupiterhell Read down below for details! But first...

== Special Offer ==

The Valhalla update calls for a special 30% discount - the biggest one yet! - and for something more... Viking-ish to add to the mix. If you like tactics, chances are you also like strategy. If you enjoy traditional roguelikes, you may get a kick out of discovering modern RTS games. If you love to control every careful step of a bad-ass space-marine, you may also like ordering around hosts of broad-shouldered Vikings. Yeah... I've got nothing. It's a low-fantasy RTS bundled with a horror/Sci-Fi roguelike. Because after all, why wouldn't you want to try something different? https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/25281/ Frozenheim is a serene Norse city builder with elaborate management gameplay and RTS tactical combat. Lead your Viking clan through hardships of the frozen north, season by season, year after year. Build and survive. Set sail, explore and conquer. Win Odins favor and secure your place in Valhalla! If you already own one, you can get the other at an extra 10% discount (on top of any other discounts that might be active at the time). Enjoy! And now... back to our regular schedule.

== Valhalla Spaceport ==

Spaceport, the final Callisto level, got a rework! Not only is the level generator significantly improved, the mechanics and visuals improved, but there's a new boss that guards the path to the Europa Dropship! All praise the Callisto Warden, and be carful not to damage him too much at once ;).

== Callisto Rework ==

All of Callisto special levels and level generators have been revisited. Each branch has now it's own special mechanic that affects the final special level, and sometimes the rest of Callisto or even the rest of the game! Level generators both in the branches as well as in the mainline have been improved and the two special levels accessible from mainline also got reward, generator and mechanical improvements! Each branch also has a manufacturer perk - EVERY non-Unique and non-ADV weapon (exotics ARE included) that spawns there will have an extra free perk that is dependent on the branch! Currently there are three manufacturers with three separate effects - JS (JoviSec), VS (ValSec) and MDF (Mimir Defence Force). The effects are minor but if modded (or on an exotic) can really push the capabilities of the weapon!

== Gameplay Changes ==

This release we focused on what you explore and not who you are, but one big mechanical change has snuck in - Smoke (but not gas!) now slows movement of anyone standing in it. However, the technician, master of smoke, is immune to this effect! Not only does this increase the utility of smoke grenades, but also improves the disengage mechanics of the tech, and provides more utility to non-Toxicologist builds! There are some slight buffs to a few post-Callisto enemies - the Callisto loot is now much better, so we wanted to keep the difficulty curve consistent. More of such changes will come with 1.4. As Callisto L2 was always the most boring level that stood between you and the game getting interesting, we made it so that it generates at 2/3 size and 2/3 enemies so you can get to the mid-game quicker :P. Cover tiles are no longer made of paper, duh.

== Visual Improvements ==

Each generator that we revisited has been enhanced with more visual details, as well as we finally added tech that allows for decals to be placed on generation - Callisto levels now have a bit of blood scattered in them, and we'll use this tech for further improvements down the line! You'll also notice that we also implemented lighting/state control - this can be currently observed by the effect you get on Lockdown events - more is yet to come! Lighting and particle effects have been slightly improved in many places, and more light sources placed in Callisto levels (it was f*&*^ng dark there -_-).

== Other Stuff ==

The big thing is probably experimental localization support - we start off with Polish and German, but more languages will come! The localization is against the last update, so new stuff will appear in English, we'll patch that soon :). Please report any misaligned strings though, and any potential crashes (hopefully none!)! Several minor changes have been done, and a regular batch of bugfixes (see details below).

== Raw Changelog ==

Release 1.3 - Valhalla - March 14th, 2022 NEW #1684 - welcome the CalSec Warden, the new boss of Callisto! NEW #1662 - Valhalla Terminal branch/special rework! NEW #1666 - Mimir Habitat branch/special rework! NEW #1664 - Callisto Rift branch/special rework! NEW #1665 - Callisto Mines branch/special rework! NEW #1696 - regular/exotic weapons can have a manufacturer perk! NEW #1704 - smoke causes Slow -25%, techs are immune to this NEW #1680 - [REDACTED] CHANGE #1697 - improved Barracks/Docks and their rewards CHANGE #1684 - Valhalla Spaceport got a facelift and mechanics CHANGE #1702 - Callisto L2 is 2/3 size (and enemy count) CHANGE #1604 - Callisto L1-L3 generators improved CHANGE #1709 - improved Callisto security textures for visibility CHANGE #1604 - improved lighting in all Callisto levels CHANGE #1604 - added random decals (mostly blood) in Callisto CHANGE #0416 - destroyed doors will lose their icons CHANGE #0416 - minor changes to door icons and icon color CHANGE #1670 - Gunrunner reloads both weapons on move if dualwield CHANGE #1668 - all ravagers get +20 health CHANGE #1668 - guardian shell back to 80% CHANGE #1700 - increased cover health CHANGE #1661 - target reticule on big enemies is expanded CHANGE #1682 - big enemies are visible as long as any tile is CHANGE #1683 - every big enemy tile can be targeted CHANGE #1688 - friendly units wont attack disabled enemies CHANGE #1688 - Shutdown CalSec gives XP at level enter, not instant CHANGE #1696 - JS revolver renamed to ".44 HE revolver" CHANGE #1702 - The Pit has a safe zone around elevator CHANGE #1604 - bumping vending machines drops their content CHANGE #1672 - Endless L1 will never generate events CHANGE #1702 - L2 infestations are smaller CHANGE #1674 - several minor lighting sources have been adjusted CHANGE #1674 - several particle sources have been adjusted FIX #1693 - Toxicologist L2 converts smoke 'nades (was L3) FIX #1671 - medusa's Slithering shows percentage again FIX #0416 - you can no longer close the destroyed half of a door

== What's Next? ==

Next up is 1.4 "Chaos", taking its name from "Conamara Chaos" - which will do for Europa and Io the same that Valhalla did for Callisto :). The update should land in about two months - hope you're excited as we are! This is the end of the official patch notes, read further only if you want Callisto spoilers!

== Spoilers ==

These are just hints to get started: * Valhalla Terminal - there's a new option on the terminal in each Terminal level... * Mimir Habitat - there's a MDF drone on each level... * Callisto Rift - I wonder what that valve on each level does... * Callisto Mines - there's a point on the minimap when you enter... If you want full spoilers, a dev interview was done on this version by BlindiRL which has a lot of details - [previewyoutube=veFTz6rF2Xw;full]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veFTz6rF2Xw[/previewyoutube] Good [strike]luck[/strike] RNG! Yours,

[ 2022-03-14 17:14:45 CET ] [ Original post ]