Most venerable Knights,
Yesterday afternoon the Knights of Frontier Valley Playtest was unlocked. Some playtesters had already been waiting at their PCs and immediately got on it, and I enjoyed watching live-streamers succeed and fail in their first steps through the game.
This is a solodev project with a custom engine written from scratch, and it took many years to get to this point. Yet, no time for big celebrations. Work continues relentlessly and three hotfixes have already been posted since the Playtest was unlocked.
Please keep in mind:
This is Alpha and of course there are issues, but most players were able to go for hours without running into anything serious. If you find a bug and would like to help solve it, please hop on the Discord server and check out the pinned message in the "bugs" channel for more info.
Balancing is not 100% ideal in all places. Making this better is the whole point of this Playtest, and your help is needed. Please provide feedback in the Steam community or through Discord. I can also be reached via most social media platforms.
Some issues I am aware of:
Volume controls for music and ambient sounds are not yet separated, making it impossible to turn off the music without sacrificing on the audio experience. This will be changed soon.
The feature that prevents sleeping through strong rain has become more of an issue than intended. This will be adjusted.
After dismounting a horse at the wrong spot, it can be impossible to re-mount it. Fix is in work.
Stealing horses from a stable does not yet work, but will.
Lockpicking can be challenging at first. It becomes quite easy with a bit of practice. Keep an eye open for hints blending in during gameplay, or read the guide in the tutorials section in your journal if you have trouble getting into it.
Some folks find it difficult to locate the destination marked on the treasure map in "Aldhelm's Path". The map in each game is different, but in general, the destination is never far from the city. Look for landmarks like lakes and mountains, and do not bother searching at night when it is impossible to see anything. More hints could be added to the game if it continues to be an issue, but remember: a treasure hunt is not supposed to be too easy. We all have to re-learn actual exploring after years of chasing quest-markers.
Items weights need adjustment,
If you have trouble breaking out of prison in "Aldhelm's Path", do not dispair. This is a tutorial and you will get out of there alive - one way or the other. Just have of bit of patience.
When you get the achievement "Sauerkraut" and winter sets in, you have reached the end of the Playtest story mode. You can continue with freelance adventuring, but there are no more chapters to advance to and no more leveling up. More chapters and more quests per chapter will be added in every major update.
The road will go on in winter, after the Playtest
Enjoy!
Martin