Archaelund News

[p]After several weeks of hard work, the latest beta update 0.8.6 includes controller support for 99% of game functionality. There's wtill a few minor things (such as typing a character's name) which still require a keyboard, but I'll implement them soon.[/p][p][/p][p]Our Beta is open, so you can join it anytime and try it for yourself. Since I am not an expert at controller gameplay, any feedback is welcome.[/p][p][/p][p]This new Beta includes a few other interesting features and bugfixes. Here is the full changelog:[/p][p][/p][h3]Features & Improvements[/h3][p]• Added controller support! a few minor game functions may still not be available. If your controller is not autodetected by the game as XBox/PS/Nintendo, you'll have to set its type in the settings>input menu.[/p][p]• Added support for 3840 x 1080 ultrawide resolution.[/p][p]• New music track in Irampor Ruins.[/p][p][/p][h3]Content adjustments & Balance[/h3][p]• Companions joining (or returning to) your party will now have a minimum XP equal to 75% of your less experienced party member, or 50% if the companion has the 'Unwilling Adventurer' negative talent.[/p][p]• If you have failed other skill checks, you can still obtain certain information from Phadabar's innkeeper by paying him gold. You're not supposed to be locked out of the main quest by failing a check![/p][p]• Ethereal creatures are now immune to stun, poison, prone and paralysis effects.[/p][p]• Lifeless creatures now reduce any stun effect power by 3, instead of by 2.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3][p]• Fixed a visual glitch that could cause transparent materials such as water to shift as you move the camera (on lower graphic settings)[/p][p]• Certain chest pop-up in Phadabar's warehouse has been fixed, this time for real![/p][p]• There was a minor issue with random numbers generated for brittle weapons, Lesser Remedy spell and Acid Blood (random values were slightly lower than described). Solved.[/p][p]• No item can be purchased for less than 1 gold, as intended.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[h3]This is the deal![/h3][p][/p][p]Greetings, adventurers! [/p][p][/p][p]Today, Archaelund has been listed on Steam's main page as "Daily Deal", a curated selection of great games offered at the best prices. It is the first time Archaelund goes on sale, and it is a great opportunity to buy it at a price very similar to the original Early Access release price. [/p][p][/p][p]Enough merchant talk, let's talk now about the good things to come.[/p][p][/p][h3]0.9 Release is around the corner[/h3][p][/p][p]Most of the features listed on the roadmap for 0.9 are already released as of 0.8.5, past month. Only a few things are remaining, and we expect to have them out quickly.[/p][p][/p][p]Controller support is almost ready for the beta, and will likely be available to beta-testers next week, in release 0.8.6. A few weeks later, there should be another update with the conclusion of the main quest chapter 2, and some interesting new features, such as dual-wielding. [/p][p][/p][h3]Looking at the Horizon: 0.10[/h3][p][/p][p]I can already disclose some news about the next major milestone, version 0.10. It is scheduled for the end of 2025 (estimated!), but it will likely be released in smaller installments; it will enlarge the world significantly, and expand character development through several levels, adding Advanced Careers to the game.[/p][p][/p][p]More importantly, 0.10 will also add detail to the existing areas, including dynamic quests and random encounters, and giving Companions a more active role at dialogues and other interactions. [/p][p][/p][p]Besides this, 0.10 will include localization to various languages, there will be more information about this during the summer. [/p][p][/p][p]If Archaelund's current content includes about 55h of unique gameplay, I expect 0.10 to reach 75-80h. [/p][p][/p][p]If time allows, I might also add some improvements to animations and UI redesign, but it is likely that I choose to delay these until 1.0 release is real close.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

Here's another small release that keeps paving the way for 0.9.

Some love for archers was due, and the new arrows also make the Crafting skill more useful. I am now working on adding dual-wielding and player-usable poisons.

I've begun experimenting with controller support in this update as well. For now, all you can do with a controller is to move and look around in exploration mode (using both sticks), and select objects with the "down" button (A in Xbox, X in PS). There is still no controller settings. But more will come in the next weeks, making the game fully playable with controller very soon.

There were still a couple lingering issues that needed fixing after the last content update. Find below the complete changelog.

[h3]Features & Improvements[/h3]

• Arrows implemented. You can still fire unlimited 'normal arrows' that don't show on inventory, but a new slot has been added to equip special arrows with bonuses that have been added to weapon vendors and also as loot.
  
• Added 6 new crafting recipes for arrows.
  
• When you 'browse all talents' from the Character Window, you can now see if the character meets the requirements, just like at level-up. In addition, the search function will also work on talent descriptions, not just titles.
  
• Controller Support implementation has begun; for now it is very limited, allowing the player to move in exploration mode, and select objects (A in Xbox). I'll keep adding functionality and options on each update.
  

[h3]Adjustments & Balance[/h3]

• Talent
• Gifted Pupil* now requires the character to be a spellcaster.
  
• Mycora in Urendale are now slightly stronger.
  
• All enemies will slightly increase their resistances per level; stronger creatures such as Helliants or 'named' beasts might get significantly more resistant.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a game 'freeze' that might happen after using Conduits, and in other dialogues that allowed the player to travel.
  
• Fixed a rare crash that could freeze the loading screen when opening certain areas.
  
• Fixed a rare crash that might happen when spells are cast from exploration.
  
• Fixed a chest popup that could appear in Phadabar's basement.
  
• Fixed many minor issues in Harlin Plains and Phadabar.
  
• Certain group of Wild Geldryn in Galeb Peninsula had their detection disabled. Fixed.
  

There will be at least two more 0.8.x updates before we move into the 0.9.x development arc. They'll arrive relatively quickly since the two large outdoor areas (Urendale and Harlin Plains) are already out. I'll be posting about it soon.

The may 1st update provided a lot of new content, but also new spells, talents and even mechanics or special status effects. This update provides further polishing, dealing with a lot of minor issues and raising the XP cap, which was never intended to be reached without 'grinding'.

[h3]Adjustments[/h3]

• Raised XP cap to 29,600, to better allow progressing through the new content.
  
• Size of party inventory increased from 64 to 96.
  
• Ethereal type enemies such as ghosts are now immune to 'Root' effects.
  
• Potions of Deep Breath now last 10 rounds instead of 5, its purchase cost has been increased accordingly and the alchemy recipe will now produce one potion, not two.
  
• NPC spellcasters have more willpower now.
  

[h3]Fixes on new content[/h3]

• Potion of Serenity now correctly reduces insanity, not poison.
  
• Ebran will now grant several potions as reward for the 'Expedition to Hell' quest, as intended. This will be applied retroactively if you already completed it.
  
• Solves a dialogue error with Legionaire Gerthe at the inn that could freeze the game.
  
• Fixed a loop in the conversation with Lysael.
  
• If you meet Centurion Goran on the square, you can now talk to him.
  
• The option to conclude the 'Vow to the Fallen' quest at the stone altar will only appear if the quest has been properly initiated by talking to Dondra, and not if you simply looted the amulet without receiving the quest.
  
• Certain door in the Legacy of War quest could be opened too soon, breaking the quest. Fixed.
  
• Added the appropiate collision to certain wall in the Imperial Manor's library.
  
• Fixed Unglar's dialogue to reflect correctly previous events in Urendale.
  
• Solved a potential lock in the dialogue with Molvante.
  
• Several wilderness camps in the Harlin Plains now are less "sensitive" to nearby enemies, the threshold distance was too high.
  
• Solved combat graphical glitches that could appearin the Hall of Justice.
  
• Solved a specific bug in Turkish language related to Greyward Potions.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• While typing in the new 'search' button, key mappings will be ignored, so you can now search properly without other windows popping.
  
• Amulet of Purification works properly now.
  
• Solves a few 'exploits' related with game-reloading and pausing.
  
• Dying by poisoning or disease was sometimes not correctly setting the dead status on characters, causing multiple issues.
  
• During combat, closed doors will properly block the grid.
  
• Requirements for learning Talents or entering a Career will now only take into account a character's 'natural' value, not including temporary modifiers or item bonuses to traits or proficiencies. Similarly, only temporary INT bonus will affect your maximum spells known.
  
• Enemies that use any kind of teleportation will now remove any 'Root' status, as intended.
  
• Improved the party spawn code to avoid party members to spawn in glitched positions.
  
• Scrollbars on your party inventory and other places in the UI can now be scrolled faster with the mouse wheel.
  
• The mouse tooltip will no longer linger around after hovering the journal or party options button.
  
• Combat hotbuttons now correctly allow to assign items, since their position has been fixed.
  
• The willpower cost of the spell 'Summon Void Spider' has been set to the intended value (19).
  
• Added further checks to avoid dead enemies to stay in "running" animation.
  
• The game can no longer be saved while the party is falling.
  

There will be at least two more 0.8.x updates before we move into the 0.9.x development arc. They'll arrive relatively quickly since the two large outdoor areas (Urendale and Harlin Plains) are already out. I'll be posting about it soon.

After long months of work, update 0.8.3 is available on Steam. This update triples the content compared to the original EA release; playable time is currently 50+ hours.

Again, I must send a big thank you to our Beta Testers, which have navigated all kind of weird bugs through the last week, until the last of them were fixed.

[h3]New Content & Character Advancement[/h3]

• Added a new outdoor region to the south of Urendale, with several dungeons to explore.
  
• 12 new quests added, raising the total to 46. Chapter two of the main quest can be advanced significantly (but not yet concluded).
  
• Level cap raised to 6! the new XP cap is 24,000.
  
• New Open Talents: Second Skin, Gifted Pupil, Adept Student, Arcane Scholar. There's a total of 46 Open Talents in the game now!
  
• Six new new spells added for the disciplines Conjuration, Gateway, Auspice (available at a vendor in the new area), and also for Order and Malediction (at the Urendale vendors). More spells coming soon.
  

[h3]Performance[/h3]

• Massive performance optimizations. Framerate should increase by around 25-40%.
  
• Added a new option to set more exact framerate limits in Settings. Limit framerate can be used to reduce noise/heat in laptops and other systems.
  
• Added an option to set a separate limit of 60fps in the game's main menu, enabled by default.
  
• Removed quality setting for Sky & Clouds.
  

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• Characters gain 2 extra Skill Points at level 1 of any Career, be it at character creation or when a new Career is entered. The points are gained retroactively.
  
• You can now redistribute your companions' skill points once.
  
• The armor rating and critical defense provided by several pieces of chain and plate armor have been slightly reduced.
  
• Geldryn now drop specific items.
  
• A single Potion of Deep Breath now affects your whole party when consumed. The alchemy ingredients for producing it have been updated.
  
• Summoned creatures will now despawn if their summoner is killed or incapacitated. Certain enemies can now summon creatures!
  
• Mycora melee damage and avoidance(deflection) increased.
  
• The fire vulnerability of certain monsters has been slightly toned down (Druant, Yaksa, Troll).
  

[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3]

• Added an option to order your party inventory and stash by item type. More order options will be added in the future.
  
• Quests can now be filtered/searched by text.
  
• Hotbuttons can now be correctly used during combat with keys 0-9.
  
• You can now press 'Y' to delay your combat turn(can be remapped to any key).
  
• Enemies aggro range is now variable, depending on their AWA trait.
  

[h3]Bugfixes[/h3]

• Attacks with 'Armor Piercing' were not correctly applying it. Solved.
  
• Enemies with shields were in most cases not applying its avoidance bonuses. Beware, they may be harder to hit now, flanking them may be essential.
  
• Unseal spells will now properly trigger traps in chests.
  
• Charming an enemy with talents such as "Pack Leader" or "Petty Lord" will now remove the bonus he granted to its followers.
  
• Fixed the 'Pink People' Bug in Port Galeb.
  
• Solved an issue that could make most of the game UI texts to go blank, related to the pop up of tutorial windows.
  
• 'Minimal' quality settings should no longer cause strange displacement artifacts with combat grid.
  
• Potion of Deep Breath didn't work correctly when a character drank it while already drowning. Fixed.
  
• Potions capable of recovering willpower will now work correctly.
  
• Fixed a visual glitch that allowed to briefly see enemies in other rooms when a battle started.
  
• Essence of Darkness will now restore willpower as expected.
  
• The game will no longer autosave during dialogues that teleport you, such as with conduits or mages, to prevent issues.
  
• Screen resolution will no longer reset itself to the highest supported by the system each time the game starts.
  
• Fixed a visual glitch that could cause dead enemies to remain 'running in place'.
  
• Flammata Leaves description now correctly states it grants +1 Spellpower, not +2.
  
• The 'Dodge' description on character window was not showing a correct calculation; fixed.
  
• Fixed many minor map issues in Urendale and Galeb Peninsula.
  
• Fixed dozens of small text issues with dialogues, such as typos or minor inconsistencies.
  

Following my policy of being transparent about the game pricing, I wish to announce a base price increase since May 3rd, going from $19.99 to $24.99 (may vary with different currencies/regions)

Of course this doesn't affect people already owning the game.

From now on, you might find Archaelund participating in Steam sales, but never with a discount that puts the price below the EA launch price ($19.99).



The milestones leading to 0.9 are mostly done with the two large outdoor areas released (one in november, one now), but we're not there yet. The finish line is the conclusion of the chapter 2 of the Main Quest, but also new functionalities such as dual wielding, crossbows, poisons, maybe new careers and character creation options.

The good news is these new additions will come in smaller, more frequent updates! Expect news soon.