Archaelund News

At long last, it is here! The first major update to Archaelund has arrived. Want to join Beta and try it? Here are the instructions. I advise you to not overwrite all of your previous saves, just in case! this is Beta testing, remember.

Here is the provisional list of changes (I'll keep adding and fixing while testing goes along, so definitive 0.8.1 changelog may differ).

[h3]New Content & Improvements[/h3]

-Added a new outdoor region east of the Galeb Peninsula, with a town and a new dungeon to explore. Some dungeons and area sections are still not accessible.
-12 new side-quests added (one of them non-completable, marked as such on journal).
-Level cap raised to 5!
-Many new talents implemented.
-Rank III spells implemented only for Impetus and Mentalism Disciplines, the rest are on the way. Please don't raise other Disciplines to Rank III yet.
-New companion available after one of the new quests is completed.
-New Alchemy recipes (Difficulty 6 & 7), some of which need to be purchased or found. Crafting recipes will come in the next update.
-All skills are now implemented and have at least a few checks present in the game, although some like *Maps & Charts* will see new functions added in the future.

[h3]Balance[/h3]

-Talents Beast Mastery and Tenacious Fortitude I, II and III have been improved, please see the new descriptions.
-Spell Torment of Needles now deals 1d6+2 damage per round (was 1d6).
-Spell Searing Malison instant damage is unchanged, but afterwards will now deal 1d8 damage per round (was 1d6).
-Slightly reduced the amount of enemies for certain encounters in the Peninsula.
-Talent Herbalist is now adapted to the updated skill system; it was unintendedly giving an extra herb foraged in nearly every case.
-Potion of Healing slighly adjusted in effect and price(slightly cheaper and less potent). New potions available via Alchemy.
-Ghosts are now more resilient to physical, cold, fire and toxic damage.
-Lifeless creature bonuses increased slightly.

[h3]Content changes & adjustments[/h3]

-Added the proper loot to certain chest in the Redaxe Tomb.
-Creature type *Spirit* renamed to *Fey* for clarity.
-Some outcomes of quests *The Ancient Lantern* and *Wielder of the Red Axe* now also grant Urendale reputation. This is gained retroactively.

[h3]Bugfixes[/h3]

-On some ocassions, a combat spell with zero rounds remaining would linger forever on a character, especially when its caster was killed after casting it. Fixed.
-NPCs were not receiving its correct Critical Defense. Fixed.

Archaelund is about to grow! This is a brief summary of what has been going on, and what is to come.


[h2]Development summary[/h2]

In the first six months since release, I focused on polishing the existing content and mechanics. Along the way, we added a couple of new dungeons, bumped the number of completable quests from 17 to 21, and introduced many new features. You can check out the full details in the changelog.

And so, the 0.7.x development era came to an end. Long live 0.8.x!!!

[h2]What comes next?[/h2]

Since summer started, I've been working on something quite more exciting: a new playable region comparable in size to the Peninsula, nearly doubling the game's current playable area. I initially planned to release it with minimal content and no level cap increase, by August or September, and then complete the content in several updates. However it quickly became clear that this approach wasn't ideal, as quests play a significant role in shaping area design. It's much better to plan and balance everything as a cohesive whole.

This shift in scope has caused some delays, but the new content should be available in Beta on October 9th (instructions to join Beta here). A week later, it should roll out for all players, and by the end of October, I'll likely make a minor release adding all the stuff that didn't make it into 0.8.1.

Certain areas of the new region will still be gated for higher-level content. In total there should be 12 new quests in the new update, and the level cap will raise to 5. Expect new items, spells, enemies, music, and art! Unfortunately, bad puns and silly humor was well.

[h2]The new content[/h2]

I don't want to spoil too much, but if you've checked out the in-game world map, you'll see the next region includes the town of Urendale and the infamous Medrin Forest—a name that strikes fear into every inhabitant of the Marches! Well, except for adventurers, whose brains probably deserve some scientific study.

Please note that this update does not include a new chapter of the main quest. That will come with the next area release; although the dialogues include lore that is related to the main plot, the content itself is optional exploration.

That's all for now; I need to get back to development! Thank you so much for the fantastic support on the forums. It makes all the long hours worthwhile, knowing there are players out there enjoying the game, waiting for what comes next. Knowing you're there really makes a difference.

EDIT: originally stated "around October 7th", has been updated to "October 9th".

Greetings, adventurers!

Before we dive in, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to every player who has explored Archaelund or even just wishlisted the game. Your support makes Archaelund possible and keeps me motivated and excited to make it bigger and better every day. Thanks to you, the long road to 1.0 feels much less lonely. I am especially grateful to those who post reviews; even when a developer has a clear vision of what they want to achieve, feedback is essential for understanding our progress and building confidence.

[h3]Expanding the World[/h3]

Since the Early Access release, updates have been frequent—typically every two weeks. However, the next update will be a bit different. It will include a new outdoor area, several dungeons, and many new dialogues and quests. Naturally, this extensive content needs to be released as a whole, not in small installments. My target is to release version 0.8.1 by the end of September, with further refinements and completions of this new area into October. Keep in mind, these are estimates!

EDIT (August 15th): originally I targeted late August for this release.

In addition to adding content, version 0.8.1 will bring several gameplay improvements, raise the XP cap, and likely the level cap (though this might be delayed to version 0.8.2).

The new content won't include a new chapter of the Main Quest. Once the new outdoor area meets my satisfaction (probably by version 0.8.3 or 0.8.4), I'll continue working on another outdoor area and the completion of the second chapter of the Main Quest. This objective will mark the 0.9 update. By then, the game will offer around 40-50 hours of total content and a level cap of 6 or 7.

[h3]Archaelund Future Pricing and Sales[/h3]

Many are asking me if Archaelund will take part in the upcoming Summer Sale or see other discounts. I like to be transparent about our development plans, and that extends to our pricing policy as well.

The players who have purchased (and continue to purchase) the initial Early Access release have put a lot of trust into me and into the game's development. To repay this good faith, I want to protect their investment by ensuring that the game's price will only increase as it grows larger and more polished.

Sales and discounts might happen in the future, but the game will never be cheaper than the original Early Access release price of $19.99 (subject to regional pricing and taxes). For instance, I might offer a 20% discount when the base price has risen to $25, thus equaling, but not undercutting, the original price. The plan is to sell the complete game for $30 to $35, with a -15% to -25% discount during seasonal sales.

However, I can't make absolute promises for the distant future—these are interesting times, and who knows what the future holds? But this is the policy I'll follow at least until the game is released as version 1.0 and for a couple of years afterward. This policy isn't just about my gratitude to Early Access players; I generally do not favor huge discounts. Exiled Kingdoms, which has been on Steam for over six years, still keeps its original release price and typically goes on a -25% sale.

[h3]On Performance[/h3]

The next outdoor area is just as big and complex as the Peninsula, but new optimizations and improvements make it run with about 25% increased frame rate, and much shorter loading times. I'll work hard to bring the Peninsula performance to the same level.

[h3]Updates?!? What updates?!?[/h3]

If you tried the original 0.7 release back in January and have been off the hook since, current release 0.8 added a couple extra dungeons to the Peninsula, an extra Apprentice companion, four extra quests, new spells and items, and many gameplay improvements. Check the changelog, or roadmap for details.

That's all. Enjoy your summer, and happy adventuring!

The first development stage of Archaelund Early Access has just been completed with the release of update 0.8. Here is the summary of the changes in today's update:

[h3]Content changes & adjustments[/h3]

• Added a new cave dungeon in the western coast of the Peninsula, with a new associated quest(talk to Icanos the Loreseeker after completing Three Wanderers quest).
  
• XP cap raised to 9,900 (maximum level remains at 4).
  

[h3]Features & Improvements[/h3]

• Skill Charisma now reduces buying prices in most vendors by 2% per rank(certain factions are not affected).
  

[h3]Bugfixes[/h3]

• Talent Hardiness is once more working as per description.
  
• Scrolls and other limited usage items will now only be spent (and cause an AP spending in combat) after a valid target has been selected. You can safely cancel a target without spending the item.
  
• Prone enemies were sometimes not counting as flanked. Fixed.
  
• Party members that ended a fight prone, will no longer show the incorrect prone animation on the next fight.
  

However, if you haven't played since release in January, it's more important to see the changes as a whole. You can read through the whole changelog, but here's a summary of the most relevant changes:

• Two new dungeons in the Peninsula are now accessible.
  
• Four new quests were added (from 17 to 21).
  
• One extra companion available (from 2 to 3).
  
• Skills have been implemented: Survival, Disarm Traps, Charisma, Alchemy, Crafting. Only the Maps & Charts skill remains, since it requires a larger available map to be relevant. Meditation skill was reworked.
  
• Three new spells added, and many others revised or adjusted.
  
• More diversified loot, and 20 new items added.
  
• Many "Quality of Life" improvements made to the UI: selling stacks, browsing talent list, browsing discipline spells, and more.
  
• Essential UI/Controls features added, such as key mapping, axis inversion, ultra-wide support, framerate limit, etc.
  
• Almost a hundred bugs were squished!
  

The Peninsula has been a great start, but it's time to move forward! You can read our development roadmap here.

Version 0.9 will be in development for the remaining of the year (maybe a little longer) but it will also come in smaller incremental updates, not in a single big one.

The priority now, with all the game elements in place, is to expand both the game world, and character development. More areas, and more character levels and careers. More details will come in time, until then I hope you enjoy the game so far.

With the latest implemented features, we're just one update away from 0.8. It's been an intense 4 months of development, and looking back it's amazing how much has been achieved.

Here is the changelog for today's update:

[h3]Content changes & adjustments[/h3]

-Camp Encounters added. Your party may be attacked by monsters while they rest in dangerous locations! The risk level is displayed in the camping UI, and increases after repeated camping in the same area, especially when foraging instead of using supplies. Survival skill reduces this risk.
-While in exploration mode, poison effects will be suffered every 30s instead of every 3s. The Vitality check to reduce poison power is now harder (had a bonus previously, which has been removed). This makes antidotes and poison-healing spells more relevant. These changes have no effect during combat.


[h3]Features & Improvements[/h3]

-Skill Disarm Traps implemented. Beware, new traps added, and now chests can be trapped!
-Since a new skill was implemented, after loading an old save you can now reset your skill points(only once per character).
-You can now browse a discipline's spells from your Character Window (hover over the discipline and press F1). This should help you decide which disciplines to train. Limited to current Rank+1.
-The game will now autosave after camping (if there was no encounter), and also at the game start.


[h3]Bugfixes[/h3]

-Solved an issue in Rasagor's conversation that allowed to retry certain dialogue check.
-Solved an UI align issue with spell descriptions.
-Enemy 'Protections' were sometimes showing incorrectly on Mythology window. Fixed.
-Fixed an UI issue that would often position incorrectly the 'tooltip' when hovering over an UI or map element.
-Fountain of Discipline was showing an incorrect name on the map.
-Fountain of Protection bonus was not being applied correctly to your characters. Fixed.
-Some spells were showing a duration info with decimals. Solved.
-Status effect duration during camp rest showed several glitches, fixed now.
-Fixed many typos and other text issues in dialogues and journal entries.