Zoria: Age of Shattering News

The time has come! We are thrilled to announce that Zoria: Age of Shattering will launch into Early Access on Steam on April 27th, 2023!

[h2]Early Access Announcement Trailer[/h2]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Huge thanks to all of our backers on Kickstarter, who believed in our Tiny studio and supported us ever since September 2022, as well as our lovely, wholesome community that formed along the way around our Discord server, Twitter, and Facebook fan pages. Anyway, you are amazing, and you inspired us to keep up the hard work ❤️

We are incredibly excited to show you the results of months spent on adding content and improving the game. We upgraded Zoria: Age of Shattering immensely, and we can't wait for you to experience it 😀

But don't worry! Zoria is still a squad-based tactical RPG with fluid turn-based combat, outpost, and follower management, set in a vast world that you'll be able to explore to your heart's content in just five weeks! 😊

[h2]
A Challenge for You[/h2]

We're not stopping here! Zoria is launching into Early Access, which means its due to change even more before it fully releases, and you can help us shape its future 😜

Today we're launching a Wishlist Challenge. How does it work?
The more people add Zoria to their wishlist on Steam, the more additional features will unlock!



Sharing is caring, and letting your friends and family know about Zoria or tagging us on social media makes a difference! ❤️ Do you remember when and where did you discover Zoria? 😜 Let us know in the comments below!

Join our Discord if you haven't already, and we'll see you in the next update! 😊



Tiny Trinket Games

We are slowly getting to the point where we're polishing the game and getting it ready for you to play 🤫 This month we were not only ticking off things from our "to-do list" but also working closely with playtesters and polishing the game based on their reactions and feedback.



Anyway, what's changed outside of typical bug fixing, UI adjusting, and polishing already implemented features?

[h2]Upgraded party's downtime [/h2]

We want the resting mechanic to play an important role in Zoria's gameplay. On the one hand, because of the strategic point of view and how it benefits the party. The player can organize camps to heal wounded followers or exchange them for new ones. On the other hand, because of the bonds the player can establish with various characters.

Since Zoria is a roleplaying game, we implemented a dialogue system during the rest, enabling the player to learn more about the followers they're traveling with, get to know them better, and decide who they like best.



Moreover, we designed some quests that can be triggered by setting up the camp, so beware! It could be wildlife or bandits attacking or a follower coming up to you and saying, "we need to talk." It's hard to say which one is worse 😬

[h2]A more dynamic camera during dialogue [/h2]

Some quest dialogue would benefit from more dynamic camera action. We improved close-ups to make it look and feel better 😜



[h2]Follower's status changes when they're not an active member of the party [/h2]

The game treats the follower as an NPC unless they get recruited to the party. The player can interact with NPC followers and see them roaming in the world when they're out of duty. Additionally, followers' models will respond in real-time to the player changing their gear and weapons.

[h2]New equipment [/h2]

Speaking of which, we got our characters some new armor and equipment designs! We're integrating them with the character creator to give players more options to customize their hero. We're still planning on adding even more armor in the future, not only for fashion's sake 😉



There is some exciting news coming soon 😉 Stay tuned!

If you want to connect with the community, you can join Zoria's Discord here:

Until next time ⚔️

Tiny Trinket Games

Another month, another changelog. Are you curious about what we’ve been working on lately? You wouldn’t believe how much Zoria has changed! Get yourself a mug, sit back, and enjoy 😊

[h2]Nulbarak [/h2]
[h3]Does it ring a bell? 😉 [/h3]
Some of you have heard this name before. Nulbarak is a location known to those who had a chance to play the Kickstarter Demo 😉 We decided to implement an improved version of this place not only to reward all of our Backers but also to give players a choice within the gameplay. You see, we’ve made some changes to Zoria’s story, and visiting Nulbarak will be a result of your in-game decisions, so you may or may not arrive at that destination 😉

"Quick, look at this painting! It looks just like home." *vases shattering* "I guess you really miss your home, don't you?"

[h2]Day-night cycle [/h2]
Open areas now have a fully working day-night cycle; The world will act accordingly to the time of the day! Some events will occur only at certain times. This should help make the game more alive and realistic 😊

5 am morning stroll through the woods. If mother knew...

[h2]UI Adjustments [/h2]
We’re implementing a new, more aesthetically pleasing interface. The previous one was good, but this one will be even better, and we think it’ll reflect Zoria’s current level of design more. Fun fact: it’s an eleventh iteration, made entirely in-house, tailored to Zoria’s needs 😉

Goodbye old, welcome new.

If you want to connect with the community, you can join Zoria's Discord here:

Until next time,
Feanen

Making an RPG game is a huge challenge, regardless of the studio's size. To us it involves creating an immersive world, meaningful stories, and interesting, multi-dimensional characters.

We spent years playing, or rather consuming games before we decided to start making our own. We're talking about thousands of hours spent gaming ever since childhood or the young teenage era. Can you guess which games influenced us the most? 😜

Fane's absolute favorite, with more than 3,000 hours spent in-game, World of Warcraft has a stylized, cartoonish look but obviously made for a mature audience. In WoW crafting, animations, effects, and events, everything has its place and works beautifully. Garrisons' system from Warlords of Draenor expansion is a bit of a crowd-dividing topic (some love it, some absolutely hate it), but it sprouted an idea of outpost management that could've been done better.



Another game that approached outpost management in a different but interesting way was XCOM. In this tactical, turn-based RPG, you come back from a mission and can manage sections of your base and order tasks for your party members. You can tend to their wounds if they get wounded or exhausted, or let them stay and rest while you choose another character to go with you to the next mission.



When it comes to the gameplay, we were absolutely enchanted by Heroes 3, which we played almost religiously on LAN parties back in the day 😜 One of the first concepts for Zoria: Age of Shattering actually had a lot of similarities to the Might and Magic title! However, as our team improved, the concept evolved to more temporary solutions.



What we liked the most about Heroes 3 was the tempo of the game and the fact that it wasn't hard to jump into, especially in comparison to games such as Divinity: Original Sin, which has a very high entry threshold, endless tutorials, and extremely lengthy encounters. Don't get us wrong, it's a wonderful game, but we want to avoid daunting complexity. That said, we aim somewhere between these two – not too simple, but not over-complicated.



Neles fell in love with Morrowind's world-building and world's diversity reflected through the quests and dialogues – a charm he can't find in Bethesda's later installments to the Elder Scrolls franchise. The sense of wandering around a vast and divergent open world was astounding. It gave the feeling of being a part of something big and something alive; Being a hero to the story that matters.



Witcher 3 also showed how important it makes us feel when our choices matter. And we don't mean million possible endings, but rather small things that we do in one mission that come around much later in the game as a result of our actions.

Lastly, we all agree that when it comes to art direction, we wanted something stylized, in places even cartoonish, but not crossing the line of childish. The art style of games such as WoW, Divinity: Original Sin, or Diablo 2 (but not 3! 😛) has this perfect balance that we love looking at. It's just a style that appeals to us the most 😃

Which games influenced you the most? Let us know in the comments below or over our Discord 😃


Until next time,
Tiny Trinket Games

Working on Zoria: Age of Shattering is an exciting but also challenging experience. The ideas are endless, and expectations - yours and ours - are high. This month we introduced many valuable changes to the game. Are you ready? Welcome to Monthly Changelog #2! ːsteamhappyː

A party ready to explore each corner. Do I smell... chest?!

[h2]Remodeled and expanded locations[/h2]

Rithvale had a complete makeover. We needed to rebuild it to match it with our current level of quality. Rithvale will become your homebase and your safe haven you'll long for after a long journey.

Players will now have quests available (both sidequests and main quests), making it a more lively area worth revisiting at different stages of the game.

Do you remember Shrieking Pass? Some of you might have seen it in the demo from 2 years ago. We felt this location could be more interesting, so we decided to revisit it, with some new places and adventures ːsteamhappyː Now it is not only an area where the story takes place but also a part of the story on its own.

This is totally how we rebuilt our locations. We evacuate everyone, and then we lure a dragon and four Trolls to raze the city to the ground. Easy-peasy.

[h2]Attacks of Opportunity[/h2]

RPG players are most likely familiar with this system. Certain characters will be able to strike an enemy unit in combat as it moves next to them. It can be a very satisfying move that'll prevent your opponents from running away from you and has a significant chance to finish them off without the need to chase them around the map (and possibly get into a trap).

These water elementals have yet to realize that they should be running away.

[h2]Character Creator[/h2]

Character Creator was a Strech Goal on Kickstarter that we unfortunatelly didn't reached BUT we decided to add it after all. ːsteammockingː We believe that creating your own character in an RPG adds a lot of value to a roleplaying aspect of the game. Whether you like to adjust a gender or look to your own for a better immersion, play a hero of your dreams or make it an honor to play as a female character whenever possible - we've got you.

Once again, huge thanks to everyone who supported us in the Kickstarter campaign!ːsteamhappyː

There was a crowd waiting to witness your glory, but you took too long to pick up that perfect shade of hair (even though you can't see it through the helmet).

[h2]Best Upcoming - IndieDB Indie of the Year 2022[/h2]

Do you remember how last time we asked you to vote in a IndieDB's Indie of the Year poll...?

We got the 5th place!!! ːsteamhappyː

We knew there were a lot of you out there, yet getting this high in the rank exceeded our expectations! Thank you so much for voting! It wouldn't be possible without your helpːsteamhappyː



ːsteammockingː You can watch Best Upcoming - IndieDB Indie of the Year 2022 here:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

That's it for now ːsteammockingː

You see a path that leads you forward. The path has been lit by a dozen of torches and adorned with skulls impaled on stakes. Someone passed this way not long ago.


ːsteammockingː If you want to connect with the community, you can join Zoria's Discord here:

Until next time,
Feanen