It's incredibly exciting to announce that RuneSage V0.8.0 is now live. This update more than doubles the size of the game, adding numerous new areas to explore (including a cove, cave systems and forest mazes), 30 new crystals to find, and an central story that underpins the whole adventure giving around 4-6 hours of core gameplay. Full details as follows:
- Added a central story and plot to drive the RPG elements of RuneSage.
- Added NPCs to give quests and rewards for completing them.
- Added five new areas and lots more puzzles to solve.
- Added thirty more crystals to find.
- Added a second wand for dual wielding magic!
- Added a dynamic weather system.
- Added more environmental clues to some of the harder puzzles.
- Added more detail to maps found early in the game, less to those found later.
- Added shading to buttons to make them easier to spot when highlighted.
- Added collecting crystals into the main story arc.
- Added ten new Steam Achievements.
- Added new Steam Leaderboard to track overall completion.
- Improved performance when loading.
- Improved performance when moving between different areas in the game.
- Improved performance of physics objects.
- Improved performance of the birds.
- Improved performance of the audio.
- Improved targeting algorithm for the explorers spell.
- Improved pattern matching, making runes easier to draw.
- Improved behaviour when levitate spell ends.
- Improved scroll text.
- Removed challenge mode as the content is now integrated into the main story.
- Fixed bug with the floor of spiral staircases being rendered incorrectly.
- Fixed bug with spells cast in the main game affecting the Sacred Grove.
- Fixed bug with running into a wall when using trackpad/thumbstick locomotion.
- Fixed bug with shadows being too dark in some areas.
- Fixed bug with levels unloading too quickly.
This now marks the half-way point of RuneSage through Early-Access. With the game mechanics now in place, the focus switches to extending the content even further - more runes, more spells and more puzzles - and binding them together to complete the story.
As ever, none of this would have been possible without your amazing feedback. Please keep it coming as every comment is highly valued and helps shape the game into being the best it can possibly be. Thank you everyone!