First Dwarf: First Island News

Hello, Dwarves!

The date of the First Dwarf Early Access release has been revealed! Watch our completely NEW trailer announcing the exact day that you should RUN to our Steam page!

[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uvdR-pXNHA[/previewyoutube]

It’s JUNE 19th 2024!

[h3]How much will it cost?[/h3]

The price of Early Access is going to be 24,99$ / 24,99 Euro / 89,99 PLN / 20,99 GBP

We are a Polish studio and that’s why we have a very special offer for our Polish gamers! The price in Polish złoty is lower. 😁 If you want to know the price of our game in your country, let us know in the comments!

Along with the announcement of our prices, we prepared a challenge for you, which you can check out below!

[h3]Download the DEMO[/h3]

While we wait for Early Access, our Demo is already available to try for FREE! Did you play it? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2712830/First_Dwarf/

[h2]Community Challenge! May the whole world hear about First Dwarf![/h2]

TA-DA! We have a BIG SURPRISE for you! 🎉

To make things even more exciting, we decided to announce a challenge for all of you! Yes, ALL of you can take part and it’s super easy!

We want to celebrate the Early Access release of First Dwarf with our awesome community. You can earn a launch discount, if our Community Steam Group will get a high enough number.

[h2]Here are the 3 goals we established:[/h2]



Deadline for meeting the goals is June 19th, the date of First Dwarf Early Access release.

[h3]Tell everyone about First Dwarf[/h3]

By wishlisting First Dwarf you’re not only heightening your chances for the bigger discount during our Early Access launch, but also helps us A TON. For a small indie studio like us, it’s really a big deal. Adding games to your wishlist, helps us with visibility. That means a bigger possibility for success and spreading the love for tough dwarves and dragons!

Do you know the game “Tomato”? Yeah, that’s what you can do now, but change tomato to…

May all your friends, all your family and the WHOLE WORLD know about First Dwarf!

[h3]Other ways to help us[/h3]

Adding First Dwarf to your wishlist will really help us a lot, but we’d be extremely happy if you’d follow us on our social media:

• TikTok
• Twitter/X
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• GameJolt

And MOST importantly, join our Discord server! During the launch there will be plenty of things to discuss and we can’t wait to meet you!!



[h2]We are ready!![/h2]



Thank you for your support, Dwarves!
Star Drifters Team 🌟🚀

Hi, Dwarves! 🛠

We just CAN’T wait to sum up our recent doings for you! Buckle up, because we have a ton of new info.

[h3]Future Games Show Summer Showcase 🌴[/h3]

Let’s go! We can finally announce that First Dwarf is going to be featured during the upcoming Future Games Show. It’s a very important date for us, as we prepared something exclusively for this event…


[h3]We’re going to reveal… our EARLY ACCESS RELEASE DATE during the Future Games Show on June 8th! Yes, soon there will be no more guessing!
[/h3]

[h3]Click here to see the FGS trailer![/h3]

Future Games Show covers updates and news from upcoming AAA, as well as indie studios. Watch the broadcast and discover something new! ✨

[h3]🎮 Join us on our dev stream! 🎮[/h3]

And here is the best part… We’ll be livestreaming on that day on Steam! Join us as we’ll be playing First Dwarf and chatting with our two team members, Level and Quest Designer and Community Manager. We can’t wait to see you! ⭐

It’s a wonderful occasion to get to know us and see our game in action!

Will we survive the dangerous adventures on Driftland? We highly encourage you to come see us and chat with us! It’s gonna be a lot of fun!



BUT! That’s not the only event worth waiting for, becauseeee…

[h3]We’re going to CD-Action Expo 2024! 🚀[/h3]

If you’ll be there too, make sure to stop by and say hi! Meet us at our booth and let’s have a lot of fun during this wonderful event!

Aside from the indie game area, you’ll have a chance to check out the board gaming area, Gothic Village, E-sport section, retro gaming and more!

https://expo.cdaction.pl/




[h3]Ending Playtest 2.0[/h3]

Not so long ago we closed our second round of Playtests (as you may know, we extended them due to a high interest). Thank you all so much for helping us once again by giving us your precious feedback! We’ll use it the best we can, to enhance your experience with First Dwarf. 🐉

During the last play testing we were focused on local and online co-op and we’re really happy that many of you wanted to try our game with your friends! Because what’s better than playing First Dwarf? Playing it with your buddy! 🙋🙋





[h3]New night view 🌕🌠🌌[/h3]

Our game is changing every day and recently we decided to upgrade our night escapades a little… Now it’s brighter and clearer which translates to a better view of the world surrounding us. Night flights with Ragna under a full moon looking down right at you… What an unforgettable experience!



[h3]💖 Support the indie 💖[/h3]

But that’s not the only thing you’ve been asking! We get a lot of questions about how someone can help us, and there are a couple of things that you can do to aid us.

Add our game to your Steam wishlist! When a title is wishlisted by a lot of people, it gives us more visibility. It’s super easy and really helps us a ton.

You can also follow our game on Steam! This way you won’t miss a thing when it comes to news and updates. Join our fantasy adventure!

And the best place to chat with us and see what we are up to is, of course, our Discord server! You can write there about absolutely everything you want, it’s the easiest way to leave us your feedback, which is really important for us.



This simple “click” where Ragna is pointing, will teleport you to the magical world… Become a part of our journey!



Talking about follows… Why won’t you join us on our social media? We all know that getting OUT THERE can be tough sometimes and we highly appreciate every single one of you who hits that follow button (bonus points if you like our posts)! Also, recently we freshened up our profiles a little…



Here are our sites and next to them we’re linking some fun posts… See what you’ve been missing out!!

Discord
Twitter/X - Our game and 3 inspirations behind it…
TikTok - Build your dream base!
Instagram - Books AND games? + see one of the faces behind the texts you’re reading here
Facebook - Victorious sunrise!
LinkedIn - CD-Action Expo! Coming soon
Gamejolt - Mana extraction
YouTube - Gameplay overview…15 minutes of pure fun!

[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_3QfJYCJM4[/previewyoutube]



As always, thank you so much for being with us and for your support! We absolutely can’t wait to share more great news in the near future. Have a great day and see you soon!

Yours,
Star Drifters Team 🌟🚀

Hi, Dwarves! 🛠

How are you doing? Bases built? 🔨 Enemies defeated? 🤕 Feedback given? 📝👀

If you answered “yes” to all, that’s GREAT. But in case you didn’t manage to join our First Dwarf Playtest 2.0, we’ve got a wonderful surprise for you!



[h3]Extra days to play ⏰[/h3]

Due to the overwhelming interest in our playtests - with over 20,000 players participating - we're excited to announce that we're extending the First Dwarf playtests until May 10th.

Plenty of time to build a powerful base and explore the floating islands of Driftland! Maybe even pet a mysterious Ferin? 🐾



[h3]Appear in our game’s credits! 👏[/h3]

We are extremely grateful for the feedback you’re sharing with us! That’s why we want to thank you, not only with words, but with actions!

After filling our feedback form, you can choose to write your nickname there. We’ll include it in the credits of the final version of First Dwarf. Become one of the players that help us shape the game! You can read more in the opt-in-credits Discord channel.

First Dwarf Feedback Survey

Remember to check out our Discord, as it’s the best place to talk with us about First Dwarf (and other things you wish to discuss, because, why not?). You’ll find there channels dedicated for the Playtest and other helpful information, this way you won’t miss a thing!



[h3]Playtesting the co-op[/h3]

Remember, that you can also try out our freshly added local and online co-op mode. Play with your friend and see if you have what it takes to become the First Dwarf!

[h3]Let’s create the game together![/h3]

Thank you so much for your enormous support! Thanks to you, we can develop our project more and more everyday. Stay tuned for more and let’s keep in touch!

Yours,
Star Drifters team ⭐🚀

[h3]Hi, Dwarves! 🛠[/h3]

We’re BACK with a new article! 👏 *round of applause* 👏 Since the last Dev Update we added some new content into the game and we would love to share it with you! We’re super excited about it and hope that you’ll like it just as we do. Let’s take a closer look at what we’ve been up to!

[h3]First weekend with co-op ahead[/h3]

Last Monday we started our 2nd round of Playtests! Now it’s Friday and many of you already expressed their experiences with co-op and the new build of our game. If you couldn’t join us during the past days, there is no better time to do it than now! Let’s dive into the game this weekend!

Play with your friend locally or online and let the fun begin!



Remember that everyone can join our Playtest on Steam! All you have to do is click “Request Access” on First Dwarf’s Steam Page!

And join our Discord! That’s the best way to chat with us and leave feedback!



[h3]Skill Tree[/h3]

Recently one of our main focuses was preparing the skill tree. By gaining experience points in the game, you can use them to upgrade your characters. Mech, Tru and Ragna have separate skill trees and different skills to unlock.



If you were with us during our first Playtest, you could’ve seen the placeholder Ragna model. She’s gone (and will be missed), BUT has been replaced with the cool animation!

Characters in the menu are interactive, hover over them to see their reactions!

However, for now, we didn’t resign completely from goofy images and in the skill tree you can see the adorable cat of one of our team members that became our mascot.



[h3]New puzzle[/h3]

But wait, there's more!

There is a new puzzle for Ragna that you can encounter on one of the floating islands… Collect the blue orbs and find the hidden treasure! Dragon wings are irreplaceable when it comes to searching through inaccessible locations. She’s also an incredible swimmer! Her diving skill will have an upgrade option in the future, so she can hold her breath underwater even longer. Very convenient!



Also, as you can see above, there are some mysterious roots growing near the orbs. That’s our work-in-progress-plant! Let’s look at the concepts below!



This weird stone-like plant is emitting the mana fumes… What could it exactly mean and how is this plant connected to the ecosystem? The world of Driftland hides many secrets, will you manage to find them all? Try to do it during the ongoing Playtest and search the area everywhere you can!



[h3]❤️Add to your wishlist!❤️[/h3]

Remember to add our game to your wishlist! By doing so, you help us a lot! ❤️ Also, we encourage you to add First Dwarf: First Island (our upcoming free prologue) to your lists as well!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2865680/First_Dwarf_Prologue__First_Island/

Thank you for reading and for your support! And if you wish to be up to date with us, check out our social media!

We’ll continue to keep you up to date on our progress in the future Dev Updates! Stay tuned.
Have a great weekend full of games!

Yours,
Star Drifters team 🌟🚀

[h3]Today is the day, Dwarves! 🛠[/h3]

Thanks to your feedback from the 1st Playtest we decided to speed up the second round! First Dwarf Playtest 2.0 will feature fixes that players pointed out in previous tests as well as the first alfa version of our online and local co-op mode and some new things to do on the island! Make sure your Playtest is updated to 0.253 version!

PS. We tried to fix as many things as we could in the time that we had and this is not the end of the fixes!

It’s our first try with co-op in First Dwarf, so please keep in mind that it’s still a work in progress. That’s why your feedback can really help us with polishing the mechanics of multiplayer!

[h3]When? ⏰[/h3]

Playtest starts TODAY and ends in two weeks on the 6th of May 7PM (CEST).

[h3]Who can participate? 🤔[/h3]

Just like last time, everyone can participate! If you had access to the 1st Playtest, you don’t have to request it again. There will be an update for you to download in your game library.

If you didn’t request access during our 1st Playtest, you can do it right now and up until 6th of May 7PM (CEST). Remember that when the clock hits the ending date, access to the game will be disabled.

[h3]What’s N E W ✨[/h3]

Thanks to all your feedback that we gathered (for which we are extremely grateful!), we fixed some bugs, text errors and mechanics. Now you can charge mana and fix buildings twice as fast.

One of the main changes that’s easy to detect is making the buildings that are disconnected from the mana pipes glow red. This way it’s easier to tell if they’re functional!



There is also a new puzzle for Ragna added, so you have more opportunities to use her beautiful wings!

[h3]Play with your friend! 🐉🧔‍♂️[/h3]

We know that a lot of you were waiting for our online and local co-op mode! And now the first taste is finally available for you to try!

In a single-player game you can switch between characters, completing tasks with the one with better skills in a given field.

In co-op, you can share a splitscreen locally, by making one person join with a gamepad and the second one playing with a keyboard, or you can invite a friend online and play on separate devices. Tru and Ragna have separate skills to develop and upgrade, strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose the characters wisely when preparing to complete specific tasks.



You can change characters during the co-op gameplay, but you can’t control the same character at the same time. Mech can be controlled by both Ragna and Tru.

[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKQD5H9-OSA[/previewyoutube]

[h3]Camera shake slider[/h3]

We acknowledged that many of you felt discomfort caused by the shaking of the camera. From now on, you can adjust that motion and if you wish, turn it off completely.

Please tell us your thoughts on this change! We hope that now you can enjoy the game with us.



[h3]📜 Change log 📜[/h3]

New:

• Camera shake slider
• Pop-up tutorial added for combo and high jump
  
• New system of communicating unpowered building (red glow if not connected)
  
• First iteration of development tree:
  
  
  1. mech [mana refueling speed, more stamina, faster repairing]
     
  2. Tru [faster mech repairing, automatic mine improvement, automatic sawmill improvement]
     
  3. Ragna [More stamina]
     
• New environment puzzle for Ragna
  
• Side quest: Eskoim Hammer
  
• New behaviors for settlers depending on the time of the day (sleeping, working, resting)
  
• Option for turning on/off tower radius display
  
• Added 2 new enemies (they are a lot tougher!)
  
• Added translation of some missing texts in a few languages
  
• New sounds added (monster nests, mech swimming and more)
  

Changes:

• Doubled the repairing speed
• Doubled the speed of mana extraction with mech
• Mech high jump and gliding improved
• Improved clarity and hints for Workshop quest
  
• The way to the second island has been made easier to traverse
  
• Improved Ragna scouting mechanic
  
• Improved Ragna’s fire breathing and aiming (still needs some tweaking)
  
• Experience points for quests, destroying monster nests, destroying monsters, etc. have been balanced with the level system in the game
  
• Mysterious flying object “upgraded” #spooky
  

Fixes:

• Adjusted audio in intro cutscene
• Some language errors fixed
  
• Names of some objectives corrected
  
• Fixed bug with Raven sending and the Port
  
• Menu sounds tweaked
  
• Mortar Tower rotation bug fixed
  
• Tru’s stance fixed while repairing the mech, Mech’s stance fixed while retrieving mana
  
• and some lot of smaller fixes
  

[h3]Your Feedback 🖱🎮[/h3]

We’re counting on your feedback! Let’s create the game together and share some ideas! We’ll be very grateful for more of your thoughts during the second round of play testing.

Here is the reminder on how to do it:

[h3]First method is:[/h3]

• First Dwarf Discord server
  

You’ll find there a special Playtest category:

playtest-bugs - here you can send us all the information about encountered bugs (happens to the best of us), see pinned messages in that channel for more information, so we could have the best understanding of the problem and could fix it in the future!

feedback - that’s the place where you can tell us EVERYTHING you want after you played our game. Positive and negative feedback, all of that is welcome. You can tell us about the smallest things, regarding music, characters, dialogues, mechanics, systems… Every topic is a good topic, as long as it’s related to the First Dwarf Playtest. We can’t wait to chat with you about your experiences with our title!

language-bugs - here you can post all language related errors. Please have in mind that the game is still in progress and so are the languages, so translations may have some mistakes. We apologize for that. They are in beta version, and will be improved with time. Texts and dialogues can also be altered later, if necessary. You can change the language in the game’s menu options!

opt-in-credits - here you can read the steps of what to do, to be included in our final game’s credits! It’s a little “thank you” from us, for all your help. By leaving your invaluable feedback, you’re becoming an important part of our big adventure! You’ll find there the link to the form we prepared earlier, where you’ll be able to drop your nickname. No offensive names of course, those won’t be included.

If you gave us your nickname in the last Playtest, you don’t have to write it again. 👍

[h3]Second method for leaving feedback:[/h3]

• In the game itself, as seen below
  

Probably the fastest way to report a bug is located directly in the game. An automatic save file is also attached to the report you make (but you won't see it, so don't panic!). However, keep in mind that we won’t be able to respond to you there. We will receive the information, but to hear back from us or to engage in conversation, it’s best to use Discord.



[h3]Third method to leave feedback:[/h3]

• Steam Discussion on the game’s page
  

[h3]Fill the Form! 📝[/h3]

We prepared a simple form to fill, which may inspire you in terms of what to be aware of while playing. After leaving your feedback, you can also write your nickname to be put in the final game’s credits there, it’s optional. If you gave us your nickname in the last Playtest, you don’t have to write it again. 👍

https://forms.gle/zkZLTsh76H6CePz37

[h3]Can I stream my game?📸[/h3]

YES! Feel free to tag us and show off on our Discord server, we would love to see it! You can freely post about it on your social media. Even more! You can use our Press Kit, if you wish:

First Dwarf Press Kit

[h3]Earth Appreciation Festival[/h3]

Today is Earth Day! It’s a very important date and we do what we can to remind everyone about it! Earth Appreciation Festival is a list of specially selected games that focus on a post-apocalyptic grim atmosphere of a future that we should avoid.

But not only that! You can also find nature-focused games there, to appreciate all the good things about Earth.



[h3]Are you ready? 🏁[/h3]

And that’s about it! We hope that the changes we made recently will positively influence your experience. Let us know!

[h3]❤️ Add to your wishlist ❤️[/h3]

Remember that adding our games to your wishlist on Steam is a wonderful way to show your support! We’d be very grateful if you could consider adding First Dwarf to your lists, as well as our upcoming prologue, First Dwarf: First Island!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2865680/First_Dwarf_Prologue__First_Island/


Thank you all for reading and for your support! We deeply care about our project and want to improve it even further! It can be possible with your help.

Have fun play testing our newest build of First Dwarf and have a wonderful day!

Yours,
Star Drifters Team 🌟🚀