CiniCross news & patch notes

Hello!

Patch 1.1.2 revises the balancing of artefacts, as well as the reroll mechanic.

It should be a bit less of a challenge with this patch.

Thank you for your support, and feel free to share your feedback.

Patch Notes 1.1.2

• Adjustments:

  • Artifacts:

    • Artifact Rerolls:

      • Base cost reduced: 30 → 15

      • Reroll cost reset: Every floor → Every puzzle

  • Common:

    • Bronze Coin: HP gain increased (2% → 4%)

    • Hu-Gauntlet: Dodge chance increased (1% → 2%)

    • Merchant's Book: Damage increased (15 HP → 20 HP)

    • Old Boot: Gold gain increased (5% → 7%)

    • Ring of Blood: HP gain increased (1 HP → 2 HP)

    • Shield: Damage reduction increased (-1.5% → -2%)

    • Stick: Boss damage increased (3 HP → 4 HP)

  • Uncommon:

    • Crown of Blood: HP gain increased (2 HP → 3 HP)

    • Golden Sword: Boss damage increased (10 HP → 15 HP)

    • Rune of Wealth: Gold gain increased (0.5% → 1.5%)

    • Rusty Pickaxe: Number of completed cells increased (3 → 4)

    • Silver Coin: Time gain increased (2.5% → 3%)

    • Rusty Orb: Number of completed cells increased (4 → 5)

    • Crystal Spear: Chance increased (1% → 5%)

  • Rare:

    • Friendship Necklace: HP gain increased (1 HP → 2 HP)

    • Ancient Necklace: Chance increased (2% → 3%)

    • Bloody Fishing Rod: Additional-copy reduction increased (-10 → -15)

    • Ester's Necklace: HP gain increased (7 HP → 15 HP)

    • Eye Patch: Time gain increased (7s → 10s)

    • Gold Coin: Gold gain increased (5% → 7.5%)

    • Golden Shovel: Golden cell chance increased (1.5% → 2%)

  • Legendary:

    • Golden Fishing Rod: Cooldown reduced (10s → 7s)

    • Green Coin: Gold, Time, and HP gains increased (10% → 15%)

  • Bug Fixes:

    • Fixed a bug affecting the additional-copy count of the "Smoked Mirror" artifact.

Hello,

I’ve taken note of your prompt feedback and thank you for sharing it.

The difficulty has increased far too much across all difficulty levels without exception. Update 1.1 is designed to prevent the over-frequent recurrence of overly powerful builds and to offer players more choice.

This patch, 1.1.1, reduces the price of artifacts and makes the rating system more lenient.

As for the adjustments made to artefacts, we’ll need to wait a little longer to have time to take a step back and assess what’s working and what isn’t.

Thank you for your feedback; it helps to create a better experience for everyone. Please feel free to provide feedback on this update as well.

Patch Notes 1.1.1 :

• Adjustments :

  • Artifact Prices:

    • Artifact prices are now also based on difficulty. Example: All artifacts are free on difficulty level 0.

    • Common: 30 -> 20

    • Uncommon: 50 -> 35

    • Rare: 75 -> 50

    • Legendary: 120 -> 80

  • The scoring system penalises poor performance less heavily and places less emphasis on the time taken to complete the puzzle.

  • Artifacts:

    • The Sunflower: 5% -> 10% chance of activating its effect

  • Items :

    • Rusty Time Orb :

      • Price reduced : 500 -> 300

    • Time Orb :

      • Price reduced : 700 -> 450

    • Refined Time Orb :

      • Price reduced : 1000 -> 700

  • Gold gain by puzzle increased.

Hello,

PATCH NOTES 1.1.1 :

Patch Notes 1.1

New Features

• New mechanic: Companions

• New Class: Tamer

• 9 new Artifacts

• Reward artifacts are now purchased instead of being automatically granted. It is also possible to obtain as many artifacts as you have available inventory slots.

• Your performance during a puzzle now affects the rewards received afterward. It is represented by a rank ranging from S to F.

• New Language: Japanese

• New Achievement: Friend of the Monsters

Accessibility

• Hint fading options: Multiple hint fading behaviors are now available in the settings.

Adjustments

Time and Gold

• Time and Gold gains adjusted.

• Golden Cell: +30 Gold → +15 Gold

• "Nothing" reward chance: 8% → 4%

Endless Mode

• Time multiplier increases twice as fast.

• Damage is doubled.

Classes

Farmer

• Level reward (XP) progression adjusted.

Consumables

• Rusty Time Orb: Can no longer be obtained from the reward wheel.

• Golden Fish: Reduced area of effect.

Artifact Balance Changes

Common

• Bronze Coin: HP gain reduced (5% → 2%)

• Hu-Gauntlet: Dodge one mistake every 25 mistakes → 1% chance to dodge each mistake

• Merchant's Book: Damage increased (5 HP → 15 HP)

• Old Boot: Gold gain reduced (10% → 5%)

• Ring of Blood: Healing reduced (3 HP → 1 HP)

• Shield: Damage reduction reduced (-2.5% → -1.5%)

• Stick: Boss damage increased (1 HP → 3 HP) and cooldown removed (1s → 0s)

• Crystal Orb: Cooldown reduced (2s → 0.5s)

Uncommon

• Crown of Blood: Healing reduced (5 HP → 2 HP) and cooldown added (0s → 5s)

• Golden Sword: Boss damage increased (5 HP → 10 HP)

• Rune of Wealth: Gold gain reduced (2% → 0.5%)

• Rusty Pickaxe: Cells completed reduced (4 → 3)

• Silver Coin: Time gain reduced (4% → 2.5%)

• Human Target: Cooldown removed (1s → 0s)

Rare

• Friendship Necklace: Uncommon → Rare, healing reduced (2 HP → 1 HP), cooldown increased (2s → 5s)

• Ancient Necklace: Uncommon → Rare

• Bloody Fishing Rod: Per-copy reduction reduced (-20 → -10) and cooldown added (0s → 10s)

• Damaged Rudder: Time multiplier reduction reduced (0.05x → 0.02x)

• Ester's Necklace: Healing reduced (20 HP → 7 HP) and cooldown increased (2s → 5s)

• Eye Patch: Time gain reduced (20s → 7s)

• Gold Coin: Gold gain reduced (10% → 5%)

• Golden Shovel: Spawn chance increased (1% → 1.5%)

• Jackpot's Gold Necklace: Time gain reduced (20s → 6s)

• Scepter of Blood: Time gain reduced (2s → 1s)

Legendary

• Golden Fishing Rod: Per-copy reduction reduced (-30 → -20) and cooldown added (0s → 10s)

• Green Coin: Gold, Time, and HP gains reduced (20% → 10%)

• Time Crescent: Time multiplier reduction reduced (0.05x → 0.03x)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug that corrupted some translations when launching the game.

• Fixed a bug preventing "The Shadow" boss from activating.

• Fixed a bug that could generate a puzzle with excessive difficulty at the start of a floor.

• Fixed a localization issue affecting the "Continue" button subtitle in the main menu.

• Fixed a bug preventing the preview of hint color schemes from displaying correctly in the settings.

Hello,

This update brings a large portion of the improvements added to the game since its release to the demo. The demo will now be updated more regularly, whenever certain additions are also relevant for this version.

Among these improvements, you will find:

• Steam Deck support

• New languages (beta)

• A new selection of content for the demo (artifacts, items, bosses, …)

• A difficulty based on the early game, more accessible than the previous demo

• Quality of life improvements (QoL)

• Improved performance

• Accessibility options

• And much more

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share your feedback, feel free to do so.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This update adds several languages (German, Polish, and Simplified Chinese) in beta, puzzle chains, optimizations, D-pad support, and more.

Patch Notes 1.0.8:

• New Features / Additions:

  • New Languages (Beta):

    • German

    • Simplified Chinese

    • Polish

  • Puzzle Chains:

    • Starting from floor 3, some puzzles appearing on the map are now part of puzzle chains of the same difficulty that grant greater rewards.

  • Simple Font:

    • You can enable an option in the “Settings” screen to replace all in-game fonts with a simpler font.

  • You can pause the game by pressing “Escape”.

  • New default Steam Input layout to allow use of the D-pad on Steam Deck.

• Optimization:

  • Significant performance improvements in-game, especially during large puzzles (20x20).

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share your feedback, feel free to do so.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This update, currently in beta, adds two languages ​​and improves game performance. Some systems have been significantly revised, and the languages ​​have only been tested by a limited number of players. Therefore, this update is initially in beta. Here's how to activate the beta version: Library > CiniCross > Gear icon on the right > Properties > Beta Versions > Select the beta version.

Your feedback is essential and greatly appreciated for validating or modifying these additions.

Thank you to all the players who have tested this version beforehand.

Patch Notes 1.0.7 - Beta :

• New Features / Additions:

  • New Languages:

    • German

    • Simplified Chinese

  • Simplified Font :

    • It is possible to activate an option in the "Settings" screen to replace all game fonts with a simpler font.

• Optimization :

  • Notable performance improvements in-game, especially during large puzzles (20x20).

If you encounter any bugs or wish to share your feedback, please do not hesitate.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This (seemingly) small update improves the game’s performance across all puzzle phases. The gameplay experience is now smoother and more stable. There is still work to be done on optimization, but this is a solid step forward.

Patch Notes 1.0.6:

• Adjustments:

  • Boss:

    • The Leech: Recovers 2% of its max HP each time an error is made. → Recovers 2% of its max HP (max 100 HP) each time an error is made.

• Optimization:

  • Overall puzzle-related performance has been improved. Performance should generally be higher and more stable across all puzzle difficulties, especially the highest ones.

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share feedback on balancing or anything else, feel free to do so.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This small update mainly adjusts the boss "The Leech," which could block certain runs due to its imbalance/difficulty. It also brings a few adjustments and bug fixes, such as automatic errors occurring at the start of a puzzle.

Patch Notes 1.0.5:

• Adjustments:

  • Bosses:

    • The Leech: Recovers 3% of max HP for each HP you lose → Now recovers 2% of max HP for each mistake you make.

    • The Jester: The effect has been completely reworked to prevent certain bugs and improve overall performance. Colors are now less vivid, and clues rotate more slowly.

• Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed a bug where some cells could trigger errors at the start of a puzzle.

  • Fixed a bug where only the first number of each clue would rotate during the "The Jester" boss.

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share feedback on balancing or anything else, feel free to do so.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This update adds a “Pacifist Timer” option to stop taking damage from the timer, several accessibility options, changes to the “Black Cat” boss, and more… It also fixes several bugs.

Patch Notes 1.0.4:

• New Features / Additions:

  • Pacifist Timer: You can enable “Pacifist Timer” mode in the Settings menu. When enabled, the player will no longer take any damage when time runs out. This setting is optional and not recommended.

  • Adjustable Screen Shake: You can adjust the amount of screen shake in the Settings menu.

  • Hint Colors: You can choose the color of hints from several palettes in the Settings menu.

  • Automatic Reward Artifact Roll: You can choose in the Settings menu to have the first roll of reward artifacts be automatic.

  • Artifact Descriptions: Hovering over artifacts that haven’t been picked up yet but of which you already own copies will now indicate the added effect if the artifact is obtained. Example: Adds 20 → 40 Max HP.

• Adjustments:

  • Boss:

    • Black Cat: A fade-to-black now replaces the screen rotation to prevent motion sickness. Flips the screen every 15 seconds → Flips the screen every 20 seconds.

  • The default clue color scheme has been slightly adjusted to make filled clues more visible.

• Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed a bug where the time multiplier was not properly saved.

  • Fixed a bug where consumables saved in multiple copies were not all added to the inventory on launch.

  • Performance optimizations during long runs.

  • Fixed a bug where certain cells did not deal damage to the boss.

  • Fixed a bug with the probability calculation of the “Corroded Dagger” artifact.

  • Fixed a bug with the lock display in the Collection related to the condition “Finish a run with difficulty X.”

  • Fixed a bug where the Mouse Size setting was not being saved.

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share feedback about balance or anything else, feel free to do so.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

This second bundle includes a classic of the genre, Pictopix!

The Pictopix + CiniCross bundle is available as a "Complete the Set" offer with a -8% discount.

Pictopix lets you continue enjoying Nonograms in a more traditional and relaxed way than CiniCross.

If you already own Pictopix, the bundle lets you complete your collection with an additional 8% discount on the individual price of CiniCross. And vice versa!

Thank you to Tomlab Games!

The first bundle including CiniCross is available, and I'm very happy to announce it!

The CiniCross / Squeakross: Home Squeak Home bundle is available as a "Complete the Set" offer with a -15% discount.

If you enjoy Nonograms, this is a great opportunity to discover Squeakross: Home Squeak Home - a cozy and charming take on the genre, with a relaxing atmosphere and its own unique approach.

Whether you’re looking for more puzzles to solve or a softer, more laid-back experience alongside CiniCross, this bundle has you covered.

Thank you to the Alblune team!

Hello,

This update adds in-game saves so you can quit the game and resume your run later. It also fixes some important bugs. A few balancing adjustments have also been made.

Update 1.0.3 :

• New Feature :

  • In-Game Save: Save your current run at the end of each floor (except Floor 0). Resume it at any time from the main menu. This save is stored via Steam Cloud, allowing you to continue your run on another device such as the Steam Deck.

• Adjusments:

  • Completing a difficulty on any class now unlocks the next one for all other classes as well. Difficulty progression is now shared across all classes.

  • Each floor now has at least one path to the boss where no puzzle exceeds the target average difficulty +1.

  • Artifacts tied to filling cells without making mistakes will no longer count cells filled after an error within the same selection.

• Bug Fixes :

  • The Skip/Continue button on the Rewards screen should no longer display the wrong word depending on the situation.

  • Items that randomly fill cells, such as “Goblin Eyes,” now fill the correct number of cells.

  • It should no longer be possible to get soft-locked because of the “Dragon” and “Torch” bosses.

  • The bug preventing Items from being dragged into the inventory should be fixed.

  • The achievement “Reach a 0.00x Time Multiplier” can no longer be obtained during the Tutorial.

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share your thoughts on balancing or anything else, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This update fixes several important bugs, including some crashes/freezes. A few balance adjustments have also been made.

CiniCross is now “Steam Deck Verified”. Some additional Quality of Life (QoL) improvements for controllers will still be added later (such as native D-Pad support, which is currently only possible via Steam Input remapping). A separate post will be made on this topic.

Patch Notes 1.0.2 :

• New / Additions :

  • It is now possible to adjust the mouse size (mouse only) in the settings.

• Adjustments :

  • Trapped Cell: 25s → 60s → 30s → 75s

  • During boss fights, puzzles that appear can no longer exceed +2 difficulty relative to the target floor median.

  • Artifact :

    • Void Worm : -30% (-2% per copy) Gold → -10% (-1% per copy) Gold

  • Bosses :

    • The Shadow : 30% of clues are hidden → 30% of clues are hidden. Completing 3 cells reveals 1 hidden clue.

    • The Trapper : 1–5 trapped cells every 10 seconds → 1–3 trapped cells every 10 seconds

    • The Blaze : 10% of cells are trapped → 10% of cells are trapped (Max 10)

• Bug Fixes :

  • Fixed a bug that could crash the game when using droppable consumables on the grid (Linux & Steam Deck).

  • Fixed a bug where multiple consumables could be received from a single reward wheel tile instead of one per tile.

  • Fixed a crash occurring at the end of a puzzle.

  • Optimized reward screen performance at high levels.

  • Fixed a bug where the boss “The Sun” logo could remain on screen after being defeated.

  • Fixed a bug where some sounds would play even when volume was set to 0%, or would play at a volume not affected by settings.

  • Controller sticks now have a dead zone to prevent device switching when a controller is simply connected.

  • Fixed a bug where the mouse icon could remain displayed twice throughout the run when using a controller.

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share feedback on balance or anything else, feel free to do so.

Thank you all for your feedback and support!

Hello,

This update is a small one but fixes an important bug encountered by some players: the soft-lock caused by the lever not being visible in the Rewards screen.

Patch Notes 1.0.1:

• Fixed a bug where the lever did not appear in the Rewards screen.

• Reduced the probability of the “Nothing” loot by 20%.

• Modified the Black Cat boss: effect interval changed from every 10s → 15s (new).

It is possible that the bug causing multiple consumables to overlap in the Rewards screen has been resolved, but I am not completely certain yet.

If you encounter any bugs or would like to share feedback regarding balance or anything else, feel free to do so.

Thank you very much for all your support for the launch of CiniCross! I will come back to all of this in another post later on.

CiniCross is now available on Steam

Thank you to everyone who played the demo, added the game to their wishlist, shared feedback, or supported the project during development.

CiniCross is available for $9.95 thanks to a 17% launch discount valid for one week. The regular price is $11.99.

Even though the game is officially released, support will continue: I’m planning balance adjustments, bug fixes, and additional content based on your feedback.

Thanks again for your support, and enjoy the game.

I can’t wait for you to discover all the new features and improvements added since the demo. This launch marks an important milestone, but development will continue after release with, for example, balance adjustments and bug fixes based on your feedback.

A huge thank you to everyone who played the demo, added the game to their wishlist, and supported the project so far. Your help has been essential in making this release possible.

See you on February 11 at 8AM (PST) for the launch.

Hello,

There will be a pause in demo updates after this one (except in the case of major bugs), in order to continue developing the full version of CiniCross more efficiently. This update seems to be on the right track.

Please feel free to keep sharing your feedback, I’ll continue reading it and taking it into account.

A big thank you to everyone who has provided feedback since the last patch and offered their support.

Here is the content of the latest update:

New Features / Additions

• Added new music (composed by Not Jam).

• It is now possible to adjust the SFX and music volumes independently in the settings.

• You can now reroll unretrieved artifacts in the rewards screen in exchange for Gold.

• A visual effect now indicates which cell increases which artifact’s vertical counter.

• Mouse controls are now displayed during puzzles.

• The Campfire now gives a healing item when your HP are at maximum.

• New puzzles have been added to avoid replaying the same ones.

Adjustments

• Artifacts no longer shrink when you have many of them. You can now scroll through your artifacts bar to view them all.

• Changes / Adjustments to the following artifacts:

  • Fire Wand

  • Sif’s Bow

  • Stick

• Difficulties have been adjusted.

• Time bonuses have been adjusted.

• The maximum number of artifact reward slots has been reduced.

• The frequency of damage received when time runs out has been reduced.

• The Hydrobates logo is now displayed when launching the game.

• General sound volume adjustments.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the French description of the Fire Wand artifact.

• Fixed a bug where “Nothing” could appear among the rewards.

• Fixed a bug where an artifact’s “Max” indicator was visible during reward selection.

• Fixed a bug that grayed out Maxed artifacts even when only one copy existed in the top bar.

• Fixed a bug that caused a crash if the saved language was invalid.

• Fixed a bug where Sif’s Bow’s vertical counter didn’t take Sif’s Arrows into account.

• Fixed a bug that allowed items and artifacts to be collected during the XP gain sequence at the end of a run.

• Fixed a bug that allowed the Bloody Dice to be used while HP were already full.

• Fixed a bug that prevented obtaining the Stick artifact.

• Fixed a bug that caused the game to start with the first difficulty already completed.

Hello,

Thank you for all the feedback you keep sending - it’s extremely helpful for development. I continue to read and take it into account.

It’s now been one week since the Steam Next Fest ended. It was a fantastic event for CiniCross, so I wanted to thank you all for your support.

I’ll keep posting updates when they become significant enough.

Here is the content of the latest update:

NEW CONTENT

• A Standalone Linux version is now available. This fixes the mouse drag issue.

• 2 new items: New type: Placeable items on the puzzle grid • Skeleton Bombs • Cross Slingshot

• Some artifacts now have a cooldown time before they can be used again.

BALANCE / ADJUSTMENTS

• Adjustments to the following artifacts: • Crystal Orb • Hu-Gauntlet • Crystal Spear • Fire Wand

• Other changes: • Vertical artifact counters have been redesigned (better readability, X/Max…). • The highest unlocked difficulty is now automatically selected by default. • Artifacts offered as rewards are now grayed out when they reach max level. • The game now continues running when the window is not active. • The auto-cross of the Cross Sword is now faster and more responsive. • Reduced the variety of artifacts offered as rewards.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue preventing class unlocks when another class was already max level.

• Fixed a bug allowing two bosses to be launched simultaneously.

• It’s no longer possible to fill a grid that is disappearing.

• Fixed vertical artifact counters staying with the wrong rarity color.

• Fixed a bug allowing payment for unusable consumables in the shop.

• Fixed incorrect display of artifact copy counts in the class selection screen.

• Fixed a bug allowing tutorial dialogue sounds to be spammed.

• Items are now properly displayed above the rest of the UI.

• Fixed a bug allowing negative gold values.

Hello,

This update brings gameplay improvements, several new items, as well as balance adjustments to certain artifacts. Thank you again for all your feedback; it helps me prioritize and refine the overall game experience.

New features:

• It is now possible to choose your reward artifacts from a random selection.

• New items added: Red Potion, Small Red Potion, Bloody Die, Goblin Eyes, Time Bomb

• Unobtained artifacts now display the mention "New".

• The shop now displays "Sold" when an item has been purchased.

• Hint display has been reworked for large puzzles (starting from 15x10).

• The puzzle size is now visible during gameplay and on the reward screen.

• The actual time spent completing a puzzle is now displayed on the reward screen.

Adjustments:

• Item drop probability calculations have been reworked.

• The chance of obtaining "Nothing" as an artifact has been reduced by half.

• Hint colors have been slightly adjusted.

• It is no longer possible to collect artifacts while holding an item.

• The time multiplier no longer shows excessively long decimal values.

• Held items now appear above the interface.

• It is no longer possible to interact with the grid while it is fading out.

• The artifact drop sound no longer stacks.

• It is no longer possible to complete a grid while holding an item above it.

• Some artifact visuals have been modified.

Balancing:

• Void Worm: usage is now limited to 2 times per puzzle.

• Great Ice Sword: base effect and copy effect have been reduced.

Thank you again for your support and feedback - every comment counts and helps CiniCross move in the right direction. I have read all your feedback.

- Hydrobates

Hello everyone,

First of all, I want to sincerely thank you for trying out the CiniCross demo. So many of you have joined us, and your feedback has been incredibly valuable in helping improve the game.

This update addresses several major issues recently identified and includes general stability improvements. I’m reading every single piece of feedback, and it truly helps shape the next steps of development.

Patch Notes:

• Fixed an issue where artifacts obtained through the Altar could disappear when returning to it and remain displayed at the center of the screen due to Simon’s Orb.

• Fixed a crash that could occur on startup.

• The selected language now properly saves between sessions.

• Fixed a display issue on resolutions other than 1920x1080.

I’ll keep monitoring all your feedback closely. Some suggestions will take more time to implement, but they’re all noted and will be addressed in future updates.

Thank you again for your support and trust.

- Hydrobates

🎉 The CiniCross demo is now available! 🎉

After several playtests filled with valuable feedback, the demo is finally here. A huge thank you to everyone who helped test and improve the game ❤️

With this demo, you can get a first taste of CiniCross in a limited version designed to showcase the core experience.

Demo Content:

• 3 unlockable classes: Farmer, Soldier, and Archer

• 6 unique bosses to defeat

• 19 artifacts to collect and combine

• Multiple difficulty levels to challenge your strategies

Download the demo now and let us know what you think! Your feedback is essential to fine-tune the game before release.

Thanks for your support !