Stoneshard

[Asid]

Devlog: Caravan Upgrades - Part I
Mon, 6 November 2023



Hello everyone!

This is the first post in the series of devlogs dedicated to the new features of the upcoming update, “Rags to Riches”, the release date of which will be revealed in the final entry. Today’s topic is the update’s most important addition and the last major system to be introduced to the game: the much-anticipated Caravan.

We’d like to begin by explaining our reasoning behind the system and what we plan to achieve with it. One of the most frequent player suggestions is to add some sort of permanent dwelling, a purchasable and customizable house in a village or city. However, Stoneshard is a game about a mercenary, a character who’s always on the move in search of contracts and glory, so anchoring them to a single location would go against the main theme. At the same time, we aren’t averse to the concept of home in a broader sense - and that’s where the Caravan System comes into play by adding a customizable mobile camp.



The Caravan’s main purpose is to allow for easier exploration, making it possible to travel large distances across the global map - with a few limitations.


Read on: https://steamcommunity.com/games/625960/announcements/detail/3769010076992373472

[Asid]

Devlog: Dungeon Generation - Part I
Sat, 3 February 2024



Hello everyone!

In today’s devlog we’ll demonstrate the final version of the reworked Dungeon Generator and showcase the main principles that governed its development.



Let’s start with a list of reasons that led us to reevaluating our approach to dungeon generation. The player feedback we received about its current state revealed the following issues:

-    There isn’t much visual variety to speak of - the only difference between dungeons of the same type is what enemies can spawn in them, not their layout or overall design. This quickly makes dungeons feel predictable and uninspired.
-    All dungeons use the same generation algorithm, which limits the room for structural distinction and environmental logic.
-    The overall room structure and the abundance of single tile passages facilitate the funneling of enemies into doorways, trivializing both combat and positioning.



Our new approach is based on dungeon tiers. Initially, tiers were an informal term used by players to refer to dungeons based on their difficulty - in RtR they will actually become an official form of categorization. So instead of using hidden, rudimentary mechanics built around levels, this new system splits everything, be it enemies, items, or dungeons, into 5 distinct tiers.




Read on: https://steamcommunity.com/games/625960/announcements/detail/3952539375950125460

[Asid]

Devlog: Economy, Contracts, and Situations
Tue, 20 August 2024



Hello everyone!

In today’s devlog, we’ll cover the remaining three major systems that will be a part of the upcoming Rags to Riches update: reworked Contracts, Economy, and Settlement Situations.

CONTRACTS

Let’s start with the Contract System: there’s a lot of sweeping changes to talk about, from the list of available contracts to numerous QoL improvements.

While reinventing contract types, we put a lot of effort into boosting their variety: for the most part, old contracts could be boiled down to killing a dungeon boss (and sometimes looting a quest item in the same room afterwards). In Rags to Riches, the vast majority of contracts will feature entirely new objectives, and the few legacy ones will be greatly expanded upon through additional mechanics.



Read on...

[Asid]

Devlog: "Rags to Riches" Release Date
Sat, 19 October 2024



Hello everyone!

This is the final devlog dedicated to the upcoming ?Rags to Riches? update, the largest one in Stoneshard?s history. So today, as promised, we?re happy to announce its release date - December 16th!



Plan your winter holidays accordingly - we almost can?t wait to show you the results of our work. But for now, this is a perfect moment to review the progress we?ve made over the past year and go through every addition to the game that will be waiting for you on December 16th. Let?s get started!

CARAVAN



The Caravan is the update?s most important system that will massively impact your approach to traveling and map exploration. With the Caravan, you?ll be able to cross large distances swiftly and comfortably, as well as set up a personal camp upon arrival - any empty map tile will do, be it next to a dungeon, a settlement, or a Point of Interest.

It?s important to remember that the Caravan doesn?t function as an on-demand fast travel button - you?ll need to have a stockpile of Fodder for the road, and the horses will require at least some rest after every journey.

Read on...

[Asid]

Rags to Riches releases on 16th of December!
Sun, 15 December 2024



Get ready to carve your path from rags to riches - the largest update in Stoneshard's history is to be released on December 16th at 16:00 СЕТ.

Gather your Caravan, recruit trusty Followers, take upon fully reworked Dungeons and their treacherous Conditions, explore Settlement Outskirts, take advantage of Situations, profit from Trade Goods, Cook and Craft your supplies, and experience the game anew with a myriad of other additions, changes, and QoL tweaks!

[Asid]

Devlog: New Roadmap
Thu, 3 April 2025



Hello everyone!

Today, we are excited to present the updated 2025 Roadmap for Stoneshard. But before diving into the details, we'd like to take a brief look back at the development of ?Rags to Riches?.



?Rags to Riches? was a major success for our team. That update brought the highest number of players since the game's Early Access launch, received a wealth of positive feedback, and showed a significant increase in engagement compared to previous releases. We are incredibly grateful for this warm reception and hope that future content will continue to meet your expectations.

However, as many of you may remember, the development of ?Rags to Riches? proved to be long and arduous. While the complexity of the new features played a major role in it, we also had to devote significant effort to extensive reworks of many existing systems to ensure the seamless integration of all the planned content.

It wasn't uncommon for the development of one system to necessitate changes in several others, sometimes to the point of adding new systems altogether. Splitting these changes and additions across multiple updates or postponing them wasn't really an option, as certain core elements like the Caravan, reworked Contracts, Dungeons, the World Map, and numerous smaller but technically crucial features are all deeply interconnected. This quickly turned into a true Gordian knot of conditions and dependencies. Untangling it took a great deal of time, ultimately leading to the substantial delay of that patch compared to previous ones.

Fortunately, now that we have added one of the last truly large and comprehensive systems - the Caravan - we hope to release future updates more regularly. Unlike ?Rags to Riches?, the remaining mechanics and content follow a fairly modular structure.

To sum it up, we aim for smaller but more frequent patches. Our new Roadmap reflects this change as well, moving away from massive, standalone updates in favor of parallel content development, which will be divided into smaller releases (don't worry - they'll still have names).

Because of this, the ?Venom in the Waters? update, which was previously planned as the next major patch, has been postponed. Some of its features have been redistributed into other content blocks, since such a heavily thematic patch would have taken an unreasonably long time to develop.


So, what's next for Stoneshard?




    - The first order of business is Caves. This new location type is designed to add variety to world exploration - unlike usual Dungeons, Caves won't be strictly tied to one faction, will boast more diverse visuals, and can be home to a wide range of enemies and dangers, including unique ones.

    - It's worth noting that Caves won't be used for Contracts. Instead, they will play a key role in the reworked Task System, which we plan to introduce in one of the future patches.

    - The rest of the planned features include a new school of spatial magic - Arcanistics, new quests, more Caravan Events, and the elimination of gaps in gear progression that emerged after transitioning to the tier-based system.

    - We also plan to revamp the Psyche System, reworking both the existing Psyche States and the core mechanic as a whole. Our main goal is to make the entirety of it much more interactive and immersive.

    - And finally, something many of you have long been waiting for: we are officially beginning work on the Character Creator. We have plenty of ideas and concepts for how this system should function (the recent overhaul of Character Traits should serve as a small teaser for the direction we're taking). Combined with the Trait System, this will be an incredibly complex and resource-intensive task, making it difficult to predict an exact timeline - all we can say is that it will be released once we're certain it's ready.

That's all for now. Once again, we want to thank all of you for your support and trust. Stay tuned, and we'll see you soon in the world of Aldor!