Aeon's End Arrives: Version 1.0 Officially Released
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 12:53:23 AM

It's a big day for Gravehold - Aeon's End has left Early Access, and version 1.0 is now available!

To celebrate the launch, Aeon's End will remain on 10% discount through Sunday, September 22. After that it will be at its regular price of $19.99 USD.

The Need For Speed

If you thought the 0.9 update was an improvement, you ain't seen nothing yet! With another optimization pass from the team, the game is now playing smoother than ever. We appreciate your patience through Early Access as we focused on features instead of performance in earlier versions.

What's Next

There's still bonus content unlocked by the Kickstarter to come, including:

• Breach Mage Xae: crossing over from One Deck Dungeon
• 3 new player cards: a gem, a relic, and a spell
• 3 promo nemesis cards: one from each tier
• Alternate playmats (backgrounds)
• Alternate mage & nemesis skins
• Digital card sleeves

All of the above will be included in every copy of the game on Steam (certain cosmetic items will be exclusive to Kickstarter backers). 

Also, the tablet version will be released on Monday, September 30th. It will be available on iPad via the App Store, and on Android tablets via the Google Play Store. We'll have more info about that release next week.

Listening Party Tonight

Don't forget to join us tonight at 6:30 Eastern on Twitch for the Aeon's End listening party with composer Jean-Marc Giffin,  followed by Handelabra Live where we'll be playing some Aeon's End and celebrating the launch!

Will You Ever…?

Aeon's End is officially released, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop working on it. We'll continue to fix bugs and make other improvements. We're considering other major items for the future, including:

• Expansions - The Nameless, The Depths, and more
• Online multiplayer
• Smartphone support

Thanks for all your support during the Kickstarter and Early Access. This is just the beginning and we look forward to the journey of Aeon's End!

Final Early Access Update, Soundtrack News, & Official Release Dates Revealed!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 06:04:30 PM

Early Access for Aeon's End is drawing to a close, which means it will soon be time to save Gravehold for real! Important dates below:

• Aeon's End will transition from Early Access to retail on Tuesday, September 17th, 2019 (around noon Eastern time)
• Aeon's End will launch on iPad and Android tablets on Monday, September 30th. 

Join us on Handelabra Live Tuesday, September 17th at 6:30 pm Eastern (30 minutes early!) to celebrate the launch, enjoy a listening party with Jean-Marc, and play some Aeon's End!

0.9 Update Released

The final Early Access update has just been posted. Version 0.9 brings more bug fixes and updates to the game as the release date approaches. The most notable new features in this version are achievements, statistics, and performance updates.

Achievements 

We've added 18 achievements to the game, ranging from the most basic (complete the tutorial) to the most puzzly (deal 14 damage in a single blow). Perhaps you'll find some new strategies exploring them. Happy hunting!

Statistics

Wins and losses are now tracked for each mage and nemesis, along with various other interesting data points. You can see how your defense of Gravehold is going over time, and compare with the world!

Other Improvements

We've reworked some parts of the user interface so you can play more quickly, with fewer delays. Drag or click cards as fast as you like! For a full list of all the other improvements in this update, visit the Steam announcement.

Original Soundtrack

Jean-Marc has once again created all new music to set the tone for your adventures in Gravehold, and now you can take that music with you wherever you go. If you backed at a level that includes the soundtrack, or added it on, head over to your BackerKit dashboard now to download your soundtrack. Didn't pre-order it? No problem! The Aeon's End Original Soundtrack is now available at Handelabra.com and Bandcamp, and it will become available via Steam on Tuesday. 

And if you've been missing the days of Jean-Marc guiding you through the music, join us this coming Tuesday for the return of the listening party! Handelabra Live will start 30 minutes early (6:30 pm Eastern) on Tuesday, September 17th for the Aeon's End Listening party. Come to hear the music without sound effects and ambiance getting in the way, plus get some insight from the composer himself about the inspiration for all the new music in the game!

Thanks for all your support over the last 10 months - Aeon's End is almost here!

Carapace Queen Arrives, PAX West this week, Plus Mobile News!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 04:57:18 PM

The final nemesis of the core game has arrived in the third Early Access update, version 0.8. Read on to learn all about the Carapace Queen and more!

Carapace Queen

The Carapace Queen, the Mother-of-Husks, the Swarm Daughter - all these dread names we have chosen in our vain attempts to comprehend this creature. But of all The Nameless, the Queen has brought the most ruin upon Gravehold, for her armies are vast and lethal, more clockwork things than beasts. There is a saying about the husks: “To kill one is to breed six...”

The Carapace Queen is part of the core game and so is available for all to play starting with this update. Swarms of husks will threaten to overwhelm you and Gravehold before you can stop her!

Card Library

Sometimes you just want to take a minute and look at the cool cards. Now you can with the new Card Library screen. It includes all of the cards in the game - basic nemesis cards, nemeses and their unique cards, mages and their starter cards, and player cards available for the supply. Remember, you can right click any card to view the full size with text and artwork!

Under the Hood + Other Improvements

We've updated the underlying version of the Unity game engine to the latest available. That brings many small improvements, but there's a risk of glitches too. Please let us know if you run into any trouble!

Notably, on Linux, 32-bit x86 support has been dropped. Only 64-bit CPUs are now supported.

On macOS, you may run into an error like: "The application can't be opened" or "Failed to start process for Aeon's End." If you see this, right-click the game in Steam and uninstall it, then reinstall it, and everything should work again. You won't lose any of your settings or saved game doing this.

To see the full list of other updated information, interactions, and bug fixes, visit the Steam post.

What's Next

The Early Access period is nearly at an end! The last major features we plan to add before retail launch are Steam achievements and statistics. We're also working on more performance improvements and optimizations. Plus, bonus content unlocked by the Kickstarter is on the roadmap to release soon after retail launch on Steam and tablets. And speaking of tablets...

We are thrilled to report that Aeon's End is now officially into internal testing on tablets. We plan to have it into Beta testing soon and remember, the iPad & Android tablet release will come out just 11 days after retail launch on Steam. We hope to have more info about that for you very soon.

PAX West

As you know if you read the last update, Aeon's End was picked for the Indie MINIBOOTH, PAX West Showcase this weekend. We'll be exhibiting on Sunday and Monday, in booth #741 on the 4th floor.

PAX West attendees will be the first to go hands on with the tablet version of the game. Jeremy and Jennifer will be the Handelabrats (pronounced: Hand-a-lab-rats) in attendance, so please do stop by and say hi!

Aeon's End selected for Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX West!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 09, 2019 at 11:16:18 PM

We are thrilled to announce that Aeon's End has been selected for the PAX West Showcase for the Indie MEGABOOTH! If you've never heard of it before, I'll let them tell you what they do:

"The Indie MEGABOOTH is a traveling showcase of passionate creators working together to bring independent games to the forefront of the gaming community and conference goers’ minds. Our mission is to give thoughtful, atypical games exposure to new audiences. Since 2011, we’ve created a network for developers and creative communities to support each other and connect these dev teams with fans, publishers, and platform holders in mutually beneficial partnerships." (Read more here.)

Hundreds of games are submitted for each showcase. While we've submitted games for consideration before, Aeon's End is the first of our titles to be selected, and we couldn't be more excited. We will be exhibiting in the Indie MINIBOOTH area on Sunday and Monday, September 1-2. If you'll be at the show, please stop by and say hi!

Visit the Aeon's End page on their site, and check out all the other games selected here. Thanks again for your support! This wouldn't have been possible without you.

Early Access Update #2: Tutorial & More
over 4 years ago – Thu, Aug 08, 2019 at 09:49:33 PM

If you stopped by this past weekend at Gen Con, you got to go hands on with the new tutorial for the game, but it has even improved since then! Read on for an overview of what this update includes, or head over to Steam for even more details.

Interactive Tutorial

Brama has lived through a lifetime of tribulation, but is always willing to pass on her wisdom to a new generation. She guides new players in their first battle against Rageborne.

Play All Gems

There are many turns where you just want to play your gems and get to work. We've added a quick button that plays all your gems. It goes from highest cost to lowest, so if you have a Burning Opal, you'll get a chance to discard something else first. 

Card Highlights

When you are discarding or destroying cards, they have a unique highlight effect to indicate what will happen. That should help you avoid quick mis-clicks!

More Shiny

We're continuing to improve and expand the animations and visual polish of the game throughout the Early Access period. There's now a cool animation when a card is destroyed, and Rageborne (who felt left out) now has some unique animations. For those who like to play quickly, the animation speed setting now applies to everything we could find, including casting spells. If we've missed something, let us know by sending in feedback!

For a comprehensive list of other minor updates and bug fixes, head over to the Steam news page here.

What's Next?

We are still hard at work, with more to come during Early Access! We are working on adding the last nemesis from the core game, the Carapace Queen. Plus there will be additional big features like a card library screen, Steam achievements, customized backgrounds, and much more. And beyond that, tomorrow we will have a very exciting announcement to share, but until 1 pm Eastern tomorrow, the breach is sealed on those details.