HEXCRAWL News & Patch Notes

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.23

A big one for anyone who's had bags or the Vault misbehave. We tracked down and fixed the intermittent crash some of you hit dragging items out of a bag, and used the same pass to harden drag-and-drop across the Vault, Shop, and Character Sheet. The crash: Dragging an item quickly out of an open bag (Backpack, Satchel, etc.) could occasionally crash the game with no error — most likely to hit the Vault, but could happen anywhere. Fixed. Bags and shops: Cleaned up a batch of drag-and-drop edge cases along the way: items duplicating or failing silently between bags and the Vault, stale bag icons after a deposit, shop purchases landing in the wrong bag, and a couple of misleading item messages. Other minor fixes and tweaks as well. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.23

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.22

A big combat audio pass, a much wider roster of mastery trainers, and roomier reagent bags. Combat and dice audio: Landing a blow now has its own impact sound for each weapon family — swords, blunt arms, chains, whips, arrows, bolts, and spells all hit differently. Taking damage has its own body-and-armor weight, with a heavier layer when a critical lands on you. Dice have far more roll variations, so long sessions stop sounding like the same three clatters. Swings, connects, and misses are leveled against each other so nothing is buried in the mix, and a miss now sounds off with the Miss! callout instead of lagging behind the swing. Mastery trainers: Training is far easier to find. Cities keep arms offices for blunt weapons, pikes, and shields; towns have militia and hedge tutors; more road and site teachers cover skills and creature lore; and craft gurus now sell profession Mastery too. Exotic arms finally have full specialty paths — Oddments, Reaping Blades, Fist Weapons, Morningstars, and Whips — so those builds get the same depth as any other weapon family. Reagent bags: Reagent Satchels now hold 12 reagent stacks instead of 6 (value 75 gold), and the rarer Spellstitched Satchel keeps its 18 slots at 500 gold. Other minor fixes and tweaks as well. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.21

Autosave is restored without the hangs, the Vault deposit path is hardened, and a handful of shop, Port, and Tips clarity fixes ride along. Autosave: Progress now autosaves to its own Autosave slot when you enter towns, sites, and delves, and during Port travel. Look for “Autosaving…” top-right — it shows above menus and loading screens. Turn it off in Options → Gameplay if you prefer. Zone Duplicate Bug Fix: The starting Port list reliably includes every zone type again (including Untouched / unexplored), and Port destinations can no longer reuse another zone’s name. Vault Fixes: Placing items should no longer hard-crash after using Search or after a long session. Dragging into empty Vault hexes works again (including near the edge of the grid, or when a bag window was sitting over the Vault). Dragging an item over another open bag brings that bag forward until you release. Vault Search now works like Shops: non-matching items leave the grid and the view zooms to what’s left. Bags and shops: More shops sometimes will rarely stock the Bottomless Bag and Portable Pit. Hints & Tips: Various changes for added clarity. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.20

Patch 0.9.20 rolls up settlement, crafting, resting, and menu improvements, plus a deeper fix for explored island hexes losing their clear map memory. Map memory: Ground you have actually explored no longer loses its fully revealed state when settlement routes or home-zone paths are recalculated. Islands, coastal approaches, and other traveled hexes stay as revealed as you left them. Land you only glimpsed from a distance still keeps its dimmer memory fog until you visit it. Settlement crafting: Outposts, Towns, and Cities each offer a mix of craft tables — always a Cookfire and a Tanning Station, plus Forge, Alchemy Lab, and/or Enchanter's Desk depending on the settlement. Hover a settlement to see what is there. While you stand in town, those tables count as the matching profession kits. You can still craft from reagents in an open Vault. Camping and lodging: When you rest at a campsite, a cleared site, or take a room in a settlement or bastion, you still choose how many days or nights — and now also when to wake (Dawn, Day, Dusk, or Night). Camp at night and wake at Dawn if you want. Water Shards: Water Spirits now show up in swamps and marshes, not only along the coast. Apothecaries stock Water Shards more often, and a few swamp and wizard foes sometimes carry elemental solvents. Crafting clarity: If a combine fails, you get a clear Failed notice (missing reagents, missing kit or station, or no room for the result). Missing requirements also show clearly on recipes in the Journal. Menus and map controls: Opening the Journal, Hints & Tips, or Crafting no longer leaves stray clicks or tip popups on the screen underneath. Hints & Tips links jump straight to the section you picked. On a trackpad or touchscreen, two-finger drag pans the overland map and delves (pinch still zooms). Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.18

Combat: Blade Tempest (and similar once-per-combat bursts on normal weapons) no longer lock you out of further attacks after the first swing. The burst still fires once per combat on a hit; dual wield and extra attacks keep working. Scrolls: Clearer tooltips for how each scroll type works. Enchant scrolls are dragged onto gear (no Use). Buff scrolls Use from your pack or drag onto your portrait in a fight. Attack scrolls drag onto enemies. Invisibility works in delves or from the Flee menu. Ward-style scrolls that were stuck on Drop-only can be Used again. Vault: Fix for a hard crash when placing items into a full or filtered vault on a mature save. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL v0.9.17

Fixes

Explored maps stay explored. Returning to a region you had already charted no longer shows it fogged or grayed-out. Cleared, partially-revealed, and unexplored hexes now persist exactly as you left them, across Port travel, saving and loading, and stepping out of a delve.

Improvements

Graphics safety net. If the game hits a graphics-driver crash mid-session on the Performance renderer, it now automatically falls back to Compatibility mode on the next launch, for smoother play on integrated and lower-end GPUs. You can switch back anytime in Options, Graphics Mode.
Smoother delves. Delve floor art has been optimized to ease texture load and reduce hitching in dungeons, most noticeable on integrated graphics.

Join the community on Discord: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.16

Vault: Drag matching stacks onto each other in the vault (or between your bags and the vault) to combine them. Partial stacks no longer swap or vanish when you try to merge. Death reclaim: Loot All now picks up backpacks and satchels first, then the rest of your gear — so reclaiming after death does not fill your pockets and leave your bags behind. Map: Hexes you stand on stay revealed. Charted coasts stay clear when you sail away (the sea itself was always visible; island land no longer greys out as if exploration was erased). Delve ammo crates: Ammunition crates now yield one to three full stacks of arrows or bolts instead of a single shot. Craft profession books: Alchemy ledgers, forge manuals, and the other craft survey books are reference catalogues — not recipe books. Opening one grants a one-time +1 Mastery in that profession; recipes still come from scrolls, formulas, teachers, and finds. Hints & Tips: Item and recipe name colors explained (Mundane through Legendary). Notes added for vault stack merging, coastal map memory, and craft-book mastery. UI: Fixes so open bags no longer steal clicks from the book reader, Tips, and Journal Close buttons. Thanks to all those who reported bugs and provided other suggestions and feedback! Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.15 Hotfix

Uberbosses: Defeating an Uberboss (The Doom, The Living Mirage, and the rest) now drops loot and keeps them gone for the rest of that visit. Leave the delve (or leave an overland-only site) and come back later — they can return stronger, as intended. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.14

Vault: Drop and Drop All while the vault is open. You can apply enchants, whetstones, coatings, and lantern oil onto items in vault slots without corrupting store/swap. Convert / Convert All on vault storage no longer freezes the UI when bags are full of convertibles. Ports: Fixed a bug where Port travel could unlock a "new" destination that was really a clone of an already-explored map (same layout, different name). Existing saves heal those duplicate destinations on load. Bags & loot: Reagent Satchel and Spellstitched Satchel — reagents-only bags that share the Satchel family cap. Looted reagents prefer those satchels before filling your carried cluster. Holy Symbol: Tooltips and Tips clarify it is an active aimed burst (not a passive aura). Added the ability to select and click to attack with it. Journal & Crafting: Faster recipe lists, clearer floating craft feedback, and fixes so stacked windows (Journal / Crafting / bags / tooltips) no longer steal clicks from each other. Crafting reagents use a compact hex layout on the table. Hints & Tips: Category tabs (BASICS / WORLD / DELVES / COMBAT / GEAR / KEYS) plus search. Expanded Delve lights, stealth, and ambush guidance. Audio: Delve chest open/close and enchant-apply sound effects. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.13

Mortal mode saves: Renaming your character no longer lets a dead run keep living under a new name. Each campaign now has a stable id from New Game. Loading from a Delve: Loading a mid-Delve (or mid-fight) save no longer leaves a stuck Delve overlay / title screen on the map. You return to the Delve's overland hex as intended. Salvage: Fixed a bug where salvaging items that yield several reagents could duplicate materials when your bag was nearly full. Thanks to Scroopy Noopers for the report. Loot: Loot All takes hexes instantly (no fade wait). Identical trash foes each leave their own corpse again. Quests: Duplicate accepted quests cleaned up. Board postings you have already completed can promote correctly. Opening the bounty board should hitch less in large zones. Delve story quest-item bounties post at the nearest settlement to their site (and appear as soon as you find the item). Ports: Fixed phantom "Visited" destination tags that could invent Port stops from normal zone naming. Night combat: Overland darkness Attack penalty is reduced by your Perception Score (down to zero). Callings: Fighter now trains Survival (+2) instead of Marksmanship; Sneak Weapons mastery raised (+3) and Marksmanship dropped. Controls & Tips: Interact is Space / Enter (stand on the hex) — never E. E is northeast hex move in QWEASD. Hints & Tips cover Delve lights, stealth marks, and ambush (walk onto the foe). Town UI: Quest board / trainer panels no longer flash settlement art through for a frame when refreshing. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.12

Graphics Mode (new): Options → Graphics → Graphics Mode — Performance (usually smoother) or Compatibility (more reliable if the game hangs on a black screen after splash). Changing it restarts HEXCRAWL. Clear any old Steam launch options first (Properties → General → Launch Options). If the game still will not reach the title screen, the next launch should automatically try Compatibility. Graphics options: Anti-aliasing settings now match what the game actually uses (including Shop and Vault). In Compatibility mode, AA options are greyed out with a short note. Reset to Defaults restores Performance and the lean AA defaults. New Game: Smoother fade into the Callings screen when starting a new character. Overland loot: Fixed a bug where loot could stop dropping on the map after you entered a Delve — until you restarted the game. Thanks to those who reported bugs, and for your patience as we smooth out the wrinkles during this EA launch period! Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.10 Hotfix

Windows launch: After more player reports, HEXCRAWL on Windows now defaults to the OpenGL graphics path (instead of Direct3D 12). This is the path that fixed splash-then-black-screen hangs for affected PCs where D3D12 still got stuck. Save menu: Manual saves, Quicksaves (F5), and Autosaves now show as separate rows in both Save and Load (same idea as most games). You can rename any of them; custom Quicksave names stick across later F5 writes. Renames only change the label — never your campaign progress. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.9 Hotfix

Windows launch: HEXCRAWL now uses Direct3D 12 on Windows by default. This should fix a rare black-screen hang after the splash on some PCs (especially certain NVIDIA setups). If you were stuck on a black screen, update and try again with no special launch options. Still stuck? Reply on the Steam thread or ping us on Discord with your GPU model. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.7 Hotfix

Custom portraits: Uploading your own character art works again from Claim Your Name and the Character Sheet. Imports are copied safely into your local gallery (right-click a custom to remove it from the gallery without touching your original file). Custom portraits now fill the hex frame properly — width-fit, top-aligned — so you no longer get black bars on the sides, and any crop falls on the bottom. Thanks for the reports — keep them coming. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.6 Hotfix

Shop: Buying infinite staples (rations, ammo, potions, and the like) is back to the intended unit price — for example 10 Rations for 2 Gold. Selling staples to a merchant no longer inflates the buy pile into odd totals like 23-for-6. Open backpack/satchel windows also stay put when a purchase merges into them. Settlements & delves: Entering towns and delves should feel snappier again. Milestone campaign autosaves were hitching the main thread on every entry, so they are turned off for now (F5 quicksave still works). We will bring autosave back once it can run without freezing the UI. Thanks for the fast reports — sorry for the churn. Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.4 Hotfix

Load & save: Choosing a save slot on the title screen loads correctly again. The Load button on the in-game ESC menu opens the save menu reliably too. Mercy & Marked: Respawning at a Sanctuary after defeat or blackout now restores full Health (combat deaths, starvation, and other hazard blackouts). Less friction after a loss — we may tune again later. Shop: Sell confirmations (YES/NO) now work reliably when your bags or inventory panels are open. No more clicks falling through to items underneath. Gargoyle harvest: Gargoyle Shard and Gargoyle Gravel now show proper item art when looted from gargoyle kills. Thanks for the quick reports after launch! Join our Discord for bug reports, suggestions, and launch chatter: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.1 Marked reclaim: Returning to where you died and defeating your killers now reliably returns your gear. The reclaim fight keeps the same encounter that killed you, and reclaim works correctly in delves as well as on the overland map. Inventory: Bags and satchels can hold bulky gear (swords, armor, shields, and the like) — no more “too large for this bag” dead ends. Two-handed weapons can be dragged from either hand hex, with a clearer drag preview. Travel: The Boat is now the Coracle — same coastal travel, clearer name and art. Thanks for the launch-day reports — keep them coming on Steam discussions or Discord.

HEXCRAWL is now available in Early Access!

To mark the launch, the game is 10% off for the first week, bringing the price to $13.49 USD.

HEXCRAWL is a dark, old-school exploration RPG built around venturing into dangerous, procedurally generated wilderness. Travel from hex to hex, uncover landmarks and ruins, enter deadly Delves, fight strange creatures, gather supplies, and try to push farther before the wilderness grinds you down.

The current Early Access build includes:

Procedurally generated overworld zones
Multiple terrain types, each with distinct threats and discoveries
Random wilderness encounters
Grid-based Delves to explore
Turn-based combat
Survival systems, including rations and travel costs
Character progression, loot, equipment, and class abilities
Unique bosses and other major encounters
A growing range of creatures, hazards, landmarks, and secrets

Early Access is the beginning, not the finish line.

While we have worked hard to make the current build polished and enjoyable, players should still expect the possibility of bugs, balance issues, and rough edges as development continues. If you encounter a problem—or have feedback or suggestions—we would greatly appreciate hearing from you through our Discord server or the Steam Discussion forums.

Discord: https://discord.gg/tw29J9Ner

The game will continue to expand with new systems, content, balance passes, quality-of-life improvements, and deeper layers of exploration. Planned additions include larger world events, new zone mechanics, expanded settlement systems, more encounters and Delves, additional character options, and much more.

HEXCRAWL has been built around a simple idea: the world should feel dangerous, unpredictable, and worth exploring. Every expedition should leave you with a few hard decisions, a few scars, and—if fortune holds—something worth carrying home.

Thank you to everyone who played the early builds, shared feedback, reported bugs, joined the Discord, or added the game to their Wishlist. Your support helped shape the game into what it is today, and it will continue to shape where it goes next.

The road is open.

Step carefully.

HEXCRAWL enters Early Access July 10

Explore a dark fantasy world of danger and secrets, one hex at a time. HEXCRAWL is an indie dark-fantasy exploration RPG built around survival and discovery. Reveal a procedural world hex by hex, push into ruins, caves, and forgotten settlements, and live (or don't) with what you find out there. What waits out there:

A world that's never the same twice - peel back the fog over forests, ruins, temples, drowned ports, and stranger places still
Delves where your light burns low, danger lurks, and treasures await
A growing bestiary of folk-horror creatures, and the bosses that hold the dark places
Multiple crafting disciplines - brew, forge, stitch, enchant, and survive your way to better gear
Encounters where talk, flight, and steel each carry a price
Take bounties, clear the wilds, and claim a foothold of your own in the land you've made safer

Why Early Access? HEXCRAWL is an indie project and the world is still growing. Early Access is where the core loop gets stable and the content deepens - with players shaping what comes next on the road to 1.0. Launches Windows-first on July 10. Wishlist now so Steam tells you the moment it's live: Wishlist HEXCRAWL on Steam Follow along or kick the tires with the playtesters on our new Discord: Join the Discord

HEXCRAWL news & patch notes

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.23

HEXCRAWL news & patch notes

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.23

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.22

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.21

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.20

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.18

HEXCRAWL v0.9.17

Fixes

Improvements

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.16

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.15 Hotfix

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.14

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.13

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.12

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.10 Hotfix

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.9 Hotfix

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.7 Hotfix

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.6 Hotfix

HEXCRAWL Early Access — Patch 0.9.4 Hotfix

HEXCRAWL is now available in Early Access!

HEXCRAWL enters Early Access July 10

Steam news for HEXCRAWL