Stoneshard News

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since our last devlog, so we’d like to share some details about what we’ve been working on.

In the previous entry we mentioned a plan to release an interim patch with the Mint Square’s missing interiors and NPCs. There’s been some adjustments since then: first of all, we decided to add new content not only to the Mint Square but also to the Docks.

Secondly, there were some tweaks to the timeline, so these additions will be a part of the next major update, which we haven’t yet chosen a name for. This update will also include some of the features that were originally planned for Rags to Riches and Wizard’s Fate. Here’s a list of things we’re working on right now:

- Next stage of the main quest - it will wrap up the introduction sequence and will prepare players for the sandbox part of the game. After that, the main story will be put on hold until we finish implementing all the remaining mechanics and content.

- New magic school, Electromancy, that has potential to deal high damage while offering some decent crowd control.

- New utility tree, Magic Mastery - a worthwhile addition to any magic-focused build.





- Fatigue System and supplementary magic mechanics that will require mages to be more thoughtful about positioning and the way they spend their resources (including financial ones).

- Second tier of Proselytes: ten new dangerous enemies that come with roughly 20 new active and passive abilities.



- Several carefully designed Points of Interest, each of them boasting its own backstory.







- Caravan stop, which will provide you with a place to save your progress and store your items. As for global map traveling, we plan to add this functionality in one of the subsequent major updates.



- Folios, a new type of valuable loot that will give you an opportunity to learn more about the game’s world as well as gain some experience points.



- New content for the Mint Square (the Cathedral, the University, a bank, a printing house, the Golden Grain Inn, Azure Thread Tradehouse) and the Docks (the Alchemical Emporium of Curious Goods, a dockside store, the Close Harbor Tavern, and a bathhouse) that we already mentioned.





- Something cool and unexpected that will be revealed alongside the announcement of the update’s release date.

The ongoing war still causes certain financial and organizational issues, so we can’t guarantee that everything mentioned in this devlog will be a part of the next major update, but we’ll do our best to make it happen nonetheless. We’ll tell you more details about the new additions in future devlogs, so stay tuned and follow the news!

The update’s release date will be revealed in a separate announcement once we complete the bulk of the work on new content. And after the update is out, we’ll also revise our Development Roadmap and publish an up-to-date version.

That’s all for now. Until next time!

Hello everyone!

Today we’d like to tell you about the circumstances affecting our studio and the future development of Stoneshard. It’s been almost a month since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and it had a rather negative impact on the lives of our team. Let’s start with the most important part.

A significant portion of our team (our game designer, one of the coders, the promo artist) are Ukrainian citizens. The war caught everyone off guard: while some managed to quickly leave the war zone, others got stuck or simply didn’t want to abandon their homes. Right now these team members are in relative safety, but there are still issues with accessing the Internet and setting up a proper work space. There also wasn’t enough time to backup everything, so we lost some assets, although it shouldn’t set the development back too much.

Other than that, there are financial problems: as many of you already know, Steam no longer makes transactions with Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarus banks. Naturally, it affected our team as well, preventing us from receiving income from Steam. At the moment, we still have enough resources, but if we don't find a solution to this issue, we won’t have enough money to continue outsourcing the specialists who’ve been helping us with the game - this might noticeably slow down the rate of updates, even if temporarily.

As for the Russian members of our team, most of them are currently busy with moving to other countries, which will require some time. However, the overall situation is more or less stable, and we most definitely won’t stop working on the game. For now everyone contributes as much as the circumstances allow, but once the most pressing issues are resolved, we’ll continue developing Stoneshard’s at the usual pace.

Now let’s talk about more distant plans. Before the war, we already began working on an interim content update that was supposed to add interiors to key buildings on the Mint Square in Brynn. After that, we wanted to implement some of the long-planned city quests, and then - to start working on the next major update, “Rags to riches”, which was meant to introduce random encounters, a functioning Caravan, tweaks to contracts and the economy, and more.


The Mint Square interim update is already partially complete, so it will be released relatively soon. The rest of the original plan will have to be readjusted - we’ll make sure to share the details and post an updated roadmap once everything is said and done. All we can say for now is that some features will likely be added in a different order and that major updates might end up divided into smaller ones.

And finally, some teasers:









In conclusion, we’d like to say that your support and sympathy are extremely important to us right now. We love and appreciate our community, and we hope that this sentiment is mutual. Stay safe!

Hello everyone!

We’re sorry to announce that due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine we won’t be able to stick to the intended release schedule. Some of the key members of our team are Ukrainian citizens and are either already caught in the war zone or might soon find themselves there. Hopefully, the war will not last long, and we’ll be able to proceed with developing the game as planned.

Thank you for understanding.

[h2]CHANGELOG[/h2]

- Added special map icons to locations with save points.
- Added sleeping spots to Distant Homestead and certain other Points of Interest.



- Tweaked and updated every unique Point of Interest. All doors in these locations can now be interacted with. Some changes won't take effect until you start a new game.



- Fixed the softlock affecting some dialogues.
- Fixed NPCs endlessly giving out items.
- Added unique rumors to most Brynn NPCs.
- Increased dungeon doors’ durability.
- Increased snakes’ spawn rate in some locations.
- Fixed some Achievements not working as intended (for instance, the unique items your character starts with and the items from the Supporter Pack no longer count towards “That belongs in a museum”).
- Fixed “Wetness” not working as intended when the character enters deep water.
- Fixed scouted locations missing their global map descriptions.
- The horse at the brewery no longer respawns after death.
- Corpses that can’t be harvested by “Skinning” are no longer highlighted by it.

- Fixed “Pack Sense” not working as intended.
- Fixed floor traps not interrupting charges.
- Introduced more visual variety among low level bandits.
- Increased the passive chance of discovering secret rooms (in accordance with the Attributes rework).
- The Pawnbroker was given a larger amount of money. He now also offers worse prices for valuables than before.
- Fixed the dialogue softlock caused by attempting to speak with an NPC who previously caught your character stealing.
- Added lots of portraits to Brynn NPCs.
- Fixed the incorrect damage of Dual weapons.
- Fixed items’ text boxes losing their intended color when items are thrown on the ground.
- The following achievements are now available: Right Back at You, I.C.B.M., The Fittest, Outlaw Anthems, Fetch This!, Trapmaker's Art, Tomb Raider, That Belongs In A Museum.

- Added the Survival tree - it comes with 10 new abilities.
- Added a new consumable item: a Bedroll. Bedrolls allow creating single-use sleeping spots outside of dungeons, offering an additional opportunity to save your progress.
- Added new gear:
Pot Helmet, Visored Pot Helmet, War Hat, Baron Sabatons, Levy Bow, Curved Bow, Brotherhood of Ouroboros' Shield (unique), Shield of the Truth's Eternal Sun (unique).
- Added new abilities to some animals:
Howl, Pack Sense, Dying Rage, Ramming Charge.
- Reworked loot generation rules for containers. Loot generation now occurs when the world or locations are first generated instead of each time you open containers, removing the possibility of rerolling their contents.
- Tweaked sleep effects in different locations:

• Tavern: 100% Restoration effectiveness, replenishes Psyche, grants Vigor.
  
• Bedroll: 50% Restoration effectiveness (100% with “Make a Halt” skill), doesn’t replenish Psyche, doesn’t grant Vigor.
  
• Camp: 50% Restoration effectiveness (100% with “Make a Halt” skill), doesn’t replenish Psyche, doesn’t grant Vigor.
  
• Leprosarium: 100% Restoration effectiveness, damages Psyche, doesn’t grant Vigor.
  
• The Watchtower Tavern (Brynn): 125% Psyche replenishment.

- Discovering new locations now grants 100 XP.
- Hands Efficiency can now exceed 100% when using a two-handed weapon.
- Picking up an item that doesn’t belong to you while being observed by an NPC will summon a dialogue with an option to either return said item to its owner without any repercussions or to keep it to yourself, which will count as a crime.
- Removed the basic Intoxication decay. Instead, Intoxication is reduced by expending Immunity.
- Immunity over 100% will now gradually decrease down to the 100% threshold.
- General resistances are now properly factored into locational resistances and are displayed correctly in the character’s menu.
- New effect type: Lingering. Lingering effects don't count as Physical, Mental, or Magical.
- The Osbrook’s sergeant now provides arrows or bolts when asked for a bow or a crossbow respectively.
- Increased the base price for most pelts.
- Reduced the spawn chance for leeches. Leeches can no longer spawn in sea water.
- Map tiles with rivers can now spawn wild ducks.
- Added willow trees to river banks.
- It’s now possible to gather sticks in the woods and use them to start fires.
- Made it possible to catch butterflies.
- Added new achievements.
- Improved optimization.