There's lots of work going on as we prepare for both Next Fest and Early Access release this year.
Highlights
New Combo Builder
New Adventure Party Creation UI and Loot Collection on Exit UI
New combat skill trees
New random adventures
New adventure escalation and consequences system
New injury system
New armour layers and stats
New game mechanics for party wipes and death
New build pieces
You can now save games in sandbox mode
Combo Builder
You can configure up to 4 attack moves in a sequence to create a combo chain for each different weapon type. Each move in the combo chain can be set to any attack move you have unlocked for that weapon type through the matching weapon skill tree.
Combo chains give you bonuses to attack and effects such as knockdown, for each additional attack in the combo chain. The last attack being the strongest.
Combo chains work automatically by continuing the attack before each attack ends. You can change targets while executing a combo chain.
New attack moves are unlocked as you gain skill in each weapon type skill tree. You gain skill by fighting with that weapon type.
Combat Skills and Skill Trees
Each weapon type has its own skill tree.
For example, one hand swords, one hand clubs, two hand axes, some special tools such as a felling axe or mining pickaxe etc.
You earn weapon skill and unlock new abilities and attack moves by using that weapon type in combat.
You can unlock many different attack moves, but you can only use up to four attack moves at a time for building a combo chain.
Adventure Locations Launch Screen
This is a new UI that lists all adventure locations you have available.
Each location is an instanced adventure that you can go on.
This screen shows all of your available heroes that you can select from to be in your party. The maximum party size is determined by your Leadership skill and unlocked abilities. You can also select who the party leader will be.
Some locations are random adventures and will be removed when you return from the adventure. Other locations are permanent allowing you to visit them multiple times.
Adventure details include things like the mode of travel required (by land, by sea) and how long it takes to reach the adventure location.
This will eventually be part of the kingdom simulation that progresses while you are away on adventures.
Random Adventures
You can now get new adventure locations for random adventures. These are given mainly by other NPCs through dialogue. If there is a random adventure available you will have new dialogue options from some NPCs.
Random adventures are things like destroying a goblin camp, or hunting a mountain troll or ferocious bear.
These adventures can only be entered once and are removed from your adventure list when you return. They also have a time limit for completion. If you let the time expire the adventure will be removed from your list.
Escalating Random Adventures
Some random adventures have consequences for your kingdom.
If you either ignore the adventure or fail or leave without succeeding, the scenario will escalate. That may mean the adventure increases in difficulty for the next time it appears. If you succeed, the adventure will de-escalate.
For example, if you are supposed to hunt a mountain troll and either ignore it or are defeated, the troll will end up attacking your village later.
Another example is the “Destroy Goblin Camp” adventure. Each time you ignore or fail one stage, it increases in difficulty to the next stage the next time that adventure comes up. If you succeed in a stage, it reduces in difficulty to a lower stage for next time.
There are 4 stages:
Stage 1: A small patrol party is spotted.
Stage 2: The patrol has now established a small camp.
Stage 3: The camp is now a small base. Small patrols will start attacking your village.
Stage 4: The small base is now a fortified base with boss enemies. Strong enemy parties will now raid your village.
Adventure Loot and Exit UI
There is a new Exit UI when you return from an adventure where you can select and distribute loot.
While you are on an adventure, any loot your party sees will show up in the Exit UI, but only if there are no enemies nearby.
The Exit UI will list all of the available loot your party spotted. You then move the loot to a few different categories of storage for transportation back to your kingdom.
You can assign loot to individual party members filling up their personal inventory space, store on horses or pack animals, load into carts, or load on ships. There will be new player skills for Logistics you can unlock to enable abilities such as auto-assigning loot to the different storage categories. The more loot you assign the longer it will take your party to collect the loot. This extends your time spent on the adventure.
Time spent on an adventure will be simulated once those game mechanics are added, which has your kingdom progressing while you are away on adventure. For adventures that allow repeat visits, you can go back to collect any leftover loot. Although there may be new denizens to deal with.
If your party is wiped you do not see this UI and instead are returned to your kingdom without any loot.
Containers contain containers
Inventory containers can now have other containers as inventory.
For example, you put some coins in a pouch. You put that pouch in a backpack. You put that backpack in a crate.
The inventory UI will indicate which container an item is inside of.
You can access and reorganize all contained items through the inventory UI.
Injury System
When you are hit in combat, or take damage from a fall or accident, you may become injured.
There are different types and severity of injuries such as minor cuts and severe bone fractures.
Each injury reduces your max resolve. These can accumulate to the point you lose the ability to sprint, or even attack.
Villagers that have their resolve reduced to zero due to injury will die.
Heroes that have their resolve reduced to zero will become unconscious.
Injuries recover over time automatically but at a slow rate. Using comfort spots improve recovery. Beds provide the best recovery with the quality of the bed being a factor.
Armour helps to reduce the chance of getting an injury.
Armour Layers and Stats
All armour and clothing now support having layers with each layer providing a possible defense for different damage types.
For example, high quality full plate body armour has a padded gambeson layer which mostly protects against blunt damage, a chainmail layer which protects mostly against cuts, and the full plate layer which protects mostly against cuts. All three layers also provide some protection against other damage types and when they are all added up you have significant protection against most damage types.
A lesser quality armour piece may not include chainmail, or the protection values may be reduced.
Another example is simple clothing or rags. These are one layer of cloth without any padding so they only provide a small amount of protection against cuts.
All damage mitigated by armour protection reduces your chance to be injured within the new injury system. Armours also ha a condition and quality value.
Condition indicates how worn out or damaged the armor is which can reduce the armour stats. It can eventually break and become unwearable.
Quality and fit is about how well the armour is made and how well it fits the character. Poorly made or poorly fitted armour has reduced stats and may cause other penalties to movement and resolve.
For example, you may find a piece of armour as loot while on an adventure. You may be able to wear it immediately, but it won't provide the maximum protection until you have it fitted by an armourer.
Party Wipes and Death
When you and your party of heroes go on an adventure you cannot be killed but you can be knocked out or captured.
If your entire party is knocked out or captured it is considered a wipe and you automatically fail the adventure.
Upon returning, the party leader will become conscious, the rest of the party remains knocked out until they recover from their injuries. Their bodies can be carried and placed in beds to help with injury recovery.
Injured heroes will recover slowly over time.
When your village is attacked, your villagers can be killed, while your heroes retain the same mechanic of only being knocked out.
New Build Pieces
straw bed (16100) - beds provide your villagers somewhere to sleep, as well as providing a bonus to injury recover
Iron Prisoner Cage (16002) - a sturdy iron cage with locking door for containing a single prisoner
Thatch Bundle (5013) - made from gathered straw or reeds, these bundles are used to construct thatch roofs and straw beds
Other Notable Changes
Add prisoner and prison cell mechanics and components
Optimize save/load for terrain texture and heights - the old save format is still valid but won't be used for new saves. This means old save game files should still work correctly but all new saves/overwrites will only output the new save data formats. The new format will only save data for terrain/textures that have changed
Add autosave to Gameplay settings, default on, save every 10 minutes, 5 saves cycle
Allow Quicksave and in-game menu save for Sandbox game mode
Inventory container headers can now be moved/interacted with like other inventory items in the UI
New default workplace for handcrafting Thatch bundles from reed and straw
Build sessions now automatically sort how they are constructed from the ground up, and certain build categories first such as foundations and stairs.
Tons of other minor changes and bug fixes
Diagnostic UI Changes
Add nextAttackAllowed field to combat details
Add setting for turning off the resolve UI
Add settings to make player immortal, and remove immortality
Add settings to toggle showing the combat target highlight and autoscanning