Fabled Lands News

"I, Aku, the Shapeshifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me."

Wait... Wait! Wrong reference. While I adore the cult classic Samurai Jack and I think of it everytime I sit down to work on the game, before that, Aku was the name given to the capital city of Uttaku. Who? What? Let me tell you more about them.

At the Court of Hidden Faces, no one is who they seem. The sinister lords of the Uttakin go masked to hide their treachery. The secret police of the god Ebron kill those who flout their fanatical codes. In this tyrannical realm of betrayal and assassination, life is cheap. But rich rewards await the adventurer courageous enough to penetrate this hostile land.

Will you uncover the secrets of the High King’s citadel, where no mortal has trod for ten generations? Or wrest the holy sword from the crypt of Kizil Irmak, the Harbinger of War? Or find the key that unlocks the greatest secret of all – the means to open the gate of Time and travel back into the past?

[h2]The land of Uttaku[/h2]

Hundreds of years ago, the Uttakin were a tribe inhabiting the Blue Grasslands and the Desert of Bones of Ankon-Konu. They united under the banner of Ebron and their first king, Ammunas the Baptizer. The Uttakin struggled with another tribe, the Golden Men, for dominance. The Uttakin began to get the upper hand, until the Golden Men started using flying chariots, known as arkships. How they came to use these ships is unclear – all you know is that the arkships were powered by the magical selenium ore. The Uttakin were defeated and driven out of Ankon-Konu. They sailed across the Violet Ocean, and invaded Harkuna, where they overthrew the people there, and re-established their ancient kingdom, renaming the land Uttaku.

From a distance the towers of Aku seem to hover in the air like a city in a mirage. Gardens of riotous foliage cascade like green waterfalls from the elegant pinnacles and domes. Windows of brightly stained glass glint and sparkle in the white sea-cast sunlight. Choir music drifts languidly from the highest minarets. Men and women in gorgeous silk robes glide decorously along the raised esplanades and balconies. For the masked nobles of Aku, life is one long round of banquets and masked balls.

Not so for the poor. The city is built right across the top of a narrow river canyon hundreds of feet high. The rich live in the city proper, the better-off merchants have mansions on the upper ledges of the canyon walls, and the slums of the poor cluster far down below. There they must endure the daily shower of sewage and refuse from above but, even so, many covet the sites directly under the city. This is because the nobles sometimes toss scraps of meat or half-eaten fruits from the balconies, or even whimsically drop coins off the marble balustrades; a desperate man can always dream of a windfall from on high.



On your way through Uttaku, make sure to stop by at the Hall of Heroes. Nice place, good drinks, or so I've heard...

[h2]Ever wanted to become a noble?[/h2]

Aku isn't like anything you have seen in your adventures in Harkuna so far. There are loads of quests to do and a lot of ways to get rich. Not only that, but you can try and play the political games of the Court of the Hidden Faces, gain enough renown and enter the ranks of the nobles of Uttaku yourself!

[h2]Prison? Dungeons? Slave pits?[/h2]

However, there are even more ways to find yourself thrown in the dungeons, sold to the slave pits, or sentenced to death... in the gardens. Those are no ordinary gardens, I can tell you that!

But you know what? Who says this needs to be the end of your adventuring career? Remember how in 1982's Conan the Barbarian, little boy Conan was enslaved and chained to work a large mill, the Wheel of Pain. Surviving into adulthood, becoming a massive, muscular man. With the entirety of the movie ahead of him?

That's right, you unlock a whole new adventure potential if you survive long enough! Such as stealing a flying carpet and escaping or becoming a gladiator. Gaining valuable experience teaches you much to be a better mage or warrior, for example, altering your abilities in the process.

The release of the full game is getting closer and closer! With only one month left, be sure to wishlist the game so that you don't miss it:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299620/Fabled_Lands/

[h2]Target release in May![/h2]

Folks, the time for the release of Prime Games' biggest title to date is nigh! Fabled Lands debuted in Early Access on May 21st last year, and in May 2022, it's going to transition into a full release with the biggest content update so far!

6500 players from around the globe have supported the EA, helping me fulfil and live the indie dream! Their early support made it a blast to work and update the game. THANK YOU!

23000 more have wishlisted the game and I hope to convey to them the awesome adventure that the Fabled Lands are and help them make the leap when the time is right.

[h2]Pricing[/h2]

In preparation for the release, it's time to increase the base pricing of the game as stated in the Early Access manifesto on the store page:

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“We expect to increase the price of the game by an undetermined amount when it comes out of Early Access.”

Thus starting from next week (11th of April) the price of the EA will be increased from 14.99USD/12.49EUR/11.39GBP to 18.99USD/15.99EUR/14.49GBP. The increase must happen atleast 28 days prior to the release according to the latest Steam policy, so this will give you a rough estimate on when that will be.

[h2]What you get?[/h2]

The Early Access began with the release of 2 chapters (The War-Torn Kingdom and The Plains of Howling Darkness). Over the course of the development there were 18 patches with 250 patch notes methodically updated in the Change Log thread on the forums https://steamcommunity.com/app/1299620/discussions/0/3104647961278908710/. I have always aimed for a stable and bug-free Early Access on every step of the way.

The third chapter, The Cities of Gold and Glory, was added for free as a content update back in November, 2021. The next chapter, The Court of Hidden Faces, will go live simultaniously with the official release of the game, thus concluding the main continent in the Fabled Lands, Harkuna, and all coastal waters around it. It will be a free update for all who have supported the Early Access up to this point.

Gameplay timewise, the content for a single hero playthrough completing most things will be between 20 to 36 hours. But being an open world game, trying out different professions, having lots of hidden secrets, time can easily jump up. Add Ironman mode on top of that for a full spectrum of challenge and emotions!

Work will not stop with the release! Absolutely not! Next in line are 2 more chapters, Over the Blood-Dark Sea and Lords of the Rising Sun, that will come out as DLCs, expanding the world with the oceans, sea voyages and the first far off land. Aside from that there are so many things and ideas that me and the artist want to implement. I am very eager alongside the authors, Jamie Thomson and Dave Morris, to grow this beyond the first 6 books but to do so I'll need your help to make this a successful endeavor!

[h2]Thank you![/h2]



I am really proud how the game turned out and of the path I took. At least I know I have a little fan who will discover the amazing world of reading and gamebooks soon enough ;)

#WhatAGameDevLooksLike

As always, don't forget to wishlist the game while you're at it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299620/Fabled_Lands/

A southerly breeze stirs the sails. Standing at the rail with head tilted back, you bask in the warm sunshine. Is it your imagination, or can you really detect the scent of exotic spices and swaying palm trees carried on the wind?

You notice a bottle drifting buy. It contains a map of Bazalek, which is a small isle in the waters near Disaster Bay. Make of it what you will...



Ah, who doesn't love a good old puzzle! Well, I know some won't. Personally I would enjoy if the game made me scratch my head a bit to obtain key information that could prove handy later on.

Back in the early days of the Early Access I received several mixed emotions regarding Bazalek Isle. It's a challenging place to be and players could face grave perils or survive and get fantastic loot. Many a resurrection deals have expired on that isle, that's for sure. Few know though that they could actually find a map with all the missing pieces filling their blind spots of information or should I say lack of.

When developing Golnir I implemented the first treasure map, that of the Forest of the Forsaken. Now when working on Uttaku and Old Harkuna I am adding more! Such as that godforsaken (May Ebron with his fourteen angles forgive my heresy...) book called the Black Diptych I found when I drove a stake through not one but three vampires' black hearts. Should come in handy I am sure of it...



Definitely glad I've shared all of that before I venture forth. Don't forget to wishlist the game before you join in!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299620/Fabled_Lands/

[h2]Incremented version to 0.17.2[/h2]
---

[h3]UI[/h3]

• Reworked Skills & Spells.
  Spells now differentiate between Learned and Memorized. Added Skill Slots. Learned spells are now unlimited as long as the player has the initial requirements to learn them. Added support for old save files with the new Spell system.
  
• Implemented visual character customisation during Character Creation.
  Adjusted hero models for all characters displayed. Added support for old save files with the new Customisation system.
• Implemented combat info tooltip (action points, range, chance to hit, valid target) next to pointer.
  

[h3]Gameplay [/h3]

• Implemented auto-succeed ability roll.
  
• Implemented Shards as a stackable item. Added missing reward as choice to various loot chests throughout the game (as it is in the books).
  

[h3]Bugs[/h3]

• Fixed some enemies applying diseases to the hero instead of the ally.
  
• Fixed a bug when summoning a fourth ally unit on the battlefield causing it to not spawn.
  
• Fixed an error causing you to lose all your investment in Metriciens' Trade Secrets event rather than half of it.
  
• Fixed inaccurate calculation of armour's defence used throughout the story side.
  
• Fixed game saves list order when switching between Mac and Windows.
  
• Fixed wrong label for the dice score to get Ogre with three heads event.
  
• Fixed Haggart's Corner warning text about the Trau.
  
• Fixed description text inconsistency of Castle Ravayne with the art on the world map.
  
• Fixed reported typos.
  

It's hard enough to focus during these troublesome times we live in, let alone sound cheerful about an upcoming... game patch. But hardships remind me of the opportunities I've been given, even the small everyday ones, the ease with which they can vanish in thin air and help me cherish them a tad more. Games have always been my small isle of serenity. Games allow us to communicate from afar, generating positivity, appreciation, and... hope.

[h2]Character Customization[/h2]

With that being said, what I want to talk about in this dev log is the upcoming Character Customization feature.

A lot of people love to create a custom character in RPGs. It's quite common to say that in gamebooks YOU are the hero and it echoes the desire to make it feel your own experience. It feels only logical it was one of the most heavily requested features ever since the first demo of Fabled Lands went online.

So, I am pleased to announce that with the upcoming patch 0.17.0, the first character customization feature will go live.



[h2]How it started and how it went...[/h2]

Whoever said it's hard, nay extremely difficult to make a hand-painted 2D game have a character customization... was damn right. And I am not talking that 2D vector thing used in web or mobile games! The artist and I both had to overcome various difficulties.

I had to change the game logic without touching my architecture which proved challenging initially but I had a breakthrough 7 days into the task. Afterwards it was clear sky and calm waters, and I was even satisfied with the produced code.

I had to update my layer ordering scripts to support multi-layer isometric objects. Which was tedious but not that hard. Changing the UI to display the character, however, was quite the head scratcher. In the end I turned to what 3D games do, spawn my character somewhere off screen, make a dedicated camera to look at it and project its image to a texture. It was then possible to display this in the UI and maintain all animations and objects as is.

Shaders went into play too in order to achieve highlighting and the illusion effects. This helped me to reduce the amount of pre-generated images and save some memory.



Bernar on the other hand nailed it with various hair styles, beards, clothing pieces, equipment, pets, and weapons. It was important to maintain the ratio and looks of the original characters while updating their model a little bit to support subtle changes.



[h2]Make it your own[/h2]

The first part of this task is done and currently being tested. Expect it live in the near future. To complete the character customisation, I want to do one more iteration, which is to adjust your abilities (I am planning a point-buy system), skills & spells (any of combination of two from the ones accessible for the six professions at the start) and equipped weapons (out of the common weapons' list within the same pricing) when you create your character.

But for now I want to focus more on the addition of content for Uttaku, to make sure everything is on track for the premier in May. I will look forward to your feedback when you are able to play test it but I am glad the foundations built are solid and should support changes.



Hope to see you around next time!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1299620/Fabled_Lands/