Hey Lightbearers! First of all: Thank you! 💝 Not just for playing Into the Emberlands, but for giving us your feedback. So far, almost all reviews for Into the Emberlands have been positive, and it’s wonderful to know that so many of you are enjoying the game! Your feedback is incredibly valuable for us and has helped us identify issues, fix bugs, and ultimately prepare this patch! While our initial plan was to focus on a content-update after the Early Access release, you made it clear to us that there are more pressing issues that involve quality of life (inventory management) and balancing improvements. These changes are at the heart of this update. BUT we also wanted to give you something back and enhance your experience with Into the Emberlands, so we added a few lightbearer skins that are available to all of you (after unlocking them for the first time)! ✨ [b]Here’s what’s new in the update[/b] ✨ [b]Inventory Management[/b] 💼 Many of you were a bit unsatisfied with the inventory management, mainly the inability to get rid of tools that are not currently needed, and suggested improvements. [list] [*] Dropping materials from the inventory now always drops the full stack instead of just one [list][*] The ember blossom was adjusted. The amount of ember you’d previously get for dropping it will now be awarded for burning it[/list] [*] Tools can now be burnt in the ember lantern for ember. Previously they could only be removed by actually using them. Now, there’s a (debatably 👀) better use for them! [*] We also added some little changes to the tutorial to introduce players to the new tool burn mechanic [/list] [b]Balancing & scaling[/b] ⚖️ There were some significant divides in player experiences, as some players found it challenging to accumulate enough max ember to progress, while others were running around with hundreds of max ember, barely facing difficulties. These changes aim to make the experience more streamlined: easier for some, while restoring the suspense for others. [list] [*] Max ember is now capped at 180, the coin girdle at 50, the crystal bag at 8 [*] Capacity upgrades (to purses and lantern) become gradually more expensive (later upgrades are more expensive) [*] Increased the cost of all quests across the board (this should make it a little harder to snowball to a point where quests don’t offer any challenge anymore) [*] On getting lost, you will only lose 40% of your capacity upgrades (you’ll never get below the minimum) and 1 inventory slot [/list] [b]New player characters[/b] 💅 Although this is a QoL-focused update, we wanted to add something exciting for you to discover. There will be new lightbearers for you to unlock! We won’t spoil the unlock conditions here, but if you're curious, join us on our Discord server for more details. 😉 [list] [*] Added 4 new player characters unlockable for everyone [*] Each of the characters will allow you to start a run with a specific item already in your inventory, so choose your preferred one for a little head start! [*] Those of you who have already met the required conditions will have automatically unlocked the characters [/list] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44991077/599403c356ee359f81405b595779431277fd4985.jpg[/img] [b]Additional Fixes[/b] 🔨 [list] [*] Fixed a bug that would break the game when quitting during a dialogue [*] The opening cinematic now plays again when starting a new save [*] Save/load is now 100% reliable (let’s say 99,9% 👀) [*] The default startup language is now your system language [*] Optimized pathfinding logic [*] Fixed the Ember Charm not having any effect outside of the Meadow biome [*] Fixed the pop-up UI when the end of Early Access content is reached [*] Added a disclaimer that the game is not saved during tutorial [*] Fixed a bug where Miasma sound would keep playing after respawning [*] Fixed a bug where fixing one building would cross off multiple in the quest log [/list] Thank you all for being so supportive and for helping us in making Into the Emberlands the best game it can be. ❤️✨ Keep the feedback coming and we’ll do our best to resolve issues quickly and add interesting content to the game! Tiny Roar & Daedalic Entertainment