Northwind News

Hello everyone!

March is here and we would like to update you what's happening this month! ːsteamhappyː

1. The public demo launch day is tentatively scheduled for as early as March 15th and no later than March 25th.
   
2. If you're interested in helping us playtest and report bugs, please make sure to join our Discord!
   If we have any early playtest we'll make an announcement there!

[h3]And of course, it's time to update our store page! So here you go![/h3]

• We've optimized the game's performance with a new scenario. (The last playtest was super laggy.)
  
• New Town Arrangement
  
• New Artwork in the Antique Shop and many more relics!

[h3]We’re delighted to be part of Women's Day Sale 2024 and the Digital Tabletop Fest! 🙌🏻[/h3]

Unfortunately, we didn't have the demo ready in time, but make sure to check out the other amazing games at the event!



[h3]Also, a huge thank you to our community for assisting with the translation of our store page!
[/h3]
- Thank you, Robin Caspers, for the German localization ❤️
- Thank you, Elstan Evallyo, for the Russian localization ❤️

We are still in need of translations for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
If you are proficient in any of these languages and would like to contribute!
Please let us know by joining our Discord server.
(Any other languages that are not listed here and you would like to help out is cool as well!)

And, of course, thank you all for your incredible support! We hope you look forward to our demo!👍
The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive. 🐾

Hello everyone!

The demo is confirmed to be ready in March! The official date is yet to be announced. 📅
We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience. It's taking a bit longer than expected. ːsteamsadː

[h2]But here's a little update:[/h2]
We are working on a lot more content and here are just a few examples of what we've been developing:

[h3]We're adding more events and relics. Sample Vampire event. 🧛‍♂️ [/h3]


[h3]Designing 70+ Cards for our 2nd character, with new keywords of course ːsteammockingː[/h3]


Actually, there's a lot more going on behind the scenes. We're enhancing the game's internal systems, optimizing performance, and speeding up gameplay VFX. We can't show these improvements visually, but you'll definitely feel the difference once you play our demo! 🎮

No Devlog in February, but we'll see you again in March with the Trailer and Demo. ❤️
Thank you again for your incredible patience. We're confident our demo will not disappoint you! 🙌
The Northwind team, Barking Kitten Interactive. 🐾

Hello everyone!

It's been a while, but we've been working tirelessly on our public demo, and before we bid farewell to this year, we wanted to share our progress! ːdazed_yetiː

Based on your invaluable feedback, we've implemented a ton of changes in the game.
This includes both design and UX improvements!

[h2]🔥 Now, let's dive into the updates:[/h2]

[h3]Card Merging: You can now merge similar cards! [/h3]

If you have duplicate cards, you can combine them to unlock even more powerful effects. This upgraded version is called the '+' version. Each card's effect varies, and we encourage you to discover all of them because some can be really powerful!

[h3]Gem Upgrades: Each card can now have a maximum of 1 gem upgrade.[/h3]

We recognize that cards with two gem upgrades can become overly powerful, so we've now limited upgrades to one gem per card. However, if you merge two cards, each with a gem, the resulting merged card will have two gems! Isn't that cool? 💎

But take note: we've implemented new merging price conditions. The cost for each card now varies depending on its rarity, the gems attached, and other factors. So, make sure you have enough resources!

[h3]New Roguelite Progression: Experience Points and Town Points.[/h3]

Our previous pre-demo roguelite progression isn't that impactful.
So, we've split it into two types: Experience Points and Town Points.

• Experience Points: Unlock new cards and relics immediately upon collecting enough points.
  
• Town Points: Use these to purchase upgrades in town, which can significantly change your playstyle. If you're fond of the 'Merge' system, you can choose to upgrade the Blacksmith. Alternatively, if gems are more your style, the 'Alchemist' is also available. Additionally, if you're looking to better manage your resources, there are upgrades available for that as well.
  

[h2]That's it for now...[/h2]
**Spoiler: Undead Slime**


There are many more changes we've made, but let's save some surprises for later.
We think the Demo should be available by the end of February or March so stay tuned!

And like always we'll have LIVE TESTER (Should be around the beginning of February!)
Thank you for your incredible support! ːheart_eyes_yetiː
The Northwind team, Barking Kitten Interactive. 🐾

Hey everyone!

First of all, I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who played our PreDemo.💕
The median playtime stands at 2 hours and 20 minutes. Moreover, 70% of you took the time to complete the survey! Your feedback helps us identify the real issues with our game. Thank you so much! 😭

[h3]Now, let's start with some stats, just as we did with our Alpha.[/h3]


Additional Comments:

• Difficulty levels: The variety of feedback might stem from our game mechanic, where attacking also serves as defense, leading to a snowball effect.
  
• The most frequently mentioned issues relate to our Map and Event features. There are comments about the visuals and complaints that they are boring or repetitive.
  
• A lot of visual feedback is needed.
  
• A fast mode is needed.
  
• The tutorial could be improved; some information is still missing.
  
• There are a lot of calculations.
  
• Game performance should be optimized.
  

Remark: This build is intended to be a demo, containing only 25% of the total content.
We believe Some issues related to limited content shouldn't be a problem in Early Access.

And when we said just 25%, we meant this! There's so much more to look forward to! ːsteamhappyː

[h3]Anyways.. After a long discussion, here are things we can confirm.[/h3]

1. When will the public demo be available?
   = Q1 2024 🥺
   
2. I played the PreDemo. Will the public demo be the same?
   = No, the changes are significant enough for you to play the game again. 👀
   
3. Will there be LIVE TESTER for devs. before we launch a Public Demo?
   = Definitely! If you are interested, please make sure to join our DISCORD.
   
4. What changes can we confirm?
   = Map and Events will be revamped (including game design and visuals).
   = Fast Mode will be available in the Public Demo and Early Access.
   = Optimized game performance with high and low graphic settings.
   = Tons of feedback, VFX, and SFX (especially for monsters and card abilities).
   = Game Rebalancing.
   = Demo content will not be the same as the PreDemo (Some adjustments).
   = The second character will be available in Early Access (Public Demo? Still debating...).
   = Ascensions will be available in Early Access (Public Demo? Depends...).
   = And many more...
   
5. And what's next? Just wait for the Demo?
   = We will be working on our brand new trailer and store page revamp!
   We hope you look forward to it! (It should be ready by Dec-January)
   
   

[h3]💌 Message from the Developers.[/h3]
Thank you so much for playing our PreDemo and for all your feedback.💖
We've read every comment and gathered enough feedback to move forward confidently. We hope you had a good time playing Northwind, and we aim to deliver an even better version of Northwind in the Public Demo and Early Access! So please look forward to it! 😤🔥🔥
The Northwind team, Barking Kitten Interactive. 🐾

Hi Everyone,

First off, a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who registered!
Registration has now officially CLOSED.
For those joining us hereafter, please await the release of our public demo.

[h2]LIVE Playtest Update[/h2]
After the live test, we discovered that some players had difficulty understanding the game.
As a result, we are improving the tutorial, enhancing the user experience, and addressing some bugs. So far, no critical situations have been found.

A huge shoutout to our live playtesters.
They've helped us ensure everyone has a better experience in the game. Thank you! ːheart_eyes_yetiː

[h2]🔑 Steam Key Distribution:[/h2]
All registered playtesters will receive their Steam keys on 📌11th September 📅.

A little heads-up: We won't make any more announcements here on Steam until our Pre-Demo ends.
We'll be active on Discord, so we hope to see you there!

Lastly, we want to apologize for taking longer than anticipated, and as always, thank you for your support.
The Northwind team at Barking Kitten Interactive. 🐾