In this month’s devlog, you’ll hear from Keenan, the lead game developer on Noxia Somnia and Noxia Somnia: Ultimate Edition!

The entire level has received a facelift. The original was pretty rushed and unfinished for the game's initial release. In terms of content it was pretty solid, but on the art side I felt it wasn’t up to the quality of the rest of the game. Over the last couple weeks I've been going in and redesigning the whole thing from a visual standpoint. Improved lighting, improved sprites, and more.

Keep in mind that everything you see here is work in progress. Everything is subject to change. Let us know what you think!




One of the visual ideas I wanted to implement in the act was having a lot of prison-like decor. Act 3 has always been about Tristan's fear of judgement; that by being himself he'd be mocked and bullied by the world around him. As a result of that fear he wore a mask, suppressing his identity and effectively locking it away to fit in. I've taken that idea and run with it, having large jail cells backed by a piercing red light, chains, and more to reinforce this concept.

Some of the chains hanging from the ceiling now have physics and sound as well! This has no effect on gameplay and is purely for atmosphere.




I've also gone in and redesigned the second half of the map; the Skylight Hall. I've decided to remove the old city background and replace it with something a bit more abstract; an ominous, glowing red sky with some gentle snowfall. I think it looks pretty good and gives the area a bit more of an oppressive atmosphere.




There were also a lot of rooms in the 1.0 release that were either empty, or severely lacking in detail when compared to content seen in Act 1 or 2. For example; the pharmacy in the Skylight Hall didn't have any pharmacy-like props inside of it. Just a few TVs and a couple Eye Slimes. It's safe to say this will be addressed in Ultimate Edition.




A handful of screenshots of redesigned rooms will follow.

A few smaller changes have been made to the merchant's store. The low-hanging fog seen in some earlier footage of the game has been restored; it was bugged in 1.0 and didn't render properly. Additionally, the bounty board now has some fancy flashing LED lights and a big "TRADE" sign.

The Boutique has received some similar treatment. I've improved the lighting significantly and added more decoration.

This next section contains spoilers for the base game! If you haven't completed the game, avert your eyes! Run away! Or just skip to the next section!

Ultimate Nightmare mode contains post-game content. You might be wondering how, in the context of the story, does this happen? Tristan escapes the nightmare after defeating The Heart, right?

... Well, in Ultimate Nightmare mode, things go a bit differently. We won't spoil everything, but the basic premise for the post-game is that, instead of leaving, Tristan teams up with The Heart to kill the entity that created the realm of monsters. At the same time, The Guide goes missing. It's up to Tristan to find The Guide, discover the truth, and bring an end to the nightmare once and for all.

All of these improvements, balancing, and quality of life features are great... but that's not all Ultimate Edition has. We won't show our full hand just yet, but there's a new, powerful threat in the game. A brand new boss accessible in a secret area within the hospital's walls...

... We'll go into a bit more detail on that later. For now; thank you for reading.

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