Sin Spire – Dev Log 24 (Patreon)

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:

Normal – The intended experience.

Easy – Reduced damage taken, increased damage dealt.

Hard – Increased damage taken, reduced damage dealt, and the map is removed.

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.

Debug Menu

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.

What’s Next?

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.

Changes from 0.0.3

Voice Acting for Savina

WIP Introductory Cutscene

Third Dungeon

Stalker Lust Draining Sequences

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