In this improvement patch, gamepad support, an "Archive" section, 2 new perks and 11 new trophy items are introduced to Draft of Darkness!

Gamepad (and Steam Deck?) Support

I'm happy to announce that Draft of Darkness now supports gamepad controllers! Although I've spent a lot more development time than initially calculated, I have to point out that is not yet a finished feature. That's why I'm labeling the gamepad support as "experimental", meaning it's another part of the game that will be tweaked and improved with future patches. That said, our tests showed that it's completely usable and already in a good shape. Here's the default key bindings shown on a controller:
This also means that you should be able to play Draft of Darkness with the Steam Deck! Unfortunately, we weren't able to test the game on a Steam Deck console, since we don't have access to it yet. Hopefully we'll get our hands on one soon! (Come on Mr. Valve, send me one please!) The game should detect the input method you're using automatically. You can peek at the newly added bar at the bottom of the screen to remember relevant key bindings. This piece of UI can be toggled off in the options menu, if it bothers you.

The Archive

The new "Archive" section now resides in the Library and allows you to list all cards, items and enemies in the game. Once you use/encounter these, the corresponding archive entry will unlock, allowing you to see the details of the entry. You can also filter & sort entries using various options.
Card and item details will show additional info and statistics such as "times collected/used", while enemy details will list their moves. The listed moves give hints at what an enemy can do, allowing you to prepare beforehand or apply your strategies accordingly during combat. To access the detail screen at any time, simply click on the item/card/enemy with your middle mouse button (or other bindings depending on your input method). One of the ideas for a future update is: for cards, a breakdown can be shown for each value on the card, giving you a better idea for how the damage values are calculated.

Weapon Skills & Content

A "Weapon Skill" system is added to the game, mainly as a way to allow switching initial Chainsaw weapon states. Before this addition, a chainsaw equipped character always started with "Engine: On" condition, causing an unavoidable 1 fuel loss at the start of the encounter. As a solution, you can now toggle between "Engine: On" and "Engine: Off" in the exploration phase, by clicking the new "Chainsaw Skill" slot near the party UI. I'm planning to expand this weapon skill system to other weapons, giving each weapon an extra effect during exploration or encounters. For example, flashlights can give "Vision" during exploration (like Matches), while spray guns can create smoke clouds for a similar effect like the "Smoke Grenade" item (but costing Chemicals). In essence, weapon skills are special "items" kept in a separate slot instead of inventory. Let me know what you think! Content-wise, 2 perks are added to the chemist companion, further enhancing their own damage output, as well as giving them a way to boost allies' damage. 12 new trophy items also wait for you to discover their combo and synergy potential! See the full changelog below for details.
As a small compensation for the delays on this patch, Draft of Darkness will be discounted by 10% during the Weeklong Deals between Dec 6 and Dec 13!

Winter Patch (v0.7.0)

The planned date for the Winter Patch is December 22nd. The update will focus on content, adding a brand new area with newly introduced enemies and events! This new area also will be a starting point for the second part of the story. In addition, I'm planning to complete the power/defense rework in this patch, making these mechanics more clear. See you on the next patch!

Full Patch Notes for v0.6.1

Improvement

- (Experimental) Gamepad support has been added. - A new "Archive" section is added to the Library. Lists cards, items and enemies (including their moves). - Detail screen is added, showing detailed info about items, cards and enemies. Clicking [MMB] while hovering over any of them should open the screen. Detail screen also lists enemy moves along with their types. - Item suggestions are credited with their Discord IDs in the item detail screen (some of the items may be missing this information). - Added support for Weapon Skills. For now, only chainsaws have a weapon skill, which is used to switch between initial Engine: On or Engine: Off states. - Chainsaw equipment now won't start with an "Initial Engine: On" attribute. Instead, they will have a third attribute. - Control tips are added at the bottom of the screen, showing key bindings depending on input method and current screen. This can be toggled off in the options menu. - Status decays will now take into account revealed tiles instead of walking on unvisited tiles. When the player moves during exploration, each tile revealed in the map will count down status decays. All status decay intervals are adjusted to balance new faster decay rates. - The Daemon won't move, if the player is in the pause menu (ESC menu). - Added type icons showing buffs, debuffs, abilities and disabilities in the condition tooltips. This will be improved and more icons will be added signifying other types.

Content

- (New Perk / Chemist) Dissolver: Deal 5% increased Acid Damage for each debuff or disability on the target. - (New Perk / Chemist) Scorching: When you deal Acid Damage, increase Burn Power of all allies by 4 until the start of your next turn. - (New Item) Elbow Grease: Increase Strength, Intelligence and Dexterity of the possessor by 3. - (New Item) Scold's Bridle: Lose 8 health, gain 3 of a resource most required by the cards in your hand, until the end of turn. Can be used once per turn. - (New Item) A+ School Report: Gain +5 to all stats during decision events. | Encounter: Once per encounter, give the acting character Stingy. (Credits: @Strikeing#1158) - (New Item) Wind-Up Toy: Whenever you are hit with direct damage, gain Kickstart 1. - (New Item) Wooden Horse: The possessor gains 3 block at the end of their turn. (Credits: @Yobee#0866) - (New Item) Pumice Stone: Whenever the possessor receives self damage or condition damage, they gain block equal to half the damage. (Credits: @Anything Goes#5236) - (New Item) Contact Lenses: At the start of posessor's turn, apply Revealed 1 to enemies who have Stealth. (Credits: @Anything Goes#5236) - (New Item) Anti-Coagulant Mixture: Dealing damage has a 20% chance to apply Bleeding 1. (Credits: @KanadeBacon#0746) - (New Item) Nozzle Extension: Whenever an ally deals Acid Damage, apply Corrosion 1. - (New Item) Voltage Detector: Reveal the locations of terminals on the map. - (New Item) Movement Detector: Reveal the locations of all regular enemy locations on the map. - (New Item) Super Glue: Increase the effect of Slowness by 10% on enemies.

Balance

- Drop system now takes into account items. As a result, Pavel will get batteries as a prioritized resource. - Spray gun cards now have an Acid Damage dealing weak alternatives, instead of Physical Damage. - (Enemy) Demikhov's Dog: "Delirium" won't give self Dodge. - (Enemy) Rat King: "Bite" Base Damage 5->4.

Bugfixes

- Fixed "Juggle" perk sometimes not applying at the start of encounters. - Fixed damage over time effects dealing extra damage on trigger, if previously applied with a direct damage dealing card. - Fixed a bug where it's possible to flee during a companion turn using keyboard input.