The Rogue Prince of Persia News

Hello everyone,


Seems like we were a tad premature with our post last week.

We said that Ubisoft Connect would be an optional-only feature at 1.0, but things have evolved.


There will in fact be no Ubisoft Connect at all for the game on Steam.


Now we are aware that some people might have wanted Ubisoft Connect in order to do cross-saves with consoles. If this is requested by a lot of players at 1.0, then there are other ways we could address cross-saves and we can explore that if/when it comes :)


No price increase in January

We'd also previously mentioned a price increase after the Winter Sale but again our plans have slightly changed.
We won’t be raising the price in January, but we will still raise the price at some point in the future, considering all the content that has been added and will be added, but right now isn't the right moment. It's a Christmas miracle.

Also, we will have our biggest ever discount of 25% for the Steam Winter Sale. Just sayin.


Roadmap

In case anyone missed it, last week we posted a loose roadmap for the first half of 2025:



If you want more insight into that then go read our previous Steam post: https://steamcommunity.com/games/2717880/announcements/detail/4479488435875218790

Essentially we'll be polishing the bejeezus out of all the features we added this year while feeding in some new content, addressing some issues and getting the final biomes/boss ready.


We can't wait for all that but right now we're going to go eat, drink, sleep and get merry for a week or two to recover from this crazy year.


Have a great holiday break!
Matt & the EE team

Hello everyone,

Hope you've all been enjoying the Second Act update and everything that came with it!

Now we've got that monster of an update out into the world, we can talk a bit about the future and what's in store for The Rogue Prince of Persia in 2025.

Behold, the new roadmap!




Most of that is pretty self-explanatory, but we want to expand a bit on some points which might be misunderstood...


Medallion management

Before you panic, we're not going to change the Medallion system again - just how you find, improve and setup your Medallions.

Right now the system of filling your Medallion bag through kills, then opening it, then picking up the Medallions, then only being able to adjust them at altars or with Astara is, well... just too complicated, time-consuming and frankly it can kill the flow of a run.

So, we've got some big improvements coming to this whole system to make it more fluid, streamlined and fun!


Improve control input & response

We've seen some reviews and posts about the game controls feeling slow, that they have input lag, problems with getting locked in to animations etc...

After swearing a blood oath to hunt these people and their entire families down, we realised that we actually agree that this can be improved, so we're going to address it! We're not going to go into detail about exactly how, as there's a lot of background tech & number stuff involved, but it's coming soon!

Now, we also get lots of positive comments about the movement and controls, so if that's you don't worry, we're not going to make crazy radical changes either.


Make biome layouts more random

Some biomes have an issue where they feel the same in every run, even though they're procedurally generated.

This shouldn't be the case, so around half of the biomes are currently being worked on to add more variety to their layout and 'rooms', without sacrificing the feel of the biome.


Improve loading transitions

The first round of improvements will be purely visual - making the entrances/exits of biomes and the transition screen itself more good-looking.

Then later on in the year we'll be trying to reduce the loading time. To put it simply, the loading screen is there to entertain your eyes while the game generates the level design of the next biome.

Sometimes this level generation fails and has to start again - we have several ways to improve this process, but we have a small team, the solutions take a long time to test, and we have many other things to do, so this has to come later on in the year. But it IS coming!


Improve traversal & combat 'feeling'

This is kind of a follow-up to the 'control input & response' point. While we think we've earned the right to say that the gameplay is satisfying, we think there's a good 20% of extra satisfaction to be found.

Whether it's making the animations more fluid, adding more audio feedback or adjusting the visual effects, next year we'll be searching for more of that sweet sweet "gamefeel" nectar.


Environmental interactions and breakable environmental items

Our artists' work on the "glow-up" for the Second Act update was incredible, but the environments can still lack a bit of life.

So we're going to be adding things in the background that you can interact with, as well as random things happening in the background.

Maybe a flock of birds will fly off as you get close, maybe a part of a tower will collapse - events that make the world much more lived in.

You'll probably also be able to break some random pots, because can a video game really exist without that?


Summary

This year we've put all the structures in place to get the game in a good position for 1.0, now we just need to polish the absolute hell out of these features, while taking the community's feedback into account.

We'll add some extra spice along the way, then the final story act, biomes and boss and we'll be good to go!!


Denuvo + Ubisoft Connect on Steam - update

We've noticed people asking about Denuvo (the anti-piracy software) and whether it will be in the game at 1.0.

Well, we can tell you that Denuvo will NOT be in the game on Steam.

On the same note, Ubisoft Connect will be available as an optional-only activable feature at 1.0 on Steam.


Voila.


See you soon,
Matt & the EE team

Hello!

As I guess you've seen, The Steam Awards nominations have started and so it's time for us to stake our little claim.

If you enjoy playing The Rogue Prince of Persia on Steam Deck, love the Visual Style, or you just can't get enough of the bangers made by Asadi for the Soundtrack, please consider us when you're making your nominations :)

I chose Soundtrack to be tagged here as we're saving ourselves for Game of the Year in 2025 mwahahahahaaa...

We'll be back with more news soon!

Thanks for playing,
Matt & the EE team

Hello!

A new patch just went live to address some issues introduced in the Second Act update, check that you've updated to version 0.10.6 : 71f53cc7 if you're still seeing any of the following...


Bugfixes:
- Fixed generation issues in Temple of Fire
- Fixed an unintended interaction with acid pools and elemental medallions
- Fixed bag not opening in Warehouse
- Fixed a color issue with highlighted tab in Inventory
- Fixed a soft lock that could occur in Huns' camp
- Fixed a soft lock that could occur in Golden Mines' challenge room
- Fixed an issue that could cause to respawn on the spot the Prince died instead of Oasis
- Fixed an issue with some achievements not unlocking


Thanks for playing!

Hello!

This has been a long time coming, but we're stoked to finally present to you The Second Act!

Check out the gameplay trailer and see what's up...
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Here's the TLDR if you just want to go and play the game, but if you want the full lowdown then read on!

• Big art upgrade
  
• 2 new biomes
  
• 2 new bosses
  
• New story act + tons of polish on Act 1
  
• 5 new enemies
  
• Difficulty re-balancing
  
• Many Quality of Life additions like multiple save slots & spirit cinder/gold automatic pick-up
  
• German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish localisation
  
• Development continuing into 2025
  
• Price rise after Steam's Winter Sale
  

If you prefer to listen/watch we've done a VLOG for this update too:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Big art upgrade[/h3]
Let's cover this first - it's the most visually impactful change we've made, and more importantly you'll be wondering what's going on with the gifs in the rest of the post if you don't know what we've done ^^'



We've basically changed the art of everything - the background, foreground, character designs, character portraits - everything.

Why did we do this?

We've had quite a lot of negative feedback about the art direction since launch - stuff like it's too simple, too cosy, too cartoony, looks like a flash game and so on.

While 'art' is subjective and we could write an essay about the reasoning and debate we had around changing the style, the simple way of putting it is that we just weren't hitting the right production value and 'action game' notes that we should. We believe this stopped a significant number of people from trying the game. Obviously we want people to play our game so... we changed it.

This is an Early Access game and we're big believers in using this phase to make significant changes to our existing content if needed, not just for adding smaller features and tweaking some elements.



So, we've added much more detail, more visual storytelling, reworked the colour palettes and plenty of other things that go over my head. We've kept the same 'hand-drawn' inspirations from before, but we've just turned the dial more towards a darker 'war-torn' style that fits better with the story, setting, genre and Prince of Persia as a whole.

We're really happy with the result and we hope you are too! If you preferred the old style we are very sorry, but we believe that this change is the best choice for the game.

Also yes, the Prince is no longer purple. The reasons for this are essentially the same as for the general changes, and also just because he looked weird in contrast with the new art direction. RIP brave warrior (Rest In Purple).



However, there may or may not be a skin coming in the future for any purple lovers out there...

Now, let's get stuck into the actual gameplay!

[h3]2 new Biomes[/h3] Golden Mines

Introduced as a new first biome (alternative to Zagros Village and Hun Camp), these beautiful but deadly mines offer a new challenge to the Prince.



Tight mine shafts channel you into groups of enemies, then open up into huge caverns where the only way to traverse the space is to scale the scaffolding and platforms left behind by the miners. You'll need to adapt to fighting in these two different environments as you progress through the biome.

But explore these pits with care as they've been weakened by the Hun's activity - ceilings threaten to collapse and poles will snap at the lightest touch...


Craftsmen's District

This alternative biome to the Flooded Gardens will see you sprinting and vaulting high up on the rooftops of the Craftsmen's District.



Watch your step, as falling from these heights will hurt... a lot. But a long fall isn't the only danger under your feet. Acidic pools left behind from the craftsmen's labours will viciously burn if so much as a drop touches skin.

Yet acid isn't the only elemental danger in this District. Wall-running past hanging pots of chemicals will cause them to fall and burst into flame, setting vast swathes of the ground alight with fire.


Of course, new biomes also means new bangers for the soundtrack by ASADI, so turn that volume up!


[h3]5 new enemies[/h3]
New biomes need new enemies and we've introduced some tricky buggers...

Digger - Lurking in the Mines, the Digger will pop out from the ground to strike you, so keep an eye out for moving earth!

Assassin - Will stab at you with a spear - seems basic, but watch out! If you get too far away they'll teleport directly above you and slam attack.

Skystalker - A strange floating collection of Bombcrawlers that follows you everywhere, regularly ejecting a Bombcrawler that flies at you and explodes!

Trapper - Sneaky mob that leaves bombs on the ground that only explode when walked on, whether by you or someone else...

Ranged Lookout - As if Lookouts weren't annoying enough, there's now Lookouts with crossbows that can shoot in 360°!


[h3]2 new Bosses[/h3]
I don't want to give more information about these than what's shown in the trailer, so I'm going to let you discover these powerful Hun Generals on your own...

If you want to test yourself against them then just get through each of the two new biomes ;)

I'm gonna say it again - new bosses means new bangers from ASADI, so turn that volume up!

Happy hunting!


[h3]New story act & narration polish + new saves[/h3]
We've added a whole new second story act for you to discover, but the existing first act has also been tweaked and all the dialogue has been rewritten. This was another source of negative comments at launch, so we've listened and made changes!



We strongly recommend that you port your save to a new save slot to experience the new story as it changes some things - this 'save port' is done in-game, so there's no need for you to mess around with save folders (you will get a prompt in-game about this, it's much simpler than it sounds).

You will lose all narration progress, which means you'll have to unlock the access to biomes, Sukhra's forge and The Awakening again, but don't panic, all your other unlocks like weapons, skill points, medallions, Soul Cinders and Awakening stones will be transferred over to the new save slot.

NOTE: If you continue with a 'legacy save' then we can't guarantee the stability of your save with future updates.

You also now have 3 save slots if you want to try out new things or let someone else play their own runs!


[h3]Difficulty re-balancing[/h3]
We've felt for a while that the difficulty progression through a run is pretty flat, but we had other fires to put out first. Now this fire is getting a big ol' spray from the game design fire extinguisher.

Before today, the challenge of a run didn't really increase as you progressed further, especially if you got a good build early. As a run can take 30-40 minutes, we were concerned this could get boring, and being boring is the greatest sin in gaming!

With this update difficulty will now be boosted after defeating a boss - it's time to git gud!

This was done with some behind-the-scenes number tweaking, but we've also made some adjustments with which enemies spawn in which biomes, so prepare for some surprises.


[h3]Extra languages[/h3]
This one is very simple - we've added German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish localisation to the game! The Rogue Prince is becoming Mr. International...


[h3]The Future[/h3]
That's everything about this update, but we also want to talk a little bit about the future of the game.

For this, we need to take a quick look at the past - this is a list of all the content we've added in the 6 months since launch (doesn't include the content of this update!):

• 1 biome (Temple)
  
• metaprogression through skill trees
  
• 21 weapons (7 of these were reworked but are effectively new)
  
• speed boost (Vayu's Blast)
  
• difficulty modifiers (The Awakening)
  
• 50 medallions & complete system rework
  
• projectile reflect with kick
  
• 7 enemies
  
• critical damage
  
• Rescue missions
  
• Bestiary (Book of Heads)
  

As you can see, we've added lots of features in a short amount of time. Now we need to revisit them and perfect them both individually and as a whole. Looking at you, medallion bag...

So for the immediate future you can expect us to be polishing the hell out of a lot of existing content, while mixing in some extra spice of course.

We also need to finish the story, which means a final boss and some biomes, so you don't have to worry about us focusing just on polish and not adding chunky new content.

We don't have a 2025 roadmap yet, or even know if we'll release one, but we'll be back with more information on this ASAP. For the moment the devs need to have some well-deserved R&R :)


[h3]Price going up after Winter Sale[/h3]
Finally, to reflect the new level of content in the game, the price will be raised a bit in January - we'll give more details in December about the exact date and amount.

In the meantime, there's a discount right now and then the Autumn and Winter sales are coming up, so there's plenty of time to get the game at a lower price before it rises!


Phew, that was a lot... Thanks to everyone who's been playing and giving feedback since launch, and a big shout-out to the technical beta testers for all your help with this mother of all updates!



Cheers,
Matt and the EE team