Release: Preview 4 - Mansion on the Hill

IMPORTANT: Saves from previous versions of the game will not work with this version! At best, several mechanics will be broken, and it's very likely that old saves will cause errors or crashes.

This has ended up being a pretty big update, but let's start with the most notable change, which is the introduction of a new location type: Mansions!

• Mansions are full of valuable treasure, but also full of guards.
• It's possible to get an Invitation to a mansion in which case you may be able to walk in through the front door without being bothered, as long as you're well-dressed enough. If you stay on everyone's good side, some nobles you talk to may have opportunities for you.

There have also been some additions to faction interaction:

• You now gain reputation with factions as you trade with them, but gaining rep with a faction causes its enemies to like you less.
• Some previously always-hostile factions might be able to be won over and traded with now (or even start neutral rather than hostile).
• There's a new trespassing and disguise system in place when visiting locations.

Another change worth mentioning is the introduction of difficulty settings before you start the game.

Full changelog below.

General Faction Changes:

• As you trade with factions, your reputation will increase with them over time based on the value of items/services traded.
• Factions who consider you a friend will send you daily gifts.
• Reputation (both positive and negative) trends towards 0 every day. You'll have to work to maintain a friendly faction relationship, but if you leave an angry faction alone for long enough they'll eventually forgive you.
• You will now gain reputation with the Grievers for killing necromancers, and they'll be hostile to necromancer NPCs in the graveyard.
• Grievers and leveled-up caretakers now have spells.
• Added non-contactable factions for the Nobility and their servants, and a new discoverable contactable faction who's willing to pay a high price for luxury items.
• Faction favor value for most factions (aside from ones that behave uniquely like the cats) has been normalized to 1 zorkmid, and factions that previously paid both favor and money now ONLY pay favor (though some let you convert it to money).

Wizard Tower/Wizard Faction Changes:

• The outside of wizard towers above the ground floor is now sky, rather than walls.
• Wizard towers are no longer infinite. There's now a rooftop area, with some unique items.
• Non-apprentice wizards finally exist, and can have level 3 spells.
• The Wizard faction is no longer hostile to you at the start of the game, and can be contacted and traded with.
• Wizard towers now use the trespassing system described below. Luckily, your starting equipment makes you look like a wizard.

NPC Behavior Changes:

• When a non-hostile resident/guard NPC sees you steal something, they'll warn you to put it back instead of immediately becoming hostile.
• You can bribe non-hostile guards to leave the area and bribe hostile guards to become non-hostile. You can also recruit non-hostile guards.
• The method for NPCs gaining random spells has been standardized on the back end. This shouldn't lead to any noticeable changes, but if you notice any NPCs with spells that don't make sense, please report it!
• A new trespassing system has been implemented for some locations that can determine hostility. If you're friends with a faction, you're never considered a trespasser in locations belonging to them. If you're an enemy, you're always considered a trespasser. If you're neutral, sometimes wearing certain equipment lets you blend in. There are other ways to be authorized to enter a location, such an Invitation item for Mansions.
• If an NPC sees their friend attack someone, they become hostile to the target as well.

Balance/Map Generation/Gameplay Changes:

• Worldwide creature level no longer increases daily. Instead, creature level for a given location type increases every time you visit that location type. The heist selection screen now displays what the expected creature levels in a location are.
• Repeating missions aren't available again until the next day.
• The pawnshop's markup on items it sells is slightly less ridiculous. Its buy values are unchanged.
• The monetary value of most of the loot items without other uses (eg nonmagical jewelry, paintings, etc.) has been increased. The monetary value of some magical items has been decreased.
• Most attackable features (including walls) have had their HP reduced.
• Food and alcohol changed: you now have a "stomach capacity" and "alcohol tolerance" stat that determines how much you can eat/drink.
• Doors are more likely to generate towards the middle of rooms.
• Vampires have a chance of dropping vampire blood when killed.
• Crystal golems should no longer show up until the threat level of the map is higher.
• Vampire crypts now have more than one floor.
• Guards carry weapons now.

Spell Changes:

• Sigil of Lightning, Electric Charge, Chain Lightning, Banshee Scream, Corpse Burst, Tornado, Zap, Electric Burst, Lightning Bolt, Death Jolt, and Arcane Arrow have had their damage increased (some may have initial damage the same but have better upgrades).
• Hail, Tidal Wave, and Drain Life have had their damage decreased.
• Sigil traps now only trigger if a creature actually moves onto it, not if it's cast on a tile already containing a creature.
• Upgrading your dragon form's stats in Enter the Dragon also increases the damage of your fire breath.
• Tidal wave now pushes creatures back.
• Wind gusts block movement while they're on screen, so creatures should no longer be able to just sidestep them.
• Bonuses to zombies from upgrades to Raise Dead now also apply to zombies you create through other means. Is this too powerful when combined with a zombifying weapon? Maybe! Guess we'll see.
• Bonus damage/etc from arcana now only applies based on levels of the arcana known ABOVE the spell's level.
  • Ex. Fire 1 grants no bonus to Firebolt, Fire 2 grants +1 bonus, Fire 3 +2 etc. Fire 3 grants no bonus to Exploding Fireball.
    
  • Previously, bonuses were applied to all spells based on the arcana level without regard to the spell's level.

UI Changes:

• You can now set how many emergency teleports you have before beginning the game, including 0 or infinite.
• You can now customize your debt levels, interest rates, and more before beginning the game.
• Message popups that previously only closed on enter or click now also close on escape.
• Clicking on a creature with dialog now speaks to them even if you're not next to them.
• Removed the "witnesses" section from the summary screen when you return home, since having surviving witnesses doesn't actually mean anything right now.
• The faction reputation change section on the summary screen now works properly.
• Factions no longer show buttons for blank sections (ie services, abilities, missions).
• Factions/stores with available missions are labeled as such on the scrying orb screen.
• You can now craft the same recipe multiple times at once.

Bug fixes/Technical Changes:

• Generating maps and moving between floors should be significantly faster.
• Smoking something in a hookah now deletes the item smoked.
• Recipe books are no longer considered magic items.
• You can no longer accept the "Undead Extermination" mission from the Grievers when contacting them from home.
• Dropped items no longer set their origin to the map they were dropped on; ie it will no longer be considered stealing if you pick something back up that you brought with you and then dropped.
• Artifact chance and enchantment chance were mixed up for some item generation, causing more artifacts to generate than normal (particularly in display cases)
• Coat of immunity to rain actually prevents getting wet now.
• Death jolt reanimation should work again.
• Size upgrades for cloud of poison and cloud of rot work properly now.
• Creatures healed by a damage type were being healed when the potential damage was calculated, rather than when damage was actually applied, which was causing some creatures to seemingly randomly heal.
• Hopefully fixed the cases where the lever in the menagerie room or the instructor in the classroom could be placed inside a wall when the room was at the edge of a tower - let me know if you see it reoccur.
• Made some adjustments to creature pathfinding code to make it run a bit faster. Please let me know if you notice any odd pathfinding behavior, or significant slowdowns.

Suggested Media:

• The Jeeves stories by PG Wodehouse.
  • Or the TV adaptation Jeeves and Wooster starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
• Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich by Stephen Leacock.