Development Newsletter: June Development Updates

While June has been a quiet month for patches, a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes towards a major gameplay update that will add a lot of new dynamics to Hermit's combat gameplay!

These changes are currently live on the Beta Branch but will not be live on the main branch (default install) until later on, as some work is still needed on bug fixes/optimizations. For returning players, it is recommended to start a new save game.

June Updates: Status Effect & Damage Type Overhaul

Damage Types

This month a complete overhaul of the game's damage type system was performed. While on the surface this seems like a small change, in terms of gameplay code it was a major change that required a lot of work.

The payoff is equally large: Hermit now supports different damage types for weapons, damage type effects from spells, and a large number of new status effects levying the new damage system mechanics as well.

• While the Demo will only support one damage type per weapon, the final game will support mixed damage types (i.e., Weapons that deal partially physical, partially elemental, or even mixed elemental damage types)

• Weapon trails are now coloured so that the player can easily see their own & enemy damage types

• Elemental Damage types are now displayed in the item descriptions of weapons dealing elemental damage

• Added support for rich image decorators so that elemental damage type icons can be displayed in text descriptions

• The Codex now displays a full list of damage resistances for known enemy types

• Many weapons, spells, and enemy attacks now deal purely elemental damage instead of physical

• Weapons that apply elemental damage still have a physical damage type, and this is used to determine their effects on Stability and Easy of Parrying (e.g., A Warhammer dealing spectral damage would no longer deal Bludgeon damage, but its Stability Damage is still calculated as a Bludgeoning)

Active Status Effects UI

Status effects are a major part of gameplay in Hermit, and Status effect details need to be quickly accessible to the player. A new 'Active Status Effects' section has been added to the player character menu.

• A Status Effect UI is now displayed in the character sheet

• The player sheet can be quickly opened by pressing 'P' without having to first open the character menu

• The 'P' hotkey is shown in the title of the Player page now

Curses, Infusions, and Auras: New Statuses, Potions, & Resources

• Added a new status effect class: Curses. Curses are status effects that lower one's resistances and damage dealt for one damage type only

• Added a new status effect class: Infusions. Infusions are status effects that can change the type of damage dealt by the player's weapon; this allows players to deal elemental damage even if a weapon of that type is not currently wielded. Only one Infusion type can be active at a time.

• Added a new status effect: Auras. Auras are status effects that enhances player resistances versus (and damage dealt by) one elemental damage type. Multiple auras can be active at once.

• The new status effects can be added using crafted potions

• The new potion crafts require some new ingredient items

• Added new mining deposits for ether shards around the map, which are required to craft some of the new potions

• Added some new guaranteed pickaxe spawn locations around the map

New Positive & Negative Statuses

Added a variety of other new positive and negative statuses including exhaustion, starvation, pain, concussion, and more. Negative status effects are now mostly denoted by a red border on the HUD.

• There are now almost 40 different status effects in the game, almost all of which are also accessible in the demo

• The bleed, heavy bleed, and fracture status icons are now clearer/more readable

Other Changes

• The Windward Oak has a new, more distinctive look and feel, making it much more recognizable on the map; this new look is also more performance optimized than the previous style

• More than a dozen new potion recipes have been added to support the new status and damage systems

• Added several new items to support the new status effect and damage type changes as well

• The character menu subwidgets now display their corresponding hotkey in their title if they have one

• Reduced the value of rusty weapons and helmets

• Changed the look and feel of Ornate Chests

• New VFX and SFX have been added to support the new status effect additions

• Fixed an issue that could cause the player to become permanently hostile with the Nemins (Nemin hostility is now cleared if the player dies)

New Building Modules & Work on the Main Game Release

While the updates listed above are all included in the upcoming update for the Hermit Demo, this month has also seen extensive work on new game assets for the main game release (not to be included in the demo).

• Migration of all updates from the Demo into the main game files was completed mid-June

• The main game release will include all QOL updates that the Demo has received (and more)

• Significant work has gone into developing new 3D Building Modular meshes for the main game villages: new walls, shingles, fireplaces, stairs, etc.

• The new buildings are a much needed improvement over the houses seen in the Demo, and include better interior space as well as a more stylized design

• Significant work has also gone into optimization of foliage for the main game and the development of new Biomes

More updates on the main game will be shared once the Demo development period fully winds down, but at this time development on the main game is in full swing.

The main game release window is still anticipated to be some time around the end of this year.

Supporting the Project

If you've been enjoying the Hermit Demo and want to help support the game, some things you can do to help support the project:

• Consider leaving a positive review for the Demo Page! It helps the game a lot, and allows me to focus more of my time on development rather than having to divert that time and energy toward advertising

• Share the game Demo with friends / Discord servers you know might enjoy it

• Submit bug reports using the reporting tool: if you find an issue, let me know. I can't reply to every report, but I do read them all and I make an effort to fix every issue that I can reproduce on my end

Thank you all for your continued support of the project!