- Demo Update v0.1.20 - 5 April 2023
This is a major gameplay update with a focus on core mechanics. Combat should hopefully feel much tighter, more fun, and more skillful for those who enjoy a bit more than just "walk around and auto-attack everything" (which is a totally fine way to play too, but will require more metagame upgrades to be successful). I also adjusted balance so it's actually possible to reach the end of the demo (heh). Gameplay Changes there's now a Golden obelisk that can be completed inside Groat's compound most items are much more powerful now... improved hero and enemy animations item rarities are disabled temporarily knockback on all items is much more powerful overall many enemies now have some knockback resistance offhands can be used much more frequently offhands fire automatically in your direction of travel offhands have windup effects to give some time to aim them press "shift" to make your par…
- Demo Update v0.1.19 - 22 March 2023
Many changes are currently in the works, and this update is the first of several to get everything in shape before an Early Access release. Heroes now have Adventure Levels! You can level up heroes between runs, earn upgrade points, and choose which adventure upgrades you want each hero to have. This is a way to keep permanently improving each hero. There's also a whole new hero selection UI plus many small changes and fixes. - hero adventure levels: upgrade each hero between runs - new hero selection experience in camp - all damage, healing, and health is now higher - leveling up happens more quickly - improve performance especially on older graphics cards - fix accessory bonuses not being applied to heroes who join after you equip the accessory - many other small fixes
- Demo Update v0.1.18 - 27 February 2023
This week I added a new user interface that's hopefully clearer and more helpful. I also changed how enemy spawning and objectives work, and squeezed in several other changes and fixes based on feedback. Next up: controller support and a new hero progression system. Changes in this update: increase the number of enemies, but in bursts increase speed of leveling up new combat UI that shows all leader and follower items flash icons when cooldowns are ready simplified upgrade UI add waves of attacks that happen while charging towers fix a freeze that could happen after playing for a while increase damage bonus of Ring of Power add gold stat back to combat UI make tree trunks look more like trunks and less like bags of gold fix mouse leaving window in multi-monitor setups vines are a little smaller show how much gold you're picking up improve moving between areas and triggering objectives s…
- Demo Update v0.1.16 - 21 February 2023
This is a huge gameplay update based on all the feedback gathered during Steam Next Fest. It kinda feels like a different game, hopefully in a good way. Let me know on Discord! Why the Changes? I wasn't happy with the core mechanics. I could start to see why as I heard people's feedback, watched some friends play, and of course had a chance to play the game a bunch more myself. The leader changing wasn't great. Most people weren't changing leaders during a run, myself included, and it makes you feel like you're missing out on something. Now, by only letting you pick a leader at the start of a run, I actually think it makes the game both easier to understand and more replayable. It's fun to start a new run to try a new leader style. And this was just the tip of the iceberg. My design goal for this game is to create the feeling of "having each others' backs" so I needed a replacement for…
- Demo Hotfix v0.1.15 - 11 February 2023
Quick update that starts to improve the clarity of the action a little, especially health bars. The color palette and lighting was also making it pretty hard to distinguish characters from the environment. It's an ongoing challenge, so this is just a start. Change list unlock Blacksmith by default make enemies keep spawning behind bronze gate again fixed a bug that could cause the party to freeze add more noticeable windup animations to enemies adjust colors and lighting to make the action clearer improve visibility of hero health changes make hero health bars always render on top again fix hero meshes in upgrade window casting shadows
- Demo Update v0.1.14 - 10 February 2023
Big update based on feedback from everyone trying Helmscape this week. Here's a list of all the most significant changes. Balance changes remove movement penalty while attacking slightly increase speed of leveling up lower blacksmith costs add one more upgrade level to all helms/ults reduce zombie health improve Han's run and bow animations improve all hero run animations enemies eventually stop spawning until you go through gate extra enemies spawn when you approach a tower vines are a little bigger... Audiovisual changes make enemies and heroes stand out more against the environment make hero health bars clearer add mouseover help for all equipment add leader tactic cards add new combat UI add missing windup animations to various enemies add glowing red eyes to zombies improve lighting add better hurt indicator at edge of screen add trails to healing orb pickups rebalance various soun…
- Welcome Next Fest Players! - 6 February 2023
It's festival time! Here's one more big update to kick off the week, including a new enemy if you make it through the demo map's silver gate. I hope you enjoy the demo, and thanks again to everyone in Discord sharing bug reports and feedback. Full change list add new ogre chieftains at silver gate add sound effects for UI buttons use a rising portcullis instead of a collapsing gate fix blacksmith window conflicting with main menu fix gates sometimes failing add basic quality/performance settings add battle calls when using helm ults add glowing fiery orb above Min's ult add sparks around Han's ult add sparks to Min's starter wand add lots of sparks to Min's arcane explosion add looping sparks to start of Rea's heal beam add better heal effects add a lot more sparks to Han's trap firing add vertical slash to Fig's axe add chickobo hit sounds and visual effects add hero groans when grabbe…
- Demo Hotfix v0.1.12 - 4 February 2023
Many fixes and improvements based on feedback the past couple of days. Huge thanks to everyone in Discord. Gameplay unlock leader tactics by default improve logic for stopping auto-attack when running away add third obelisk to unlock silver door Han's traps last a bit less long zombies have higher knockback resistance fast zombies have higher health slightly reduce Fig's knockback tactic Tweaks make priest wings flap faster add Mods window with buttons to show interest add Discord button allow target dummy to be knocked back a bit enable fullscreen by default don't highlight inventory slot when hovering on upgrade card Fixes fix experience bar not visually resetting when returning to camp fix crash when returning to camp while running and using an item fix Min's meteor sometimes targeting the air fix Min's meteor indicator not being visible in grass fix rapid clicking causing hero attac…
- Demo Update v0.1.11 - 2 February 2023
Another big update this week with some major gameplay changes and many fixes. Gameplay The leader hero now auto-attacks by default, so you don't have to keep holding the attack button. BUT. You still have to aim. This brings the mouse and keyboard combat closer to what the controller combat will be like. It frees you up to think more about positioning and choosing the right leader for the right situation. The second major change is that leader tactics, once you unlock them at camp, are now always on for the currently active leader. This makes changing leaders much more fun and is one less button/cooldown you have to worry about. The leader tactics for current heroes are: Fig. Periodically pushes enemies away. Great for reviving fallen allies. Min. All heroes leave flames in their wake to damage heroes. Rea. Constantly fly and heal. Han. Increase movement speed of whole party. These are…
- Demo Hotfix 0.1.10 - 31 January 2023
Fixes for some issues found today. fix hero knockout revival not being obvious enough fix hunter being unable to move after unlock fix camp's exit menu sticking around if you pick a new leader at camp fix potential issue with gates not opening fix other buttons being visible while shopping at blacksmith
- Demo Update v0.1.9 - 30 January 2023
Some new content, balance changes, and several important fixes after this weekend's feedback. Thanks to everyone who is trying it out and sharing thoughts. It helps a lot. Smaller changes coming throughout this week before a final major update before Steam Next Fest next week. Content and Balance add setting to make leader auto-attack with main weapon increase movement speed while attacking by 33% increase hunter's leader sprint speed by 33% add some chests at randomized locations add more content past the silver gate add new item and tactic icons allow purchases from blacksmith while selecting hero leader make day/night lighting difference more dramatic put level recommendation on gates Fixes fix hunter helm and lack of hair causing a freeze fix screen sometimes staying black after end of second run fix a problem using settings menu and pause menu together fix a rare freeze error when…
- Demo Hotfix v0.1.8 - 28 January 2023
A few more critical fixes based on demo feedback today. fix hero and chest upgrade cards clipping badly with water fix hunter upgrade crash fix hunter not having a knockout animation fix slain heroes not turning into white ghosts fix resurrected heroes thinking they're already knocked out
- Demo Hotfix v0.1.7 - 28 January 2023
This patch has some critical fixes, especially related to Han the Hunter who can now be unlocked more easily. Next patch will add more content. reduce hunter unlock requirements and cost move hero unlock UI to hero selection (start of camp) make default pickup radius 50% larger fix freeze that can happen when returning to camp after dying fix hunter causing upgrade window to break fix some UI clipping issues fix hunter trap radius not increasing each level fix priest follower's Cleanse targeting enemies instead of allies fix over-aggressive camera zooming fix scale of levelup UI fix fireballer area stat sometimes showing too many decimals remove Credits button for now
- Demo Hotfix 0.1.6 - 27 January 2023
Some quick fixes based on demo launch feedback. Thanks everyone, here are the changes: fix freeze when returning to camp after heroes are ghosts fix levelup UI not displaying correctly on water improve rendering performance by disabling unused post-processing add map load transitions fix obelisk beams sometimes not appearing improve wording and alignment of pause menu
- Steam Next Fest Demo - 27 January 2023
The Helmscape demo is now available! Kindly join me in giving it a try to help iron out bugs and improve it in time for Steam Next Fest on Feb. 6. I'd really appreciate hearing all your feedback, bug reports, etc. either here or on Discord. Lots of work remains. I'll be updating the demo regularly right up to (and during) the festival.
- Action RPG with party of heroes - 26 January 2023
Pick your heroes and battle your way through castles, caverns, and hidden villages in a quest to escape The Hand. Coming March 2023.
- Action RPG with party of heroes - 26 January 2023
Come check out gameplay footage for Helmscape.
- The Road to Release - 12 December 2022
I just uploaded a new trailer and screenshots. With a couple months left before Steam Next Fest, the visuals and gameplay are coming together. Some major changes include: A new party bar UI showing your heroes, leader, and abilities New FX and camera work for special moments (like leveling up) Our mysterious tormentor, The Hand, is making more appearances There's a cart you have to defend in the dungeon Started work on some new heroes you might be able to spot Check out the trailer to see all the changes in action.
- Leader tactics for combat variety - 18 November 2022
Instead of dashing, Helmscape has leader tactics. When you press the spacebar, your current leader executes a special move that is generally helpful to your party. Here are some examples: Flamewalk (mage). All heroes run a bit faster and leave a damaging trail in their wake. Angelic Flight (priest). Evade all attacks while healing the most hurt hero. Stonewall (fighter). Protect other heroes while pushing enemies away. Bullrush (hunter). Whole party charges quickly through enemies. Not seen in clip above. (The names and visual effects for these tactics are a work-in-progress). One of the most important features in Helmscape is you can press the number keys to change leaders at any time. This lets you try different tactics depending on the situation. More on that later.
- New visuals and working on team mechanics - 11 November 2022
It's been a tough couple of weeks! After creating the Steam page, trailer, etc. I took a step back and decided the visuals need a lot more work. I spent a lot of time improving colors, post-processing effects, stylization, animations...pretty much everything. And then I redid the trailer and screenshots. Here's a before and after. The game also needed more environment variety so everything doesn't look so green all the time. Here's some work-in-progress footage of a desert map: BUT. After doing all that and looking at the new trailer, I now feel the gameplay doesn't stand out enough from other games. So I'm working to really strengthen how heroes can help each other and work together as a team. That's currently the most obvious difference I think is worth emphasizing. It's also a big challenge because not many action games out there do realtime team control very successfully (in my opin…
