Swords 'n Magic and Stuff News

Happy Friday, friends!

We're back on our regular Friday development digests, but not for long! We're approaching our holiday events, which are limited events to get all your holiday items.

This year's Witch's Eve Festival will run from October 19th through November 2nd. That's two weeks of fun! The team has been working on a few quality of life updates for the Witch's Eve event and we have quite a few more quality of life updates in the works.

Here's our updated roadmap:


In December I will announce when Frostfall will be available. Expect two weeks of fun there as well.

I hope you all have been enjoying the Windless Woods! We're super excited to jump into Bone Reach after the holiday season and get another zone out. After working with all of the trees, the baron land will be a nice change. As always, we've been listening and reading all of your comments and feedback and using it to make the game better. Some of these do take longer than others, so we can't do everything at once, but that is why we wanted to focus on quality of life updates during this holiday season.

Short and sweet update! See you next Friday!

-Janna

Hey all!

Just a few more fixes on our Windless Woods update. Thank you all for your feedback and bug reports. We're going through them as fast as we can! This Friday expect a development digest with a new roadmap and the release date of our Halloween event!

Patch Notes:

Improved:

• Boar farming quest: Taylor will now check the boar area when you go to complete it to make sure no boars are there. There won’t be an update to the quest log once the boars are gone from his area.
  
• Placeable foliage has the wind material instead of a not moving material
  
• Timeless Rose Trinket shows the correct amount
  
• Aiming when using staves
  
• Raincloud Tome now has longer duration and is bigger
  
• All Shrubrian construction crates now require Elderwood logs instead of planks to not be locked behind the Carpentry skill
  
• It is now possible to get a crit on the ancient honey ore
  

Fixed:

• Dying during the battle in the archer crypt will no longer keep you locked out to retry
  
• A few issues with the archer crypt loot
  
• Lute projectiles now heal properly
  
• Can no longer hear a tome’s healing sounds from across the map
  
• Overgrown pergola can now be walked under
  
• 
  

Windless Woods Patch 1.5.2

Hey everyone! We planned to have a small patch to address Windless Woods update bugs on the 26th, but we ended up doing an emergency patch to address big issues earlier. And with the big things mostly out of the way, we wanted to spend a bit of extra time working out a lot of the other, smaller bugs with this update.

We heard you guys weren't happy with healing with the new magic system and we wanted to course correct as much as possible without compromising our vision for the new magic system.

The new magic system fixes a few major issues with the old system. One of these was the absolute cheese tactic of healing yourself over and over to level your life skill. Adding a magic resource fixed that, but we ran out of time to get all the cool healing spells we would have liked into the update, and we definitely failed at balancing the ONE tome we did get in.

This update addresses that by introducing two new healing spells and balances all the spell tomes way better. I think I speak for the entire dev team when I say that we're way happy with the new balance and I have a feeling many of you are going to be switching to a mage build here soon.

To go along with the new spells we also added a new feature for casters that lets you attack quickly with your basic ranged attack and hold your attack button to begin charging your spell. This feel so fluid and fun to use that we just had to rush it out in an update for you.

Thank you for all your feedback! Enjoy the update and the patch notes:

New:

• Staves can now perform ranged basic attacks even when a tome is equipped - single click to use a basic ranged attack; click and hold to cast your tome
  
• Stablemaster at The Gate
  
• Custom ports for dedicated servers
  
• Direct IP connection for dedicated servers
  
• Essential logging for dedicated servers
  
• Overhaul of naming multiplayer servers to better customize your server
  
• Servers can be “pinned” to the top of the list
  
• Icons showing up to the left of the server have tooltips to show what they mean
  
• Ping added to servers
  
• Two new spell tomes - both healing!
  

Improved:

• Ferry between Azura and Farmlands is much faster now by default
  
• Added another anchor shrine near Jan and Borris
  
• Default keybinds for the ammo wheel (previously was ctrl+scroll wheel) are now Q and E. Feel free to change this back or to whatever you’d like in the escape menu
  
• Some quest items now can not be dropped to prevent losing them (will be adding this to all quest items eventually)
  
• Various quests from previous zones corrected to the right zone
  
• Timeless Rose trinket now shows what it does in the tool tip
  
• The Lute has magic regen now
  
• Focus affects spell damage
  
• Adjusted collisions on staves basic healing projectile to make it easier to hit targets
  
• Key bindings in the escape menu
  
• Lightning Strike not hitting enemies correctly
  
• Adjusted Healing Aura
  
• Balanced all tomes currently in game
  
• Stables now sell more companion snacks
  
• Sen located in the Windless Woods no longer requires a second conversation to give you an item he wants to share
  
• Multiplayer aspect of Treasure Hunter’s quest
  

Fixed:

• Fired the disgruntled postal worker hoarding everyone’s mail from Mo and Milo
  
• Removed debug lines from the spirit wolves spell
  
• Mage shield no longer drops through the ground
  
• When finishing the end of the storyline, the title given can now be received by respeaking to that same person in the Eyre (she forgot to give it to you when she said she was going to)
  
• Purifying weapons can now be added to collections without having to relog
  
• Sendu’s Gift now has crits
  
• The Eyre home blueprint has all the correct materials now
  
• No more debugging lines on the healing tome circle
  
• Some audio not being affected by your sound settings
  
• Removed unobtainable test weapon from collections
  
• Boar farming quest not recognizing the boar
  
• Can no longer buy things through walls in the Eyre
  
• Fixed walls at the Gate
  
• A few quest markers
  
• Storm Aura visuals last as long as the spell
  
• Stairs in the Druid Temple now act as they should
  
• Overgrown Pergola can now be placed
  
• Camera issues in the Archer Crypt
  
• You can no longer lose tomes by changing which one is equipped
  
• Purifying planks no longer gives you sword experience
  
• Can no longer get stuck on a log near Aldor’s house
  
• New mount no longer growls loudly over and over
  
• Various quests from Farmlands saying they were Windless Woods
  
• Bridge House Plans can now be placed again
  
• If you lose some special seeds from Fiora, you can talk to her to get them back
  
• Using the seedmaker for newer seeds now gives you the right wild seeds
  
• Dawn Chorus now works as intended
  
• For the second time, the ice cave quest has been fixed
  
• Pesky Ghost no longer restarts if talking to the NPC’s out of order
  
• Wonky stairs
  
• Rebel’s Revenge quest now properly works
  
• Corruption part 3 no longer restarts by doing things out of order
  
• Ray’s quest updated for better wording
  
• If you backed out of dialog during the Snail Search quest, you can return to pick your reward
  
• A Budding Romance quest where you couldn’t see the NPC
  
• Forged in Honey quest fixed up
  
• Using Chaos Splinters no longer causes a game crash
  
• Theodosia now gives the proper dialog
  
• Hunt for the Tome quest fixed up
  
• Crystals not respawning at the end of Corruption part 3
  
• Merchant at the Gate no longer shows you random stuff in your inventory in their sell menu
  
• Seals in Ramshackle will now only sell you the correct amounts of items to prevent issues in inventory
  
• Birdhouse furniture item can now be placed anywhere on a plot
  
• Can no longer hear the Lute from far away
  
• 
  

Hey everyone. While the update went pretty smooth and we only had a few major hiccups, there were definitely still hiccups.

So here's a little patch to address the biggest issues. There are definitely some cosmetic issues we're still working out, but wanted to streamline the important ones to make sure your gameplay wasn't hindered much longer.

Patch Notes:

Improved:

• Changed the Elderwood Planks to automatically unlock at level 21 rather than 25
  
• Warner no longer hides behind a cow
  
• The windmill in the Farmlands has better camera collisions
  

Fixed:

• A bug with a certain important enemy not moving when spawned has been fixed
  
• The Thorned Staff replacing items in your inventory is now fixed
  
• Tanglewort is now collectable again
  
• Changed Elderwood weapon recipes to match the level of the weapon
  
• Typos
  
• Certain items in the Eyre were purchasable before you had reputations; added the reputation requirement
  
• Removed a mask from collections that wasn’t supposed to be there
  
• Honeysuckle asks to clear the village of the right mob now
  
• Ivy takes the items she needs from you for the quest
  
• Can no longer go under the world
  
• Can no longer squeeze through the gate
  
• Egret takes the correct amount of items
  
• Millie now does want an omelet from everyone, not just people she hasn’t talked to before
  
• Removed red debug lines in Chillthorn Hollow
  
• Removed architect items from the carpentry table
  
• Reading the correct book in the library now advances the Graveyard questline
  
• Ross now feels the pain of all weapons, not just bows
  
• Acid splash potions no longer give you random blank items
  
• Ice Cave quest can now be completed as normal
  
• Ore node in wasp cave moved to be obtainable
  
• Stolen Toy quest can now be completed as normal
  
• Damaged Weapon quest can now be completed as normal
  
• Spider check-up quest can now be completed as normal
  
• Fey Iron Shield no longer takes an absurd amount of materials to craft
  
• Various dialogs improved
  
• Archer Crypt fixes to get the rewards at the end
  
• Corruption zones should be respawning/spawning appropriately now with minor bugs still left to fix
  

Welcome to the Windless Woods update!

We're beyond excited to share this new zone with everyone. There are so many new mechanics and features that went into this zone. First and foremost: a complete revamp of our magic system. It still needs some tweaks, but it feels great to be a magic user now.

With this update, any staff or wand that you had will be converted to the new staff or wand in your inventory automatically. One staff and one wand will convert to their new counterparts plus a tome that you would have gotten by doing that quest originally. There is no need to go back on a new character to get these. A secondary point to the staff/wand change, if you have these items in your collections, please remove them and re-add them to their new spot in the collections. We will be removing the old items out of your collections in the coming months so if you do not convert them now, when they are removed from collections you will no longer have access to that old item.

With this update we're also releasing dedicated servers! This means you can have an always-up server hosted wherever you like for you and your friends to join. To get your hands on these you can get them from the Tools section of your Steam library. If you need help with dedicated servers we've opened a new forum channel in our Discord channel just for this. Here's the link: discord.gg/kindredgames

And without further ado, here's those patch notes you've been waiting for! Thanks for all your patience and support throughout this update. It's a big one!


Patch notes:
New:

• A whole new zone has opened up: The Windless Woods, which can be reached from the Farmlands.
  
• Main quest storyline spanning the entire Windless Woods.
  
• Completely new magic system featuring spell tomes which can be channeled via staves and wands.
  
• All magic tomes added throughout the world, including vendor inventories and loot tables.
  
• 30+ new quests.
  
• 50+ new weapons.
  
• New resources and crafting recipes to learn.
  
• Max level increased for all skills to level 30.
  
• New crops, new food & drink, and new associated cooking recipes.
  
• New alchemy reagents and potions.
  
• New housing blueprints and furniture.
  
• New hats, masks, trinkets, outfits and tailoring blueprints added all through the world.
  
• New companion to find and hatch.
  
• New mounts to unlock.
  
• New enemies throughout the woods.
  
• A variety of new traps to keep you on your toes.
  
• New puzzle and quest mechanics.
  
• Brand new vanity pets system, with one pet to discover and more in the pipeline.
  
• Game credits available at the Groves of Heroes. Kickstarter backers, keep an eye out for your names!
  
• Dedicated servers are now available via Steam.
  
• Chat commands to see what server you are in (/server)and password (/server show) then to copy use (/server copy).
  
• On owned properties, you now have the option to hide property markers to get rid of those wood posts on the corners.
  
• New arrow type added to the Boom Shop in Ramshackle Reef, back on Azura Island.
  
• Server name now shows up in the pause menu.
  
• The mystery of where the milk comes from has been solved.
  
• Millie in the Farmlands would sure love an omelet.
  
• Two new stalls in Moonberry Farms.
  
• New vendor UI to facilitate buying multiple items at once. No more smashing F!
  
• Visibility toggle for hats, masks and backpacks.
  

Improved:

• Performance improvements.
  
• Magic weapon items moved to our new magic system.
  
• Map overhaul - added world map view, zooming, panning, and the ability to see zones other than the one you're presently in.
  
• Overhaul of job boards to give more varied, interesting and fair jobs + rewards.
  
• You can now heal companions with the new healing staves.
  
• Adjusted alchemy for better balance. Every potion now takes two reagents.
  
• Adjusted Maple Planks and Darkwood Planks to not be a level 0. Adjusted furniture and weapons to match new levels (10 and 15 respectively).
  
• Maple Logs and Darkwood Logs prices decreased to not lose money when crafting.
  
• Moved Ancient Artifact from the chest in cave to its own pedestal for easier finding.
  
• Changed Matt’s dialog to reflect alchemy changes.
  
• Removed Blacksmithing station from Rayna on Castaway Rock to not overwhelm new players.
  
• Closed off the path to the big crabs from the landing zone from Castaway Rock to help players stay focussed.
  
• Camera view through trees enlarged for better visibility.
  
• Charge + aiming down sights on ranged weapons is improved.
  
• Updated mount icons in stable.
  
• Josie in Hope Harbor now gives more information on starting farming and gives out some seeds for players to get started.
  
• Astral Wolves now drop Stardust.
  
• Sleepy Hill House Plot and Sleepy Exterior Plot (the one by the river) are slightly bigger in size.
  
• All housing plots got a bump in max build height.
  
• Camera zoom sensitivity and mouse sensitivity both have their own settings to adjust.
  
• Seals in Ramshackle now sells Iron Arrows and the recipe for them.
  
• Increased all backpack slots for all backpacks.
  
• Changed 9 food items stats to include new buffs for max mana and mana regeneration.
  
• Various Ramshackle Reef quest reputations have adjusted for more consistency (each being 10 reputation). Max reputation is still 100; no quests were added here.
  
• Storage furniture items have all been increased to 5 (other than presents) for more storage.
  
• Katherine in Ramshackle made new housing plans to sell.
  
• Sleepy Haven Tailor shop has two new hats.
  
• All placeable storage chests sizes have been increased!
  
• Hal in Ramshackle now sells a new item.
  
• Our “friendly” rock golem will now respawn at 7am daily.
  
• Adjusted exp rates for combat skill leveling.
  
• No longer deal damage to harvestable resources .
  
• Boom Barrels only explode enemies and ore nodes.
  
• Arachnophobia mode, toggleable from settings menu.
  
• Camera zoom sensitivity setting added.
  

Fixed

• An issue where being banned from a server caused the game to freeze.
  
• Coal is no longer sold or obtainable; the job quest requesting coal has been adjusted.
  
• A building in the graveyard has thicker pillars to prevent people hiding in them.
  
• Admin Ban list showing character’s name and not the Steam name.
  
• Joining a multiplayer session via Steam friends no longer freezes the game if you are on different versions; now shows reason you couldn’t join.
  
• Screen will no longer get darker while using the options menu in the main menu after pressing spacebar.
  
• Admin panel for moderators can now show Steam names.
  
• Your trusty turtle mount no longer turns blue in the blue slime zones.
  
• Various terrain splits seen with low graphics settings.
  
• Deep Iron Dagger now displays properly while equipped.
  
• When a player leaves your server, it no longer displays the wrong name.
  
• Removed a duplicated Azura Mushroom.
  
• Removed stone diagonal wall piece and floor piece from carpentry; these should only be available in the architect’s table.
  
• Goblins no longer scare players through walls.
  
• Various special chests now have sounds indicating they are locked and require a special key.
  
• Buying the dirt plots at Moonberry Farms are now much easier to do.
  
• Changing mouse sensitivity to 0 no longer disables mouse; can only go down to 0.1.
  
• Removed ability to upgrade ferry as it wasn’t properly saving.
  
• All stablemasters give saddles and whistles and sell companion snacks.
  
• Items that are dropped on the ground no longer disappear when your view distance is set to low.
  
• Adjusted how chests throughout the Farmlands randomize and spawn.