Development Journal - More Details on the Denham Update
Hi folks!
I'm excited to share a sneak peek at the upcoming Denham update! Many of these features have been in development for a while in the background, and they’re almost ready for you to try. The full update will bring even more exciting additions, but it will be released when it's fully ready—likely earlier than usual, though still a little ways off.
The update is shaping up well, and you can preview what's coming by checking out the beta branch. I'll continue adding content to the beta as we move toward the fourth major update. There's plenty to look forward to, along with practical improvements.
That said, expect some bugs in the beta. I highly recommend starting a new save while testing the new content.
The biggest new feature in this release is a major improvement to roaming bands. I've reworked their behavior to offer a more balanced and engaging challenge on the world map. Now, member levels vary more and scale in difficulty based on your encounter settings, with each region having its own level cap. In regions like Denham and Bedale, you'll notice that roaming bands are now tougher and more dynamic. Even more interesting, there are new mechanics where roaming enemies will avoid advancing if their leader's level is two levels lower than your party's, allowing the hunter to become the hunted. In addition to these changes, we've introduced neutral adventurer bands that travel between towns; they won't interact with you unless you choose to engage them through actions like Diplomatic Exchange or Skirmish, though open hostility can provoke them into combat. Vampire Hunters have also joined the mix, adding an extra layer of tension during nighttime travels. These hunters are lethal, but if you lose against them, it triggers a random defeat scenario rather than a final death.
This, for example, is a neutral band traveling along a waypoint from Llanford to Heygrove.
Let's focus on just the choices. I can either let them be or choose to interact with them through a skirmish or a diplomatic exchange.
A successful skirmish can completely eliminate a band, while failure may still offer a chance to escape. On the other hand, failing a diplomatic exchange will, in most cases, lead to combat.
Depending on the type of band, you’ll have different options for dealing with them.
And there's even more, as outlined in the patch notes below. I know February is a busy month for gaming, but if you have time to test these additions, it'd be awesome. :)
Thank you for your continued support—I can't wait for you to try the beta! As always, your input is invaluable, so let me know what you think as you dive into the new Denham update.
[h3] 06/02/25 # 0.6.42 - Denham Update Preview (Beta Branch) [/h3]
Bugfixes
New Content
Balance
Quality of Life / Misc
08/02/25 # 0.6.43
10/02/25 # 0.6.45
I'm excited to share a sneak peek at the upcoming Denham update! Many of these features have been in development for a while in the background, and they’re almost ready for you to try. The full update will bring even more exciting additions, but it will be released when it's fully ready—likely earlier than usual, though still a little ways off.
The update is shaping up well, and you can preview what's coming by checking out the beta branch. I'll continue adding content to the beta as we move toward the fourth major update. There's plenty to look forward to, along with practical improvements.
That said, expect some bugs in the beta. I highly recommend starting a new save while testing the new content.
The biggest new feature in this release is a major improvement to roaming bands. I've reworked their behavior to offer a more balanced and engaging challenge on the world map. Now, member levels vary more and scale in difficulty based on your encounter settings, with each region having its own level cap. In regions like Denham and Bedale, you'll notice that roaming bands are now tougher and more dynamic. Even more interesting, there are new mechanics where roaming enemies will avoid advancing if their leader's level is two levels lower than your party's, allowing the hunter to become the hunted. In addition to these changes, we've introduced neutral adventurer bands that travel between towns; they won't interact with you unless you choose to engage them through actions like Diplomatic Exchange or Skirmish, though open hostility can provoke them into combat. Vampire Hunters have also joined the mix, adding an extra layer of tension during nighttime travels. These hunters are lethal, but if you lose against them, it triggers a random defeat scenario rather than a final death.
This, for example, is a neutral band traveling along a waypoint from Llanford to Heygrove.
Let's focus on just the choices. I can either let them be or choose to interact with them through a skirmish or a diplomatic exchange.
A successful skirmish can completely eliminate a band, while failure may still offer a chance to escape. On the other hand, failing a diplomatic exchange will, in most cases, lead to combat.
Depending on the type of band, you’ll have different options for dealing with them.
And there's even more, as outlined in the patch notes below. I know February is a busy month for gaming, but if you have time to test these additions, it'd be awesome. :)
Thank you for your continued support—I can't wait for you to try the beta! As always, your input is invaluable, so let me know what you think as you dive into the new Denham update.
[h3] 06/02/25 # 0.6.42 - Denham Update Preview (Beta Branch) [/h3]
Bugfixes
- Fixed several typos and improved wording for consistency across various perks.
- Fixed an issue where a certain companion in a specific ruin was not granted the proper Vampire perks after turning.
- Fixed an issue where a certain companion was not using the correct dialogue in Harronwell Manor.
- TurnToVampire lua will now correctly grant the actor the Feed action if they don't already have it.
- Fixed a few typos in the Forest events pack.
New Content
- Added Bedale & Denham tiles.
- Added a new arena in Denham (same requirements as Valetport).
- Added a courier's outpost in Denham—you can now pick up deliveries to and from Denham.
- Added a Bowyer in Valetport.
- Added Denham's Merchants.
- Added new Marsh-specific Events.
- New passives: Exploration Range x increases the FOW tiles revealed by x.
- New actor tag 'Monstrous': forces actors to follow a stricter, more biased progression when leveling up (SP converts to HP, PP is spent exclusively on tag-based perks, and any unspent PP converts into various combat bonuses).
- Implemented the high tier Trinkets & Boots.
- Added 65 new actions.
- Added a new dialogue for the companion in Harronwell Manor.
- Assigned regions to the currently implemented world map.
- Added new shell command 'StartConversation'.
- Added Vampire Hunters as roaming bands (vampires now have a chance to encounter them while traveling at night; losing to them triggers a random defeat scenario rather than a final death).
- Bandit leaders now drop Grim Trophies, which can be exchanged with local authorities for coin and local fame.
- Added Neutral Adventurer Bands that travel between towns.
- Added Bounty Offices (King's Justice) across various towns to exchange Grim Trophies for positive fame.
- New NPC interaction, Bond: requires Friend (rel. 35+); learn about the NPCs' past and backstory.
- Added 30 unique backstories and their related background perks.
- Added Barracks in Valetport, Ashwick, and Denham.
- New Lua extensions: ThisEncounter, ThisEncounterResolve, ThisEncounterRewards, and ExchangeAll.
- New & Updated Overworld Actions:
- Diplomatic Exchange (cooldown 4 turns): Parley with a hostile band within 2 hex tiles to avoid an encounter.
- Skirmish (cooldown 8 turns): Ambush a hostile band within 2 hex tiles for a chance at full rewards.
Balance
- Multiple elemental damage stacks will now accumulate on the same target instead of replacing the previous one.
- Updated the Ranged Weapons bonus actions.
- Roaming Bands Tweaks:
- Member levels are now more varied and scale in difficulty based on the Encounter Settings (Rabbit, Wolf, & Bear).
- Roaming band levels are now capped based on the region.
- Roaming enemies will avoid advancing toward the player's group if their leader's level is 2 levels lower than the PC party.
- On Rabbit difficulty, the maximum number of roaming bands is 1 (this increases to 2 after completing the Fate of Companions quest).
- Tweaked the spawn and band movement algorithms to prevent roaming bands from clustering.
- Treating neutral bands with open hostility can provoke them into combat.
- Hostile bands will engage neutral bands if they are nearby, increasing their notoriety and experience.
- Member levels are now more varied and scale in difficulty based on the Encounter Settings (Rabbit, Wolf, & Bear).
Quality of Life / Misc
- Tweaked the Attack & Utility action highlighting algorithm to prevent certain enemies from being incorrectly untargetable due to terrain obstacles.
- In the actor's editor:
- Added a search field to find specific portraits.
- Added a copy button to copy visible portrait names to the clipboard.
- Added a search field to find specific portraits.
- When the event randomizer selects the fallback event (where nothing happens), it is now presented in a more immersive way.
- Expanded the HexTileEditor to allow the creation of regions on the world map.
08/02/25 # 0.6.43
- Tweaked various game layouts.
- Slightly increased the log size in the story UI.
- Increased stash & description space & added icon filters for each slot category in the inventory UI.
- Tweaked the buttons in the barter UI: when in loot containers, the "Loot All" button is more prominent and will now automatically close the container.
- The camp action is now an overworld action and will not trigger if there are enemies within a 3-tile radius. Instead, a warning will be displayed.
- The skip time button is now more prominent and is located in the former spot of the camp button.
- Be careful when skipping time! You will now also skip turns, and enemies may spawn, move, and even attack you!
- The currently taken action will now also be displayed in World & Downtime states to improve visual feedback of other actors' actions or when skipping time.
- The loot from skirmishes does not include secret drops. (This is not a change, just something I forgot to mention in the previous patch notes.)
- New Lua extension: ThisEncounterSpoils.
- When resolving a skirmish, the spoils will now appear in a loot container.
- After finishing a move, the fog of war is now revealed instantly instead of on the next move action.
- Tweaked the chances for generating hostile & neutral bands.
- Hostile bands can now get generated outside the town, even if the player is on one.
- Adventurer bands can now fight back against the hostile bands and have an equal chance of victory.
10/02/25 # 0.6.45
- Added a Combat Difficulty slider in the Settings UI. You can choose from 7 different settings, with a preview detailing the affected enemy stats.
- Removed the Encounter settings from the Journal.
- Added new settings for the number of Hostile and Neutral Bands that can spawn at a given time. The default is set to 2 for both.
- While skipping time, you can now click the "Stop" button to interrupt the process. This will play one final turn before returning control to the MC.
- While the player is safe in towns, hostile bands in the world will actively pursue and destroy other hostile bands based on their faction, getting stronger over time.
- Updated most Bladed Weapons with new bonus actions.
- Updated most Magical Weapons with new bonus actions.
- Updated several Blunt Weapons with new bonus actions.
- Added 32 new Actions
- OnDefeat:ConversationId can be used as an encounter reward to trigger a specific defeat scenario instead of the generic one.
- Losing to the Shadows in Emerald Basin will now trigger a custom defeat scenario. While it has ramifications, it is not a game over.
- Losing to Dravienne's Coven in Llanford's Catacombs will now trigger a custom defeat scenario. While it has ramifications, it is not a game over.