Pyrebound 0.2.5

Changes & fixes

• switched to using Butler for automating uploading build target channels to itch.io in the future (write ALL the scripts!)
• fixed crash on Crone death due to enemies getting damaged from an invalid dealer
• BIG audio groups distribution, audio group loading and audio compression settings update - shaved off about 200MB of game package size
• added audio to demo end screen
• quick feedback UI now only visible in ingame pause menu
• fixed audio for darkness encroaching sometimes outracing audio group loading
• dead enemies no longer receive damage (trust me, this makes sense)
• fixed rare crash when hitpoints bar failed to exist
• changed order of movement input hints for keyboard during tutorial to better reflect the common WASD expectation
• fixed corpse drag audio sometimes not playing at game start due to audio group racing

Input changes

TORCH (pyre selection) and TOSS (throwing corpses) have been SEPARATED from their dual-bindings. This means that instead of two overloaded inputs that might misbehave in certain edge cases, you now have four individual inputs. This makes them much easier to distinguish in game logic but makes for a little bit of a steeper learning curve and - for those that have played before - a bit of a transition phase.

• moved TORCH input to [Q] / (RB) - from [LMB] hold / (RT)
• moved TOSS input to [E] / (LT) - from [RMB] tap  / (LB)

Crone of Blades 

It was brought to my attention that blades destroying big Pyres with no extra effect was a bit of a let-down. People expect bigger sacrifices to yield bigger results. I decided to rebuild a part of the boss fight specifically around that to reward building large Pyres more. This makes the boss fight quite a bit harder when only building small Pyres, which more strongly enforces the tactical play style I am going for where players should strategize with their resources and distribute them in a meaningful way.

• damage from converted Crone blades is now determined by the size of the Pyre they impact
  • if a Pyre contains more corpses than the blade can convert, the Pyre will remain active
  • damage from small Pyres has been significantly reduced, while damage from bigger Pyres is significant

New Pyre: HALO

While I personally love the idea behind the LINK Pyre, most people did not feel it to be a worthwhile investment regarding damage-per-corpse. Additionally, its utility was rather limited due to the Desiccated largely moving around the links trying to avoid the Pyres. 

So I introduced a new Pyre type that replaces the LINK Pyre in the default loadout. The HALO Pyre spawns damaging Embers that circle around the player while in its vicinity (one Ember per corpse, capped at 3). Additional corpses increase the Pyre's radius so the player can maneuver better around it. (for those familiar with Vampire Survivors, this is essentially the King Bible)

New feature: Pyre loadout

There is a new entry in the pause menu called "LOADOUT", which opens a small placeholder window to change the arrangement of the four types of Pyres you can build. I am currently developing additional types of Pyres and carefully approaching the design space of upgrade paths for those Pyres that will eventually provide players with an incentive for exploration (among other things) and introduce build-crafting. 

I have much more in-depth plans for this menu but it'll have to wait for after Gamescom. :)

• navigating along the carousel of available Pyre types is done with [A, D] or (<-LS->, DPAD-R/L)
• while pressing [Space] or (A), any direction input with [WASD] or (LS, DPAD) will set the selected Pyre type to that direction in the Pyre selection popup (duplicates are resolved by swapping)
• changes are not applied directly and can be cancelled with [ESC, Backspace] or (Start, B)
• changes can be applied with [Return] or (Y)