Chapter IV: Machinations - Now Live!

Welcome, Scribes!

Chapter IV: Machinations arrives to put ORANGE on the map! We also add a new Movement Spell, Suggested Reading Loadout Bonuses, Arachnophobia Mode, and more! Our Early Access journey continues, as outlined below:



[h2]Orange Ink - An Atlas of Your Domain[/h2]


Orange is the Ink of area dominance; deploy your Atlas - then empower it while exerting your combined strength! Establish your place of power and push back the Torn with strategy!

ATLAS - Place a persisting turret to attack visible foes and provide Barrier to nearby Scribes.

SURVEY - Damage from Scribe Spells generates Survey. Depositing Survey will empower Atlas and decay over time.

SCOUR - Spenders that consume Orange Mana cause Atlas to Scour - damaging all visible foes.

DEPLOY & PROJECTION - Your Signature Spell will deploy Atlas (which can then be picked up with Interact). Once deployed, your Signature Spell designates a firing angle for Atlas to emit a map-wide beam of unlimited range.

Orange also comes with a healthy selection of Pages of Power, Inscriptions, Signature Challenges, Cosmetic Rewards, Daily Quests, and a Steam Achievement. Welcome to the wide, encompassing world of Orange Ink!

[h2]Movement Spell - Vault[/h2]

Reach new heights with Vault - a new movement Spell to fling yourself upwards. Perfect for some aerial acrobatics or overcoming those tricky Vignettes!

[h2]Suggested Reading - New Quillmark Bonuses[/h2]

In Vellum, the choices are many and potentials vast... Indecision, begone! The Quest Board in the Illuminated Library has expanded as Chapter IV introduces a rotating selection of Suggested Reading Bonuses. Mending the specified Tome or using the specified Spell will award bonus Quillmarks - speeding up Ink Level research or helping to incentivize trying out new things in new places!

[h2]New Feature - Arachnophobia Mode[/h2]


We've heard feedback about the many-legged members of the Torn roster and added a new Arachnophobia toggle to Vellum's options. This blobifies the Spiders, Scorpions, Pumpkin Summons, and Fractalux.

[h2]Tuning and Planning[/h2]
We're continuing to make small adjustments around balance in the world of Vellum. Following the difficulty increase, we've been making small nudges here and there - but are generally happy with the direction we're headed! Today's tuning is rather light, with adjustments to Burstbugs, a buff to Passage, and reduced costs of many Font Powers in the general pool.

A bit of info on the future - one of our goals we're taking steps toward is Public Matchmaking. Last update, we welcomed a ping overhaul to start setting up more organic team communication. Today's update brings behind the scenes lobby infrastructure and an optional inactivity timer. There are still some challenges ahead for the best matchmade Vellum experiences, but we're excited to be making steady progress!

Like all of our updates, Chapter IV: Machinations is heavily aided by the feedback of our players! Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and discussions, Scribes - we can't wait for you to experience this brand new Chapter!

- The Vellum Team


[h2]Features[/h2]
[h3]Signature Ink: Orange[/h3]
- Atlas - You are equipped with a deployable Atlas, a persisting turret. When placed, Atlas attacks visible foes and provides Barrier to nearby Scribes.
- Passive - Survey: Damage from your Spells generates Survey. Deposit Survey to empower Atlas damage and attack speed for a time.
- Mana - Scour: When a Spender consumes Orange Mana, Atlas will Scour - damaging all visible foes.
- Signature - Placement: Hold & Release: Deploy Atlas at the designated location when released. Interact with Atlas to reclaim it, refunding Survey.
- Signature - Projection: Hold & Release: Designate a firing direction for Atlas, unleashing a map-wide beam when released.
- New Orange Pages of Power, Inscriptions, Signature Challenges, Cosmetic Rewards, Daily Quests, Steam Achievement

[h3]New Movement Spell: Vault[/h3]
- Cooldown: 3s
- Launch upwards with a burst of force.

[h3]Suggested Reading[/h3]
- Tomes and Spells can now be "Suggested Reading", granting a Quillmark bonus if selected for the next run. This bonus cycles after each Tome.

[h3]New Settings[/h3]
- Arachnophobia Mode: blobifies the visuals of: Spiders, Scorpions, Pumpkin Summons, Fractalux
- Pause Menu now has a toggle-able Inactivity Timer in multiplayer rooms (60s before removed from room)

[h2]Gameplay, General, And Fixes[/h2]
- Reduced the cost of the following Font Powers: Assassin Bureau, Out of the Blue, Ruin on the Mountainside, Spirit of the Blizzard, Spirit of the Tempest, Mana Motes, Temporal Motes, Ballista, Brief Immunity, Ink By The Barrel
- Spender Spell: Passage persisting damage has a 33% chance to activate add-on effects (was 0%)
- Spender Spell: Passage hourglass flight speed increases over time
- Splice: Burstbug now knocks Scribes back when bursting
- Adjusted various beneficial knockback-reducing powers to only affect negative effects
- Notification toasts (yum) now appear for players joining/leaving multiplayer rooms
- The upper righthand Tome progress tracker now shows Vignettes
- The Tome map panel in book menu now shows Vignettes
- Added a new indicator when two Page choices happen back to back
- Adjusted colors slightly for Scribe revive progress HUD elements
- Added post-game damage tracking for several items
- Added new Steam Achievement for Pink Signature Ink
- Page of Power: I Choose You! should now work properly with Green Thumb
- Page of Power: Guardian of the Cycle adjusted visuals
- Vignette: Tundra Pass visual adjustment
- Vignette: Crystal Divination collision adjustments
- Bonus Objective: Hubris should correctly end in multiplayer
- Various typo fixes