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The Zone: Stalker Stories News

Quick Pitch

[h2]Our pre-launch Kickstarter page is LIVE now![/h2]
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/realilluminatedgames/the-zone-stalker-stories



In the briefest possible terms, The Zone: Stalker Stories is one part top-down RPG, one part deck builder/card battler, and one part rich visual novel.

But IG, you might ask, in this crowded market of things constantly competing for our attention, why is Zone worthy of my time and support?


Well, we like to think we're offering something that you can't find anywhere else.

There's features which we felt have been missing in other deck-builders, like the lush overworld maps to explore and seek out adventure, in a perspective that's never been explored in games inspired by STALKER and Roadside Picnic.

We've got a singular visual style, bursting with beautiful hand-drawn art, as well as a sound that's all our own.

Our inventory system is unique in that it lets you change your deck composition and various passive bonuses almost at will, however you like.

And perhaps our biggest strength, something which our past games have always been praised for, is story. Zone will have a full proper plot and dialogue written by industry veterans. Though our demo doesn't currently have voice acting, it's a likely future addition.

This demo is what we've put together with a bare handful of people -- 3 artists, 1 composer, and me doing everything else -- all in our spare time with virtually no budget. Imagine what it could become with your support!

Illuminated Games Weeklong Deal

Take 70% off our previous releases - Golem Creation Kit, The Next World, and all associated DLC - until August 24th!

And for an even steeper discount, check out the associated bundles. We're practically giving these things away!

Demo Revision 1 -- Sound Update (& Fixes)

In this update we've begun to introduce unique sounds for each card, as well as reaction sounds for enemy types.

Most of the effects are temp or placeholders for now, but will be gradually replaced as we get custom assets in.

We've also crushed a number of bugs such as:

  • Crashes when entering combat
  • Newly drawn cards not showing up
  • Certain card abilities not working

...and minor tweaks and glitch fixes.

Let us know if you run into any problems and we'll be on top of it in the blink of an eye!

Prologue Hotfix

A hotfix is now up that solves a show-stopping issue where opening the quest log during the prologue, then opening the player inventory, would cause a soft lock and make it impossible to progress further.

Post-SGF Update



Though the Festival has ended, our tireless work continues in the code-mines of Antares III, hewing new features from the living rock.

What mystical ores have we harvested so far? Well...

  • Major performance gains in overworld segments
  • Major performance gains in card battles
  • Quality of life improvements in inventory
  • Tweaked item drop rates
  • Fixed stun on enemies
  • Several rare new artifacts and cards
  • Misc fixes


And if you missed the last update during the festival, the wonky save/load system has been completely replaced by something a bit more reliable.

Now we must hoist our torches and pickaxes once again and return to the Depths, so we may drive off the dreaded Krak-Worm of Saloth Sarr and delve deeper than ever before...

Take care.