Guess what?

'The Ruins of Calaworm' (which may or may not be a Roguelike - you be the judge in that matter) is boasting some new traps and tricks.

A Shiny new Demo is available from the Main Page (yes, that's a capital 'Shiny')!

Now, rewind to my bold claim in January 2023, where I was like, "No more Demos!" and that the Final Release would be ready within the year – unfortunately, reality got in the way. As they say, last 10% of a project takes up 90% of development time ...

While 2023 didn't witness the vertical progress I've been striving for, I certainly haven't been lazy. Early this year I found myself at crossroads with a fully playable chunk of the game. I "just" needed to tie up loose ends. But instead I took the scenic route, turning the thing I had into a cohesive, bug-free, and polished experience. That meant, playing the game.

Like, a lot.

Throughout the year I beat the Demo a gazillion times, all the while addressing unfinished content, tweaking numbers, fixing bugs, and refining Tutorials for the quirkier mechanics.

Now, almost a year later, I find myself at the same crossroads, but the game is in a vastly improved state. And while there won't be formal Patch Notes (releasing another build before Final wasn't part of the plan), I now couldn't be more thrilled to share my progress with you. I dare say that even those familiar with previous builds will find this new Bad Boy unrecognizable: the amount of polish is through the roof, and most mechanics have undergone meticulous refinement.

Here's the scoop on the new features:

• 3 New Maps in the pool, slight modifications of classic KALAWAUM-Maps, that can now be chosen by the generator when creating a new world.
• Yuggothian Pocket Refinery: Grants access to an additional Minigame and allows temporary reinforcement of cracked equipment.
• Alchemy Items: Can be consumed to gain an edge in battle.
• Provision Items: Grant Sprint-Credits, enabling you to escape tight spots and break navigational rules.
• Stealth Ability: A new tool to handle tricky situations.
• Frenzy Stacks: Expiring Alchemy boosts, and first-time resting at Fireplaces, can now grant stacks of Frenzy, enabling you to turn Fumbled Attacks into regular Hits.
• Equipment Durability: A slightly more deterministic feel, with an "equipWear"-attribute that increases with every use, making equipment preservation a necessary and rewarding skill.
• Soulslike-inspired Mechanic: Introduced when respawning at a Shrine, upping the stakes. Be very afraid!
• Treasure Chests: they're quite rare and not in plain sight. So keep your eyes peeled ...
  
• A few more Story Notes: finding them all requires multiple playthroughs.
• Hotkeys for Sound Volume: Independent control for in-game Sound Volume, separate from Music Volume.
• Still no fancy Menu, but you may now freely configure the Keyboard control scheme.

While the Final Release is going to start on the highest difficulty, players will unlock sliders to adjust various aspects of the game. Eventually you'll be the DJ, spinning the knobs to whatever feels fun and/or challenging to you. The Demo is tuned to represent a medium to easy difficulty, and as the developer, I can reliably beat it every time.

And if you can't, well, you just gotta git gud. <3

To those still standing by me, I hope you enjoy the new Demo. Eventually I will push another Patch, but for now I'm observing and collecting feedback, fixing stuff internally until I've accumulated enough to make it worth. So, please, if you come across any bugs or have constructive criticism (or just annoyed by a particular pet peeve)  feel free to share in the comments. I'm all ears and open mind, ready to soak it in.

Thank you for being part of this adventure. 'The Ruins of Calaworm' are a wondrous place, ripe with Danger and Eldritch Intrigue, and have yet much in store for you!