The Drop

It's been almost a year since The Drop was first announced, and I'm proud to proclaim that the beta is finally here! As such, I am looking for a handful of volunteers to test out the full game before I release it into the wild. If you've got several hours of free time coming up and a hankering for some merciless dungeon crawling, then read on!

I will make the beta available this Friday, July 26th. I am intending to release the full game in the middle of August, which is a pretty short time frame, so don't be shy about messaging me any issues as they arise, as opposed to collecting them and sending them all at once! (My free time thanks you for this.)

Here is a list of everything that's changed since the demo, including additions, fixes, and tweaks. In other words, these are the things to really watch out for:

CONTENT:
-All 8 playable characters (4 original, 4 returning from The Reconstruction) are available from the start. There are several more characters that must be unlocked.
-All playable characters have an introduction and an ending sequence (upon reaching floor 30). Player-made characters have a generic ending sequence.
-Post-game play is available: Enemies and rewards will scale up as you go beyond floor 30.
-Character creation is 100% functional.
-Completely randomized characters are available.
-Overworld "safe area" with merchants and other friendly NPCs is now available.
-Approximately 18 spells of each element are available to be learned.
-Floors can be one of 8 different "themes," each with their own graphic set, flora, and pools of items and enemies.
-"Regular" and "Hardcore" modes available. In the demo, it was a combination, where you could save your character at any staircase, but being defeated was a game over. In Regular mode, being defeated sends you back to the safe area with no items and half your Favor, and you can only save in the safe area. In Hardcore, your character is deleted when you load your game, and you can only save & quit on the stairs.
-Accomplishments can be earned for reaching certain milestones and unlocking certain characters.
-There is now a Bestiary that you can fill out. It's shared between characters, and gives some basic information about each enemy you've defeated. Visit the statue on the overworld to get rewards for collecting lots of entries.

GAMEPLAY:
-The targeting cursor will now "snap" to the nearest enemy automatically when casting a spell, throwing an item, or inspecting.
-You can now purchase a mini-map in the safe area. It is treated like an item in your inventory. Press the '9' key to open/close it inside a dungeon. You can also "use" it from your inventory window if you are without a keyboard.
-You can no longer convert items to Favor when you're under attack. This is to prevent "pump and dump" scenarios where you know you're going to die and want to ditch your inventory for Favor before it's lost. *whipcrack*
-You can now throw items to distract enemies. Any non-deaf enemies within earshot will turn to face where the item landed.
-You can now play in "interpolating" fullscreen mode by pressing the F5 key. This is a must for Windows 8 users, as the standard fullscreen mode is unplayable.
-The "lag" experienced when using a FORCE ability has been fixed.

MECHANICAL:
-You can now break through certain walls by using a spell/item with either the FORCE or WARP property! These breakable walls have a unique appearance and are scattered around every floor.
-Enemies distracted by an item they LIKE will return to their normal behavior after around 10 or so turns, instead of being permanently distracted.
-Added a "LOVES _____" property to some enemies. For instance, the hatchling enemy "LOVES GRASS", and throwing it a GRASS-type item will cause it to become friendly. (no weed jokes thx)
-Added a "TRUST _____" property to some enemies. If your player character has that property innately, then an otherwise-aggressive enemy will be docile.
-Enemies can now be befriended by using a "LURE" item, an item they "LOVE", or by having an innate property they LIKE.
-Friendly enemies will now fight for you. They will melee attack any hostile enemies in an adjacent square; note that they will not actively seek out fights. Also note than an enemy attacked by another enemy will give dimished rewards, and a defeated friendly enemy will give no essence at all. Hostile enemies will fight them back as long as your character is not within range of their special attack. Lastly, friendly enemies will not attack hostiles of types that they "like" (for instance, a friendly human might not attack other humans).
-Friendly enemies can be nudged out of your way by walking into them.
-Fleeing enemies will now make more of an effort to escape (as opposed to getting stuck in a corner).
-Some enemies' skills will create noise, causing other enemies nearby to look in your direction and potentially spot you.
-Some enemies are "social" and will seek revenge on you if you defeat one of their friends in their presence.
-"Restricted" line-of-sight mode is now available as a challenge trait for custom characters. You'll get a little bonus to growth rates if you take it. You cannot use the mini-map, however.

AESTHETIC:
-Enemies will no longer "twitch" when coming out of their "damaged" animation.
-Enemy names are color-coded according to how powerful they are (Blue-Yellow-Orange-Red-Purple).
-Item healing/harming icons on the inventory screen now show the multiplier amounts as well.
-Enemies who "BLOCK" a property will now give a warning message when the damage is resisted.
-New music for random floors and some special situations.

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I'll take the first half-dozen or so volunteers before Friday! Thanks for your continued support!