Welcome, Brothers of the Old Keep!
We are immensely proud and happy to have landed on steam with our project! It has been a long road and there is still MUCH to come. We want to make sure our development process is clear and communicative with our community, and for that reason we will be reporting our progress here regularly. There has been not even a week since we reached steam, but we wanted to take the time and migrate some of the old patch notes - the more important ones - to this new landing page in order preserve our development history. Here you can find some of the progress we made since 2021. And going forward we will be posting the progress of the alpha until it hits BETA and beyond! See you again soon!
2022 - February 04 - Alpha 0.28.18
AI and POIs Update
Its been a while since I last reported progress - and that is because this month we have been hung up on a lot of coding and logic - stuff that is not so nice to look at. We have been hard at work replacing the old AI systems for a new integrated one that will allow for dynamic behaviors. Before this, enemies were either bad guys or neutrals. Now, they have a complex system that can make them bad, good and everything in between! And on top of that, we just finished the first pass on our Random Character System - a system that will create random NPCs for cities and villages and also populate the Named NPCs with their proper schedule, home bases and tasks.
Next up, Wild life!
2021 - October 10 - Alpha 0.28.01
With this update, the combat systems are one step closer to completion, with the addition of the LOCK TARGET system and the WEAPON DURABILITY. Now, players will need to take into consideration the quality and the durability of the weapons they chose to carry and to account for the cost of their maintenance.
Patch Notes
Water Tech Replacement - Replaced all water bodies in the game for the new next gen Unreal 4 water tech. More tweaks will be added on coming updates such as buoyancy, boats, fishing etc. This also allowed for the new swimming feature.
Added Swimming and Drowning - Now it is possible to swim short distances. Thommas will start drowning if stamina reches zero while swiming.
Weapon Durability and Quality - Weapons now spend durability when used, attacking or defending. Hiting blocking objects also damages durability. What happens to a weapon once it reaches zero durability depends on the WEAPON QUALITY. Read the more below.
Added a legendary Blacksmith to Asholl village - Ovand is temporarily at Asholl Village to tend to your broken weapons. Visit the blacksmith to fix weapons for now. Soon he will be at his family hold, so enjoy while it lasts.
Visual Improvements to BlackForest North map - New materials, textures and locations added. More to come.
Combat Lock System - Added the ability to LOCK ON enemies using the camera controls. Hold C/R3 to lock onto an enemy (like dark souls)
New Input Mappings - some inputs were remaped. Check the user manual for the full control maps.
Several bug fixes and QoL improvements.
NOTE ON SAVED GAMES: This new patch will most likely require you to start a NEW GAME. You can use an old save if it was saved at HELLYANWE VALLEY. If you want to keep your save, travel to HELLYANWE VALLEY and save before updating.
New System - Weapon Durabilty
Weapons now will spend durability points when attacking and defending. When a weapon is close to breaking, a BlackSmith Hammer Icon will appear on the weapon Icon.
Yellow Hammer: Weapon is at 50% or less durability
Red Hammer: Weapon is at 20% or less durability
Red Cross: Weapon Broken
When weapons break, the outcome depends on the Weapon Quality. Poor and Regular Quality weapons are lost when broken. Superior weapons are unusable but can be fixed, and weapons above Superior merely lose efficiency, becoming slower and dealing half damage. Now players will need to consider carefully what weapons to carry on incursions and when to take the weapons to the blacksmith.
Ovand, the Blacksmith
Ovand is at Asholl Village and he is the only place Thommas can fix his weapons (for now). Make sure to get him some silver coins for the service.
2021 - August 25 Alpha 0.27.01
With this update, I added LOCALIZATION support and the first new language, Portuguese (Brasil). With this done it will make it possible (and easier) to translate the game into other languages in the future and even receive community translations to be easily integrated into the game. To change languages use the OPTIONS MENU.
Patch Notes:
-Added Localization support and PT-BR text translation
-Added APPLY CHANGES button to the video options
-Fixed some USE TAGs of objects.
-Controller Only: added a shortcut to CALL HORSE on the back/share button
-Fixed a bug that would get the player stuck on wardrobes
2021 - August 18 A- Alpha 0.25.01
Added partial controller support:
-Now when using a controller, the system should adapt and show most prompts for controller. At this point the prompts are only for DS4 (Playstation Icons), but X Box will be added soon.
-Reworked all menus to accommodate for controller support
-Implemented UINav plugin, replaced all UIs
-Added SOUND VOLUME controls to main game menu
-Fixed a bug where the UI would lose focus on dialogue when using a game pad
-Fixed a bug where the UI would lose focus on the TRAVEL UI
-Fixed a bug where the player would totally lose control over the character when using the WARDROBE
-Increased loot drop chance
-Added support for X-BOX icons for gamepad. You can select your preferred gamepad icons from the game options menu.
-Tweaked HORSE CONTROLS and HORSE HUD. Horse velocities are now more manageable and controls should be clearer.
Known Issues:
-When using a game pad, using CIRCLE/B button to close a menu might result in the character also crouching/kicking. This is due to a bug with the focus system not only focusing UI during these times. This issue is being investigated.
2021 - July 31 - Alpha 0.20.05
Added Call Horse ability. It can be used from the side menu or pressing H.
Fixed CARRIABLES spawning close to player after loading game
Fixed SELECTION OUTLINE bleeding out during some screen fades
Fixed a number of spawn points spawning characters inside the floor or walls
Fixed a few objective updates bugs
Added the option to change back into the last outfit on outfit crates. Player still needs a wardrobe to access all available outfits.
Fixed Telling Stone user tag
Fixed (some) icons getting stuck on the compass
Added missing quest objective icons
Added more tutorial messages and a sound cue
Added a Message and Second Wind effect to Level Up. Full level up mechanic will come with the character sheet feature.
Fixed a bug in ARENA SELECTION menu
Added Place Holder music to arena levels
Fixed a bug with Half Moon Passage Arena weapon selection
Fixed a but where removing items from inventory on dialog would result in removing a random item instead of the queried item
Fixed Stairs
Fixed a bug with loading streaming level actors not loading properly
Hot Fix - pre-alpha 21: Fixed a bug on the inventory system
2021 - June 19 -Alpha 0.09.01
Wings of Stone Update
Its been a while since last update. Unfortunately at the end of May I had a family emergency and had to take a time from the project, and since I'm currently the only one working on the project, the update had to be delayed. Since last week I came back to it and worked full time to get it out ASAP. There is a lot of new content - mainly mechanic, not so much on new locations, but still there's a few. The focus on this update is to test for bugs, I know there will be a lot, but the testing should go smooth for the most part. If you want to report any bugs, please feel free to join our discord Clicking Here. There you can also talk about the project and be part of our gaming community.
This patch focus around the Wings of Stone quest, the first "big" quest in the game. I'm using its framework to develop and adapt the systems from the tabletop Paragonia RPG to the electronic version, so all feedback is welcome. In the coming weeks I expect to release several fixes and enhancements to the systems presented on this update. Please enjoy!
Please, start a NEW GAME, old saves might lead to erratic behavior.
Alpha V15-HotFix - Added more CAMPING SITES to Hellyanwe Valley. Added the ability to REST at the improvised bed.
Alpha V14-HotFix - Fixed quest dialog controls.
Alpha V13-HotFix - Fixed Building and Town lights.
Alpha V12-HotFix - Tweaked Night Light. More light tweaks incoming.
Alpha V11-HotFix - Fixed Exhausted condition not preventing running
Alpha V10-HotFix - Fixed a bug with landscape collisions.
PatchNotes Alpha V9 - Wings of Stone
-Added WINGS OF STONE Quest
-Implemented Persistent Save System - Items should persist in the world between save and load and different maps.
-Added lootable chests
-Added Wardrobe - Players can now change outfits on proper stations (wardrobes)
-Added weapons: battle axe, Kjoldan Sword, Bastard Sword
-Added DARK ROOM system. Caves and other dark ambiences should now appear darker even during the day.
-Fixed night light. Night should be dark now, but not too much.
-Added ITEM DESCRIPTION HUD to inventory and equipment.
-Added in lore weapon descriptions
-Replaced some station sounds
-Replaced generic HORSE FOOTSTEPS for surface specific horse footsteps
-Implemented usable chairs
-Implemented INTERACTION LOCK on stations, you can now press E to exit a station
-Added CHARACTER STATES HUD to EQUIPMENT WINDOW. Some key statistics of the character can be reviewed here. This system will be expanded into the CHARACTER SHEET system.
-Changed DOG EAT DOG Inn color to one aligned with original lore.
-Implemented ROLL OF YEARS. Date is now persistent and tracked across game sessions
-Implemented CONSUMABLES. Right now, mainly for food but other types will come soon.
-Implemented TRAVEL SYSTEM. Now its possible to travel between different locations of Paragonia. Travel consumes HUNGER and REST STATES.
-Implemented MISC ITEM type to accommodate for MAP, KEY, BOOKs and other specific mechanics
-Implemented LOCKED DOOR mechanic
-Added BOOK mechanic
-Implemented MAP ITEM and Keys
-Implemented ITEM WEIGHT system. Now a character can only carry equipment to a limit dictated by his STRENGH and FITNESS strings. This should lead to a gameplay experience where it matters what equipment to carry and what to leave behind and prevents the urge to carry ALL items you see. This is not a looter shooter.
-Added Telling Stones
-Added Tutorial Messages and Action Dialogues
-Added Character Dialogue System - the system now supports different conditions and events.
-Added TAVERN system. You can now rent a room to rest in a tavern or inn.
-Added DREAMING.
-Added Music and Soundtrack: just a first pass, mostly placeholders.
Added Survival System 1.0 Thommas now need to Rest and Eat in order to keep performance. Its possible to get boosts from eating and resting properly. Healing - healing on stations now consumes PRANA. Healing on a safe location (inn or house) costs way less PRANA then healing in the wilds. Resting - Whenever Thommas is tired, its possible to rest on a bed to regain status and Prana. Eating: Hunger now builds trough the day. Being famished will decrease REST quality and influence stamina regeneration.
2021 - April 28
BlackThorne Keep - Alpha 0.01.0
After a few months of solo development, the project is finally in a shape where it is roughly playable. Since the updates are so frequent, I decided bring the project to itch.IO in order to expedite updates to the backers - exciting!
As for the current situation of the project, its still very VERY early stages at this point. Some of the systems are in place but it lacks a LOT of polishing and of course, the vast majority of the systems are not yet working properly - or not in game at all but it is playable at its current form.
What is in the game?
Game Modes:
-Fate of the BlackThorne: this is the campaign mode, and the main game mode for now. Its supposed to be a grand campaign telling the story of Thommas BlackThorne while he quests to find meaning in an old family obsession, the BlackThorne Keep - but right now its just a few quests and a big world to look around. Looks cool, but nothing much yet. Riding horse is nice!
-Temple of Helyanwe: Its a template for quest testing. Not finished, will be iterated upon pretty constantly.
-Arena Mode: A place to test and practice combat. It is working as intended but will be expanded heavily trough development.
Release Notes:
- Added MetaHuman character for main Player Character
- Fixed Arena Mode
- Added Landing montages
- Implemented Blood effects
- Added new Arenas to Arena Mode
- Added Journal and Quest System
- Fixed random Ragdoll
- Fixed Mounting Bug
- Tweaked Fall Damage
- Added ESC behavior to Inventory and Equipment huds
- Tweaked ROOT attacks for player - combat should feel more fluid
- Added Block and Parry first iteration still WIP
- Added Asholl town to BlackForest North map
- Replaced Warter shaders (still missing in some parts)
- Added Surface Footsteps
- Added Input HUD, Quest Tracker and Journal
- Added 2 Initial Quests, more test quest are coming
- Fixed Inventory and Equipment behavior not hiding mouse
- Optimizations to the MetaHuman Head
- Test Lighting on ARENAS for night time and illumination