- Playtest Version 4.160 Notes - 4 July 2026
Overview:New gameplay stage - Pre-combat encounterAdded text speed controlSmall balance tweaksPre-Combat Encounters:Before starting a combat, players will be presented with some mood setting art featuring the creature's main mechanic, as well as a short introduction to the enemy - each pre-combat has 2 sets of choices that lead to 4 overall variants of the combat encounter. These can vary from changed behavior/moves, different stat allocations, buffs, debuffs, and even modifications to biomass.Initially these were a feature reserved for the Act bosses, however I realized that this addition to the gameplay loop allowed for more variety, strategy, and choice to the combat section in general, so I added it for the existing combats and all others moving forward. The largest amount of work for this was new scaffolding for the encounter type - hopefully this helps with optimization as more en…
- Still Alive - 25 May 2026
Hey folks,Thanks for the patience this year - I recently became a father so between adjusting to that and general career happenings, development has been slow. Here's what'll be coming down the pipe hopefully soon:Combat Intros:A concept from Act bosses that I wanted to implement across the board, these are short story-intros to the combat sections that properly introduce a glimpse of the enemy, which allow you to modify the fight in one of 4 ways. For instance, your choices may make an enemy act quicker but deal less damage, handicap a move but change how it targets characters, or change an enemy's attack patterns. Each of the 4 outcomes creates a slightly unique twist on the core encounter, allowing for an additional layer of planning to come about during runs. The goal with these is to try and keep runs interesting by giving variations that players might be better or worse equipped f…
- Playtest Version 0.4.122 Notes - 4 December 2025
Hey folks, another bug fix:Fixed an issue where leveling up without Hypertensive Crisis selected as a starting move causes a softlockHave a good one!
- Playtest Version 0.4.121 Notes - 25 November 2025
Hey folks, just a bug fix:Fixed an issue where an enemy changing "phases" causes the game to soft lockalright have fun!
- Playtest Version 0.4.120 Notes - 13 November 2025
Overview:Added a new game setting/mode: Pain ToleranceBug fixesVisual UpdatesPain Tolerance:Paint tolerance is Siphonogore’s version of a difficulty setting - you can find the new control on the right side of the character setup before any run starts.While there are very clear differences between the levels that make surviving the game easier or harder, it’s not something that I wanted to be designed on a linear scale. There are three Pain Tolerance levels for now:Mild:Enemy strength scaling rates reduced by 50%Damage from non-combat encounters reduced by 50%Lethal damage from non-combat encounters resolves to 1 HP instead.Mild mode is designed for the player who just wants to relax and have a power fantasy, or one that wants to learn the ins and outs of a fight or non-combat encounter without the potential punishment and stress that comes with experimentation/recklessness.Moderate:No s…
- Playtest Version 0.4.101 Notes - 6 October 2025
Hey folk, sorry for the wait - here's what you can look forward to:Overview:Added new resource mechanic: BiomassRedesigned the leveling/upgrade system into 2 systems that interact with BiomassAdded build-facilitating upgrades for each partChanged move-selection capabilities during run startUpdated critical hit logic so any move can critUpdated bug report link to redirect to a steam threadAdded bug fixesBiomass"Biomass" is a resource that you obtain when an enemy dies during combat, the amount gained on kill is indicated in the enemy UI:Enemies killed through direct damage on a player character's turn will give that part the full amount of the biomass, while enemies killed indirectly, through bleed or actions during their turn, will instead provide 60% of their biomass split across all living parts.biomass replaces the "experience/level" bar that existed in the player UI:The bottom value…
- Playtest Version 0.3.122 Release Notes - 26 May 2025
Hey folks, got some big tweaks to gameplay and smaller quality of life features for ya. Overview Added alternative interactions that change mutated behavior Updated several Enemy behavior patterns Updated Palpitate, Heartburn, and Hypertrophy with new move identities Updated Enemy Move Preview window Updated UI Element behavior and clarity Replaced the Data-Reset debug feature with a "Reset Run" button Gameplay and Combat Changes Updated Mutation's role in combat Added a hidden conditional interaction in each combat encounter where you can interrupt the mutated behavior. Updated Mutation Helptext to indicate when this hidden interaction is possible Updated Mutation Helptext to list the exact % chance you have to break the Mutated state Breaking Mutation by damaging an enemy now adds a Debuff of 1/2 their base fatigue Someone's feedback included something along the lines of "I'm not sure…
- Playtest Version 0.3.01 Release Notes - 17 April 2025
Fixed a bug where Hive Mind would not progress in its phase Fixed a bug where leveling up could overheal a character Fixed a bug where HP Bars would not update properly at the start of combat Fixed a bug where an enemy Healing out of a 0 hp state after their action would appear stuck at 0 HP
- Playtest Verison 0.3.0 Release Notes - 13 April 2025
Hey folks, some big changes this time around. Overview: Combat system now allows moves to use ranges of values in damage and status effects Most moves have been updated with new values or designs Added a Critical Hit system Enemies have been nerfed in health and power to avoid fight stagnation The Hive Mind fight has been reworked UI updates/changes related to information communication Encounter titles Combat Updates: The system that damage and status effect number/turn values are calculated from has been upgraded with the ability to roll values from number ranges. Moves no longer are forced to deal a set amount of damage, and the hidden “scaling” of moves has been removed; instead now a move will either take its flat value, or a rolled value from the provided range, and add it to the base damage value of the acting character. For example, A move that deals 0-20 Trauma damage from a cha…
- Playtest Version 0.2.8 Release Notes - 1 March 2025
Hey folks, With the month coming to a close, I'm happy to share what I've been cooking for the last few weeks: Bug Fixes: Fixed an issue with Several loot items displaying a placeholder loot text instead of their actual data. Gameplay: Fatigue effects now display alongside other abnormality effects. A playtester requested this one, I hadn't thought much on it but I could see an entire avenue of moves or loot that capitalize on fatigue effects, which means it'd be good to keep track of that stat. The Hive Mind fight has been updated - functionally it is the same as how it was before, however the way the phase of the fight (transitioning from closed to opened) is facilitated has been updated to no longer rely on Mutation. I found mutation was both being used to do too many things and was not clear in how it could be interacted with - the very first fight teaches you to focus down a mutate…
- Siphonogore V0.2.7 Update - 21 January 2025
Hey Folks, tiny additional set of fixes: Fixed an issue where fixation was still not properly unlocking a character from a dead target Fixed an issue where Status effects were not properly using/applying the correct values during effects
- Siphonogore V0.2.6 Update - 20 January 2025
Hey folks, mid-month update for you all: Bugfixes: Fixed an issue where a Mawsquito was not spawning properly and would be treated as dead instantly Fixed an issue where HP would not update by whole numbers Fixed an issue where Fixation was not removing itself properly in cases of the target dying before the Fixation-Effected's turn Updated Heart Ichor Buff numbers: 25 flat > 30 flat 5 per combat > 6 per combat Added Juice to Settings page UI Added confirm request to Quit button during a run This is a quick update to cover a few disrupting bugs and rework a few things behind the scenes. The Act 1 Boss is coming along well, more to come, as always.
- Siphonogore V0.2.5 Update - 20 January 2025
Hey folks this is an update from December, but I learned Playtests and Main Projects get different updates, so I'll be working on keeping all that in line moving forward. That said: Take it away, Past Me! Sorry for the wait, I ran into an bug with the game engine and that prevented the usual monthly update November, but that's been resolved and December's work has been cleaned up so let's look at what has been completed: Specializations Rework Specializations didn't really feel very specialized to me, there's only so many stat changes that can be made and with 6 per part the problem became that each one was only changing a small factor of the character instead of pivoting the part to a completely different direction. Additionally, having the specialization appear as a random loot drop at level 3 removed the ability to use them in your first crawling segment, which isn't fun, and that al…
- Revised Roadmap - 1 November 2024
Hey folks, I hope your Halloween went well - here's some eyecandy of the Act 1 Boss, Terratumor. Normally this post would be a patch/update, but October was a particularly "eventful" month to say the least - I'm realizing at the moment I'm not sure if my time estimates are realistic, so I'm taking a moment to shift the priority to avoid rushing/burnout. That being said, I'm still working on Siphonogore, The current issue is the list of things I realize I want to/need to implement keeps growing, though what actually needs to be done for the Demo release isn't as large. Here's what's planned for now: Leveling up and specializations rework: someone mentioned that taking a specialization felt "bad", it was reducing stats, and was making you take a negative. While I usually think tradeoff upgrades as cool, I also think that specializations are in a bad spot right now. As it stands, leveling…
- Playtest Version 0.2.3 Notes - 29 September 2024
Hey folks, very short one this month. A common feedback I kept getting was that the pacing was slow, especially combat - I looked into it a bit and found a way to change the speed of the combat scenes. Updated combat speed to be slightly quicker Added Combat Speed option in the settings menus Combat Speed can now be changed to Slow, Normal, or Fast Another common feedback was that it felt like bone and sinew and their damages didn't really do much - that the enemy's defenses were too similar to make a difference depending on what type of attack you used. To fix this, I've boosted the dominant defense stat of The Warning Sign and Mangler Fish boss fights: Warning Sign Sinew increased to 60 Warning Sign Bone decreased to 15 Helping Hand Bone increased to 60 Helping Hand Sinew decreased to 15 Allure Sinew increased to 70 Allure Sign Bone decreased to 10 Tailbone Bone increased to 70 Tailbo…
- Playtest Version 0.2.2 Notes - 30 August 2024
Hey folks, big one this time around, with a bit of news at the end. Overview: Updated the Manglerfish Fight Updated Hypertensive Crisis, Palpitate and Heart Burn Updated Encounter art and writing Updates regarding Fests and the roadmap Updated the Manglerfish Fight: Manglerfish Cast Away: Updated to deal 8% damage to self Tailbone Added Move: Coil The Spine - Self targeting Effect that reduces Fatigue by 2 and Mutates the target Updated behavior to require being mutated to use Thrash Updated behavior to attack in a cycle instead of random choice Increased Trauma Damage from 40 to 50 Reduced Impale Scaling slightly The Manglerfish fight seemed to have a difficult route to follow - killing Allure was never actually useful and the boosted defense from Manglerfish's Submerge lead to a very hard-to-punish character, Tailbone also had the issue of just dealing a ton of damage outright without…
- Playtest Version 0.2.1 Notes - 8 August 2024
Hey folks, a few small changes and bug fixes this time around Bug Fixes Fixed a display issue for Vampiric Veins that improperly displayed its damage Fixed a bug where the end-of-combat stat Increases did not properly apply Fixed an issue where sometimes Fatigue counter animations broke Fixed an issue where resetting while leveling up breaks the level order Fixed an issue with Displayed moves and move levels on the main menu post reset/death Updates: started adding art to the Chambers encounter Move Update: Vampiric Veins Increased Vampiric Veins Damage by ~50% Reduced Vampiric Veins damage-healing conversion rate by 1 I'm testing to see if Vampiric Veins works better as a more direct damage move that can still heal, but heals from higher damage rather than a higher rate of damage conversion. Ideally it's more of a utility move rather than a sustain move, as that's not exactly Dopplegra…
- Playtest Version 0.2.0 Notes - 2 August 2024
Hey folks, sorry about being gone the past couple weeks - I've been working on writing and designing the second encounter, as well as figuring out a few balance fixes and combat features. Now that I have two encounters created, I no longer need to change how the game presents itself, so updates should come much quicker and easier. Bug Fixes: Fixed a bug where death did not reset movesets Fixed an issue with the Effects of Parasitic Assistant not applying to the right parts Combat Updates: Updated Palpitate's healing scaling to be stronger I definitely feel like I overstepped with Palpitate's initial nerf, I've updated the scaling on the move to be a bit stronger, it's still not the ultimate healing move, but it's definitely stronger. The Chambers: You've had to fight for your life, now it's time to think! The Chambers is a longer, tighter encounter, focused on logic puzzles, sacrifices,…
- Playtest Version 0.15 Notes - 13 July 2024
Hey folks, we have a large one this time around: Bug Fixes Fixed an issue where loot that applied to enemies at the start of combat wasn’t being reset between runs Fixed a visual bug with the EXP Bar appearing filled when it should be empty. Fixed a bug where stats would not properly reset on character death Fixed an issue where enemies killed by HP Debuff stopped updating their UI Fixed an issue where characters didn’t reset Fatigue on death Fixed an issue where the Loot Display on the Character Select screen wouldn’t generate if entering on an enemy’s turn Fixed an issue where Limbs and Heart End of combat loot wasn’t applying Gameplay Updates Updated Hemorrhage to deal % damage based on an enemy's Max HP HP boosting Abnormality effects no longer cap at 1 if the remaining HP is less than the boosted HP Enemies now get a small boost to HP, Max HP, Trauma, and Fluids - 5% per combat com…
- Playtest Version 0.14 Notes - 9 July 2024
Hey folks - quick bug fix this time Bug Fixes Fixed an issue where enemies would sometimes not clear their fixation effects, causing a softlock Fixed an issue where Fixation helptext wouldn't appear properly
