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Stoneshard
Asid:
Year One Anniversary & Progress Update
Sat, 6 February 2021
Hello everyone!
Today Stoneshard celebrates its first anniversary: it’s been exactly a year since the game was released into Early Access! By an amazing coincidence, the Black Boar tavern’s anniversary shares the same date - to honor this remarkable event, Brukk the Innkeeper decided to decorate his establishment. During this month his guests will also be gifted a free pie, baked by a special recipe. Make sure to launch the game to participate in the festivities!
Now back to our plans. Over the last year the game saw noticeable improvements: there were four major updates and a content patch, as well as an innumerable amount of hotfixes and smaller updates. We still have a long road ahead of us, something we will talk about today.
Right now we’re working on the “City of Gold” update, the largest one yet. It’s meant to significantly expand the global map, add basic caravan mechanics, the first major city, new biomes, new points of interest, random encounters, and also a number of currently unannounced, but very important features. As you can see, this is a lot of content, so “City of Gold” will be released approximately in Q2 2021.
Most new systems are still being prototyped, so it will be a while before the devlogs on them are published. While we’re working on the technical side of the global map, have a look at this concept art and teasers for the upcoming content:
As we implement the city of Brynn, we also plan to expand the game’s lore. There’ll likely be a few devlogs dedicated to it as well.
That’s all for now. Until the next devlog!
0.6.1.8 – CHANGELOG
- The Black Boar tavern was decorated in celebration of the anniversary.
- You can now get a free pie from Brukk.
- Changed the troll rewards:
• Increased the gold reward up to 10 000 crowns.
• Most item rewards were changed: Weber will now give more expensive and higher level items.
• Added an option to ask for a crossbow, a spear, a two-handed axe, or a two-handed mace.
-Increased the loot quality in secret room containers. Some of them are now guaranteed to have unique items.
- Vases as well as both common and wealthy sarcophaguses now contain less valuable loot.
- Temporarily removed unpopular or useless effects (such as resistances to rare damage types) from the list of possible enchantments.
- Changed the power of some enchantment effects:
• Bleed Chance, Damage Reflection: +5% > +7.5%
• Fire, Unholy, Move, Control, and Bleed Resistances: +5% > +10%
• Armor Damage: +25% > +33%
• Crit Efficiency: +20% > +25%
• Spells and Skills Energy Costs, Cooldowns Duration: -10% > -7.5%
- With certain exceptions, equipment higher than level 10 can no longer be found in graves. Drop rates for the rest of the valuable loot were increased.
- [Counterattack Mastery] No longer grants Off-Hand Efficiency if the main hand holds a shield.
- Decreased the base level range for the equipment sold by merchants.
- Fixed the Skeleton Crossbowman, which was technically armed with a bow.
- Defensive Stance now works as described.
- Skinning a dog now yields a pelt of the correct color.
- Fixed the bug preventing unlocked skills from being saved.
- Fixed the bug with the Sigil of Darkness disappearing prematurely.
- Fixed animals not displaying a visual indicator when entering a territorial state after being shot at.
Asid:
0.6.1.9 - French Localisation
Sun, 7 March 2021
Hello everyone!
We’re happy to announce that Stoneshard has been fully translated to French. The today’s update added French to the list of available localizations, making it eleven in total!
In the near future we also plan to make the game available in European Spanish and Korean languages. Stay tuned for the upcoming announcements!
Until the next time!
0.6.1.9 - Changelog
- Added French localisation
- Black Boar Inn celebration has ended
Asid:
Devlog: Crime System
Sun, 2 May 2021
Hello everyone!
In today’s devlog we’ll tell you about the crime and punishment system, which will be added with the “City of Gold” update, planned for the end of this summer.
Initially, we didn’t plan to add this feature so soon, however the random encounters system that we’re currently working on requires killable NPCs and, subsequently, a punishment for killing them. Other crimes are just a logical continuation of this option. Let’s start with reviewing the general mechanics.
Crime Mechanics
Any unlawful action that you perform in front of a NPC is considered a crime. This includes:
• Disturbing the peace
. Opening containers that don’t belong to you, setting traps in public locations, throwing items at NPCs, using certain abilities (such as spells) in public, trespassing, and so on.
• Breaking a lock
. Attempting to pick or force open locked chests and doors.
• Theft
. Taking items that don’t belong to you.
• Livestock slaughter
. Killing animals that are considered more valuable (such as cows and horses) will result in a more severe punishment than killing cats and dogs.
• Assaulting an NPC
. Delivering a first strike counts as an assault.
• Killing or knocking NPCs out
. In case you decide to follow through with your assault.
• If you commit anything from this list (other than an assault or a murder) and don’t get caught in the process, this won’t count as a crime.
Punishment
Every crime has a number of consequences:
• Reputation loss
. The amount lost depends on the severity of a crime. For instance, a murder can negate the Reputation gain from completing a few dozen contracts and will make the locals hate you.
It’s worth mentioning that the Reputation loss also affects your standing with the entire Faction, even if to a lesser extent. Therefore, if you frequently get caught stealing in Osbrook, the rumors will reach Mannshire and Brynn, damaging your Reputation there as well.
• Becoming wanted
. For the duration of being wanted, guards will try to fine or arrest you, and the local population will refuse to have any dealings with you, be it trading, giving contracts and tasks, or even talking. It’s also impossible to sleep and save your game in the settlements where you are a wanted person.
You’ll also become wanted in other settlements of the Faction, not just the one where you commit a crime, so it might be a good idea to wait it out in a neutral location or, in the future, with another Faction.
• Receiving a fine and serving jail time
. You can atone for your crimes by doing one of the following: pay a fine or go to jail. The amount you have to pay or the time you must serve depends on the severity of your crimes.
However, you can always refuse to cooperate, temporarily making the guards hostile. If you start losing a fight with them, you’ll be given another chance to surrender.
Jail
If you decide to save your money and go to jail instead of paying a fine, your sentence will depend on the amount and severity of your crimes - up to forty days. You’ll also experience it personally: all your items will be temporarily confiscated, and your character will be locked up in a cell. You’ll have access to a cot, which you can use to skip a day, and to a guard, which will bring you a daily plate of gruel and a chunk of bread to keep you from starving to death.
Spending time in jail will gradually increase your reputation up to Neutrality, reflecting your redemption. At the same time, the lack of practice will cause you to lose experience. However, you won’t lose much and you can’t regress in levels - you can only lose the experience accumulated towards your next level up.
Thievery
Most containers in the settlements will now belong to Factions, and any item that you take from them will be considered stolen.
It won’t be possible to sell “borrowed” goods to traders in the same location - you’ll have to either move to another settlement, find a fence, or just wait for things to calm down. The duration of search for stolen items depends on their value - for instance, a stolen bucket will quickly be forgotten, while a piece of jewelry will have people looking for it for a long time. The same logic also applies to the severity of fines.
Murdering NPCs
All NPCs outside of settlements will be killable - any patrol or a merchant that you encounter on the road can be murdered and looted for an immediate gain.
NPCs within the settlements will remain unkillable, since doing otherwise might potentially prevent the players from being able to progress. It would also require a huge amount of context-dependent dialogues, visual changes to the settlements, and so on. To sum it up, it wouldn’t be wise to spend so much resources on a feature that would be ignored by most players.
Although, it will still be possible to attack these NPCs - upon being brought down to 0% HP, they’ll become comatose, regaining their senses once their Health regenerates to a certain threshold. Doing so will count as a murder within the planned crime system. If you have the inclination, this will allow you to knock out village merchants and rob them of their crowns and a few items, but you won’t get to loot the entirety of their stock..
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That’s all for now. Until the next devlog!
Asid:
Brynn Lore: Part II - Leaders
Sun, 23 May 2021
Hello everyone!
Today we’ll share some of the lore coming with the “City of Gold
” update, planned for the end of this summer
. This time it’s about the most influential people of Brynn, whom you will have a chance to encounter. To better understand the context, we recommend checking out the previous lore entry.
Denvar Brie, the Guildmaster
Unlike the rest of the Brynn elites, Denvar Brie is neither of noble birth nor possesses incredible riches. He was born in the family of a successful, yet common artisan, which makes the journey to his current standing even more remarkable.
Denvar has always been energetic and assertive. These qualities, in addition to his reputation as an outstanding weaponsmith, allowed him to claim the venerable title of the Grandmaster in the Blacksmith Guild, one of the most influential guilds in Brynn.
Despite his position of power, Denvar never forgot his roots. Although his lavish spending habits set him apart from simple craftsmen, he put a lot of effort into making their lot easier, something which no one in Brynn had ever done before. As a result, he gathered widespread support among common citizens.
The events of spring 427, when the freshly-formed Magistrate attempted to subjugate independent guilds by merging them into a single, easily controllable entity, only increased Denvar’s popularity, solidifying his place among the city leaders. Right now he’s the man representing the interests of every craftsman in the city, so both the local merchants and the nobility have to reckon with him.
Denvar is well-aware that he’s surrounded by enemies, and he’s also not too eager to openly confront other factions. No one knows what plans are brewing in his ambitious mind, but one thing is certain: he’s waiting for an opportune moment to strike a painful blow against his opponents, leaving them no chance to recover. For now his main weapon is a threat of mass strike, which he uses to gain further influence.
An otherwise enlightened man, Denvar has an open distaste for elves, whom he sees as the main threat to both his position and the prosperity of Brynn. Thanks to Jeon Ballar’s protection, elven goods recently took the city’s market by storm – there isn’t much that can rival their quality, and their price, while still fairly high, continues to drop with every weekly shipment of Ahjat weapons and Jibean jewelry unloaded in the Docs. If nothing changes in the next few months, many of the Guild’s craftsmen might lose their job.
Therefore, Denvar considers the House of the Azure Thread, the trade representative of the Jacinth Kingdoms in Brynn, his personal enemy. Many are afraid that if he ever becomes a ruler, he will not rest until Aldor is free from all traces of elven influence, even if it unleashes Jacinth armies upon the realm...
Jeon Ballar, the Comprador
Throughout his entire life, Jeon Ballard has been incredibly lucky, starting with him being born in the wealthiest family of Brynn. A silk-cushioned childhood, a carefree adolescence, rowdy university years, an easy, profitable job in the merchant League – while others fell victims to intrigues and hardships, Jeon always appeared unscathed by misfortune.
The period of political infighting and instability, which followed King Etbert’s untimely death, brought ruin to many, but Jeon only benefited from it: if anything, that’s when his swift rise to the top began.
Brynn had long been discontent with the Crown, and the King’s death gave the conspirators, Jeon being one of them, a free rein. The meticulously planned overthrow was a success: the freshly-formed Magistrate seized the power, and Jeon managed to become its leader in just a few weeks, greatly assisted by the sudden murder of the previous burgomaster, something which he vehemently denies any connection to.
Knowing nothing of the military matters, Jeon was smart enough to delegate the control over the army to experts. Unfortunately, the sudden outbreak of the Crimson Plague robbed the Magistrate of its victory, leaving Jeon surrounded by power-hungry military commanders. Still, Jeon’s remarkable ability to drop meaningful hints and make promising concessions allowed him to firmly remain in his seat.
This can’t go on indefinitely though. The truce becomes shakier with each passing day, and it won’t be easy to finish off the Council, which had enough time to recover from its defeat. Perhaps this fear of an encroaching demise was exactly what forced Jeon to seek the help of the elves, whom Aldor has an age-long grudge with. For now their support isn’t very noticeable, but Jeon has big plans - after all, establishing closer ties with elven allies is where the profit is at. This trend, however, unnerves the rest of the Magistrate – very few people are willing to share money and power with outlanders.
Jeon’s luck might soon run dry… But who knows how many more tricks this genius of intrigues and compromises still has up his sleeve?
Arno di Berro, the General
Poet. Warrior. Strategist. Leader. Duke Arno di Berro is an embodiment of true aristocracy, making it even more remarkable that he found himself a part of the republican Magistrate.
A scion of a noble family, which fled from the Bronze Isles, Arno di Berro was born and raised in Aldor. At the same time, he still feels like an outsider, making him as demanding to himself as he is to others. Some ill-wishers claim that Duke di Berro’s main goal in life is to become a better Aldorian than actual Aldorians – although one has to admit that if that is true, he has been quite successful so far.
Until recently, very few people knew the name of di Berro: he had an excellent education in the University and participated in many of King Etbert’s wars, but otherwise he was a completely unremarkable Brynn nobleman. After the monarch’s death, he became a major player in the Magistrate – the sudden cooperation between the haughty Duke and merchants and craftsmen, whom he had previously openly despised, came as a surprise to many, even his new allies. At the same time, no one in Brynn can deny that upon taking control over one of the city’s armies, Arno proved his loyalty to the Magistrate with his actions.
Under the skillful leadership of their decisive and fearless commander, the Magistrate forces successfully captured pro-royalist Maen and, after the Council launched an attack on the Southern front, marched back to Brynn, breaking the siege. All this earned the Duke a reputation of a war hero and the savior of the Magistrate. During the truce Arno also made great strides in reforming the military: under his command a ragtag army of mercenaries and militia transformed into a powerful force, ready to follow their leader to the end of the world.
Unsurprisingly, both the League and the Guild wish to garner Arno’s favor, however he believes himself to deserve much more than that. Too prideful to compromise and share power, the Duke doesn’t want to join forces with other Magistrate leaders, counting only on himself and his soldiers. At the same time, there is an increasing number of mysterious ships being met in the Docs by the Vanguard troops under the cover of night, so perhaps the usually straightforward Duke plays his own game, just like everyone else in Brynn.
Arno continues to proclaim his unwavering support for the Magistrate, and yet, judging by the fiery speeches he gives to his soldiers, his vision for the realm is much more different than what the Guild or the League have in mind. Proud and power-hungry, the Duke wishes to unite the land under a single banner, with him leading Aldor towards great victories. And even though Arno di Berro continues calling this new order a republic, will it actually be any different from the monarchy, which so many in the Magistrate died fighting against?
Asid:
Devlog: Global Map
Sun, 8 August 2021
Hello everyone!
It’s been a while since the last announcement! During this time, we’ve been working on lots of stuff: new enemies, locations, mechanics, quests, changes to combat, and other features - we’ll tell you about it all in a series of devlogs prior to the “City of Gold” release, planned for this October.
The first devlog will showcase the largest of the new systems: the global map.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The global map is one of the most ambitious mechanics that we have ever worked on. It’s vital for implementing the proper scale and introducing the intended progression system, so that’s why it took the longest to make.
We experimented with multiple map sizes, settling on a size smaller than what we had originally intended - this way the map will be denser with points of interest and random events. In the “City of Gold” update you’ll be able to explore Brynn and its surrounding areas - it’s about 20% of what we plan Aldor to be on full release and ten times larger than the existing map.
The map generation uses a mixed approach: some elements are static, while others are randomized with each new playthrough. The static locations are mostly tied to lore, they include cities, villages, some story locations, mountain ranges, the coastline, and rivers (although rivers will also be randomized in the future; we’ll talk about them in greater detail in a separate devlog).
Most points of interest, dungeons and their types, forests, some bioms, and roads are procedurally generated, preserving the spirit of exploration even after multiple playthroughs.
In the future it’ll also be possible to use the caravan to travel across the global map, but it won’t be just an unlimited fast travel option. It’s more of a means to occasionally cross large distances rather than something you use to ride to a dungeon and back.
NAVIGATION
In a sense, the global map records your journey, only marking the locations you personally visit or hear about. The rest is concealed by the fog of war.
That’s why instead of replacing paper maps, the global map will complement them. You’ll still need to purchase paper maps in order to find points of interest and to navigate through new zones, comparing the information you learn from them with the global map.
Naturally, there’ll be other ways to learn about interesting locations (rumors, for instance), but paper maps will remain the most readily available and reliable option to do so. They will more or less work as notes - the large part of their function, such as pop-ups with tile descriptions, was moved to the global map.
This function was greatly expanded as well: most locations now have lore descriptions, letting you better understand the game world. Abandoned carts, roadside shrines, graves, and other minor landmarks now have their own map marker. So does the player character, as it’s way too easy to get lost on such a large map without a character marker, especially after taking a long break from a playthrough.
Our ultimate goal is to make exploration exciting and unpredictable, and the world - vivid and more detailed. That’s why we also added many new points of interest as well as places where you can rest and regroup for a fair fee, such as lonely homesteads or roadside inns.
SYSTEMS
The global map has a few hidden systems under the hood, meant to improve the player experience and make the world more logical and believable.
The most important of them is the reworked progression of dungeons. Now that we aren’t limited by the map’s size, we can place many more dungeons on it. As a result, there’ll be only beginner level dungeons around Osbrook, which will prevent sudden difficulty spikes and will make levelling smoother and more measured.
The dungeon respawn system was also reworked. First of all, it will take significantly longer for them to respawn: you’ll have to move between settlements upon completing all their contracts, otherwise you’ll waste a huge amount of time waiting.
The level of enemies you encounter in dungeons is no longer static - it can shift with subsequent respawns, making enemies stronger or weaker. However, it’s still limited by the zones’ level: even by the time you reach the endgame, you won’t be able to encounter rogue knights around Osbrook.
Some dungeons can only be found far from settlements - you’ll have to search for them on your own, as they don’t have contracts leading to them. The payoff is usually more than worth it: there you will find not only the strongest foes, but also the most valuable loot.
Another important factor is the Wildness
of an area. This hidden parameter influences many things: it increases the overall amount of animals, the chance of them spawning, and also reduces your chances to run into a random bandit group in the middle of the woods. This parameter is much lower next to cities and dungeons, so it will be a rare occurrence to come face to face with a bear or a huge wolf pack upon stepping outside of Osbrook. The wilderness factor also affects the chance of being ambushed: there’ll be less ambushes on distant roads and more of them near brigand Bastions.
There’s one more important addition - a new type of points of interest that can be called “dens
” or “habitats
”. These locations attract specific animal types, guaranteeing that you will encounter them there. Most large animals will have such locations: wolves, bears, moose, boars, etc. The habitats also increase the spawning chance for these animals in the surrounding map tiles, so discovering them can make hunting much easier. On the other hand, it’s best to exercise caution in your search - sometimes instead of a deer trail you can find a ghoul den or something even worse...
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That’s all for now. Until the next devlog!
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