Stoneshard News

These patch notes include changes made by interim hotfixes.

[h3]BALANCE[/h3]

• Increased the Damage and Health for boars, moose, bison, deer, and saigas.
  
• Increased the experience gained for killing most animals and the restless dead.
  
• Reduced Health and Dodge Chance for wraiths.
  
• Most undead enemies and brigands had their Health reduced by 10-15%
  
• The intimidation state is now 1.5-2 times longer for most aggressive animals.
  
• Rebalanced spawn points for most enemies. The dungeons should be less overcrowded now.
  
• Proselyte Adept’s behavior pattern was changed from Mage to Close Combat.
  
• Increased the cooldown of “Loud Barking”
  
• Reduced the duration of the “Netted” debuff to 6 turns.
  
• Most herbs now raise thirst upon usage to reflect their bitter, astringent taste.
  
• Reduced brigands’ Vision range by 10%.
  

[h3]FIXES[/h3]

• Numerous minor fixes to the AI.
  
• Fixed the rendering algorithm for the fog of war in dungeons.
  
• Fixed the issue with enemies not using dashing abilities.
  
• Fixed the issue with secret rooms’ generation.
  
• Fixed the issue with Morale multipliers, which had been causing each enemy type, including bosses, to have an equal chance to retreat.
  
• Numerous fixes to rooms and accompanying collision issues.
  
• Fixed the bug with archers replenishing their Energy upon switching weapons.
  
• Fixed the bug with archers shooting through walls.
  
• Animals can now properly escape instead of darting around frantically.
  
• Fixed the crash caused by “Necrophage”.
  
• Fixed the crash caused by “Soul Sacrifice”.
  
• Fixed the crash caused by “Leg Sweep”.
  
• Fixed the crash caused by “Blaze”.
  
• Fixed the bug with foxes being stuck in their intimidation state.
  
• Fixed the issue with enemies disappearing after following the player to another location.
  
• Fixed the bug with ghouls spawning in the fog of war.
  
• Fixed the issue with the ghoul’s Morale multiplier, which had been causing them to be much less prone to retreating than intended.
  
• Proselyte Flagellants no longer use “Lash Blessing” on the player.
  
• Fixed the issue with “Grave Chill” range.
  
• Fixed the issue with “Anticipation” having an effect even before it’s actually learned.
  
• Fixed the description of “Abominable Vitality”. The chance to trigger the effect is 75%, not 50%.
  
• Fixed the issue with “Rune of Enfeeblement” reducing resistances to -100%.
  
• Fixed the problem with containers’ reset in brigand camps.
  
• Fixed the crash caused by gold inside containers.
  
• Made it more preferable for enemies to avoid tiles with traps.
  
• Fixed the issue with beds’ collision.
  
• Fixed the issue with Burnet using the effect of Nettle.
  
• Fixed the bug preventing acorns from being roasted.
  
• Fixed the inability to interact with wardrobes in one of the boss rooms in crypts.
  
• Fixed the issue with Ghasts granting too little experience on death.
  
• Fixed the issue with High Priests not granting any experience on death.
  
• Added the missing descriptions to some enemies.
  
• “N/A” in fan translations are temporarily replaced with English text (the translations are already on their way!)
  
• Optimization improvements.
  
• Changes to layouts of some hovers.
  

[h3]MAJOR ADDITIONS[/h3]

- Complete rework of the dungeon generator.
Bastions, Catacombs, and Crypts now have a new generation algorithm and numerous new room templates.

- Basic AI was completely reworked

There are still ways to go, and we still need to perform many tweaks to make things work exactly as planned, but even with just this update the following features will be introduced to the AI:

- New decision-making system. Instead of relying on RNG when choosing which Ability to use, enemies now use a weight system - each Ability gained a number of specific conditions which either increase or decrease its weight depending on the situation. Enemies will use Abilities with the highest weight at any given time.



- New pathfinding system. Pathfinding was rebuilt from the ground up - the shortest way to a mob’s target is now modified by numerous conditions. Enemies will attempt to avoid traps, wait out AoE effects, stay away from locations where they can be easily knocked into walls, and more.



- Enemies learned to trade places when fighting in corridors and tight spaces. Enemies who prefer to fight in melee will try to swap out archers, retreating enemies will attempt to swap with those who can still fight, and those who have high Health - with those who are about to die.

- Archers and mages prefer to keep their distance and retreat when approached by enemies, wearing them down with arrows and spells.

- Mobs now use a new system to decide which targets to prioritize, trying to focus on the highest threat.

- Archers’ ammunition is now limited. They also learned to swap to melee weapon when they run out of ammo or when their enemy finally manages to catch up.



- Most aggressive animals will first try to intimidate your character and only attack if you don’t leave their territory within a number of turns. Different animals have their intimidation phase set at different duration - wolves, for example, will attack almost immediately.



- Some enemies might decide to retreat in case the fight is going badly for them, attempting to leave the location. The chance to trigger a retreat is influenced by many factors: low Health, allies’ death, whether they have injuries or debuffs.

- The ecosystem is now much more in-depth. Boars and moose will hold their ground and defend against the player and predators, foxes will hunt rabbits, and deer will run away the moment they hear the player approaching.

- Added secret rooms which can only be discovered by highly perceptive characters. Rich loot awaits inside!

- 100+ new containers and decorations across all dungeons.

- New enemy skills: mancatchers gained “Net Throw” and “Sic!”, dogs gained “Loud Barking” and “Grab ‘Em!”, wraiths learned “Grave Chill” and “Dissipation”, ghouls gained “Bone Throw”, ghasts and necromancers - “Death Touch” and “Soul Sacrifice”.

- 25 new undead enemy types: two lineups of high-level skeletons, a lineup of restless dead, as well as ghasts - undead mages, wielding special spells.

- Certain changes to hostage rescue contracts: from now on abducted NPCs will be held in designated cells, requiring you to find a key before you can rescue them.

- Added acorns and burnet.

[h3]VISUALS & SOUND[/h3]

- New culling system.
- Reworked light rendering.
- New fog of war rendering system.
- Updated steppes.
- Added fireflies.
- Visual updates to the Prologue rooms.
- Added four new music tracks, including two battle themes.

[h3]BALANCE[/h3]

- Balance changes to most undead enemies.
- Increased the Abomination’s Health, but decreased its base damage.
- Most enemies gained a larger line of sight.
- “Taking Aim”: reduced Accuracy bonus (+75% > +50%).
- Removed unique items from graves and added them to secret rooms.
- Ravens now generate noise when they take off.
- Mannshire crypth has its danger level increased.

[h3]FIXES & UX[/h3]

- Reworked turn and priority system for various actions.
- Made significant improvements to enemies following the player between zones.
- Added hotkeys for switching between hotbars.
- Fixed sudden Health and Energy replenishment when entering an already visited location.
- Brigands gained new phrases when retreating. The phrases upon getting injured are now tied to specific body parts instead of just triggering a generic response.
- Added lots of log messages.
- Fixed flickering stack numbers on stances’ buff icons.
- Removed the possibility of preemptively destroying the statues in the Prologue before the fight even begins.

[h3]RAISING THE PRICE[/h3]

Way Forward is an important structural update, after the release of which we can finally move onto expanding the map. In the next major update, which is planned for the winter of 2020-2021, we will add the first major city, its surrounding area, and lots of accompanying content. Before that we also plan to release a few interim updates to add the remaining weapon skill trees and more.

Because of this, the base price for the game will be increased by 30% in all regions. If you wish to purchase the game at a lower price, now might be the best time for it!

That’s all for now.
Have fun playing!

Hello everyone!

In today’s devlog we’ll share more details on the dungeon rework and the Bastion (brigand dungeon) in particular. We’ll also touch upon some aspects of the reworked AI.



Of all the dungeon types, the Bastion received the largest amount of changes, allowing it to better match its name. The Bastion’s layout is dominated by spacious halls, complex structures, and wide corridors cluttered with junk.



There’re also some changes to hostage rescue contracts. Hostages can no longer be found in the same room as bosses, instead being held in a dedicated cell which needs to be located first. To open the cell you’ll need a special key, for which you’ll have to fight a dungeon’s boss.



Other than that, the Bastion now has more interactive elements: occasionally you’ll find water barrels, which can be used to refill your waterskin or quench thirst directly. You’ll also be able to raid a dungeon’s pantry and then cook looted meat and vegetables in its kitchen.



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Regarding the AI, let’s start with archers - their behaviour was drastically reworked. They’ll try to stay as far from their target as possible during combat. Hiding behind a bush to lure them to a nearby tile is now a much less effective tactic, as they will attempt to keep their distance even while searching for targets outside of their Vision.

Archers will also try to maintain their distance when dealing with approaching enemies, performing a timely retreat when possible. If an enemy is right on top of them, or they run out of ammunition, they’ll draw a melee weapon and defend themselves with it.



Speaking about retreating - most enemies will try to run away if things turn sour. There are many conditions influencing their decision-making, but the most important one is low Health. Once enemies take enough punishment, they’ll begin accessing their situation on a per-turn basis. The amount of injuries and debuffs, their Energy, allies getting murdered and decapitated - all of it will decide whether your enemy will turn tail and run or fight till the bitter end. It’s also worth mentioning that strong and well-equipped foes are less likely to flee.

That’s all for now. A quick reminder - the update will be released in just 4 days, on September 24th. The remaining details on new content will be listed prior to the patch release.

Until next time!

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since our last devlog, but we are finally ready to tell you about many new additions which we’ve been working on. Over the next few devlogs we’ll detail most of the new content introduced by the “Way Forward” update, which will be released on September 24th. For now let’s begin with new enemies and reworked dungeon generation.

[h3]Overall System[/h3]



The dungeon generation algorithm was rebuilt from the ground up in order to avoid the annoyance of persistent generation bugs. Now the game is capable of creating much more sophisticated and complex structures, as well as fine-tune dungeons based on many parameters. This will come in handy when we begin expanding the global map and improving the dungeon respawning system.

[h3]New Rooms[/h3]



New dungeons will welcome you with a large variety of unique templates - other than the usual square rooms, dungeons will also contain rooms of uncommon forms and sizes. Twisted corridors, decorated halls, roomy passageways, collapsed walls - you’ll be able to encounter all of this and more while exploring crypts, catacombs, and bastions. This addition brought significant variety into tactical situations created by the game.

In the future we plan to further develop this concept by adding even more new rooms, including rooms with puzzles, special traps, and so on.

[h3]Secret Rooms[/h3]



The dungeon generator can now create long-forgotten treasure rooms, the entrances to which are initially concealed from your character. Those aren’t easy to find, but the result is well worth the effort - observant characters will be rewarded with sizable loot and unique items.

In order to discover a secret passageway, you’ll have to make use of your Perception attribute - the higher it is, the higher the chance to notice that there’s something funny about that particular wall... You can also use the “Examine Surroundings” ability, which is now able to spot more than just traps.

[h3]Boss Rooms[/h3]



Dungeon bosses are no longer cooped in tiny closets with a chest in the middle. Now they’ll be encountered in special rooms with enough space for maneuver and more valuable loot. For instance, necromancers can be encountered in special tombs, where they conduct their unholy rituals, or next to altar circles.

[h3]Skeleton Variety[/h3]



The Undead faction received reinforcements. The skeletons, not unlike the existing bandits, will have different variants based on their dungeon difficulty. In the beginning of the game your opposition will consist of skeletons in rags, but in more dangerous dungeons you’ll have to fight well-armored and well-armed foes.

The skeletons fight with ultimate determination. Even in the most unfair fights they will hold their ground and never retreat.

[h3]Ghasts[/h3]

Necromancy is a heavy burden. Upon acquiring the forbidden knowledge, weak-willed warlocks often quickly lose their sanity. Once the madness settles in, they transform into ghasts - a macabre shell of their former self, guided by a deranged obsession with death in all its forms.

Necromancers often turn ghasts into their servants, using them as commanders of sorts for their undead army - while skeletons and restless keep enemies busy, ghasts use their spells to support and direct them in combat.

[h3]The Restless Dead[/h3]



The restless are favored by beginner necromancers, since it’s much easier to resurrect a fresh corpse rather than time-yellowed old bones. Due to their relatively recent death, the restless’ consciousness is much less fragmented, so it takes considerably less energy from a warlock to sustain them.

However, the restless’ most significant advantage is their incredible resilience. It’s not easy to kill something which is already dead, as rotting flesh, sustained with dark magic, is capable of surviving even the most grievous wounds. Thanks to their passive ability “Abominable Vitality”, each time a restless receives a killing blow, they have a chance to avoid death, losing a body part and completely replenishing their health in the process.

In order to ultimately put a restless in the ground, you’ll have to either bring their health down to zero a few times or deliver as many heavy injuries as possible.

That’s all for now. Until next time!