Hello Champions!
Just a quick update on things going on, after a couple of weeks of intense work and a bunch of meetings to set-up things for months to come! First of all, we've released a new build today with some fixes and improvements: third patch since the beginning of 2023, 35 since EA launched [6 per month!] and 3 Major Updates released! And you know what? It feels so natural for us and being recognized as a super active dev team, always answering our players, make us happy! We had the chance to work on a first draft of the new roadmap to be shared but as you know [data at hand], we have always delivered what we've promised and this is not going to change. So before moving on with announcements, we decided to work on some tech-related stuff that will be pivotal for us in the long term. First of all, we are updating Unity to a new stable version [running on Unity 2019 now]. Updating the engine is always a pain but the new version will allow us to work in a smarter way, with new tools and some quality of life improvements on dev side. Moreover, the update is necessary for the console version of the game, which is going to happen at some point [more info to come, no need to say that the focus stays on main SKU at the moment]. At the same time, we are playing a bit with in-engine crowd management to be able to work on large scale battles and on a few new features we are thinking about since a while. Even this new features will be detailed later on, as soon as we'll have a full picture of what will be doable and how. Other things worth to mention below!
DRAGONS
Not so much to say about this! Fantasy without dragons? No way. We have finally started to iterate these combats and we want to make them epic! We've put in place something in the last days and we finally have a full flow for the first one, Shadis. No VFX yet but the lady here already rocks [and yes, if you are smart enough, you've noticed she's a wyvern and not a dragon...but this is a different story you are going to know more about when playing]. Four dragon bosses on the way, a new season is going to start in Plamen. Still have to decide if we are going to make them available through special quests or with a new world phase but we'll sort this out asap.
COMBAT, CRAFTING, TRAITS AND MORE
The next big thing. Along with this, new crafting, traits and stuff will come. By now, the huge work to be done is on weapons and armors [and that's why everything is deeply connected and changing numbers is a pain]. We are working to change crafting, to make unique weapons and loots way more meaningful than now. We are probably going to completely remove procs from crafted weapons, leaving sockets only and we are probably going to change blueprints as well, to give some fancyness to the process. it will be still possible to craft amazing weapons and armors but the best stuff will be available through quests as intended. Before EA, we had many [spicy] discussions about this and it's time now to move on with the plan originally scheduled, changing things we are not still completely happy with. Crafting materials will be iterated, keeping constistency in mind [so no materials giving back HP because this could be considered magic and will be something related to magic weapons only. Just a sample]. These changes will affect crafting too, with the idea of adding special traits to get access to professions. So if you want to repair your equipment, you are going to use the workbench as usual, but blacksmith's trait have to be unlocked. Same for cooking or alchemy [in the work]. Thinking about adding INT stat as well to give extra value to these traits and to start a long term process that couold bring to a few more professions for the Way of Nature and the Way of Gods....
THE NORTH SEA EMPIRE
As we've said recently, the Winter Update has been a massive update. We can say that considering what we've announced for the EA, we've already delivered all the contents put in our original roadmap and we've even added a lot of contents that were not even planned in the original schedule. Of course we are going to move on with dragons, Arena Mode and the things mentioned above, adding new quests, items, NPC and stuff as usual, but we have to slow down a bit and think about what's coming next. We have to carefully evaluate all the options, always considering a few things on the way, not directly connected with the development itself [biz related stuff]. The game has been built in a very modular way, allowing us to add stuff on solid foundations [that we have] and we've started thinking about DLCs, no need to hide this. The prio is finding the perfect balance in the next months but at the same time we have to think big and be prepared with fresh contents to update the game world with new adventures. So, work on The North Sea Empire started with some pre-prod stuff. No details yet, just brainstorming to create a new campaign in a new area of the world, with new systems in place. Nothing set in stone but we can say that the NSE is vikings-inspired [with some twists]. Once again, it is just an unofficial chat with you all to give an overview of what's actually in progress here!
The twist...
SPELLCASTERS
In terms of balancing and consistency, putting in pure magic users could be a problem but a lot of people is asking so we are thinking about the option. Magic is way unique in Plamen and the whole lore of the game has been built with this in mind. The idea is keeping focus on melee combat while keeping full freedom in terms of customization, with the chance to create a mage-like build. What we are testing right now is a [super cool] system allowing everyone to play any kind of hybrid class and we want to keep this. So we are thinking about a system directly connected to the equipment, keeping consistency at the same time, willing to make everyone happy. Way of Essence is about connecting and manipulating the force of nature for example, so wearing anything different from a robe could be a problem. So, no more tanks for Way of Nature users? No way, you can continue wearing your huge armor but casting spells will be risky [90% of failure? Cooldowns x4?]. Same for the Way of Gods: channeling the energy of the All-Father needs to avoid super heavy armors but clerics, necromancers and templars can still wear lighter armors with just a few penalties. That's more or less what we are testing [on paper yet]. We are going to update you about these iterations.
G-CLUB
Last but not least, we are happy to announce the opening of the G-Club! We are celebrating our 6th anniversary as a company in a while, and we are going to celebrate properly. A lot of people is asking about a way to support us [through donations mostly] and we are humbled by this. We've always thought that would have been great to give something back to these guys and we've spent some time thinking about a formula to reward people willing to support our work and the development of Alaloth. We are cooking something special for Spring than, and all of this is going to happen on our Discord channel. The more you spent time with us, doing stuff, the more you'll be rewarded. Daily activities will grant G-Tokens to everyone [for free] and these tokens could be spent to claim games from our shop, special goodies and other cool stuff. Monthly giveaways, contests and much more on the way! To get started, simply join us on our Discord and start introduce yourself to others. G-Club rules will be shared as soon as we will have details about a few other activities in the work. Can't wait to say more about this!
P.S. Hope to have used the proverb the right way. We are not slow for sure, but we like to plan things the proper way, you know.
Share the love and have a great weekend!
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