Hello everyone! I wanted to get a Dev Log up this week since I won’t be posting anything next week. Despite my original plan to release the next build (0.0.4) this month, I completely forgot that I won’t actually be here at the end of the month. I apologize to anyone who was expecting a major update, but I have plans to make it up to you.

The next big numbered release will be in April, and instead of 0.0.4, I’ll be skipping straight to 0.0.5. Since I’ve been numbering builds based on dungeon additions, you might be able to guess what this means: I plan to include both of the next dungeons—the fourth dungeon, known as the “Hotel,” and the fifth and final dungeon, the “Slaughterhouse.” This will bring the game very close to its Beta version.

For those who aren’t aware, the Alpha version is the work-in-progress phase, whereas the Beta version will be fully playable but may still have missing features and assets. Once we hit Beta, development will primarily focus on smaller additions, bug fixes, and polish.

Now, let’s talk about the two upcoming dungeons and the new enemy featured at the top of this post.

The Hotel

The fourth dungeon is a Love Hotel, complete with neon signs, heart-shaped beds, and a more contemporary feel compared to the others. The pacing here shifts away from running and hiding, instead emphasizing combat.

I’ve started calling the last two dungeons the “Action Dungeons” since they introduce faster, stronger enemies that will challenge everything you’ve learned up to this point.

One of these enemies is The Twisted, the one seen at the top of this post. Originally, I intended for them to be another melee-focused enemy, but after seeing feedback about the game’s gunplay, I decided to make them more unique. The Twisted can use every gun the player can.

That overpowered double-barrel shotgun? now it can be used against you.
That supposedly weak SMG? Try being on the receiving end.

They have some damage dampening (since getting deleted in five seconds isn’t fun), but dodging melee enemies while taking cover from The Twisted’s gunfire has proven to be a compelling challenge that definitely makes the game feel more action oriented. They will first appear in the Hotel to introduce their mechanics before going full throttle in the next dungeon.

Their one plus-side is that once you purify them, you can take their weapon and they do have a noticeable charge-up before they start shooting.

The Slaughterhouse

The Slaughterhouse is a dungeon that I’ve pretty much known what I wanted to do with from the beginning of development. It was always planned as the final dungeon in the game and as I've been juggling both it and the Hotel, this dungeon ended up being completed first, with the exception of its Stalker.

This dungeon solidifies the more combat-centric approach with wide-open spaces and miniature arenas instead of the various corridors seen in earlier dungeons. Hiding spots still exist, but they're mainly for avoiding the Stalker, rather than regular enemies.

By this point in the game, you should be powerful enough to handle most threats, but getting swarmed is still a real danger. To potentially make up for anyone who is behind, this dungeon will also offer more rewards for completing runs in.

The Banshee, an enemy I introduced in a previous post, will also make its debut here. Like the Twisted, the Banshees have a ranged attack though they can also use a melee combo up close. Overall, I’ve had a lot of fun testing this dungeon so far.

What’s Next?

With the Slaughterhouse mostly done, my next step is to go back to the Hotel (Dungeon 4) and bring it up to standard. Right now, it feels too empty, so I’ll be populating it with props and refining the lighting.

Beyond that, I’ll be working on stronger variants for recurring enemies like the Witness, giving them new visuals and increased difficulty. That will likely happen after the Hotel is mostly finished. Boss fights also still need to be done, so they’re on the list as well. As you can guess, at least two boss fights will need to be introduced in the next version so that progressing through the dungeons is possible.

As I mentioned earlier, I won't be here next week. My birthday is also coming up, so I'll be taking a short break and resuming work in April. I'll keep you all posted as always!

That's all for now! See you all again in a couple of weeks.

Hello everyone! At the end of February, I released version 0.0.3 of Sin Spire, and so far, I’ve received a lot of feedback. First off, I want to apologize for a frustrating bug that sends players back to the title screen when dying in a boss fight. That wasn’t intentional, and I’m currently putting together a new version that fixes this issue along with a few others.

I originally planned to release the update today, but instead, I wanted to take a moment to discuss a few things in this dev log. I’m debating whether to release the patch in the next few days or hold off until next week to include more fixes. Either way, since this update will arrive before the next major version, I’m adding a few experimental features I’d like to talk about.

Difficulties

Something of an ongoing discussion for Sin Spire is its difficulty. As the developer, I don’t find the game that hard, but feedback ranges from “too easy” to “rage-inducingly impossible.” While I think both extremes might be a bit of a stretch, I do take these critiques seriously. Some difficulty spikes come from bugs that end a run unfairly or mechanics that aren’t well-explained, but beyond that, the game is simply designed to be challenging.

That said, I understand not everyone wants the same level of difficulty, so I’ve decided to introduce difficulty options in the next update:

These settings may need adjustments, and I expect some players will still find Hard too easy or Easy too hard at first. You’ll be able to change difficulty in the settings menu whenever you’re in the Starting Hall.

The game will track if you have changed difficulty mid-run so that you cannot cheese unlockables or achievements in the final game.

Save Slots & Autosaving

Another requested feature is save slots. Originally, Sin Spire only had a single save file, but after a bug forced some players to restart their runs after not unlocking the new dungeon, I decided to add multiple slots. The first save slot remains the primary one for Boss Rush mode and other extra content.

Additionally, I’ve introduced autosaving as a safeguard against crashes. Some players have reported fatal errors (which I haven’t been able to replicate or fix yet), so this should help prevent lost progress for the time being.

Autosaving triggers whenever you use a portal – so each time you enter or exit a dungeon, your progress will be saved automatically.

Now, before you get too excited – this isn’t a cheat menu. The Debug Menu is meant to help visualize things like quest progress. This relates to the bug where some players couldn’t enter the next dungeon. While I’ve implemented a workaround, the root issue with the main quest not progressing is still lurking somewhere. This menu should help pinpoint what’s going wrong.

I’ve also added a reset button that teleports you back to the starting point of a level in case you fall through the floor. In the future, I might expand the Debug Menu’s functionality, but for now, it’s mainly there for you guys to use, since I can access all of this in the editor.

That wraps up what’s coming in the next update, alongside various bug fixes. Outside of that, I’ve been working on the next dungeon and finishing up the script. Speaking of which – I’ve actually finished the script! (Well, at least the first draft.) This is a big milestone, as I’ve now sent Savina’s full script to her VA and started casting for Ophelia.

With the script mostly locked in, writing-wise I’m shifting focus to notes that can be found throughout the dungeons. Alongside that, my priority will be gameplay – until I receive the voice lines, at which point I can begin animating more scenes.

In the short term, I’ll continue fixing bugs and working on the next dungeon.

Anyway, this has been quite a wordy dev log. I haven’t even mentioned the Slacker at the top of the post. I put that picture together quickly for this update – if you’re not familiar, the Slacker is the Stalker of the third dungeon. For everyone who isn’t a Supporter and hasn’t played the latest build, I’ve included a short list of key additions that were introduced in 0.0.3.

That’s all for now. Until next time, take care!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while. As some of you may know, I got sick a few weeks ago and have only recently started recovering. Unfortunately, this was a major setback, as I wasn’t able to work while I was ill. But I’m happy to say that I’m well enough to get back to development, and there’s plenty to update you on.

Gameplay Adjustments

First off, I’ve made some balance changes based on feedback. After seeing how many players considered the shotgun to be “the only good weapon” or “overpowered,” I decided to nerf it slightly while boosting the damage of the other guns. This should make more weapons viable without completely gutting the shotgun’s usefulness. I’ll continue tweaking these numbers as needed.

Another change is that enemies no longer collide with each other. This might seem minor, but it solves an issue where enemies would get stuck on doors—not because of bad pathing, but because they were blocking each other. With this change, navigation should be a bit smoother.

The Old House

Now onto the more exciting content: the newest dungeon, currently called The Old House. This dungeon is styled after a traditional Japanese house, featuring paper doors and wooden walls. I wanted to repurpose the sliding door functionality I originally made for the now-cut school area, and this setting fit perfectly.

In terms of layout, The Old House is a mix of the first two dungeons—combining claustrophobic spaces with open areas, but with an added hazard: floor traps. If you’re not paying attention, you might fall to your death. This, combined with new enemy types, makes for a more intense experience.

New Enemies

With a new dungeon comes new threats. These threats have been designed to make use of the trapped environment.

The Duchess Boss Fight

I’ve also started work on the Duchess boss fight for the second dungeon. This fight has been tricky to design, and I’m still tweaking it.

Initially, I wanted The Duchess to be a non-combative boss who only summoned minions to fight for her. However, in practice, this made the fight feel underwhelming. Right now, she follows this pattern:

Mechanically, this all works, but gameplay-wise, it’s a lot of running and chasing, which reminds me a bit too much of Micolash from Bloodborne—and that’s not exactly a great thing. Those who've played the game will know what I mean. If I have time before the next update, I’d like to make this fight more engaging.

What’s Next?

While I can't say that I'm back on track, I’m confident that the next update will be ready by the end of the month. Since I've been doing hotfixes and patches after the release of every update, I imagine the same will happen after 0.0.3.

The next few things I need to do before I can safely bank a build are the following:

An additional stretch goal is to implement more of Savina's lines as a lot of her dialogue was recorded not too long ago. I haven't been able to work more on the script since I was sick but now that I'm mostly better, at least enough to work, I plan on getting back to that soon.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time!

Hello everyone! After receiving a lot of feedback following last week’s Dev Log, I’ve decided to adjust how I approach these updates. Writing Dev Logs every weekend has been quite involved and, at times, stressful. Many of you shared that you’d be fine with fewer, more substantial updates, so that's the plan.

I haven't finalized any decisions yet, but moving forward, I'll only be writing Dev Logs once I feel that substantial progress has been made. I’ll still aim for Sundays since that’s usually a free day for me, but I won’t stick to a rigid weekly schedule anymore.

With January coming to a close, I also wanted to let you know that Sin Spire’s next alpha build won’t be ready this month. I’m aiming for a February release, and I want to ensure the update is more polished than previously planned. While I’ll save most details for the next Dev Log, I can share that there will be new enemies and animations in the game. I hope the update will be worth the wait and that I can reduce the number of bugs needing immediate attention (there are quite a few at the moment).

Thank you all for your patience. Having a community like this is very new to me, and I'm still learning as I go. The fact that I've been met with as much kindness and support as I have has been very encouraging and I hope to reflect all that in February.

As always, stay tuned and I'll see you all next time.