YAR: Forgotten Throne News

[p]Hello everyone.
Let me say this right away for those who doubt — the whole game is ready! But it has a lot of bugs, or at least it had a lot. Right now, I’m actively testing and fixing issues. Every single quest and the entire story are already in the game — coded, voiced, and fully playable, from the very beginning to the end credits.[/p][p]But I’ll be releasing the update in parts — to properly test and polish everything. Please, show a little more patience. I’ll try to release the update before the end of the month, and if that doesn’t happen, don’t think the game’s abandoned or anything like that — it’ll come out during the first week of next month. There’s really not much left now. I’ve got 140 tasks of varying difficulty left — mostly simple ones, but some are tough.[/p][p]After that, I’ll hand the game to a few close people, watch their playthroughs, fix any critical issues they encounter, and then release the update. Don’t forget that the game isn’t small — it’s much, much bigger than what was in Early Access, and testing it is hard and time-consuming, but also rewarding :)[/p][p]I’m working non-stop, cut my sleep to 6 hours, and don’t bother telling me to “take care of my health” or whatever — I don’t care anymore. I’m just done with all the haters, doubters, trolls, and random people who’ve been pestering me for a year and still can’t understand that big open-world RPGs made by one person aren’t built easily or quickly — and that if the foundation changes, you can’t just patch it without breaking everything else.[/p][p]But it’s okay. The time will soon come when they’ll all feel ashamed — if they have at least a drop of conscience left. Everyone who turned away, betrayed, unfollowed, removed the game from their wishlist, doubted, accused me for no reason, or spread hate — I hope you’ll feel really ashamed. And if you don’t — then leave and never come back. We’ll build a community of sane, decent people.[/p][p]Thank you to everyone who still believes and stays with me. If not for you, I honestly don’t know where I’d find the strength to keep going. Steam shows I’ve lost 20,000 wishlists — that’s a lot, and it really hurts. But what can I say — farewell to those who left. I won’t give up. My goal is to finish this game no matter what — even though it’s obvious it probably won’t pay back the time and effort, and if the wishlist keeps falling, it might just fail completely. But even that doesn’t matter anymore. I just want to make the best Slavic open-world RPG ever made.[/p][p]I never stopped, never took a break, and if I rested — it was maybe once a month since the last update. And honestly, I’ve worked like this for years — not only on this game. That’s just how I am.[/p][p]Overall, the game is in great shape. There are minor bugs — sure, but that’s inevitable when you don’t have enough testers or time.[/p][p]By the way — I’ve added full gamepad support, except for building (which isn’t mandatory) and the card game (though if you’re using DualSense or Steam Deck, you can do those too).[/p][p]I don’t even know how I’ll write the next dev update when the release comes — how to describe everything new without people getting tired of reading it. Honestly, it’s like a book’s worth of new stuff — mechanics, quests, everything you could imagine in an RPG.[/p][p]The update’s coming soon — and then you’ll understand why it took so long.[/p][p]That’s it. Peace to everyone.
Wishing you all the best, patience, and understanding.
Now I’m going back to polishing the update :)[/p]

[p]Greetings everyone. To begin with, I’ll try to show you through screenshots the amount of content I’m currently working on and polishing. Without further introductions, here we go:[/p][p]On the picture below, you can see the marked zone that will appear with the next update. The red area shows the new territories. The blue area shows what was already available in Early Access (not the demo, but the purchased version).[/p][p][/p][p]As you can see, the world will almost triple in size, not even counting what was already there. But that’s not all, since islands have been added as well—here’s one of them:[/p][p]For comparison, I circled a small island roughly the size of the village of Torzhok, so you can better understand the scale of the new territory.[/p][p][/p][p]Next, I’ll just show you screenshots of some locations from the new areas. This is only a small portion, since I don’t want to spoil too much. My goal is only to give you an idea of how big this update is, and why it’s taking so long. Also keep in mind that the winter biome and many other locations not shown here are already 90% complete (just like the full story). In fact, the whole game is essentially ready—it’s in the polishing stage. But I’ll be releasing it in two parts. What goes into the first half I’m showing in this news post, and I’ve also described it in the previous ones.[/p][p][/p][p]Dead Forest:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Here there are actually enemies at every step, but I decided not to show them ahead of time—I want you to encounter them yourself in the game.)[/p][p][/p][p]New Continent:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Crimson Yar: [/p][p][/p][p]The Pier:[/p][p]Across the world there are monsters and people scattered around, but they aren’t visible in the screenshots, because I captured everything in a mode that doesn’t render characters or monsters (for optimization reasons). They only appear when close to the player character, while I was flying around the map with the camera.[/p][p][/p][p]The Forest:[/p][p][/p][p](I was taking screenshots directly from the engine, so the graphics look worse than they will in the final game.)[/p][p][/p][p]Dungeons:[/p][p][/p][p]I can’t say exactly when the patch will be released. It’s obvious that I won’t be able to make it by the end of August. Firstly, I still haven’t received the remaining part of the voice-over. Secondly, there was a force majeure situation and I had to move to a new place of residence.[/p][p]And thirdly, at the new place I started having back problems—the endless work on the patch is really taking its toll.[/p][p][/p][p]Overall, the patch is already ready, but I still need time to work on optimization, fix bugs, adjust balance, and of course wait for the voice-over. Personally, I played through the game with the new update in 25 hours (that’s exactly half of the game). And since I know everything as the developer, for you it will take even longer. I think the full release version will be around 50 hours of gameplay—and then there will be DLCs as well.[/p][p]I want to remind you once again that this year I’ve been working not just on this patch, but on the entire game. That means the next patch will come out much faster.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all once more for your kind words, your support, and your patience.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]Hello everyone![/p][p]Good news — work on the patch is full steam ahead and nearing completion.[/p][p]Here’s what I’ve been working on since the last update:[/p]

• [p]Added 15 new enemy types, not counting those I mentioned in the previous news.[/p]
• [p]Added several large new locations.[/p]
• [p]Created appearances for over 60 characters.[/p]
• [p]Completed all bounty board quests in Crimson Yar and the village before it.[/p]
• [p]Added 25 new dungeons — and that’s just in the territory available in the upcoming patch. For comparison, in Early Access there were only two.[/p]
• [p]Nearly finished work on ambient sounds for the new locations and new enemies.[/p]
• [p]Added a Bestiary to the player’s journal — after killing an enemy for the first time, you’ll learn about its weaknesses and backstory.[/p]
• [p]Loot crates can now be broken open with weapon strikes.[/p]
• [p]The upcoming patch’s territory is now populated with loot, crates, chests, items, alchemy plants, ore veins of different types, and other collectible elements.[/p]
• [p]Set up enemy loot tables.[/p]
• [p]Finished work on the Dark Forest location.[/p]
• [p]Added a forest trader of rare goods who trades them for acorns (which can be farmed from forest creatures).[/p]
• [p]Added 4 upgrade tiers for the following weapon types: swords, dual swords, greatswords, axes, dual axes, greataxes, spears/halberds, bows. In future patches I’ll be adding staves, throwing axes, wands, maces, crossbows, and more.[/p]
• [p]Added new items — for example, a grindstone that can be crafted from stone and ore, and when used increases the damage of piercing/slashing weapons.[/p]
• [p]Began implementing the weapon sharpening system — most likely it will be fully added after the patch release.[/p]
• [p]Assigned NPC patrol routes and basic simulation of their activities.[/p]
• [p]Completed many small tasks I can’t even recall, like setting up NPC mouth movements, and so on.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]What’s left to do:[/p]

• [p]Trader inventories.[/p]
• [p]Optimization of the new areas.[/p]
• [p]2–3 more days of combat polishing.[/p]
• [p]Play through the game a couple of times to set at least some initial difficulty balance.[/p]
• [p]Another pass of quest polishing and finishing minor details.[/p]
• [p]And generally, since everything I’ve done for the patch so far has been at about 95% completion, now it’s time to tie up all the loose ends — fix, finish, and add anything I’ve missed.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Some things I’ve decided to add later, after the patch release — for example, everything related to sorcerers and their magic/staves. This is a huge chunk of work that would delay the patch.[/p][p]I’d like to (and might be able to) finish the patch by the end of August, but if I’m not satisfied with the quality after my test playthroughs, the release will be moved to mid-September.[/p][p]In any case, I recommend waiting for the full release version rather than playing an incomplete build, as there’s still a lot of exciting content to come.[/p][p]The patch will mainly be released so it can be tested, and to remove any doubts about the work being done. But the best experience will be at full release.[/p][p]The patch may contain a lot of bugs (or maybe not) since I’m currently focused on adding content rather than polishing it. All polishing will come afterward.[/p][p]Thanks everyone — back to work![/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p]Lately, I’ve been working to the limit — I just can’t stop. I’m developing the game like a man possessed, eager to release the next patch as soon as possible.[/p][p]Here’s what I’ve been working on recently:[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]1. Extensive rework of the combat system.
You’ll now see many more active and passive abilities in the skills menu.
Each weapon type will have its own set of abilities — 8 in total: 4 standard ones you’ve seen in Early Access, and 4 enhanced ones with various effects.
These advanced abilities won’t come easy — you’ll need to complete divine trials, and they’ll likely become available in the second half of the game.[/p][hr][/hr][p]2. Elemental enchantments.
You can now enchant your 4 core abilities with different elements. Feel free to mix and match: apply fire to a stun ability, or lightning to a sweeping strike — anything goes.
Weapon attacks are quite diverse, and even I’m surprised at how many fun combinations you can create by enchanting abilities for unique effects.
I think players will be able to come up with tons of builds, especially since I’ve added several new weapon types:[/p]

• [p]Dual weapons[/p]
• [p]Spears / halberds / bardiches[/p]
• [p]Throwing axe[/p]
• [p]Staves[/p]

[p]Each weapon has a distinct feel, with its own strengths and weaknesses, but all are powerful — so pick the one that suits your style.[/p][hr][/hr][p]3. Weapon and shield transmogrification.
For those unfamiliar: this feature lets you apply the appearance of one weapon to another while keeping its stats.
For example, if you prefer simpler, less flashy weapon designs, you can now play even at level 30 using a plain staff like Gandalf’s. Just apply the look of the first staff you find to your high-level one.[/p][hr][/hr][p]4. New enemy type — mages.
They can attack while retreating, kite you, and cast spells from afar.[/p][hr][/hr][p]5. Added werewolves and a new type of spider, and improved the existing ones.
Spiders can now immobilize players using their web.[/p][hr][/hr][p]6. Four new types of lizard enemies.
Each with its own combat style:[/p]

• [p]A shielded tank[/p]
• [p]A fast claw-attacker[/p]
• [p]A two-handed brute[/p]
• [p]A lizard shaman[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]7. Complete overhaul of the character equipment display system.
This allowed me to add visible bows and quivers with arrows or bolts on the character.
It also fixed several visual bugs.[/p][hr][/hr][p]8. Rebalanced experience gains from quests and monsters throughout the next patch — from Early Access up to Cold Yar.[/p][hr][/hr][p]9. Added a system to reduce XP gains if the player farms monsters excessively, preventing over-leveling.[/p][hr][/hr][p]10. Added gold rewards to most quests.[/p][hr][/hr][p]11. Composer finished a new track for the Dark Forest.[/p][hr][/hr][p]12. Currently modeling a boss.
I won’t spoil which one — let’s just say it’s a reference to a well-known fairy tale [/p][hr][/hr][p]13. For the past few days, I’ve been distributing enemies across the world of Borea:
in forests, dungeons, caves, and so on.
I’m planning progression, enemy balance, where they appear, and how many — trying to make encounters interesting.
As usual, some enemies will be stronger and block access to certain areas until the hero becomes powerful enough.
It turned out to be a much bigger task than I expected [/p][hr][/hr][p]Honestly, if not for insomnia, I probably wouldn’t have written this report at all.
I barely have time to talk to my family — my partner says I’m obsessed and that I need to stop.
She brings me food, gives me massages... but this is the way.
I can’t do it any other way.[/p][p]And just to be clear — I’m not complaining. I absolutely love making games.
I’m passionate about this project, proud of the results, and I’m no martyr.
Sure, it’s exhausting — but it’s also insanely fun.[/p][p]The joy from seeing the game take shape is what’s keeping me up at night.
I keep thinking about how players will experience it, what else I can add, how to make things better.[/p][p]I’ll try to take at least one day off to recharge.
But honestly, it’s hard for me to take breaks — whenever I stop working on the game, I get incredibly bored and just want to dive back into the engine.[/p][hr][/hr][p]By the way, for those wondering — my arm seems to be healing. Morning push-ups and pull-ups are helping.[/p][p]Wishing you all the best![/p]

[p]Greetings everyone!
We've decided to change the game's title to YAR — an ancient Slavic word meaning a slope, ravine, or riverbank — precisely the kind of shore where the main character arrives at the beginning of his journey. It symbolizes the starting point of the hero's story.[/p][p]Besides, Elder Legacy always felt a bit generic and uninspired to me. I believe YAR may capture more attention thanks to its mystery and uniqueness.[/p][p]P.S. The in-game title will still show as Elder Legacy for now, as I can't update the game at this moment. All core systems have been affected — including balance, combat, and many others — so the main menu will reflect the new name only with the next major update this summer.[/p]