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Vagrus - The Riven Realms News

Devlog #56 | Settlement and Crew UI Update



This week's devlog post is about the shiny new User Interfaces for settlements and crew.

Settlements

There are a large number of settlements (cities, towns, villages, outposts, encampments) that you can visit in Vagrus, all of them unique locations even though they share some characteristics and features. For a long while now, we have planned a rework for the original UI - as we usually do with all UI elements, really.

The most apparent change is that we did away with the tabs on the side and introduced buttons on top that now match other UI elements (but kept the stack of papers design that everyone knows). This allowed us to fill out the larger available space and show more on one screen.

The Stories pane now also has hover effects (in the same way as the Event choices) and numbering, so you can use the keyboard to select from the available stories. There have been other changes in the background, too, like the subtle substitution of a better-quality parchment under all of it, or tweaks to scrolling, among other things. With all these, we feel that the settlement UI has become more user-friendly and intuitive with some QoL elements you can personalize in the menus. We hope you'll like it!

Reworked Crew UI

In the long line of UI reworks, our next stop is the crew UI where all the panes will now receive a lot of changes and upgrades. We planned to make these changes earlier but the design was in motion all the time - with new stats and mechanics being added - and so other things were completed and added before these in the end. And so now, so close to 1.0, we finally got around to implement the new crew UI.

Apart from tweaking the visuals, there were technical considerations as well. Most importantly, we had to have UI elements on a single paper instead of four overlaid ones, with buttons switching between different contents of the page. This is not only more efficient with resources but also solves issues with the overlaid pages getting stuck, leading to soft-locks, which had us blocking this UI during settlement resting. The redesign solves this issue at last. Additionally, the buttons on top now share the same design as on other UI panes, resulting in a more unified look, which boosts usability.

The most spectacular changes appear on the Crew Pane since new stats were added to the display here. Among these is the workforce requirement and production of crew members, as well as their Combat Strength and Defense scores, along with the usual Upkeep and Consumption values. The same is true for Passengers, too, making it clearer when some of them pay with work beside coins.

The other vastly reworked part is the Companion Perk sheet. The formerly tiny and crowded Perk pane now opens onto the larger sheet and is thus easier to see and navigate. We love this new, clean design and we hope that it'll be well-received.



As ever, we are grateful for the continued support - this game would not have been possible without you, the players.

Stay tuned and conquer the wasteland!
The Lost Pilgrims Team

https://store.steampowered.com/app/909660?utm_source=steam&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=website&utm_content=footer
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Wanna see the full game released as early as possible with even more content? Please share our pages and posts with your friends through your favorite social media channel(s). Appreciate it!

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Devlog #55 | Renown Victory, Abolitionist Rework, and Alternative Wyrms



As we are gearing up for the 1.0 release of Vagrus, we are finally coming around to implement the victory mechanics, which means that you will soon be able to complete a playthrough! There are caveats, of course, since we are still in Early Access, but we thought it was time to discuss what to expect (now and later).

The Design

Even in the first game design documents, winning the game was connected to Ambitions - Wealth, Fame, Knowledge, as well as some hidden ones perhaps. That is, you will select an Ambition at character creation and you win the game by reaching that Ambition through gameplay, then completing an Event that will reward you with a victory.

Freeplay

Once victory is achieved, the game offers you to continue in Freeplay Mode. This is mostly for fun or if you wish to complete some additional stories, because Achievements are turned off, and the longer you go, the less sense some stories will make when you put them in the context of elapsed time. Still, we wanted to give players the chance to keep on wandering the wasteland if that was their desire.

Victory Screen(s)

Once you complete a victory, you will receive a victory screen - for now. We are planning a series of screens touching upon the most important storyline states and companion questlines, but initially, only the single Ambition-related screen will be added, primarily because we want to hold back on story reveals and endings until 1.0. Also, only a Renown Victory is available for the time being as some things are still being worked out for the other two.

Abolitionist Rework



We've been working on the Abolitionists, too. It is a unique faction that is a bit hidden and up until now, their presence was very minor apart from their main base of operations. The build now includes a new system that you will be able to use to unlock new faction locations for the Abolitionists. This involves getting ciphers from an already unlocked location (initially their main base) and taking it (within a time limit) to a new settlement where it will unlock the faction's presence there.



What is the point of this? Most importantly, it allows you to get Tasks from these locations, making it possible to raise your Abolitionist reputation to its maximum more fluidly. Apart from that, some quests involving the faction at certain places now require you to unlock the specific location before interacting with the cell there.

This system fleshes out the somewhat shunned Abolitionist more and we hope that it will lend the much needed depth and infrastructure to a slaveless playthrough. We hope more of our players are now motivated to try a successful Abolitionist run.

New Wyrms



By 'alternative Wyrms' we do not refer to a group of odd subculture, but a series of new enemies that are coming to ruin your day! These Sand Wyrm variants share the general look of the basic creature with slight modifications (and in some cases, differences in size). The reason for this diversification is that the long, high-end storyline involving them we are working on called for more and more varied enemies to make fights interesting and keep players on their toes.

And so please welcome the Armored Wyrm, the Frenzied Wyrm, the Spitter Wyrm, and the Great Wyrm. We hope that they will cause the right amount of trouble. We are looking forward to hearing your reactions to the Renown victory aswell and see how easy or difficult you find it to reach.

Stay tuned and conquer the wasteland,
The Lost Pilgrims Team

https://store.steampowered.com/app/909660?utm_source=steam&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=website&utm_content=footer
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Wanna see the full game released as early as possible with even more content? Please share our pages and posts with your friends through your favorite social media channel(s). Appreciate it!

Fig | Website | Youtube | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon | Discord

DreamHack Beyond - Event Live

Hey Folks,

In case you have not heard the good news yet, we are participating in DreamHack Beyond with Vagrus between July 24- July 31.
This unique game show does not only have their Steam sale page active already, they have also created a video game that you can log into, pick your avatar, and walk around in a Rick and Morty reminiscent world.



Within the game, you can roam around and check out rooms full of video game and creator booths, talk to NPCs, and complete quests.
You can claim a free ticket with the link here, and start playing here: DreamHack Beyond Game.

Enjoy! Cheers,
The Lost Pilgrims Team


During the event, Vagrus is available with a 10 percent discount.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/909660?utm_source=steam&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=website&utm_content=footer
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Wanna see the full game released as early as possible with even more content? Please share our pages and posts with your friends through your favorite social media channel(s). Appreciate it!

Fig | Website | Youtube | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon | Discord

Vagrus is a tough-as-nails tactical RPG that looks like D&D Dark Sun

It's been a while since we had a videogame officially set in the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Dungeons & Dragons' Dark Sun setting, but Vagrus - The Riven Realms might just fill the gap. It's not officially a Dark Sun title, but the Early Access RPG game's setting bears a lot of similarities to Dark Sun's, and it's aiming to be a meaty, challenging experience.


Here you'll find turn-based tactical battles reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon's or Wildermyth's, but Vagrus is also a complex open-world game in which you'll be in charge of commanding a caravan through a dangerous and vast wilderness to find trading opportunities or rumours of hidden treasure and knowledge.


Fights are brutal, and you'll have to use careful positioning, as well as your companions' range of special abilities, in order to take down the human and monstrous enemies you encounter in Vagrus. There's also a hint of The Banner Saga here, as you'll have to carefully balance resources between valuables you want to trade and the supplies you'll need to keep everyone alive in your trips across the desert.


Read the rest of the story...

A New Build is OUT - Patch 0.7.00 - Codename: The Famous and the Furtive


[h3]Hey Folks, [/h3]

with so many of you well over the hundred hours mark in the game, it was high time for us to add the opportunity to actually win it. The first winning condition we have implemented is the Renown victory. The other two, Wealth and Knowledge will become available in the 1.0 release later this year.

No worries, though, meeting the winning condition and actually retiring with your vagrus are two separate things. Even after you are able to win the game, you can decide to continue playing and trigger the victory screen later in the associated in-game Event, essentially postponing the victory (and the game's end).

[h3]The Movement (Warning: mild spoilers in this paragraph!)[/h3]
The Abolitionist faction is a secretive one that only engages a vagrus when they see a like-minded individual, so many players have never met them. Still, even the vagri who did may have felt that their reach was rather limited in the previous builds. With this release, they receive a new mechanic that allows players to unlock interactions with them in many other locations over time as they gain the trust of the faction. This spreading mechanic also serves as the means to get faction Tasks from them in those unlocked locations and even have the chance to increase their faction presence in the settlement of your choosing.



There are a number of other improvements as well, detailed in the patch notes below.

Important Note: Considering the extent of these improvements there is little to no chance that we broke nothing in the process. Assume that we did not want to make anyone's life harder. If you see something amiss, please flag it to us using the usual channels, like the inbuild reporting tool (F1 button), forums, and our Discord server.

Now let's jump into the details:

--------------------------------------------------
[h2]Patch 0.7.00 - Codename: The Famous and the Furtive[/h2]

[h3]New/Updated Features :shiny:[/h3]
  • Renown Ambition can be selected during vagrus creation
  • Renown win condition implemented (triggered by the player from an Event)
  • The option to change from Freeplay to Renown Ambition added (at the same location as the Renown victory Event chain)
  • Callings now grant a temporary commission boost on the applicable Tasks (Trade or Mercenary)
  • A great number of market, task, and equipment related tweaks
  • Shorter initial loading time

[h3]New Content :gift:[/h3]
  • Option to unlock Abolitionist faction locations in numerous settlements via contacting cells
  • A new NPC and quest line added that leads up to Renown victory (but part of the Event chain is playable by any vagri)
  • New types of Wyrm enemies added
  • New Jhakra and Legionnaire visual variations added

[h3]User Interface Improvements :pencil:[/h3]
  • Companion combat area targeting perspective added
  • Leader UI rearranged a bit so the vagrus's details would not overlap
  • Companion Perk UI runs a bit smoother (but still needs further improvement)

[h3]Bug Fixes :bug:[/h3]
  • Various trade and Task generation related fixes and tweaks
  • Very rare Kindly Sister VIT to POW convert crash fixed
  • Occasional Oghre Tantrum crash fixed
  • Encourage now works during +1 Days in Events
  • Liberating slaves now yields the correct amount of reputation with the Abolitionists
  • Several animation sizes have been fixed
  • Applied a great number of combat decal refinements
  • Various other UI and/or bug fixes
Known Issues
  • Companion Perk UI is bugged and lags - this will be fixed in a later build
'Is Vagrus properly balanced now?' - Nope. 'Was it a step in the right direction?' - We think so. Please let us know how you find it.

[h2]Coming Up Next[/h2]
Crew and Settlement User Interface update and the first set of Companion loyalty questlines are inbound.

Between July 24 and 31, we are participating in DreamHack Beyond with Vagrus. Find us in the festivals' virtual world in Hall: Normal Hive 4 in the RPG Games room. You can claim a free ticket though the following link: DreamHack Beyond.

Stay tuned, stay alive, conquer the wasteland!
- The Lost Pilgrims Team

https://store.steampowered.com/app/909660?utm_source=steam&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=website&utm_content=footer

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wanna see the full game released as early as possible with even more content? Please share our pages and posts with your friends through your favorite social media channel(s). Appreciate it!

Fig | Website | Youtube | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon | Discord