Dwelvers News

[h2]Hello Dungeon Diggers,[/h2][p][/p][p]I’m back from a couple of weeks of vacation and fully diving into development again! Right now, I’m working on a big refactor of how creatures move around in Dwelvers.[/p][p][/p][p]For a while, we’ve seen some odd behaviors — creatures forming unnatural groups, ignoring diagonal shortcuts, and generally feeling less alive than they should. After 10+ years of development, it’s time to tackle this properly to make creature movement smoother, smarter, and more natural.[/p][p][/p][p]While doing this refactor, I’m also adding several new features that will make the dungeon feel more dynamic:[/p][p][/p][h3]Smarter Creature Behavior[/h3]

• [p]Take diagonal shortcuts where possible.[/p]
• [p]Show more curiosity and explore the dungeon more actively.[/p]
• [p]Avoid walking through each other.[/p]
• [p]Be disturbed when non-workers pass through their workspace.[/p]
• [p]Fight more realistically, without stacking into a single spot.[/p]
• [p]Use more advanced pathfinding to navigate crowded areas.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]How This Improves Gameplay[/h3]

• [p]Room layouts will naturally impact productivity.[/p]
• [p]Battle positioning will matter — some locations will offer strategic advantages.[/p]
• [p]Dungeon design will affect travel speed — what works early may need rethinking later.[/p]
• [p]Explorers will spot and engage intruders more effectively.[/p]
• [p]Overall, the dungeon will feel more alive and immersive.[/p]

[p][/p][p]What do you think about these upcoming changes?[/p][p]Do you feel this will make Dwelvers more interesting and strategic?[/p][p][/p][p]Have a great day, and I’ll be back with more news soon![/p][p]/Rasmus[/p]

[p]Hello Dungeon Lords![/p][p][/p][p]We’re excited to announce that the Steam Workshop is now fully integrated into Dwelvers!
This means you can now create, customize, share, and play custom Realms directly inside the game — no external tools needed![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Create Your Own Realms[/h2][p]Head into the Realm Editor from the main menu and click "Create New Realm" to start building your own unique dungeon experience.
Use the editor to:[/p]

• [p]Shape the landscape[/p]
• [p]Place minerals, enemies, and more[/p]
• [p]Set the difficulty and layout[/p]
• [p]Save your Realm with just a click[/p]

[p]By default, victory is achieved by defeating all enemies — but that’s just the beginning...[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Customize Victory Conditions with XML[/h2][p]Want to go deeper?
Dwelvers is a moddable game by nature, and you can tweak your Realm even further by editing its XML script.[/p][p]Examples of what you can set:[/p]

• [p]Defeat a number of enemies[/p]
• [p]Survive for a number of minutes[/p]
• [p]Gather a specific amount of a resource[/p]
• [p]Reach a certain spell or crafting level[/p]
• [p]Control all (or a number of) portals[/p]
• [p]Or... remove the victory condition entirely![/p]

[p]💡 Check the folder:
%appdata%\\Dwelvers\\editorMaps
to find your saved Realms and their XML scripts.[/p]

[p]Want inspiration? Take a look at the built-in campaign XML files — they’re packed with examples of sub-objectives, event triggers, and more.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Publish Your Realm to the Workshop[/h2][p]When you're ready to share your creation, go to:
Realm Editor → Workshop → Publish Realm[/p][p]Choose your map and set:[/p]

• [p]Visibility: Public / Friends Only / Private / Unlisted[/p]
• [p]Commit message: Describe your changes or updates[/p]

[p]With one click, your Realm is live!
Players who subscribe to it will automatically get any updates you publish.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Play Realms Made by the Community[/h2][p]Want to try something new?
Go to Start Game → Workshop Realms → Browse, and subscribe to Realms created by other players.[/p][p]Once subscribed:[/p]

• [p]The Realm downloads automatically[/p]
• [p]You'll see a "SUB" tag on it[/p]
• [p]You can launch it from Workshop Realms → Play[/p]

[p]Don’t forget to leave an upvote if you enjoy what others have built![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Workshop Guide[/h2][p]To get more information you can check out the Workshop Guide.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]More Modding to Come...[/h2][p]This is just the beginning. While Realms are the first Workshop content type, we plan to expand support to include:[/p]

• [p]Custom creatures[/p]
• [p]Buildings[/p]
• [p]Items[/p]
• [p]Graphics and more[/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Thank you for being part of the Dwelvers community — I can't wait to see the incredible Realms you’ll create![/p][p][/p][p]/ Rasmus[/p]

[h3]Hi Fellow Dwelvers,[/h3][p]I just wanted to pop in and share this week’s events with you. 😊[/p][p][/p][h2]Reviews[/h2][p]We’ve had 9 positive reviews in the last month, which is really great! Most of them came in just this past week, and it really boosted my motivation even more![/p][p][/p][p]If we get 10 positive reviews within a month, Steam will show Dwelvers as “Overwhelmingly Positive” for all visitors. Just one more review and we’re there! 🙌[/p][p][/p][h2]Workshop[/h2][p]The Workshop is progressing as it should! I had to spend some time enabling asynchronous loading in Dwelvers to ensure smooth communication with the Steam API. Doing this also ended up improving the loading screens even further.[/p][p][/p][h2]Feature Discussion[/h2][p]I really love the feature discussions we’re currently having. Dwelvers has so much potential, and seeing all the possible improvements to make the game even better makes me truly excited. The Steam forum is becoming more and more active, and it makes me really happy every time a new user shares feedback.[/p][p][/p][h2]Marketing[/h2][p]I continue to reach out to YouTubers and other reviewers, and I’m also trying to keep the Dwelvers YouTube channel alive with fresh content. I’m currently experimenting with YouTube Shorts to see if it helps reach new viewers.[/p][p]Here’s my latest video on the channel if you’d like to check it out:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Have a great day,[/p][p]/ Rasmus[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Hi fellow Delvers, or Dwellers, or Dwelvers,[/h3][p]Since the last announcement I have made some graphical improvements to the game, I have also been working on getting the Steam Workshop up and running, and doing some marketing. A lot of things is going on right now :)[/p][p][/p][h2]Graphical Improvements[/h2][p]All icons in the game have now been updated to a high res consistent art style. This means:[/p]

• [p]New creature icons.[/p]
• [p]New construction icons.[/p]
• [p]New tool icons.[/p]
• [p]New spell icons.[/p]

[p][/p][p]I have also added splash screens featuring almost all the creature types in the game, this makes the loading part a little bit more fun.[/p][p][/p][h2]Upcoming Steam Workshop[/h2][p]I have finally started working on adding the Steam workshop to Dwelvers, and I kind of regret not doing this sooner. Currently I am able to upload maps that I have made in the Realm Editor, and the next step is to browse maps in Steam Workshop made by other users and play them.[/p][p][/p][p]The goal is the following:[/p]

• [p]Get a first version of the workshop up and running - This will focus on uploading and downloading maps only, in the future we will have other mods.[/p]
• [p]Everything will be accessible from within the game - You will not have to download maps from an website, or have a specific tool to upload maps.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Vote and Discuss on Upcoming Features[/h2][p]I have started a thread here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/276870/discussions/0/600784181506683617/[/p][p][/p][p]Here I would love your input on some upcoming features I am planning on adding, I have a general idea on how to implement them, but I really need your input here. There are a lot of balancing acts that needs to be considered before I start.[/p][p][/p][h2]Marketing[/h2][p]Since the Dark Sister release I have sold some copies of Dwelvers, but not near the amount that I was planning on selling. The issue is that I have relied on Steam to actually do some of the marketing for me, but since they have changed the algorithms since the last time I started a visibility round - They will not help me.[/p][p]This totally changes my marketing strategy for Dwelvers where I now need to put more time into reaching out to people that can review and talk about Dwelvers. I also plan to be more active on the forums, even if it takes some time out of the development.[/p][p]The low review score Dwelvers have is also an issue, most of the bad reviews are really old, I have tried to reach out the users that wrote them - telling them that Dwelvers is complete, and not abandoned - but this haven't helped. Therefore it is important that we keep getting new fresh positive reviews.[/p][p]This is a long road we have in front of us, but with frequent updates and having an active community will lead to success. Dwelvers is a hidden gem that just need to be discovered.[/p][p][/p][p]You can check out this new video I made, showing the everyday life of creatures in Dwelvers (this video is 100% scripted using Dwelvers own map scripting language - This shows the power of what maps you will be able to do and share once the workshop is up and running).[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Keep having a good day, and see you soon :)[/p][p]/ Rasmus[/p]

[p]Welcome Surface Dweller,[/p][p][/p][p]With this new update, we’re excited to introduce the Dark Sister — and a brand-new campaign dedicated entirely to her.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So what makes the Dark Sister different from the Dark Mother (besides the blue-tiful paint job)? What can you expect from this campaign?[/p][p][/p][p]Like her darker sibling, the Dark Sister is driven by ambition — her sights set on nothing less than total domination. But as the story unfolds, priorities shift, alliances falter, and difficult choices must be made. In the final hour... her true self will be revealed.[/p][p][/p][p]Expect fishy hordes, trogosaur infestations, dwarfish traitors, and elfish curses. Venture through the deep places of the world, cross paths with a vengeful prince, and take part in one last journey — one final act of service.[/p][p][/p][p]We hope you enjoy the Dark Sister campaign as much as we enjoyed creating it.[/p][p][/p][h2]New Campaign[/h2][p]A brand-new campaign with 4 unique scenarios is now available!
Each one will push you outside your comfort zone, challenging your strategies and decisions.[/p][p][/p][p]This is a story-driven experience that pulls you deep into the world of the Dark Sister — and the sinister plans of the evil humans.[/p][p][/p][p]Special thanks to our newest and most trustworthy Dungeon Designer, Marcus Westerlund, for bringing this campaign to life![/p][p][/p][h2]New Content for Dungeon Designers[/h2][p]You can now choose between multiple types of reinforced walls and roads to shape your dungeon exactly how you want it.
Stairs are back! Build a road over a cliff, and it will automatically transform into a staircase.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You can also select from four different Dark Rulers, each with their own color:[/p]

• [p]The original Dark Mother (Red)[/p]
• [p]The newly introduced Dark Sister (Blue) – featuring a unique voice that captures her... unique personality[/p]
• [p]And two more variants in Green and Yellow[/p]

[p]This not only adds visual variety to your dungeon creations, but also lays the groundwork for future battles — where multiple Dark Rulers can clash on the same map in a fight for domination.[/p][p][/p][p]We've added 26 new achievements, bringing the total to 39![/p][p][/p][p]Some track your progress — others celebrate your overachieving abilities.[/p][p][/p][p]Creatures can now instantly find the shortest path from any location in the dungeon to any other — all while factoring in things like enemy avoidance (especially useful if you're a scared little imp).[/p][p][/p][h2]More Efficient Production Chain[/h2][p]Thanks to our dedicated beta testers, every flaw in the production chain was tracked down and improved. They gave feedback, we delivered fixes — and they came back with even more suggestions.[/p][p]After many iterations, the developers and beta testers together have made the production chain significantly more efficient.[/p][p][/p][p]It’s a great example of how valuable your feedback is in helping us make a better game.[/p][p][/p][h2]Optimization[/h2][p]Compared to Dwelvers 1.0, the game now runs at double the framerate — a 100% improvement in performance![/p][p][/p][h2]Thank You![/h2][p]A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped shape this game into what it is today.
After 11 years, I still can’t stop developing it — and that’s all thanks to your amazing support.[/p][p]Me to the left and Marcus to the right (as Dungeon Master)[/p][p][/p][p]/ The Dwelvers Team[/p][p][/p][p][/p]