Development Update (v.15.1)

Official Patch Notes on Steam

# Changes

## New Enemy Type - Zealots

* The Zealots of Akar have been unleashed! Loyal to the Mejai since ancient times, these servants can be summoned to bring ruin to anyone brazen enough to disturb the tomb of the Mejai. Present within all map variations, the Mejai will call forth zealots during the investigation phase of your expeditions. The creatures come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and follow a unique AI. While they'll try to attack you, they can be warded off in a couple different ways by those brave enough to face them...

## New Maps and Room variations

* Two new outdoor environments, the Sunken Dune Shrine and the Hidden City of the Sahara , have been added, both with a brand new procedurally generated map style within the ruins.
	+ 25 new rooms including 5 new dangerous trap rooms
	+ New tomb door style and lighting within the ruins
	+ New ambience and sound effects
	+ New objectives and horrors hiding within…

## New Lore

* There are now 50 new lore pages available for collection (for a total of 150), which provide the backstory of how the Zealots of Akar came to be as well as the origins of the Mejai Talgor.
	+ The “Lore View” on the shop computer has been improved to allow easier navigation between transcribed pages via left and right arrows.
	+ Page numbers have been added to each lore transcription when viewing.

## Timer/Difficulty Rework

* We have performed a core mechanic change regarding difficulty and the inner tomb timer. As part of this update, higher difficulties result in more aggressive creatures encountered in the ruins, increased damage taken from traps/hazards, and buffed Mejai stats. Previously, in addition to increased damage taken and buffed Mejai stats, difficulty was tied to the amount of time players had to identify the Mejai and enter the inner tomb before it permanently sealed. While some enjoy this timed mechanic, other players reasonably prefer to take their time investigating and exploring the ruins at their own pace, without only playing on Easy. Therefore, having a time limit is now a room option a host can toggle on or off to set whether or not the round will be a “timed expedition.”
* Players who enjoy the added tension of the timer will be able to continue to do so with increased rewards upon successfully completing an expedition with a relic. During timed expeditions, the time limits for the inner tomb sealing have also been adjusted per difficulty.
	+ Easy: +3% bonus gold and experience | 14 minutes
	+ Normal: +6% bonus gold and experience | 11 minutes
	+ Hard: +9% bonus gold and experience | 8 minutes
	+ Brutal: +12% bonus gold and experience | 5 minutes
	+ *Note: These rewards are applied at the end of the round only when the relic is acquired, and they stack with the existing difficulty bonuses.*
* Additional time is now also added based on map size as well:
	+ Small: +0 minutes
	+ Medium: +1 minute
	+ Large: +2 minutes

## Inventory Expansion

* Several new features have been implemented to the inventory system.
	+ PC
		- PC players will now have a default inventory size of five slots for carrying items instead of three.
		- The archaeological belt can now be upgraded via the shop for additional carrying capacity.
		- The inventory UI design has been improved with item labels, usage tips, numbering, and other enhancements. Additionally, the brightness of items in the inventory has increased for easier visibility. The item slots themselves have been slightly reduced in size to keep the UI minimal.
		- Number key binds have been added for quick selection of particular item slots. Both standard keyboard number keys and numpad keys will work.
		- A new key ‘i’ has been added that allows players to toggle the visibility of their inventory display. This can be rebound as desired in the Controls menu.
	+ VR
		- VR players will now have a default inventory size of three slots on their belts instead of two
		- Tools and relics in VR player's belts will scale down for easier visibility and inventory management
		- VR inventory belt sockets now possess outlines to indicate free spaces to place items
		- The size of the VR belt sockets have been slightly reduced to help prevent tools from accidentally coming into contact with them
	+ The shop’s level II and III belt upgrades will also apply to the VR belt by providing additional slots for items on the belt itself

## Objectives

* The intel we have on the burial sites of the Mejai can only tell us so much… Players are now able to discover certain objectives while exploring the ruins. These newly discovered objectives will appear under the objective display’s Hidden Objectives section, as well as in your PDA.
* The “Take a picture of the hidden treasury” objective has been altered to no longer require a photograph, but to physically gain access to the room instead. Additionally, this will now be classified as a hidden objective.
* The “Find mummification room” objective has been reworded to “Photograph the embalming altar”

## Tools

* Seismometer (new)
	+ The tremors phenomenon has been enhanced to add an additional layer of player interactivity. Instead of emitting a subtle rumbling noise, a Mejai capable of causing tremors will now create seismic hotspots around the tomb that can be detected using a new default archaeological tool – the digital seismometer. While exploring, if you encounter readings above 10mm while the tool is activated, you’re dealing with a Mejai that causes tremors. A demonstration of this new functionality can be found in the updated interactive tutorial.
* Digital Timer (new)
	+ A new tool is now available for purchase, which provides a timer near your objective monitor that starts once you enter the tomb. By default, the timer will count down the seconds you have until the inner tomb permanently seals. If you prefer the timer to count up from 0 instead, simply uncheck “Timer Counts Down” in the Settings >> Gameplay menu screen. Upgrading this tool will also install an add-on to your PDA so you can keep track of the timer wherever you are. Note that this tool and its upgrade will only appear during timed expeditions.
* Radar System (rework)
	+ The Radar System map of the ruins now starts out blank and will fill in as you and your team explore, updating the percentage of the ruins you’ve covered as you go.
	+ The visual design of the Radar System map has received numerous improvements.
	+ As part of this change, a new objective is now present during every expedition: mapping out the ruins. Your team will be tasked with exploring a certain percentage of the tomb. While the percentage is randomized each round, the range of required map coverage increases with difficulty. Players will receive more XP for completing this objective with larger map sizes, and a further bonus for exploring 100% of the tomb.
* Heka Amulet (rework)
	+ The amulet’s usage cooldown has been removed. Instead, the amulet now has a limited number of uses, with one charge present per item level. Use it wisely!
	+ When activated, the amulet now also protects against zealots and snakes

## Progression

* Prestige mode is now available.
	+ Players who have collected every relic and rare artifact in the game (as of now) and have purchased and fully upgraded every available tool will be offered a prestige point. In near-future development updates, prestige points can be used to unlock new customization options such as changing the color of your hard hat helmet, radar system arrow, additional clothing modifications, and other rewards. Rack up the points now in preparation!
	+ In the meantime, by accepting a prestige point:
		- a special insignia will appear next to your level with your current prestige level for everyone to see
		- your player level and tools will all be reset to level 1
		- your current relic and rare artifact collections will disappear until you collect them again
		- you will keep
			* your gold and lore collections
			* the item shop will no longer have level requirements for the upgrading of tools, so you can fully upgrade them even at level 1 if you have the gold to do so
			* your good & evil mummy levels will be unaffected by prestige

## Phobia-safe Mode

* Two safe mode options have been added to the Gameplay menu for arachnophobia (phobia of spiders) and ophidiophobia (phobia of snakes) respectively, which will substitute these creatures with something else entirely.

## And More

* Players can now swing their torches by pressing their primary key (such as LMB), which can be used to ward off the snake as well as another means of warding off zealots. Igniting your torch with a lighter has been remapped to the secondary key (such as RMB).
* Additional design details have been added to the Temple of the Pharaoh and the Crypt of the Great Pyramid maps. Additionally, the contents of the excavation tent have been relocated near the tomb entrances for both of these maps so that players have closer access to their tools and other equipment they need during the expedition.
* The Mejai spirit’s range for the metallic signature and radioactivity phenomena have both been increased. Additionally, the player “heartbeat” mechanic when the Mejai’s spirit is nearby has been improved in several ways
* Small excavation sites have been added to the outside areas of certain maps which can contain valuables buried within the sand.
* The PDA (journal) has received numerous design improvements and new tooltips
* VR players can now adjust the size of their PDA to one of five variations (XS, S, M, L, XL) by clicking on the “resize” button at the top-left of the PDA itself.
* The brightness levels have been increased for levels 1-3 of the hard hat
* Realtime gameplay hints have been added to the game to help newer players gain their bearings more quickly. Note that this option can be toggled on and off via the ‘Show Gameplay Hints’ option in Settings >> Gameplay.
* VR players can choose to enable/disable 180° Snap Turn via the VR Controls menu. The default for this option is now set to “off”.
* Players who choose the good mummy path will now be rewarded 25% of the total group gold collected per survivor of the round (increased from 5%) as well as a total of 15xp per survivor (increased from 10xp)
* The damage taken from the snake trap acid has increased by 10% per difficulty level
* Over two dozen new loading screen images have been added. Additionally, loading screens now display gameplay hints.
* Additional interactivity and sound effects have been added to the archaeological study lobby
* Improved visuals and shadow effects of certain light sources such as mounted torches and lanterns

## Fixes

* Fixed an issue where an incorrect item would end up the back of the jeep instead of the relic
* Fixed an issue that could prevent the Mejai from physically manifesting
* Fixed an issue where the relic could be ignored as being collected when closing the jeep hatch door in certain circumstances
* Fixed issues with Dekan getting stuck when hearing certain tools that were out of range for him to reach
* Fixed an issue with certain audio not playing for VR players, such as PDA noises or when grabbing the relic
* Fixed an issue that could cause player input to break in certain scenarios
* Fixed an issue that could result in players seeing incorrect tooltips when playing on keyboard with a gamepad also plugged in
* Fixed an issue where the tomb entrance lever could desync from the group if someone activates it before everyone is loaded in
* Fixed an issue where levers would not stay up in multiplayer games even after being successfully activated, as well as when others leave the game mid-match
* Fixed an issue related to metal detector collision with gold
* Fixed an issue with the radar system’s viewing angle
* Fixed an issue that could affect the clicking of lore pages in the Lore View menu of the shop
* Fixed an issue related to VR player’s interactions with doors in the lobby area
* Performed various performance and sound optimizations across the board