12 Sep 2026Developer post

Monomyth Early Access Version 3.0 - Land of Godon is now live!

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! Monomyth Beta 3.0 is now on the main branch! This update contains the fiery Lands of Godon, new quests, NPCs, and many improvements. You can find the trailer here: Here is the full list of changes: * Fixed combat deadlock bug * Lowered global attack coo

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Monomyth Beta 3.0 is now on the main branch!

This update contains the fiery Lands of Godon, new quests, NPCs, and many improvements.

You can find the trailer here:

Watch on YouTube

Here is the full list of changes:

* Fixed combat deadlock bug

* Lowered global attack cooldown

* Fixed ranged fighters moving up to player unnecessarily

* Fixed NPC combat stamina deadlock

* Fixed strafing behaviour for ranged fighters

* Spellcasters now correctly switch to melee when they are out of mana

* Water Elementals are now ranged fighters

* Fire Elementals now act as spellcasters

* Added fallback melee attack to Fire Elementals

* Golems can no longer be kicked to the ground

* Golems and Fire Elemental Lords should now correctly trace their attacks

* Added elemental shrines to Land of Godon

* Fixed combat behaviour on new NPCs

* Fixed fishing in Land of Godon

* Fixed a bug in the quest "Property Transfer"

* Aspect ratio is now maintained horizontally

* Fixed the hatch puzzle in the academy

* Jumping into teleporters will no longer cause fall damage

* Teleporters should now orientate the player correctly

* The summoning scroll and the emerald horn can now also be used by right-clicking

* The spell list should no longer overflow

* Added female NPCs

* Added map for the Land Of Godon

* Added map for the Prison Of Godon

* Slightly adjusted a puzzle in the prison

* Lava should now damage/set carryable objects on fire

* Tirion's dialogue now correctly references Hadrias

* Added Quest: Fisherman's Charm

* Added Quest: Property Transfer

* Added elemental tower puzzle

* Added enemies to "that" area

* Concentration effect will no longer slow you down

* Adjusted fog in Land of Godon

* Adjusted soundscape in Land of Godon

* Added environment sound cues to Land of Godon

* Red arcane fields can no longer be removed with ancient moth dust

* Added UI translation table

* Added the Land of Godon and three minor areas

* Added numbers to character stat bars

* Added cutscene explaining player respawn

* Various geometry fixes

* Various smaller bugfixes

From here on out, a really fun part of development begins.

I have already started working on the very last area of the game, which will be a little different in design and execution. I mentioned this elsewhere, but I think Mononmyth could use more strange aesthetics, and the endgame is the perfect place to bring that in.

As for game completeness, beta 4 will be the last big patch containing new areas. There will be more balance and polishing patches (and I might save the final confrontation for the actual last patch before release), but after that, Monomyth will be done from a content perspective.

Some of you have asked me whether 1.0 will still happen in 2026. That would probably not be a realistic goal, and I don't want to make any promises I can't keep. Regardless, I'll try to get as much content as possible into the game until the end of the year.

I am also working on improvements to existing areas. The sewers will receive a full redesign, which I will probably release next.

A lot of work is still on the To-Do-List, so I'll get back to it.

As always, I'll keep you updated!

Have fun with the new areas, and best wishes,

Michael

Original post

03 Aug 2026Developer post

EA3.0.0b is now on the test branch

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! The latest patch EA3.0.0b is now on the test branch. It took a while because the patch combines a series of smaller fixes plus additional content and a lighting rebuild (hence the size; sorry for that). Here is the full list of changes: * Aspect ratio i

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

The latest patch EA3.0.0b is now on the test branch.

It took a while because the patch combines a series of smaller fixes plus additional content and a lighting rebuild (hence the size; sorry for that). Here is the full list of changes:

* Aspect ratio is now maintained horizontally

* Fixed the hatch puzzle in the academy

* Jumping into teleporters will no longer cause fall damage

* Teleporters should now orientate the player correctly

* The summoning scroll and the emerald horn can now also be used by right-clicking

* The spell list should no longer overflow

* Added female NPCs

* Added map for the Land Of Godon

* Added map for the Prison Of Godon

* Slightly adjusted a puzzle in the prison

* Lava should now damage/set carryable objects on fire

* Tirion's dialogue now correctly references Hadrias

* Added Quest: Fisherman's Charm

* Added Quest: Property Transfer

* Added elemental tower puzzle

* Added enemies to "that" area

* Concentration effect will no longer slow you down

* Adjusted fog in Land of Godon

* Adjusted soundscape in Land of Godon

* Added environment sound cues to Land of Godon

* Red arcane fields can no longer be removed with ancient moth dust

* Added UI translation table

* Various geometry fixes

Regarding the UI translation, I would like to note that all interface text is now stored in a single table loaded at startup. Some of you were making fan translations, and this should simplify that process (besides also being useful for official translations later down the road).

With the new dialogue tool in place, I added a few new quests. You can find these in Lysandria and the Heartlands.

You should also see some significant performance increases in the prison area.

Besides all that, I started pinning down some of the aesthetic basics for beta 4.

(early stage - lighting not final)

Some tangentially related work I did since the last update:

I published an experimental automatic YouTube channel (@SteamReleasesToday) that keeps me up to date on the latest popular Steam releases. I already found a few worthwhile releases I would have otherwise missed. If you are interested in that, you can check it out here.

With some of the lessons I learned there (especially concerning visibility), I started optimizing my Social Media presence. I have a few scripts in the works that will simplify uploading content to several platforms at once. I will eventually use this for short Monomyth updates as well. You can follow the Rat Tower Youtube channel if you are interested in that.

On a technically related note, I finally started looking into UE5 and Metahumans.

Watch on YouTube

This won't affect Monomyth, but it might be interesting for future projects. Especially in combination with the voice modding I showed in one of the previous announcements.

That is all for the moment.

I'll keep you updated!

Best wishes,

Michael

Original post

23 May 2026Developer post

Beta 3 is now live on the testbranch

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! Beta 3 is now live on the testbranch! The Land of Godon is completely playable, and you should be able to finish the Inner Sanctum questline! A few things are still missing from this patch. Female models (and books) will be added over the next few hotfi

30 Apr 2026Developer post

Quick Update: Wrapping Up Beta 3

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! Just a quick update: I am currently wrapping up my work on Beta 3. I switched out another section of the map, but I will try to get it all done during next week. The patch will then be pushed to the test branch first. To access the test branch, pick the

17 Mar 2026Developer post

Quick Update: Beta Patch 3

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! It's been some time, and I would like to give you this quick update on what to expect in the next content patch. I have been developing Beta 3 for a while now, and if you have been part of the closed beta, you may remember the third region of the game a

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It's been some time, and I would like to give you this quick update on what to expect in the next content patch. I have been developing Beta 3 for a while now, and if you have been part of the closed beta, you may remember the third region of the game as the lava-filled Land of Godon.

Since then, I have adjusted, separated, and complemented parts of the map, so the final patch will feature one major region, as well as three minor sub-regions:

The Land of Godon

After descending what seemed like a never-ending staircase, you finally stand before a large stone gate. You have felt the heat rising for a while now, but here in the deepest caverns of the underworld, sweat beads upon your brow. Countless enemies stood in your path, yet you overcame them all - the final stretch of your journey lies before you.

As you push the gate open, a world of fire and ash unfolds before your eyes. The grand welcoming hall of the Land of Godon lies ahead - a realm of ancient sorcery, where wise men commune with the personified elements of the dark depths far beneath the world’s surface.

The Academy of Arcane Arts

The Academy of Arcane Arts is a mystical and secretive place. Few have gained entrance to its halls, and even fewer have been allowed to study within them. The exclusivity of the institution is reflected in its ornate architecture, yet the artistic splendor of its finely crafted walls pales in comparison to the value of its library. Ancient tomes speak of long-forgotten lore, hidden rituals, and - on rare occasions - powerful spells.

The Lysandrian Prison

A cold wind howls through the dark corridors of the Lysandrian prison. In the distance, you hear shackles rattling and, occasionally, the sharp crack of a whip, followed by the moan of someone who has not seen the light of day for years.

The prison is a maze of narrow passages and iron doors. You know that once you are locked inside one of its cells, there is no escape. Layers upon layers of cold, unyielding rock press down above you, filling you with an oppressive dread - one that would, in time, extinguish any spark of hope you carried within your heart when you arrived.

The Unknown Realm

Wizardry attracts many unusual individuals. While some shamanistic practices of the wastelands may suggest otherwise, there is no doubt that it is predominantly the intellectually gifted who are involved with the arcane.

And yet, being gifted in one manner does not account for the many other aspects of life. Not everything created by the wizards of the Academy is truly useful. Some of it is outright dangerous, and some is made merely for the occasion, to come in handy later. Portals to other parts of the world - or even to pocket dimensions - are often used to seal away important prisoners or valuables. It is not recommended to enter these portals, as such intrusions rarely go unnoticed.

In addition to these new locations, the patch will also introduce new enemy types, spells, and quests.

You may have noticed the absence of female NPCs in Monomyth's current version. With the next patch, this will be a thing of the past. Female player characters will follow later.

I would also like to overhaul NPC aesthetics a bit, so you might get to see the latest Lysandrian fashion. But I will go into these things in a separate update.

I am currently targeting the second half of April for the patch. As always, it will first be deployed to the test branch and receive the necessary hotfixes before going live on the default branch.

Until then, I'll keep you updated!

Best wishes,

Michael

Original post

17 Dec 2025Developer post

Monomyth patch EA2.5.0a is now live!

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! Monomyth's Early Access version 2.5.0a is now live on the default branch! This is an intermediate patch. Nevertheless, there have been plenty of significant changes. Most notably, combat has been adjusted. Kicking enemies and utilizing the environment t

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Monomyth's Early Access version 2.5.0a is now live on the default branch!

This is an intermediate patch. Nevertheless, there have been plenty of significant changes.

Most notably, combat has been adjusted. Kicking enemies and utilizing the environment to your advantage now play a significantly larger role. Ragdolling enemies can be kicked into open fires or onto conveniently placed spike racks.

Gore effects have been added as well. You will quickly find that enemies meet a much more graphic end in this version, especially if you hit them on the noggin.

Another important change has been made regarding spell casting. It is now possible to cast channelling and instant spells from the offhand. Only invocations require a tome or an orb. The default offhand action key has been changed to 'C'.

Known bug:

If you are using an old savestate, crates and barrels will be offset into the ground, since the center of mass has changed for these models. That being said, you can still pick them up and put them down normally, and they should be fine. You can also throw them at an enemy and send them flying.

Anyway, here is the full list of changes:

-Version EA2.5.0a (17.12.2025)

* Added new Lysandrian Guard design

* Added plate armor

* Kicks with plate boots now deal extra damage

* Levelling skills will now correctly update the critical hit chance

* Added toggleable minimap (default key: M)

* The mouse cursor is now a little gauntlet

* Kicks adjusted for multiple/nearby objects

* Kick range slightly increased

* Kicks will now make enemies stagger

* Movement penalty on player attacks removed

* Adjusted center of mass for crates and barrels

* Lowered ragdoll intensity on NPC death

* Standardized weapon range slightly increased

* Standardized hit radius increased

* Melee hits should be more precise now

* Enemies will now parry and block attacks

* Enemy kicks will stagger the player

* Player kicks can now activate ragdolling

* Enemies can now be kicked into spikes

* Enemies can now be set on fire

* Enemies will flee when set on fire

* Fixed bug that would nullify status effects

* Knocked down enemies will now receive fall damage

* Added a hint for the teleporter puzzle in the second royal grave

* Added environment hazards to several areas

* Zombies can no longer be killed with normal means

* The beggar in Lower Lysandria now removes the correct amount of gold from the player's inventory

* Flaming Hands now has a chance to set NPCs on fire

* Weapon/Equipment durability adjusted

* It is no longer possible to dodge while jumping

* Various minor level design fixes

* The lightning spell should now work correctly

* Improved collision on cliff model

* Instant/Channelling spells can now be cast as an offhand action

* The default keyboard key for offhand actions is now 'C'

* Fixed a bug that would delay Lord Belrik's guards to get out of the way

* Fixed movement bug caused by underwater breathing

* Fixed a bug turning one of the imprisoned miners into a floating head

Have fun, and best wishes,

Michael

Original post

17 Nov 2025Developer post

Patch EA2.5.0a is now live on the test branch

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! I have just uploaded the intermediate patch EA2.5.0a to the test branch. To access the test branch: Right click Monomyth's library entry -> Properties -> Betas Under "Beta Participation", select "testing - Public testing branch" This patch introdu

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

I have just uploaded the intermediate patch EA2.5.0a to the test branch.

To access the test branch:

Right click Monomyth's library entry -> Properties -> Betas
Under "Beta Participation", select "testing - Public testing branch"

This patch introduces various QoL improvements (such as an on-screen map), adds gore effects, and overhauls the player kick.

It is now possible to decapitate most enemies without head or neck protection. There is also full-body gibbing.

Kicking now causes enemies to ragdoll. This also led to some changes in the encounter design. I have added (conveniently placed) spikes and open fires to the environment. These can be used during combat.

Short Preview

Naturally, these additions drastically affect encounter balance, which will have to be adjusted in an ongoing manner during future patches.

It was important for me to push these changes before Beta 3. That way, I can immediately integrate the new gameplay-related elements into the new area.

Anyway, here is a full list of the changes:

* Added new Lysandrian Guard design

* Added plate armor

* Kicks with plate boots now deal extra damage

* Levelling skills will now correctly update the critical hit chance

* Added toggleable minimap (default key: M)

* The mouse cursor is now a little gauntlet

* Kicks adjusted for multiple/nearby objects

* Kick range slightly increased

* Kicks will now make enemies stagger

* Movement penalty on player attacks removed

* Adjusted center of mass for crates and barrels

* Lowered ragdoll intensity on NPC death

* Standardized weapon range slightly increased

* Standardized hit radius increased

* Melee hits should be more precise now

* Enemies will now parry and block attacks

* Enemy kicks will stagger the player

* Player kicks can now activate ragdolling

* Enemies can now be kicked into spikes

* Enemies can now be set on fire

* Enemies will flee when set on fire

* Fixed bug that would nullify status effects

* Knocked down enemies will now receive fall damage

* Added a hint for the teleporter puzzle in the second royal grave

* Added environment hazards to several areas

* Zombies can no longer be killed with normal means

* The beggar in Lower Lysandria now removes the correct amount of gold from the player's inventory

* Flaming Hands now has a chance to set NPCs on fire

I might make some further adjustments before pushing this to the main branch.

I'll keep you updated!

Best wishes,

Michael

Original post

15 Jul 2025Developer post

Video Devlog 18.0 | Gamepad Controls

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! This month, I only have a very brief update for you, but I think some will appreciate the content all the more. With patch EA2.0.1a Monomyth finally has proper gamepad support. You can find out all about it in this month's video devlog: As always, you c

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

This month, I only have a very brief update for you, but I think some will appreciate the content all the more. With patch EA2.0.1a Monomyth finally has proper gamepad support. You can find out all about it in this month's video devlog:

Watch on YouTube

As always, you can find the transcript below.

Best wishes,

Michael

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

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It is summer! The temperatures are rising but Monomyth’s development continues. It’s been a bit more than a month since beta version 2 was pushed to the main branch and it’s time for another update!

During the last month I mostly focused on reworking gamepad controls.

With the exception of some text boxes, Monomyth can now be fully controlled with a standard XBox controller or equivalent. A bug that caused unresponsive gamepad controls has been fixed.
All tutorial texts have been complemented with gamepad and keyboard glyphs. I have also added a few tooltips to immediately show context specific controls to players.
PS4 and 5 controller support is unfortunately not natively functional in Unreal Engine unless you are a Playstation verified developer and have the respective plugins. However there are emulation options out there that let you use your Playstation controller on Windows PC, respectively in Unreal Engine games without the said plugin.

Additionally there have been a few fixes concerning 16:10 resolutions. So the game can now also be played on the Steam Deck without problems.

The gamepad layout preset for Steam Deck has been adjusted to match the current gamepad setup. In case you have set a different layout manually in the past, the matching one is the “Gamepad with camera controls” layout. In the current version of the game, the mouse cursor is moved with the analog sticks.

A few things, like full Steam API integration for the virtual keyboard, still have to be tackled. I’ll probably do this in another sprint.

I have also spent some time on sound design. I only have very little knowledge in that field so I limited myself to three minor soundtracks you can now hear in some of the subareas of the game.

I also fixed several small bugs. Among other things the critical hit chance should be correctly updated after levelling your character now and right clicking textboxes will no longer open a context menu

In the following month I will mostly focus on preparing beta update 3. I’ll probably continue with some performance optimizations I already started some time ago. As I already mentioned the area itself is basically done. The main focus will be on polishing and proper integration with the rest of the game.

I will also look into cloudsaves in the coming days. So if you have any save files on different devices, it might be a good idea to create a backup of these files. Under windows you can find the save files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\\ProjectAriath\\Saved\\SaveGames
(I’ll copy that into the video description)

And that is already it for this month.

As always I will keep you updated and see you soon!

Original post

27 Jun 2025GamingOnLinux

First-person dungeon-crawler Monomyth gets better Steam Deck and gamepad support

Need a new first-person dungeon-crawling RPG? Perhaps it's time to check out Monomyth. The devs just updated it with better Steam Deck and gamepad support. Read the full article here:

26 Jun 2025Developer post

EA2.0.1a - Steam Deck & Gamepad Improvements

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! I just moved patch EA2.0.1a to the default branch. It features numerous improvements related to Steam Deck compatibility, fixes for 16:10 resolutions, and significant enhancements to gamepad controls. Here is the full changelog: -Version EA2.0.1a (26.06

29 May 2025Developer post

Beta Version 2 is now live!

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! It's been a while, and a project update is long overdue! At the same time, I am pleased to announce that beta version 2 is now on the main branch. You can find out all about it in the latest devlog: Unfortunately, delays like this are a risk in solo pro

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It's been a while, and a project update is long overdue! At the same time, I am pleased to announce that beta version 2 is now on the main branch. You can find out all about it in the latest devlog:

Watch on YouTube

Unfortunately, delays like this are a risk in solo projects, but I am confident that now the development will proceed much more smoothly. Below, you can find the full patch notes as well as the video transcript

See you soon!

Michael

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

-Version EA2.0.0e (29.05.2025)
* Added a major new area (Lysandrian Mines)
* Added two minor areas
* Expanded main story and quests
* Added new enemy types
* Added environmental audio cues
* Unlocked final two sections of mines
* Added new model for hostile miners
* Added Beta 2 main menu
* The mines now contain more secrets
* Added animated waypoints / new NPC idle animations
* Reworked connection between Lysandria and the mines
* Reworked lava slime combat actions
* Reworked miner combat actions
* Reworked fishing spots in the mines
* Fixed a bug that prevented fishing in the mines
* NPCs should no longer step into camp fires
* Teleporting to the mines should now place the character in the correct spot
* Fixed a bug that would duplicate items in the factory's furnace
* It is now possible to smelt multiple pieces of ore at once
* Teleporter runes should be noted in the journal again
* Various small bugfixes
* Fixed a bug in the furnace that might occur while saving
* Adjusted difficulty of multiple encounters in the mines
* Added underwater details
* Fixed various NPC names
* Bandits should relocate correctly again after finishing the farm quest
* Fixed various lighting issues

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

Hi dungeon-crawling fans!

It’s been way too long and a project update is long overdue!

First of all, let me appologize for the massive delay in development over the last few months. Unfortunately a few things came up that required my immediate attention and that stalled most progress. It is an unfortunate risk in solo projects. Now things are largely resolved and I have been back to developing Monomyth for a few weeks.

You may have noticed that at the beginning of last month I uploaded Beta 2 to the test branch. A few issues still remain but it’s going to the main branch today. So let’s go through all the new content and how we will continue from here on out.

For the most part, Beta 2 became a full rebuild of the game’s second area. The mines were original meant to be restructured, however, the complex vertical layout made a useful restructuring relatively hard and there was no guarantee that the map would work much better as a game environment afterwards.
Therefore I settled with a full recreation of the area, taking over only various concepts and minor sections. I rebuilt the region by the standardized workflow that I have talked about in previous devlogs, and just to put your mind at ease in advance: The third region of the game was already made with that workflow in mind, so there won’t be any restructuring or rebuilding there. It will be brushed up, improved in various parts like collision and whatnot, but that’s it.

But for now, let’s take a look at what’s in the new mines.
The mines themselves are a map that consists of 25 subsections. Scale-wise it is exactly as big as the heartlands, however, there are more individual rooms in it. Besides the mines one additional mini-dungeon and the catacombs, from the demo, have been integrated into the game. The main quests now stretch over both major areas, and while parts of it are not mandatory, you’ll probably stumble over them if you carefully explore.
There are also a few new enemy types, most importantly spellcasters and their servants. Talking of spellcasting, new echo stones can be found in the new area as well.
The mines are well integrated with the original areas and you can easily reach them through teleportation, given that you know the right rune combinations. Technically you can finish the mines even before the heartlands - I made sure that the game could be finished in a non-sequential manner. However, you will have to know the game well and pull off a few tricks to actually make that work.
There have been a few aesthetic changes to existing areas as well. One of the more noticeable are probably the new idle animations for NPCs. Until now the inhabitants of Lysandria would all use the same pose. With the new update you can find them arguing, squatting, crossing their arms, praying, etc.
Another small feature I added are unique environmental audio cues. Some of you may remember this from the Thief series. Whenever you enter a specific section for the first time you’ll get an audio cue, which adds quite a bit to the atmosphere and draws your attention to important locations. I have added this in both the mines and the heartlands.
As far as the fishing goes, you can catch new fish in the mines. Most of them have unique effects depending on whether you consume them cooked or uncooked.
Lastly there have also been plenty of bug fixes and small adjustments in combat encounters. I am trying to expand enemy abilities organically with the normal progression through the game. Of course balancing will have to be reworked once all content has been introduced
So how do we continue from here on out? We are obviously behind time and it’s questionable how much sense it makes to push for another spring update, which would have to be out until mid-june the latest. It is probably more realistic to just shift the original update plan by one season, so the spring update becomes a summer update and the summer update becomes an autumn update.
Alternatively I could imagine bundling beta update 3 and 4 into a single bigger update. As mentioned before, the area of beta update 3 is largely done. It requires polishing, some itemization, performance optimizations and so on. The geometry is completely done, the main quest is fully implemented, etc. What’s not done yet, however, is the area for beta update 4, so that would be another big chunk of work. I guess it all depends on the feedback in the coming weeks and I’ll see what makes more sense timewise.
There are also some small, intermediate updates that I wanted to spend some time on, especially regarding enhanced steam deck support and some character aesthetics. We will have to see how that ideally fits into the schedule as well.

Anyway, beta update 2 is now on the main branch and I hope you’ll have fun playing and testing it. That’s all from me for the moment. I’ll keep you updated and see you soon!

Original post

06 Apr 2025Developer post

Beta 2 is now live on the test Branch

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! I just uploaded Monomyth's beta 2 patch to the test branch. Let me first apologize for how long this took! The patch should have been out for weeks by now, but a few things came up that required my immediate attention. It's an unfortunate risk with solo

31 Jan 2025Developer post

Quick note about the coming update

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! As you have probably already noticed the patch announced for January will be a little late. Unfortunately, I got bogged down in some administrative work recently, which cost me more time than I expected. Nevertheless, good progress has been made! The de

25 Dec 2024Developer post

Video Devlog 16.0 | Tools, Mines & Redesigns

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! It's time for a new project update! The last month has been filled with level design, programming, and optimizations. Early Access version 2.0 is currently scheduled for January. You can hear all about it in the latest video devlog: As always you can fi

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It's time for a new project update! The last month has been filled with level design, programming, and optimizations. Early Access version 2.0 is currently scheduled for January. You can hear all about it in the latest video devlog:

Watch on YouTube

As always you can find the transcript below!

Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and best wishes!

Michael

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

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It’s time for the last devlog of the year. Monomyth’s early access version has been out for two months and a lot of work has gone into fixing errors and preparing new content. The first major content patch “Echos in the Dark” is currently scheduled for January. In it players will continue their journey into the depths below Lysandria. So let’s take a look at it.

Most of the new content takes place in the mines and factories below the heartlands. The area has gone through some major revisions in the last month. In fact, it went far beyond the announced restructuring. While much of the assets and questlines are still intact, most of the area’s base geometry has been redone. The normal course through the area has been completely reorganized and many locations have been dropped or replaced. As a result the area is much more intuitive in its design, easier to navigate and much better integrated with the rest of the game. It is still a highly complex area to get lost in. During the design process there has also been a stronger focus on different types of encounters, so it will be interesting to see how people’s playstyle will adapt coming from the heartlands.

When I remade large parts of the mines I applied a slightly different design approach. The original version of this area had a rough vision, which was implemented in an ad-hoc fashion. This means the bigger picture was more or less clear and the details were filled in step by step during the implementation process. This led to some nice vistas but all in all the area was much too big, annoying to navigate and hard to optimize.
So, for the new version of the area I went back to Monomyth’s original area design principles. I have talked about these principles a few times in the past, but to refresh your memory, let's go over them once more.
Basically, Monomyth applies the design principles found in the earlier levels of Ultima Underworld, where an area is split into several sections, connected via a center-piece or a long hallway that makes it easier to quickly travel through the place.
You can see this principle applied in the heartland’s river system, respectively the main road between the Serpent’s Bastion and Lysandria.
Sections are then built from rooms, respectively encounter locations. Here I made some small adjustments. I introduced subsections which bundle thematically connected rooms together and make exact planning easier.
The mines have pretty much exactly the same scale as the heartlands, but due to the subsection driven design, the density of rooms is slightly higher.
You can, by the way, find similar design principles in various online dungeon crawlers. The only difference: These usually do not have any major connecting hallways, as such would probably introduce unwanted chokepoints on the map.
For Monomyth on the other hand, that’s a positive, as it helps you quickly navigating through the map while still retaining somewhat of a directed map flow.

Anyway, the mines still require a detail pass in several areas, a sound pass and some coding. All in all, I think the map should be ready during January.

But level design was not the only thing I did during the last month. I have also worked a bit on better tooling. As I have mentioned in an earlier update most of Monomyth’s dialogue trees are actually designed and written in a simple table which is transformed into a struct by a Python script.
I finally found some time and started implementing a dialogue tool, so I can properly write, edit, visualize and fix my dialogue trees in one environment. I hope to get that tool into a usable state this month, so it can speed up the writing and quest design process.

I have also worked on a few fixes, as well as some optimizations, which were already contained in a new patch released a few days ago.

So this is where we currently stand. As mentioned in the beginning, the content patch will likely be ready during January. Until then, I’ll keep you updated and see you soon!

Original post

20 Dec 2024Developer post

Patch EA1.0.2a

Hi! I just pushed version EA1.0.2a to the default branch. Here are the patch notes: * Switched data for future content patch * Optimized lightmap density * Corrected collision on some cave geometry * Added NPC for respecing * Added "Unstuck" button * Added option to turn off FOV

01 Nov 2024Developer post

Video Devlog 15.0 | Early Access Roadmap

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans! It was a busy month! Between the game's early access release, numerous patches, and a quick chat with cRPG connoisseur Dr. Matt Barton I spent some time developing a rough roadmap for the early access phase. You can hear all about it in the latest video

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It was a busy month! Between the game's early access release, numerous patches, and a quick chat with cRPG connoisseur Dr. Matt Barton I spent some time developing a rough roadmap for the early access phase. You can hear all about it in the latest video devlog!

Watch on YouTube

As always you will find the transcript below!

Best wishes,

Michael

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Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Monomyth has finally launched into early access, and I am very happy with the results! In only fours weeks, the game has already received over 260 reviews and currently has a very positive Steam rating. Additionally, I had the privilege to talk on Matt Barton’s Matt Chat and the game received its own article on PC Gamer. I would like to take this moment to thank you all again for your continued support over the years. Without you, this would not be possible!

However, this is only the beginning of a new development phase! The game has already received numerous hotfixes and will continue receiving further patches and additional content. So in this devlog I would like to go through a roadmap for Early Access development with you. Much like in the earlier beta phases, I will try to stick as closely as possible to that roadmap and regularly update you on where we currently are. So here it is:

During Early Access there will be three major content updates, one for each missing chapter of the game. Each chapter will contain an additional major area, new sidequests, the continuation of the main quest, new loot, and new enemies.

Since I am targeting up to a year of Early Access development, these updates will ideally be delivered in the form of a winter, a spring, and a summer patch, each probably followed by a series of hotfixes.

The first two areas have already been part of the earlier backer beta, however, they require some further polishing, respectively restructuring. I am currently developing a new workflow for creating areas, so I’ll probably try that out during the restructuring. Schedule-wise this might be a little gamble, but I think the result will be worth it and I’ll keep you updated about how it’s going.

Content patches are of course not everything. In between content patches, I will try to address the feedback that you have given me on multiple platforms. As of writing this, I have collected over a hundred points that were made concerning the game’s current content. Much of it is about balancing, some of it is about reorganizing features like the search skill and archery and some of it is about adding further features. I will try to address as many of these as possible, excluding perhaps a couple of points that are either not feasible or fitting with the game’s core design.

These intermediate patches make the schedule more challenging of course. But I would rather have a challenging schedule just for the sake of keeping up a swift momentum, even if it may not work out at all times.
So what are the immediate next steps? Well, since there is enough to do I’ll start working on the content for the winter patch, which will introduce the mines and the factory below the heartlands.

As mentioned before this area has to be restructured. I have talked about this multiple times in the past. The problem was that there was no holistic design concept, no real integration into a proper quest system, and the main quest was still vague, as was the encounter design. Additionally, performance was not necessarily much of a real consideration. Much of this was due to the area being added very early in development. Luckily things are quite different now. There is proper documentation from beginning to end, including encounter, performance, quest considerations, and so on. Accordingly, I believe that the level can be restructured in a reasonable time. I am targeting a release of the patch later this year. Should there be any delays it will probably be released in early January.

I’ll try to get back to my usual pre-release update schedule and let you know about the latest developments.
If any problems arise in the short term, I will, of course, try to reschedule and give those issues the necessary attention as soon as possible.

Other than that, I’ll keep you updated as always and I will see you soon!

Original post

28 Oct 2024PC Gamer

Finally, a dungeon crawler with what I've been missing in so many other fantasy adventures: common sense

Monomyth's first hour is packed with unobtrusive tutorial pop-ups and helpful advice. Do this to operate a lever. Press this to open my inventory. Jab this key to interact with things. Attack a locked wooden door with my weapon to smash it to smithereens. Set a locked wooden door

20 Oct 2024Developer post

Mini Patch EA1.0.1a

Hi! I just published the latest patch on the default branch. Here are the patch notes: * Custom portraits added * Newly saved data will be sorted from now on * Item transfers during conversations will now consider quickslots as well There are six custom portrait slots for the mom

13 Oct 2024Developer post

Hotfix EA1.0.0f

Hi! The latest hotfix is now on the default branch. I added two more important fixes for the trading system. You can no longer take items from the trader inventory by using an item-switching bug and there will be no more item duplication if there is no room in the player inventor

11 Oct 2024Developer post

Hotfix EA1.0.0f now on Public Testing Branch

Hi! I just uploaded the latest hotfix to the testing branch. The focus was on various dialogue/dialogue mode fixes and a pause menu. Here are the current patch notes: * Added pause menu * Fountains now take longer to replenish * Lowered Focus requirement for Sermon of Light * The

Updates & announcements

Some tangentially related work I did since the last update:

The Land of Godon

The Academy of Arcane Arts

The Lysandrian Prison

The Unknown Realm