Archaelund News

Thanks to the amazing Beta-Testers, a number of reported issues has been fixed through the last weeks. Some of these were old bugs present since the january release, but most were specific from the major update 0.8.1.

There's also a few adjustments and improvements related to poison status, and other minor changes.

• Encounters will now correctly aggro all the creatures as intended, even if they are split.
  
• Poison is now a bit easier to resist. Failing Vitality check by less than 25, will reduce poison power by 1. A successful check will reduce the poison by 2+, depending on the success margin.
  
• Party members dying in combat by poison or other slow-damage effect, will now correctly receive wounds as per selected difficulty.
  
• Poison resistance is now reported in your console, so you can see your chances and dice rolls and their effect.
  
• When camping in the wilds, poison will now take effect and hurt characters until resisted. Vitality checks while at camp will receive a +25 bonus.
  
• In certain dialogue (gate sergeant) you could try to attack and deal damage to the NPC, and it was not correctly applied.
  
• Disease is now properly cured at the temples.
  
• Solved a crash or game lock that could happen when you entered an area and immediately aggroed enemies. Could happen when getting out of Emerrand Fortress.
  
• Hitting ESC while a mouse tooltip is being displayed could in some cases make the tooltip linger during exploration. Fixed.
  
• Certain NPC in the quarry was supposed to give a 'warning' before aggroing, but it wasn't working as intended. Fixed.
  
• Solved some aggro distance issues in the quarry final fight.
  
• During 'Owed in Blood' quest, some NPCs were not supposed to keep spawning in the fortress' throne room after talking to them. Solved.
  
• During 'Wild Ones' quest, finding the camp before talking to the captain could lock out certain dialogue options with a NPC in town. Fixed.
  
• The battle grid was not correctly generated in the stairs leading into the fortress.
  
• Several typos and odd special characters fixed in dialogues and journal entries.
  
• Some containers in Medrin Forest had an empty name.
  

I am already working on the next areas to be released. Thanks everyone for the amazing feedback and reviews; it is a great contribution to the game.

It's out! I am glad to announce 0.8.1 is already released. This update doubles the content compared to the original EA release in January; playable time is currently 35+ hours.

I want to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank you to our Beta Testers, who have been incredibly active on the forums. These past 10 days have been intense, with nightly builds addressing every reported issue.

Here is the full changelog:

[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! the new XP cap is 17,000.
  
• Many new talents implemented.
  
• Rank III spells partially implemented (for Impetus, Mentalism, Piety, Order and Malediction disciplines, the rest are on the way).
  
• 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]Gameplay Improvements[/h3]

• Your party can now run indefinitely. The 'Tired' status from long running will still be applied if you run into combat, but it no longer limits the ability to run.
  
• Pressing the 'Run' key just once while you are walking is enough to start running, no need to hold the shift key. Running will cease when you stop movement.
  
• Closing your Character Window will now also close any open container or shop window.
  

[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).
  
• Spell Slumber duration reduced, and now costs 8 WP instead of 7.
  
• 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.
  
• Reduced the XP granted by Skill Checks, slightly in low difficulties, and to around half in higher ones. This change is not retroactive, you keep the XP already gained.
  
• Ghosts are now more resilient to physical, cold, fire and toxic damage.
  
• Lifeless creature bonuses increased slightly.
  
• The Poison effect has been capped to a maximum effect power of 10.
  
• Yaksa Scout poison effect reduced from power 4 to 3.
  
• Sleeping at an inn will cure any Poison effect.
  

[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]

• Prone spellcasters that were also stunned or paralyzed could soft-lock the game. Solved.
  
• Talent Stunning Blow now is correctly resisted with a Vitality check.
  
• 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.
  
• Spells targeting empty squares can now be cast normally in the Sea Cave.
  
• When combat initiated with the party very close to a wall or corners, party members could be spawned wrongly or on unreachable locations. Fixed.
  
• Fixed a small UI issue in journal (completed and failed quest filters were not correctly checked upon opening the window).
  
• Opening the Settings window during combat was causing multiple camera issues. Fixed.
  
• Some "triggered spawns" sometimes did not join battle, depending on player position when the fight started. They should always join now.
  
• Systems in Turkish language could have an issue during character creation related to trait requirements. Fixed.
  
• The UI tooltip displayed over character effects could sometimes blink, or reappear every few seconds. Solved.
  
• Spells
• Fire, Cold and Shock Ward* have their descriptions corrected.
  
• Fixed an error with the requirements for talents
• Adept Summoner* and
• Herbalist*.
  
• Revised many typos or inconsistencies in dialogues.
  

I am already working on more game content; the priority is releasing yet another outdoor area and dungeons, plus implementing many gameplay mechanics, improving animation, and more. Stay tuned!

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!