The Library is Open

Hi friends!

This Alpha Build marks the first of what I'm calling "content patches" for Vidar. All told, it includes two new quests (plus an overhauled third quest), a new zone, a new puzzle mechanic, and some new additional functionality. The goal with this patch wasn't just bug fixes, but something much more, to continue to increase the content where it felt lacking (here, primarily focused on the Dark Cave). 

For a bit of dev history, the Library was actually in one of the earliest prototypes of Vidar, several years ago when I was still using RPG Maker default assets. Once Becca's art started coming in, I never rebuilt it, and it was languishing in a back corner for years. You could get pretty close to it in various demos, and the entry was even in the Dark Cave Alpha Month I did about a year ago. 

So I'm happy that it is finally making its triumphant return all these years later, particularly because Mihaly was feeling a little lackluster overall. As was Dani; I took the opportunity to inject a quest for her here, and start her down an inheritance path that will be more fleshed out in a later content patch.

Getting this much content done in 2 weeks was do-able, but maintaining a pace of these every 2 weeks will be difficult as we get to launch. That is, I wasn't able to do this and a lot of marketing, bug fixes, etc. So we'll see four more content patches coming before Early Access, and then a slight hiatus while final bugs are stomped, Steam is updated, and everyone gets hyped. If you want a preview of them, keep an eye on the What's Next page as we progress! 

Speaking of Early Access...

VIDAR WILL LAUNCH ON STEAM EARLY ACCESS ON JANUARY 31, 2017

That doesn't give us a lot of time, so if you're one of the KS backers that has access to the Alpha, make sure you're playtesting so I can fix anything you come across!

Alpha Build 0.7.3.0

​​Quests

• Overhauled Quest: Den of Darkness. This quest now has several possible branches and substantially improved functionality. The conditions for its receipt have changed, several cutscenes have been added, and rewards have been revised. 
• New Quest: Threnody. Get it from Mihaly in the mid-game
• New Quest: Reading is Fundamental. Get it from Dani once you have Threnody
• Fixed a bug related to mining ore in for "What's Yours is Mine"
• Fixed several crashes related to "Sketched Out"
• Csaba will now remove items appropriately from your inventory
• Giving your journal to Csaba properly disables journal access from the menu

Puzzles

• New Puzzle Mechanic: Spiders. Find 'em in the Dark Cave
• The Library now spawns in the Dark Cave with 7 new puzzles
• A room is now marked "complete" once the puzzle is completed, rather than always having to reach the exit. This is most prominent in the Ice Cave.
• When moving from room to room, it now takes no time to go to an adjacent room. Which room is adjacent is determined by the exit you take from that room. So, for example, if you leave through the entrance to a room, then the room before you will take no time to go to. 
• Relatedly, when moving from room to room, if you are backtracking you will enter the target room at its exit (as though coming from deeper in the cave)

Dialogue

• Rewrote nearly all of Etel's dialogue
• Added dialogue for Dorottya, Dani, and Mihaly
• Added introductory dialogue for Csaba
• Edits to Rozsa's dialogue
• Fixed the music in the cutscene for receiving "The Second Son"

Misc

• Robert now actually inherits the Doctor role from his father
• Fixed a rope in Dark Cave 1 (this was actually handled in a hotfix)
• Fixed the small transition between the Ice Cave and Dark Cave which would cause the player to become transparent (this was actually handled in a hotfix)
• Nearly every book has been removed from Vidar - don't worry, we'll find new ones
• All books have been given a charity value
• Mihaly now takes requests
• Fixed a crash when trying to switch tools in town
• The timer window will go away once the day is over
• Ghosts no longer gab while the end of day text is pending
• Arpad now mourns Rozsa at her grave
• Borbalo and Katarina now mourn Sandor at his grave
• Added text for "Well Read"
• Fixed an occasional crash when entering the cave for the first time
• Music now fades out after puzzle generation
• Fixed some text positioning and line breaks throughout the game
• Added a better, non-text tutorial for light pillar use; removed the text that would show up in DC2

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A whopping 80 Steam Keys were sent out this week! We'll have rolled out the alpha to everyone on Steam for Windows and Mac by the end of next week. Linux, and the remaining Direct Downloads, are close behind.

​- Dean