Hi Everyone!

The 8.50 update for the Early Access build of Guile & Glory: Firstborn brings quite a few changes. It might also be the last one before full release. I guess that depends on how many bugs we find in the coming days. You can find a list of the changes below, and we're also finally ready to talk about what you can expect in terms of content and pricing once the game leaves Early Access. Exciting stuff! Let's get started.

Early Access 8.50 - Patch Notes:

Under the Hood:
The majority of the changes made as part of this patch will not be immediately visible, but will be essential to ensure that the full release version functions as intended and provides the best possible experience. I have tidied up a lot of interactions between skills and mechanics that do not normally encounter each other in a story playthrough. I will go into the reasons for this later in the blog. Notably, I have also stripped out a bunch of old legacy files from earlier versions of the project, then run through to (hopefully) make sure that the removal of those files doesn't cause any issues. Let me be very clear; no playable content has been removed. The deleted files were old levels and objects that are no longer compatible with the current version of the game.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a bug where opening the Heroes tab of the Lorebook was crashing the game. Yikes!

Characters:

• All unlockable Delve characters now have aggro modifiers like the story characters, making it clearer which party members will be prioritised by attacking enemies.
• The Guardian's magic bolts with now deal the correct amount of damage to the Wyrm after absorbing additional Essence Orbs.
• The Outlander now uses the correct animation for the Dash skill when equipped with the Berserker III Boon.

UI:

• Fixed some typos.
• Tooltips now scale in size to match the length of the description, and should look better overall.
• Replaced some fonts that didn't quite look right in a couple of the menus.
• Locked Boons now display their Glory cost as well as their statistics and traits, making it easier to plan out how you spend your Glory.
• Locked Essence Orb interaction skills (such as the Guardian's Absorbing Bolt) now use the correct icon in the Traits readout.
  

Levels:

• Chapter 2 - Level 2 was kind of unsightly, and has received a beauty pass.
• A number of levels have been tweaked to prevent the cinematic bars from obstructing the view of characters during dialogue.
• I discovered that it was possible to kill the Rakshasa this first time it is encountered by the Outlander and Scoundrel, as its rage mechanic was not triggering correctly in that battle if its health fell to 7 or below. The Rakshasa will now become enraged as normal after taking 3 damage.

Delves:

• The Victory Menu at the end of a Delve area will now only show the option to claim your rewards, to prevent confusion.
• The dialogue systems for Delves has been updated so that enemies will not repeat lines at the start of a battle.
• The victory quotes for Sahatus have been updated.

Release & Beyond- What to Expect:

Release Version Changes:
The current Early Access build of Guile & Glory: Firstborn contains all of the story content, but there will still be some new stuff dropping when we leave Early Access. The introductory levels are being reworked to give players a better idea of the Outlander's story at the outset. The Delve mode is also being expanded significantly, with all unlockable characters gaining at least a few purchasable upgrades, and new Delve regions being added for the Road of Kings and the Abyss. 

These new Delves will allow players to pit their unlocked heroes against versions of the story bosses, while also providing a substantial source of Glory. For the most dedicated players who complete both the story and the Delves, there will a new endgame challenge in the Sanctum of Ruin, a nightmarishly-difficult battle that allows you to pit any of your unlocked heroes against Guile & Glory's most formidable antagonist yet. 

Finally, Jessie is working on a sweet new title screen, and Landon has a delightful surprise in store for when the credits roll. I won't be spoiling that one. You'll just have to save the Drowned Lands and find out...

Pricing:
We will be increasing the price of the game a bit when we leave Early Access, but we will also be running a launch sale, so I suspect it will work out about the same whether you pick it up now or at launch. On the one hand, I obviously want to encourage anyone who is interested to pick up the project at launch, because every purchase helps me keep making games for all of you, and enables me to bring in incredibly talented contractors like Jessie and Landon to do more cool stuff. On the other hand, though, I've also tried to be fair and transparent with the pricing at every stage of development, so if you do miss the launch sale, don't stress. There will be others.

Post-Launch Content:
At this stage, we have one major post-launch update planned. The update will add Steam achievements, a bunch of additional Lorebook items to discover, and (hopefully) cloud saves and a functional Linux build of the game.

Whew! That was a long one! Thank you for reading, and may your adventures in the Drowned Lands be Glorious! See you at launch... or possibly in like a day or two if something breaks before then.