Hello everyone!
I've been reading the comments every day and trying to polish the game more and more while fleshing out content.
Important notes:
After release, the save files from the demo will not automatically carry over. I am sorry for this loss of progress. There are numerous reasons for this, and I provide some detail below.
Partly as a result, at release time, I will take down the demo and focus all my energy on the full release. However, I will not de-activate the demo for those of you who have it. Down the road, I may be able to bring the demo back, potentially even a web demo as well.
Regarding Localizations: I am sorry, but the localizations were not able to be completed to my standards on time. As I kept polishing and iterating the game, it kept changing what needed to be translated. As such I will keep the official "supported languages" as English. The "readable but not complete" localizations (Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese) will still be available for those who wish to try playing that way, but I hope to make an announcement about localizations in the future.
Demo vs Release Today vs Future Plans
(Light Spoilers About Content)
Demo (v 0.956a)
Full Release (v 1.00a)
Future Plans
3 Characters (if all unlocked)
5 Characters (if all unlocked)
(Uncertain)
3 Crates that vary physics and/or rules
11 Crates that vary physics and/or rules
At least 12 crates, but possibly more
100-ish items
(100ish shovels + 100ish handles)
150-ish items
(150ish shovels + 150ish handles).
Plan to revise existing items based on data and feedback, but keep pool to about 150-ish
10 Difficulty Depths (available to 1 character)
10 Difficulty Depths (all characters)
Probably revise but keep to 10 depths.
12 or so regular enemies
25 regular enemies (some alternate colorings but new abilities, but also new artwork for 8 or so).
Keep revising encounter design and enemy abilities
6 mid-run bosses
12 mid-run bosses
15 to 16 mid-run bosses
3 final bosses
5 final bosses
(Uncertain)
21 songs (15 battle + 3 boss)
23 songs (17 battle + 3 boss)
27 songs (21 battle + 3 boss)
Only Uncompressed Songs
Compressed (to help with any audio stuttering) or Uncompressed (for audiophiles) available. Also can play songs in random order if you wish.
I'll add more songs, but probably keep both compressed and uncompressed.
9 runes
9 runes ("Mirror Rune" altered)
15 to 16 runes
12 Battle Modifiers
12 Battle Modifiers
15 to 16 Battle modifiers
2 steam achievements
22 Steam Achievements (6 hidden but mostly for narrative reasons, you should basically unlock them as you play).
Possibly add a few more if I think of fun challenges
Known stability bug that caused crashes at times.
One major stability bug was fixed. Other bugs were also fixed, but possibly new ones related to the new enemies or items.
Of course, will continue to patch out bugs.
Secrets that no one discovered yet
Same undiscovered secrets + Some new quasi-secrets
I love secrets, so the real question is whether I can stop myself from adding more.
Fairly juicy (latest demo build)
Added a little more juice here and there, like when the next wave of enemies lands down.
I do want to keep improving sound effects. If there is juice you want, let me know!
No steam cloud saves
Steam Cloud saves! (Slightly untested cross-platform.)
Fix Steam Cloud Saves if I did something wrong.
Full Tutorial + Gameplay Tutorial
Essentially the same tutorials but they bleed over a tiny bit more into the main game to inform you of stuff as it comes up.
I want to keep clarifying the rules and improving the language for new players.
Optional Anonymous Data Analytics (Default is Opt-Out)
Optional Anonymous Data Analytics (Default is Opt-Out) but no longer asks for feedback at end of each run (can click button).
Plan to continue to balance the game with both feedback from players and data analytics from those willing to share data.
Windows Build
Windows Build (but works on Steam Deck)
Hoping to build a native Steam Deck build today and hopefully secret mac build down the line.
Officially English Only. Google translation for Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Some missing strings untranslated.
Officially English Only. Google translation for Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Some missing strings untranslated.
Hoping to localize with more consistency and quality, but I cannot promise at this time.
In short, the thing that was changed the least was probably the "Runes" and "Battle Modifiers" which I hope to continue to expand in the future. However, I do feel this version is complete enough to be considered "1.0" rather than an early access launch.
For any player who is uncertain (or disappointed), please do feel free to use the Steam Refund system to try out the full release. Just be sure to submit the refund before 14 days of purchase and under 2 hours of playtime so Steam will approve the refund.
Regarding demo save files not carrying over:
Technical reason: Years ago, I called the project "GemDrop" locally, so every time it starts up as "GemDrop" and saves files in a folder called "GemDrop" which makes it hard to find. (I didn't notice this as I mostly do dev work on my mac.) I successfully renamed the app Rutrum, but this makes it hard for the program to find the old save files. Gameplay reason: Because the game, especially early waves of encounters and pool of items, has changed somewhat substantially from the demo, I do recommend starting fresh and unlocking all the achievements naturally. Future proofing: While I believe the save files from the demo might still work if copied over to the new folder today, I'm not sure if this will still be true for future versions of Rutrum, and I want to invest my time on improving the game.
However, as mentioned, I will try my best to continue to allow access to the demo for those who have previously activated it, so you can continue to play 0.956a demo if you desire (either because you don't like certain changes, the reduced item pool, or to view your run history, etc.). I apologize if I click the wrong option or something when I take the demo down, but I think it will be straightforward.