- Lack of updates - 23 April 2025
Hello. I have bad news for all. As you have seen, there's been a lack of updates for a while. I have been going through a lot of personal issues for a long time that don't let me work on this game. I wish I had better news. I don't know when I will be able to continue development. I am sorry because I reopened the purchases thinking I would deliver, but I have just failed again. I think I will have to disable purchases again, because it is not fair to be selling a game I can't develop right now.
- Merry late Christmas, happy late new year, and a couple of updates - 10 January 2025
Hello there. Well, first of all, merry late Christmas and happy late new year. I wanted to share a few things about the status of the game. I recently purchased a few furniture props that I plan to use to populate the castle, and I am looking into stuff I can use to populate the basements. The idea is that Lavinia's family is just moving into the castle (and I'm going to come up with an excuse that explains why she's alone in the castle), so I was lucky to find some furniture pack that has covered furniture to give the idea maybe some of the furniture that was in the castle was covered for protection. I'll be adding furniture to the castle and look more into the "stalker rat" I talked about in the previous update. Now that I'll be adding that, I can also look into using other light sources for the castle, and improving lighting overall. I also changed the model of the human-rat hybrid t…
- Current plans and new things I'm working on - 27 August 2024
Hello all. I have been figuring out what to work on next for this game. I need to expand the first basement (the one with the brown walls, which was actually the second basement to be added), and also add another underground area, and also add stuff to the castle. I have been doing that, including adding more stuff to the light puzzle, but there's nothing "put together" to make the build "flow" better (have a start and an end). For those that have played, the idea behind the light puzzle is that Lavinia uses this light puzzle to slowly open the way to the lower underground levels, so there's some back and forth in the game. Right now there is some sort of "path" you must follow to reach an "end screen" but that ignores the puzzles that are part of the castle itself, so maybe I should work on castle puzzles now. A few days ago I thought it would be cool to have a "stalker rat monster". I…
- Sorry for the lack of updates - 22 July 2024
Hello there. I just wanted to say sorry for the lack of updates. I have had a lot of complications for the past several months so I haven't been able to devote the time this project needs. I hope I can solve my situations soon so I can come back to this and give you a new build of the game soon.
- New update for The Nightmare from Beyond is out! - 23 March 2024
Hello all. I am sorry this took so long, but finally I have a new update. In this update I added more stuff for the basement 1, including a few puzzles. One of the puzzles connects with a puzzle in the basement 2 (the light puzzle), and my idea is to have that light puzzle connected through different areas (the castle and the two basements, and maybe an additional area). I also added a few more things to the basement 2, including what will eventually become the entrance to basement 3. Following the idea in The Rats in The Walls, Lavinia would continue going down and down, finding the horrors (that I haven't included yet, lol). I would have liked this update to be bigger, but I just wanted to release something because it's been a while since the last update, and I wanted to show signs of life. One thing I wanted to add but couldn't add yet is the hide and seek sequence. I am still workin…
- Happy new year and quick update - 20 January 2024
Hello everybody. It's been a while since the last post. I had been busy with a lot of different things (many not related to games), but I have been slowly working on this. I have been extending the "first basement" area with more areas, and adding some puzzles And also some crushing stones. I also plan to add another enemy in this area, but I think this is not going to be a chase like in the other basement. Maybe some sort of "stealth" area, using some of the AI and behavior trees stuff from Unreal Engine that I have learned in the past. When I was thinking about the original concept for this game, I had this idea that it would be cool to have stealth sequences where you can also hide in platforms below or above the enemy, so that's my plan. As usual, thanks for the support. I hope to have a new version of the game soon for you to download.
- Quick update: version 0.3 is live - 8 October 2023
Hello all! Just a quick update. Version 0.3 (second release for October) is out. This is a quick update that fixes some of the bugs and other issues. You can read about the issues here This release doesn't have new content. Right now I am working on new content for the game, and it will be included in the next update. As always, thanks everybody for the support.
- New game update (version 0.2) is finally out. - 1 October 2023
Hello all. First of all, sorry for the delay and for taking longer than I wanted to make this update. I had some real-life complications, but it's finally here. So what's available in this update. First of all, I made some bug fixes to the platforming, and hopefully everything works fine. If you find bugs, please let me know. I added a first, preliminary version of the first basement. The basement is empty at the moment, because I want to get the sense of the scale, and also because I don't want to put too many "spoilers" in that area. Since the game is not really linear, I was thinking the first basement would be accessible later in the playthrough, so things that The Rats in The Walls puts in deeper parts of the castle, I plan to put them here. This basement also has a couple of platforming things. One is the moving platforms that I have been testing for a while, and the other is some…
- Moving platforms are now working correctly - 2 September 2023
In the previous announcement I showed I was working on moving platforms. Well, it turns out they were not quite working, lol. The thing is now it was personal and I really wanted to add moving platforms because that can add an extra layer of dynamism to the game to make interesting puzzles, so I had to make it work. After lots of days of fixing and testing, I finally got it to work. I have been working on other things too. I am making a first version of the "first basement" (what you have in the demo is part of the "second basement" of the castle). I am checking the story of The Rats in The Walls to figure out how this first basement should look like, and I think I have an idea. We'll see how it works. For this part I plan to have some "lore sections" where you can find stuff for the story. Just like the demo basement, I want this basement to feel big, to make it feel like the impossibi…
- testing platforming on moving objects - 20 August 2023
Hello! Well, I have been working on another basement area of Exham Priory, and at some point I thought it would be cool to have moving objects to hang from. The thing is I didn't add that to the programming at first, so I had to look into how to do it. After some work, I was able to do it. Here's a video showing off that thing. Right now, I will leave this new basement area completely open, like the castle. I want to have everything more or less finished (although without the fine details, ornaments and stuff) so I can get a full sense of the world, and also because I want to have everything in place before I work on the actual "area-by-area progression" because my idea is that the game will not be linear, but rather some sort of "metroidvania" where you slowly gain access to areas of the castle. I'll post the next build as an update as soon as it's ready!
- Changes and additions to the castle - 15 July 2023
I have been making some changes and additions to the Exham Priory castle, to improve the architecture and navigation. If you have played the first "comeback" release either because you purchased the game or you already had it, you surely noticed the stairs didn't have railings. That's the first thing I've added. I will use the railings for platforming stuff too, like making you use the railings to drop into areas or reach other side of an area. I have also been improving hallways, adding arches and thigs, and also changing the windows for some that look better. And I have also been moving around some walls to make the architecture fit better, or improve navigation. More to come soon.
- June 2023 update - 15 June 2023
“Information about the current Early Access build (updated June 2023): The current build includes an introduction level where you can learn Lavinia's move set. In this version you are taken through Lavinia's move set and other mechanics in a non-lethal environment, so you can learn the moves and fail without any punishment. In the final game, this section will be used as part of the story. Version 1 of the Exham Priory castle. The castle is currently empty because my main goal right now is go define the size and scale of the castle, as well as the atmosphere. You can't platform in the castle yet either. Version 1 of underground tunnels under the castle. This section is the same as the demo, and includes a lot of platforming and puzzles.
- Purchase button is back, Exham Priory v1 available in first release - 14 June 2023
Hello all. I just wanted to let you know that the purchase button for this game is now available again, so you should be able to purchase the game now. As a note before you decide to purchase, remember this game is still in Early Access so you won't get a finished game yet, but if you still decide to purchase it and support its development, I'm very thankful. While the game is still in EA, it won't suffer drastic changes. The rest of the game will be built on what you see here, and any change (besides adding more content, monsters, etc,. obviously) will be to add more features. Visual changes will only happen to improve the visual quality of the game, and I am not making changes to Lavinia either. In the "version 1" of the Exham Priory castle, you can't perform platforming yet, because I first want to get an idea of the scale of the castle, how big it should be, and also the atmosphere.…
- Building Exham Priory - 7 June 2023
Hello all. Well, for the last few days I've been slowly building the Exham Priory castle. In previous updates I said I would make this game roughly following "The Rats in The Walls" but with some changes, the biggest one being that the protagonist is Lavinia de la Poer instead of the tale's Delapore/de la Poer. The other changes mostly consist on making the story more "gamey" (like adding puzzles, platforming, chases, etc.). Anyway, following the idea of the story, Lavinia (and her family) move to the castle, still being rebuilt. I need to look for references to make the castle have more "modern appliances" (like a refrigerator) and not feeling completely disjointed. I mean, a gothic castle with a modern kitchen will look weird, so I am trying to make the whole thing make sense because the original story has a gothic castle so I am going to make a gothic castle! Right now I have the lay…
- New demo update, includes "intro section" to teach the moves - 29 May 2023
Hello all. I have uploaded an updated demo. This demo fixes a couple of more issues, and I also added a new section so you can learn the moves in an environment that doesn't kill you. This section also has some instructions so you learn how to do stuff. I also am working on a "first release" so I can ask Steam to re-enable the Purchase button. This first version will include what you have in the demo (with some changes) and also a first version of the entire castle. The castle will be some sort of "sandbox" first, where you'll be able to play around but without any "locked areas" with puzzles and such. My plan is to build the game in a "layered" way, building the entire thing and adding puzzles and such after the basic environments are done. All that should be ready next month.
- Quick demo fix - 24 April 2023
Hello! I uploaded a quick fix for the demo to address a couple of issues. Now it should be easier to do the wallrun, and also there are clearer instructions in the pause menu. I will work on a short intro sequence where you can practice the movements without dying, and it will be part of the next demo. In the meantime, I decided to do this quick fixes.
- Updated demo - 22 April 2023
Hello. I just uploaded a new demo. This one is running in Unreal Engine 5, does some fixes for lighting and I also added a settings menu. In the meantime I am working on more game content, and I hope I can have the purchase button back soon. As mentioned in previous posts, when the purchase button come back, the game will still be in Early Access, so not all content will be included. I think I said this before but I am not sure. I am releasing this again as early access for various reasons. First, to have some "accountability" and make myself finish the game. To gradually add and improve content based on your input. And lastly to get some much-needed funds while I am making the game. The obvious question is "how do I know you're going to finish the game?" and my answer is "if I didn't plan to finish this game I would have just remained silent when you asked about updates and the purchas…
- Updated demo available soon - 17 April 2023
Hello all. I've been working on an updated demo, fixing issues some of you have pointed out, and improving some stuff here and there. I also moved the game to Unreal Engine 5, so I am reworking the lights and fixing some stuff that the switch broke (for example, the hair is moving weird). Some of the areas are starting to look better. And I am also adding some extra lights to make some parts easier to see, so you know where you're supposed to go. But lights in other parts still need a lot of work. I also added an options menu where you can change sound volume, brightness and also remap the controls. My goal is to have this new demo ready at some point this week or next week! And then I will continue working on more game, so when I ask the purchase button to be re-enabled, you will have more content to play, while I continue working on more.
- Sorry for the lack of updates - 5 April 2023
Hello everyone and sorry for the lack of updates. A few things happened that slowed down the development, but it's not stopping. I switched the game to Unreal Engine 5, and that will improve the lighting a lot, among other things. I've also been working on increasing the brightness of the environment and overall lighting, to make it easier to see. I am also adding a settings menu, so you can change some game options including the brightness. And I also am making a couple of changes to one of the puzzles in the demo. I'll upload an updated demo soon!
- Another quick demo update - 20 January 2023
Hello all. I just wanted to say there's a small update for the demo. This one should make wall-running easier, improving the overall gameplay experience. If there are other bugs or issues you find, let me know. I'm currently working on the first release. I had said I was going to have that one ready by November, but I am still working on it because the last couple of months have been crazy. Another thing is that I am constantly thinking how to work the releases, since the game is not linear, so I can't just make a first release with levels 1-10, and a second with levels 2-20, for example. And lastly, if you play the demo please share your comments because those will be helpful.
