Tangledeep (now at 4/29 "~50% there")

[getter77]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1363989456/tangledeep-a-dungeon-crawling-tribute-to-the-16-bi/description  $15K target
http://tangledeep.com/
https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=57600.0    Win/Mac/Linux/???

"Tangledeep is an ever-changing labyrinth full of mysteries, danger and treasure. Yet, it is the only way to reach a world long-forgotten by time. Will you heed the call of adventure and face the challenges that await within?"

Tangledeep is an upcoming turn-based, dungeon crawling, roguelike RPG for PC, OSX and Linux. Its gorgeous 16-bit aesthetic is inspired by some of the most classic RPGs of the SNES era, such as Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger, while its deep and strategic gameplay combines elements of modern titles like Diablo and Rogue Legacy.

Tangledeep is designed with all the depth that is the hallmark of the roguelike genre - wonderfully diverse items, monsters, procedurally-generated locations, strategic gameplay, endless replayability, and deep customization.

And just like console RPGs in the 16-bit era brought accessibility to an often dense and arcane genre, so too does Tangledeep offer a portal to the incredible depth of roguelikes with beautiful, easy-to-understand presentation and gameplay.

Of course, this is not to say the game is easy! The trials will be great, the battles intense, and you will surely die. But you will see every challenge coming - nothing is unpredictable or hidden - and come away from each playthrough with more knowledge and better strategies for the next one.

If the concept of 'permadeath' is intimidating, fear not - Tangledeep also has elements of metagame progression, inspired by such games as Rogue Legacy, Dungeonmans, and Shiren the Wanderer. For example, through the memorable and lovable Banker character, you'll be able to store items for future heroes to use in their journey.

No two adventures in Tangledeep are the same! Each time you play, the dungeon, its monsters, and items are all procedurally generated. The challenges you'll face will always be fierce, and it's up to you to build the character you want to play, with a highly flexible job system and 12 unique jobs planned.

Want to sneak up on monsters, catch them by surprise and use dirty tricks like bombs and backstabs? Try the cunning Brigand!

Do you prefer to carefully plan your encounters, laying down traps and dispatching enemies before they can get close? The swift Hunter is for you!

Or how about using powerful elemental magic, modding and manipulating it to create custom spells? Give the Spellshaper a try!

Not only does each of these jobs (and all the rest) have a distinct playstyle, but you can also mix and match skills from multiple jobs, along with hundreds of items and magic properties to completely customize your character!

We could talk about Tangledeep all day, but why not give it a try yourself? We've been releasing public builds for 6 months now and lots of people are already playing and enjoying the game, even in its pre-alpha state!

If you like what you see, remember that we have over 8 months of additional development left - think about much greater the game will become!

Been watching this for awhile in pre-alpha land---absolute confidence that this can become an especially fine Roguelike!   

Recent builds have gained:

The Banker
This cute lil' guy in town is Tangledeep's first instance of metagame progression. He'll store your items - for a fee - and if you die, you can then retrieve the items on your next character. He can only store up to 9 items, and you'll have to weigh whether you want to save that badass weapon you found OR use it on your current character... But it overall, this will help you progress further!

Combat Numbers
We've changed the font for damage text and the way it animates - instead of a boring straight crawl up, it 'bounces' off the character. This, along with the jab animation added last patch, really helps with combat 'feedback' and makes it feel nice.

Recovery Changes
The Flask was a little OP, and it didn't feel great to use it to restore Stamina and Energy when you were at full health. So now, it ONLY restores health. On the other hand, I've removed Health powerups, and significantly increased the powerup drop rate. In other words, you'll now be relying on Stamina/Energy powerups as a regular source of resource restoration, along with food & other consumables.

Damage Types Streamlined
I've done away with Slash, Blunt, and Pierce damage. It felt like unnecessary bloat and didn't add any real depth. It was also hard to guess or communicate whether a monster was strong or weak to a certain damage type. However, all the other elements still exist, so you'll still have to think twice about using Fire on a Salamander or Lightning on a Thunder Spirit. And remember, some terrain interacts with elemental damage - like Lava boosting Fire damage!

UI Revisions
The UI has received an overall polish/visual pass, particularly the Equipment screen, which now also includes item comparisons so you can tell at a glance whether an item is better or worse than what you're currently wearing. (The shop comparison UI also got an upgrade.) Along the same lines, I rewrote a lot of the 'list' code from scratch which I believe should make both keyboard + mouse scrolling behavior a lot better.

Game Over Feedback
When you die, you'll now be presented with a summary of: what killed you, how far you got in Tangledeep, monsters slain, steps taken, AND... how many restorative items you died carrying 

NOTE FOR NEW PLAYERS: HIT F1 FOR HELP!

ART/VISUAL
* More equipment screen visual cleanup
* Improved the info display when you hover over an ability (or weapon) on your hotbar
* Updated sprite font for numbers
* Skill icon update - now, all job skills are colored based on job
* Status effect icons are now bigger
* New attack animation for Floramancer's starting weapon
* New title screen art!

BALANCE
* Alchemists no longer have two AOE attacks, but their ranged attack is a little stronger.
* Summoned pets now scale a little more with the summoner's level
* Floramancer's Vine Swing now restores a bit more Energy when used
* Mint Herb and Mint Fat Brews (healing potions 1 & 2) now heal a flat amount instead of % based.
* Overall loot drop rate has been decreased slightly
* Consumables now drop less frequently.
* HP curve has been reduced somewhat
* Toughness perk has been reduced in power (it was scaling considerably higher than the regular HP curve)
* The overall number of champions spawning has been decreased
* The ICE/water debuff from Frosted Jellies now lasts longer
* Tornado Stance duration shortened by 1 turn
* Verdigrizzlies hit a little harder
* Final boss adds do more damage and have more HP
* Final boss itself has better stats
* Sludge Spirits can now add a debuff that reduces healing effectiveness by 50% ("Toxified") applied on hit and on ranged attack
* Swamp Toads now show up in the main dungeon floors, can no longer regen, but CAN knock you around
* Paladin SANCTUARY: Lasts longer, but now gets consumed when you attack or use an ability
* Craggans are more powerful overall.
* River and Ember Spirits have been buffed a bit
* Rock Vipers have also been buffed a bit
* Enemy Floracondas can now add Toxified on hit (33% chance)
* Some non-champion monsters were giving a little too much bonus XP; this has been toned down
* Swords now give a +3% chance to parry on top of auto-counter attacking when parrying
* Number of fountains per floor has been decreased
* King of Bandits has been toughened up

BUGS
* Flavor damage type ("crushes", "slices") should read properly now
* Banker's interface has proper headers now
* Fountain sprite draw order is fixed
* Your summoned pets will no longer run from you
* Fixed game over screen not restarting properly... again?
* When rotating abilities, the targeting indicator will no longer disappear sometimes
* Adjusted gridlines visual to not allow "half tiles"
* Lava and mud should really, really not overlap anymore
* Fixed buggy interaction with certain abilities and destructibles
* Fixed some UI weirdness on Job screen
* List of active skills on the Skill sheet now scrolls and wraps properly
* Inventory and equipment lists should now refresh selected item when scrolling the list down
* Adjustments to UI 'dead zones' where the mouse was not triggering movement
* Magic fountains should no longer spawn on top of one another
* You can no longer press UI buttons in the upper right while dead
* Sound mix settings now apply to the title screen
* King's Champions will no longer attack the King (lol)
* Reduced instances of flashing numbers in the bottom left

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* Budoka new ability: Qi Strike. Tricky to use, but deals heavy ranged damage and can strike vital points.
* NEW ACCESSORY: Claw of Violence - same stats as old Nord Helm
* NEW CONSUMABLE: Barrier Potion. Gives you +30% defense against elemental damage.
* NORD HELM: Now gives you a Nordic Shout that pushes enemies away
* NEW MONSTER: Dark Panthox. A nasty variation on the Cave Lion...

ENGINE
* Optimized 'ronin' monster behavior code by simplifying for now - may return to this later
* Game now runs at a max framerate of 144 (this will be an option later, 30/60/120/144 max)

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Julia (tutorial NPC) will now automatically talk to first-time players when you cross the bridge in town. This only happens once
* Level music, once assigned, will not be changed when you return to that floor
* "Loading" text has been added when you select Continue from the main screen
* Hovering over the Flask or Portal reveals info about each
* Hovering over weapons in your hotbar will reveal info about them
* Item comparisons now take into account block chance for shields
* Clarified display for damage resistance on items
* Default help binding is now "F1"
* New button for "Hide Player Hud", default mapped to H. A bit of a hacky workaround for dealing with issues when you can't click tiles due to UI...
* Added some help info in the banker's dialogue

WRITING
* "Hiding" magic mod now called "Stealth"
* Frog Swamp -> Frog Bog
* Swamp Toad -> Bog Frog
* CT gain on light armor is spelled out explicitly

BALANCE
* Many damage-dealing abilities can now critically hit, increasing their damage by 33%. These are generally abilities that do upfront damage, NOT status effects (bleeds, poisons), tile hazards, or damage-over-time. The base crit chance is 5%.

BUGS
* More attempts at blocking mouse movement while clicking on hotbar
* Mud and water tiles should no longer stack
* Fixed various problems with right-click pathfinding

ENGINE
* Minor optimizations to player right-click pathfinding
* Minor optimizations to vision blocking checks

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Right-click movement (pathfinding) has been improved. Now, the destination tile will remain locked as long as you hold the right mouse button down. Once you reach the destination, after a brief pause, you will begin pathfinding to a new destination. Also, your pathfinding will be cleared if you engage in some kind of non-movement action (attacking a monster, talking to an NPC)

* "Show Map" is now assigned to TAB by default, not M
* Removed the ridge collider in town, west of the bridge
* Several map objects like water, mud and lava which previously did not have hover displays... now do

Cheers to one of 2017's sure to be shining stars of Roguelikes if the dev pace holds about as outlined over the next several months!

[getter77]

3/24

IMPORTANT: Be sure to check the Options menu and set your new Cursor Repeat Delay setting to taste

Our Kickstarter has been going great, reaching nearly 75% funding in just a few days! This has also been the biggest audience ever playing the game, which means I've had LOTS of bugs to fix. That was the main focus of today's build, BUT I managed to get a bunch of other awesome features in like a drag-and-drop equipment UI, a number of new items, new magic mod, new champ mod, wandering & hidden merchants, new art, etc.

Enjoy!

ART/VISUALS
* More new skill + status icons
* Animated water v1!
* New art for recovery / buff effects
* New ice attack / shatter effects

BALANCE
* "Frozen" champions have been buffed: breaking their ice crystals now reduces your charge time and deals damage
* Non-projectile ranged weapons like spears now deal 25% less damage when attacking at range
* Budoka Palm Thrust: 20 -> 15 stamina

BUGS
* Disabled title screen fade-in. Was causing a black screen on some computers?
* Fixed nullref on game load (sorry)
* Fixed nullref on game restart and picking up items
* Fixed minor error related to deserializing terrain tiles (caused extra load time)
* Fixed some jank and errors in shop UI (especially with the map merchant)
* Added code to check for dead monsters each turn and get 'em off the map in case they were not removed before
* Increased leniency for map generation attempts to hopefully avoid total failures (maps full o' rock)
* Opening the Job screen no longer shows placeholder text on first open
* Hovering over buffs/debuffs shows information again
* Pressing numpad 5 now skips turn, like I said it would in the help text
* If a creature absorbs damage, it will no longer take 1 damage, but 0.
* The keyboard in examine mode (X) now has a 'cooldown' so it doesn't go nuts
* Fixed bug with dropping items from your inventory or equipment, which was causing exceptions
* Monsters that "Love Battles" will no longer be attracted to non-battles automatically
* Obsidian Bands will actually drop now
* The Banker will no longer periodically get rid of your items
* Fixed some inconsistencies in shop, inventory, equipment UI and hovering
* Pathfinding highlight square should no longer get 'stuck' visibly on the map when mouse buttons are up
* Options Menu: All options should now work when clicked on (previously, only keyboard worked for about half)
* Fixed display problem where Steadfast energy shields visually stacked
* Toggled abilities with stamina/energy requirements will now stop working when you drop below that requirement
* Abilities no longer crit 100% of the time
* Fixed bad behavior/errors in the first boss fight... Caused by healing monsters searching to heal monsters on OTHER FLOORS WOW BAD F-.
* Player's combat list is now cleared when switching floors

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* You will now find Armor, Jewelry and Bow/Ranged merchants hidden in the dungeon!
* Also, wandering merchants will now occasionally visit Riverstone Camp. (You'll get a message about this)
* Planks will now randomly spawn in water, giving you a way to easily walk over it without penalty!
* New champion mod: BLAZING. The champion's attacks will set you aflame, and they will constantly summon burning fires all around. Not only do the fires hurt you, but they heal the champion!
* NEW MAGIC MOD (Weapons): Bandit Slaying
* NEW ACCESSORY: Tier 4 helmet (phys resist/HP)
* NEW ACCESSORY: Necro Band
* NEW WEAPON: Flail (unique weapon type)
* NEW WEAPON: Sickle (unique weapon type)
* NEW WEAPON: Bone Dagger (mid-tier dagger)
* NEW LIGHT ARMOR: Runic Garb

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Left mouse button now defaults to pathfind, while right mouse button is the direct-line move.
* The equipment screen has been remodeled for improved mouse control. You can now use the mouse to simply drag equipment to the slot of your choice, using the Filter buttons on the right to narrow down the displayed equipment list. You no longer need to click slots or items to swap - just drag and drop.
* Identical consumables are now combined in your inventory and show quantities in parenthesis! Hooray!
* When using keyboard to move through mud, if you are rooted, your movement will stop until you press the key again
* Hovering over / examining that staircase will display where it goes. Also, standing on the staircase will print the destination in your combat log
* Character screen now shows how much damage your critical hits do
* Summoned pets should no longer steal powerups
* New options for FRAME CAP and CURSOR REPEAT DELAY. Frame Cap sets to 30, 60, 120, or 144fps. Good for throttling CPU/GPU and temps. The latter applies to using the keyboard when navigating menus.
* An animation/sfx will play when you get a powerup

[getter77]

3/30

Ladies and gentlemen, we've done it!

Tangledeep has been fully funded! Now I can ad all that delicious polish, AND, since the Kickstarter isn't over yet, there are more stretch goals (and more awesome polish) ahead.

For example, composer Grant Kirkhope (GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Civilization: Beyond Earth, Yooka-Laylee...) will be joining the project as a guest composer if we can hit the $21k goal. How awesome is that?!


Of course, we're not resting on any laurels here - I've been putting every spare minute into Tangledeep to make it better and better.

This build is pretty major from a balance and content perspective. Notably, the dungeon is now 20 floors total, and all enemies and loot drops have been rebalanced to compensate for the additional length. That means new monsters have been added, abilities have been changed, HP/damage values tweaked, and new side areas available to explore. My goal is to smooth over the difficulty curve so there is not such a dramatic spike between certain floors, also giving you time to learn enemy behaviors/powers and build up loot.

While dungeon expansion is the main thrust of the update there's tons of other great changes and additions too. Check it out!

ART/VISUALS
* New Brigand, Sword Dancer, and Floramancer walk animations!
* New animation for breaking wood
* New art for "Frozen" ice blocks (smaller)
* New levelup visuals (w/ audio)

AUDIO
* New gameover music (Sorry you died)

BALANCE
* Hand-tuned monster levels and mlvl to player level ratios. Generally speaking, as you level up, it will take longer for a monster to register as less dangerous (and thus give less XP).
* Monster xp/loot values adjusted across the board
* Monster power/hp also adjusted across the board
* Monsters will now run from you by default IF you are so powerful that they give no rewards
* Sale values of some hand-priced items reduced
* Blazing champion mod: Chance to proc their DOT reduced to 50% on hit instead of 100%. Also, the DOT refreshes duration but will not STACK duration.
* Electrified champion mod: Casts more frequently
* Staircases to side areas / branching paths no longer display destination name until you use them once
* Nord's Helm now increases Stamina and Energy in addition to giving you the Nordic Shout ability
* Multiple dodge-enhancing mods will no longer spawn on magic items
* Bandit Chemists can now heal their allies
* Summoned pets will now scale in level proportional to your character (previously, their level number did not increase, leading to lower combat effectiveness)
* Summoned pets gain a little more HP in proportion to your level
* Monsters below your level now scale up a little bit more
* Weapon damage no longer scales up quite as fast
* Champion mobs no longer drop loot above their challenge value (but they do have a greater chance of magical items!)

BUGS
* Trying to use an ability with insufficient Energy/Stamina will no longer put the ability on cooldown
* Brambles/Thorns mods, as well as Flaming/Thorned skin now react ONLY to melee attacks
* Adjusted some rendering layers related to trees
* If you are reduced to 0 HP by a DOT, you should die immediately
* The "caged" Verdigrizzlies in the casino are no longer champions and can no longer ruin your casino experience. Unless you release them
* Map generation should now properly cap monster density
* Monsters should now save and load their ability cooldown states
* Job change scrolls / dungeon maps no longer consume the entire stack when used
* Ability animations should now properly display on an actors' current position (was causing mismatches before if player was moving - monsters could cast on the previous square)
* Champion powers will now be properly read from save files (!!!)
* Various abilities should now properly play their animations even on empty tiles, such as the Lightning Storm champion mod
* Fixed error/bad behavior when you had more than 6 displayable buffs or debuffs (extra statuses will, for now, not show)
* "On Move" status effects will now only run or tick if the player actually moves (attacking no longer counts as a move)
* Fixed obscure game load bug
* Summoned monsters should now immediately appear, not 'pop in' after a moment
* Clicking to fire at an enemy with ranged weapon should now work with either mouse button

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* Significant rework to the dungeon. It has been extended down to 20 floors! Many monsters have been rebalanced, three new ones have been added (see below), and there is a new boss fight. These drastic changes might mean balance gets thrown off, so be sure to let me know how your runs go!

* New low-ish level side area: Flooded Temple!
* New mid-level side area: Bandit Enclave!
* NEW POTION: Brew of Rapidity. Increases your CT gain for a brief time! Action economy!
* NEW MONSTER: Crabbit. You'll find these not-so-threatening dudes on the lower levels, but don't get too complacent: if they grab on to you, they won't let go!
* NEW MONSTER: Airacudas. A swarm of snapping fish in midair... why not!? Watch out: if they smell blood, they go berserk!
* NEW MONSTER: Bandit Spellshaper. This dangerous enemy uses shadow, ice, and acid to ruin your day!
* NEW CHAMPION MOD: Blademaster. Summons lots of spinning, moving blades!
* Food restructured and expanded further for consistency. All heal-over-time food has two types: a faster heal, and a slower heal (with more overall power). MEATS restore health. CHEESES restore stamina. MINT restores energy. FRUITS restore all stats. The Choco Bar has been repurposed and now gives you an instant +50 CT. (It does still fill you up, though.)
* Sword Dancer's "Thundering Lion" ability has been remade. Now, when toggled, you will gain an Electric Charge each time you move, at the cost of 5 Energy. You can hold up to 3 charges. Each charge gives you a bonus to Parry, and will be unleashed on your next attack as lightning bolts. (More charges = more damage). This should synergize better with the flowing, movement-heavy gameplay of the Sword Dancer, and fills both an offensive and defensive role.
* Jade Beetles no longer have a wind-up charge, but instead, will rush at you with a jump attack.
* Accessory flasks removed from the game (will come back in another form)
* Stone Labyrinth removed (was mainly a test thing)

ENGINE
* Wrote some useful code to calculate expected monster damage
* Fine-tuned several dungeon map generation algorithms
* Added more tweaking control in XML files for dungeon generation
* Rivers can now spawn randomly and cut through any part of a dungeon level (more organic this way)
* AlterBattleData effects now support changes to Spirit Power and Crit Damage (more elegant!)

QUALITY OF LIFE
* "Examine" is now user-mappable on the Input tab at game launch
* Food consumables now show how much they heal up, and over how many turns
* When attacking an enemy, their information will pop up in the info bar at the top of the screen (this can be toggled with H, as with the rest of the hud)
* Job change scrolls are no longer consumed if you exit without using them
* Special effect text in combat log from some monster abilities is now highlighted in yellow
* Toxic clouds are more visible now
* Build date is now displayed on the title screen
* Champion bombs now draw over most other actors so they are more visible
* Monsters should no longer spawn on top of stairs

WRITING
* New damage flavor text for bite attacks
* New combat log text when switching jobs

[getter77]

4/1

As we approach the Kickstarter campaign's first stretch goal (character portraits!) I've got a new update ready to go! This introduces the rumor system. Rumors are a way to get extra items, JP, XP, and gold, as well as get info about parts of the dungeon you've not yet explored. There are 4 types of rumors to start with, which you can obtain (for a price) in Riverstone Camp. There are also 'conditions' which sometimes appear with rumors, adding extra rewards - but extra challenges too.

Aside from this - which took most of my dev time since last build - there are quite a few bug fixes, some balance tweaks, and a key fix that should make the UI more usable at resolutions lower than 1920x1080. Check the full log out below!

p.s. Hit "Q" to view your current rumors, this can be re-bound in the Input tab on launch

BALANCE
* Blademaster champion: Spin blades will no longer hit twice in the same turn. Also, they don't double-summon blades anymore.
* Goliath Beetle's jump attack now has a one-turn windup, and cooldown has gone from 4 -> 6
* More fine-tuning over number of champions per floor, and max mods per champion (this can now be set in mapgen data.) Crucially, side areas no longer *automatically* support up to 4-mod champions!
* XP/JP awards from destroying monster-spawning crystals have been increased based on your level
* You can no longer see enemy status durations unless you have the "Keen Eyes" perk

BUGS
* Opening your inventory, equipment (etc) while in a shop will now close the shop instead of drawing behind the shop
* Fixed "Test 123" message when toggling player HUD (info bar will not show if it's blank)
* UI should now be more usable at lower resolutions (UI anchors/scaling adjusted)
* Recovery/Buff effects will now follow characters instead of staying in the square they were spawned
* Fixed impassable fountains in the Flooded Temple 2F
* Fixed missing stairs up in Flood Temple 2F
* Banker should save items now if you die and continue the game right away
* You can no longer use Knight's Shovels on boss maps or in the town.
* Tile visual types (like earth vs. stone tile set) are now properly saved and loaded with the game
* Items with multiple inherent magical properties (i.e. Woodland Vest) will now save/load properly and not stack their effects
* Fixed bug where some magical mods would make weapons gain more power with every game load (lol)
* Left-clicking on enemies with a ranged weapon will really actually attack them now (as long as you're within range)
* Fixed game restart bug when you selected "restart with same character"

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* The RUMOR system has been added! RUMORS are a blend of: tips about potentially useful areas or items, quests that yield rewards, and challenges that take extra skill and care to complete. RUMORS are told to you by a new NPC in Riverstone Camp, for a price. You can have up to 3 at once. For now, there are four possible types of rumors, which can be made more difficult (yet rewarding) due to extra completion conditions. Once rumors are completed (or failed), you can learn of more, but you must keep exploring deeper into the dungeon to unlock them. PRESS Q TO VIEW RUMORS

* New low-level side area: Jelly Grotto. What could possibly be inside?
* TWO NEW MONSTERS: Fire and Electric Jellies, found in the easier levels of Tangledeep
* New champion mod: PULLER. Will randomly pull other monsters into the fray, causing damage if they land near you.
* Added a tier of magical items between "Magical" (2 mods) and "Artifact" (4 mods), called "Ancient" (for now)
* MUD now dampens LIGHTNING damage

ENGINE
* Wow that rumor system. It saves and loads too!

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Game now tracks champions defeated (actually this was last build, but I didn't write it in the notes)
* Blessed Hammers and Blademaster swords will now indicate their direction of movement
* Branched paths/side areas now count toward "lowest floor explored" (which also impacts things like merchants restocking)
* Poison clouds now draw on top of actors (more visible)
* Tiles destroyed with Knight's Shovels are now more obviously destroyed from the surrounding area

WRITING
* Expanded the champion name generator

[getter77]

4/8  The Gambler 

OK! This build introduces an all-new job with the most custom ability coding I've done yet... the Gambler may or may not be balanced, but she'll take those monsters for all they're worth! This is a job that relies on high-risk, high-reward playstyles and (of course) some luck too.

On the balance side, you can expect a greater challenge from floors 9 and up, as monster damage was not scaling anywhere near enough previously. The aggro/stealth system has been revamped and it is less abusable. Recovery abilities have also been scrapped or reworked; there are no longer any jobs who can simply heal themselves on command.

Well there sure were a lot of bugs with that last build! Oops! This new one fixes lots of them, plus older bugs that have been around for a long time. I made some deep engine changes to map generation, saving, and loading, so hopefully nothing will break this time?

This build also adds a much-requested feature, a healer in town! Percy doesn't do much at the moment other than heal you to full, but that's pretty good, right? Of course, healing isn't free, and it only gets more expensive each time you do it per character level. In other words: you won't pay much earlier on, but as the XP curve slopes upward and you spend more time on each experience level, you won't be able to rely on him as much.

ART/VISUALS
* New art for monster eggs

BALANCE
* Mint Herb Brew buffed
* Breakable tiles leading to secret areas no longer show up on the minimap
* Paladin's "Radiant Aura" no longer costs Energy to toggle
* Paladin's "Radiant Aura" and "Heavy Guard" toggle cooldowns reduced
* "Confident" magic mod now gives you +20% attack damage if you're above 75% health (as opposed to at 100% health)

BUGS
* Fixed visual bug with getting an ever-increasing number of Gambler cards on-screen; also, cards will no longer draw over ability hover text
* Fixed error when getting a One Pair with Wild Cards
* Fixed bug where the Knight's Shovel would not work on some floors with generic tiles (it should only be unusable in areas with custom tiles)
* Character sheet now shows block chance modified by status effects like Paladin's Heavy Guard
* Lightweight magic mod will no longer spawn on 2H weapons
* Fire Jellies should no longer throw fire away from you
* Gambler's "Hot Streak" should leave fire trails now
* Toggling abilities off (such as spellshapes) will no longer take a turn
* Fixed some deep engine bugs related to saving/loading discrete areas
* Actual Rumor cost should match the displayed cost now
* Fixed rare map generation error/hang
* Misc icon fixes for some status effects, recentered pivot for some jobs

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* A reluctant new friend has joined Riverstone Camp: Percy, the healer!

ENGINE
* Rewrite of how "areas" (rooms, corridors) are handled, saved, and loaded

QUALITY OF LIFE
* When returning to an area with merchants, if they have restocked their inventory you will receive a message in the game log
* Potions now show about how much they heal in their description

ART/VISUALS
* New sparkly effect for even common items to help them pop. All loot should shine. Even meat!

BALANCE
* Monster damage + health has increased starting w/ monsters that appear in dungeon floors 9 and up. This means significant damage boosts for some monsters. Let's see how that goes. Watch out! Wink
* Rumors now start at 75g instead of 125g
* Brigand's "Sneak Attack", as well as other abilities that require you to be 'out of combat', should now more accurately check to see if you are actually hostile/aggroed to enemies.
* Scavenging magic mod has been halved in effectiveness (was offering a huge drop rate boost before!)
* Scavenger perk also modestly reduced in effectiveness
* Magic Books (offhand item) no longer give you Energy on attack. Instead, they reduce Energy costs (scaling up per item tier)
* "Max Steps" condition for rumors will now scale if the target floor is further away, making it easier to complete
* Max number of equipped passives / support abilities is now 4 (down from 5)
* The Bandit boss fight is tougher now - all mobs have been buffed, there are now Bandit Spellshapers, and the King has a new trick up his sleeve
* Dark Panthox' Claw Rake attack now has an expanded range
* Paladin's "Heavy Guard" no longer takes Stamina to toggle on/off
* "Elemental Shielding" and "Elemental Protection" offhand magic mods no longer stack
* "Quick Step" ability from perk now only costs 15 Stamina down from 25
* GUILE stat now has more of an effect on your chance to crit and parry.
* STRENGTH stat no longer scales healing received from items
* Prices of magical items have been generally scaled back a bit (includes sale prices)
* Slow-healing food (that heals MORE over time) is now slightly more expensive

BUGS
* Monsters in secret areas will now react if you attack them from outside the secret area
* "Number of healing items" counter on death screen now accounts for stacks of items
* Fixed some weird behavior with Floramancer's "Aura of Growth" that caused vines to not spawn in some areas
* Fixed bug with "ronin" type monsters generating errors (i.e. in Applewood Grove)
* Fixed some text alignment issues in dialog boxes
* Hopefully fixed some bugs related to saving/loading (corrupted saves somehow)
* Fixed exception/error when switching jobs with status overlays active (Steadfast magic mod for example)
* Added error checking for loading quests from save
* Status effects and items that affect crit chance should now be reflected on your character sheet (crit chance)
* There should no longer be impassable planks
* You should no longer get duplicate "Find Item" rumors

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* New job: The GAMBLER! Gamblers throw caution to the wind, relying on high-risk high-reward abilities with just a pinch of luck. If you like to shoot the moon, roll the dice, and let the cards fall where they may, this is the job for you! (NOTE: Gambler is missing some art and some rare hand effects, but this is coming.)

* Recovery job abilities have been reworked because they generally have been throwing off game balance. Recovery should come from your Flask, food, and potions - if some jobs have simple self-healing abilities, then restoring Energy suddenly becomes that much more valuable for those specific jobs. Here's what changed.

   FLORAMANCER
   1. Photosynthesis ability has been altered. This is now a self-buff that improves your damage and defense by 15% if standing near a summoned vine.
   2. Floramancers have a new innate passive - when your Summoned Living Vine dies, recover 15% of your max HP.

   PALADIN
   1. Close Wounds removed.
   2. New ability: Radiant Aura. This is a toggle that restores Health when you block an attack. (Balance note: Does not work when fighting trivial enemies!)

   BUDOKA:   "Iron Breathing" costs 15 Energy down from 20, but now ONLY heals if it also removes a status. However, it does heal for more than it did before. (Also, it will not heal if the status was applied by a trivial monster.)

* "Stealth" effects such as the Intimidating perk, Brigand's Smoke Cloud, Light armor and Stealth equipment have all been changed. They no longer reduce the enemy's aggro/sight range. Instead, they reduce the chance an enemy will aggro/notice you if you are within their range. Thus, even with a lot of stealth, you can still get noticed by an aggressive monster if you spend too much time nearby.

* There is now a chance that a side area will be hidden / not discoverable until you hear a rumor about it. (That's what I was going for to begin with)
* Spellshapers have a new innate job passive: Stamina powerups now restore a little Energy too.
* New side area: PET SHOPPE (also a wandering merchant). And some new items exclusive to there.
* WAYPOINTS! As you explore deeper into the dungeon, moving to the entrance of Tangledeep will allow you to select a floor to jump to (increments of 5)
* Confusion status effect added to the game

ENGINE
* Support for ability effects that reduce Energy and Stamina costs (rather than hardcoding this!)
* Support for abilities that cost % of current or max health
* Support for Status Effects to use conditionals like ___ damage taken since previous turn
* Effect components can now be created in XML and read individually, then attached modularly to abilities and statuses

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Equipping or unequipping gear with Health, Stamina, or Energy bonuses now only increases your MAX stat and not your current stat. Which means you can't kill yourself unequipping a Hood anymore!
* Various tweaks to Riverstone Camp map grid

WRITING
* Orbs of Summoning are now Mystery Eggs
* Clarified when a weapon must be Projectile for certain effects, vs. just being ranged (i.e. spears)

ART
* Gorgeous visually expansive art for Riverstone Camp!

BALANCE
* Spellshaper's Delayed Teleport now uses 20 Stamina instead of 10 Stamina and 10 Energy
* Crabbids slightly nerfed
* Rumors with conditions now give even more rewards. "No Flask" condition gives yet more still. "Damage Taken" has been made more lenient.
* The cost to learn a rumor now scales +25g per level, but you also earn more gold rewards.
* Rearranged the golem boss fight a bit
* Turtling and Barrier champions now reflect projectiles when their shields are up, if you fire into the shield!
* Gems drop less frequently

BUGS
* Summoned pets really shouldn't take powerups now
* Stamina bar no longer flashes when moving through mud
* Crabbids will now move again after you disrupt their grab
* Fixed some incorrect Spellshaper icons
* You can actually finish rumors that point you toward magical items
* Abilities that hit multiple squares will no longer sometimes take much longer to resolve
* Hovering over status buffs/debuffs now shows info again
* Charge time display on the main HUD is now synced with the character sheet (also, the sheet version is more readable)
* Visual - Grass now correctly spawns in side areas

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* NEW ITEM: Tent. Just like in all the classic JRPGs, this heals your stats to full! However, it can ONLY be used in town... (Todo: Sleep music)
* NEW SIDE AREA: Applewood Grove, complete with a Grotto Flyer variant (Grove Pest)

ENGINE
* Support for totally custom, one-off ability effects

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Death screen now shows your character level and job

[getter77]

4/12

This essential update fixes some map generation issues and other big bugs, while also making key balance tweaks, and adding an all-new map layout style. There are also a bunch of new items, the 2nd boss fight has been redone, and Percy - the turtle healer - can now change your job anytime, and give you temporary 'blessings' too!

ART/VISUALS
* New 'outlines' for equipment sheet when you're not wearing items in a specific slot
* Visual improvements and new details in Riverstone Camp

BALANCE
* Gambler: Chance to get a Wild Card draw increased (it is now base 100% chance per crit or monster kill, scaling down with easier enemies)
* Gambler's "High Card" poker hand now scales up in damage slightly with each card in your hand, so blowing a whole hand on a single attack is a bit better Smiley
* Gambler's "Sharp Eyes" buff no longer lasts forever
* Increased drop rate of tents
* Halved drop rate of Job Change Scrolls
* The (placeholder) final boss is harder now.
* Money received from monsters scales slightly less with monster level now
* Sale prices of items reduced a bit

BUGS
* Rumors ACTUALLY COST THE RIGHT AMOUNT, really (75g base, +50g per char level)
* Fixed bug with Hunter's Blood Tracking that continuously lowered all your resistances. (Oops)
* Fixed bug with Blessed Hammer causing major errors
* Flask charges should update more consistently on UI now
* Fixed some bugs with Ruins map generation creating cut-off "islands" of ground
* Attacking with elemental weapons should now actually use that element (applies to monsters too)
* Fixed a bug with consumables not stacking properly if a monster picked up a stack
* Fixed a bug where Grove Pests would steal from themselves and multiply the amount of fruit they had...
* PROBABLY fixed bug where some dungeon levels would have unreachable areas. Let me know if this continues.
* Equipping gear that gives you more HP will no longer affect current HP

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* New map generation type, currently found on floors 14 and 18... introducing a new environmental hazard: poison atmosphere! Stand in rooms with Purifiers to save yourself!
* You can now talk to Percy (turtle guy) to change your job anytime! This gets more expensive each time you do it, and scales up with character level
* Percy can now also give you blessings, buffs that can make life in the dungeon easier. Blessing cost is based on your level, and they only tick down while in the dungeon.
* Spirit Sanctuary has been renamed Shadow Sanctum. The layout has changed slightly, the air is now poisonous, and the boss is different...
* NEW FOOD: Hearty Carrot! Grants immunity to negative status effects for a brief time. (Doesn't affect existing statuses you might have.)
* NEW FOOD: Briny Fish! Allows you to effortlessly move through water, gaining an extra 5 CT per step.
* NEW WEAPON: Sharktooth Axe. A particularly powerful weapon that is less accurate than most, but hits like a truck if it connects.
* NEW ACCESSORY: Judo Sash. Grants you the basic unarmed fighting ability of a Budoka.
* NEW ACCESSORY: Topaz Earrings. Allows you to absorb incoming lightning damage.

ENGINE
* Status effects can be flagged as "dungeon only"

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Added "MISS" text when you miss your target with a regular attack
* Monsters killed by the player will always show up in the combat log regardless of distance

WRITING
* Added clarifying text in Percy (healer) dialog explaining his pricing

[getter77]

4/15   KS campaign nearly done, but the builds flow~ 

OK! Lots of bug fixes here addressing some annoying issues. Map generation received quite a bit of love (and art), and there are some diabolical new upper-level challenges such as expanded side areas and new monsters. It's a pretty great patch! I've also laid the groundwork for the upcoming ITEM WORLD. What is Item World? You'll see next patch!

ART/VISUALS
* New and animated lava!
* Nando's kin have their own palettes now
* New plank art
* New graphics for the rumor giver in town
* More dungeon decor - flowers and bushes

BALANCE
* Bandit Spellshapers no longer have an intrinsic stun in melee (this was not intended...)
* Equipping items in any dungeon area other than 'safe' floors (merchants with no enemies) will now use a turn. Cycling weapons in your hot bar will NOT use a turn
* Shields have generally higher block chance across the board, but slightly lowered flat physical damage reduction
* 1st boss fight mobs all have a bit more HP
* King of Bandits HP increased
* Increased damage from areas with poison air/hazardous areas

BUGS
* Attempted fix for regen flask charges sometimes not being consumed.
* Lava should now spawn again
* Fixed placement bug with Fungal Toad & Bog Frog jump impact visuals (now shows under them, as it should)
* Fixed some deep engine bugs (again) related to saving/loading chunks of the map
* Probably fixed obscure bug related to wandering monster spawns
* Budoka's "Steel Resolve" now works properly against stuns caused by maces/hammers
* Wandering merchants should no longer overlap poor Katy
* Crabbids will no longer lose their movement range if their grab wears off normally
* Fixed major bug where many things that boosted your core stats... would seemingly not do that
* Fixed display bug in item comparisons where some low values would round to 0 instead of showing the decimal
* When doing the "appease monster" type quests, the appeased monster will only drop 1 food item (as intended)
* Fixed display bug with banker prices, along with other banker bugs
* Flooded Temple should be flooded again

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* New side area: the Bandit Library! I heard you liked Bandit Spellshapers...
* New monster: Bandit Buffslinger! (I wonder where you might find it)
* New map generation type! Also a bunch of mapgen changes adding some more variety and (good) randomness
* Modified version of the Demon Spirit now spawns in the main dungeon, later on!
* Elemental Lair has been expanded to 3 floors with a smoother difficulty curve from start to finish
* Added more room variations, shapes, and layouts throughout the dungeon (20 new templates)
* New champion mod: ICEDAGGERS

ENGINE
* Monsters can now use buff abilities on other monsters, even AOE buffs and AOE heals!
* Enhancements to summoned objects - they can now have directional movement regardless of how their summoner moves

QUALITY OF LIFE
* Colorized some text in the combat log
* Shield block chance is now shown in item descriptions
* Trying to attack while disarmed/paralyzed no longer consumes a turn.
* Summoned objects like Toxic acid pools that are not collidable will not show up on the mini map
* Hitting "Escape" will exit examine mode without popping up the Options menu
* You can now drag inventory items on to the "Drop Item" button to drop them. (You can also drop them by tapping "D" with the cursor over an item)

[getter77]

4/19  Nearly at the final stretch goal with hours remaining!

Today we have a patch chock full of bug fixes and quality of life improvements, plus a smattering of art and UI upgrades. Lots of stuff related to shops, sorting, and the inventory screen, and helpful things for mouse users too. But even more notably, I'm introducing version 0.1 alpha of ITEM WORLD! Inspired by the Disgaea series, Item World is a way to go inside a piece of gear, generating a mini-dungeon on the fly (with unique map layouts) and upgrading the item if you can beat the boss.

To enter Item World, you first need to find an Orb of Item World (placeholder name...) from champions or boss monsters. Use it in Riverstone Camp, then drop a piece of equipment (weapon, offhand, armor) to enter.

Again: This is just v0.1, so there may (probably will) be bugs, and there will be much more content associated with Item World before development is done. But in the meantime, have at it!

ART
* New bookshelves in the bandit library
* New tileset: cobblestone! Looking dope!
* Sprites now draw in a consistently correct order based on Y position (i.e. if you go "behind" a character, you will actually be covered up by that character)
* New crate and barrel visuals
* Dialog box UI borders!
* Dialog box animations!
* New battle effects for: Fire Evocation, Qi Wave

BALANCE
* Side areas no longer have monster spawning crystals. Clear the maps and you're done!
* The cost of blessings has been reduced
* Sword Dancer's "Dust in the Wind" now costs Stamina instead of Energy
* Flat damage resistance from shields turned down slightly
* Proc damage mods (Soldier, Warrior, Gladiator) will no longer spawn on the same weapon
* Plunderers now have a poison proc on attack
* Mystery monster eggs are now a little more common

BUGS
* Attempt at fixing a hard-to-catch bug that corrupted saves by not writing the Town properly to save file
* Fixed bug where exiting the targeting UI would sometimes consume the item you were trying to usebanker:
* Stairs now spawn in the bandit library
* Fixed errors in the casino blackjack UI (game would not close properly)
* Escape key can now be used to quit the casino properly
* Several defense/attack down effects were multiplying their effect each turn. This has been fixed!
* Fixed error with monster eggs used at a high level
* Cleaned up visual targeting of Jade Beetle's charge (now "locks" to character)
* Abilities like Wild Horse or Jade Beetle charges will now land at the closest possible square to the original position of the attacker
* Fixed major exploits related to free abilities (flask, ability toggle off) - these now don't enter turn logic at all and simply fire off
* Fixed bug where after saving -> loading a game, champions/bosses would not give the appropriate experience boost
* Fixed bug with loot drops scaling in a weird way
* After getting a heal from Percy, your stats should refresh instantly
* When hotkeying a weapon to your hotbar (1-4 on EQ screen) in the dungeon, you will no longer try to use an ability in that slot (1-4)

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* ITEM WORLD can now be found in Tangledeep! This is a way of powering up a piece of gear (weapons, armor, offhands), increasing its raw stats and possibly adding a new magic mod. Here's how it works.

1. Find an "Orb of Item World" (placeholder name...) which has a chance to drop from any champion.
2. Use the Orb in Riverstone camp.
3. Drop the piece of gear you want to enter. This creates a new mini-dungeon! Item world floors have a different open layout and interesting new challenges. Poison water fills each floor, but you can build planks with the Plank Builders you find. Crossing the water is not a death sentence but it will drain your life fast if you're not careful.
4. Reach the bottom of the Item World and defeat the ^ITEMBOSS^ to find an upgraded version of the item you dropped to spawn the world. Picking up the item exits the world!

Each individual piece of gear can be upgraded up to 3 times! Also, you may find the mythical Goldfrog in Item World. What happens if you catch him?!

NOTE: This is just the first iteration of the concept. Ultimately I want Item World to be even weirder!

QUALITY OF LIFE
* The Inventory screen now has a hotbar at the top that can be used to drag-and-drop consumables for easy ingame usage. (You can also still hotkey stuff by hovering over an item and pressing 1-8)
* You can now bet 100 OR 1,000g at the Casino
* You can now bulk sell items at most merchants
* Hovering over portal/flask icons will show the default keybind
* The plank builder item can now ONLY be used on water, as intended
* Monster tooltip now shows their 'family' (beasts, frogs, insects, etc)
* Monsters you summon will now have charm hearts above their heads to indicate they are on our side
* Your summoned pets will no longer destroy objects summoned by you (i.e. Floracondas destroying your own vines)
* "0turns" is no longer displayed when a summoned pet is around forever
* The critical effect of axes (defense break) now shows up as a status on enemies
* The critical effect of swords (parry next attack) will also show up as a status on yourself
* New tutorial tip while equipping items in the dungeon
* Inventory sorts are now back on the Equipment screen again
* You can now sort items by type or value in the shop interface
* Clicking any sort button on any interface twice will reverse the sort order
* Monsters shouldn't spawn on top of stairs
* When monsters or chests drop multiple items, they will spread out instead of stacking on a single tile
* When Grove Pests steal food, a message will pop up above them

[getter77]

4/23   

Tonight's build has some important key new features and changes that I'm eager to see in action. First is a rework of the main HUD. All of the key information has been placed along the bottom of the screen and cleaned up. The gameplay now centers on the hero and not the dead center of the screen, so you should no longer have cases where the UI covers up crucial game content. You can of course hide the hud with H still. This IS a work in progress and it will be improved more over time but it's a big step!

Next we have level up bonuses. Previously, your core stats (Strength, Swiftness, etc.) rose slightly each level, between 1.3 to 1.75 points, based on your current job. Now, in addition to these bonuses, you can select a core stat to boost even more. This +3 stat boost is received on every level up. Over the course of even 5-6 levels this should help you customize your character further.

I'm also trying to make sure that you can't screw up your character. All stats are useful to all characters, and there should be no "dump stats". A melee fighter can still use Discipline for elemental resistance; a ranged fighter wants Spirit for powerup recovery and buff duration; a mage still enjoys the physical defense boost from Strength.

Lastly there is the Monster Corral. The visual implementation here (a single placeholder shark NPC) is VERY INCOMPLETE as the corral will be integrated into the entire new town expansion map, coming soon. But the basic functionality is done. Buy (or find) a Monster Mallet, weaken a monster to <15% health, then knock it out with the mallet and bring it to the Corral. Monsters in the Corral have their own charming interactions and personalities. They also grant you combat bonuses against those specific monster species and their family.

There's a lot more too but I'll just list the rest in the log!

ART/VISUALS
* Rework of main HUD UI, which (mostly) no longer blocks gameplay. Camera centers on character instead of screen. Can still be hidden with "H" as needed.
* Improved text boxes / dialogs in opening and character creation
* New Paladin and Spellshaper run cycles!
* New vine wall/swinging vine art

BALANCE
* The "elemental kill" type rumor now allows for Physical damage. Also, it will ONLY give you an element that you have access to in your learned skills.
* The "no flask" rumor requirement now yields even more rewards if you can complete it
* Electrified champions use their lightning storm ability more frequently
* Slightly decreased penalties for dual wielding
* Reduced wandering monster spawn chance by about 55%
   NOTE: Wandering monster chance continues to scale based on initial monsters in level and # of killed monsters. For example, if you haven't killed any monsters, new ones won't spawn. If you've only killed one or two on a level, the spawn chance is much lower than if you've killed a whole bunch of them.
* Goliath Beetles no longer have an armor break attack
* Plunderers no longer have a self dodge buff
* Guardian Sphere's "Self Destruct" now only triggers at 15% health (down from 35%)
* Champion Icedaggers uptime has been reduced another 2 turns

BUGS
* (Visual) Casino text boxes now have borders
* Illusions of champions no longer drop powerups or item world orbs
* Champions should now correctly give more XP, JP, and gold
* Tornado Stance now only reacts to enemies in melee (as intended)
* You should now correctly auto-equip accessories to your second slot, if that slot is empty
* Fixed error with Floramancer's Bed of Thorns
* Fixed numerous issues with Spellshape abilities that I apparently introduced last build
* Fixed bug that was causing every floor to have (up to) 1 more champion than intended
* Obsidian Daggers and Warhammers should no longer drop from monsters at lower levels
* Sword damage has been reduced to intended levels
* Fixed bug with Item World Orbs and saving/loading

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* The MONSTER CORRAL (v0.5) has been added to the game! This currently lacks any visuals, but the functionality is there! Talk to the shark (placeholder) in town to learn more. In a nutshell: The Monster Corral is a place where you can bring a monster you've knocked out with a Monster Mallet (new item). You can have up to 3 monsters in the Corral. For each monster in the corral, you get a bonus while fighting them AND their family (less damage taken, more damage dealt.) This persists from character to character as well, just like the banker.

* The BANKER will now store your money. It costs 200g per deposit, but you can store any amount above that for no extra charge (and withdraw for free)

* When you level up, you can give any main stat (Strength, Swiftness, Discipline, Guile, Spirit) an extra bonus. This bonus is permanent. ALL your stats still go up a bit every level (unchanged)
* Added 5th tier of weapons (this probably only drops from high level champions)
* Guardian Spheres now have a "Vortex" ability that pulls you closer
* Floracondas summoned by Verdigrizzlies now have a short-range heal
* ITEM WORLD: IW-only Knight's Shovels now also spawn at random
* ITEM WORLD: Added more ground and wall tiles in the ocean
* ITEM WORLD: There is now a chance that a floor will be full of monsters that are prone to attacking one another.
* NEW CONSUMABLE: Butler's Bell. Summons a random assortment of food.
* NEW SIDE AREA: Stalker Nest (mid-level)
* New monster: Guardian Arachnoid
* New monster (with placeholder art): Vine Stalker

ENGINE
* Improved engine code for dragging actors around

Besides the usual round of bug fixes and QOL/polish, this build offers some new buffs to the Floramancer, Budoka, and Gambler, plus new weird stuff in Item World. Rumors and Medium Armor are also better/more unique now. All good stuff I think!

Also, to expand on the reasoning for the wandering monster change I made last build: The issue with how I had it before was that players would destroy the crystal ASAP, because it was always the best option. There wasn't much decision making involved. This made it a lot easier to kite and hunt monsters one by one. This should be a valid tactic, but not one without risk, and if no new monsters spawn... there isn't a lot of risk involved.

Now, destroying the crystal is worth even more, but it makes life a little harder, too. The choice is yours. (Remember, if you're very high level, monsters will run from you, so eventually, each floor WILL become safe.)

ART/VISUALS
* Stair directions reversed, because in Tangledeep you start at the bottom and you're going UP...

BALANCE
* Gambler's "two pair" Wild Cards hand now lasts 25 turns (up from 20) and gives an additional 5% crit chance
* Gambler's Wild Cards ability cooldown is now 2 turns (down from 3)
* Gambler now starts with 200g (other characters start with 100g)
* Gambler's "Snake Eyes" dice roll no longer does 50% max health damage to champions/bosses, but 50% current health instead
* Gambler's "High Card" ability now scales a little more with cards in hand (+5% dmg per extra card)
* Mint and Fat Herb Brews now heal more
* Rumors are now less expensive (60 + 15 per level)
* Rumors now reward more XP
* "Lightweight" weapon mod now reduces dual wield penalties when used in either hand - this effect stacks
* You now gain 3 max Energy per level (up from 1), and 3 max Stamina (up from 2)
* Floramancer's Photosynthesis now lasts 11 turns (up from 9)
* Floramancer's "Creeping Death" costs 400jp (down from 500)
* Floramancer's Bed of Thorns can no longer be stacked on the same square(s), and can only trigger once per turn (per monster). However, it now does more damage.
* Sword Dancer's "Phoenix Wing" now uses a 'burst' shape, costs 25 Energy instead of 30, and has a shorter cooldown
* Budoka: Reduced cooldowns of Hundred Fists, Palm Thrust, Iron Breathing, and Qi Wave
* Spellshaper now starts with a Simple Codex (offhand) instead of Chai Qi Cookies.
* Goldfrogs are jumpier
* The GUILE stat now has more impact on crit and parry chance

BUGS
* Fixed bug where using elemental weapons would not count toward the "Burned Monster" type rumors
* Fixed game load error when saving/loading vs. fighting monsters using charge/pass turn abilities
* Hovering over a blank hotbar slot no longer pops up a blank window
* You can now blow up your advanced Summoned Floracondas with Detonate Vines
* Fixed bug where saving/loading in item world would return you to town (!)
* Probably fixed bug where monsters would sometimes push you (or themselves) into map edges
* Fixed bug where the sword crit special effect (auto-parry next attack) was not working
* Plunderer's weak venom proc should work again
* Budoka's "Iron Breathing" should work again

CONTENT & GAMEPLAY
* ITEM WORLD: Chance that a floor will have lots of fountains
* ITEM WORLD: Chance that a floor will have tons of food
* ITEM WORLD: Chance that non-champions will love you from the start
* Floramancer: New ability, "Grow Spitting Plant". These are stationary turrets that have a ranged thorn attack with a chance to poison!
* Floramancer: Improved Floraconda (1000jp + max unlocks) now has a Constrict attack instead of a ranged thorn. Constrict will root a target and cause damage over time.
* Budoka: Hundred Fists, Qi Wave, and Palm Thrust all grant you a stacking defense boost for a brief time when used.
* Medium Armor: While wearing this armor type, your dodge chance also applies to dodging many damaging abilities
* New armor mod: CONSTITUTION. Gives you a 20% chance to shrug off a negative status effect before it can be added.
* New weapon type: STAVES (Staff). These ranged weapons (range: 3, shorter than bows) scale off a mix of Spirit and Swiftness, instead of just Swiftness like other ranged weapons. The Floramancer's starting weapon is now this type. Two additional staves can be found in the world.

ENGINE
* Trimmed save files a bit

QUALITY OF LIFE
* There is now a short tutorial the first time you enter Tangledeep. Let me know what you think!
* "Sell All" menu options now sell gems too
* You no longer spawn in dangerous terrain in Item World

WRITING
* In item world, the water is now displayed as "poison water"

This build has a major bug fix related to wandering monsters causing game errors, which is the main reason I'm pushing it out today. It also has a couple major gameplay-related changes and I'm interested in seeing how they play out. First, powerups have generally been made more useful and more frequent. You are more likely to find ones that you need, champions always drop them, and you can get two from a single monster. Also, you won't ever get powerups for a resource you're full on. These things should - in theory - make it easier for all jobs to use their abilities a bit more often.

At the same time I've adjusted the monster-attracting gem in a way that may make the game harder. Previously, destroying the gem was almost always optimal so you could make a floor safe. Now, there will always be wandering monsters. However, destroying the gem (which is now "Monster Surpressing Crystal") will yield a larger reward of XP, JP, and gold. The tradeoff is that future wandering monsters will be a bit harder - maybe by 10-15%.

Another key change is that destructibles can generally no longer spawn loot at the same level as the monsters you're fighting, with some exceptions (like gold chests). I think that fighting monsters should be the best source of loot to reward beating challenging encounters.

There are other changes coming up too but for now, I wanted to get these into the world!

ART/VISUALS
* First pass on transparent overlay system - objects behind other objects should be dimly visible

BALANCE
* Appease monster / food delivery rumor is now done with just one piece of food instead of 3
* Limit HP damage requirement has been relaxed further
* Airacudas are now tagged "Flying" and will not take ground terrain damage/mud root
* Ice Daggers champion mod now has a brief cooldown period. Also, they now spawn and move over collidable tiles. Also, they die with the champion.
* Changed loot scaling for destructibles (chests, barrels, etc) and treasure sparkles - these now scale somewhat slower than monsters at the same level
* Champions are now less likely to get rooted in mud
* Champions now always drop a powerup
* All monsters now have a chance to drop a second powerup (half the drop rate of the first one)
* The type of powerup that drops is now influenced by your resources missing/remaining. Also, if one resource is completely full but the other one isn't, you will always get a powerup of the missing resource.
* Powerup drop rate up 10%

BUGS
* Fixed display bug with hover/examine and the Keen Eyes perk (displaying some items in a multi-item tile as blanks)
* Possibly fixed error with wandering monster spawn
* Adjusted "Examine" mode behavior. This is now entirely keyboard-based. The mouse no longer moves the box: mouse in examine mode was redundant anyway, since hovering has the same effect...
* (Probably?) Fixed edge cases where trying to use an ability without enough resources would STILL trigger a cooldown
* Attempted fix at a rare bug where toggled abilities would be stuck on cooldown forever

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* New Rumor type: kill a handful of a specific type of monster using a specific element.

* ITEM WORLD: Small chance of a special, particularly blinged out floor.

* Changes to the monster-attracting gem. This is now the Monster Surpressing Crystal. While the crystal is intact, wandering monsters spawn with light scaling as normal. If you destroy the crystal, you will get XP, JP, and gold, scaling with level. These numbers have been increased from what they are now. However once broken, the monsters that spawn from that point on will be somewhat tougher (higher HP, damage, mitigation)

ENGINE
* Added extra error checking for errors with spawning wandering monsters
* Added additional error checking in game load to track down some problems

QUALITY OF LIFE
* "Drop Item" is now a bindable hotkey, instead of being hardwired to "D"
* There is now an area on the EQ sheet where you can drag items to drop them on the ground

WRITING
* Added text to Sharktooth Cleaver noting that it has lower accuracy
* Added easter egg related to Budoka's "Arrow Catch"

[getter77]

4/29

Alright, strap in... I've been working overtime on this build and there's a whooole lot here. From classic RPG-style "typewriter text" (surprisingly hard to do with colors, sizes, etc.) to a new town EXPANSION, magic trees, and cooking... Tangledeep has definitely risen above 50% completion! I'll focus on some of the key changes here...

Magic trees can be planted in your GROVE, which is in the all-new town expansion (south of Riverstone Camp). Trees grow over in-game time, and continue to grow even when a character dies. As trees mature, they will begin to drop food as you play the game. This is a great way of stocking up on food items. With 5 mature trees, you can expect a decent amount of food with each new character or floor you explore! BUT, you can also cut down trees for a quick XP + JP bonus. Another way to boost a fresh character OR help put you over the edge to the next level.

To plant trees, you'll need to find magic seeds which drop rarely from common enemies, and more often from champions & bosses.

Next, we have the cooking system which is still in its infancy with lots of possibilities ahead. Talk to the campfire in camp to see what recipes are available. Recipes are more powerful than normal food items, so when you want to maximize every turn in the dungeon, these are the best way to do it. More recipes will of course be coming!

You can also enter accessory Item Worlds now, which can yield new magic mods and is guaranteed to give a boost to max Energy and Stamina.

ART/VISUALS
* Buff/debuff icons now start from the left instead of the right
* New Item World tileset! (Work in progress)
* New "NEW!" art for merchants
* New art for Plank Builder (it's actually planks now)
* "Typewriter" style text boxes! (Will iterate and work on this as well)

BALANCE
* Topaz Earrings no longer absorb lightning damage - they now reduce it significantly.
* Cheese Wheels and Boxes of Mints now restore more Stamina/Energy, respectively
* Airacudas fish rush (jump) ability now drains CT when it lands nearby
* Frosted Jellies now summon a whole bunch of ice tiles when they land
* Champion Ice daggers are now destroyed when you touch one
* Jellies now Slime Hop at shorter ranges to close the gap
* Monsters across the board are no longer limited by Energy and Stamina
* "Find Item" rumors will send you back at MOST one previous floor than your lowest explored (as opposed to -2)
* Dodge bonus has been increased on all light armors
* Mint Fat Brew (HP tier 2 potion) buffed slightly
* All tier 2 potion cost 300 -> 250, challenge value lowered (should spawn at lower dungeon levels)
* Spellshaper's "Spellshape: Square" is now 300 jp (down from 500)

BUGS
* Guardian Arachnoids that spawn in the world no longer always drop Item World Orbs (and are no longer counted as bosses)
* Treasure chests in the Stalker Nest are now properly accessible
* 'Spirit' type monsters now have champion names again
* Equipment and statuses that modify spirit power, stamina costs, energy costs, crit damage and many other "battle data" properties should now be saved/loaded properly
* Fixed bug in Swiftness hover display
* Fixed Spellshaper toggle bug (FOR REAL this time? I think?)
* Fixed a number of irregularities causing mouse movement to not work properly (dead zones, unresponsiveness etc)
* Fixed (newly introduced) bug with armor not displaying physical resist properly
* Skill sheet: scrolling through more than 1 page of skills should now display the proper skill descriptions beyond the 1st page
* Goldfrogs now warp when hit at range again
* "Toggle Log" keybind disabled
* Dropped items should now also sort on the Y-axis properly
* If you level up while another dialog is open, or you somehow gain multiple levels at once, you will still be able to boost your stats. You will just get multiple level up dialogs.
* (Visual) CT/extra turn bar will now show at the correct visual state on game load
* (Visual) Rewrote UI cursor aligning... should work much better overall now in dialogs
* You now get rewards for killing enemies with Gambler SNAKE EYES

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* COOKING: You can now "talk" to the campfire in town to cook food! These recipes are more powerful than regular food, and will give you the most bang-for-your-buck (or, more accurately, bang for your hunger)
* New TOWN EXPANSION area! Just go SOUTH from Riverstone Camp! (The corral has been moved here, along with...)
* MAGIC TREES! Look for Magic Seeds in the dungeon (killing bosses or champions is a safe bet.) These can be planted in your tree grove, in the town expansion. Trees grow over time, and across multiple characters. They will produce food for you as in-game days pass. Or, chop them down for an XP & JP reward! Older trees = more XP and JP!
* You can now enter ITEM WORLD of an Accessory. Upgraded accessories may get a random magic mod (as with other equipment), and will always get +5 max Stamina and +5 max Energy per upgrade.
* Multiple save slots have been added!
* NEW LIGHT ARMOR: Ivory Cloak. No dodge chance, but adds parry chance instead.
* NEW MEDIUM ARMOR: Samurai Armor. Increases all damage output.
* NEW HEAVY ARMOR: Mirror Plate. 25% chance to reflect magical projectile attacks.
* NEW HEAVY ARMOR: Goldmail. 50% chance to resist any pull/push attempts.
* NEW ACCESSORY (low lvl): Glowtorch. Boosts Fire and Lightning damage.
* NEW CONSUMABLE: Shadow Shurikens. Strong single-target shadow damage at range.
* NEW CONSUMABLES: Tier 3 potions (health, stamina, energy restoration at higher values)
* Armando (armor merchant) now stocks even better armor for high level players
* Lady Hildegarde now stocks meals at higher levels
* Katy in Bottles n Brews now stocks better potions at higher levels
* When you clear a side area with no stairs up (i.e. a one-floor side area, or the final floor of a multi-level area) you will now get a message indicating you've cleared the area, along with some bonus JP
* When you have mastered a job, additional JP gained will be converted into XP at a ratio of about 10:1
* Sword Dancer: "Ice Tortoise" reworked. This now summons the same kind of shards as champion Ice Daggers.

ENGINE
* Reduced save file fat further (~10% savings)
* Added a debug command to help diagnose mouse issues. Hold W and tap A with the mouse over the game world if you are having issues and tell me what it says (should report whether mouse is in game world, UI, or both)
* Added a debug command to diagnose issues with line of sight - monsters being in sight when they should not be. Hold left bracket [ and tap A, then save+exit and send your output_log.

QUALITY OF LIFE
* When viewing skill information, you'll now see information about damage/healing calculations. (Some skills may be missing info - working on it!)
* Mousewheel can now be used on the Skill sheet (S)
* When getting a Rumor, you can choose not to take it. You still have to pay though, and Erin still only has a limited number of rumors at any time. (No cheesing to get easier rumors!!)
* If you are wearing Knight Gloves, you will not auto equip offhand items.
* Reverted change w/ root chance; if you are rooted and you try to move, you WILL pass a turn again
* The game now tracks playtime, both on a per-character and "meta" basis!

ART/VISUALS
* Removed job and current level from main HUD in favor of current money (xp level will be added back soonish...)

BALANCE
* "Spirit" enemies now have their own enemy type ('Spirits')

BUGS
* Destroying the Monster Crystal now (properly) grants money, as intended
* You should no longer get quests involving the caged Verdigrizzlies in the casino
* Fixed a game load bug
* Fixed minor bug with saving/loading duplicate hero feats
* Fixed some display errors with Sheltering / Shielding magic mods
* Selling stacks of consumables should now take into account the size of the stack
* Abilities that proc on-attack effects (i.e. Qi Wave procs Thundering Lion), should now also check to CONSUME effects which are normally consumed by attacks.
* Champion illusions should really probably not drop item world orbs
* Fixed buggy behavior with Monster Mallet on certain enemies
* Gambler - Straights and related hands (straight flush etc) should evaluate properly
* (Visual) Fixed Gambler hand overlap issue
* (Visual) Fixed summoned pet overlap issue
* (Visual) Fixed camera centering issue in some side areas
* (Visual) Fixed slow Paladin walk animation
* (Visual) Fixed issue where KO'd monsters would sometimes use the wrong sprite when dragged to a new zone

CONTENT/GAMEPLAY
* New weapon mod: Spirit Slaying
* GAMBLER: New effect for FLUSH (repeated through Full House, for now), massive haste!
* Percy now offers a Blessing of Mastery (boosted JP gain)
* Guardian Arachnoids (non-boss) now spawn in the main dungeon too
* Bandit Buffslingers also now spawn in the main dungeon

ENGINE
* Trimmed some extraneous data from save/load
* Added an extra new line of sight check to hopefully prevent cases where monsters are inexplicably visible (when they should not be)

QUALITY OF LIFE
* On the character sheet (C) you can now hover over core stats (Strength, Spirit etc) to see EXACTLY how that stat is impacting your character
* Trying to move while rooted (if the root chance is 100%) will no longer take a turn. You can still attack nearby enemies while rooted, use abilities, and pass turns.
* Cleaned up display for magic mods that give resistances to 5 elements
* Your summoned pet will now show its name in the lower right, instead of the generic "Summoned Pet"
* Added tutorial tip on the passage of time ingame (which currently is how shops are restocked)
* The Monster Mallet no longer allows you to target champions/bosses (who are immune to it anyway)
* "NEW!" text appears above the heads of merchants who have restocked their goods since you last talked to them
* When using 'sell all items', you will not sell your last equipped offhand item (i.e. swap from 1h+shield -> bow, the shield will not be sold)
* When saving and loading the game, your last equipped offhand item will properly save/load

WRITING
* Updated Monster Mallet's description to clarify that it does not work on champions or bosses.