As it often happens, I say one thing and I end up doing another one lol There were two major things that have been bothering me since forever.
1-Performance on lower end machines (like a Steam Deck) was pretty bad in some moments.
2-The constant possibility of some softlock for unknown reason (and the necessity of the not so professional "remove softlock" button in the menu.
I took my time for two weeks to tackle these two issues (an many more).
Aside from a few balance changes, and no new content, with this update I bring:
Much better performance on lower end machines (the game stays at 60 fps with a few dips on Deck, a way better result than before).
A much lower chance for the game to softlock (I basically introduced a new method to detect a softlock and resolve it after a few seconds of inactivity).
NOW I'm finally ready to work on the conclusion for the game.
The plan I have on paper is quite cool, and I can't wait to make it, together with many new achievements, many new crazy blessings, and finally share everything with you all.
Note: Some changes have been implemented with smaller patches since the last update, but I'm collecting the whole log here:
(General) Better performance on lower end machines.
(General) Completely reworked the input system both with mouse and pad. On the user's side not much difference should be perceived, but now the code is a lot cleaner. This should result in better performances, as well as no more occasional bugs when interacting with cards.
(General) The game will now try to detect a softlock. If an amount of time passes with nothing happening and the game in "no input" state, the game will automatically do what the "remove softlock" button did. This is still not a perfect solution, and it can't take care of very bad cases, but it should make things better overall.
(General) Because of the previous change, I'm removing the "remove softlock" button from the menu.
(General) The animation when the game shuffles your discard pile back into the deck will now show cards' back sides. I made this change to avoid some recurring visual issues, as well for improved performance.
(General) Removed the ability to access the menu during an enemy's attack routine.
(Card) Monarch's Bone now deals 500 damage.
(Card) Gamble will now not discard your hand anymore.
Fixed the tutorial getting stuck (caused by a recent update).
Fixed Boss Blessings in the Archive showing their description before unlocking them.
Fixed a bug that could leave cards not showing their combo version when picking a reward or using effects that let you pick from your deck.
Fixed a bug that could leave the game locked during the enemies' action.
Fixed a flicker in portals and events tooltips when using a pad.
Fixed portals and events tooltips being in front of your cards, when you would check your deck.
Fixed Death's Trial blessings not working anymore.
Fixed a bug when rerolling the shop using a pad.
Fixed Blessings that have a shown value to lead to a softlock if bought from the shop.
Fixed some cards or events that give you cards to lead to a softlock.
Fixed a glitch happening when you won a fight with Brown Flame.
When using a pad, if you won with a multi hit attack, the card would stay on screen for a few seconds, smaller. Fixed.
Fixed some cases when enemies' statuses would persist on screen for a few seconds after death.
The new Backup save file folder is now properly saved to cloud with all other save files.
Fixed Load Missile card showing the value "1" for the number of cards made in red.
Fixed pad icons not showing sometimes.
Fixed a bug that could deactivate blessings or pets if they killed the last enemy of a fight.
Fixed Force Field card not giving the right amount of Block when enemies have Block.
Fixed Marks not showing their tooltips when hovering on different Marks in quick succession.
Fixed not being able to access the menu during Wealthy Abomination and Pond's Monarch fights.
Fixed a softlock when Oculi does Confusion during End Turn phase.
Fixed a typo in First Draw description.
Fixed cards with First Draw keeping Swift effect after 1st turn.
Fixed Item treasure box to allow you to pick 3 cards when offering you a forced Juicy Melon.
Fixed a recently introduced visual issue that could leave the left most card in your hand upright.
Fixed One Two, Set Belt, Deploy Shield cards acting as if they have Swift.
Fixed Ancient Insight giving back input capability too early.
Fixed a bug that could happen when a multi phase enemy would die in its first phase from reaction damage (spikes or bouncy).
Fixed Blessing Heavy Hand showing the sprite for Sixth Finger.
Fixed a bug that would give you input access too early if an enemy died of reaction damage.
Fixed a recently introduced bug that could lead to corrupt savefiles (for example, with less or no portals).
Fixed Healing Dew card always showing a green value for its healing.
Fixed the game softlocking when using some burning effects.
Fixed instances where the in game menu could remain stuck while in the initial screen.
Fixed pad interaction with the new sorting for the Blessings Archive. It now scrolls correctly.
Fixed a bug that could wipe your achievements data when replaying the tutorial (leaving you with no achievements for the current session, with them being reloaded on the next launch from Steam).
Fixed a few minor issues with the tutorial.
Fixed the menu not being accessible after running from a Mimic.
Removed the Mimics' intents while you're choosing to fight or run, to avoid glitchy overlaps between the intents and the Fight button.
Fixed a recent bug that would make it impossible to find alternative bosses.
Fixed a softlock that could happen when an enemy self destructs.
Fixed a recent bug that would have enemies lose Electrified status when obtained in the same turn as their own action.
Fixed Gourmet and Slot cards softlocking the game.
If you have any feedback or want to discuss about the game, join my Discord server.