- Public Demo: Non-Directional Parry Update + More! - 27 June 2023
We extended the Dad by the Sword Public Demo because we wanted to get some changes in! The demo will now end some time Wednesday Night (or early Thursday if I'm too sleepy) Here's a short list of changes, I may be missing some: Parries no longer require a directional input, just proper timing of letting go of Block right before an enemy hits New Perfect Parries use the old directional input system, and reward you with bonus sword energy each time you do it. This also restores Sword Flaccid State The stronger Parry Perks require Perfect Parry, with their descriptions updated to indicate if they require this or any parry works Hotdog Dadcessory now properly applies a running speed buff to the player Tutorial revamped to explain the new parries, now with smalls videos to show exactly how the parrying works Slightly updated the reticle to show center-parrying More gamepad support for tutori…
- Father's Day Demo Starts Now! - 16 June 2023
UPDATE: We're leaving this up a little bit longer because we want to get out an update that changes the parry system to be non-directional for normal parries. Stay tuned for further news on this, and a new end time for the demo! The Dad by the Sword demo is now up! See our last post on this here for more details on what we've added: Limited Time Demo for Father's Day The link to the demo should be at the top of the Dad by the Sword Store Page on Steam. Summary: We added a lot. Check the above post, and also the section below for new Demo Notes. If you like the demo, tell your friends and any streamers you may think will be interested! We want as much feedback as possible, and we plan on having the demo up for one week. To give feedback and bug reports, post either on these Steam Forums, the #dad-by-the-sword channel on our Official Discord, or our Twitter @rocketcatgames Demo Notes The…
- Limited Time Demo for Father's Day, starting June 16th - 5 June 2023
We're running another limited time public demo for Dad by the Sword for this Father's Day! It will go from June 16th to the 23rd, and have a slew of new content and tweaks, including the ability to pick a starting Dad Class! Read on for a list of details, and a summary of the six new starting classes. Also, read on for news on the launch date for Dad by the Sword. We delayed that a bit, short summary is that really want to get more enemies and another full biome in the game before we launch it. You can see more of my reasoning and things we're thinking about now in the bottom section. New Demo Content We've been really busy! Here's a short list of the new stuff you'll be able to play with in the demo: 6 new player classes you can pick from! They each have their own bonuses to different playstyles. Read the next section for some details Revamped tutorial! It's a little longer, has real c…
- 2/23 Build: Final Updates before Public Demo is over - 25 February 2023
This should be our last big update to the Public Demo, which ends 2/27 (Monday). Lots of tweaks in here, some experimental, so let me know what you think! We also added the new Dadcessory, the Football, as promised. We may do a last mini-update to this before the demo is over. If we do so, I'll post the notes here in an edit. Note that this update was actually posted on the 23rd, though I wasn't able to do the patch notes until I got back home. With the public demo over, we're going to be hard at work on new content. Make sure to Wishlist the game, and follow us on Twitter, talk to us on the official Rocketcat Games Discord, or check back for news on the game's Steam page itself occasionally for major updates! List of Changes for 2/23 Public Demo Build - New Football Dadcessory added! Knocks enemies down close-up, and EXPLODES if you land a hit from a long distance! In exchange for its…
- 2/14 Limited Time Demo Update: FOV Slider, Easier Blocking, and More - 15 February 2023
Steam Next Fest is over, but the feedback we've been getting has been invaluable so we're doing at least one more update after this one. Read on for a full list of changes, and keep sending your thoughts and suggestions! The demo will be shutting down on 2/27. Make sure to tell your friends to try the demo out before it's gone, if you think they'll like the game. For our last update, I'll post a big list of ways you can keep following us outside of Steam. 2/14 Demo Update Changelog - FOV slider added to the options menu. Currently, it goes from 77 to 100. We may expand this in the future, but it will likely be behind an ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS check - Blocking now no longer requires specific directions versus enemy attack directions, though parrying still does. Now in order to block, just hold the right mouse button when an enemy is in front of you - +0.05 sword length added to…
- 2/10 Demo Build Update: Controls Customization Overhaul - 11 February 2023
This is a big build where we focus on being able to fine-tine controls options. There is now an easy toggle between the newer WASD-based sword swing mode, inspired by Dark Messiah, and the older controls method where swings are based on mouse movements. You can find this simply by pressing Escape. In addition to that, there's a bunch of fine-tuning options for both sets of control modes! Let us know what you think, and if you have any requests. Further tweaks and additions include being able to invert the Y-axis in the options menu, and WASD/Dark Dadssiah Mode now also using mouse-aim blocking by default. Read on for a list of changes. Next Major Goal for Demo Build Updates: FOV options. We have some ideas here, still asking for feedback on what the default and ranges should be. List of Changes for 2/10 Demo Build - You can now switch between Dark Dadssiah (WASD-driven sword swings) and…
- Steam Next Fest Update #1: All New Dark-Messiah Style Control Scheme! - 6 February 2023
Giant revamp for the controls! Testing out an all new control scheme: Dad Dadssiah Mode This is a mode similar to the old game Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, and others of that era. Both Dark Messiah and Die by the Sword were big inspirations for this game, with the previous mouse swing controls more like the latter. Let me know what you think of these changes, either on this forum, or the Discord! And if you think any of your friends, family, or favorite streams would like the game, be sure to let them know about the demo. More updates this week. We will be re-adding the previous controls as a toggle option. Both sets of controls will be strong at different aspects of the game, and you will be able to easily switch between them and further customize them. We're hoping people like these controls, I have to admit I'm a pretty big fan already. Read on for exactly how the new controls wo…
- Watch Us Play Dad by the Sword! - LiveStream Feb 12th, 1 PM Pacific Time - 5 February 2023
Join us February 12th, Sunday, 1 PM Pacific Time to watch the lead designer play Dad by the Sword during Steam Next Fest! Distract us with questions as the developer responsible for combat (ME) attempts to parry Hot Dog monsters and other Anti-Dads. By that time we should have some new builds to show off alternate control schemes, so we'll be discussing those as I play with all of them! I hope to boast that I'm going to win the demo first attempt, then die many embarrassing deaths. See you there!
- 1/30 Demo Build Update - Mouse-Swing Controls Tweaks + Big Balance Changes - 31 January 2023
In this update, we've revamped the Mouse Swing controls to no longer lock the camera, by default. You can change this in the options menu. Holding down your attack button still lowers turning speed, and swinging still lowers turn speed, but to a lesser extent. Let us know what you think about this compared to the previous builds, it's a major change! We are still working on a bigger controls revamp. The likely end result of this will be a new default controls mode that controls similarly to Dark Messiah of Might and Magic or Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. That is, movement direction will change your sword swing direction, instead of mouse direction. We are shooting for this some time next week, during Steam Next Fest. After this change, the current mouse-driven swings mode will still be kept as an advanced mode you can switch between whenever you want. This update also includes a lot of…
- Demo Build Update 1/27 - 28 January 2023
Here's an update to the demo that tweaks difficulty for each of the floors, and introduces some new Visual FX improvements and fixes. Coming up very soon, we're looking at a few major things: The controls. Lots of feedback here, and I think some experiments in fundamental changes for new players is really worth checking out. More details on this soon! Slightly increasing the length of some of the weapons, including the starter sword! Some tweaks to spawns in some of the rooms that really stick out as overwhelming. Keep the feedback coming! It's been immensely helpful so far, both positive and negative. List of Changes for the 1/27 Demo Build - Made it easier to stab objects onto the sword, especially when pointing at something further from the center of the screen. - Broken swords can no longer stab objects - Fix the Stockman's jump attack hitbox lingering during its recovery animation…
- Demo Build Update - 1/26/23 - 27 January 2023
Likely the first of many! We've been reading your feedback in the Discord and other places, wherever we see it. It's already helping a lot. List of Changes - Updated the music in the dungeon with an all new theme! - When Your Dad is low on health, the music now changes to Prog Rock ala King Crimson - Fixed a case where the game would load at portrait resolutions on monitors that supported them. This was a big one. - Fixed a case where the game could fail to transition to the next dungeon floor. This was also one we had a lot of trouble tracking down before, the influx of testers solved this nearly instantly. - The exit room's hole is easier to fall into. - Visual improvements for coins and the Rib Monster's projectile. - Removed slight delay when grabbing a food item
- Limited Time Public Demo + Dad by the Sword Kickstarter! - 26 January 2023
Public Demo up! Kickstarter up! Early Access launch release date plans for the week before Father's Day! Kickstarter link here! Limited Time Public Demo - Ends February 25th It's finally here! Play the Dad by the Sword public demo for yourself and see what we've been up to! There's now a link to the demo in a green button near the top of the Store Page, under the screenshots. This is the first time we've shown Dad by the Sword at this scale, so I'm really eager to hear what you think. You can post your thoughts either to this post, the new subforum for the public demo, or on our Discord. Links to the latter two are also on the title screen in the demo. The demo will be available for 30 days, along with a Kickstarter that we're running at the same time. Both will end on February 25. Dad by the Sword Kickstarter We're hoping to raise funds for some extra Early Access Launch Day content, a…
- Big Dadveloper Commentary Video + Upcoming Public Demo - 12 November 2022
With Dad by the Sword, we're shooting for a pretty unique take on a first person swordfighting game. Here's a 10 minute video with commentary from our lead programmer as to how the combat works, what we're up to in game development, and what we're planning next: At this point we're at the stage of development where changes and new content are very rapid. It's exciting to see how the game is shaping up, but the bad news is that a lot of this footage is already out of date! We are going to launch a public playable demo early next year. Until then, make sure to Wishlist Dad by the Sword using the button on the top right, or on the Steam Store Page! You can also see more frequent news on our Twitter here: @rocketcatgames Or join the Rocketcat Discord! You can also post any questions/ comments, or Dad Requests as a reply to this announcement. What 80's sitcom dads should we add to the game,…
- Dad by the Sword Father's Day Teaser - 19 June 2022
Happy Father's Day! We've been working on Dad by the Sword for a long time now, and we're planning on releasing a public playable demo before the year's over. This will likely be scheduled for a festival, maybe Steam Next Fest. Until then, we're going to be releasing a lot more news about the game! Keep an eye out here, or keep track of us on the official Discord, Twitter, or Facebook. Official Rocketcat Games Discord @Rocketcat on Twitter Rocketcat Games on Facebook
