Most Honorable Knights,
it is with great pleasure that I can announce the completion of the Playtest release candiate. The first version of the game that will go out to everyone is finally ready!
A series of all-nighter coding sessions made it possible to stick to the dev schedule, and testing is now in progress to make sure you will have a smooth experience.
Should you have been among those who participated in the closed testing round for Alpha 3.fun, you can find a list of changes below.
Looking forward to your feedback when the Playtest unlocks on January 15.
Until then,
Martin
New Features
Quickdemo mode ("Aldhelm's Path"), including a new quest and new cutscenes
Crafting of items
Prison mechanics
Treasure maps
Readable books
Interactive tutorial & quick hints
Steam Achievements
Steam Cloud Saves
New content
Added new NPC types
Added new objects
Added new items
Added a new map location
Added a new dungeon type ("Ancients")
Added new music tracks
Added new sound effects
NPC behavior improvements
Added a new NPC behavior pattern: tavern
Added a new NPC behavior pattern: city life
Added an additional work shift to increase NPC schedule variety
Added NPC reactions to theft
Added some special behavior for certain character types
Improved handling of how criminal acts affect the personal relationship between characters
Improved guard behavior during a manhunt
Character improvements
Added new ways of interacting with items and objects
Added the concept of natural armor
Added a new behavior mode (crouch)
Added logic for some NPC types to never sleep (like undead)
Added storing of time when the PC last attacked an NPC - they will remember what you did!
Added a general mechanism to recover an NPC who is stuck (needs to be used more often still)
Improved the animation and movement speeds of some characters
Improved the footprint definition of some character types
Map improvements
Added new NPCs to human settlements
Added concept of hidden map locations
Added the Thyle supermap to the overview map
Added signs to country roads
Improved procedural generation of natural cave dungeon maps
Improved some settlement and building maps
Improved handling of door locks and implemented lock traps
Improved rendering of trees, especially during tactical combat
Enabled the overview map in dungeons
Enabled the campire action in dungeons
NPC combat behavior improvements
Improved logic to position for an attack
Improved archer behavior
Improved behavior when NPCs occupy the same space
Improved escape logic
Improved logic to scroll/zoom the map to the appropriate position in combat
UI improvements
Added option to customize portrait book behavior (pinned, transparent, or sliding)
Added hover descriptions for attributes and skills
Added concept of having action icons directly shown on the map
Added progress bars when loading
Added loading screen
Added feature to move items between containers using a right-click (and updated tutorial)
Added highlight of slots in the inventory where items can be equipped
Added indicators for hunger/thirst/fullness levels to health screen
Added indicator to show when distributable points or perks are available
Added visual indicator when the PC receives an item
Added hover description to several buttons
Added hover description for any item special status (stolen, quest, etc)
Added feature to open journal entry when clicking quest or criminal record banner
Added display of estimated power when prompted for quick resolving a combat
Added icon to display the state of a manhunt
Improved and simplified concept of damage and life points (and added label for the value)
Improved the readability of status messages
Improved the combat UI (fonts, font colors, added backplates)
Improved the resting panel
Improved inventory belt clip background image
Improved size of book widgets
Improved timing of some hovers tooltips/popups (now appearing quicker)
Improved the display of written tutorials and added feature to show them on the map
Improved readability of hover popups (now hiding mouse cursor)
Improved positioning of screen size setting (now visible if resolution is wrong)
Improved determination of applicable mouse cursor asset during combat
Removed obsolete combat actions (Communicate: now interaction, Item: now used via quickslot)
Many smaller improvements
Balancing improvements
Reduced the stamina penalty from blood loss
Increased the skill roll bonus (or penalty) from high (low) attribute values
Improved character power calculation (life points, armor, sleep status)
Adjusted NPC group sizes
Added more starting money and quest rewards
Reduced prices for metal items
Audio handling improvements
Improved timing of when music begins to play
Greatly reduced audio stuttering when map changes (more work needed)
Main Menu improvements
Added hover popups
Added sparkle effect to game logo
Improved the wishlist icon
Now showing if the max number of saves has been reached
Credits screen improvements
Added links to socials, Discord, Website, Steam
Improved the copyright notice
Internal improvements
Improved handling of absolute timestamps
Improved handling of NPC behavior patterns when time gets skipped or the game gets paused
Improved performance when switching to a screen that shows the last screen in the background
Overhauled action handling
Improvements to the dungeon map generation process (more efficient use of arrays)
Now disposing all static TextureAtlases with the static disposal mechanism
Updated included libGDX framework version to 1.14
Updated included LWJGL library version to 3.3.6
Added many new generic Requirements
Moved data folder from "ProgramData" to "Saved Games"
Tied the attribute "quest item" from Item to ItemInstance
Improved handling of output logfiles (now keeping those of three sessions)
Removed superflous calls to setting the generic popup active
Fixes for bugs present in Alpha 3.fun
Fixed: app does not start anymore when a saved game is corrupt
Fixed: app hangs when spam-clicking while a new game starts, corrupting the database
Fixed: crash when an NPC flees to a different dungeon level
Fixed: crash when confirming a new combat move while just arriving from another move
Fixed: crash when an NPC's update queries the database after the PC died (database erased)
Fixed: crash in Pathfinder when there is no route around an entity
Fixed: crash when entering city map and patrol resumes at last waypoint
Fixed: crash when looting dungeon container with colored item
Fixed: crash when combat starts while mounting horse
Fixed: crash when a manhunt ends at a certain building level
Fixed: crash when storing criminal record entry with too many witnesses
Fixed: crash when NPC is trying to get to a spot on top of a building, but there is no path to it
Fixed: hang (NPC who is not yet to appear in the game incorrectly gets loaded)
Fixed: error when saving game while mounting horse (action name too long for db)
Fixed: lock components are not persistent
Fixed: procedural lock generation gets stuck if there are not enough valid trap slots
Fixed: NPC in explorable building, PC outdoors same town: isOnMapInMemory value incorrect
Fixed: group is not fully removed when a character is moved out of a single-member group
Fixed: bystander NPCs sometimes get added twice to the combatant list when attacked
Fixed: town guard behavior pattern not always gets started when needed after a map change
Fixed: in rare cases, it is incorrectly determined whether the PC is indoors
Fixed: when the game loads in a static location, the shown room can be wrong
Fixed: season Fast-Forward hover shows without the icon being available
Fixed: unable to cancel activities while the spinner is up
Fixed: outdated hover popup still shows up after a modal dialog appeared
Fixed: NPC's action queue stuck when leaving building and PC is in a static location
Fixed: rider and horse out-of-sync when opening Credits screen
Fixed: book widget "inventory" not fluently scaling
Fixed: book portrait visuals sometimes incorrect around the edges
Fixed: popups with large amounts of text exceed the screen bounds
Fixed: items can incorrectly be dropped in special locations using the key shortcut
Fixed: when re-positioning checkbox, hovered and checked variants remain at the old spot
Fixed: when loading game, effect trigger for an item not restored if it is inside a container
Fixed: widget icon rollover status can be incorrect after setting it externally
Fixed: a criminal record entry is added when picking a lock of a self-owned object
Fixed: rendering order incorrect when indoors (precipitation not showing through window)
Fixed: flickering on character sheet screen when animations are loading in the background
Fixed: when game is paused while in a special location, key commands still work
Fixed: Thyle city watch is not a unique special location, causing ambiguous guard behavior
Fixed: function to query the position of a building that is not in memory sometimes crashes
Fixed: incorrect behavior when a manhunt is triggered by a guard on top of a building
Fixed: attacker gets too close when positioning for an upcoming combat
Fixed: after dropping coins, carried weight does not get updated immediately
Fixed: in the map editor, cellar levels are exported twice
Fixed: possible PC actions not reset to default when starting a new game during same session
Fixed: descriptions for locations on the travel map are incorrect (indexing issue)
Fixed: even for non-humanoid NPCs, average armor is calculated based on humanoid body parts
Fixed: map inappropriately changes when PC is taken to prison while in a static location
Fixed: on some screens, modal dialogs are rendered under any screen darkening
Fixed: The UI renderer does not correctly return the hovered status
Fixed: some dungeon doors are locked although they are open
Fixed: dungeon containers not always filled correctly
Fixed: next quest step not always shown
Fixed: in tactical combat, nearby enemy cannot be selected after canceling a move
Fixed: quest "True Hospitality" proceeds incorrectly if the PC does not act for a while
Fixed: music stuttering when changing maps and deleting games
Fixed: incorrect item for starting campfire shown if using tinder pouch
Fixed: flintstone sound missing when igniting object with tinder pouch
Fixed: coin treasure item can include zero coins
Fixed: NPCs can block themselves after being spawned on a new map
Fixed: store visitors have a superflous action to enter the building on the queue
Fixed: children and some other characters are unable to talk in certain scenarios
Fixed: incorrect south stairscase asset in human dungeon
Fixed: lantern (on) does not show a flame in inventory
Fixed: the leader of the Dark Ones does not own the robe he is wearing
Fixed: various issues with activity spinners
Fixed: tutorial combat with bat can be started as quick combat when fleeing first
Fixed: when camping in dungeon, sleep actions are shown incorrectly
Fixed: after closing the gravestone overlay, interaction menu choice stays highlighted
Fixed: when holding Alt, entities stand out that should not
Fixed: wraith's footwear not rendered when attacking
Fixed: "door close" sound sometimes plays twice when PC leaves a building
Fixed: attacks incorrectly occur against already destroyed body parts
Fixed: signpost assets have incorrect filenames in settlement winter atlas
Fixed: temporary road and river paths are not disposed in travel map maker
Fixed: incorrect dialog text in quest "True Hospitality" after PC attacked goblin and left
Fixed: a selected NPC leaving the map stays in the interaction panel
Fixed: incorrect hover text for "Take all" button on loot screen after taking selected items
Fixed: character output related to food consumption is not correct
Fixed: if one side in combat is powerless, power bar not showing correctly
Fixed: life point bonus in power calculation incorrect
Fixed: PC name instead of target's name is mentioned in status message after PC attacks
Fixed: archers move to invalid positions on the map (outside the content area or in water)
Fixed: incorrect music might come up if the PC joins an ongoing NPC-NPC combat
Fixed: during combat, non-humanoid characters can open doors to escape
Fixed: issue in conversation with Chosh in quest "All bats are gray in the dark"
Fixed: incorrect result when determining whether a mounted character is in attack range
Fixed: after being in combat hit while mounted, cannot dismount and animation stuck
Fixed: sometimes, the wrong combat music variant starts
Fixed: town guadrs sitting in a tavern do not get up when spotting a criminal
Fixed: quick combat portraits sometimes show incorrect number of fighters
Fixed: "construct shelter" action available in dungeon after loading game
Fixed: after tuning towards an enemy during tactical combat, action sectors not always updated
Fixed: coins can be dropped in special locations (impossible to pick them back up there)
Fixed: combat gets stuck in quest "True Hospitality" if PC starts combat with the guard around
Fixed: the retiree does not appear in quest "Echoes from the Past" when skipping time
Fixed: corpses are incorrectly added as crime witnesses
Fixed: dehydration level not correctly restored after loading