Hand of Fate FAQ

[morgan]

What's the game like?

It's a game where you build a deck of cards that then becomes the dungeons you explore through. When you enter an encounter, all the cards you've earned come to life and you fight your enemies in a full 3D action sequence.

There are a lot of excellent videos on YouTube or on the Steam Community that give a more detailed look. http://steamcommunity.com/app/266510/videos

Is this the "Manos, Hands of Fate" game?

No, that's over there. It's also not the "Gamers : Hand of Fate" game, that doesn't exist. It's not based on the Rolling Stones song either. Or the tattoo joint. Or Kyrandia. It's a game about cards and fate, though!

How did Early Access go?

Awesome! We had a bunch of great people playing the game over the seven months before launch, and they helped to improve the game in a million different ways - big and small. Community feedback helped us launch a 1.0 build that we're incredibly proud of.

The reason we're doing Early Access is the same reason we did a Kickstarter and Greenlight - it's the best way we've found to make the game as good as possible. The feedback and support from our Kickstarter backers and Early Access supporters has been a huge asset to making the game work so far - and the process is ongoing.

What's happening with the DLC?

Our first DLC, 'Wildcards' was released in April and adds 9 new Fates to bring extra gameplay variations by providing different modifiers, encounter chains and items for players to explore.

I love this game's soundtrack! Where can I get it?

Hand of Fate was scored by the award winning Jeff van Dyck. It is availalable here on Steam, as well as on Bandcamp[jeffvandyck.bandcamp.com], Amazon[amzn.com] and iTunes.

Does Hand of Fate support Steam Cloud/Are Cloud Saves Cross-platform?

Yes and yes!

Can I play with Steam in offline mode?

You can, but achievements won't be awarded until after you launch the game with Steam in online mode.*

What languages is Hand of Fate localised to? Does it have subtitles?

The game is currently translated for French, German, Spanish and Russian – full text translation and subtitles for voice overs. We're hoping that community support will enable us to offer other languages over time – like Hungarian, which is currently in the game.

Where can I express interest in additional languages for Hand of Fate?

You can make a thread (be sure to search for any existing ones!) or send an email to [e-mail] and we'll make note. If you are interested in contributing to a translation of Hand of Fate, please get in touch!

Can I follow Hand of Fate related stuff via social media?

You can find Hand of Fate[www.facebook.com] and Defiant Development[www.facebook.com] on Facebook. You can also follow @DefiantDev on Twitter.

I don't like Steam, where else can I buy this game?

Hand of Fate is also available on GOG[www.gog.com], the Humble Store[www.humblebundle.com], and for Xbox and PlayStation 4 on their respective online stores.

I need support!

First up, have a look over the Troubleshooting FAQ to see if your problem is already mentioned there. If not, the best place to ask is here on the forums. It means the answer is archived for all time and other people can see the solution once the problem is resolved.

You can also email [e-mail] - no guarantees on turnaround for support here or via email, however. We don't work weekends (although you'll often see us updating on the forums then) and our focus is on improving the game and fixing issues for everyone, rather than messaging individuals. That's just the nature of having a small team - we're focused on making the game.

We do read everything, though, and feedback makes a big difference to the decisions we make. We very much appreciate everything people post, so don't feel shy about letting us know what has worked and what hasn't.

Where do I send feedback?

The forums are the best place. We read every thread, even if we don't reply, and it gives a good chance for other people to discuss the suggestions made.

Can I put up a Lets Play on Youtube?

No problems. You're welcome to monetize it, as well. If you let us know here we'll include it in our regular round-ups.

I'd like to call people on the forums idiots, is that okay?

No. Not even if they are being idiots. Please be civil on the forums - everyone has the same goal, which is to make the game as good as it can possibly be.

Can I play as different classes/genders?

No. At the moment, all of the games content is both cards and 3d models - which means to develop a new class or character means rebuilding every 3d model in the game. Which would take about as long as it took to build them in the first place (18 months work for our artists). As a result, it's not going to happen.

We will definitely approach this differently in future games. It was an early decision that hamstrung us for later.

Does the game have multiplayer?

No. We spent our resources making the best single player game we could. A lot would need to change to meaningfully develop a multiplayer game - it's more work than we're planning on this title.

What are Hand of Fate's default controls?

Movement: WASD or Left Stick
Attack: Left Mouse or X Button
Stun: Right Mouse or B Button
Counter: Q or Y Button
Dodge: Space or A Button
Weapon Ability: 1 or Left Shoulder Button
Artifact Ability: 2 or Right Shoulder Button

Pause: Escape or Start Button
Confirm: Return or A Button
Cancel: Tab or B Button

I don't like the default controls, can I change them?

Keyboard and mouse bindings can be changed from the Controls menu.

What languages is the game available in, and can I suggest one that isn't supported?

The game is currently translated for French, German, Spanish, and Russian - full text translation and subtitles for VO. We're hoping that community support will enable us to offer other languages over time - like Hungarian, which is currently in game. If you'd like to contribute or request a translation, make a thread for it (be sure to search for existing ones first!) and we will make note.

I'm having trouble with combat, what can I do?

Remember to roll (Space or A Button) to get out of sticky situations. Use your stun (Right Mouse or B Button) to to interrupt an attack or temporarily incapacitate an enemy who is blocking.

If you have a shield, you'll be able to counter (Q or Y Button) some attacks and reflect some projectiles. Performing these counters will increase your combo and deal damage to your opponents.

Keep an eye out for attack indicators above enemies' heads. Green indicators represent an attack that can be countered or reflected, while red indicators represent an attack that can not be interrupted or countered.

Am I meant to be able to follow the Chance cards?

Yes. It is not a random animation being played.

Something's not right, what should I do?

When something isn't working with the game, there are a few common things that are worth trying

Verify that the download of your game is good
1. Right click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Choose the Local Files tab
4. Click on the “Verify Integrity of Game Cache” button

Steam will download any files that it thinks are broken.

Make sure your video drivers are up to date
Check the Intel[downloadcenter.intel.com], AMD[support.amd.com] or Nvidia[www.nvidia.com] websites for the latest version of your graphics drivers and check that that's what you're running.

Try launching the game with reduced settings
1. Rright click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Click the “Set Launch Options...” button
4. Type in the following launch option

-show-screen-selector

5. Launch the game and choose the “Fastest” quality setting

Letting us know that you've tried these things helps us be more efficient in identifying and resolving the problems that you might be facing.

My game crashed, what do I do?

If the game crashes (especially if it crashes repeatedly) please send us your log and profile (see details of where to find these below) to [e-mail]

Where can I find my game log?

The location of your log will depend on the operating system you are running. Keep in mind that the log is overwritten each time the game is launched, so be sure to grab a log that includes the issue that you've been experiencing.

On Windows:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Hand of Fate\Hand of Fate_Data\output_log.txt

Alternatively, you can right click on the game in your Library, select properties, then click the Local Files tab. Click the "Browse local files" button and look for output_log.txt

On Linux:
Hand of Fate's log can be found in the following location:

~/.config/unity3d/Defiant\ Development/Hand\ of\ Fate/Player.log

On Mac OS:
In Finder, press Command+Shift+G to bring up the location dialog and enter the following path

~/Library/Logs/Unity/

The log file is called Player.log and is shared by every Unity game on the system. If you’ve run another Unity game since running Hand of Fate, Hand of Fate's log will be overwritten.

Where can I find my game profile?

The location of your profile will depend on the operating system you are running. The file is called player.profile. If you can't find it, you may need to turn on "Show hidden files".

On Windows:

AppData\LocalLow\Defiant Development\Hand of Fate

*
On Linux:

~/.config/unity3d/Defiant\ Development/Hand\ of\ Fate/player.profile

On OS X

~/Library/Caches/unity.Defiant\ Development.Hand/ of\ Fate/player.profile

I'm a keyboard and mouse user, but I see gamepad prompts, what should I do?

1. Press Enter to continue past the red Hand of Fate title screen
2. Press Escape to bring up the main menu (the mouse should work from here, but arrow keys and Enter will too)
3. Select “Controls”
4. Select “Gamepad Enabled” to toggle gamepad input off (it should change to “Gamepad Disabled”).

Input doesn't seem to be working properly, what should I do?

Mouse and keyboard users can use the steps above to disable gamepad input. In most situations, another device is giving unexpected gamepad input.

Gamepad users can try removing other joysticks, racing wheels or other joystick-like devices that might be causing a conflict.

The game starts on the wrong monitor, what should I do?

1. Rright click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Click the “Set Launch Options...” button
4. Type in the following launch option

-show-screen-selector

5. Launch the game and select the monitor you would like it to run on from the dropdown box in the config dialog that appears.

Alternatively, Windows users can also use the following launch options using steps 1 to 4 as shown above, where 0 can be replaced with the number of the monitor you would like the game to launch on:

-adapter 0

I have a dual graphics computer and the game runs really slowly/glitchy, what should I do?

Firstly, check to make sure that your graphics drivers are up to date (see notes in the “Something's not right, what should I do?” question).

Nvidia users:
Check that the game is configured to run on your Nvidia card.

On Windows:
1. Right click on your desktop and open the Nvidia Control Panel
2. Expand “3D Settings”
3. Select “Manage 3D Settings”
4. Select the “Program Settings” tab
5. Select Hand of Fate from the “Select a program to customize” dropdown and click the “Add” button*
6. Select “High-performance NVIDIA processor”

On Linux:
Check the Steam Support knoweldge base article on Optimus hardware and Primus.

On Mac
Check the Apple Support knowledge base article[support.apple.com] on setting graphics performance options. Keep in mind that older Macintoshes may be below the minimum system requirements for Hand of Fate.

AMD users:
Check that the game is configured to run on your AMD card.

On Windows:
1. Right click on your desktop and select “Configure Switchable Graphics”
2. Select Hand of Fate from the “Recent Applications” list
3. On the right where it may say “Power Saving” or “Not Assigned”, choose “High performance”

My 32 bit windows is running out of memory, what should I do?

Enable 3Gb mode http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-enable-a-3GB-switch-on-Windows-Vista-Windows-7-or-Windows-XP-s.html

The game crashes on my surface pro 3, what should I do?

Enable directx 11 mode by following these steps:

1. 1. Rright click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Click the “Set Launch Options...” button
4. Type in the following launch option

-force-d3d11

5. Launch the game

My gamepad doesn't work with Hand of Fate, what should I do?

First, try removing other joysticks, racing wheels or other joystick-like devices that might be causing a conflict.

The input system that Hand of Fate uses supports a wide range of devices, but not all. You can help us to improve support for your device by sending us information as described here.

Windows users can try installing the official MS 360 pad driver from http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-au/d/xbox-360-controller-for-windows

Linux users can try xboxdrv[pingus.seul.org] to emulate an Xbox gamepad. It's in most distros' repositories.

The game closes after I click Start and I see a "Steam connectivity could not be established" message in my game log. What's up with that?

If the game can't connect to the Steam client, on your computer, it will close, try to re-launch the Steam client and then re-open. If the game can still not establish a connection to Steam, it will bail.

Logging out and logging back into Steam has resolved this for most users who experience this problem.

I see a black screen, but I can still hear the game, what can I do?

Check to make sure that your graphics drivers are up to date (see notes in the “Something's not right, what should I do?” question), and that the game is running with the appropriate graphics hardware if you are running a dual chipset machine (see notes in the “I have a dual graphics computer and the game runs really slowly/glitchy, what should I do?” question).

1. Rright click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Click the “Set Launch Options...” button
4. Type in the following launch option

-show-screen-selector

The next time you launch the game, you will see a configuration dialog which allows you to change the game's graphical settings before it launches. Try setting the quality setting to “Fastest” and try running the game in a window at a low resolution.

If running the game in a window is enough, add the following launch option using the steps described above (note that this launch option is only available to Windows users):

-popupwindow

The game keeps minimising itself on Windows, what can I do?

This is caused by Hand of Fate trying to run at a resolution that isn't compatible with your screen.

1. Rright click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Click the “Set Launch Options...” button
4. Type in the following launch option

-show-screen-selector

The next time you launch the game, you will see a configuration dialog which allows you to change the game's graphical settings before it launches. Set the resolution to match your desktop and run the game.

If this continues to happen, add the following launch option using the steps described above:

-popupwindow

I see a lot of screen tearing on Linux using Nvidia drivers, what can I do?

Vsync is enabled by default with all of Hand of Fate's graphics quality options. On some systems, however, compositors and X server configurations can prevent vsync from behaving correctly.

You can try running Hand of Fate in windowed mode by following these steps:
1. Rright click on Hand of Fate in your Steam library
2. Select “Properties”
3. Click the “Set Launch Options...” button
4. Type in the following launch option

-show-screen-selector

5. Launch the game and tick the “Windowed” checkbox in the configuration dialog

You can try disabling “Sync to v-blank” in the Nvidia X Server Settings dialog under OpenGL settings for your current X screen.

You can also try using the “ForceFullCompositionPipeline” option as described in the Nvidia driver readme. Eg:

nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="HDMI-0: nvidia-auto-select { ForceFullCompositionPipeline=On }"

Where HDMI-0 is the name of your monitor s described by the following command:

xrandr -q

Additionally, you can try disabling the X server backing store. Specifics for how to do this may vary depending on your window manager.

[morgan]

Feel free to suggest things here that should be added to the FAQ.

[Jigsawn]

I would maybe just add to the top of the FAQ the basic controls (and mouse attack bug) and mention the Pause menu where you can change the controls as this is what a lot of new players come to this forum to find out about.

[El Minotoro]

What's the wax seal on some cards mean? I thought it was token available but I've had it on cards with no toekn on offer.

[morgan]

El Minotoro : It's a token. If it's still there, there's still a token to unlock - some of them are harder to find the token than others.

[Terronidus]

My Esc key isn't working at all, is this a known issue?

[morgan]

Terronidus : That's the alt-tab issue. Restart the game and it will work.

Why alt-tabbing the game stops esc working I do not know. Looking into it though.

[Chinook]

Maybe a description of the little colorful icons above the heads of enemies (which I THINK may suggest they are about to attack, or or susceptible to an interrupt, or something)?

Also, great game. I just wish I understood combat better! Up to King of Dust, though, so I'm not completely lost..

[Muhnopol]

Green = you can counter, Red = you can't counter. Ranged enemies will have a little orange thing right before firing.

[quakerin]

Yeah, I think having the counter icon colors in the faq would be a good idea. I got hit by a lot of red attacks and confused by what orange meant quite a bit before I figured it out.

[Chinook]

And "counter" just means "Hit the Y Button if a shield is equipped," right?

Assuming I'm using an xbox 360 remote...

[Zergg]

"Do the Devs consent to youtube videos of the game?" would be a good one to have answered and on the faq. I know you guys already have Reformist doing one, but if others would like to make videos, it's nice for devs to state whether or not they permit it.

[AmstradHero]

First thing this FAQ needs? The controls. You say "we recommend a controller" and "you can change from mouse and keyboard to controller in the options menu". WHERE IS THE OPTIONS MENU???!?

It doesn't show up at the start. Hitting ESC didn't do anything. I just had my first game, which was a combat in which I could do nothing except wait to die (I could run around, but that was it) and hope I got some options screen or something.

Tell players the controls. Please. This is simple stuff. I tried a demo of this at PAX Aus last year, and I thought it was interesting - I'd like you guys to succeed, but please, don't fail at the first step.

[morgan]

Amstrad : That's a bug (that's mentioned in the FAQ) - if you alt-tab, the controls don't work properly. We're working on it.

[AmstradHero]

morgan: Yes, I became aware of that after reading this FAQ, but the FAQ (and indeed, I can't find anywhere) doesn't include:

Controls:
Movement - Most will guess arrow keys/wasd, so this is fine, but still wouldn't hurt.
Attack/Defend/What other options do I have? - Mouse buttons?
Options Menu - How do I set it up to use my controller?

I don't mean to be rude, I would just like the controls to be listed *somewhere* that is relatively easily accessible/visible.

[Muhnopol]

Controls are listed in the launcher before the game and in the options menu, fully rebindable. So I don't see any need for more places for that.

@DeadlyHooves: That is mentioned on the splash screen when you start the game, including the Ok to monetize.