Final Early Access update: Jupiter Hell 0.9.12 - Trials!
Kornel
Kisielewicz,
12 Jul 2021
"Trials", a.k.a. Jupiter Hell 0.9.12, marks the final Early Access update as the game will be graduating Steam Early Access and releasing in full on August 5.
A long, ambitious, and - let's not be afraid to admit - crazy
development cycle is coming to an... climax. Yeah, let's go with climax,
as in no way 1.0 marks the end of Jupiter Hell updates.
If
you've been eyeing the game for some time now and don't have it on your
wishlist yet, be so kind and correct that obvious oversight now. If you
do have it on your wishlist - remember to get Jupiter Hell
at the full release date or soon after, so you don't miss the special
release discount. Now, let's see that over-the-top cinematic
teaser-trailer thing, to whet that appetite!
Jupiter Hell 0.9.12 "Trials" is live!
The
highlights of this release are a new type of challenges, the eponymous
"Trials", that change the layout of the game. Furthermore you can now
play the same random layout as other people thanks to the "Preset seed
game" mode. New message quests (and one new level event) have also been
added, as well as updates to the game voice over, as well as new
intermission screen music! Finally balance changes and a TON of fixes
have been made, read all about it below!
Trials
are a separate category of challenges that modify the game world
instead of the player. Our initial lineup of Trials is as follows:
Purity - no-bullshit, no special levels, no quests but a higher chance for random exotics and uniques!
Haste - half the levels, twice the experience - for the times when you want a shorter, more intense game!
Endless - ever wanted to see the limits of your characters power? Try your wits in the endless challenge!
Arena - fight off waves of enemies in the Arena!
Royal - the Jupiter Hell "boss" rush - only special levels, but you get to pick the amount and order!
Of course each Trial comes with its set of badges to earn!
Finally
a use for that Seed number that has been lurking in the top left of
your screen. Had a big stroke of luck with items? Share the level
generation seed with others! Want to compete against others on the same
generated levels? Share a seed and see who gets the best score!
(note that seeded games don't unlock achievements, badges, found items, and are not recorded on the highscore list)
A
whopping 48 new messages are to be found, split into six new message
quest types. Two of those are linked to the new potential level event -
Toxic Contamination. Take note, as this one can definitely be a double
edged sword!
Not
only did we add a fresh supply of voice lines from our favorite
commander Mark Meer, we also added a new setting for those that don't
like the tongue-in-cheek style of the Jupiter Hell VO, but don't want to
turn it off altogether - the Serious tone. It also automatically turns
on when you get to the endgame ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Along with the new voice
lines comes the option to turn on subtitles, and new voice events - for
example a notification that there's a randomly spawned unique in a chest
on this level!
Additionally we fixed some voice issues with encountering exalted packs and picking up new weapons for the first time.
Our
metalhead musician, Roland LaGoy, provided us with 3 brand new tracks
for the intermission screens! The final "intermission" will change once
Dante Station appears next update!
Apart
from adding subtitles, several other improvements have been made -
post-mortem report now shows a log of what actually killed you and how
much damage it did, challenge and trial choice menus give details on
what Badge you already acquired, and what are the requirements for the
next one, and all places that are locked behind ranks list the amount of
Badges you need to earn to unlock them!
Taking
a look at unlocks, we moved some stuff around a bit in terms of the
unlock level. We also locked challenges to Medium+ difficulties (it's
supposed to be a challenge after all!). Medium+ is also the requirement
for opening the portal to the Shattered Abyss.
Monster,
Bloodletter and Love have had their damage buffed. More importantly,
all non-exotic/non-unique automatic weapons got a blanket +1 buff to
damage to bring them in line with the other weapon types. On the flip
side, Exalted Summons encounter has been made more challenging, and we
blanket increased the enemy density - because Jupiter Hell is most fun
when it's crowded!
Apart
from the already mentioned subtitles and voice options, volume default
settings have been adjusted, and the volume settings better reflect the
perceived volume. On the visual side, you can now configure draw
distance (and if you are in low-FPS-land you probably should play around
reducing those). Speaking of FPS, the awkward FPS counter is now turned
off by default, but if you're nostalgic, you can bring it back through
the Settings menu too.
Apart
from fixes already mentioned, we also fixed the Fiend Crown/Frozen
Temple interaction bug, and hopefully finally squashed the kill count
bug that lingered around CalSec Central. Quite a few bugs have been
squished, some more highlights are listed in the changelog below.
Beta 0.9.12 - Trials - July 21, 2021
NEW #1441 - Purity trial added!
NEW #1454 - Haste trial added!
NEW #1440 - Endless trial added!
NEW #1442 - Arena trial added!
NEW #1457 - Royal trial added!
NEW #1320 - 48 new message quests (6 new types)!
NEW #1369 - Preset seed game - share the same game with others
NEW #1405 - new voice lines, Beyond serious tone override
NEW #1406 - option to turn on voice subtitles
NEW #1405 - new voice styles (serious, serious clean)
NEW #1434 - dedicated intermission music tracks
NEW #1422 - new event - Toxic Contamination
NEW #1189 - post-mortem damage source log on death
NEW #1459 - Random/Fated option in class choice
NEW #1466 - 2 new medals - Blind Luck Star and Plot Armor Medal
CHANGE #1444 - Challenge/Trial pick menu has best and next badge
CHANGE #1444 - locked entries list missing badges to unlock
CHANGE #1445 - buffed Monster, Bloodletter and Love damage
CHANGE #1445 - buffed auto, assault and plasma rifles by +1 damage
CHANGE #1445 - increased enemy density (especially early game)
CHANGE #1428 - VO event for uniques and a random unique in chest
CHANGE #1433 - volume settings are logarithmic
CHANGE #1433 - adjusted some default volume settings
CHANGE #1427 - challenge modes require Medium+ difficulty
CHANGE #1427 - Shattered Abyss doesn't appear on Easy
CHANGE #1422 - made Exalted Summons event harder
CHANGE #1447 - draw distance configurable, better defaults
CHANGE #1448 - FPS counter is optional, hidden by default
FIX #1428 - exalted pack VO will correctly play on first enemy
FIX #1428 - first pickup VO will correctly play for all types
FIX #1436 - fixed Frozen Temple/Fiend Crown interaction
FIX #1436 - fixed unique drops in Dark Cathedral
FIX #1389 - fixed kill counters bug once and for all
FIX #1455 - you will only get the highest tier medals
FIX #1435 - frozen heart is properly seed-based
FIX #1450 - Exalted Curse plays the VO just once on entry
FIX #1451 - you no longer lose Gunrunner bonus on free actions
FIX #1452 - "Level" string for uniques wont show up on compare
FIX #1461 - fixed selection disappearing on double level-up
FIX #1460 - summoner is immune to acid
FIX #1431 - fixed source of rare Vulkan crashes on load
FIX #1467 - fixed rare garbled hint messages
What's next
What
else is there to say? 1.0 is next :). And with it we'll finally invite
you to board Dante Station and cleanse the evil within... Stay tuned for August 5th and Jupiter Hell coming out of Early Access!