Blacksmith Master News

Hello everyone, welcome to the blog post for Blacksmith Master Update #9! In this update, I bring you one really big change, and it's related to the Mastery Tree.

[h3]Why the previous change wasn’t enough[/h3][hr][/hr]As you might remember, two updates ago, I changed the mastery tree to be much less linear (Update #7: Master Tree Rework) It introduced many more paths that could be taken for progression, but it was not good enough.

Since each mastery still had a fixed price, it was pretty much already predetermined what was possible to unlock and what wasn't. It was pretty obvious that you need to unlock something costing 30 shields before you can unlock something that costs 500.

[h3]The new approach[/h3][hr][/hr]I thought a lot about it, and I wanted to make a change where you can really go any route you want at the start and experiment with each play-through. If you prefer to unlock hiring upgrades first, you should be able to do that. If you want to start producing jewelry as fast as possible, you should be able to do that, too.

To achieve this, I decided to remove shield currency from the game entirely. Now you get a single goal, for example, "Craft 10 items of common or higher quality," and when you do that, you gain the ability to unlock any mastery that you want (that has all the required masteries already unlocked, of course).

[h3]What this unlocks[/h3][hr][/hr]With this new system, you can rush and unlock the silver mine before you unlock the store, or you can rush and unlock advanced metalworking before unlocking the second floor. This gives you a true freedom of choice and enables you to shape your play-through however you want :).


[h3]Bug fixes[/h3][hr][/hr]Besides this big change, I used these 2 weeks to fix bugs:

• Fixed a scenario where you could get stuck during the tutorial.
  
• Ingot storages that have "use for smelting" unchecked can now accept incoming ingots.
  
• Fixed miners and lumberjacks walking strangely when you have too many elite workers who boost walking speed.
  
• Fixed a few mentions of blacksmiths doing design and replaced them with scholars.
  

[h3]Next update[/h3][hr][/hr]For the next update, I plan on doing something big so that I might skip the next bi-weekly update. I'll share more when I have something to show.

[h3]Thank You and Help Shape Future Updates![/h3][hr][/hr]Thank you for playing the game. :)

If you have a minute, a short Steam review helps with visibility and tells me what to focus on next. Even a few honest lines about what worked for you, what didn’t, or what you want more of makes a difference.

This is a small hotfix for a few bugs:
- Blacksmiths who were already saved in hire data now have design stat properly removed
- Design table tooltip refreshes as soon as you unlock design bonus masteries

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new blog post for the upcoming update! It's the biggest update since the early access release, so your feedback will be very welcome as always :) I'm curious if you guys think I'm solving the right issues, or if you want me to focus on some different area. In fact, it'd be really great if you could leave a Steam review, letting me know what you think. I work on this game alone, and I read through your Steam reviews to know what to prioritize!

[h3]What I Wanted to Solve[/h3][hr][/hr]

• Blacksmiths were working at design tables, which were entirely unrelated to crafting items. Because of that, they had either a useless stat for crafting, or a bunch of useless stats if they were working on design (why do you need good woodworking if your only job is designing)
  
• It was way too easy to focus on one blueprint and upgrade it to legendary quality even in the early game, while everything else was common quality
  
• The planning for the design tables was very boring. You just buy a bunch of tables, place them where they don't bother anyone, and you hire a bunch of blacksmiths who work on generating design points. The only relevant trait was a bonus for design points.
  

[h3]Introducing Scholars[/h3][hr][/hr] To solve these three issues, I decided to split the design into a new worker type - scholar. Now, blacksmiths can focus on crafting items, and scholars can focus on generating design points.

Instead of design speed stat, blacksmiths now have a walking speed stat, which was also highly requested, and scholars have walking speed, design speed, and collaboration bonus (I'll come to that later).



[h3]Design Point Scaling[/h3][hr][/hr] This solved the first issue, now let's move on to the second one :)

Design points needed to upgrade a blueprint were increasing very slowly. Here is an example in the old system:



If you had four blacksmiths generating 200 design points per day, you would only need 7.5 in-game days to upgrade a blueprint to the maximum quality.

In the new system, price increases by a factor of 4, not 2, so it goes like this:


As you can see, for that same team, you would need 42.5 in-game days. I know it sounds unreasonable now to need that many days just for a single blueprint, because we have about a hundred blueprints in total, so you would need to play the game for months to upgrade everything, so, let me explain how I solved the third issue and this one together :)

[h3]Making Design Tables Interesting[/h3][hr][/hr] Since thinking of layout for design tables was too boring, and I wanted to change that scaling mentioned above, I decided to add depth here. You can now unlock six different upgrades, which significantly boost the design points generated. You need to think about how to make the design space inspiring for scholars so that they work better! You can buy plants for them, add light, buy chalkboards and bookshelves, and so on. I don't want to spoil too much. All these things increase their productivity level, and they are not just a decoration; scholars actually use some of them, so their time is not spent exclusively at the design table.



Besides that, you also need to think about how to group them. When two design tables are adjacent, scholars working there will activate their collaboration bonus, which also speeds up the design process.

[h3]Additional Fixes[/h3][hr][/hr]

• Mastery tree no longer breaks in Thai language
  
• Steam Cloud now works properly on MacOS
  
• Smelters' pricing was rebalanced
  

I look forward to hearing your thoughts because, as you can see, it helps me understand the issues and think of solutions for them :) Thank you for playing, and until next time!

~Luka

Build, manage your blacksmith shop, and save 25% on Blacksmith Master. Manage your own medieval smithy and supervise the entire process from mining ores and gems to designing and selling finished products. Forge everything from weapons and armor to tools and cooking utensils to fund your craft and become the Blacksmith Master.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2292800/Blacksmith_Master/

Hello everyone!

We're excited to bring you another update for Blacksmith Master! This time, we've completely reimagined the Mastery Tree - and wow, what a transformation it's undergone!

[h3]A Whole New World of Possibilities[/h3][hr][/hr]Remember the old mastery system? Well, forget everything you knew! The new Mastery Tree has evolved from a simple linear progression into a sprawling network of interconnected choices that truly lets you forge your path.

Just look at the difference! Where once you had a handful of basic unlocks, you now have an expansive tree with multiple branching paths. The entire UI has been overhauled - those mastery shields are now beautifully integrated into the design, and every tech node has been polished to perfection. It's not just functional; it's a visual treat!



[h3]Strategic Specialization[/h3][hr][/hr]The best part? We've organized all technologies into logical groups. Want to become a master of the forge? There's a whole branch dedicated to smithing improvements. Prefer to focus on managing your workshop and staff? We've got you covered with an entire section for shop and worker enhancements.

This grouping system means you can now truly specialize in your playstyle. No more being forced down a single path - create the blacksmith empire that matches YOUR vision!

[h3]Endless Replayability[/h3][hr][/hr]With so many more nodes to unlock and multiple viable paths to explore, every playthrough can feel fresh and different. Will you rush to unlock advanced furnaces? Focus on hiring the best staff? Or perhaps balance both for a well-rounded workshop? The choice is yours, and there are more choices than ever before!

[h3]Under the Hood[/h3][hr][/hr]Alongside this massive Mastery Tree overhaul, we've squashed several bugs and made general performance improvements to keep your game running smoothly because a beautiful new feature deserves a polished experience!

[h3]What's Next?[/h3][hr][/hr]Stay tuned for future updates - we have exciting plans to expand the Mastery Tree even further with new technologies to unlock! Plus, keep an eye out for some major improvements coming to other workshop systems... let's just say your blueprint design capabilities might be getting a significant upgrade soon! 😉

Thank you for your continued support and feedback. The Mastery Tree rework was a big undertaking, but seeing how much more depth and strategy it adds to the game makes it all worthwhile. Tell us what you think on our Discord channel, and don't forget to share your suggestions - your ideas help us make choosing your path and the entire game even better!

Happy smithing!

~Luka