Headway & More rewards & Houses & Translation

This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section.

Сheck development progress

Since the last update we've archived some really impressive results in achieving our main goals and different additional tasks.

We are going to name the exact date of the Beta launch with the next update as the implementation of our new combat system and it's netcode improvements are still not quite at the level we need for the Beta launch.

Therefore, we are ready to make a bet with you to somehow atone our blame.

If we don't announce the Beta Test date on 16th March then all Early backers (anyone who has backed the game before the release of the Beta) will receive the next extra rewards for long-suffering:

On the other hand, if we will finish the implementing of the new combat system and publish the exact Beta date with the next update - these additional bonuses will be replaced by the Beta launch. Its a win-win right?



Moreover, we've hired 2 new technical artists and 1 new programmer to our team. They have already produced some outstanding work. Our small team is one of the key factors affecting the rate of progress on issues related to the launch of Beta, and we hope the increase in manpower helps speed up the development process.

After the final map lighting rebuild we uncovered a lot of issues relating to meshes, however, at this time we have managed to solve all of them.

In regards to optimization issues, initial processing time on the 7th of February was 45-70ms. A later test on the 21st showed a steady 16.6ms on high settings. It's a good result - 60-70 fps on high settings on a medium strength computer.

PC specifications requirements will be published with the launch of the Beta and then tweaked slightly for Early Access as we will continue the work in this direction. Meanwhile we have also managed to minimize the game file's size while overall adding more content.


As for other news, the implementation of the new combat system is underway. While this process is in full swing, our other work doesn't stand still. We're currently working on developing a new environment for warm-up mode. It is going to be something new.

Here are some examples of the new buildings:






Let's summarize the results of the community poll surrounding horns on the helmets, which was published with the last update. The overwhelming majority, precisely 71% - voted against having horns.

As a consequence, during both Beta and early access, the number of helmets with horns will be minimized.

However, as we said before exclusive items will still have designs which incorporate horns, we wanted to clarify this issue for the most helmets available in game.

During the Early Access period, we plan to implement the option to customize your weapons and armor including the toggling of horns on helmets. This solution will allow everyone to tailor their experience to their preferences, and determine the appearance of their own helmet. However, from this period in time, VALHALL will be centred around having very few if any horned helmets.

This is just one example of how a single post on our Steam discussions (kudos to Venset) has turned into something which we have considered and are now in the process of implementing. To add your suggestions to the development of VALHALL, please take a look at our Discord Server!

While we are still working on the combat system there is one something that we would like your help in deciding.

In the first combat version we had an arrow camera tracking feature for test. It was looking good, but we are worried that it might produce a way to gain an unfair advantage by essentially having a remote camera. At the same time it leaves you vulnerable to attack while your focus is on an arrow instead of your surroundings.

Should we remove arrow cam?

#quick-voting channel

https://discord.gg/ugJjpcp




We are very grateful to our community for help with translation. Here are the languages which are already in process.

French translators: @Hell_Frank, @Iceman, @Solved

Norwegian translators: @Demonshiver, @Sjugur

Dutch translators: @Shadix, @The Balbarian

Portuguese translator: @LapantinoPT

German translators: @bigbadbatz, @Kormakr, @LarsDerEisbär

To the end of this week you will be able to see our Steam page translated to some of these languages.
Also, the more languages are coming. Check our Discord #announcements for more details.

As you know, purchased as part of your Indiegogo package will be delivered with the start of Early Access.

That means that we still can make some changes to the "chest system" at this stage.

Therefore we want to make sure that we are on the right path and hear your thoughts and concerns surrounding an area which we are well aware can be devastating if gotten wrong.

Please fill this form

https://goo.gl/forms/56YQrapdscqeMAYI3



Today we have made the first change and we are sure that you'll like it. As you remember it was written on the campaign page that you will only receive 1 item from every chest.

From now on, 1 single chest will yield not one, but TWO items!

For example, you will receive both a piece of armor and a helmet from a Silver Chest instead of one or the other which was previously stated.

This decision is based not on desire to buy your patience, but rather for the sake of the game's success, in connection with the further perks price and for your overall enjoyment. We want you all to have the opportunity to customize your character and look unique when the time comes, as such, we have decided to increase the amount of items available for you to use in this process.

Once again, you will never be given items that you already posses from a
chest.





Stay awesome!

Blackrose Arts