Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer News

Welcome, traveler!
Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer early access is closing, so it’s time to share some details and let’s start with the date:

Early access starts at Steam and Itch.io (I’m still waiting news from GOG) in October 10th, which is the birthday of Finland’s national author Aleksis Kivi.

[h3]What is included in the early access release:[/h3]

For starters, if you have tried the demo, you will notice that it was more like a ‘light version’ of the game with less mechanics and non-existent story content while the release version is deeper and vaster in many ways.

- Early access launch version will contain at least four overworld areas, Twin Falls, The Great Forest, Pramea and Marsh of the Condemned, which all are divided in multiple areas. For example the biggest of them all, Twin Falls, contains five main areas, plus two smaller areas, and the Castle Town, which also has two parts. At the moment I’m finalizing Lake Road, which is almost complete, but because of the day/night cycle, I have to make some adjustments to it, so I can’t promise it will make it in time for the launch. If not, it will follow during the first month in the first updates.

- Each of those main areas contain their own secrets and side quests.

- There will be several dungeons, some of them are bigger than others, with puzzles to solve, traps to avoid, enemies to fight and secrets to be found. Four (or five, if you count the small one) of them are related to plot, others are optional.

- Several plot related quests to progress the story and some bigger and smaller side quests.

- At launch there are at least seven character classes: Guide, Warrior, Hunter, Shadow, Mage, Priest and Witch, but I’m working on two other classes, which will either be part of the launch or follow in the first big content update. Some classes have alternative skill/spell sets: For example Mage can choose to become Warlock or Wizard with different set of spells, or he can learn little bit from both.

- Stat and skill system, which affects beyond battle system: For example to find some secrets, the main character must have good Perception, or good Charisma if you want some of the non-playable characters to discuss about certain topics and to progress in those conversations Speech skill is needed. But beware, if you do questionable things that lower your reputation, some NPCs might stop talking to you. On the other hand, if you build up reputation with good deeds, some NPCs may notice it and reward you with a gift.

- Lots of weapons (swords, axes, daggers, maces, bows, crossbows, staves), armors (robes, light, medium and heavy armors) and other useful equipment like shields, cloaks, gloves, rings and necklaces. Some of them raise stats and have other helpful qualities.

- Tools and other items such as torches, lanterns, lockpicks, camping gear, potions etc.

- Quest related items.

- Turn-based battles and boss fights, but some boss encounters doesn’t have to end up in violence.

- Day and night cycle, so dungeons aren’t the only places where those torches and lanterns are needed. Streets will get quieter and merchants will lock their doors when the night falls, but there might be other things happening when common people are sleeping.

- Nvidia 3D Vision support. At Steam when launching the game you should be able to choose between normal and 3d version. At Itch.io 3d version will be included in the same zip-file as the normal version. There will be some differences in the skyboxes between both versions because I haven’t found a way to add depth to the cloud layer and therefore they appear at screen depth when playing in stereoscopic 3d. I will be testing an alternative solution for the clouds, but it might affect the performance in a negative way. I will share some details about this at a later date once the testing is done.

[h3]What will be added in the future:[/h3]

If Lake Road is not included in the launch, it will follow in the first content update. If it is included in the launch, I will focus on finalizing the next overworld area, the Autumn Valley, which will be added with the next big content update. After that I will focus on the last two overworld areas and their dungeons. There will be a bigger content update every time new area is finished with the story content and some smaller updates to fix possible bugs, balance things and improve the overall experience. Some of the smaller updates might also bring new stuff to existing areas, such as side-quests and perhaps new secrets to be found.

I will also update some of the graphics during the early access period as there are some pre-made assets used as place holders.

Though I’m working on this game full-time, this is still a solo dev project, so it will take some time to finish the rest of the content. Nevertheless, if there won’t be any surprising delays, I'm planning to release the full version during 2024.

At the moment I’m finalizing the game mechanics so I wouldn’t have to add them after the launch. This should prevent the need to start a new game after updates.

Early Access price is lower and it will be gradually raised when new content is added.

Thank You and hope to see You soon in Twin Falls!

A small balancing update.

[h3]Patch Notes:[/h3]

- Adjusted 'hit point' and 'energy point' formulas
- Adjusted the spell damage little bit weaker, so spells are not overpowered in the beginning
- Adjusted the amount of Stat and Skill points that the party has at the beginning
- Changed locations of two bat mobs in the Southern part of the Great Forest
- Tweaked first quest's Outlaw mob so that at least two Outlaws appears when battle starts
- Updated 'Gameplay_Instructions' and 'ReadMe' text files found in the demo's main folder
- Updated Merchant's gameplay tips
- Added butterflies in few spots in the forest
- Added one more Water of Life and Camping Gear to the party inventory
- Some minor balancing to Outlaws, Skeletons and Wraiths

I hope you enjoy!

Jani/Witchgrove Games

Welcome traveler,
today I'm glad to announce that I've done a surprise update for the Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer's demo version. While this update doesn't add any gameplay content, it's not a small update as it implements the new 'Stat and Skill' system to give you a better idea how things work in the release version. The change in the gameplay is quite noticeable and is more in line with systems players can expect from an 'old school' RPG.

The update also fixes couple of bugs related to the old system and makes some small improvements, such as more detailed 'stat', 'skill' and item descriptions. Details about the changes and patch notes can be found below.

[h3]Stat and Skill system[/h3]

'Stats' have now a wider impact when building your characters and here's a little rundown how they work:

• Strength is important to characters who wield melee weapons, such as sword, axe or mace, but there is one exception, which is dagger. Strength increases physical damage directly, so it is important to Guide, Warrior and Knight.
  
• Perception is important to Guide as it helps with finding secrets, but it also affects to some ranged battle techniques.
  
• Stamina determines how much 'Hit Points' a character can have, but it there are some differences how it works between the character classes. With caster characters 'Hit Points' are gained in a more restrained manner, therefore Mages, Priests and Witches are physically more vulnerable than Warriors for example. Stamina also affects directly to the 'defense' value, so it is important stat to all classes.
  
• Charisma affects how willingly people are going to share their troubles and secrets with you.
  
• Intelligence determines how much 'Energy Points' characters can have, but just like with 'stamina' and 'hit points', there are some differences between classes. With classes dealing physical melee or ranged damage 'energy points' are gained in a more restrained manner. 'Energy points' are needed to cast spells or to use different battle techniques. Intelligence is important to all classes, but it also affects directly to effectiveness of spells, so it is the main stat for Mages, Priests and Witches.
  
• Agility affects to ranged and dagger damage, defense, to some battle techniques and acting order in combat. It is important to Hunter, Shadow, Witch and Witch Hunter.
  
• Luck affects little bit here and there.
  

Stats may also play part in some stat/skill checks in the release version of the game.

Here's how 'Skills' work:

• Each class have their own specific skill sets. First skill in the skill list of every character is the 'Class Skill', improving it will give access to stronger spells and techniques, and raises their effectiveness. Some classes, such as Mages and Priests, have actually two class skills. For example Mage has 'Warlock' and 'Wizard' class skills and they both have their own spells for Mage to learn - Warlock is specialized in elemental spells, while Wizard is focused on another kind of spells. Higher the 'Class Skill', the more powerful spells and techniques can be learned.
  
• Caster classes can also have skills like 'Elemental Power' or 'Spirit Power* which raises the effectiveness of certain spells.
  
• Weapon skills, such as 'Sword', 'Axe' and 'Bow', allow you to wield stronger weapons and it also raises the damage dealt with that certain weapon.
  
• 'Armor', 'Robes', 'Magic Armor' and 'Shield' skills allow to wear better armor, robes, trinkets and shields.
  
• There are also some 'Utility Skills' in the skill list, such as 'Lock Picking' and 'Speech'. These are the skills that can be used to interact with the game world. Before these were on restricted to the main character class Guide, but now other classes can improve certain 'Utility Skills' too. For example Shadow can improve 'Lock Picking' and try to open locked doors instead of the main character. Some of these 'Utility Skills' have no purpose in the demo, but will be used in the release version.
  
• Spells and battle techniques doesn't appear in the skill list anymore, so their effectiveness is improved through 'Class Skills'. Spells and techniques are must still be bought from the merchant. Spells and battle techniques consume 'Energy Points'.
  

Here are the basics of the new 'Stat and Skill' system, which is now more like a traditional RPG-system and should offer more variance in how the party can be build.

[h3]Patch Notes:[/h3]

• Implemented the new 'Stat and Skill' system.
  
• Added better description to 'stats', 'skills' and certain items.
  
• Combat balancing.
  
• Party starts now at Level 1.
  
• Fixed an error in the damage formulas, so Mage's and Priest's defense value should work as it should.
  
• Strength is finally spelled right in the 'Stat and Skill' menu.
  
• Some fine tuning.
  

Thank You and enjoy!

Jani/Witchgrove Games

UPDATE:

Deadline for the competition has been extended until this Sunday (August 20th) as I'm quite busy with the release version of the game at the moment, so there's still five days left to participate. Winners will be contacted by the end of this month and they will get their prizes just before Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer launches by the end of September 2023.

Original Announcement:

Welcome, traveler!
I am happy to announce a competition that will give you the opportunity to win a Steam Key and a DRM free copy (at Itch.io) of the Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer release version.

To participate in the competition you have to download the Chronicles of Vaeltaja demo, either from Steam or Itch.io, and play it to find out the answers for three questions. You only have to answer to one, but answering to all three questions will improve your chances to win. If you have downloaded the demo already, be sure to update it and start a new game, as a small patch has been released just before this announcement to unlock content related to this competition. The patch also features some minor fixes which will be detailed in the patch notes, which are released separately.

One person can only win one Steam Key and a downloadable copy of the game, and there will be three winners altogether, one for each question.

1. After you complete the farmer's first task, you will eventually meet Hermin, a nervous guy who needs your help. It is easy to disappoint Hermin so that he will wander off and will never be seen again, but there is a way to make him share his problems with you. If you ever manage to help him with his real trouble, the quest doesn't end when you collect your reward from him. There are three slightly different end results, but any of them will qualify. What is the unfortunate fate of poor Hermin?

2. When you gain access into the Old Tower in either of the questlines, there will appear three Outlaw mobs in the Northern part of the Great Forest. You have a slight chance for a rare item drop from any of those Outlaws, but you can only get it once. Which item you can acquire from them?

3. If you manage to disappoint Hermin and he wanders off, another questline will open. Eventually it will lead you to the Old Tower. What are you asked to look for from the Old Tower?

When sending the answers, please remember to write 'Chronicles of Vaeltaja Competition' as subject. Send the answers with personal information (name, age and country) to Witchgrove Games' email address:
witchgrove.games(at)mail.com

The competition starts NOW and it ends in August 15th 2023. Winners will be contacted few days later, before announcing the results.

Your email address or personal details will NOT be used for marketing purposes and only Witchgrove Games' employees (which is just me) will get access to the provided information.

Good Luck and Have Fun!