Hello everyone, I’ve been debating whether to release a Dev Log this week or not. I didn’t want to break my usual schedule, but after some thought, I decided it’s better to skip it this time. Progress has been slow over the past few days due to technical issues with one of my drives. Thankfully, no important files were lost, but I’ve been frantically backing up everything I can and still have quite a bit left to sort through.

The good news is that the drive is working again, and I’ll be able to get back to work this week. However, with Christmas just around the corner, my available time is becoming more limited. That said, I still plan to release both an update next week and a special Christmas/New Year post. So, there’s still plenty to look forward to.

I won’t dive into a full project update or a year-in-review just yet – that’s something I’m saving for later. For now, I want to thank you for your patience and understanding. Next week, those in the Supporter tier should gain access to the next alpha version, 0.0.2a, which focuses primarily on bug fixes and new voice acting. No new dungeons as that's saved for 0.0.3.

Thank you all for your support, and I’ll see you next week!

Hello everyone! Happy December! Last week, I released 0.0.2 of Sin Spire’s Alpha build. This new build included the Witch Boss Fight, the second dungeon, new items and more. The reception has been very positive and, when compared to the 0.0.1 release, very few game-breaking bugs were found. The influx of positivity and excitement has motivated me to dive straight into work this week, instead of taking a break like I did after the first release.

Rather than having a long-running paragraph, I’ve decided to try breaking down the changes into headers and bullet-points. Let me know what you think of the format. Anyway, the current changes I’ve made so far include:

The last addition of Throwable Weapons was influenced by the changes to AI awareness. Previously, enemies could hear you but wouldn’t properly update their investigation location. For example, if you are heard and then an enemy decides to check that location, you could then run somewhere else and fire, say, 10 shotgun blasts, and the enemy would still be focused on that first location. Now, AI will update their investigation location on the fly. This adjustment is particularly important for Stalkers, as it was too easy to slip behind them before.

To compliment that, I implemented a throwable bottle, which can be purchased from Savina. They’re cheap and deal very little damage, but their purpose is to distract enemies. I’m sure some players will attempt to use the bottles for a challenge run of sorts, considering how cheap they are, but the intention behind them is to throw them away from your current location to misdirect enemies. For example, if a Stalker is approaching your location, you can throw a bottle to divert her path.

Adding the throwable weapon-type required significant changes to the weapon system, but it seems to all be working well. I have to admit, throwing bottles has been surprisingly satisfying – I ended up spending way too much time just chucking the things at walls during testing.

Art Changes

Alongside the gameplay improvements, I’ve also started work on replacing placeholder assets. Among the placeholders replaced, most significantly, was the Altar. The new Altar now features a glowing green crystal shard with particle effects, making it both more visually appealing and helping it stand out as an object of significance. This is to encourage players to interact with it before speaking to Savina when entering the Starting Hall for the first time.

I’ve also been replacing some other assets, primarily in the Starting Hall, but still have a few key objects to replace – particularly the statue in the center and the doorways on either side. On the note of statues, I’ve created a new material and texturing process for statues. To test this, I used the Statue enemy type found in the second dungeon. The new statues have been retextured to have softer highlights to make them look more like stone rather than shiny metal.

There’s still plenty to replace, but I’m looking forward to when all the major eyesores are gone from the game.

There are a couple of things I’d like to mention about last week’s release. First off, there were two bugs that have stuck out to me as a problem:

These bugs aren’t game-breaking, and I have mentioned them on the Discord and how to avoid them, but I’ve received some messages about how the game is “too easy” and how “farming” the Witch can result in becoming overpowered. Guys, if it wasn’t obvious already, you’re not meant to be able to do that.

I initially wasn’t going to release a hotfix, or any fix for that matter, but the impact on balance and the danger of breaking the save file due to that soft-lock, has convinced me to release another build this month after all. I’ll probably release a 0.0.2a version of the game later this month. I’m mostly waiting on the rest of the Witch’s voice lines to be ready before I push that out.

This means that the next update will include all the changes mentioned earlier and more. It won’t feature a new dungeon as I hadn’t planned for a December release and have just been focusing on smaller tasks. A full changelog will be made when the next update is ready.

I’m really glad to see so many people enjoying the current build and providing that much-needed feedback. For now, I’ll be going back to replacing placeholders and, eventually, starting to put together the next dungeon. Unfortunately, I will be making a significant change to a dungeon I previously discussed. The reasons are somewhat external, and I’ll share more details down the line.

That’s all for this week. Thank you all so much for your continued support! The game is steadily coming together and, dare I say, quite quickly. See you next time!

Hello everyone! Another week has passed and we're nearing the final week of November. As I mentioned previously, my plan was to release the next alpha build by the end of the month. However, since I typically post on Sundays, I'll be shifting the release date to December 1st. This means that in a week from now, the new Alpha Build will be available! As a result, this will be the last Dev Log for the next couple of weeks.

Before diving into what to expect in December, let's review what's been worked on in this week. First, the Witch Boss fight that I mentioned last week is mostly complete. It's fully playable, and defeating the Witch will unlock the next dungeon. However, due to time constraints, I've used placeholders for the Stagger and Purification animations, borrowing them from the Witness.

I’ve also implemented the Stalker from the second dungeon, visible at the top of this post. She’s quite different from the Witch; she’s slow during her roaming phase but speeds up significantly once she starts chasing you. Her background is that she’s forlorn—jealous, sad, and angry. There’s more to her, but I’ll let you discover that in the game itself.

The Manor, the dungeon in which she roams, is much wider compared to the claustrophobic Catacombs. This makes it easier to evade enemies and rush for the door. However, this isn't ideal and feels too easy, so I've added new elements to increase the difficulty.

The first addition is a new trap that covers a large area and deals significant damage. The main change, though, is the introduction of Keys. Starting with the Manor, there's now a chance that the door to the next floor will be locked. In such cases, you'll need to find an "Obsidian Key," a new generic key item for locked dungeon doors. On floors with locked doors, a key will spawn somewhere and you'll need to explore to find it before progressing.

I've also made the keys purchasable from Savina. The whole system is a bit of an experiment and will need tweaking to find the right difficulty balance. Engaging with each floor is great but I don't want it to come at the cost of overall enjoyment.

Most of the gameplay features for Alpha 0.0.2 are complete, so next week I'll be focusing on bugs, tweaks and, hopefully, animations. While I had hoped to introduce a new enemy type and the second major boss fight, these will probably not make it into the next build. Instead, I'll prioritize the above, including unique sex purification animations for the Witch and Automaid. The build will be banked on Saturday, so there's still some time.

After this build, the next one likely won't release until January. December will be a busy month for me, so while I'll continue working on the game and writing Dev Logs, it's best not to expecting anything playable beyond December 1st. On the plus side, Alpha 0.0.3 should be a lot more polished.

That's it for this week! Next week there won't be a Dev Log, as the next build will be released instead. Thank you all for your continued support and I'll see you soon. Take care!

Hello everyone! This past week has been quite productive, with several gameplay additions and story elements coming together. While there aren’t many new art assets, I did work on a few key models and animations to support these updates.

Let’s start with weapons. There are two new additions to the armory. A common complaint from players of the Alpha build was the lack of defensive options when you had no money. While I initially liked the tension this added—forcing players to adapt and scrounge for items—I understand how it could become frustrating after repeated deaths and losing all the money you’ve accumulated.

To address this, I took on a suggestion from someone in the Discord group: introduce a basic weapon provided, for free, by Savina. I expanded on the idea, drawing inspiration from a certain merchant in Dark Souls II, If you have no money, Savina will now give you the Shiv.

Currently, the Shiv is a weak melee weapon with a generous parry window, but I’m brainstorming ways to make it more interesting. One idea is to make it a near-instant-kill weapon that breaks after one or two uses, requiring repair kits to maintain. The weapon is only available if you no money at all, so getting a new one after it breaks isn’t so straightforward.

The second addition is the Torch. While the Flashlight is great for illuminating dark areas, I wanted to offer an alternative. The Torch lights up the immediate area and can also be used as a weapon. Though it won’t set enemies on fire (by design) or do any meaningful damage, a quick swing will momentarily stun them, allowing you to slip past. It’s a cheap and simple tool designed to make traversing certain areas easier.

Next, I’ve made some changes to Hiding Spots. Previously, they shared the same spawn logic as chests and other items, which caused issues—like getting trapped in areas where clipping occurred upon exiting. Hiding Spots are now manually placed, with a 50% chance of spawning. This keeps the randomness while eliminating the clipping problems and ensures there are always a few Hiding Spots per floor.

I’ve also been hard at work on the boss battle with the Witch. Up until now, the only boss fight in the game was against the Creeper (the cave Stalker, not the Minecraft mob). While that fight isn’t fully finished, I needed to shift focus to the Witch battle, as it’s critical for progressing to the next dungeon.

The Witch is a ranged enemy who throws fireballs at mid-range and homing fireballs at long-range. You can deflect these with precise timing—similar to a parry—to stagger her, creating opportunities to get up-close and personal. To prevent players from cheesing the fight by staying at a distance, the Witch has moves to punish people role-playing gun turrets: at mid-range, she dodges side to side, and at long range, she closes the gap with an explosive attack that deals significant damage. The fight is designed around finding the sweet spot between mid and close-range combat. After defeating her, the story progresses, and the next dungeon gate activates.

Finally, I’ve been working on Stalker voice lines. This week, I received recordings from the Stalkers’ actress and began implementing contextual voice cues. Previously, lines played randomly while the Stalker roamed the dungeon. Now, lines are more contextual—for example, reacting when she sees you or voicing frustration when she loses track of you. Some lines and non-verbal sounds are still pending, but it’s coming together nicely.

Next up, I’ll be finishing the Witch boss fight, writing more story content, and beginning the implementation of the next dungeon’s Stalker. I’ll also be setting up more rooms for the second dungeon, as it’s starting feeling a bit too repetitive. Miscellaneous props, like the altar, are on my radar but will likely come after the next Alpha build. My primary goal remains to make the second dungeon fully functional and playable by the end of the month.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you all next time.