Chapter IX: The Book Club - Now Live!
Good day, Scribes!
We close out the year with Chapter IX: The Book Club! Join your fellow Scribes in a rotating series of unique challenges, face the newest Torn foes, and enjoy a collection of gameplay, quality of life, and performance enhancements!
In the New Year, our Early Access journey continues with our next Interlude Patch on January 8th. Check out our abridged Roadmap below, or the full version in-game!
Where all Scribes start on the same page!
Tackle rotating challenges with a globally shared Loadout, Modifier Set, and Game Seed. Beware, Ink Levels and Inscriptions will not be applied!
The Book Club challenges will rotate every 3.5 days, introducing new thematic runs - each with a curated arrangement of our literary Spells, Tomes, Bindings, and starting Buffs!
Since we Book Club members are facing the same limited-time obstacles, Scribes will be able to review global stat Reports on Completion Time (defeating Ch6 Boss), Highest Appendix, and a Challenge-Specific Stat during each challenge period.
How much pet damage did you deal in The Lord of the Inklings? How fared your sword-play in Duelist's Fate? Join the Book Club and put your reading skills to the test!
The looming threat of the Torn continues to grow with new minor foes for Splices, Ravings, and Tangents.
Face off with the skittish ram-like Gruff, the indulgent Ruminator, and the distantly harrying Apostrophe.
And - upon a mighty wind sails the dreaded Howl - a bold and zephyrous Elite Splice.
Chapter IX is a great opportunity for us to highlight some more community-requested improvements to Vellum! More information follows in the patch notes, as always - but we wanted to highlight some hits!
Codex Search: Hunt for pages by name, keyword, or associated spell!
Manifest Update: Manifest can now be skillfully feathered to maintain some attack speed while avoiding "Going Overboard".
Swoop Adjustment: This spell can now be repeatedly cast by holding the button!
Inkling Behaviors: Transformed Inklings will now leap to their targets! Inklings in the Library will follow their Scribe's lead when dropping combat - it's polite to be mindful of others in the Library!
"What's your favorite Ink color?" became a far easier question for these Scribes - it was obvious from their Steam Profiles!
We've added a whole suite of new Steam Community Items to show off your all-time (or perhaps spur-the-moment) colorful Vellum favorites!
Around this time last year, we were in the early stages of Early Access launch prep. Over the 2023 Thanksgiving break, we had published our announcement trailer and were approaching the Steam Next Fest with a Vellum Demo that was very quickly taking on stronger, bolder shapes. Players would go hands-on with the game soon. Real soon.
We previewed Vellum for many of our friends and family - leaning on a wide range of truly generous folks who offered much of their time to hear about the book game.
Somewhere in the middle, our common refrain of "Could you try some new Vellum stuff?" transformed into something new and exciting of theirs:"So I've been playing a bit on my own and I think that..." -- Not only had our growing circle been kind with their time - but increasingly open with their imaginations and curiosity! To see that same generosity then carried on by our players has been truly inspiring.
Today, with our final chapter of 2024 hitting the magic shelves, we're extremely proud of the Vellum journey so far and the endless discoveries we've made together along the way.
Happy Holidays and thank you for playing Vellum!
- The Vellum Team
[h2]Features[/h2]
[h3]The Book Club[/h3]
- New, rotating global challenge runs await Scribes at the Quest Board (after completing any Binding 10 run, no Attunement required)
- Book Club challenges cycle every 3.5 days, with a specific Loadout, Modifier Set, and Game Seed for all Scribes. Ink Levels and Inscriptions will not be applied during Book Club.
- Global Stats from successful Book Club runs will be displayed in the Book Club interface
- 3 New cosmetic rewards are available from completing unique Book Club challenges
- There are 25 unique Book Club challenges (on repeat appearances, Game Seeds will be altered from first appearances)
[h3]New Torn Enemies[/h3]
- The following new Torn Foes may now appear in Tomes and have entries in the Codex
- Elite Splice: Howl
- Splice: Ruminator
- Tangent: Apostrophe
- Raving: Gruff
[h3]Quality of Life and Highlight Changes[/h3]
- The Codex now has a Search function accommodating Keywords, Spells, etc.
- Generator Spell Manifest: Attack speed ramp now decays when released, allowing for feathering to avoid going "Overboard" while maintaining attack speed. (Previously fully reset on button release)
- Spender Spell Swoop: This spell can now be repeatedly cast by holding the button
- Green Inkling Behavior: Transformed Inkling will now leap to targets. Inklings will now stop attacking in Library unless their Scribe actively engages.
[h2]General, Library, Tome, and Good Guy Stuff[/h2]
- Main Menu now displays planned release date for the next upcoming update
- Global improvement in behavior with navigable surfaces (e.g. Flutterstep)
- Page Turn transition sketch effect has improved performance
- Homing Projectiles should no longer orbit dead targets
- Fixed visual issues when dying with Freeze or Weakened status effect
- Wolves will no longer apply weakened/marked to players from Font Powers
- Spell: Jot now has improved vfx when using Teal Ink
- Pink: Drafts gain overflow Outline more consistently from killed Torn
- Inscription: Rendered properly works with all Spells and Pink
- Page of Power: One Ton can now appear when using Wordsmith
- Page of Power: Natures Revenge now has no damage limit
- Page of Power: Echo of Twilight/Sunset/Sunrise repeat casts extend duration instead of summoning more wolves
- Page of Power: The Phantom is Here now drops a real, genuine chandelier!
- Page of Power: Brightstreak can now be offered even when out of mana
- Page of Power: Pretender to the Throne brought in line with associated pages
- Page of Power: Bounce Around now has reduced visual noise
- Page of Power: Blinding Light VFX will now properly expire
- Bonus Objective: Capture the Flag now has an increased turn in radius
- Bonus Objectives: Hungering Orb & Mana Bribe now have accurate progress indicators
- Vignette: Seaside Path now has improved collision
- Vignettes: Exit portals will now be delayed until start sequence completes
[h2]Bindings & Bad Guys[/h2]
- Current Binding Level is now displayed on the in-game Book Interface
- Binding: Explosive Orb damage scaling has been adjusted
- Binding: Lava Floor should now correctly do damage to Teal Scribes
- Binding: Night Strike improved projectile visibility and speed ramp
- Tome: Rivals fixed duplicate enemy page options
- Torn Page: Buckler fixed VFX when FSR setting is enabled
- Splices: Stalagmight & Ironclaw behave better with VFX additions
- Raving: Crab is now less accurate with Fissure attack
- Boss: Missra will now only appear in Tomes with 1+ Binding Level
- Boss: Missra now correctly shows Glob info in Codex
- Boss: Crombul fixed enrage VFX
- Boss: Crombul now correctly shows Enrage info in Codex
- Torn Parry effects now display the correct damage values (previously used info from Scribe Parry effects - ouch!)
- Minor AI performance improvements
- Fixed issue with AI status effects not updating
- All bosses can now spawn with a festive hat
- Fixed AI navigation on Desert Pit Boss Arena
- Fixed navigation in Atoll combat arena
- Mortar attacks (from Ghosts, for example) should now better match their preview location
We close out the year with Chapter IX: The Book Club! Join your fellow Scribes in a rotating series of unique challenges, face the newest Torn foes, and enjoy a collection of gameplay, quality of life, and performance enhancements!
In the New Year, our Early Access journey continues with our next Interlude Patch on January 8th. Check out our abridged Roadmap below, or the full version in-game!
The Book Club - A Game of Rotating Challenges
Where all Scribes start on the same page!
Tackle rotating challenges with a globally shared Loadout, Modifier Set, and Game Seed. Beware, Ink Levels and Inscriptions will not be applied!
The Book Club challenges will rotate every 3.5 days, introducing new thematic runs - each with a curated arrangement of our literary Spells, Tomes, Bindings, and starting Buffs!
Since we Book Club members are facing the same limited-time obstacles, Scribes will be able to review global stat Reports on Completion Time (defeating Ch6 Boss), Highest Appendix, and a Challenge-Specific Stat during each challenge period.
How much pet damage did you deal in The Lord of the Inklings? How fared your sword-play in Duelist's Fate? Join the Book Club and put your reading skills to the test!
The Shredded Torn
The looming threat of the Torn continues to grow with new minor foes for Splices, Ravings, and Tangents.
Face off with the skittish ram-like Gruff, the indulgent Ruminator, and the distantly harrying Apostrophe.
And - upon a mighty wind sails the dreaded Howl - a bold and zephyrous Elite Splice.
Going Overboard - Quality of Life, Manifest Rework, And More!
Chapter IX is a great opportunity for us to highlight some more community-requested improvements to Vellum! More information follows in the patch notes, as always - but we wanted to highlight some hits!
Codex Search: Hunt for pages by name, keyword, or associated spell!
Manifest Update: Manifest can now be skillfully feathered to maintain some attack speed while avoiding "Going Overboard".
Swoop Adjustment: This spell can now be repeatedly cast by holding the button!
Inkling Behaviors: Transformed Inklings will now leap to their targets! Inklings in the Library will follow their Scribe's lead when dropping combat - it's polite to be mindful of others in the Library!
Color Your World - Steam Community Items
"What's your favorite Ink color?" became a far easier question for these Scribes - it was obvious from their Steam Profiles!
We've added a whole suite of new Steam Community Items to show off your all-time (or perhaps spur-the-moment) colorful Vellum favorites!
Epilogue - On the Nature of Seasons
Around this time last year, we were in the early stages of Early Access launch prep. Over the 2023 Thanksgiving break, we had published our announcement trailer and were approaching the Steam Next Fest with a Vellum Demo that was very quickly taking on stronger, bolder shapes. Players would go hands-on with the game soon. Real soon.
We previewed Vellum for many of our friends and family - leaning on a wide range of truly generous folks who offered much of their time to hear about the book game.
Somewhere in the middle, our common refrain of "Could you try some new Vellum stuff?" transformed into something new and exciting of theirs:"So I've been playing a bit on my own and I think that..." -- Not only had our growing circle been kind with their time - but increasingly open with their imaginations and curiosity! To see that same generosity then carried on by our players has been truly inspiring.
Today, with our final chapter of 2024 hitting the magic shelves, we're extremely proud of the Vellum journey so far and the endless discoveries we've made together along the way.
Happy Holidays and thank you for playing Vellum!
- The Vellum Team
Chapter IX: The Book Club - Full Patch Notes
[h2]Features[/h2]
[h3]The Book Club[/h3]
- New, rotating global challenge runs await Scribes at the Quest Board (after completing any Binding 10 run, no Attunement required)
- Book Club challenges cycle every 3.5 days, with a specific Loadout, Modifier Set, and Game Seed for all Scribes. Ink Levels and Inscriptions will not be applied during Book Club.
- Global Stats from successful Book Club runs will be displayed in the Book Club interface
- 3 New cosmetic rewards are available from completing unique Book Club challenges
- There are 25 unique Book Club challenges (on repeat appearances, Game Seeds will be altered from first appearances)
[h3]New Torn Enemies[/h3]
- The following new Torn Foes may now appear in Tomes and have entries in the Codex
- Elite Splice: Howl
- Splice: Ruminator
- Tangent: Apostrophe
- Raving: Gruff
[h3]Quality of Life and Highlight Changes[/h3]
- The Codex now has a Search function accommodating Keywords, Spells, etc.
- Generator Spell Manifest: Attack speed ramp now decays when released, allowing for feathering to avoid going "Overboard" while maintaining attack speed. (Previously fully reset on button release)
- Spender Spell Swoop: This spell can now be repeatedly cast by holding the button
- Green Inkling Behavior: Transformed Inkling will now leap to targets. Inklings will now stop attacking in Library unless their Scribe actively engages.
[h2]General, Library, Tome, and Good Guy Stuff[/h2]
- Main Menu now displays planned release date for the next upcoming update
- Global improvement in behavior with navigable surfaces (e.g. Flutterstep)
- Page Turn transition sketch effect has improved performance
- Homing Projectiles should no longer orbit dead targets
- Fixed visual issues when dying with Freeze or Weakened status effect
- Wolves will no longer apply weakened/marked to players from Font Powers
- Spell: Jot now has improved vfx when using Teal Ink
- Pink: Drafts gain overflow Outline more consistently from killed Torn
- Inscription: Rendered properly works with all Spells and Pink
- Page of Power: One Ton can now appear when using Wordsmith
- Page of Power: Natures Revenge now has no damage limit
- Page of Power: Echo of Twilight/Sunset/Sunrise repeat casts extend duration instead of summoning more wolves
- Page of Power: The Phantom is Here now drops a real, genuine chandelier!
- Page of Power: Brightstreak can now be offered even when out of mana
- Page of Power: Pretender to the Throne brought in line with associated pages
- Page of Power: Bounce Around now has reduced visual noise
- Page of Power: Blinding Light VFX will now properly expire
- Bonus Objective: Capture the Flag now has an increased turn in radius
- Bonus Objectives: Hungering Orb & Mana Bribe now have accurate progress indicators
- Vignette: Seaside Path now has improved collision
- Vignettes: Exit portals will now be delayed until start sequence completes
[h2]Bindings & Bad Guys[/h2]
- Current Binding Level is now displayed on the in-game Book Interface
- Binding: Explosive Orb damage scaling has been adjusted
- Binding: Lava Floor should now correctly do damage to Teal Scribes
- Binding: Night Strike improved projectile visibility and speed ramp
- Tome: Rivals fixed duplicate enemy page options
- Torn Page: Buckler fixed VFX when FSR setting is enabled
- Splices: Stalagmight & Ironclaw behave better with VFX additions
- Raving: Crab is now less accurate with Fissure attack
- Boss: Missra will now only appear in Tomes with 1+ Binding Level
- Boss: Missra now correctly shows Glob info in Codex
- Boss: Crombul fixed enrage VFX
- Boss: Crombul now correctly shows Enrage info in Codex
- Torn Parry effects now display the correct damage values (previously used info from Scribe Parry effects - ouch!)
- Minor AI performance improvements
- Fixed issue with AI status effects not updating
- All bosses can now spawn with a festive hat
- Fixed AI navigation on Desert Pit Boss Arena
- Fixed navigation in Atoll combat arena
- Mortar attacks (from Ghosts, for example) should now better match their preview location