Hello everyone! After the launch of the Coral Archipelago Update we immediatly started working on the next major one: the Crimson Highlands Update. This upcoming one will make possible to visit the 4th world with the most dangerous Zodiacs as long as playing Calie, the Geomancer. We have already made great progress on this update and we should be able to release it early Q1 2023. But do not worry, we will take our time to polish it as much as we did for all previous updates. We will share more about the Crimson Highlands Update in next newsletter as we have exciting news to share in this one!

New Exporter & new Systems available!

Once again we had ambitious & promising new features ideas for the next upate but instead of releasing everything at once as we did for the Coral Archipelago Update, we decided to release part of it for you to play right now on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1280930/view/3651886500302273659 Game should display version 0.38.0 or higher on main menu, you can relaunch Steam if it's not. This new content is getting available alongside the long awaited New Exporter version provided by our partner MP2 Games and we would like to thank them again for the tremendous work porting the whole Astral Ascent game from our game engine to C++ for the best possible performances! This new exporter fixes a lot of crashes and issues (like Steam Remote sound issue) & massively improves FPS allowing you to play at constant frame rate with almost no loadtimes. This new version will change your game experience by making it much more comfortable and fluid, in particular for smaller settings. The game is also now playable for Steamdeck with very stable 60fps, you can even do Remote Play co-op with 2 Steamdecks without issues.
However expect some inconsistencies (badly oriented elements, small visual glitches etc.) as this build is very close but is not yet the same as the main build, we are still working on it! If you see anything wrong please let us know on our Discord Server in the #bugs-report channel.

Level up system is the answer!

• Basic attacks issue - Basic attacks do not become more powerful with time unlike your spells with levels & gambits so the more you progress the weaker your basic attacks feel and are. Also, getting Auras for your basic attacks was preventing you to have Auras for other purposes so you would sometimes sacrifice interesting builds to get them.
• Utility Spells issue - Utility spells were very inconsistent as it was rare (and occasionally too frequent) to get one. Sometimes they were strong, sometimes they were too weak and it was easy to forget to use them as they were not really part of our build.

From these questions emerged new systems

• Signature spells - They completely replace the Utility Spells that we removed from the game, they are new and unique spells based on cooldown different for each Hero. You will have many synergies to discover and play with from one run to another as you can improve them with the Level up system!
  Kiran signature spell is "Parry then Punch!", making you temporary invincible!
• Level up system - Defeating enemies will now grant you experience points, filling an experience bar above your HP, when it reaches a certain threshold, your character will level up gaining maximum Health, Basic attacks damage and the possibility to claim a Prowess.
  Octave, level 7 with 9/40 xp points to level 8
• The Prowesses - They are a set of passive skills that can be claimed in intro rooms of each world, including first world, when interacting with the giants there. Every level, you will be able to claim 1 additional prowess to a max of 8 in a run. These prowesses are of two kinds: Basic attack (right) & Signature Spell (left)

[previewyoutube=G8rzcxeMjWs;full][/previewyoutube] The Prowesses for Signature spells are unique to each hero, there is a lot to try out! Also, Zim-Zim now has an ability to make you reset the choices of Prowesses.
Ayla's signature spell "Shadow Mark" (teleports behind enemies) with reset on kill Prowess

Andromeda's trials!

Another fun addition to the game are the Andromeda's trials! In the exploration rooms, sometimes you will find a purple altar, interacting with them will teleport you to a new room where you will have to face a platforming challenge without being hit to get one of the famous rainbow drinks poured by Andromeda herself! Do not worry, if you get hit you are simply teleported outside but you will not lose HP so feel free to try them as many times as you want! We personally love them and we hope you will too! [previewyoutube=lYw_qrMIdhg;full][/previewyoutube]

Discord trading card game!

A smaller addition has been made to the Discord server, the Astral Ascent Digital Trading Card game! Every day Barbecue offers you a new card from his fine collection! You can trade them with everyone or merge them to gain rarer cards (4 rarities for the 39 existing cards) and get the greatest collection!
Hop on our discord to get a card whenever you want! There was no newsletter last month but be sure we are working our hardest to make the game the best it can be and we are still active on the Discord Server for any of your suggestions and feedback! Oh, and here are some extra elements!
We added a Glossary that you can check anytime while ingame!
Merchants culture is ancient and not very well known but they remember it through these statues
Oloon wanted her place to feel more precious as you can imagine More improvements are coming later! Don't forget our Backerkit shop and our Discord Server to speak with the community and give us feedbacks on the game! Have an excellent week ahead and next time we will share about the upcoming world 4! The Hibernian Workshop Team