Dev Diary #4 - A Peek at the Next Update!

Hello Mages!

We're back with another Dev Diary!

First to know, instead of releasing one large update, we've decided to break these features (that we have teased in our latest blog) into multiple patches/updates. We are currently working on three (and possibly four) key features that will be added to Revenge of the Mage soon: Steam Achievements, the Talent System, Voice Acting (and Leaderboards). These features are designed to enhance long-term goals and player progression, as well as to elevate the game's storytelling.

Achievements

We are currently testing Steam Achievements to give you specific milestones to work toward. We’ve designed a variety of achievements that track different accomplishments in the game. Some will be tied to general progression, while others are designed for specific, challenging tasks.

These achievements are intended to add a new layer of goals and replayability for those who enjoy chasing them. As a starting point, we have planned a specific list of achievements. Here are some of the Achievements to give you an idea. Steam post image

But over time, we want to expand the list bit by bit. We believe this will be especially fun for the Achievement Hunters out there to come back and claim them.

The Talent System

To address the desire for more lasting progression between runs, we are adding another feature to our meta-progression system: The Ancestral Talent Board, which we had mentioned in our second blog.

This is a well-known skill tree where you can spend your skill points to permanently improve your character. You'll gain these points when you level up (yeah, big surprise :P). The talents will offer a range of upgrades, from increasing your core stats to unlocking new passive abilities or modifying existing ones. It's still under heavy construction, but you can see two versions of the concept design for the Ancestral Talent Board here. And yes, there are Ascendency nodes at the top of the second concept ;) Steam post image

Steam post image We are going back and forth on these concepts and the system itself while testing to find out what would be the best fit for Revenge of the Mage. Once a decision is made, we'll provide more details about how this feature will be introduced later. But eventually, this system is going to be a designed to provide a tangible sense of growth and a reward for your time spent playing, regardless of how far you get in a single run. The choices you make in the Talent System will allow you to customize your build over time, offering new strategic options for future runs.

Voice Acting

To truly bring their personalities to life, we're adding voice acting for the player character and the Wizard Cat. This is just the beginning of our voiced characters feature for Revenge of the Mage, designed to elevate the game's storytelling and humor and help you get to know these two heroes on a whole new level.

Leaderboards

For those of you who love a good competition, we are looking to include Leaderboards in the next update. We'll use Steam's leaderboard infrastructure for this. The plan is to track a variety of metrics, such as your highest score in a run and your fastest time to defeat a boss. This feature is all about friendly competition and seeing how your skills stack up against other mages and your friends. We're planning to introduce several leaderboards to give everyone a chance to climb to the top, regardless of their preferred playstyle.

Optimization & Performance Issues

We are aware that some mages faced frame drops and stuttering, particularly in specific multiverses. There are also a couple of crash scenarios that we are investigating. We are aiming to address all of these by the next update.

That’s it for this diary— we’re incredibly excited for what’s ahead, and we’re thankful to have such a supportive and passionate community with us on this journey. As always, your feedback means everything, so keep it coming! Until next time; — The Revenge of the Mage DEV Team Steam post image