itch.io

Just posted an announcement - releasing January 1st, 2025!

I don't want to give a timeframe yet because I'm very bad at estimating, but I think it's getting close. I recently finished all the spells I want to have in the initial release, so I'm mainly tying up loose ends, fixing bugs, and balancing right now.

Downloads appear to be working now!

https://weirdfellows.itch.io/possession

The just-released version 20 should fix this lockup problem. The save is now playable.

Can you send the save file to contact@weirdfellows.com?
Also, do you remember many times have you "killed" the other ghost before the freeze?

The newly-released v19 should let you load the save, at least. Let me know if the frozen issue still persists.

https://weirdfellows.itch.io/possession

Mac version is now uploaded.

Sure! Email me at contact at weirdfellows dot com, with a screenshot of the bundle purchase page with your account name on it.

I released a new update that should fix the achievements crashes, anyway.

Messing around with your save file I couldn't get any silent crashes to occur, though. Do you happen to remember what you might have been doing or what might have happened soon before the crashes? Your save file was on level 3, were they any more/less frequent on any of the levels?

Thanks, I'll take a look at it.

Let me ask you this, to confirm a suspicion I have:
Have you seen a popup for any achievements received? And if not, can you check out the game stats page and see if there are any achievements it says you've received?

Weird. You're on v13, right?
Was there a blue screen with an error when it crashed or did it just crash to desktop?
Also, are there save files that were autosaved when it crashed? (They'll be called something like CharacterName-error-2020-03-01 13-30-56.sav)

I decided not to do it. I think had I released it shorter it would have been fine, but the general reaction I got to shortening it once it was already released was negative.

Could you post the crash logs or send them to me at contact -at- weirdfellows.com? They should be in C:\Users(YourUserName)\AppData\Roaming\possessionroguelike\

https://weirdfellows.itch.io/possession

tl;dr:

Very few people have reached the halfway mark, let alone the end of Possession. The game is 10 levels plus the surface, and I'm considering shortening the game to be only 5 levels plus the surface. The current level 5+ creatures and levels would be rebalanced and added to the earlier levels. Would anyone actually *dislike* that? Are there any major disadvantages to this that I'm missing?

Longer Explanation:

I'm looking into making more content for Possession, but I'm wondering about where to focus my energy.

Right now, the game has 10 levels plus the surface. 64% of people have made it to level 2. I'm mainly concerned with the experience of these players, since anyone who hasn't probably either decided they weren't interested in the game, or just hasn't played it much yet.

14% of the people who made it to level 2 made it to level 5. Fair enough.

3% of the people who made it to level 2 made it to the surface, and 22% of those who made it to level 5 made it to the surface.

Unfortunately, I don't know more specifically how far most people are getting, or how often people are making it to level 5 but no farther, etc. But for 86% of the players who've put any amount of time into the game, half the content might as well not even exist, and for 97% of players, they've never made it all the way through the game.

There are a couple of reasons this might be the case:

1. The later levels are too hard.
2. The game's too long.

My suspicion is that #2 is the issue. Although there's a lot of variety in creatures and levels, there's not really a ton of variety in the way you play the game as you get further on (besides maybe needing to be more conservative with bodyswapping), so it's very possible that the game outstays its welcome.

So, I'm considering shortening the game to be only 5 levels plus the surface. The current level 5+ creatures and levels would be rebalanced and added to the earlier levels. In addition to making the game shorter, this also has the advantage of adding more variety between playthroughs, by expanding the possible content you could see at any given level (I'd probably also make it so that the first level isn't *always* the Graveyard, to make the beginning less repetitive as well).

I guess the major question is, would anyone actually *dislike* that? Are there any major disadvantages here that I'm missing?

It's not as though it would make the game "too easy," since only 14% of players are making it to level 5 anyway. If you've beaten the game as is, maybe it'll cheapen your feeling of achievement, but there's not a ton of people who have done that (but if you have and dislike this change, please reach out and let me know your thoughts).

For what it's worth, the original 7-Day Roguelike version of Possession was only 5 levels, and didn't have nearly the variety of levels and creatures this one does. If you've played both, I'm very curious what your thoughts are comparing the two.

Now that the game's been out a while, which levels do you particularly enjoy or dislike? Anything in particular about them that makes you feel that way?

What about creatures? Any specific creatures, or creature types you find especially fun to play? Or not very fun at all to play?

Would you mind sending your save file to contact -at- weirdfellows.com?
You can find it: at C:\Users(YourUserName)\AppData\Roaming\possessionroguelike\saves\

It just crashes straight to desktop, no screen with a more specific error?

Does it hang fora bit before crashing or crash immediately?

Should be fixed now, sorry about that!

A mod for Possession must be in a self-contained folder, which must be placed in the following location:

Linux: ~/.local/share/possessionroguelike/mods/
Windows: C:\Users(YourUserName)\AppData\Roaming\possessionroguelike\mods
Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/possessionroguelike/mods/

There's a work-in-progress Modding Guide available that describes how to create content for the game.

An example mod, the Sunken City, is available as a reference. (No guarantees how fun it is to play, it's mainly just there as an example)

You can also download a blank mod template.

Source code for the engine is available on GitHub. It will not run; it's missing all of the content. It's mainly intended as a reference for modders, but it is offered under the MIT license in case anyone wants to use anything in it for their own game. Possession is built using the LÖVE framework Framework (currently built for version 11.2).

But if you're interested in using anything for your own game, I recommend using Roguelove instead, which is the version of the engine I plan on updating with more features than are used in Possession (like items). It's built to use the LÖVE Framework as well, and is also offered under the MIT license.