Hi folks,
Building a narrative-driven sandbox game means constantly juggling storytelling and gameplay systems. Stories take longer to develop, but new mechanics can be added and tested much faster. We could wait until more narrative content is ready, but I think there are already too many new systems that need testing. Rather than putting everything on hold, we can move forward to make sure these mechanics are fun for everyone and well-polished. Because, let's be honest, if I don't get your feedback, you will just end up with whatever I want. Not necessarily what you want.
The Oxgate update brings a bunch of new features, fixes, and improvements, along with some fresh and updated narrative content. We already covered Contracts in the previous Dev Journal. These are quick procedural jobs that give you a way to earn extra XP, coin, and items.
Another big addition in this update is Discoveries. As the name suggests, these are unexpected situations you might come across while traveling. They are not full events, just smaller moments where you can choose to react or ignore them. If you react, things will usually work out in your favor, though sometimes failure might bring a small setback. More often, it just means nothing happens. You will find these as you explore the world, adding more variety to your journey.
Traveling has also become a little more demanding. Non-vampire characters now have to deal with fatigue, while vampires must manage their thirst. If you keep moving without resting, or if a vampire goes too long without feeding, it will eventually start affecting your Hit Points. It will never drop you below 1 HP, but you probably do not want to be at 1 HP the next time bandits decide to corner you.
It's also hazardous for NPCs to feed while Ravenous.
There are also plenty of other improvements. New perks have been added, giving more options for character builds. Sandbox mode now makes it easier to recruit adventurers to fill out your party. And for those who want to fully embrace the nocturnal lifestyle, you can now start sandbox mode as a vampire.
With all these changes, exploration will feel both more dynamic and rewarding. Whether you are taking on Contracts, stumbling upon Discoveries, or simply going about your day-to-day life, the world of Erannorth just got a little richer.
But development is a constant cycle of implementing, enhancing, refining, and repeating. While we have completed the map for the kingdom of Doven, the places within it still need more depth. We need more stories and quests to truly bring the world to life. That is why, for the next few updates, we will be staying in this region and expanding everything with more content, before moving to other parts of the world. We still have an outlook of two to three years and we are way ahead of schedule, so one freelance writer and I will be on this task. As always, the next update will come as soon as it is ready, whether that is earlier or later.
In addition to preparing more scenes with the story companions, both intimate and otherwise, there are a few new stories in the works, along with the Ironvein Hold and playable Dwarves.
In the meantime, have fun, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!
Patch Notes - 18/03/25 # 0.6.85
Bugfixes
- Fixed an issue where a certain woodland event choice could be repeated indefinitely.
- Overworld action cooldowns are now properly saved.
- Fixed an issue where you could rest at the Golden Sparrow Inn before speaking with Olivia.
- Skipping time without any world actors in the overworld will now properly refresh the tile inspector as needed.
- Fixed an issue where the camp's campfire could disappear on certain occasions.
- You can now talk to your non-story companions in camp with the correct interaction option. No more accidentally pickpocketing your party members!
New Content
Contracts System
- Contracts are procedurally generated side quests that range from escorting NPCs and hunting bounties to clearing lairs and delivering goods. Success builds trust and opens new opportunities, while failure, betrayal, or unforeseen risks can shape your reputation and standing in the world.
- Contracts can offer a variety of randomized rewards.
- Added UI for viewing and accepting regional contracts.
- Introduced procedurally generated regional contracts.
- Currently, the following types of regional contracts are available:
- Escort: Safely transport an NPC from one location to another.
- Bounty: Track and bring a wanted criminal to justice.
- Lair: Eliminate all hostiles in a designated area.
- Supply: Deliver a shipment of goods to a certain NPC.
- Explore: Explore a location and report back to the contractor NPC.
- Active Escort Contracts will appear on both the Map and the Contracts UI.
- Bounty contract destinations are initially hidden, but locals in the region can be questioned for information.
- Once a bounty’s location is discovered, it will be revealed on the Map.
- When you have an active contract and are in the contractor's tile, a discovery text will prompt you to wait for them.
- After bringing an adversary to justice or causing their death while completing a bounty contract, all other contracts involving that actor become void.
Weariness System
- Characters accumulate fatigue for every two hours spent without rest in the overworld map. Once fatigue exceeds healthy levels, they begin losing 2 HP per excess turn until they recover.
- Vampire characters do not experience fatigue but instead gain hunger, which functions the same way. Hunger can be satiated by feeding, preventing further penalties.
- Updated Feeding Rules
- As a vampire, you can now feed up to three times per day (24 hours).
- The amount of HP and Hunger restored depends on the NPC's lifeforce.
- Feeding on NPCs now harms them based on the vampire's hunger.
- Completely draining an NPC gives them a 5% chance to turn into a vampire and a 20% chance to die.
- If they survive a near-death experience, they become Wary of the player and can no longer be fed on.
- New passive: Blood Connoisseur +x, Feeding replenishes your hunger at an accelerated rate.
Discoveries System
- Discoveries are quick snippets of flavor that appear as you explore the overworld.
- Triggering a discovery grants a small amount of XP. Reacting to them often provides various rewards.
- Discoveries are fully moddable. While there isn't a UI tool at the moment, custom discoveries can be added as a JSON file in: Mods/My Modname/Discoveries/DiscoveriesDB.json
- Added Discoveries for: Plains, Woodlands, Forest, Hills, Highlands, Marsh & Water tiles.
- A sound notification now accompanies discoveries, as well as their success or failure outcomes.
New Items, Equipment & Perks
- Added new cloaks, now available for purchase from several tailor vendors.
- Added new Material, Junk, Ingredient & Valuable items.
- Added 42 new perks and their assorted actions.
New Locations & Interactions
- New point of interest in Llanford: Llanford's Lake.
- Added new types of fish and the ability to use your fishing rod to fish in specific locations, such as Llanford's lake.
- Added a Common Room to the Golden Sparrow, where you can quickly meet and recruit adventurers instead of searching around town.
- These adventurers start as blank slates with 9 SP, 2 PP, and a bonus weapon proficiency.
- You can hire these adventurers in story mode too, as long as your party has fewer than four companions.
- Vampire Adventurers (Elizabeth & Trajan) can only be recruited by Vampire players.
- Added the Oxgate tiles and random actors. No merchants or vendors in the plague-ridden town at the moment.
- Added the option to start in sandbox mode as a vampire.
Miscellaneous / QoL Improvements
- Dead or arrested NPCs are removed from town and eventually replaced by a newly generated NPC.
- You can now use the 'Introduction' interaction multiple times whenever you meet a stranger.
- Clicking on an actor's portrait in the bottom UI now centers the camera on them instead of opening their character sheet. There's already a button for that just below their portrait.
- Smoothed out the transitions between different actors' turns.
- Move actions will now properly sound like footsteps.
- NPC actors can now be pickpocketed up to three times per day, but no more than once every 24 hours on the same person.
- When pickpocketing actors with fewer farthings than a certain threshold, you can now steal one of their items instead. Time to pickpocket some hacksaws and fishing rods!
- NPC actors' farthings are now replenished every 24 hours.
- Expanded the Reward strings with methods to drop random loot and accept Lua setters.
- Expanded the Requirement strings with methods to accept party rolls.
New Lua Methods
- Obligation(actorId, obligation, tile) – Sets an obligation for the actor.
- RemoveObligation(actorId, obligation) – Removes the obligation from the actor.
- (bool) HasObligation(actorId, obligation) – Checks if the actor has this obligation.
- (bool) AnyObligation(actorId) – Checks if the actor has any obligation.
- CompleteContract(actorId, type) / CompleteThisContract(type) – Successfully completes the actor's contract.
- EndContract(actorId, type) / EndThisContract(type) – Ends the actor's contract, marking it as failed.
- (bool) IsContractInProgress(actorId, type) – Checks if there is an active contract of that type with the specified actor.
- ConfirmContract(actorId, type) – Confirms that we have accepted that contract type from the actor.
- ClaimContract(actorId, type) – Successfully completes the actor's contract, but only if we are in the destination tile.
- (bool) CanClaimContract(actorId, type) – Have the actor's contract and we are in the destination tile.
- RevealContractDestination(type) - If a contract matches type and is the one we are asking about, we reveal the contract's destination.
- QuickEncounter() - Starts a lair encounter.
- PCFeedOn(actorId) - Properly handles the PC feeding on another actor.