Hi adventurers! Upheaval Alpha Version 0.0.10 is the Big Demo Update! The demo version of Upheaval has received a lot of polish, and is now available to play on Steam as well as itch.io! Plus, lots of helpful features for first-time players will benefit players of both the demo and the full version of the game. I hope you enjoy! 🥳

To try out this update, download the free demo on itch.io or Steam. If you own the alpha version, download the new update from itch.io or Google Play. To get an email when the full game is done, wishlist Upheaval on Steam.

After you download the update, start a new game to try out the new content!

SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD! TAKE CARE!

Highlights from this update

• Demo players can now actually visit the Magician (if briefly) at the end of the demo! This is a preview of an encounter that will be added to the full game for release. 🧙

• You can now go inside the Manor, visit the archives, and take a proper tour of them with the Lord/Lady of the house! 🏡

• If you like, enable the Magician’s Shrine in the settings to adjust the game’s difficulty however you like by conjuring or destroying items, learning or forgetting spells, and teleporting to various locations around the map (full game only). (Thanks to dalen lewin for the suggestion!) 🪄

• Experience a completely overhauled version of the wraith’s curse (so much new content, this update was almost called “The Wraith Update”). Avoid being cursed, remove the curse without magic, or embrace the curse as your own. 🪦

• Enjoy an improved, interactive tutorial! Better button prompts plus smart reminders further into the game should make sure that more players are better oriented by the time they’re a few days into their adventure.
• Tear out pages of your journal that you no longer want or need. (Thanks to Xvordan, Feinoko, Andrew, and everyone else who suggested this!) 📃
• Explore lots of new content. Befriend the bandits! Join the wraith! Chase the prairie dog! Cast all the spells! 🙌
• Discover new secrets and easter eggs I sprinkled into this update. These are fun to add, and hopefully they’re just as fun to find! (Thanks to Xvordan for your suggestions!) 🔎

Keep reading to see the complete list of changes! 😊

Detailed changes

Special thanks to David, Vince, Caleb, Katie, Julia, and George for their playtesting of this release! Your help is really appreciated. ❤

Additions:

• Demo players can now actually visit the Magician (if briefly) at the end of the demo!
• You can now go inside the Manor, visit the archives, and take a proper archives tour with the Lord/Lady of the house!
• Added option to enable the Magician’s Shrine in settings (full game only). Use the shrine to adjust the game’s difficulty however you like by conjuring or destroying items, learning or forgetting spells, and teleporting to various locations around the map. (Thanks to dalen lewin for the suggestion!)
• Added an icons for every item! You can see them in your inventory screen and in descriptions when you gain or lose items.
• You can now tear out pages of your journal if you don’t want them. (Thanks to Xvordan, Feinoko, Andrew, and everyone else who suggested this!)
• You can now cast Sleep on yourself. 💤
• You can now cast Enchantment on the bandits, the goblins, and the Goblin King.
• You can now join the bandits and/or the wraith! Although they don’t make it easy.
• You can now ask to join the goblins, but I don’t recommend it.
• When you escape the goblin cells, you’re now given a suggested course of action based on what you have with you.
• Added “How to Play” screen that’s available at any time from the in-game menu
• Added some simple interaction encounters between different NPCs if they happen to be in the same location (bandits vs. wraith, wraith vs. imp, and bandits vs. undead, ranger vs. bandits, ranger vs. wraith, ranger vs. undead)
• Added new option to allow you to load the last played game automatically when you load the game (this is enabled for new players on mobile by default).
• Added new clues about the mysterious box.
• Added optional anonymous analytics, to better see where players are actually struggling.
• Added new ways to approach the wraith in the tower.
• Added new ways to avoid being cursed completely in the burial mounds.
• Close popup screens and menus with the new “X” button.
• Added a prairie dog.
• Added 2 new names for the tavern, 1 new name for the forest, and 2 new names for the Lord/Lady of the manor.
• Added easter eggs at the lake, the hermit’s hut, the overlook, and when using the ring. (Thanks to Xvordan for your suggestions!)

Changes:

• Completely overhauled the wraith’s curse so that:
  • You can remove the wraith’s curse without any magic spells.
  • It’s more clear that you ARE cursed.
  • It’s more clear when the curse wears off.
  • The curse’s strength escalates each time you’re cursed, up to three times.
  • You get more information about how you can interact with the curse, both from the curse and from some other NPCs.
  • It’s easier to find where the curse is driving you when you’re cursed.
• Highlighted buttons during the tutorial to better guide new players through.
• Being knocked unconscious now leaves you poorly rested, so you should never need to make camp immediately after being knocked out.
• Added descriptions to clarify which group of bandits you’re interacting with, once the second group arrives.
• Rewrote “Stay out of trouble” starting quest to be “Stay out of sight.”
• Moved the “Add to Journal” button to hopefully a more intuitive location.
• Last window size and position is now remembered in Windowed mode.
• Changed how text is rendered. Hopefully it looks the same or better! Also upgraded to the latest version of MonoGame.
• Made it easier to rest at home with goblins there.
• Made it take less time to look out from the top of the tower if you’re tired.
• Get ambushed by bandits in slightly fewer places.
• Animated map location marker.
• Made slider controls (for audio volume) snap to your mouse’s location rather than step towards it.
• Tweaked how navigation works between the end of the south road and the fen.
• Goblins now sound the alarm if they see your cell door open.
• Made it possible to defeat more goblins when you’re not wounded.
• Made goblins flee in terror from the sword once you’ve used it on a large group of them where some were able to escape.
• Turned the welcome message each game into a popup.
• Made pressing on into goblin territory take no time.
• Made looking north from the overlook not take longer when tired.
• Made Disenchantment more powerful against the wraith.
• Improved command line versions navigation in some places.
• Fixed typos and improved descriptions generally throughout.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed so many goblin bugs. 😭
• Fixed a bug where the bandit’s hideout would suddenly be discovered without searching for it.
• Fixed clicking or tapping between buttons sometimes closing the screen without clicking either button (now the screen just won’t close and you can try again).
• Fixed a bug where you couldn’t take a knife from the bandits in certain situations. (Thanks to dalen lewin from the AudioGames forums!)

Give feedback

Join the Upheaval Discord to find out when the next update will be available, chat with the developer, make suggestions, ask questions, and get the inside scoop on what I’m working on. Thanks! 😊