Serenitrove
Serenitrove - A little digging game
Just you, your little claws (or pickaxes), and the urge to see what's hiding underground. Serenitrove is a casual pixel art game where you dig for treasure, weird stuff, or maybe just because it's kind of satisfying.
There's no time limit, no enemies. Just a laid-back loop of dig, discover, and repeat. Great for zoning out or killing a few minutes between whatever else you've got going on.
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Simple controls, easy to pick up
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Random loot and odd surprises
- Lots of turtles
Have fun!
Note:
- Be sure to export and save your file regularly! Game data will be lost if you clear your browser cache.
- Game runs best on Firefox browsers.
Controls & Core Mechanics Overview
Controls
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Movement: Use ASD or Arrow Keys to move around.
Use the mouse to interact with structures and UI elements.
Partial mobile support is available. Tap to move and dig.
Digging
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Stamina-Based: Digging consumes stamina.
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Soil Toughness: Tougher soil types use more stamina per dig.
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Power Stat: Every point of Power reduces stamina cost by 1 (minimum of 1).
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Pickaxes: Equip pickaxes to increase Power and reduce stamina usage further.
Durability System
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Pickaxes:
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Lose durability only when actively helping (i.e. reducing stamina cost).
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If soil is already at minimum stamina cost without a pickaxe, durability is not affected.
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Footwear:
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Durability decreases gradually as you dig.
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Light Mechanics
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It gets darker the deeper you dig.
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Torches or other light sources will help when visibility becomes an issue.
A Tiny Game, a Big Thanks
Thank you so much to everyone who's played Serenitrove! Your support, feedback, bug reports, and all the kind words mean the world to me. The incredibly positive reception has been more than I ever expected, and I'm genuinely grateful for every one of you.
This little community we've built together means just as much to me as the game itself. I truly hope Serenitrove continues to bring a bit of peace, joy, and curiosity into your lives, because you've all brought so much of that into mine.
Serenitrove will always be free to play. If you'd like to support something meaningful, consider donating to adopt or even name a sea turtle through the Oceanic Society: https://www.oceanicsociety.org/adopt/adopt-a-sea-turtle/ (or contribute to any other wildlife-focused organization you care about). If you do, feel free to let me know, it would truly make my day!
Development log
- Minor Update 198 days ago
- Minor Update 1811 days ago
- Minor Update 1723 days ago
- Minor Update 1627 days ago
- Minor Update 1527 days ago
- Minor Update 1428 days ago
- Digging Just Got Relic-ulous29 days ago
- Minor Update 1350 days ago
Comments
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i'm glad to see the halo got a visual effect!! it's kinda like my idea of the turtle glowing. but very cute and i love it :)
Glad you like it! Thanks again for the suggestions! I was thinking maybe for the Crystal Circlet, we could have little crystals that periodically spawn under the character. It might be a bit tricky to implement, but I think it would look really cool.
oh my gosh that would!! though that does sound really hard to put in the game. maybe as a compromise you make it so the turtles have glowing crystals floating around them :)
Really liking the game so far, super chill and cozy.
I noticed the magma walker boots prevent stamina from being gotten when digging a stamina ore from the side. I break the ore but I don't gain any additional stamina.
I also rarely get cows, it was a grind and a half to get enough for all the items and upgrades. Is there any rhyme or reason to when cows spawn?
Suggestion: another consumable in the form of ladders that could allow your turtle to ascend one block. I tend to spam the down arrow and miss an ore by a block, so having an item that gives you a second chance would be neat.
Love the art style, by the way. Everything is so simple but still distinct. It's nice to have less visual noise in a game like this, I don't get a headache from playing like I do from a lot of pixel art games. Excited to see what you do in the future!
Thanks so much! I'm really happy to hear you're enjoying the game.
Great catch with the Magmawalker boots. I tested it and you're right, it's a bug. Thanks for reporting it! I'll try to get that fixed in the next update.
As for cows, they actually have a 50% chance to spawn each time you return to the surface. So if you're running low on leather, one way to increase your odds is to head back up more frequently.
I really like your ladder idea! There have also been a few suggestions about a special turtle that could dig upwards, but having a consumable ladder item is a great idea as it would let any turtle reach something above them. Implementing upward digging would be a pretty major change under the hood, since the current mechanics are only built for going down. I've definitely had those moments of missing a relic or treasure chest by one block too, so I'm looking forward to implementing this feature in the game as well :)
And I'm glad you liked the art style. Really appreciate your kind words, and excited to keep building more into the game!
Edit: Fixed the Magmawalker bug.
aw it didn't count my past gambles. time to gamble 1 million quartz!
i will!
woooohooooo
gotcha！
Wow you're quick, congrats!
could you possible tell me how the relic system works? i know a very tiny bit about the encased relics but nothing else lol.
Encased relics spawn randomly underground.
When you dig one up, it triggers a relic minigame. In this minigame, you have a limited number of clicks to find the exact spot where the relic is hidden before the encased relic shatters.
Each time you click on the encased relic, you'll get a visual ping circle and a sound cue. A small circle with a soft sound means you're far from the relic, a medium ping and sound means you're getting closer, and a large ping with a loud sound means you're very close.
Collecting multiple relics will unlock permanent relic powers. You can view all the relics you've found and any powers you've unlocked in the Lorestone.
alright
YES AFTER A MONTH I RECOVERED MY ACCOUNT!!!!!!!
Welcome back :)
i finally after 3 days got enough quartz from gambling to get enlightment VI
I have an idea, in the information tab, add how much you have gambled! it would be nice to see it.
Love that idea. I'll include it in the next minor update. Thanks for the suggestion!
no problem. btw IM BACK
is there a better way to get relics? right now it just seems like I have to dig randomly to get them, but is there some sort of strategy/tips to get them? (ex. they spawn in a certain layer, use x turtle, they appear more here) thanks!
p.s. I screamed when I saw the update. not joking. (in a good way of course)
yes I found that they do spawn but i dont even know how i got it. i went afk and just saw the pop up on my screen
ok they spawn in the ground anywhere.
Relics start spawning randomly once you pass depth 100, and you can find them all the way down to the magma zone. Their spawn chance gets a little higher the deeper you go.
This relics update took a bit of time since I'd just gotten back from a break, and there was a lot of pixel art to draw for it (the giant Encased Relic, broken relic, and also the little relics). I'm really glad you're enjoying it :)
i've just seen the new update!! i've never been this early before. love serenitrove <3
I think it just like getting chests in magma, thats the strategy ive been using with it. (expect im broke on quartz so no magma runes)
Hey again! Would allowing Fern to overheal from the flask make her too OP? There have been times I wish she could do that!
That's actually a pretty neat idea! I think letting the flask overheal would be totally fine, as long as it doesn't have the extra healing effect.
Some things that were unintuitive at first as a new player:
- Flask: it says it's a consumable, so i thought that when i used it it would be gone and i would have to craft a new one with leather. Which would of course be too expensive for only 15 extra stamina, so the first time i used it was after probably dozens of runs.
- Mageflare Rune: I thought it disabled darkness for the rest of the run. I unlocked it very early, well before having to deal with darkness, so i found it very expensive. So maybe i thought that because the notion of an consumable this expensive that only creates light for a brief moment seemed implausible.
- Violetheart Pendant ("+2 Stamina Regen"): I expected it to affect the regen turn counter, just like regen upgrades. I crafted it specifically to use with Mistral (which has faster regen), found that equipping it didn't change the regen counter size, and thought it didn't do anything because i had hit a cap on regen.
Note that nowhere in the game there is a reference to "stamina regen" as a stat meaning the amount of stamina gained when the regen bar fills, except in the description of the violetheart pendant. While there is a stamina regen stat referring to the size of the regen counter. So i took for granted that you only gain 1 stamina when the bar fills, and that this is not a stat, and that the only "regen" stat is the size of the counter. It should say "regen gives 2 extra stamina" or something like that.
- When i first reached stone (or was it granite? i don't remember), i thought it was water, since the texture looked like water. I didn't know there was water in the game, so it wasn't because i was already expecting it.
Thanks so much for taking the time to lay out all of this. You bring up some really valid points about how new players interpret things, and it's a good reminder to myself that just because I know how everything works doesn't mean it's intuitive for someone encountering it for the first time.
I'll be updating the descriptions for both the Flask and the Violetheart Pendant in the next patch.
As for the Mageflare Rune, yeah that has been a tricky one. I've updated the description a couple of times now and it's still causing confusion. I'd definitely welcome any suggestions you or others have for a clearer way to explain it, ideally something that instantly signals it's a temporary darkness removing effect. So far I have tried "Reveals the whole map temporarily." which was too vague, then we have the current one which is "Removes darkness until the next dig." where the players might confuse "next dig" as the next trip down from the surface.
Regarding the Stone or Granite zones, It's interesting that the texture gave off that impression. The color seems fine to me as they are shades of gray, but maybe we could use some pattern update for the cells. A full graphics rework might be something to consider down the line, but for now the focus is still on getting new content and improvements out regularly.
Thanks again for such a detailed and constructive breakdown, it really helps. Do let me know if you find any other unintuitive or out-of-place descriptions.
Please try to avoid sharing anything related to reading or modifying saves (aka cheating) publicly. Serenitrove is meant to be a relaxing experience that's fun to discover at your own pace. Thanks for understanding!
The only thing achieved by cheating is ruining your own experience. Enjoy your trip, looking forward to future updates!
Yeah it just seems... suspicous to me how people get... 999 amytheist (even in 15 hours) and also WHY WOULD YOU NEED THAT!!!?!?!?!?!?!
alright i wil try (i really have no idea how people cheat in this.)
It really needs a trip report, saying how much you mined of each resource, and the time elapsed.
Ideally also the resources spent (tool and boot durability, consumables, etc).
A trip report sounds like a neat idea. I can definitely see how it could be helpful for players who enjoy optimizing their runs. It might work well as an optional feature, something players can choose to view either at the end of a run or from a menu, so it doesn't feel intrusive. Showing things like resources mined/spent, durability used, and consumables would be great. As for time elapsed, since digging in Serenitrove isn't time-based, I'm not sure how it would be helpful to the players, maybe more for speedrunning challenge (how fast they can reach water) or something?
Thanks again for the idea!
I like the optional report idea in general (I particularly want to know how close I am to getting 30 restore cells haha). But if a stopwatch became part of the report , IMO it should definitely be off by default and the option a bit hidden.
Speedrunning turtles? Sorta funny but doesn't fit the game's vibe!
I'm interested in the time elapsed in order to optimize time efficiency, not speedrunning (although now that you mentioned it i think it could be cool to try that too).
It would be cool to be able to dig up (without moving upward, just destroying the block above). I think it could lead to interesting strategies.
It could be a special item or turtle or something.
Maybe it could destroy more than 1 block at once. Like, break the 4 blocks in a line above. Or a 2x3 area above.
That's a great idea, it could be a "mage" turtle or something similar that could blast blocks above with a fireball. I'm adding this to my list of post-v1.0 ideas to explore. For now, I'm focused on wrapping up the core features before calling the game complete.
Multi-cell digging is definitely on the roadmap too. I'm still figuring out the best way to implement it, whether as an accessory, a special turtle, a tool, or maybe even a consumable like a bomb. Thanks again for the suggestion!
Hey, are leather boots repairable? Mine have 0 durability and I don't see a way to fix them like I do with broken tools. Wondering if it's because I have snowboots unlocked? They're my only choice at the tanning rack. Love the game!
Yes, they should be repairable at the tanning rack once their durability drops. Not sure why only the snowboots crafting option is showing up, that's odd. If the issue's still happening, feel free to post your save file here and I can take a look. I'm glad you're enjoying the game!
Thanks! I let them get to zero and had never tried repairing them before, so I don't know if it would have worked if they had at least 1 durability. Can repair snowboots that have some durability. Save in all its messy glory:
SERENITROVE_SAVE: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
Thanks for the save! I had a chance to check it on my phone, and it does look like a bug. I'm currently outstation, but I'll dig into it and try to find the cause once I'm back at my desk. Sorry about that!
Oh no worries -I'm happy to be part of finding a bug! Enjoy your break!
I've found the issue and just pushed a quick fix patch :)
am I the only one refresh everyday waiting for an update?
You should get an email if there's an update on Serenitrove. I'm out of the country right now taking a bit of a break, so there won't be any updates for a little while.
have a good rest
no lol i do that with comments though.
i have an idea, you know how enlightment needs gems to be bought? well since getting brighter can't really be bought, maybe you could (at every level of enlightment) add the color gem that you recently bought and at the end (assuming there is diamonds) have all the gems on the turtles, it would look really cool only needing to add a few new skins to the turtles.
That's a cool idea, I do try to avoid making all the turtles look like Infinity Gauntlets though ;)
yeah lol, maybe just a few gems per upgrades, maybe even just make the turtles have lines of the gems.
I do have a question, now that the updates are riding towards a steady 1.0, when is the discord going to be made? i remeber talking to you about it. also gambling is the best way to get quartz in my opinion, i do save scum a little for around 50 quartz but it is a good way to get quartz with good rng.
I'll probably launch the Discord sometime after the 1.0 release. Speaking of that, we've now got a clearer list of features to complete before calling it 1.0. All 8 headgear visual effects, lore for the turtles, equipment unlocking hints, relics (this will be a big one), and possibly achievements too.
As for gambling, yeah, with good RNG it can be a nice quartz boost. Just keep in mind it can also eat through your stash pretty fast, so it's not the most reliable method long term. Farming manually and exchanging ores is still the safer bet if you're looking for consistent quartz.
yeah. i probably lost like a million quartz from gambling, but.... i still get 500 per gamble streak so gamble away!
It's great that there's a roadmap for 1.0 =)
I hope the impossibility of hard mode is addressed at that point!
didn't somebody beat hard mode with griddle? I think thats the only documentation of somebody beating hard mode.
That was me, lol
oh lol. I thought i remembered your name.
Definitely. I think Hardmode at the very least needs to allow equipping Footwear (non-leather versions). Not having access to the backpack is already a big challenge on its own.
i'm trying to get the nix hat but i don't have a solid stratigie to get it, does anyone have one?
personally, i tried to get every single quartz/gem along the way, with sanguine signet and snowboots. then i switched to winterheart at magma level, using mageflare runes every couple of digs, and if i ran out of stamina, i switched to alchemist's pouch and used my flask. you should probably get the full flask before you attempt nix, though.
and use the reeler hat. i believe it's lucky.
For Nix, Winterheart is only helpful while you still have shield charges. Once those are gone, the -1 Power from Winterheart is basically equal to the +1 Burn damage you'd take without it. So feel free to switch it out once your shield runs out, unless you're really lucky with Sapphire and Diamond spawns to replenish your shield charges.
P.S. I'm totally with you, Reeler hat all the way.
I wish i had it.
sadly i don't have the reeler hat. very sad. :(
For the Nix hat, you can see my earlier comment down there for you reference.
Is there any way to make a leaderboard? Even if it's just hidden away in a menu, it'd be super cool to see who's the top in the game!
Having a leaderboard is a great idea, but the problem is that Serenitrove is fully client-sided, which means all the game data is stored and run on the player's own device. Because of that, it's unfortunately pretty easy for someone to modify their data or scores, which would make a public leaderboard unreliable or prone to cheating.
I have an idea, maybe for the year aniversary which is in 323 days, you could add a custom helmet or pickaxe proving loyalty, also the early the better for it. and if it was a hat it could be like a new years hat thats like 6M! or 1Y! it would be cool, just a cosmetic.
Since Serenitrove is client-sided, there's unfortunately no way for the game to know when someone started playing, so "loyalty" rewards are not possible.
That said, seasonal or event-based hats, like something for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or even a 1-year anniversary could be fun. I'll keep that in mind as we get closer to the big day.
yeah thats what i was saying.
I found a problem, the bogged effect is a skate . not sure if it was intentional. also maybe add some more peddles on the ferns hat? it would make it look better in my opinion.
It's actually meant to be a shoe on a sticky surface, but with the limited pixel count, it ended up looking more like a skate.
Edit: For the petal counts, I have to experiment with it for a bit, as it may cause performance issues on slower devices.
yeah. maybe add some brown pixels on the bogged effect, it might look a little out of place but it could work.
Using different colored pixels isn't an option, since debuff icons have to be a single color, red.
oh, well that sucks.
Just got my final hat, thanks for the game and keep up the good work ♥
Thanks for playing! Really happy you enjoyed it. There'll be more updates ahead, so I hope you'll keep exploring with us :)
sure will!
i'm pretty sure i've been commenting way too much but i got all the hats finally!! i'm so happy.
No such thing as too many comments, keep 'em coming :)
Also, congrats on collecting all the hats!
Speaking of hats, I just pushed an update with two more hat effects. I'm working toward giving every hat its own visual effect, but I could use a bit of input on the Baseball Cap, Visor, Halo, and Crystal Circlet. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
i saw the new update! i really love both the new effects, i think they look really cool.
anyways:
and while i was in the mood for ideas, i had some suggestions:
that's it. wow this comment got long. i hope you like them :)
p.s. i forgot to mention this earlier: i'd love to see more lore about the turtles. i think they're super interesting.
p.p.s. i used mistral and caelo as players in one of my school projects! serenitrove has been slowly invading my life...
Thanks so much for all the ideas! I'll definitely play around with them and see which ones can be implemented.
The Iron Helm effect is actually intentional, since one of the upcoming achievements will be tied to reaching water while wearing it as a sort of challenge run.
Turtle lore is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but between all the new features and ongoing bug fixes, I just haven't had the time yet. I’m planning to expand it alongside future Lorestone content.
And honestly, hearing that you used Mistral and Caelo in a school project made my day. It's such an honor to know Serenitrove is making its way into your world like that. May the happy turtles bring you joy wherever you go :)
here comes some suggestion for update
1. Toughness of the Zones
Like the Power at the right bottom, showing the toughness of the Zones in a bracket at left bottom corner (or in Lorestone as a collection) would help planning the use of tools / accessories.
2. The last row of Stone Zone and that of Ice Zone
slippery effect occurs at the last row of Stone Zone while it doesn't occur at that of Ice Zone. You may say it is because the turtles standing / no longer standing on Ice at that row. However, I think the zone effects should be functioning within the zones only.
3. Position of the Setting and the Information Bottons
The position of the bottons is suggested to shift to the left a little bit or being placed next to the Back to Top botton (if it is not making the UI of the game too ugly) in order to avoid overlapping with the Enter fullscreen function.
Hey, thanks a lot for the suggestions! Here's a breakdown of where things stand:
1. The hardness of each zone is actually shown when you hover over the zone name (except for Air). I did consider showing the value directly in brackets next to the name, like you suggested, but I worried it might be a bit confusing for new players, and adding a label like "Hardness: X" would take up too much space in the already cramped bottom corner. That's why I ended up going with the tooltip approach for now, though I'm definitely open to revisiting it if a clearer solution comes up.
2. This behavior is actually intentional. There's some specific code in place to keep the slippery effect on the last row of Stone, but remove it on the last row of Ice. The idea was to make it feel more natural. Sliding on Ice makes sense, but sliding on Granite felt off. Effects like regeneration freeze are kept strictly within the Ice zone. That said, I totally get how it could feel inconsistent or confusing to have Ice effects behave differently depending on the row. Maybe it's something we could ask the others how they feel? Should we keep it realistic or less confusing?
3. Yeah, this one's tricky. Moving the Settings and Info buttons to the top isn't ideal, since that area's already packed with resource counters and the Back to Top button. It could also lead to misclicks. Shifting them slightly to the left could work, but might look awkward, especially in fullscreen, where the fullscreen button disappears. I'm leaning toward adjusting the itch.io game window height so the fullscreen button appears below the Settings and Info buttons instead. That might be the cleanest fix.
Thanks again for the feedbacks, these are definitely valid concerns, and I would be happy to know what everyone thinks.
yeah!! we got nix to the water!! the new update was super helpful to get enough shields, but i think i just had really good rng because i was getting restore cells really often. anyway this was pretty hard :') i just need to get the other turtles (that'll be much easier) and i'll be done the game for now!! patiently waiting for the relics update so i can get all of them too.
love love love serenitrove <33 i know you said no new turtles for now, but in the future, i'd like to get to water with them too!!
Congrats! You even had flask charges to spare too! Thanks so much for enjoying Serenitrove, it really means a lot :)
I'm planning to get all the hat visual effects working next, and also finish building out the relic system. It's going to be a pretty major new feature. Originally, I thought about just putting relics into treasure chests, but since those already reward resources and blueprints, I decided to go in a different direction. I've got something else in mind now that I think will fit the game better.
Once that's done, I've got a bunch of new content planned. New turtles, equipment, zones, difficulty options, and even some much-needed love for Hardmode.
That said, I'll be taking a short break over the next few weeks. I'll still be around to answer questions and respond to suggestions here, but game updates will be on pause for a little while.
hi im just wondering how you get the ability to use leather because I keep seeing people with the leather tanner but I don't have it 😓
Hi! Just checking, did you happen to click on Hardmode? That would permanently disable the Tanning Rack and prevent you from getting Leather. You can confirm by clicking on the cow, if it just moos happily, that means Hardmode is active. Unfortunately, the only way to turn it off is to reset your game.
Tanning Rack should be unlocked at depth 90 (after Sand zone), there will be 2 choices: build the Tanning Rack (standard mode), or skip building Tanning Rack (hardmode).
ahhh okay :( is there any hope maybe this could be reverted in a later update or at least an option to toggle it?
I've just put together a quick update to address this. You can now click the cow 10 times to switch back to Standard mode. Just a heads-up, once you make the switch, you will not be able to return to Hardmode, as that could cause some balance issues. Hope this helps :)
TYSM!✨✨✨
You're welcome, have fun!
Sorry for another comment - but can you tweak the quartz trade proportions in the next update? 100 gold for only 100 quartz seems pretty unreasonable... haha!
No worries. As for the Gold-to-Quartz trade, it's actually meant more as a way to recycle any unused Gold Ore rather than being a profitable exchange. The main way to get Quartz is still through digging, with a bit of luck from the slot machine as well. That's why the exchange rates at Bits & Bobs are intentionally a bit rough.
Super fun game! I've gotten to the water layer with five different characters which took about 6 hours. I think for the most part the game is well balanced with this new patch, though I think some sort of variation in the toughness of the soil by adding tougher/lighter patches would add a lot to route-taking especially in the more "plain" sections (maybe having better resources spawn in the tougher patches?). I'd definitely love to see more risk-reward gameplay especially after having completed many runs! Also maybe add tiny buffs to hats to kind of mix-and-match abilities for build variety?
Thanks for enjoying Serenitrove! I like the idea of tougher or lighter soil patches within a zone. It could add a nice layer of strategy to the runs, especially in the more straightforward sections. I actually have something similar planned with ore veins, where clusters of the same ore occasionally spawn together instead of being evenly spread out. I'll definitely add your idea to the list for future development :)
As for hats, that's something a few players have brought up before. I decided to keep them purely cosmetic because I want players to feel free to wear whichever hat they like without feeling locked into one for the sake of buffs. Adding a "hat skin" system to separate visuals from bonuses felt a bit too complex for a casual game like this, so that idea got shelved as well. That said, more mechanics are coming to offer greater build variety and gameplay depth.
I have a suggestion for an idea, enchantments. now hear me out it might sound minecrafty but it could add AoE mining and many more things like, level 1-5 stamina regen, it add 1 more regen per level (you could debuff it to like 1-2 levels because thats op)
and instead of having it stack maybe only like 3 enchantments per tool.
maybe the new relic system might be something like that.
An enchantment system has crossed my mind before, but I feel like it would add another layer of complexity to the game that I'm not quite ready to dive into just yet.
That said, *spoiler alert* Relics will be little collectibles you can find during your runs, and they'll come in themed sets. Completing a full set will give your turtles permanent bonuses. I'm also planning to include little bits of flavor text for each Relic to help build out the world a bit more.
It's twig on his alt account... i forgot the password so i am just going to respond from this account. but i got some relics idea if i get what you're saying
*name here* - gives 2x2 mining
*name here* - +2 regen
*name here* - adds another slot for acessories (also maybe on your legs it could have like a simplifed version of them)
Hey Twig, good to see you again! Forgot your itch.io password? Hopefully you made a backup of your Serenitrove save file.
About the relic ideas, thanks for sharing. I get what you're going for, but I do think those effects might be a bit overpowered, especially since relic bonuses are permanent and apply to every turtle, even when nothing is equipped. That makes balance a lot harder.
The plan right now is for relics to work as sets. If you collect the full set, you get a minor boost to stats. So for example, 2x2 mining would be way too strong as a permanent relic effect, but it could potentially work as a rare accessory or tool, with some kind of significant tradeoff. +1 regen sounds a lot more reasonable, and I like the direction of the accessory slot idea too. That might work as a full set bonus, maybe after collecting 20 relics in that group.
Anyway, these are just early ideas and nothing's final yet. Appreciate the suggestions!
no problem! good thing serenitrove saves without needing to export it!
I have a few sugjestions for the lorestone, for just a little more practicality:
-suggestion for turtle selection, maybe we can choose the turtle we want from the lorestone? it seems kinda small, and unimportant, but when cycling through the turtles, grittle comes before fern, and grittle deleats surface heals, detramental to fern. or maybe just switch griddle and fern's cycle plaecment
- Maybe when hovering over ??? there can be text that is a hint to get whatever the ??? is, for example, when hovering over the ??? for magma walker: "treasures within the lava" or "found in the magma layer" or something more cryptic. I just think it might be useful for newcomers. personally, I like reading descriptions/hints of items, (this also adds opportunity for more world-building)
Thanks for the suggestions! I actually hadn't considered how Griddle's place in the swap cycle could impact Fern's run due to her overhealing. Great catch. I'll get that adjusted soon (starting with the cycle order, and possibly adding turtle selection to the Lorestone down the line).
As for the ??? item hints, I originally planned to show exact depth ranges where their treasure chests appear, but it ended up feeling a bit too technical. I agree that something like "Found in the X zone" would be a nice balance.
Lorestone is still pretty new, and there's a lot planned for it. Flavor text for each item (like the turtles have now), possible backstories for the turtles, Relic collections, Achievements, and more.
I found a glitch, you accidently swapped the order of them. also is 33 diamonds alot? (i dont have diamond pick)
It's meant for you to exchange your extra wood for quartz.
oooooooooooh
yea i just got confused lol
No worries, I get confused all the time too. Once you get the pickaxe, you'll burn through those 33 Diamonds pretty quickly. In fact, you'll need quite a bit of them just to craft it in the first place.
yeah 12, in an old run i had before swapping to hopefully get better rng on the jackpot (i got it like 5 times after i swapped lol) i never got the blueprint again. even now, i havent got that stupid blueprint.
time to get reeler!
i tried for 1000 quartz but apparently that's not allowed so I have 999 instead.
good luck to you for your reeler rolls. love this game sm <3
update 2: wow that was fast
holy quartz. i never have enough quartz.
use Griddle to get rich
griddle is only good more metal.
i used grampshell personally with a ton of light. i also did the exchanges in the shop a lot too.
yeah makes sense
i'll try that later
Nix to the water
I might need that.
i don't think your run is real, all that materials is not in the slightest realistic.
For using Nix to reach the water, I use Sanguine Signet for all the layers before Magma, then use Winterheart for Magma and pray for reaching restore cells and gems.
I reached the dark purple layer right before the water for several times but just stopped there. Then, figure out how many shield stacks have to gather before leaving the ice layer (As it is the interesting part of the game, I leave it for you to find out yourself, have fun!) But the most important thing have to bear in mind is the digging path - affecting the loss of stamina and shield.
For the materials, it is the result of about 350 runs and many times of spins. Gather 600+ Quartz then spins them all in one go and you should at least hit one single Jackpot.
thank you for taking my suggestions in the new update!! wanna ask: what's the new chance to get reeler after 200th spin? I have to plan my quartz runs to get reeler in 1 run :)
Just saw your other comments, congrats on getting Reeler and unlocking the Propeller Hat! I know it's not relevant anymore for you, but I still wanted to answer your question here in case it helps other players planning ahead:
At 320 spins: 1 in 66
This multiplier is only applied to attempts before Reeler is unlocked and the spin counts are only for the same session, meaning page refresh or reloading the game in any way will reset the pseudo-random pity multiplier.
you could also just export your game then use up your quartz to then import untill you get jackpot...
Well... save scumming is not for everyone... ;)
thank you! hopefully you get your reeler too with the new pity system. i'm just trying to get nix to the water now, it's pretty difficult but i'm sure i'll get there!!
and: I haven't seen anybody saying this, so i'll be the one to say: the gramophone's music is really good. my youtube music stopped working in class once, so I turned onto the gramophone in the background and it actually sounds really good while working. I love serenitrove and neon temptation!!
Thanks! Another player mentioned in their rating that Bit by Bit was their favorite, so it's nice to see how everyone connects with different tracks from the Gramophone. Anyway, here's something I haven't shared publicly. I'll be taking the link down shortly 😉
oh wow!! it sounds amazing. i'm flattered that you would give this to me :)
apparently i'm serenitrove's first youtube subscriber now. when this game is big I can brag lol
Any ideas on how to get the restore cells turtle? Maybe I just play griddle too much, but I have just over 7hrs of playtime and can't seem to get 35 cells in a run... I got the hats for all the other turtles at least! (except for the new turtle)
Also, don't mess with gem spawns too much. If anything, just lower diamond's spawn rate and make it usable for a more powerful accessory! I have 18 diamonds and only 8 sapphires, somehow. Titanium is the only thing I lack, having to spend it to repair my drill so often...
An idea for the halo hat - you could make it spin in place horizontally, still taking up one pixel but going through a gradient of yellows and gold to make it appear as if it was spinning, rather than just being a bland bar above your head.
Great game all around! Looking forward to more updates
First of all, thanks so much for playing!
To unlock Fern, there isn't any special trick, as no turtles or accessories currently boost restore cell spawn rates. The best way to improve your odds is to use Caelo and maximize your light radius so you don't miss any restore cells deeper down. The game uses a pseudo-random system to prevent runs from being ruined by bad RNG. At minimum, one restore cell is guaranteed to spawn every 20 cells. With the game going 433 cells deep (excluding the first 20), you're looking at at least 22 restore cells per run even in the worst-case scenario. Typically, by the time you reach the Magma zone, you'll have around 30, and with good visibility, squeezing out 5 more from there is definitely within reach.
On gems, I actually agree that sapphires feel a bit too rare, since they currently only spawn in the Ice zone. I'm considering adding them to the Magma zone as well to help balance things out. As for diamonds, they're meant to be more common since the diamond pickaxe eats through them pretty quickly. If they were any rarer, the pickaxe would become too costly to be practical, so I think their current rate is in a good spot.
And I love your suggestion for the Halo hat! I originally had it hovering slightly up and down, but that didn't feel quite right. A rotating yellow to gold gradient sounds like an awesome visual, way more dynamic than a static bar.
This kind of feedback is exactly what makes working on the game so rewarding, so thank you!
Thanks for taking some of my feedback! It's super cool to see a fun game with an awesome developer - that's why I love itch.io
Looking forward to more additions in the future, excited to see what you have planned for the next layer below obsidian
Just found my first sapphire in the magma layer! The color contrast looks super cool, I think adding them was a great choice. Definitely one of the coolest looking ores.
Any plans on a Steam page? It'd be pretty cool to see it released as an official game. I'd pay money for it! It reminds me a ton of the game Super Motherload, you should check it out!
Thanks! I thought the Magma zone was a good fit for Sapphire too. Ruby can be a bit hard to spot with the surrounding colors, and since Ruby already appears in two zones while Sapphire only had one, it felt like a nice way to balance things out.
As for a Steam page, Serenitrove is something I've always intended to keep completely free. No DLC, no paid content, just a small project to hopefully bring a bit of joy to people. That said, who knows what the future holds! If there's ever a remake using something like Unity or Godot, a Steam release could definitely be on the table.
a couple of lil ideas:
anyways, awesome game and bye
- a :) turtle
Thanks for the ideas!
Wood and Coal exchange will be coming in the next update, and I'm also planning to add a Titanium exchange later on.
For the slot machine, I agree that some kind of pseudo-random system could be a great addition. For example, if the average jackpot hit rate is around 1 in 593 spins, the system could start slightly boosting the odds after your 500th spin to help out us unlucky folks. I've personally burned through thousands of quartz without landing a Reeler, so I definitely feel your pain :")
Instead of upping gem spawn chances across the board, I'm thinking of other ways to help, like adding quartz to a zone that currently doesn't have any, or introducing other gems into the Magma zone, which do feel a bit empty right now. And you're not alone, getting to water with Nix is definitely tough. Even Lynn Xternal, our top Serenitrove player, mentioned how challenging it was.
thanks for replying!! just one more thing i forgot to mention: the start screen is now outdated due to the new placements of the buildings. you might want to update it.
You're welcome :)
As for the start screen, I think it's still fine for now, since the placements there are more of a rough representation, kind of like how the tanning rack is shown on the left of the tree, even though it was actually on the right, even before the recent updates. It's also missing the slot machine and the newly added Lorestone, but I think we can stick with this version for the time being. That said, I might eventually swap it out for a more stylized, 2D cartoony version down the line.
OOoo, I have an idea for a turtle, one who can dig UP. He could have wings, and even be yellow, and-wait a minute...
but seriously, a turtle who can dig up would be incredible, I wouldnt miss so many dang chests for going to fast, or cause i couldnt see them. since a flying turtle is out the question, how about a mining turtle
as longs as theres a block above him, he can mine up, and falls if he runs into air, I dont know how balance it would be, but it be a nice mechanic. might be dificult to have to code all that for a turtle though...
that would be SO op. maybe it should have super super low base stamina or mining up costs twice as much stamina. but that would be super helpful!!
That's such a fun and creative idea, I'd love to implement a turtle with that skill as well. Unfortunately, here comes the sad part, digging upward isn't possible due to a technical limitation that's pretty deeply baked in.
To keep the game running smoothly, the cells outside your current viewport are permanently pruned (basically removed) to free up memory. Without that system, once you dig past a certain depth, around 30 or so, the game starts to lag badly, and it only gets worse from there until your browser eventually crashes. So the game is just not built to support storing information on so many cells at once. Still, I really love the idea :)
Then what about that turtle can dig up, but the camera don't follow up so you can just go in the visible cells above? And if it is not powerful enough, some other power along with swapping tile instead of digging, so it explains why he doesn't fall after digging because he doesn't let an already dig trail?
When I saw the flying turtle Caelo I tought that digging up would be his power. ^^ I also tried to click the clouds at the start as I searched how to unlock him, given his update description. I expected maybe a turtle-shaped cloud then... I wonder if I am the only one who tried that. ^^"
That could work, but it would require quite a bit of rework on the game engine. Right now, turtles are always camera-centered vertically, except when they first spawn. A lot of mechanics rely on that, like falling sand physics and ice sliding, so changing it would introduce new bugs and require a good chunk of reworking. But technically, yeah, it's possible.
As for swapping positions with another cell, if it's on the same row as the turtle, that's more feasible and would involve fewer engine changes. But once we go into vertical swaps, we're back to the same complexity as digging upward.
That said, I'll keep this kind of effect in mind for future turtles. For now, Nix is planned as the final turtle, at least until the game hits a more stable 1.0 state.
As for Caelo, he's always meant to be floaty, but not quite flying. I've always seen him as this goofy, slightly clueless angel turtle. The clouds could work well as a little Easter egg in the future. I once had this idea of cow-shaped clouds spawning after cows were defeated, but it ended up feeling more disturbing than funny, so I scrapped it.
that cow thing would kinda be funny if i'm going to be honest. also it is kinda werid for it just to disapear.
ahh, i see. Unfortunate but I understand, Id hate to take away your time to improve the game, Id rather have a smooth experience than a turtle with lag
No worries. For now, I'm just curious to see how far we can push this plain HTML and JavaScript game. Honestly, it's kind of surprising how much content it's been able to handle without major performance issues.
New Turtle!!, I have to get it!
new update!! I didn't notice for a while. i wonder what nix does??
something with sheilds.