Content Update: Settlers and Bounty Hunters



Settler Camps


This update includes a number of new quests and more content to fill out the world. You can now find settler camps scattered across the land. Trade with their merchants, and talk to them to receive quests or hints about things in the area.

New Bounty Hunter Quest Line


The Bounty Hunter's guild quest line has now been expanded and includes many new dungeons and points of interest. Talk to the leader of the bounty hunter outpost in the desert to find out how to raise in the ranks.

Changes


- Added settler camps in the Desert, Plains, and Forest zones.
- Expanded the Bounty Hunter quest line, and added a number of new associated dungeons and points of interest.
- Added new weapon drops
- Adjusting the near clipping plane to reduce problems with the camera clipping through walls.
- Added some new visuals to the Museum of Magic.
- New common enemy armor drops now work for enemies in the yonder.
- You can now re-obtain the Dragon Lilly if you've lost it during the quest The Chair Curse.
- Added some new teleport runes.
- Slightly increased the size of dialogue response boxes.
- Fixed torso disappearing at certain camera angles on dead enemies wearing dusters.
- Fixed colliders on some glass cases.
- Fixed description on the plains tower cell keys.
- Fixed description of the bellows weapon.
- Fixed lamp post in lake town being marked as an inn interior object.
- Fixed typo in the failed to place item message during the quest "A Treasure Hunt".
- Shield of souls no longer overwrites cloak of flames effect.
- Fixed an issue where a heal would count as dealing damage for Shield of Souls effect and Soul Splitter talent.

Dev Update: New Outfit Models, Points of Interests, and Fixes.


New Outfits


We added in two new outfit models, the Duster and the Cassock. Both of these new models will replace the clothes of certain NPCs throughout the game, as well as update the models of some items that you can equip.


Changes Near Edge Town


A few things have been updated near edge town to improve the initial experience. This includes the addition of a new quest, a slight improvement to the Tools of the Trade quest, some new NPCs, and more. This is intended to bring the quality of some of the early quests up to more closely match those found in the later game.


Bug Fixes


Thanks to everyone who have taken the time to report bugs and other problems. With the influx of new players since we left early access, we were able to identify a number of bugs that previously went unnoticed. Some of these have been fixed in minor hotfixes, as well as in this update.


Equipment Drops


Previously, wearable equipment drops were, in general, exclusive to bosses and chests. We have now made it so that common enemies also have a rare chance of dropping these items.


Upcoming


We have some larger content additions in the works that will expand the quest line of the Bounty Hunter guild as well as add some new points of interest in the world. This update will likely come within the next few weeks.


Changes


- Added new clothing items: The Duster and Cassock Robe.
- Updated some NPCs with new clothes visuals.
- Fixed some visual issues in Forest Town.
- Fixed some visual issues in Edge Town.
- Added some new small areas to the beginning area.
- Added new potions to some loot tables.
- Bandits can now sometimes drop armor.
- Added some new points of interest to the desert.
- Buffed some repeater rifles.
- Improved the "Tools of The Trade" quest
- Decreased the difficulty of Furnace Master Edgar slightly.
- Added a new quest near Edge Town.
- Portals now save if you've activated them in the Shimmering Caverns.
- Tabitha can now re-give you a key if you lose it during her quest.
- Added collider to keep you from being able to interact with a blocked door by looking through a crack.
- You can no longer dodge while in the air.
- Fixed a hole in the geometry on top of Heaven's Overlook.
- Fixed overlapping floor geometry in museum of magic.
- Fixed malformed bottles in Elron's house.
- Fixed falling bottles in the mountain town blacksmith shop.
- Fixed some colliders on the exterior of Nigel's house in Down Town.
- Fixed a tilted shrine rock in Tinderfall Hollow.
- Fixed being able to interact with a secret door early in the abandoned wizard school.
- Fixed z-fighting on alchemist's shack in plains.
- Fixed the water effects of Lake Town's lake not extending deep enough.
- Removed collider from ice on the Brine rife, which could intercept spells.
- Fixed Gavyn still blocking the cellar door even after you have completed the quest Private Eye.
- Added tip when you start on how to wield your weapon.
- Fixed a bunch of typos.
- Soul Splitter orbs now fall to the ground, so they no longer get stuck way in the air.

Wild West and Wizards Has Officially Launched!


Howdy everyone!

The day has finally come. Today Wild West and Wizards officially launches on Steam, leaving Early Access. I want to go over what has changed since the Early Access launch and what updates are coming to the game after launch.


WHAT’S CHANGED SINCE THE EARLY ACCESS LAUNCH?


Since the launch on Early Access back in August we’ve added a slew of new content and improvements to the game. Our main goal was to get the game more polished and make sure there was plenty of content to keep you engaged while you explore the new frontier. Here’s a list of some of the major changes we’ve made since then. 

- Two brand new classes have been added: The Witch Doctor and The Gunslinger. These classes come with unique starting abilities and their own talent trees changing the way you play the game. 
- New Map UI and quest marker system making navigating more fun but still leaving a sense of raw exploration to the game.
- Graphics improvements such as volumetric lighting and an updated UI
- New AI animations and physics
- A complete main story quest line with access to all three wizard tower dungeons
- New points of interests, puzzles, items, abilities, and side quests added throughout the world
- Performance improvements and bug fixes

These are just some of the changes we’ve made but overall we’re very happy with the state of the game and feel there is a ton of content to experience that should keep you busy exploring the Wild West for quite some time. 


WHAT’S TO COME


Our main focus with the post launch updates is to continue to add content such as quests, new points of interest, and new items for you to earn. The next update will feature multiple brand new high level bounty quests you can pick up in the various towns. These quests will take you to new dungeons and caves with puzzles, new enemies, loot, and of course, secrets. We also are planning some updates to add more quests to the guilds such as The Assassin's Guild and The Bounty Hunters Guild. 

We will share more about these new updates in the coming weeks.


WHAT’S NEXT FOR LAVABOOTS


In addition to working on new content for Wild West and Wizards, we are also working on our next project, a sequel to our open world pirate game, Salt. Salt 2 is still early in the works but we can’t wait to share more with you. Follow us on our social channels such Discord, Twitter, and Facebook for updates. 


Thank you so much to everyone in our community who has helped us shape Wild West and Wizards into the game it is today. Happy questing!


Leaving Early Access and What's Next


We are excited to announce that Wild West and Wizards will be officially launching on Steam, leaving early access some time next week. We've had such a great time developing this game alongside the community and are proud of the world we've created together.

I want to go over what this means in terms of support for the game going forward, as well as what our plans are for the next project.


Post Launch Updates


We started working on Wild West and Wizards a little over two years ago. One of our main goals with this game was to cut our development time down to a two year cycle, but also increase the quantity and quality of content compared to our previous game, Salt. This was a challenge because this game, unlike Salt, was not procedurally generated. This means we had to build the entire world by hand which in theory takes a lot more time. 

Overall we are very happy with the amount of content in the game. Currently there are over 200 points of interest to discover, over 80 quests, three classes with unique talent trees, hundreds of items to loot, and a lot of secrets and puzzles spread across the world. Right now our development team only consists of two people, which means it can be a huge challenge trying to balance content, quality, and time with development. A lot of this also depends on how well a product sells which heavily influences how long we can support ourselves and the game. 

That being said, Wild West and Wizards didn't perform as well as we'd hoped but we were still able to complete our roadmap for the game and implement a ton of content. After launch, we'd like to continue to support the game with a least a few more content updates. The updates will include things like brand new bounty quests to complete, new large points of interests to explore, new quest lines, and new gear and loot to earn. We will also be fixing bugs and things of that nature as well.

From Desert to Sea


So what is next for us at Lavaboots? Some of you will be happy to know we will be working on a sequel to our open world pirate game, Salt. With Salt 2, we'd like to drastically improve the visuals and aesthetics of the game from the original, as well as focus on what made Salt so fun to play and add some new twists as well. A large focus with the sequel will be on exploration, crafting, and ship customization. We want you to really be able to make a cozy home on your ship and spend a lot of time crafting and making it unique to you. 

Obviously right now we are in the very early stages of development and design with Salt 2, but we will be releasing more info on that soon. We plan on taking the same approach that we did with Wild West and Wizards, which is to increase quality and content, but decrease the development time so that you can play the game quicker and get updates faster. 


We are so appreciative of our community and couldn't make these games without you! Stay tuned over the next few months for more updates on Wild West and Wizards, as well as updates on the development of Salt 2. 


Thanks for reading!

Dev Update: New Map and Expanded Main Quest


Howdy everyone!

We're happy to have finally our next update out which includes a lot of great new changes. Let's dive in.

MAP UPDATE




One of the major features of this update is a brand new map interface. It features a full 3D top-down view of the world and shows your current position, points of interest, teleport runes, and waypoints for your current quests.

MAIN QUEST



The update also includes expansions to the main quest line through unlocking and completing the second wizard tower located in the plains.

WHAT'S NEXT?


Next up, we will be working on expanding the main quest further up through the completion of the third and final wizard tower located in the forest. Additionally, work will begin on creating a second class to choose upon character creation.

CHANGES


- Updated map.
- Progressed the main quest.
- Added map button to journal quest entries which opens the map to that location.
- Added new sign posts to the desert to help more easily discover new points of interest.
- Added new points of interest to the plains.
- Added some new lore books.
- Fixed an issue with the portal in the abandoned church near mountain town not staying active.
- Fixed problem where bullets would hit an invisible collider near where you start.
- Fixed an issue with the key to the Byrne residence not spawning.
- Reduced stamina cost per second to sprint from 5 to 0.
- Fixed problem where you would get the like the dead debuff in the chamber of mourning.
- Fixed problem where temple of desolation entrance visuals would pop into view.
- Fixed a lot of deformed chests.
- Added colliders to top of glass cases.
- Fixed desert lockstones setting quest values no matter if you had finished the quest already or not.
- Fixed finley being back up in the air after you saved him already.
- Fixed some instances where cemetary fences didn't have colliders.
- Fixed collider on "lone statue" in forest.
- Harvey is no longer a chair if you return to him after you have finished his quest.
- Fixed where you could bypass the lock to get into dimlight cavern.
- Fixed down tree clipping through rocks near forest wizard tower.
- Fixed problem where statue of salena would not appear after you got the quest if you didn't unload the area first.
- Fixed fence going into d1 from c1 popping out of nowhere when the sector loads.
- Fixed possible sequence breaking of private eye quest. It now updates if you teleport out of the locked cellar.
- Abigail now checks your inventory space before giving you a key.
- Journal in Dustbone Cemetary now has a name.
- Fixed Westshire Cemetary fence having no colliders.
- Fixed alchemist's shack in desert not visible until you get right up to it.

New Update: Fire Wizard Tower, Balance, and Fixes


This update is primarily focused on progressing the main quest line, which now takes you up through the first wizard tower. It also includes a number of bug fixes and other minor changes.

The plan for the next update is to continue work on finishing the main quest line. Additionally, we will be looking into improving the map to be more user friendly.

Changes


- Continued the main quest up through completing the first wizard tower.
- Added resolution and full screen options in the in-game settings.
- Updated the fire rate on some revolvers.
- Added a new Arcane Orb ability.
- Most torches now have holder models.
- The Prophet's Sanctum jump puzzle is now a little easier to complete.
- Fixed some visual issues in The Shimmering Chasms.
- Added volumetric lighting to some caves.
- Added new teleport runes to some areas.
- Fixed a problem where the door to the building for "A Treasure Hunt" quest would not open.
- Added dynamic and more descriptive bullet points for all stats in the inventory screen.
- Fixed an issue where the Dragon Lilly sometimes wasn't lootable.
- Fixed an issue where Esther wouldn't open her merchant interface after you completed her quest.
- Fixed an issue where you couldn't loot a key in a bucket.
- Fixed a bug at the Landry Residence that prevented a door from opening when reloading the game.
- Fixed some visual issues in the B1 church cave.
- Fixed an issue where a key in Evior's house didn't go to anything.
- Bert now knows if you've rescued Emily.
- Fixed some typos.
- Fixed colliders on some cliffs not being right.
- Some nature abilities are no longer tagged as heat abilities, which caused them to activate heat-based talents.
- Hollow Point Ability now deals more damage.
- Packed show now costs less mana.
- The cost reduction of leveling hollow point and packed shot are no longer as dramatic.
- Fixed the Unearthed Behemoth spawning before the statues are deactivated.
- It will now alert you if you are out of inventory space when trying to pick up certain items.
- Ice Mage and Fire Mage talents now have increased effects.
- It now saves that you have rescued Rosie, and she will no longer spawn in the cage after that if so.
- You can now ask the wizard for another draught of death potion even after you have finished the Hall of the Dead quest.
- Harvey's curative potion is no longer able to be sold.
- Fixed the timeless revolver special effect increasing damage on all types of ammo if you had basic ammo selected.
- You can no longer upgrade the ability granted by the mask of the assassin.
- Fixed effect on the healing hat.
- Enemies no longer play a queued stagger animation after a spell cast animation.

New Update: Main Story Quests, Boss Mechanics, New Abilities, and More!

Howdy everyone!

Here's a look at some of the new content you can expect to see in today's update.

Main Quest



A main focus with this and the next couple of updates revolves around the implementation of the main quest line. We plan to add a little more of it each update until it is complete. This update extends the quest from where it left off before. If you have previously worked on the main quest, you should find the quest in your journal to know where to continue.

Boss Mechanics



As part of some of the future elements of the main quest line, we will require a system to create boss battles with more interesting mechanics. We went ahead and implemented the basics of the system and updated the boss in the Edge Town Cave to be a slightly more interesting boss battle. We will update more world bosses in the future.

Interface Improvements



This update includes a few additions to the interface. We have added the ability to compare an equippable item with one that you have equipped. To do so, mouse over the item and press shift. Rarity colors that were previously hard to read have been adjusted slightly for better readability. Quests that are part of the main quest line are now visually different from other quests in your journal. Some items in your resource tab now have small icons in the top corner to indicate if they are quest items or just strictly for selling in order to make it easier to decide what to sell at merchants.

Abilities




We have added some new abilities that can be obtained throughout the world. These include two types of healing spells, an ability to regain mana, and a short distance teleport. We have also made changes to some abilities. There were a number of abilities (such as those that affect weapons) that naturally improved with your character or equipment level, but for which the ability level had no effect. These have been changed where they will increase in mana cost as you gain levels, but upgrading them will reduce their mana cost.

We have added the functionality required for abilities that buff you to be toggled on and off. A number of spells of this nature no longer grant you a temporary buff. Instead, they can be toggled on and off. Note that removing an ability from your ability bar will now remove all buffs given by that ability. We have also enabled abilities to be removed from the ability bar by dragging them off.

Patch Notes


- Fixed an issue where you could see areas with no terrain from certain spots in the plains.
- All buff abilities can now be toggled.
- Increased the number of upgrade orbs needed to upgrade items past lvl 20.
- Fixed a bug where the second level of the Ice Affinity talent did not modify the correct stats.
- Cave engineer's boots are now uncommon items instead of common.
- Fixed a bug where you would rarely hear a female greeting sound when reading lore books.
- Fixed an issue with Anna the merchant selling only one of some bullet types.
- Reduced the amount of armor that ice armor grants.
- Reduced the cooldown time of packed shot and hollow point abilities.
- A number of spells that used to not be able to be upgraded or did nothing when upgrading have - been fixed. Generally, upgrading these spells reduces the mana cost.
- Added some new abilities.
- The color of damage taken numbers is now dependent on the type of hit or healing.
- Fixed bug where an enemy's shouts can cause friendly npcs to attack you.
- Enemies can now hear your footsteps if you are close enough.
- Slightly increased the chance of wizards to drop spell scrolls.
- Added new quests and areas for the main quest line.
- Added new boss mechanics to the boss of Edge Town Cave.
- Added boss health bar that appears when fighting certain boss enemies.
- World health bars now have a slight animation when health is reduced.
- Adjusted atmospheric visuals in Edge Town Cave.
- Fixed a problem that would cause interface elements to not scale right with very wide resolutions.
- You can now drag abilities off of your ability bar to unequip them.
- You are now asked "are you sure?" before quitting.
- Made rare and epic rarity colors easier to read.
- Fixed bug with scarlet repeater and Soul Taker where the special effect would not always work properly.
- Important quests are now visually different in the quest journal.
- When some buff abilities are unequipped from the hotbar, the buff's effect is now removed.
- Some abilities can now be toggled on and off.
- Abilities can no longer be changed while in combat.
- Added compare inspection window (Press shift while inspecting an item).
- Adjusted enemy AI so that they now can lose sight of you correctly in certain circumstances.
- Added icons to quest items and sellable only items.
- Added hotkeys for count selection UI (when selling/buying items).
- Improved scorpion lock-on location and increased their XP value.
- Fixed inanimate objects sometimes having an audible dialogue greeting.
- Fixed a typo in Lulu's dialogue.
- Fixed some scaling issues in the A1 wizard basement.
- You now pull out your weapon from the bottom of the screen instead of the top.
- Fixed health potions not always healing correctly past maximum.
- Fixed bandages removing all over-maximum health.
- Added bullet point indentation to the description window.