Arcen Games News Has Moved!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

AI War Beta 6.016 "Deflecting Attraction" Released!

This one contains over a dozen significant balance changes and bug fixes. Not as dramatic as some previous releases but combined these have a fairly big impact.

The "Deflector Drone" bonus fleet ship has been renamed to "Attractor Drone" along with a number of buffs to bring it back from the realm of infamy. The name change is due to our replacing its "reduce all laser damage to nearby allies by 75%" mechanic with "all laser shots fired at nearby allies target the drone instead", not very unlike the special mechanic of the Youngling Weasel (or Decoy Drone).

The capturable Advanced Factory, Advanced Starship Constructor, and Fabricator structures have been buffed in two important ways: mapgen will now put them in more defensible positions, and they now work much better with human intra-galactic warp gates. Now the MkIV ships produced from the Advanced Factory and Advanced Starship Constructor (and the Mercenary Space Dock, while we were at it) only get 4 or 8 seconds of paralysis instead of 1 or 2 minutes (the longer time being used on non-friendly planets). And the ships produced from the Fabs experience no post-warp paralysis at all. Our hope is that this will help these structures be more attractive to the player due to the reduced logistical difficulties. There are still issues with defending these on games with exo-sources, but that's a trickier problem (even in determining whether it _is_ a problem) and can be addressed later.

If you've been bashing your head on the desk over the recent buffs to the normal AI guard posts, don't despair, we've fixed a balance oversight where they were countering their triangle-counters. So now when you bring in the countering triangle type you won't take nearly so many casualties. Of course you don't always have the luxury of having the right type on hand or leaving everything else behind, but that problem is left as an exercise for the reader. In addition, we fixed a longstanding issue with mapgen that was preventing the internal planet-strength-differentiation logic from really having any impact on guard post count. Not that it mattered much before the buffs, but now that guard posts can actually hurt you it's nice when normal AI planets don't all have the same number of guard posts. For that matter, if you want to just path through the lower-post-count planets on your way through, that's now possible in many cases.

Speaking of pathing, we've added a long-requested option to the per-planet controls: "Avoid Pathing Through This Planet". We hope this will save much frustration from galaxy map movement orders sending entire fleets through the wrong (but quickest) wormhole only to be swallowed by a small dog (or a not-so-small superfort).

If you're curious about the rest of the changes, have a look at the release notes :)

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have 4.000 or later. When you launch the game, you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time. If you don't have 4.000 or later, you can download that here.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Shattered Haven OST on sale through Band Camp!

The Shattered Haven Original Soundtrack is now on sale through Band Camp! If you enjoyed the music, check it out at:

http://arcenmusic.bandcamp.com/album/shattered-haven

Thank you for your continued support!

Shattered Haven 1.009 "Tiki Escape" Released!

This one is just a couple of minor bugfixes.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.008 "Bonus Speed" Released!

This one has some various fixes and tweaks, but the main thing is to make the Phoenix Forest a bit quicker to traverse on your first time through.

No levels have been removed, but two regular levels are now bonus levels, and are behind "combination doors" that you won't be able to open until much later into your adventure. This gets you past two levels that were a bit frustratingly slow and/or fiddly, and into the coolest early part of the adventure, which is Stantonsburg, more quickly.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.007 "Wrath Of Doors" Released!

This one is a fairly minor update in the main, but it fixes a number of level design issues late in the game where doors would turn out to be one-way and trap you if you didn't use your suicide pill.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

AI War Beta 6.014-6.015 "De-Faulting The Logic" Released!

This one is a relatively small release focusing on balance issues and fixing a few bugs introduced in recent versions. We also addressed some of the longstandingly high-voted mantis issues.

There would be more but we've been working hard on another project (that we might drop some hints on tomorrow, we'll see). Of course it's not another apparatus designed to deliver a "you lose!" experience to players. We'd never do that.

Update: 6.015 hotfix to fix some exo and cloaking bugs in 6.014 that could cause significant problems.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have 4.000 or later. When you launch the game, you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time. If you don't have 4.000 or later, you can download that here.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.006 "Balloon Flight" Released!

This one has a variety of tweaks and fixes in it, as well as a new vehicle: a fast version of the hot air balloon for use in Alden Ridge! Several levels have also had some new hints added to them to keep their puzzles from being quite so devilish.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Tidalis in Indie Royale Mighty Bundle

Indie Royale has rolled out The Mighty Bundle, included in which is our addictive puzzle game Tidalis! You can pick the game up, along with five additional games, now through April 4th.

The rest of the bundle's titles are pretty enticing as well, with Avadon: The Black Fortress, Derrick the Deathfin, Waveform, Zafehouse: Diaries, and War of the Human Tanks. Six games, all for a minimum of around $5 (price fluctuates based on sales, currently at $4.77).

In other news: I'm in San Francisco this week for at GDC, and I'll be demoing Shattered Haven tonight at the POW POW music event at the DNALounge. If you are in town, and have an hour or two (or more) in between the hours of 7:00 PM - 2:00 AM, stop in and say hi.

Here's the latest coverage for our games that's come in over the past week:

Reviews
Tierra Gamer: [Review] Shattered Haven (8.3/10)
Saving Content: Shattered Haven (3/5)
Invision Community: Shattered Haven Review (3/5)
Dad's Gaming Addiction: Valley 2 Review (8/10)
IndeeGames: A Valley Without Wind 2 Review (7/10)
Best Games Today: Discover New World in A Valley Without Wind 2
ComboCaster: A Valley Without Wind 2 Review (7/10)
Dad's Gaming Addiction: AI War Review (8/10)

Videos
MugetGaming: Shattered Haven Gameplay Walkthrough First Look
Dad's Gaming Addiction: A Valley Without Wind 2 -DGA Play Session #1
EhPlusGamer: Eh Reviews A Valley Without Wind
Dad's Gaming Addiction: AI War: Fleet Command - DGA Play Session #1

Other Coverage
IndieGames.com: Release: Shattered Haven (Arcen Games)
Capsule Computers: Valley Dual Pack Highlighted in Indie Spring Sale

Monday, March 25, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.005 "Stantonsburg's Revenge" Released!

This one doesn't really contain anything individually notable, but rather a laundry list of small fixes and tweaks. A lot of them have been centered around Stantonsburg, hence the name of the release. That town has a mind of its own, and I don't just mean when it's going all scary on you, the player. It clearly likes to play mind games with us developers, too. ;)

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.004 "Gunfight With An Eyeball Snake" Released!

This one includes a new boss fight that involves... well, eyeball snakes and guns, as I suppose you could guess. This is actually the boss level that you can watch me design in the level editor in our recent Let's Play videos. There are also a number of fixes and tweaks included in this update, of course.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Steam Indie Spring Sale: Valley Dual Pack, AI War and Tidalis 75% Off

As Shattered Haven soldiers on from Monday's launch, Steam has rolled out a big time, 400+ indie game sale that has Arcen's catalog front and center with some major discounts.

Here's the breakdown:

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.003 "Brevity Is The Soul Of Wit" Released!

This one is the second release of the day. Based on some feedback that we got from a member of the press whom I greatly trust, I realized that our tutorial was just too darn long. There were some parts where players were getting lost even in the alpha and beta, and the whole thing was taking quite a bit of time and delaying "getting to the good stuff," so to speak.

So we've cut down the tutorial to the parts that really matter, including the key things you need to learn and the long-term story bits, and hopefully this will give a better first introduction into the game.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Shattered Haven 1.002 "Mind The Gap!" Released!

This one has a litany of small fixes and tweaks, and a couple of cool new features.

First off, when you're walking you no longer fall into pits or water. Handy when you're navigating tight ledges while not being pursued by angry grays

Secondly, when you scroll through items in your inventory, it now shows popup text at the top of the screen to remind you what the function of that tool or weapon is. This is really useful for people who don't already have the game's many weapons and tools fully memorized -- saves the steps of going into the encylopedia.

Thirdly, whenever any new encyclopedia entry is unlocked, the encyclopedia now opens directly to that entry when you next open it. That saves you time hunting through the categories.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're really having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, please spread the word! We can use all the help we can get. A huge thanks to all of you who have already done so.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Shattered Haven 1.001 "Dual Control" Released!

This one is our first post-release update. It includes the ability for you to use both the analog stick and the d-pad on your game controllers interchangeably, and it allows you to create new levels directly in the level editor rather than making you initialize them in the file system first. Also it has a couple of bugfixes and tweaks.

Shattered Haven is something that people who are playing it really seem to love, but we're having trouble getting the word out. If you play it and love it, be sure to spread the word! We can use all the help we can get.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have any version of the game. When you launch the game, hit the big "Play" button and then you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time.

AI War Beta 6.013 "Core Foamhammer" Released!

This one adds Core (MkV) versions of the 18 fleet ships that previously maxed out at MkIV. So you can now get those from Core Fabricators. Abuse of Core Shield Bearers may result in... well, I guess you don't have much to fear if you have Core Shield Bearers.

The bulk of this release answers the results of the recent nerf polls with significant hammerings handed out all around.

Gravity won the AI-side poll and came in second on the human-side. Since the universal gravitational constant laughed at us when we tried to nerf it, we instead nerfed the units trying to use said gravity. Except the player home forcefield grav-generator, that's still just as nasty as it was.

Manufactories won the Player-side poll. Yea, the things that convert metal to crystal and vice versa when you ask them to. The player sentiment wasn't that these were overpowered (that would have been kind of amusing) but that they were unnecessary. Why have them be physical structures with automated turn-on/turn-off logic when the game could just handle the conversion automatically? Normally we wouldn't have prioritized this, but the poll told us it was important to the players, so it's been done. The foam hammer hit the Manufactories so hard that they don't exist anymore, and the conversion is now done on an as-needed basis (there's still a control you can use to restrict or completely prevent the conversion, if desired).

Other winners include Counterattack Guard Posts, the Spirecraft Scout, the Ravenous Shadow (which will now be even more hungry, thank you very much), and the Interplanetary Munitions Booster. Salute the victoriously Hammered!

This release also includes a few other changes, including some buffs to Heavy Bomber Starships, Regeneration Golems, Spire Corvettes, MkII Transports, and munitions-boosting-for-starships. An attempt was also made to rein in certain Astro Train varieties.

Enjoy!

This is a standard update that you can download through the in-game updater itself, if you already have 4.000 or later. When you launch the game, you'll see the notice of the update having been found if you're connected to the Internet at the time. If you don't have 4.000 or later, you can download that here.