Realms & Ruins: Abencor News

[p][/p][p]Happy holidays! I hope everyone is staying warm. This update focuses on refining core combat systems, improving status effect behavior, and tightening up map design. I’ve also put together a new gameplay trailer! Check it out: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][p]At this point, Realms & Ruins: Abencor is functionally complete. I’m currently waiting on an upcoming RPG in a Box engine update to address a few remaining game-breaking issues before release and do some refining in the meantime. If all goes well, I’m aiming for a Q1 2026 release.[/p][p]Updates specifics here:[/p]

• [p]Refactored the shield block skill to dynamically reduce damage based on the equipped shield’s stats[/p]
• [p]Fixed the blind condition so it correctly clears after its timer expires[/p]
• [p]Refactored the poison condition with a custom script to prevent infinite stacking[/p]
• [p]Adjusted antidote potion behavior to account for the poison changes[/p]
• [p]Scripted 4 additional player skills[/p]
• [p]Reduced the scope of several maps that were overly large but didn't offer anything compelling in that large space[/p]

[p]Thanks again for following development. Join me on discord, wishlist on steam and follow me on blue sky and itch!

Itch
https://bonedudegamestudios.itch.io/realmsandruinsabencor[/p][p][/p][p] Discord [/p][p]https://discord.gg/BRGAEkHxh4[/p][p]

Bluesky @bonedudegamestudios.itch.io[/p]

[p]This month’s update focuses on a lot of polish and performance tweaks in addition to some things I had been procrastinating on while working on other tasks. I did an entire playthrough, recorded footage and came out with some tighter boss fights, smoother dungeons, better enemies, and a some other needed updates and improvements. From fresh traps to refined systems, things are really coming together.[/p]

• [p]Recorded several hours of gameplay for an updated trailer (which I need to re-record at a higher resolution whoops)[/p]
• [p]Balanced the lava dungeon boss’s HP and reworked boss mechanics to prevent scripting errors[/p]
• [p]Added mana recovery when resting[/p]
• [p]Configured enemy spawns, loot, and behaviors in the Volcano dungeon, Northlands, and final dungeon[/p]
• [p]Added a new puzzle to the Bastion of the Prism[/p]
• [p]Fixed and optimized navigation lines, tiles, and collisions across multiple maps (Ship Graveyard, Sunken Galleon, and others)[/p]
• [p]Fixed z-fighting issues and a broken container in the Orc Lair[/p]
• [p]Fixed a missing animation on the Orc Axe[/p]
• [p]Refactored the weather system to prevent disappearing effects and improve performance[/p]
• [p]Optimized three maps to reduce load times and improve FPS[/p]
• [p]Fixed collision issues on grass/snow tiles that caused camera shakes[/p]
• [p]Created, scripted, and tested a new trap type for use in several dungeons[/p]
• [p]Refactored portal stones scripts for more consistent function and to prevent edge-case errors[/p]
• [p]Fixed missing roof and wall tiles in several maps
  
  
  [/p][p]As always, if you like what you see don't forget to wishlist join the discord to hang out or follow me on bluesky/itch![/p][p][/p][p]Itch
  https://bonedudegamestudios.itch.io/realmsandruinsabencor[/p][p][/p][p]Discord [/p][p]https://discord.gg/BRGAEkHxh4[/p][p][/p][p]Bluesky
  @bonedudegamestudios.itch.io[/p][p]
  
  
  
  [/p]

[p][/p][p]Another month in the books! This update includes me filling out the world with treasures and quests, along with some bug fixes, new systems, stats, some puzzles and expanding some of the existing areas of the game to make exploration more meaningful.

Before I list the bullet points, I had a great interview with Josh Bycer of Game Wisdom where we talk Realms & Ruins: Abencor, my indie development journey, Dungeon Crawlers and more. Check out the interview below:

[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]

I also created a new website and reword my press kit for R&R. You can see it here:
[/p][p]Bonedude Games Studios
[/p][p]Alright here's all the stuff I got done this past month:[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Added new creature attack type[/p]
• [p]Added player status effect: blindness[/p]
• [p]Added potion to cure blindness[/p]
• [p]Added new stats: perception, dodge, and crit (crit split from Dexterity into its own stat, but still interacts with Dex)[/p]
• [p]Completed final systems and scripts related to the perception system[/p]
• [p]Created new puzzle/quest to fill in a traversal map[/p]
• [p]Added a puzzle/minidungeon that grants a new ability[/p]
• [p]Added quest NPCs with quests/rewards in the volcano, ocean, and northlands areas[/p]
• [p]Added new puzzles to the volcano dungeon[/p]
• [p]Finished a major side quest line with world-state changes in the Frozen Keep[/p]
• [p]Added 45+ new treasures/equipment across the world, some tied to quests[/p]
• [p]Completed placing all current treasure/items in the game[/p]
• [p]Completed over 100 weapon scripts and mapped them to items[/p]
• [p]Updated descriptions for all equipment[/p]
• [p]Rebalanced the fireball wand and another magic weapon[/p]
• [p]Added a starter weapon that auto-equips at game start[/p]
• [p]Swapped out old weapon animations on early game weapons with new system[/p]
• [p]Added secret areas tied to the perception stat[/p]
• [p]Fixed missing tiles in a handful of maps[/p]
• [p]Optimized Ivywood Forest tiles for faster load times[/p]
• [p]Fixed/adjusted navigation lines across several maps[/p]
• [p]Updated tiles to have proper step sounds[/p]
• [p]Fixed UI alignment issue when using portal magic[/p]
• [p]Added a “miss” sound effect[/p]
• [p]Added new tags to enemies for weaknesses/resistances systems[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue where some weapons could kill essential NPCs (causing softlocks)[/p]
• [p]Added a new merchant[/p]
• [p]Sourced and added music to the Frozen Keep dungeon[/p]
• [p]Had an interview with Josh Bycer (Game Wisdom) discussing dungeon crawlers and indie dev[/p]
• [p]Reworked press kit and launched a new website to cut costs from AWS hosting
  
  [/p][p]If you like what you see, don't forget to wishlist, join the discord to hang out or follow me on bluesky![/p][p][/p][p]Discord [/p][p]https://discord.gg/BRGAEkHxh4[/p][p][/p][p]Bluesky @bonedudegamestudios.itch.io[/p]

[p][/p][p]Summer is nearly over but I've been hard at work. Here’s a rundown of what’s been worked on over the last 30 days or so:[/p]

• [p][/p]
• [p]Refactored the boat launch script to prevent an exploit that permanently increased player movement speed[/p]
• [p]Adjusted water tile tags and movement modifiers to align with the updated boat fixes[/p]
• [p]Fixed navigation issues in several desert maps[/p]
• [p]Added 5 new treasures to discover in the world[/p]
• [p]Implemented portal rune locations, scripts, and items. The portal system is now complete (barring new areas)[/p]
• [p]Resolved a performance issue caused by turret projectile spam[/p]
• [p]Updated trap projectiles to only trigger sound effects on player hit. The sounds were firing off globally when the projectiles despawned which was unbearable.[/p]
• [p]Added number popups to show damage dealt to enemies[/p]
• [p]Fixed missing roof in Bastion of the Prism[/p]

[p]Animations:[/p][p] One of my goals for the last month was to complete all the remaining creature animations. I originally was making them as I imported monster models, but eventually just got the creatures made with no animations to complete the critical path. I'm happy to have finished animations sets (idle, walk, hit, attack, death) for around 45 monsters, including:[/p]

• [p]The final boss and key late-game enemies[/p]
• [p]A full set of spider-type monsters[/p]
• [p]A group of snow and frost-themed enemies[/p]
• [p]A variety of merfolk  and underwater monsters[/p]
• [p]Multiple fiery enemies for the lava zones[/p]

[p]Phew!

UI Improvements[/p][p]I decided to go back and take another look at the UI in Realms & Ruins. I had something for a while now that has served as a nice placeholder, but ultimately wasn't very great to look at. I went back and reworked some UI (while currently keeping layouts etc the same) to be a bit nicer to look at. These aren't entirely finalized and I may go in and do a full rework of inventory/character sheet etc but that's to be determined. For now, it looks a bit cleaner. Check out the screenshots and comment if you have any feedback![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p]As always if you like what you see make sure to follow and wishlist on steam, check me out on Bluesky and join the R&R discord too![/p][p]Steam[/p][p]https://bonedudegamestudios.itch.io/[/p][p][/p][p]Discord[/p][p][/p][p]https://discord.gg/BRGAEkHxh4[/p][p][/p][p]Bluesky @bonedudegamestudios.itch.io[/p]

[p][/p][p]Happy July! It's been scorching hot this month but this update is hot with lots of little fixes and tweaks. Like I've mentioned before, my goals for R&R going forward are finalizing a few systems, adding treasures, filling in missing dialogue and lots of bug fixes and playtesting. These past few weeks I've completed a full playthrough of Realms & Ruins: Abencor from start to finish. I took notes, squashed bugs, tweaked things and made dozens of small improvements across the game. It's starting to feel like a more complete experience but there's still some work to be done. Here's a list of all the things I've done:[/p]

• [p] Added dialogue to all the NPC's in Mandora, including guards. [/p]
• [p] Some minor quests have been added to Mandora area[/p]
• [p] Refactored a main quest script on how the player receives a quest item to avoid conflicts if the player has a full inventory[/p]
• [p] Removed debug text from bandage ability[/p]
• [p] Added log message when using bandage ability[/p]
• [p] Added a rounding function to the bandage ability[/p]
• [p] Modified an animation on an NPC in Ivywood to look less stiff[/p]
• [p] Added a check to prevent issues entering the catacombs cave from the back side[/p]
• [p] Added a check to prevent the player from accidentally leaving the catacombs cave without getting a quest item[/p]
• [p] Added some missing door sounds to doors in the catacombs[/p]
• [p] Ivywood shop was missing a purchase button for torch[/p]
• [p] Corrected listed price for torch in Ivywood shop[/p]
• [p] Corrected list price for arrows across all shop UI's[/p]
• [p] Added sound effect when selling[/p]
• [p] Reported an engine bug causing spawns to not be hostile[/p]
• [p] Reported an engine bug causing put_entity function to cause entities to not be hostile or move [/p]
• [p] Replaced some invisible walls with objects [/p]
• [p] Made some erroneously wandering guards stationary.[/p]
• [p] Added a walking animation to a gray elf model that didn't have one[/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition in Mandora that placed the player on the wrong tile[/p]
• [p] Removed some unused navigation paths in Mandora[/p]
• [p] Added a missing ceiling to the Mandora Throne Room[/p]
• [p] Added a missing wall block near the Orcish Blacksmith[/p]
• [p] Added a log message when stepping in acid[/p]
• [p] Adjusted the stats of the "Dune Crusher" weapon to make it actually worth buying[/p]
• [p] Adjusted the lantern quest item to be looted from a container rather than an enemy, to avoid full inventory conflicts[/p]
• [p] Adjusted the Dredgemoth quest item to be looted from a container rather than an enemy, to avoid full inventory conflicts[/p]
• [p] Added appropriate enemy behavior to the Flaming Skeletons in the Sandstorm Temple event[/p]
• [p] Added a sound effect to doors in the Sandstorm Temple[/p]
• [p] Added a sound effect to the boss door unlocking in the Sandstorm Temple[/p]
• [p] Adjusted loot drop rate on enemies in the Dune Tunnels[/p]
• [p] Adjusted some dialogue from the Ogres in the Orc dungeons to make more sense with what is occurring[/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition to the mandora Bank where the playing was facing the wrong way upon entering[/p]
• [p] Removed a duplicate switch in Bastion of the Prism[/p]
• [p] Added some missing ceiling tiles in Bastion of the Prism[/p]
• [p] Fixed a missing navigation tile in Bastion of the Prism[/p]
• [p] Added a missing skybox to the Chasm and Bastion of the Prism outside maps[/p]
• [p] Adjusted fog color in the above to fit better with the newly added skybox [/p]
• [p] Added a check to various dungeons to prevent player from entering the boss room if they are not at the appropriate place in the main quest to prevent story continuity issues[/p]
• [p] Added tags to many tiles to appropriately play step sounds. [/p]
• [p] Changed some interactive doors in the Chasm/Orc camp to prevent the player/camera from turning in confusing ways[/p]
• [p] Added a sign to storage/bank buildings [/p]
• [p] Added bank + appropriate scripting to the underwater city[/p]
• [p] Chickens now cluck[/p]
• [p] Cows now moo[/p]
• [p] Camels now....make whatever noises camels make[/p]
• [p] Adjusted spawn rates to make Ivywood forest less crowded[/p]
• [p] Added tags to all enemies in the game, categorizing them in ways that allow resistances and weaknesses.[/p]
• [p] Changed the reward for the Dredgemoth quest to be a unique weapon rather than a mundane sword[/p]
• [p] Wrote the script for special properties of the Dune Crusher weapon[/p]
• [p] Wrote the script for special properties of the Beastthorn weapon [/p]
• [p] Fixed some broken navigation in the Sandstorm Sanctum[/p]
• [p] Changed some interactive doors in the Sandstorm Sanctum to prevent the player/camera from turning in confusing ways[/p]
• [p] Added some environmental props to Sandstorm Sanctum to account for new navigation[/p]
• [p] Fixed offset placement of 2 doors in Sandstorm Sanctum[/p]
• [p] Added music to the Dune Tunnels dungeon[/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition issue where the player would face the wrong direction going from the sea to the Culceth Port[/p]
• [p] Added a navigation POI/Landmarks to make it easier to navigate the open sea (eg a nearby port being seen on the horizon) [/p]
• [p] Added a check to merchant sell scripts to prevent players from selling quest items that cannot be replaced[/p]
• [p] The script for slimes splitting on death has been fixed to account for areas where a slime couldn't split (walls, null space etc)[/p]
• [p] Fixed behavior of splitting slimes to be appropriately aggressive[/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition issue both to and from the Sea to the Kelp Forest. Added new effect to be a better indicator for transition points to each side [/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition where there was no way to actually get to the Ship Graveyard[/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition in the Ship Graveyard which was erroneously going to the Kelp Forest instead of the Coral Cave[/p]
• [p] Fixed a transition to and from the sunken galleon dungeon[/p]
• [p] Made some non-combat NPC's in the sunken galleon passable to avoid the player getting stuck if the NPC moves in a compromising osition[/p]
• [p] Fixed a typo in a transition from the Abyss which was throwing an error on map load[/p]
• [p] Made the jellyfish, ocean fish and lionfish billboard sprites to be congruent with other creatures[/p]
• [p] Fixed an animation for the jellyfish that got stuck in a loop when attacking[/p]
• [p] Added a heal, bind and level up point to the underwater city[/p]
• [p] Fixed broken transitions into and out of the Auga Royal Chamber[/p]
• [p] Updated death/respawn script to account for Auga respawn point[/p]
• [p] Corrected the bg music in the Auga Royal Chamber[/p]
• [p] Corrected gold price display on Auga Merchant[/p]
• [p] Added a roof to the sunken galleon dungeon[/p]
• [p] Reduced the size of some oversized characters[/p]
• [p] Added a light source to a set piece in Auga[/p]
• [p] Corrected an incorrect offset to a prop in Auga which was causing some zfighting [/p]
• [p]  Fixed some erroneous sounds playing in the frost cave on certain tiles, a relic of migration from a previous build[/p]
• [p] Fixed a missing sound file for the frost cave beast, a relic of migration from a previous build[/p]

[p]Phew! That's a lot. I think I'm on a good path to be done by my hopeful release timeline of later this year. There's still more work to do, but I'll keep grinding away.[/p][p]If you like what you see make sure to follow and wishlist on steam, check me out on Bluesky and itch and join the R&R discord too![/p][p]Itch[/p][p]https://bonedudegamestudios.itch.io/realmsandruinsabencor/devlog/980356/july-2025-full-playthrough-tons-of-fixes[/p][p][/p][p]Discord[/p][p][/p][p]https://discord.gg/BRGAEkHxh4[/p][p][/p][p]Bluesky @bonedudegamestudios.itch.io[/p][p][/p][p][/p]