Hello there!

It’s time for an update! But before we get into it, we just wanted to thank everyone for playing the game and providing feedback. It’s all incredibly helpful. As game developers it really helps us be the best we can be and that’s something we strive for. We realize when Hevn was originally released we were under the spell of releasing a game and well, some external forces reinforced that. But really we don’t want anything out there that we’re not completely proud of - so we hunkered down and spent the last year improving and polishing the game as much as possible!

With that said we’re absolutely excited that we've pushed another very significant update (version 2.5.0.1) full of so many new features, improvements, and bug fixes. Also we've done more playtesting than ever (there's just two of us, really) and found more ways to balance the different aspects of gameplay to make things feel more fun and immersive and stable. To celebrate this update, the game is free or for donation on Itch.IO!

If you haven't tried the game or have only just played a portion of it, we encourage you to try it again. We feel the experience is quite an upgrade from even just a couple months ago, especially if starting from the beginning as you're able to learn more about the mechanics as they are revealed.

With that said, here's a full list of the new features, improvements, bug fixes, and known issues:

New Features

• Added instructions for all Inventory based items in the game. For example you can learn how to use a Sonic Grenade or how effective certain medications, foods, and drinks can be. These instructions mostly happen in the first area which is sort of a tutorial level.
• Updated the Time Well mechanic - improved sounds, responsiveness, how durations work with it, how thrown items work, etc. There’s an instruction in the game that better explains how it works.
• Added more detailed particle based HUD damage effects for the player. This provides more visual feedback about what ailments the player is currently suffering from.
• Added a "Prompt to Investigate" button hint in certain areas to clue the player in on certain important objects that might be nearby.
• Added Player Attribute bonuses from medications, foods, and drinks (with a maximum of 3 doses each when stacking).
• Added a new brief introduction cinematic sequence while showing Sebastian’s body. This is to help set the tone of the entire game.
• Added a weapon recharging mechanic, particles, and sound effects. Also tweaked enemy health damage to balance with the recharging and added graphics to the HUD. This is to help minimize the player from feeling overpowered.
• Added images and more help tip text during the scene changes to feel more immersed in the world.
• Added basic reloading animations for weapons.
• Added more functionality to the Ion Drill and Defibrillator to provide more visible and audible feedback about what they are targeting. It may be distance based or whether the target is alive or not.

Improvements

• Reduced loading times for all levels.
• Reduced input lag when moving.
• Updated the Quick Inventory and Escape Menus to pause the Time Well. This is for better planning and tactics.
• Updated the player to be able to interact with the world and terminals, and also use weapons, while conversations are happening.
• Updated visual details during explosions.
• Greatly improved the performance of the entire game - from physics/collisions, audio, lighting, shadows, meshes, memory usage, etc. We updated our target system specs for this as well. On a relatively newer midrange gaming laptop the entire game now runs well above 60fps.
• Updated the look and function of the Ion Storm (with lightning) and ensured that it will happen for the player.
• Updated the hacking effect in menus to happen at a better frequency.
• Updated Drones and Droids to drop Battery and Energy ammo.
• Added radio ambient music/sound in various areas throughout the game.
• Updated player to mantle and walk over small items faster.
• Improved the distraction mechanic for critters and droids. Throwing an object can cause them to go check out that area.
• Updated the critters to be passive but also change to a more aggressive behavior when the player is aggressive.
• Updated enemy health to reduce the damage from explosives properly (i.e. farther away, less damage).
• Added an outline indicator around the player’s heart in the HUD to show positive/negative effects on the player.
• Updated some non-gameplay screens and menus to look more polished.
• Updated certain side quests to feel like you've achieved something.
• Updated the look of poison particle attacks from all the critters to look much better.
• Updated stamina to only be used for the Power Sledge. There is a meter on the sledge indicating this. This is to prevent this weapon from feeling too powerful.
• Updated stamina to always regen over time.
• Improved the visibility of the Health meters and added support for more of them on screen at once.
• Balanced how radiation, toxicity, and oxygen affects the player and rate of recovery.
• Updated the ambient music during combat.
• Updated items to not drop from Inventory when they are consumed.
• Updated the Investigation Screen glowiness around the dead crewmates to pulsate.
• Updated Escape Menu with helpful instructions and reduced the layout.
• Added more text to show exactly what item the player is interacting with.
• Updated the AI, sounds, attacks, and movement for various enemies.
• Updated how the Load Game screen works - easier to use and with animations, etc.
• Increased flashlight brightness.
• Added a crouch reticule to show when the player is crouched or prone.
• Updated explosives and various throwable items to explode when damaged with the Ballistic Drill.
• Updated more critters to spawn in certain areas.
• Balanced more of the ammo crates and weapons throughout the levels.
• Increased frequency of damage for particle based weapons.
• Updated lots of sounds throughout the game (weapons, elevators, etc.)
• Updated how the defibrillator damage works and the visual effects (damages multiple enemies in a short distance with a bolt of electricity for each). This is more of an area of attack type weapon where multiple things can be damaged at the same time.
• Updated the HUD with an animated Time Well meter.
• Added more ambient dust particles in various levels.
• Added more shadows throughout various levels.
• Updated the Scrap Shield to move to center when using the fire button.
• Added more vocals for Sebastian throughout the levels.
• Added more cover and objects the player can use in various areas.
• Updated some meshes throughout the game to look better.
• Added more path lighting in the outdoor levels.
• Updated the look of the Bioreserve ice to look better and not warp the screen image.
• Updated so a clear quest/task is always visible in the Investigation screen. This is to always provide a hint about what to do next.
• Updated Time Well to trigger an "action" if player fires with no weapon equipped.
• Updated health meters to be more visible.
• Cleaned up the reticule area so it's easier to target and see what's going on.
• Updated some locations of the save consoles to be more useful.
• Added more droids to various outdoor levels.
• Expanded laboratory level a bit for the story. There’s a back area to show where some experiments occurred.
• Updated Mini Map to not show up in certain scenes that aren't relevant.
• Improved the flying attacks for certain critters.
• Updated the look of all text messages in the computer terminals.
• Added GasTank objects to show where fires can be started.
• Updated the position of the HUD options to not get in the way of reading magazines or tablets.
• Updated the look of the Ion Emulsifier weapon particles.
• Updated the visual effect when the player's oxygen levels are too low.
• Added breath sound effect when the player jumps.
• Added subtle radio music to the main menu and Main Quarters levels.
• Updated Quick Inventory menu to show Food Attribute bonuses.
• Updated vending machines to have lights.
• Updated and added more geometry to the game.
• Updated the droids and drones to drop energy and battery ammo.
• Updated dream scene to play some background music.
• Updated some levels with dead critter bodies.
• Updated the name of the saved filename for this version to minimize backwards incompatibility issues.
• Updated how the game begins to feel more mysterious.
• Updated voice and increased dialogue for the Daedalus character to feel more intimidating.
• Updated the look of the first scene of the game to be more dramatic.
• Added a Fire icon when a weapon that can be fired is equipped.
• Updated Quick Inventory menu to show how long bonuses will last.
• Updated how damage from lack of oxygen occurs.
• Added mapped controller support in the Options for left hand players.
• Added a “bee type boss” enemy to a couple areas in the game.
• Updated which weapons are provided to the player as they progress.
• Updated the combat music to have a bit more texture and alien world feel.
• Updated MQ to respond to Daedalus statements in some cases.
• Updated some particle systems to support casting ambient light.
• Updated color of all Ion based effects to be consistently green (weapons, lightning, etc).
• Updated the door sounds in the game to sound more sci-fi.
• Added Blake’s sketchpad which is more useful to the narrative.
• Reduced First Aid dosages to 2 but are much more effective (for balancing gameplay).
• Updated all food and water/drinks to support Investigation Screen highlighting.
• Added an explosive trap by the Quadrant 8 pipe area for a better challenge/opportunity.
• Updated the look of projectiles for drones and weapons.
• Updated the outdoor scenes to show a different lighting condition based on the progress of the game.
• Updated the look of a lot of geometry to have more depth and be affected by the lighting more.
• Updated some terminal images to be more rooted in the current world.
• Added reload mechanical sound effects to weapons.
• Updated ambient music in parts of the laboratory level.
• Updated the Ion Drill to support limb/position based damage.
• Updated Sticky Bombs to track enemies from greater distances in a Time Well. You can throw things from farther away and watch them leave a trail as they track the target.
• Updated the Escape Menu to handle navigating back to the Main Menu.
• Updated descriptions for controls in the Key Binding Menu.
• Updated the enemy reactions during combat, repositioning, etc.
• Updated the look of the Key Binding menu to better match the aesthetic of the game.
• Added an instruction hint for the first puzzle in the game (and support for failing this puzzle).
• Updated the reload HUD values to match the values used by the actual weapons (i.e. count based vs duration based).

Bug Fixes

• Fixed issue with not being able to attack when in a conversation.
• Fixed issue with the player camera stuttering/jittering during movement.
• Fixed issues with enemies spawning and transporting to nearby areas.
• Fixed ladder not disabling while climbing.
• Fixed some ambient lighting issues in various places in the game.
• Fixed issues when interacting with something and the weapon/tool you were holding doesn't come back.
• Fixed various resolution issues when saving/loading a game.
• Fixed an issue with the player not being able to jump while walking into walls.
• Fixed issues with fading to black (and audio not fading) when changing scenes.
• Fixed how retrieving certain Data Packet instructions were not followed by Daedalus starting a hack.
• Fixed issue with "Eat All" not working in the Quick Inventory menu.
• Fixed an issue where a dropped item moves abruptly or is launched a little forward.
• Fixed issue activating suits.
• Fixed various issues with particle systems not looking right (i.e. faint squares, etc).
• Fixed issues with materials changing to invalid ones when investigating dead crewmates.
• Fixed issue with the Player floating when equipping a weapon while walking and jumping on a ladder.
• Fixed the Time Well icon to not show until the player encounters the Time Well.
• Fixed some issues with audio still playing when changing scenes.
• Fixed player not being able to reload or use the Quick Inventory menu in the Time Well.
• Fixed various meters not working in the Time Well.
• Fixed Explosives not triggering Interactive Fires.
• Fixed issue with no collision damage when throwing items.
• Fixed metal objects sliding around too much.
• Fixed the Favorite Throw text to look grey when there is nothing left to throw.
• Fixed how the player is able to interact with certain things but shouldn't be able to.
• Fixed how the reticule is visible sometimes when it shouldn't be.
• Fixed certain bite sounds not playing.
• Fixed Fire Extinguisher particles to be more visible.
• Fixed controller vibration to not play during scene changes.
• Fixed various audio related issues with sounds not sounding right with a helmet on/off.
• Fixed the look of the plants so they aren't so glowy.
• Fixed various objects being rotated in odd ways.
• Fixed how Everleigh is attacked by a droid in Quadrant 7.
• Fixed issue with causing too much damage with certain weapons in the Time Well.
• Fixed issues interacting with some objects and objects retaining their position when saving/loading.
• Fixed how damage particles weren't showing all the time.
• Fixed certain Point of Interest beacons not showing up properly.
• Fixed various navigation issues for critters, robots, and droids.
• Fixed various objects not highlighting properly in the Investigation screen.
• Fixed inventory related messages to be more clear.
• Fixed the controls to not work when the player is dying.
• Fixed total play time to display properly in the Escape menu.
• Fixed an issue with the player showing up in multiple mini map sections.
• Fixed the huge glowy area in the outdoor levels.
• Fixed hand scanner in Laboratory not working.
• Fixed some invalid items that could be inventoried by the player
• Fixed scene loading background to fade properly.
• Fixed some droids to wait for the proper trigger for when to be aggressive.
• Fixed some objects (like the radio) not being affected when in a Time Well.
• Fixed blood effects to show on top of weapons.
• Fixed lights in locker rooms not turning on at the right time.
• Fixed an issue interacting with certain things while climbing a ladder.
• Fixed certain enemies not casting shadows properly.
• Fixed various issues while interacting with magazines.
• Fixed issues with Soviten Gems and ammo not loading properly when leaving a scene and coming back.
• Fixed certain music trigger elements in the game (music playing over each other too loudly, playing music when it shouldn’t, etc).
• Fixed defibrillator not firing successively in the Time Well.
• Fixed various issues loading a game after death.
• Fixed the feel of the mouse when look acceleration is disabled.
• Fixed “Drop” option showing up for Settings tablet and also updated to spawn closer to player.
• Fixed controller detection not working when in a Time Well.
• Fixed soviten zones sometimes rendering on top of a held weapon.
• Fixed how some health meters might not show up for enemies.
• Fixed issues with duplicate Data Packet Reveals showing up on loaded games.
• Fixed issues with no quest directions in certain free-to-explore periods in the game.
• Fixed reticules to not be visible in terminals and tablets.
• Fixed issue where some conversations and game triggers don’t quite fire off properly.
• Fixed various issues with projectiles not triggering damage properly.
• Fixed issues not being able to go prone under certain locations.
• Fixed falling in Soviten Zone to reset Player falling state (so you don’t die after falling in one).
• Fixed the Examine screen when holding objects being too dark.
• Fixed certain enemies attacking the player too soon.
• Fixed the first page of all work tablets to show the page number and number of pages.
• Fixed issues with the FOV changing during the game.
• Fixed Sticky Bombs not sticking to certain objects properly.
• Fixed certain smoke effects to look better.
• Fixed issues regenerating stamina in certain situations.
• Fixed all ceiling light fixtures in the laboratory level to be positioned correctly.
• Fixed geometry around doors to have space where the door can pass through.
• Fixed Sonic Grenade not opening up on detonation.
• Fixed some particle systems not being visible at certain times.
• Fixed being able to delete Data Packet images in the Quick Inventory menu.
• Fixed issue with the helmet tilting when interacting with certain items.
• Fixed issue with inverted look not working properly when loading a game.
• Fixed EMP Device sliding on the ground too much.
• Fixed Processed Soviten Bomb to not slide so much on walls when thrown.
• Fixed issues with some dead enemy parts falling through the terrain.
• Fixed Blake to look better in his pose.
• Fixed Sticky Bomb colliding with the player in a Time Well.
• Fixed some of Daedalus’ bots to talk at proper times.
• Fixed Defibrillator shaking too much when the fire button is held.
• Fixed Bioreserve Soviten Zone to handle player input/navigation better.
• Fixed blood particles falling from mid air when nothing is there.
• Fixed various errors showing up when loading levels in certain conditions.
• Fixed issue where V-Sync settings might affect the Mouse control speed.
• Fixed the responsiveness of the Options menus.
• Fixed the Key Binding Menu not loading saved remapping changes.
• Fixed audio panning and spatial issues for certain objects in the game.
• Fixed the Mini Map background from showing up when the player first spawns.
• Fixed an issue with the Smoke Grenade and Time Well camera effects overlapping each other.
• Fixed sizing of Particle System damage effects on enemies.
• Fixed not being able to shoot a SkyDroid projectile before damage.

Known Issues

• Various UI elements are not updated when changing the language.
• Doors do not function when the player engages in a narratively important conversation (basically have to wait until the door can be interacted with). We’ve added an “(In Conversation)” text in the HUD to help with this.
• Not possible to remap multiple actions to the same button/key.
• Older save files won’t show up in the Load Game screen or potentially won’t work properly in this version.
• There may be rare cases where the animation isn’t synced with the enemy movement/speed.
• The player can automatically walk up certain small objects backwards, appearing as though they may be floating (but it’s really stepping back up and over the obstacle).
• Unable to see more than 20 save files in the Load Save menu.

Thanks again so much for playing and we look forward to your feedback and improving things even more!

Mat and Larry