itch.io

Thanks for playing, and I'm glad you're enjoying the game!

For Viridian Drill, digging 2 cells down instead of 1 is actually intended to be a drawback rather than a benefit. The drill has a high Power value for a relatively low crafting and repair cost, so the tradeoff is that you're forced to dig 2 cells at a time. This makes it harder to precisely target valuable cells. Since you're digging through 2 cells with each input, the -2 stamina cost is expected.

As for Winterheart, the reason you're still using 2 stamina per dig instead of 1 is that Winterheart only makes you immune to Burn, which prevents the extra stamina loss from that status effect. However it also reduces your Power by 1. In your case, it seems like you have just enough Power to dig Magma at a cost of 1 stamina. Equipping Winterheart lowers your Power below that threshold, so each dig costs 2 stamina instead. To get the full benefit of Winterheart, you'll want to have more Power than the Magma requires, so that even after the -1 Power penalty, you're still strong enough to dig it for only 1 stamina (while being immune to Burn).

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful message! I really appreciate you taking the time to write it and your kind words honestly mean a lot to me. I'm also really happy to hear that you and your students have been enjoying Serenitrove and I'm honored that you've chosen to use it in your course.

I understand your concerns about the rare resource grind. Getting stuck because of rng isn't the kind of experience I want players to have.

I've actually just released Serenitrove v1.2.1, which lowers the Titanium Bar and Diamond costs for the Signpost. I'm hoping this helps ease that progression bottleneck and makes reaching Farfields a little bit easier.

I also really appreciate what you shared about teaching your students to respect creators and work through challenges the right way. That genuinely means a lot to me. Please thank them for their feedback as well. It made me smile hearing they were encouraging you to pass along their message :)

Thanks again for all the encouragement and for sharing your thoughts. Feedback like this really helps and I'll keep listening and improving the game as it grows.

Thanks so much for the kind words! I made this game with wildlife awareness (especially sea turtles) in mind. As long as people are enjoying their time in Serenitrove, that's all I could ever ask for :)

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it! As long as there's a link back to Serenitrove and proper credit, you're welcome to feature it on your site. Thanks for asking!

Hey, for Godot web exports on itch.io, clipboard access is blocked because the game runs inside an iframe. Because of that you might have to use a popup that displays the save string so players can manually copy and paste it.

This reddit post might help you set up a similar workaround: https://www.reddit.com/r/godot/comments/1f5ycz6/clipboard_copypaste_workaround_for_webhtml5_build/

If you're looking for them for completion purposes and already have high Dojo stats with Farfields gear, using Caelo with Resonant Prong will be easier.

If you're still progressing through the game, I'd recommend not prioritizing the Diamond Pickaxe blueprint since there are stronger pickaxes in Farfields.

Also, the Cobalt Pickaxe blueprint drops in Farfields, not in the Magma layer. Hope this helps!

No, you'll be able to get it again from future encased relics. Nothing can be permanently missed in Serenitrove, no worries :)

Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm really glad you're enjoying the game. Have fun! :)

Hi! To get started, focus on digging for resources to level up your Stamina, Power and Regeneration in the Dojo. These upgrades make a huge difference in your progression.

You should also craft and equip better tools and footwear. Tools help you dig deeper while footwear increases your stamina.

If you're looking for more tips and detailed information, be sure to check out the community wiki. Hope this helps and good luck!

Congrats! This is the most challenging turtle to reach Deepwater with :)

Thanks so much for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

Yeah Nix is definitely the most difficult turtle to balance for reaching Deepwater. Right now it feels more like an achievement challenge than a standard progression goal. I'll keep looking for ways to make it feel less rng dependent. Thanks for the feedback!

You're welcome and thanks so much for playing! I'm really glad you've been enjoying it :)

The progression can sometimes feel a little uneven because of the random resource spawns. The spawn rates are designed to create a smoother progression overall, but randomness can occasionally skew things and cause some variation in pacing.

Ok, so it looks like the Export button isn't working on Safari 16.6.1. I'll see if I can test it on that version of Safari and find out what's causing the issue. That's really helpful information, thanks so much!

Thanks for the report!

I've tested the export/import feature on Safari on my Mac running macOS Tahoe, and it appears to be working correctly on my end. Could you let me know which version of macOS and Safari you're using? Also, what happens when you try to export or import? If there's an error message or any other details you can share, that would help me investigate the issue further.

Thanks so much for playing and for the kind words! I wouldn't dare compare myself to the greatest cozy game of all time, but hearing that really made my day :) Have fun and thanks again for the support!

Hi, thanks for playing and for the offer! I really appreciate it.

There is currently another player helping with the German translation, and I believe it's still a work in progress since there's quite a lot of content to translate. If you'd like, feel free to join our official Discord server. I've shared the translation files there, and you may even be able to collaborate with the other contributor on the German translation.

Thanks again for offering to help!

Welcome back! Thanks again for playing and for the kind words! I try to keep updating regularly to polish the game and fix any bugs. At this point though, the game feels stable and bug-free, so I've been focusing more on QoL improvements and localization.

I agree that diamonds are one of the more difficult resources to balance progression-wise. I've done several playthroughs myself, and it often comes down to rng. In some runs I get lucky with slots/treasure chests or diamond spawns, and they end up feeling almost trivial. In other runs, I've had the exact same experience you described, where diamonds become a major bottleneck and I spend a long time actively hunting for them. I'm still looking for a good solution to reduce that rng dependence, possibly some kind of exchange system. I've considered lowering diamond costs before, but I don't think that's the right approach since players with good rng would end up finding diamonds even less meaningful.

As for Cobalt and Vermilion, part of the reason they become so common is Griddle. Their spawn rates in Farfields are mainly designed around Griddle's survivability. I also try not to add too many pre-Farfields ores to Farfields, which leaves me with only two metal types to work with. But I do agree they lose a lot of their value once you've progressed a bit. I'll be adding the ability to sell Cobalt and Vermilion to Bits & Bobs in a future update, and I'm also considering introducing a third metal ore to Farfields to help balance resource distribution.

Regarding older tools, I think it's quite common for early-game gear to be phased out as stronger options become available, but I like the idea of giving them more niche uses. Special achievements tied to older tools could be fun.

For power progression after unlocking Farfields, there were two approaches I considered. The first was to continue progression at a similar pace, where training Power 7 would take as long as (or even longer than) reaching the pre-Farfields cap. The second was to treat Farfields as a new chapter, where players basically go through an early-game progression curve again, with faster initial upgrades before things become more demanding later on. I went with the second approach because I felt players would be more excited to start exploring the early Farfields layers and mechanics sooner rather than later.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write such detailed feedback. I'm always grateful when players dig into the game this deeply ;), and comments like yours are incredibly valuable for helping me improve it.

P.S. Rejecting the Tanning Rack (Hardmode) is intended more as a challenge run than a fully balanced progression path. There isn't any progression balancing built around it, so it's extremely difficult. As far as I know, nobody has beaten Hardmode Farfields with Nix yet, and I'm honestly not sure it's even possible in the current version.

¡Está genial que hayas llegado a la capa de magma tan pronto! Intenta subir tu dojo al máximo y, si tienes Winterheart (Corazón de Infierno), te vendrá de maravilla. ¡Mucha suerte!

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying the game :)

Serenitrove is written in HTML and JavaScript. No PHP involved since the game runs entirely on the client side.

If you're trying to upload your HTML/JS game to itch.io, you'll need to include your index.html file along with any JavaScript, CSS and asset files your project uses. Put everything into a .zip archive and upload that to itch.io. The main HTML file needs to be named index.html for itch.io's browser-based hosting to work correctly.

Good luck with your project and thanks again for playing!

The forced 2-digs-down effect is actually intended as a drawback to help balance the Viridian Drill's high vertical digging power in the early game.

Hi, thanks for playing! To unlock Nix, you'll need to carry a Quartz cell all the way down to the Magma layer and then dig it up there. Hope this helps! I try not to spoil things too much :)

Muchas gracias por jugar y por tus amables palabras! Me alegra mucho que te haya gustado.

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you're enjoying the game.

As for Leather, even getting 1 Leather per run is usually enough to keep up with boot repairs. One helpful tip is to avoid repairing every time you return to the surface. Since repairs have a minimum cost of 1 Leather, you'll get much better value by waiting until your durability is lower before repairing. Footwear durability lasts quite a while (losing about 1 durability per 10 digs).

If you're still running low on Leather, you can also try spinning the slot machine for a bit. The small wins can occasionally give Leather.

Hope this helps!

Congrats on reaching water!

No, there isn't an end to the water, as it marks the end of the first half of the game. Once you reach it, you'll unlock the Headgear slot, the Signpost (which lets you access the second part of the game), and the upgraded Flask.

Reaching water with each turtle also unlocks that turtle's unique cosmetic headgear.

Thanks for playing! If you're having trouble with the relics minigame, you could try equipping the Relicbinder's Chisel, which gives you 4 extra extraction attempts. The general rule is that when the ping is soft, click somewhere farther away like the opposite side, and when the ping is strong, click around that area instead. Hope this helps!

That can happen sometimes if the music is still loading while tracks are being switched quickly. Refreshing the page should fix it.

If you're having trouble getting past the Magma layer, make sure your Dojo upgrades are maxed out first. Relic powers also help a lot, so try to unlock those if you haven't already. Then use your best pickaxe.

For the darkness, keep your torch on at all times in the Magma layer and use Mageflare Runes every 7-8 digs down. For the Burn debuff, Winterheart and Magmawalker boots are both very helpful if you have them. Hope this helps!

Congrats, reaching Deepwater with Nix is the toughest challenge in Serenitrove so far :)

Thanks for playing!

I tested the iron helm visual on both mobile Safari and Chrome and it's showing up correctly. This is what I see on my mobile with Visual Effects on and the iron helm equipped:

Thanks for playing and for the kind words! You can click on the structures to access them. Hope this helps!

I'd love to, but unfortunately it isn't possible without a major rewrite of the game. Serenitrove is a browser game built with html and js, and bringing it to steam would require rebuilding it in a game engine for better compatibility. Since it's a free-to-play game, I feel itch.io is the best fit for it right now.

Thanks so much for playing! Serenitrove is designed to be enjoyed over multiple sessions, whether you're on a break, commuting, or just relaxing with some free time. I've always wanted it to feel like a cozy take-your-own-time kind of game rather than something players need to rush through. I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the feedback! :)

As long as you've exported your save and stored it somewhere safe, like a text file or notes app, you can restore it anytime. Just copy the saved data, select "Import" in-game, and paste the save data back in.

If you'd like to confirm it works first, you can also try running Serenitrove in a different browser or an incognito/private tab, then import your save there and see if it loads correctly.

Thanks for playing and congrats on reaching Deepwater with Nix! That's the most difficult challenge in the game so far. Final Form and Toxin Relationship are definitely easier to complete than Nix's sigil unlock.

Glad you had fun, and good luck! :)

No worries, I didn't take it as an offense. Honestly, hearing that some aspects of the game feel similar to older, more established games actually reassures me that the game is heading in the right direction. And I'm really glad you're enjoying the game!

Thanks! Serenitrove is not a remake. The overall approach is new, though the core idea of digging has been done in lots of other games over the years. Many of them focus more on automated drills, machines, or mining systems, while Serenitrove takes place in a fantasy setting with turtles.

Thanks for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Love the "strike at the heart" achievement idea. I'll test it further and see if it's achievable consistently. "Lightning speed" is a great idea too, but I generally try to avoid time-based achievements or mechanics since one of Serenitrove's core design goals is to stay away from time pressure gameplay (aside from the furnace, which feels fine in that context).

Really appreciate the suggestions though, and I'll definitely look into the core fragment one further :)

For Farfields, if you've just unlocked it, try gathering some of the early Farfields resources first and focus on training at least 1 level in the Dojo. From there, try crafting some beginner Farfields tools, footwear and accessories. Also, make sure to pay attention to each layer's special effects. Farfields introduces more unique mechanics, so adapting your strategy to each layer is important. Good luck!

Congrats! I couldn't help but notice you've capped your Copper Ores. You should smelt them and maybe sell the Copper Bars for some extra Quartz :)

You're welcome, and honestly, I should be thanking you. You made me realize the headgear unlocks needed some kind of hint system so players wouldn't have to guess which ones they were missing. That's now been implemented in the latest 1.1.8 update :)