A lot has happened since our last update (you can read Chapter 4 here). Most recently, many of you joined us during Steam Next Fest to try the Flamecraft demo, and we've been carefully reading your comments, suggestions, and feedback. As always, thank you for helping us shape the game! If you haven’t yet, you can still share your thoughts or leave a review under the demo on Steam!
Today, in Chapter 5, we’d like to share an update about the world we’ve been building - your favourite dragons and the town itself!
One of the most common questions we’ve received since the first alpha tests concerned the dragon pawns. Many of you told us you'd love a bit more variety when choosing the dragon that represents you in town. We couldn’t agree more, so we’ve added new dragon models!
When setting up a player profile, you'll now be able to choose from three different appearances for each dragon type. It will make it easier to find yourself in the town and follow your opponents’ moves! You can customize your bot opponents’ profiles, too!
We've also added a small reward for new players (or those who want to refresh their skills)! After completing the tutorial, you'll unlock a special Fancy Dragon that can be selected as your pawn - also coming with three different variants!
The town would never be full without a place where dragons can relax - the Dragon Park!
The Dragon Park now features animated dragon models that represent the dragon cards currently available to draw. This makes it much easier to quickly see which dragon types are within your reach at any given moment. And it’s cute. Very cute.
The dragons you'll see there are intentionally different from the player pawns available in profile customization, focusing mainly on their distinct colors. They are designed to help you quickly see your options as you scan the town.
And, of course, they move!
You can click on any of the dragons in the Park and watch their animations while planning your next turn. It doesn't make your strategy any stronger, but we found it surprisingly difficult to resist checking on them every now and then.
One of the biggest goals of the digital adaptation has always been to preserve the cozy atmosphere of the board game while taking advantage of what the digital world can offer. Over the last few months, we've been working on the town itself and exploring ways that could make it feel more alive.
You'll notice new buildings surrounding the shops, additional greenery, bridges, decorative elements, and many small details that help the shopping district feel more like a real (but whimsical) place. The last step was to introduce hand-drawn animated townsfolk!
Each shop in Flamecraft will have its own dedicated character, inspired by the shop's theme and artwork. Whenever a shop appears in town, its resident character will show up somewhere in the landscape. Some are busy working, some are browsing goods, and some are simply enjoying another peaceful day.
Creating these characters has been a particularly fun challenge for our art lead, Ulvar. Much like the dragons themselves, they had to fit naturally into Sandara Tang's whimsical world while blending in the background and not overwhelming the landscape. We’re so curious which one will become your favourite!
Enchantments are some of the most exciting moments in Flamecraft, and we always wanted them to feel grand. To do that, we've created new visual effects for every enchantment type, giving each one its own distinct look.
In addition to the markers displayed next to each shop panel, you'll now see floating crystals appear beside enchanted shops - they will help you track which shops are already enchanted while browsing the town.
As more enchantments are cast on a shop, the crystal formation grows, making it easy to see at a glance how many enchantments have been played there. The crystals also use colors associated with each shop type, helping them fit naturally into the town while making the landscape easier to read.
As we write this, the team is fully focused on preparing Flamecraft for release.
The Steam Next Fest demo was an important milestone for us and gave us a chance to see many players step into the town for the first time. We’ve gathered a lot of fresh feedback, and it’s now time to focus on final touches.
There's still one more stop ahead before launch, and we're looking forward to sharing more details when the time is right. Stay close and gather your friends!
That’s it for today! As always, thank you for following development and sharing your feedback with us. Every comment, suggestion, bug report, and wishlist helps us so much!
If you’d like to support development, please consider:
- Following Flamecraft on Steam - it’s not the same as wishlisting, and the Follow button is right next to it!
- Sharing Flamecraft with your friends and fellow dragon enthusiasts
- Letting us know what you think of this episode and what you’d like to see in future updates!
- Join our Discord!
Take care, and we will see you soon!
Monster Couch Team