Patch notes
Additions
- added new melee weapon variants (for now only via Shift+F10 -> Playtest -> Combat)
Improvements and changes
- improved some dialogue
- experimental: added experience points progress bar above health when in inventory etc.
- improved pathfinding through multiple rooms and fixed some other pathfinding issues
- autosave when closing merchant screen and having bought or sold something
- tutorial area: make combat puppets destructable
- a few other minor level design improvements
- lots of underlying framework changes and additions
Bug fixes
- fixed rare issue of character visuals flickering while standing still
- fixed some pathfinding issues
- fixed rare issues with point and click commands on loot container
- fixed not being able to loot item partially at least on almost full inventory
- fixed being able to replace locked equipped item via drag and drop
- fixed missing text in quest descriptions
- fixed Titans missing from map overview tracking
- tower location: fixed potential multiple master keys
- additional bug fixes and improvements
Current state of things
1. Development
Work continues behind the scenes on the remaining parts of the game as well as improving the existing parts, the underlying framework of the game and the tools we are using.
It's only in hindsight that I realize what a huge amount of work any kind of game really is, and the RPG genre in particular, and (I'm biased here) this game especially.
This amount of work is a bit of a downer sometimes. What's encouraging though is that our knowledge, our workflows and tools are improving, month by month.
Some random development bits from this month:
- We improved the pixelart animation import into the game engine. When working on the animations (in a separate app) I can press 'Save' over there now and the animations in the currently running game get updated automatically. Much easier to iterate when I can see the immediate results on a second screen in a live game environment.
- We are currently trying to find ways to increase the visual variety of indoor scenes, especially for the upcoming city levels. I am in general very happy with the visuals of the game, but the gridlike pattern we use for many indoor scenes could use a few breaks or alternatives here and there.
- We have had a testbot implemented for a while now for continously and automatically testing the game so we get immediately aware when we accidentally break stuff. We improved and expanded this bot now so it covers most of the current Early Access content.
- With this update we fixed some longstanding pathfinding issues. This wasn't really a priority per se, but for once it also feels good to improve a part of the game so far that it probably won't require any more work in the future and is ready for 1.0 and beyond.
Equally encouraging is the continuous feedback we are getting from you, the current or (hopefully) future players. Thank you for every F1 feedback report, for every shared thought via Forum, Discord, email, for every Steam review. You are helping us make this a much better game, and you are also heartening us by letting us know that there are people interested in Death Trash and that there are people out there who care about the work we do.
2. Beta branch
We have a beta branch where we update the game more frequently.
You'll find more info about the beta branch and about testing in general over here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/941460/discussions/0/3427823001996731965/
3. Sale
Death Trash will be part of the Steam autumn sale from November 21th to 28th.
4. Next Update
The next update (0.12) will be ready in December in advance of the Steam winter sale.
Conclusion
We are currently working on new content (continuing the main story through the city) as well as adding more depth (narrative and gameplay) to the existing game, but I am not sure yet how much of that will surface in the December update already.
Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate your interest in Death Trash as well as your patience.
- Stephan