Fablecraft News

Well hello, there, Mages! 🧙 Today marks the seventh day since we launched Tales of Fablecraft into Early Access. We figured it was a good time to take a breath, highlight some key feedback, and share some news.

We’ll start with the news! We’ve partnered with StartPlaying.Games–a place with tabletops run by professional GMs–to offer another place for Mages to play Fablecraft with others. The StartPlaying folks even hooked us up with a $10 credit to share with you, our players, so you can jump into that first session and get going.

• Here are the open sessions: bit.ly/StartPlayingFablecraft
• Here’s the $10 credit for first-time users: bit.ly/Fablecraft10

Go on, then, find yourself a session!

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Let’s get into the feedback and our plans for the future.

[h2]We spent the week listening and providing player support, then we dropped a hotfix[/h2]

If you’ve been hanging around with us on the Steam forums or in the Discord, then you probably noticed several Fablecraft team members popping in to answer questions and provide support where necessary.

Support meant two things for us: helping players with the actual in-game stuff and discovering and reproducing bugs. That bug hunting helped us put together a hotfix that was deployed on Friday of last week. If you’ve not seen it yet, you can dig into the patch notes for the hotfix here.



[h2]What do players want most?[/h2]

While talking to players directly and reading the feedback submitted to our upvote-able feedback board, we saw several of the same feature requests kick up throughout the week. Here they are…

[h3]More homebrew tools, like NPCs and Battlemaps[/h3]

GMs, almost unanimously, want more tools for homebrewing their own stuff inside Fablecraft. The most requested are NPCs (both characters and monsters) and Battlemaps.

The good news is that these items are already on our roadmap, but all of the feedback might be pushing them up in priority. We’re in the midst of building homebrew Battlemaps now, and that feature is next up on our homebrew release queue. We’ll share more info for homebrew NPCs as we have it, but that feature is coming.



[h3]Homebrewing the Game Master Guide (GMG) itself[/h3]

This one’s a lot harder to deliver, but we’re still planning on it. GMs want to be able to build their own GM Guides, from top-to-bottom. We knew this request would be coming, and we’ve planned for a while now to get it done.

It will likely be one of the last pieces of our broader homebrew system, though! Once everything’s in place, we’ll offer a GMG builder as soon as we can.

We’ve mentioned this a few times across Discord and on Steam, but the long-term goal is to offer a marketplace for creators to sell their art, NPCs, monsters, music, and whole adventures within Fablecraft.

[h3]More pre-made adventures and assets for GMs[/h3]

GMs also expressed wanting more Riftweaver-made Adventures and assets. Those are on the way soon with the Storyteller and Brawler packs alongside a secret one-shot campaign.

We’ll be adding our own pre-made adventures over time, of course, and we’ll build out the lore as we move.

[h3]Enhancing the Fable Dice system[/h3]

Some folks have shared that the Fable Dice system doesn’t feel quite as rewarding and “good” as it should, and we completely agree with this. We’ve deployed a strike team (I’m the only one who calls it a strike team) on the Fable Dice system to do a little enhancement magic.

They have some interesting ideas cooking, and we’ll share them with you as soon as we can. If you look at the roadmap, these dice improvements are slated for late-Q3 or Q4 of this year.



[h3]Finding people to play with[/h3]

Players want other folks to run sessions with; not surprising, that’s how tabletop gaming works.

Matchmaking is a very large feature that will likely come later in Early Access, but it is on our roadmap. In the meantime, we’re looking at more means to help players find groups in Discord and on platforms like StartPlaying.

If you’re looking for a party, we really encourage you to pop into the Discord and put the LFG sign up!

[h3]More Combat Arena content[/h3]

Mages also signaled enjoying the single-player Combat Arena and its brief story. We’ve heard that folks liked getting more lore out of the Fablecraft universe while having a chance to understand combat mechanics.

The Combat Arena experience in-game right now is pretty close to a first draft. The long-term plans for it are to expand and offer more experiences as Fablecraft grows. It’s not as high-priority as the multiplayer content, but we really enjoy it, too, and want to grow the mode as much as we can.

That’s it for this week’s update, Mages! Thanks for being a part of Fablecraft, and we’ll see you soon.

In the meantime, share Fablecraft with your regular party or join our Discord to find a new one.

👋

Hello, Mages! 🧙 We just pushed a hotfix, bringing Fablecraft to v0.14.3.

We put this hotfix together thanks, almost entirely, to the feedback you provided at launch across Steam, Discord, and the feedback board. We appreciate your time spent sharing thoughts and bugs, and we’re working to improve Fablecraft based on your feedback and our vision throughout Early Access.

Another thank you, too, for your patience! Early Access launches come with bugs and in-progress features, and we appreciate you being here at the beginning of our journey. You are shaping the development of Fablecraft.

With that, here’s what’s been patched in the hotfix!

[h3]Major Fixes[/h3]

• Some players who launched Fablecraft were met with a flashing screen (the opposite of party time). This was a weird bit of leftover player preferences from the demo and closed beta stored in the registry, and we’ve fixed it. You may see your in-game preferences reset, but they’ll stick once you configure them again!
  
• GMs quickly noticed that their Dice Skins were not working in combat. That’s been fixed. Use those Galaxy Dice to kill your friends, GMs, we dare you.
  
• One reviewer pointed out that, hilariously, if a player changed their player image during combat, every single token on the board changed to that image as well. This has been fixed.
  
• New players discovered a frustrating bug: Fablecraft adjusted Windows system-level microphone settings, setting it to 50% the first time the game boots. This has been fixed, and we’re sorry for the confusion.
  
• We fixed a bug that would cause fullscreen NPC art to lock in place while using the GM Guide, giving GMs a real headache.
  
• Some parties in our Discord found a bug that would cause the game to crash if they kicked a player. We’ve fixed that one because of those reports. Thank you!
  
• Finally, we added a “this is Early Access” message to the home screen. We found that some players didn’t know that and assumed that the version of Fablecraft they’re playing today is the same one they’ll be playing a year from now. It’s not, so please pardon our dust!
  

[h3]Minor Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a bug that made unlocking the Glass Jaw achievement difficult.
  
• We made it so the Coral Coast Dice Skin no longer obstructs the two-Spark dice face.
  
• There was some ugly, not Fablecraft-y font on the level cap message. That's been fixed.
  
• We fixed the positioning of some of the dialogue boxes that appeared in hard-to-read places during the Combat Arena.
  
• We fixed a silly typo in Dill Tallgrass's handwritten contract, turning 'excort' into 'escort.'
  

Well, hello, Mages! 🧙

We are officially here: we’ve released Tales of Fablecraft into Early Access.

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We’ve been marching toward this day for a while now, and it feels like it’s another beginning of our journey. Thank you for being here!

Before we get into the patch notes, we’ve gathered some links for newcomers (welcome, by the way!).

[h3]Looking for a group or want to talk with the devs?[/h3]
Join our Dicord! We’re happy to chat, and we’d love to hear about your adventures.

[h3]Want to stay in the loop on all things Fablecraft and Riftweaver?[/h3]
We’ve got you covered. We post updates on YouTube and Steam every week (not counting holidays), so subscribe to be notified or check our channel regularly.

[h3]Spot a bug? Have a feature request? Want to give feedback on something we’ve implemented?[/h3]
Head to our feedback board. There, you’ll be able to submit feedback, comment on existing submissions, and upvote the things you’d like to see happen with Fablecraft. Oh! And you can do it without logging into anything. Our team monitors the board daily, and we discuss features and add them to our backlog in monthly meetings.

[h3]Looking to GM a few adventures for your friends?[/h3]
We put together a pile of helpful GM resources, including player guides that you can send to your party ahead of your first session so they’re ready to roleplay. We recommend checking them out, though they aren’t required reading.

Finally, if you’re curious about all the features and content that arrived with Early Access, you can check out yesterday’s Steam update to see everything.

Here, you’ll find the patch notes for v0.14.0 of Fablecraft, the version that marks our official Early Access launch… but not before you have to look at the adorable Leafkin. You’re welcome.



[h2]The Complete Tales of Fablecraft v0.14.0 Patch Notes[/h2]

[h3]Features[/h3]

• We officially launched the Marketplace! You’ll find two new adventures and loads of cosmetics so you can roll and roleplay in style.
  
• We also added a bunch of new, free assets for homebrew, including more monsters, more battlemaps, more inventory items, and more environments. You can see the complete list here.
  
• We added animation to a slew of older battlemaps, and they are super pretty.
  
• We added a host of new combat VFX, too, making killing your friends even more satisfying.
  
• Steam Achievements are now live for all you completionists out there!
  
• We added support for homebrew music and soundscapes, so you can blare that solo yodeling session you recorded for “immersion purposes.”
  
• We also added support for tagging those homebrew goods to make sure they are ready when you’re sifting through sneaky or sultry tags, as required.
  
• Both House in the Manor and Murder on the Tipsy Pearl were updated with loads of polish (you should revisit these if you’ve already played them in Closed Beta, they are better).
  
• We updated the Turn Tracker in battle quite a bit. You’ll now know when it’s your turn to set down the drink and make a move.
  
• Health bar color confusion got you down? No worries! We updated the health bars with some better color scheming to help you quickly discern friend from foe. Friends have blue health bars, neutrals have purple, and foes have red. Clarity!
  
• The main menu has been completely reworked so we can surface news and info that players need a bit better.
  
• We also added a bunch of fresh loading screens, complete with beautiful artwork and ludicrous text notes for you to enjoy.
  
• You may have noticed that we updated the in-game emoji set, too!
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a login bug.
  
• Fixed some video suspension and error message bugs.
  
• There was a typo in the Tallgrass Contract! It’s fixed, and now that contract is legally binding. (Maybe?)
  
• Fixed some bugs related to dice rolls.
  
• Fixed some battlemap camera movement issues, too, and it’s a bit spiffier.
  
• We fixed that weird one where players couldn’t level up before dice rolls completed. You can ignore those dice rolls and get your levels now.
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• Kickstarter Backers who never got around to redeeming their content codes will need to wait for our next-ish update (it’s coming soon!) to redeem their codes. We are working on the code redemption field for the Marketplace, but it’s not ready quite yet.
  
• Some folks have reported that they or their friends are too quiet. Have each player open the settings menu, go to the audio section, and jiggle the microphone sliders. It works!
  

We’re finally here, Mages! 🧙 We’re roughly 24 hours from the Early Access launch of Tales of Fablecraft.

We wanted to mark the near-release occasion with a thank you, word of our launch day timing plans, and a list of every single thing launching tomorrow, for free, in the base game of Fablecraft.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let’s begin.

[h3]Fablecraft is here thanks to players like you[/h3]

From our Kickstarter campaign beginnings to our Early Access release tomorrow, Tales of Fablecraft wouldn’t be here without your support. From our team at Riftweaver: thank you.

We appreciate our community tremendously and intend to incorporate your feedback into our vision for Fablecraft as much as possible. We’re doing that by keeping a tight line of communication with locations like our Discord and the Steam Forums and maintaining our official feedback board.

By the way, if you haven’t used that board yet, we recommend you do. The Fablecraft feedback board allows users to make suggestions, vote on other suggestions, and leave comments (all without logging in). We use this tool to prioritize community feedback, and we’re working to ensure it’s up-to-date with our launched features and development plans as we move.



[h3]This is the precise list of free Early Access goods[/h3]

Here’s the rundown of what players will find for character creation, session running, homebrew, and more once Fablecraft arrives.

Features The modes, classes, and tools.

• Multiplayer Campaigns
  
• The Road to the Starfall Festival Adventure and associated Game Master Guide
  
• Singleplayer Tutorials
  
• Singleplayer Combat Arena
  
• Homebrew Player Portraits
  
• Homebrew Environments
  
• Homebrew Music
  
• Homebrew Soundscapes
  
• Four Character Regions
  + Highlands
  + Long Meadows
  + Coral Coasts
  + Wildwoods
  
• Seven Character Classes
  + Guardian
  + Inventor
  + Merchant
  + Naturalist
  + Performer
  + Rogue
  + Sage
  
• Three Combat Styles
  + Elementalist
  + Gravimancer
  + Radiant
  

NPCs Those non-player characters for your stories.

• Dill Tallgrass
  
• Maz Waverly
  
• Dandelion Switft
  
• Talia Poppyseed
  

Foes, Monsters, & Creatures The baddies, monstrosities, and (maybe) best-friend animals you’ll meet.

• Bandit Leader
  
• Blade Dancer
  
• Blooming Prowler
  
• Bone Collector
  
• Karma Cat
  
• Coastal Creeper
  
• Crystalback Tortoise
  
• Darkling
  
• Highland Dragon
  
• Frostfire Fox
  
• Gnarled Oak
  
• Havoc
  
• Highland Hound
  
• Hulking Slab
  
• Leafkin
  
• Leaper
  
• Meadow Hound
  
• Moss Wisp
  
• Pridemane
  
• Crystal Slab
  
• Quartz Buffalo
  
• Rocksquito
  
• Sandhog
  
• Sand Piecer
  
• Scuttlefin
  
• Sea Otter
  
• Shadow Bandit
  
• Sting Glider
  
• Timberwolf
  
• Woodland Hound
  

Environments The scenes that set the backdrop for your theatrics.

• Afternoon Sailing, with variants
  
• Breakers Marketplace, with variants
  
• Coastal Viewpoint, with variants
  
• Cavern Bridge, with variants
  
• Cavern Crossroads
  
• Crystal Staircase
  
• Golden Staircase
  
• Cavern Exit
  
• Highland Outlook
  
• Scenic Mountain Pass, with variants
  
• Longstrider Camp, with variants
  
• Old World Ruin
  
• Ruin Atrium
  
• Boarded Entrance, with variants
  
• Dead End, with variants
  
• Rolling Plains, with variants
  
• Starfall Festival, with variants
  
• The Fallows
  
• Riverside Hamlet, with variants
  
• The Four Corners
  
• Cursed Grove, with variants
  
• Divergent Paths
  
• Heart Tree Village
  
• Into the Woods
  
• Laurel Falls
  

Battlemaps Where the tactical rubber meets the roleplaying road in gridded combat.

• Interior Chamber, with variants
  
• Ruin Great Hall, with variants
  
• Ruin Entrance, with variants
  
• Caravan Camp, with variants
  
• Secluded Beach, with variants
  
• Meadow Clearing, with variants
  
• Mountain Impasse, with variants
  
• Woodland Brook, with variants
  
• Tavern, with variants
  
• Village Square, with variants
  

Inventory Items The tools of every Mage’s trade.

• Everyday Magic
  
• Mood Ring
  
• Ring of Invigoration
  
• Rizz Fizz
  
• Shadow Rune
  
• Shepherd’s Cloak
  
• Swiftstep Slippers
  
• Wayfinder’s Pendant
  
• Windsong Necklace
  
• Bag of Fake Gold
  
• Bitters of Mirth
  
• Book of Constellations
  
• Bubblefrog
  
• Dandywine
  
• Guardian’s Pack
  
• Hourglass of Second Chances
  
• Inventor’s Pack
  
• Star Fragment, Large
  
• Merchant’s Pack
  
• Moonflower
  
• Mysterious Scroll
  
• Naturalist’s Pack
  
• Performer’s Pack
  
• Postcard from the Coasts
  
• Rogue’s Pack
  
• Sage’s Pack
  
• Shell Game
  
• Soothing Stone
  
• Star Fragment, Small
  
• Star Seeker
  
• Undiscerning Scissors
  
• Wolf Whistle
  

Music Tunes to set the mood.

• All Deadly Things
  
• A New Beginning
  
• Are We Lost?
  
• Around Every Corner
  
• At the Ready
  
• Downcast
  
• Friends & Folly
  
• Hero's Return
  
• Mythas
  
• Rays of Life
  
• Sneaky
  
• Standoff
  
• Strategic Magic
  
• Terrain Unknown
  
• With Heavy Heart
  

Soundscapes The perfect chatter, clinks, crackles, and weather.

• Campfire
  
• Tavern Interior
  
• Beach Waves
  
• Ship at Sea
  
• High Wind
  
• Subterranean
  
• Woodlands
  
• Long Meadows
  
• Rainstorm
  
• Town
  

Hero Portraits These are how we internally named them; you’ll use your own name, of course.

• Lapis
  
• Serena
  
• Cora
  
• Wade
  
• Monsoon McCoy
  
• Nixie
  
• Pepper
  
• Callie
  
• Sparks
  
• Sid
  
• Flint
  
• Highland Hero
  
• Gary Gleeman
  
• Delphine
  
• Astrid
  
• Lark
  
• Heath
  
• Mac
  
• Willow
  
• Lynn
  
• Silva
  
• Kai
  
• Sylas
  
• Florian
  
• Jasper
  

Dice and Battle Token Skins Roll in style.

• Fable Dice Skin
  
• Fable Player Token Skin
  
• Rainbow Cake Dice Skin (Complete the tutorials to unlock)
  
• Rainbow Cake Player Token Skin (Complete the Combat Arena to unlock)
  

[h3]The marketplace, of course, will be live as well[/h3]

That tall list above represents everything included in the base Fablecraft experience at Early Access launch. We’ll also have the first version of our marketplace live, offering additional adventures and cosmetics for purchase from day one. That marketplace will grow with time.

[h3]“What time are you launching?”[/h3]

Great closing question, reader. We aim to push the big green button on Steam tomorrow afternoon (July 23rd, 2024), Eastern time in the US.

That said, plans change and complications arise. Fablecraft will definitely launch into Early Access tomorrow, but there may be a minor delay in timing as we get the release version in place and push said big green button.

No matter what happens, we’ll announce the news once the game is officially live on our Discord (now’s a great time to join our Discord if you’re not already a member).

Thank you for your support, Mages. We are so excited to start this next stage of our journey with you. We’ll see you in Mythas.

Greetings, Mages! 🧙

We’re roughly a week away from the Early Access launch of Tales of Fablecraft, and we’re now ready to reveal the official Development Roadmap. What does the roadmap look like, and how will it function?

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let’s begin.

[h3]Introducing the Tales of Fablecraft Development Roadmap[/h3]

Let’s start by taking a look…



As you can see, the roadmap is divided into quarter-segmented windows. Since these quarters can differ from company to company, here’s a quick breakdown of how we’re interpreting them.

• Q1 runs January 1st – March 31st
  
• Q2 runs April 1st – June 30th
  
• Q3 runs July 1st – September 30th
  
• Q4 runs October 1st – December 31st
  

You’ll also notice that we move from more detail to less as time goes on. Obviously, our near-term plans are more precise than those further down the road. As we near those time windows, you can expect more details for the items coming in late Q3 and Q4 2024.

We’ll check off features as we deliver them, too. In order to keep the roadmap as clean as we can, it’s possible that we may remove smaller, finished features as we move further away from when we complete them.

You may be looking at some of these things–such as the Fable Dice system enhancements–and begin wondering what in Mythas they could be. That’s totally normal! We’ll share more about everything in time across our blogs and vlogs.

Finally, the big one. As indicated at the top of the Development Roadmap itself, “This roadmap can and will change based on your feedback and our team’s priorities.” Game development is tricky, and we’re working to ensure both our vision and your feedback are considered as we make decisions. It’s entirely probable that our current plans will change based on something the community or our team needs in order for Fablecraft to be the best game it can be.

So! Expect and be ready for change! We’ll communicate changes to the roadmap as they happen on Steam and in our Discord.

[h3]What, exactly, is coming on launch day?[/h3]

What features can you expect from Fablecraft on July 23rd, 2024?

Here’s what’s included in the free, base game at launch:

• The complete The Road to the Starfall Festival Adventure, updated and polished
  
• All associated The Road to the Starfall Festival assets for homebrew
  
• The GM Demo
  
• The Hero Demo
  
• The Combat Arena
  
• New monsters for homebrew
  
• New battlemaps for homebrew
  
• New environments for homebrew
  
• New inventory items for homebrew
  
• Homebrew Player Character Portraits
  
• Homebrew Environments
  
• Homebrew Music and Soundscapes
  

Here’s what will be available for purchase in the brand-new Marketplace at launch:

• The House in the Manor Adventure, updated and polished
  
• Murder on the Tipsy Pearl Adventure, updated and polished
  
• Several Dice Skins
  
• Several Player Token Skins
  
• Several Content and Cosmetic Packs, bringing the aforementioned goodies at a discounted price
  

If you’re curious, we broke down the prices for the aforementioned items in a previous blog post.

[h3]Don’t forget! We’re doing a save wipe as we near release…[/h3]

As we announced last week, we need to perform a content wipe right before launch. Here are the important details.

We will not get rid of the unlocks and adventures tied to your account. Those stay with you.

Your characters and current campaign progress are what's being wiped. So! Hop into your sessions and take screenshots of your campaigns, inventories, and character sheets. You'll need to spend a few minutes with your GM or players to get things back the way they were once we launch.

That’s it for the Tales of Fablecraft Development Roadmap and this week’s update. We’ll see you next week for our Early Access launch!

If you haven’t already, please Wishlist us on Steam. It helps our launch day visibility a ton! And tell your friends! Fablecraft launches into Early Access on July 23rd, 2024.

See you in our Discord, Mages.