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Ardenfall News

Ardenfall Demo 2025 Playtest Waitlist is Open! (And other news)

[p]There's a few big announcements to make, so hold on to your Yanaki![/p][h2]Demo 2025 Playtest Waitlist is Open[/h2][p]Another demo? Yep! It's been 3 years since our last demo, and we've improved the game a lot. We also feel that the structure of the old demo doesn't lend well for players jumping in - our new demo is more compact (yes, a lot smaller), starts in the actual starting area of the game, as is much more "demo-like". It also includes much improved combat, AI, and systems that we've been working on these past few years. It's a damn good game in my unbiased opinion.[/p][p]The Demo Playtest Waitlist is Open! When the demo is ready for testing (around a month from now) we will let in players to test and give feedback. It'll be a first-come-first-serve basis, so reserve your spot to get the chance to access it early! The playtest is planned to run for a month or so, and then be released in a similar manner to our previous demo.[/p][p][/p][h2]Demo 2022 has been Sunsetted[/h2][p]This means you can no longer add the demo to your library. This is to prepare for Demo 2025. It should still be accessible if you have it downloaded, however! I'm a huge fan of internet preservation, so I've also added demo 2022 to an archive on our website. It sadly won't have full steam support (no achievements), but it's still the same ol demo

Fantasy open-world game Ardenfall plunges you into an Elder Scrolls sandbox

Barring a miracle, The Elder Scrolls 6 won't arrive in 2025. As this year marks 14 years of Skyrim, it's understandable to feel an itch for Bethesda's brand of open-world RPG that even the best mods can't scratch. Enter Ardenfall. The new sandbox adventure from Seattle-based Spellcast Studios is inspired by the Elder Scrolls games, and aims to really lean in on the impact you leave behind. Set to arrive in early access this year, you can get an early glimpse of it right now on Steam.


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Ardenfall 2025 Early Access Announcement + Trailer

Great News, Travelers! Ardenfall will be launching into Early Access this year!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

As we get closer to the launch date, we'll be releasing more info. We are SO excited to release what we've been cooking up. The improvements, features, and content go far beyond what we're able to fit here - new regions, spells, quests, characters, factions, and hundreds upon hundreds of quality of life improvements!

To stay in the know, join our Discord!

Demo Update 0.6.12

Greetings, here is another demo update! We have been very focused on the official release of the game, but wanted to add some new improvements and fixes for the demo. The most exciting addition is Retro Mode, which makes the game more crunchy! Try it out, we'd love feedback on it - we're curious if people prefer it over the original artstyle.

Features
  • Added retro mode


Fixes
  • Reduced stuttery camera
  • Fixed stealing achievement not triggering correctly sometimes
  • Fixed damage voice not triggering when getting positional damage
  • Removed grain quest reference
  • Fixed various typos
  • Fixed many npc’s not having assigned homes
  • Corrected Dento Ekiro dialog that made ‘Where is the sheru tombs’ dialog not show
  • Fixed Sappers quest peaceful resolution dialog showing up early


Improvements
  • Made hollow horns not count as kills in Sheru Tombs quest
  • Removed the weight UI from the trade menu
  • Decreased respawn rate of random spawners
  • Removed a few more hidden monsters from the Sheru Tombs
  • Added flinch animation to Hollowhorn
  • Improved projectile for Hollowhorn
  • Brightened up the starting dungeon
  • Made camera shake when damaged by effects such as fire
  • Made the innkeeper stay at the inn all day and night due to Ardenfall’s lacking union regulations
  • Added saves folder button to options
  • Typo fixes
  • Made some dialog more consistent
  • Added auto exposure

Demo Update 0.6.11

A new (small) update has landed for Ardenfall's Demo! The main feature being added is autosaving - no more losing progress if you forget to save, woohoo! It also brings a handful of fixes and quality of life additions.

[h2]Features:[/h2]
  • Autosaving!

[h2]Fixes:[/h2]
  • Fixed weapons sometimes not appearing when equipping
  • Fixed lockpick chance percentage ui being incorrect
  • Fixed some game settings not saving correctly
  • Fixed time not loading correctly in some circumstances 

[h2]Improvements:[/h2]
  • Added photo mode button to pause menu
  • Made autosave + quicksave backups visible in load menu
  • Made quicksaving allowed when moving and in air
  • Reduced enemies in starting dungeon
  • Renamed “military time” setting to “24 hour time”
  • Renamed “Freecam” keybind to “Photo Mode” 
  • Added option to ask about the living tunnels from Tensi Gama