Abalon News

Dear Players,

Abalon (formerly Summoners Fate) will launch from Early Access into 1.0 on Thursday, May 11th.

After seven years of full-time indie development and close collaboration with many of you, it’s an honor to finally deliver on our ambitious vision: a game that combines the best elements of classic tabletop games: tactics, cards, dice, and the magic of using your creativity to devise amazing strategies!

I can't express enough my gratitude for your encouragement, your feedback, and your support. It is because of you that we've made it this far - and what an incredible journey it's been! I smile looking back at some of our early Steam reviews. Many of you had shared that the game felt very complete for an EA title when we first launched - but take a glance at our update history to see just how much we could (and did) improve the game during Early Access:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1681840?updates=true

[h2]What can we expect in the 1.0 release?[/h2]

Here's a quick look at the 1.0 content and how it's changed since our Early Access launch.

[h3]Abalon 1.0 Launch Features[/h3]

1. 5 Worlds to explore, each with its own events, characters, and bosses (+2 from EA launch)
   
2. 15 Bosses to hunt down and defeat (+9 from EA launch)
   
3. 20 Summoners to guide through an adventure, each offering a unique ability for you to master (+12 from EA launch. 16 currently in the game. 4 more coming for 1.0)
   
4. 48 Guardians to meet through world events, all of which can join your adventure (+15 from EA launch)
   
5. 400+ cards you can collect on your quest to build the perfect deck (+100 from EA launch)
   
6. 50+ Artifacts that provide permanent upgrades to your heroes for the duration of your adventure run (New since EA Launch, More Coming for 1.0)
   
7. PvE Battle Mode, the perfect arena to master your favorite Summoner
   
8. Full Gamepad Controller and Keyboard Support with customization (New since EA launch)
   
9. Endless Adventure Mode lets you continue your adventure with ever increasing challenges. (Also known as New Game+, this was our top player-requested feature so it's been added to our roadmap for 1.0 release, replacing our previous goal of multiplayer)
   
10. PvE Leaderboards let you compare stats with your previous adventure runs and other players so you can set a new personal best (Coming for 1.0)

Due to their random and replayable nature, it's hard to gauge how many hours of content a roguelike game has. I use this formula to conservatively estimate: Number of unique heroes * adventure length (3 hours). The EA had around 24 hours of content and I'm confident the 1.0 launch has 60 hours or more.

[h2]Will the price increase?[/h2]

Yes. In consideration of the many updates we've made to the game and the many more we still plan to add up to and post 1.0 launch, the price of Abalon will increase from $19.99 to $29.99 following the conclusion of the Steam Spring Sale, which runs March 16 - 23. During the sale, you can pick up Abalon at a 10% discount on the current price of $19.99.

[h2]What does the new roadmap look like?[/h2]

Looking back on the past year in Early Access, I've realized a few things. As a player-driven developer, I need to be flexible and able to adapt to meet the needs of our community. I also need to be more considerate of how these changes can impact production. Many features, like gamepad controller support, were a lot bigger than I thought. Others, like multiplayer, were far too ambitious and not the right focus for the majority of our player base that wants more single player content and challenge modes.

I realize it's not possible to please everyone. I'm not perfect, and I appreciate your patience and understanding as I continue to learn. I am entirely sincere in my belief in this game, this community, and the potential we have to continue building something great together.

My next goals for Abalon are:

1. Complete Remaining Features indicated in the 1.0 launch feature list above. This includes adding the remaining 4 Summoners, additional spells and artifact cards, the new endless adventure mode, thematic shops where players can purchase the new spells and artifacts, AI improvements, bug fixes and performance improvements.
   
2. Post 1.0 we're planning to add an additional world (cave biome), continued enhancements to AI, additional artifacts, more QoL changes, new and revisited fate encounters, and continuing to adapt and improve the game based on player feedback.

[h2]Abalon Arena[/h2]

I still strongly believe in our potential for multiplayer, and I've realized to succeed we're going to need a critical mass of players and a whole suite of new features to enable the best competitive and cooperative play experience. I want to do it justice to realize its vision, so I plan to release a new stand-alone multiplayer focused game called Abalon Arena.

My sincere intent is to ensure we'll have enough players for matchmaking, and this way we can directly reach multiplayer focused Steam players and dedicate the development resources necessary to give multiplayer the attention it deserves.

I’m committed to supporting everyone who purchased Abalon in Early Access. Anyone who's already purchased Abalon Early Access or buys the game from now to 1.0 launch will get access to Abalon Arena at no additional cost! We even have a sign-up for multiplayer in our Discord in the #multiplayer channel where you can register to get access to Arena right now and help shape its development with fellow players.

[h2]Thank You![/h2]

Thanks again to all of our players for supporting our journey! As always, please feel welcome to share your thoughts and feedback.

Join the Discussion:
- Steam discussion board: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1681840/discussions/
- Discord: https://discord.gg/d20studios (RossD20Studios#2359)

~Ross

The cover art for Abalon is designed to look like a boardgame box, which best represents our innovative mechanics that combine cards, dice and tactics together.



Greetings players!

It is with great excitement that I share my latest and wildest idea yet: We're changing the title of Summoners Fate to Abalon.

What?! What kind of crazy are you talking here Ross? Who changes their game's title so close to release?

Well, I'll tell you something about indie devs like me: We don't get much sleep. The second my head hits the pillow, thoughts flood my mind. And no problem more concerns my attention more than this ever-burning question: “How do I get folks to discover this amazing game I’ve created?”

It’s during these late night musings when the “muse” - a manifestation of sudden inspiration that ancient Greek legends depicted as a goddess - often visits. And sometimes, she suggests an idea so crazy, it just might work. In this case, “What might happen if you change the name of your game?”

Once an idea like this hooks in, it's hard for me to ignore it. I have known for some time that the title of Summoners Fate hasn't done us any favors. Combined with the previous cover art, the whole package has given many the initial impression that Summoners Fate is a generic mobile game, when in fact, as popular YouTuber Retromation states in his coverage “this game is anything but generic. It is outlandish. It is weird. And it is, honestly, it is quite fun.”

Retromation's words echo the sentiments of many shared here. It's time to take action and change that first impression. That's why the cover art for Abalon is designed to look like a boardgame box. Tabletop games like D&D, Magic the Gathering, and Hero Quest are what inspired me. A boardgame depiction also best represents our innovative mechanics that combine cards, dice and tactics together - and signals to players the actual experience they can expect when they play.

[h2]When will the change roll out?[/h2]

Changing a title is no easy feat, as we have websites, social media, trailers, and of course the game client itself still referencing Summoners Fate. It'll take some time to fully roll out the changes, but my plan is to do everything I can to have everything transitioned over by the end of next week.

[h2]Why Abalon?[/h2]

I wanted a name that was totally original, and Abalon just appeared in my head - a gift from the muse. Pronounced like Babylon, the ancient city at the cradle of civilization, it immediately evoked that feeling of an ancient, fantastical world that I wanted to convey. Coincidentally, it also sounds similar to Avalon, the ancient island of King Arthur legend, which sweetened the deal as I’m a huge fan of these stories.

I want to create a world people care about, one filled with original and amazing characters like our squirrel hurling druids, time traveling steampunk rats, and psychic lizard wizards. Abalon just has that fantastical ring to it, I think - something players will want to revisit, and something I can continue to expand and explore with new game titles.

So here, in this final leg of the journey towards 1.0 release, I've decided to take a leap of faith and make the bold move to change the title of “Summoners Fate” to “Abalon”.

I have deeply appreciated our players' support, and invite you to join us in this new and exciting chapter of the journey. To Abalon!

~Ross Przybylski,
Founder & Game Developer, D20Studios

Ross and Ginger

[h2]Greetings everyone![/h2]

I'm pleased to deliver update #16, which brings many of the QoL improvements you've suggested as well as tons more bug fixes. I want to thank all of you for your in-game reports, reviews, and feedback shared here and on Discord. It's gone a long way to making Summoners Fate the best game it can be :)

I also wanted to give you a heads up that I have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming next week concerning our roadmap and 1.0 release plans, so stay tuned!

As always, if you're enjoying the work I'm putting into the game, I would very much appreciate your Steam review of Summoners Fate. Thanks again!

~Ross

1. QoL Improvement: By popular player request, we’ve added intelligence to the player’s party so that when entering a battle, ranged units automatically move to the rear. Likewise, support characters (such as healers) will take rear positions, just in front of archers, with sprint shot units in front of them, followed by melee guardians and then infantry troops in the front. Keep in mind that in adventure mode (unless it’s explicitly an ambush) the player always gets the first turn. I believe this new party intelligence along with getting the first turn should give players all the resources they need to setup their optimal starting positions without needing to add a separate (and gameplay slowing) deployment phase. This is also more true to real-life battle, where unless you are preparing to defend in advance against an incoming attack, you have to adapt your formation from the moving column your party is marching in. (Thanks MaKo, RyuSage, HReaver, Scribe and Reiga for discussions that helped push this feature forward)
   
2. QoL Improvement: When presented with a card choice, interaction is disabled for 1/2 second after all cards have been presented to the player to prevent accidentally selecting a random card when clicking to pickup loot. (Thanks Chaos, Kryan and Inlaa)
   
3. QoL Improvement: Changed the behavior of retreat requiring dice rolls. Previously, if you had scouted an area, returned, then chose to flee, a dice roll would be required. With the new rules, you can always retreat for free until you perform any action. Note that you can also undo your actions back to the initial board state when the battle started (provided you haven’t ended your turn) and still retreat for free.
   
4. QoL Improvement: Improved controls for playing satchel cards. Player can now "click" a satchel card to initiate the targeting. The card will automatically float to the right of the screen so it’s easier to view targets. The old method of drag to play still works as well.
   
5. Fixed bug where playing a satchel card could sometimes result in it being discarded by accident instead of cast. Made it so that satchel cards can never be discarded.
   
6. QoL Improvement: Player can now click on locked cards in the progression menu to view their keywords and also their unlock requirements if the card is a Summoner.
   
7. QoL Improvement: By player request, chairs can now be attacked while exploring.
   
8. QoL Improvement: Attacking an exploding barrel while exploring will no longer cause damage to your hero (except in the tutorial). (Thanks SinisterDesign)
   
9. QoL Improvement: Players can now view their satchel cards during battle (but are warned they cannot be cast if player tries to play one during battle).
   
10. Content Improvement: Added Rival Adventurer parties to each of the biomes (except the dungeon). Added difficulty setting balancing to Rival Adventurer elite Summoners.
    
11. Fixed bug where game failed to run in 4K resolution at 100% scale factor, particularly when rendering fog weather. While I had been testing at 4K resolution, I was using a scale factor of 150%, and had not previously considered the impact of running at 100%. (Thanks McVador, Cow, Noob, and 不脱鞋直到变老 for your reports that helped identify this issue).
    
12. Dramatically improved the performance of transitioning from non-fog to fog weather in the Harvest world for all users (a side benefit of fixing the 4K resolution bug).
    
13. Fixed a performance issue (lag spike) when applying debuffs
    
14. Fixed bug with AI that could cause a sync error to occur after the epic "boss is almost dead music" kicks in during a boss fight. (Thanks JJinHEAVEN, koofeman, Reiga, zzzyc and many others for your reports)
    
15. Fixed bug that could cause exception on spaceIsTinted when attempting to play a satchel card, particularly with a large army of units. (Thanks Dreadlord Zolias, chj2350080653, Alzierstone, Mr_Gre, drakonealius and 光核反应)
    
16. Fixed bug where the High Rollers encounter could potentially reward no cards if the player received the "Locked Cards" odds and had only guardians still locked in the spell groups for the Summoner they are currently playing. Per player recommendation, the High Rollers can now award locked guardian cards if the player receives the Locked Cards prize odds. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
17. When the Demolish spell is used on a leafy tree, it will now completely destroy the tree instead of leaving a burned tree behind. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
18. Increased the Magma giant’s "Damage on Chaos spell cast" from 1 to 2.
    
19. Fixed issue where "Stealth Cloaked" could be applied on the same unit twice.
    
20. Horse Demon gains the Animal tag per player request.
    
21. Alicorn gains the Angel tag per player request.
    
22. Seeker Missile can now target any terrain that can also be attacked by units. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
23. Redirect spell changed from "Redirect next enemy spell cast on ally to caster." to "Redirect next enemy spell cast on ally to its caster or closest legal target." This means that Redirect will now redirect AOE spells. Additionally, it will also redirect Hex spells, such as Polymorph or Touch of Death, provided that that there is a legal target for the redirect. If a spell cannot be redirected because there are no legal targets, then it is countered instead.
    
24. Mindless - Improved mindless unit targeting so that they move towards and attack the closest non-stealthed enemy, since enemies with active stealth cloaks cannot be melee attacked. This fixes bug where Withereds previously moved towards stealth units (if they were the closest units) but failed to attack (even if another target was adjacent). (Thanks Nameless)
    
25. Celestial Blast text corrected to indicate Heal ally 4 instead of Heal non-Void ally 4. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
26. Added a new keyword for "Magic Attack" that clarifies the special attack of characters like Dark Elf Witch and Necromancer as "Cannot be blocked" (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
27. Changed "Immune to Freeze" so it is removed immediately on affix. This fixes a bug where Cora can hit a wolf spider mother with ice (while it has stun immunity) and it won’t trigger her reflex ability because the freeze status is removed after the spider’s ability is triggered and fails due to being temporarily frozen.
    
28. Lightning Elemental now deals "Magic Attack" (ignores armor) and because it’s a shock elemental, deals shock damage as well as uses the lightning bolt animation instead of the javelin throw animation.
    
29. Fixed bug where an encounter prompt (ex: Nemesis) could get lost if the player opened up their cards or progression menu while enemies were transitioning into the board. (Thanks zac_s_d)
    
30. Fixed bug where it was possible to explode a barrel near a walled in boss area to get access to the boss without having to find the boss key. Barrels and crates have been moved so that they should never border a map’s edge. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
31. Fixed bug where a player going up a staircase in the demon dungeon that they haven’t first gone down from the demon world would result in the staircase teleporting the hero to the wrong location. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
32. Added card description and prompts to help explain the one-way "push block" puzzles in the demon world. Additionally, added more of these puzzles (around stair cases) to create one-way directional paths and further reinforce the nature of the puzzle.
    
33. Fixed bug where a captured creature could knock the player into the water while being trained, resulting in an exception. (Thanks javen.bradshaw)
    
34. Fixed bug that could trigger a new error while recovering from another bug. (Thanks ahxadspf4340, Noob, Hypnos, and 翻川内酷)
    
35. Fixed bug where a player using a keyboard or gamepad to run towards the cosmic tortoise could generate an exception for ListDataViewPort/calculateNavigationDestination() because the keyboard/gamepad movement event was firing a command to start scrolling the cards in the tortoise menu before the cards had completed initialization. (Thanks Hex: Judging Grandmother, ZeeGames, Phrostbyte, and MortimerNova)
    
36. Fixed bug that could occur when attempting to cast cards with no legal targets. (Thanks Himmelblauer Panther, Goldberg, and eternal meteor)
    
37. Fixed bug where, if you change your selected battle deck name or guardians and return to the battle screen, the changes are not reflected in the view until you start battle or select another deck. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
38. Fixed bug where the boss portal didn’t open after defeating a boss by knocking them into deep water. (Thanks Carl Wheezy)
    
39. Fixed bug where player could click into a boss zone to walk around obstacles (such as walls or through rivers) to get into the boss area without having to use the boss key. (Thanks Nameless and PorkDiesel).
    
40. Fixed bug where difficulty could not be selected after completing an adventure and unlocking cards. (Thanks Wesley, Karra_Chr, and Necrolock)
    
41. Fixed bug where enemy units could potentially linger on the board when skipping the last action that led to a victory. (Thanks Wesley)
    
42. Fixed bug where a Reaper of Souls spell played on skeletons in conjunction with defeating an enemy skeleton captain could result in the skeletons reaching 0 life remaining but not playing their defeat animation until the next action is taken. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
43. Fixed bug where a minotaur who is charging would have his move interrupted to pick up dice/cards and thus hurt the bonus from his charge attack. Characters with charge abilities who are charging an enemy will no longer stop along the way to pick up items. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    
44. Fixed bug where void spell "Sacrifice" wasn’t removing debuffs as indicated in the card text. (Thanks DogSoC)
    
45. Fixed bug where celestial spell "Restoration" gives +5 max hp not when healing "less" but when healing "more" than 10 hp as indicated in the card text. (Thanks DogSoC)
    
46. Fixed bug where moving a Samurai in the path of loot adjacent to the enemy forced the Samurai to end his movement on the loot tile and attack immediately (if able) instead of finishing his move. This was due to his honorable ability reactivating on the new loot tile in response to the trigger. Samurai can now move, pick up loot, and continue moving to desired destination. (Thanks MaKo)
    
47. Fixed bug where maps with ice lakes could spawn as a boss room without the complete wall surrounding it, allowing players to enter the boss arena without having to use the boss key to open the gate. (Thanks Yura)
    
48. Fixed bug where closing the progression menu on a tab other than cards and re-opening it might show collection cards with satchel card skin or have the player's stats overlaid with the cards. Fixed bug where viewing the satchel cards in your deck and then switching to progression view would show the collection cards with satchel card skin.
    
49. Fixed bug where objects from a different floor could render over objects on the new floor when going down the stairs.
    
50. Fixed bug where a duplicate skeleton key could spawn in the world after a difficult encounter is swapped with an easier one containing a key and reloading the game world. (Thanks mr.kitty)
    

[h2]Join the Discussion:[/h2]
- Steam discussion board: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1681840/discussions/
- Discord: https://discord.gg/d20studios (RossD20Studios#2359)

Thank you everyone for your in-game reports! With the improved error logging from the previous patch, I was finally able to determine the cause (and also fix) another sync error with the AI.

A sync error is when the AI believes its board state to be different than the players (hence the two boards are out-of-sync). This is very devastating error, as once the game states are de-synced, there’s no way to recover except restarting the battle. I understand this is very frustrating for the player experience, so I prioritize sync errors over other types of bugs.

Due to the complex interactions of the game and the nature of how the AI processes its turn, sync errors can be extremely difficult to uncover. I have much gratitude and appreciation for sharing your in-game reports with me and your patience as I work to fix these errors for you.

1. Fixed a bug caused by the last patch where attempting to rest at camp or use a portal while a loyal unit (wolf) was in your party would result in an exception that blocked ability to progress to the next world. (Thank you for reporting 娱乐队友的，回去扫雷, 1499148650, and Torgot-monzollo-tonno)
   
2. Fixed sync error that occurred as the result of an AI simulating its potential moves and breaking the association of one of its duplicate unit cards and reassigning that unit to a different card in its hand. When this unit was defeated, the player was reporting the unit card as discarded, while the AI believed the card was still in its hand. (Thanks Karra_Chr, Bibbol, uninventive, Fallraen, Lord Fribbÿ, lefunh1, and mr.kitty for your reports that helped solve this issue)
   

1. Fixed bug where the Butcher boss’s ability was overriding the revive effect of puppies and kitties, allowing them to transform into Butcher copies while they still had lives remaining. (Thanks Reiga)
   
2. Fixed bug that protected puppies and kitties from being transformed into Withereds when they are defeated with 0 zero lives remaining.
   
3. Fixed bug where the Hellhound puppy (after having been defeated and revived in battle) was not being removed from the board when its card is returned to the deck from resting at camp. This could result in behavior where it was possible to have more than 20 cards in deck after using the tortoise to edit the deck (which then returned the puppy and a new copy of its card) into the deck beyond the 20 card limit. (Thanks Reiga)
   
4. Improved clarity of the Roar surprise triggering by showing the attack of the unit who triggered it as a whiff after the roar animation plays out. (Thanks Reiga)
   
5. Roar now triggers even if the unit using it is Frozen, since triggering the surprise technically counts as a cast.
   
6. Spoil the Surprise now properly counters Cover of Shadows and Celestial Barrier.
   
7. Fixed bug where Dispel Magic could remove your own unit’s buffs depending on where it was targeted.
   
8. Added additional logs to the AI board sync error we’ve seen reported so we can figure out how to fix it.
   
9. Fixed bug where AI throws exception for simulating a redirect action on a surprise triggered from the Guardian Angel spell. (Thanks Segurot)
   
10. Fixed bug where Spirit Recall granted a returning Summoner 10 life instead of the 5 listed on the card. (Thanks Reiga)
    
11. Fixed bug where the player would see the "Choose a Card" prompt whenever an AI spell (such as Warp Time) resulted in the AI needing to choose a card. Instead of the AI acquiring the card they were supposed to get, the player would take it instead.
    
12. Improved controls that made it difficult to deselect frozen/immobile unit when clicking them again. Whenever a selected unit has no targets, it will automatically deselect that unit after the warning. Additionally, any unit can be deselected by clicking on it a second time.
    
13. Fixed the URL for the Official Guide button
    
14. Fixed bug where temporary cards fetched by the Hellhound puppy were counting towards your max deck size of 20 cards and preventing you from drawing new cards with abilities like Arcane Insight. (Thanks Karra_Chr)
    
15. Removed the secret max hand size limit of (5) cards that would prevent spells that drew cards from adding them to your hand. Your hand can now be as large as you want (up to max deck size of 20 cards). The only time cards should draw to discard is if adding them to your hand would exceed your max deck size of 20 cards.
    
16. Fixed bug where the Fairy Wishgiver encounter didn’t zoom the camera back out after wishing for a new card. (Thanks Karra_Chr and Reiga)