Version 0.17.0 PUBLIC BETA Released

Aetherdeep v0.17.0 is here, and this update focuses heavily on one thing: making the game more reliable, better balanced, and safer for long-term progression.

This was not just a content update. A large part of the work went into the systems behind the game: automated testing, save stability, inventory safety, progression pacing, boss retry behavior, class balance, and release validation.

Internal AI Player Upgrade

One of the biggest additions in this version is a much more advanced internal AI player.

Instead of only running simple combat simulations, the AI can now behave more like different real players. It tests progression, equipment, upgrades, bosses, Rifts, Ascension, saving and loading, inventory pressure, and even deliberately invalid actions.

Several different playstyles are simulated, including:

• New players
• Optimization-focused players
• Idle-oriented players
• Exploration-focused players

During the latest automated test session, the AI completed thousands of encounters, fought hundreds of bosses, performed repeated Ascensions, tested save/reload cycles, and continuously checked game-state invariants.

The result: no critical state corruption or progression-breaking errors were detected.

Inventory Safety Rework

A potentially serious inventory issue was discovered during testing.

Previously, when the inventory reached its maximum capacity, new loot could cause older items to be removed silently due to the way the inventory array was limited.

That system has now been replaced.

The game now protects equipped and valuable items. When the inventory is full, weaker overflow loot can be converted into Essence instead of deleting important equipment.

The UI has also been improved so inventory capacity is much clearer.

You will now see values such as:

54 / 60

and the interface warns you when inventory space is becoming limited.

Smarter Boss Retry System

Automatic progression could previously retry difficult bosses too aggressively.

This created situations where a character repeatedly attacked the same boss without spending enough time farming upgrades first.

Boss retry behavior is now adaptive.

After repeated defeats, the game allows additional farming and progression time before attempting the boss again.

This reduces pointless retry loops while keeping automatic progression active.

Class Balance Pass

All eight current classes were tested using repeatable automated simulations.

The goal was not to make every class mathematically identical, but to make sure no class was massively ahead or behind during normal progression.

Current classes tested include:

• Vanguard
• Ranger
• Arcanist
• Necromancer
• Paladin
• Berserker
• Chronomancer
• Voidcaller

After the latest balance adjustments, the classes now progress within a much smaller performance range.

Differences between classes still exist, but they should now come more from playstyle and build choices rather than one class simply being dramatically stronger.

Save System Improvements

The save format has been updated to Schema Version 14.

Migration support remains included, meaning older saves should automatically upgrade to the new format.

Save and reload behavior is now also part of the automated AI testing process.

This is especially important for future updates, because progression systems such as Ascension, equipment, World Tiers, Rifts, and long-term statistics continue to grow more complex.

Long-Term Stability Testing

Aetherdeep is increasingly designed around long-term progression, so short test sessions are not enough.

Several automated endurance tests were performed.

One test simulated approximately 24 hours of continuous gameplay.

Another simulated approximately 30 days of progression.

These tests included thousands of battles, boss encounters, deaths, revives, Ascensions, inventory saturation, and continuous state validation.

No critical progression corruption was detected during these runs.

Release Pipeline Improvements

The internal release process has also been upgraded.

Before a release build can now be created, several automated checks must pass.

These include:

• JavaScript parsing
• Smoke tests
• Save migration tests
• Progression regression tests
• First-session pacing
• Campaign progression
• Audio validation
• Performance checks
• Localization checks
• UI structure checks
• Long-run simulations
• Packaging validation

If an important test fails, the release builder now stops instead of generating a potentially broken public build.

That gives future versions of Aetherdeep a much stronger safety net.

Additional Fixes

Several smaller issues were also corrected during this update.

These include improved World Tier validation, updated QA tests, corrected packaging checks, and several outdated automated test assumptions left over from older versions.

A lot of this work is invisible while playing, but it significantly improves the stability of the project.

What Comes Next?

With the core systems becoming increasingly stable, future development can focus more aggressively on expanding the actual world of Aetherdeep.

Planned areas of continued development include more progression systems, additional build variety, improved late-game depth, new encounters, more meaningful equipment decisions, UI improvements, balancing, and continued automated testing.

The internal AI player will also continue evolving alongside the game, helping detect broken builds, progression walls, balance problems, and unexpected interactions before new versions are released.

Aetherdeep is still growing, but v0.17.0 represents an important step toward turning the project from a working prototype into a much more robust long-term game.

Thank you for playing and testing Aetherdeep.

Feedback, balance reports, strange builds, bugs, and completely unreasonable damage numbers are all welcome.

Version: v0.17.0 Status: Active Development