KickStarter Monomyth - A first person action RPG/dungeon crawler - now available on Early Access

[Abu Antar]

Abu Antar, I PMd him the list of all the backers who needed keys. I think RatTower PM'd them directly.

I'll hit him up, then. I'm part of the Codex fundraiser but got nothing.

 

[Jenkem]

Abu Antar, I PMd him the list of all the backers who needed keys. I think RatTower PM'd them directly.

I'll hit him up, then. I'm part of the Codex fundraiser but got nothing.

same


curious

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Ok, Monomyth keys have been sent.

Excepting:
so have we figured out if there is a character limit yet on this text box? humm ok I guess not.... (not so funny now is it haha)
MajorMace (banned)
Knagur (non-user?)
Riskbreaker (deleted user)

 

[mindx2]

Didn't remember I'd be getting a key... anyone want it?

Edit: It's been claimed.

 

[The_Mask]

Thank you for the key RatTower - may your game be played and may you find success.

 

[covr]

Ok, Monomyth keys have been sent.

Excepting:
so have we figured out if there is a character limit yet on this text box? humm ok I guess not.... (not so funny now is it haha)
MajorMace (banned)
Knagur (non-user?)
Riskbreaker (deleted user)

If riskbraker was stupid, or smart, enough to delete his account, I can claim his key.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/836367155/monomyth/posts/4105917

State of the Game: Video Devlog 13.0 | OBB Phase Two​

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

A month ago, Monomyth started its Open Backer Beta. A lot has happened since then. I have implemented plenty of bug fixes and reworked several areas that will be added to the game shortly. There is still much to do! I will improve the game's combat mechanics over the next few weeks. You can hear all about it in this month's video devlog!


As always you can find the video's transcript below!

Best Wishes,

Michael

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It’s time for another update on Monomyth! Last month the Open Backer Beta started and players have reported many little issues for me to fix. At the moment, only the first two areas of the game are accessible, but this will soon change! So let’s take a look at it.

Over the last month, roughly 500 people have activated their test keys. That is roughly 50% of all backers, which is a pretty good participation rate for a pre-release testing phase. Many of these players have provided detailed feedback about their experience with the game and the bugs they have encountered. I have thoroughly recorded around 120 reports on minor and major issues, as well as suggestions for improvements.
I have already worked through a fair bit of these, however, some matters will still require my attention in the future, among others, issues concerning itemization and balancing.
Throughout the last month, I have not only fixed bugs, but also reworked and polished two major areas of the game. One of these areas, the mine, you may remember as the one that turned out a bit too big at first and had to be trimmed down. I talked about this in an update early last year. This area has been split up, reworked, and polished. It will be accessible in the next OBB patch. The main hub will also be accessible, as well as, three minor areas and the demo area. If the patch isn’t already out with the release of this video, it will be uploaded shortly. Content-wise, the game is now in the state I wanted it to be in for the early-access phase.
Before that one can start, however, I need to rework a few game mechanics, combat being the most important one.
From the player’s side combat needs an overhaul mostly regarding animations. On the side of the enemies, I must make sure that they can’t just be steamrolled by chaotically swinging the sword. So painstuns need to be reworked, as well as individual enemy actions. Enemies are theoretically capable of healing themselves, putting status effects on the player, and casting spells. That’s all in the AI. However, they are not doing it right now, because their individual sets of actions are limited to standard attacks. Basically, I need to overhaul enemy attacks so they can actually make use of their range of possibilities. In general, AI still requires fine-tuning, especially when it comes to estimating when to use which ability. All in all, enemies need to get tougher so combat is more fun.
Hopefully, this won’t take much longer than a month, so I can also spend some time fixing bugs. After that, I will probably be ready to announce an early access release date with a prepared trailer.

Not to get ahead of myself, but during early access, there will be at least two content patches, each featuring one large area. There will also be smaller additions regarding backer content and minor features that couldn’t make it into the OBB.
One last thing regarding GOG: I still owe you those mails to pick a GOG key. So, no worries - it didn’t go to the spam folder or anything - I still have to send those out. I will also remind you a couple times before release, so everyone gets the key they actually want. All in time.

And that is pretty much it for now. As I said, if the patch isn’t already up, it will be very soon. After that, it’s time to finally improve combat.
I will keep you updated about all of it, and see you soon!

 

[Infinitron]

Ok, Monomyth keys have been sent.

Excepting:
so have we figured out if there is a character limit yet on this text box? humm ok I guess not.... (not so funny now is it haha)
MajorMace (banned)
Knagur (non-user?)
Riskbreaker (deleted user)

ColonelMace

 

[ColonelMace]

Thank you Infinitron for the heads up !

Ok, Monomyth keys have been sent.

Excepting:
so have we figured out if there is a character limit yet on this text box? humm ok I guess not.... (not so funny now is it haha)
MajorMace (banned)
Knagur (non-user?)
Riskbreaker (deleted user)

It'd be my utmost pleasure of the day to receive this key, milord.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/836367155/monomyth/posts/4122038

Quick Update: New demo for Steam Next Fest (June 2024)​

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Just a quick note to let you know that Monomyth received a completely new demo for the June 2024 edition of Steam Next Fest!

If you have already activated your OBB key, you will not be able to access this demo, unless you use a different Steam account. Alternatively, you can also download the demo here:

https://rattower.itch.io/monomyth-kickstarter

Since you are all in the OBB anyway, you might wonder: "Why would I want to play the demo?". To answer this, the demo is, at the moment, one version ahead of the OBB. The beta branch will be updated as soon as possible, but it will still take a bit (at least until Steam Next Fest is over).

So, if you want to take a quick look at the latest version, here are some of the demo's highlights:
* New Map (this one will be integrated into the main game in a later update)
* New Enemies
* Reworked combat
* Better combat sound effects
* Reworked (aggressive) enemy behavior

And much, much more!

One small warning: This demo is not compatible with your regular save states, so if you try loading one of those, you will probably plunge into an endless abyss.

Have fun and best wishes,
Michael

 

[Gargaune]

Finally, something good outta this Summer Games Fiasco!

Are these Skellies an addition or are they replacing the "Draugr" enemies from way back? I like 'em.

 

[garren]

Finished the new demo, some thoughts:

- You should really give new players at least one torch in the beginning, I missed several torches on the floor later just because of the darkness, and fumbled around without a light embarassingly long.
- You can cheese the enemies by crouching right in front of them, the enemy melee attacks and spells miss you as they fly over you.
- The combat is still a bit boring. The regular skeletons are easy, just block their first attack and strike back, rinse repeat. Mages I just cheesed with the crouch method.
- Mantling up a ledge is still a bit wonky, you need to hit the ledge just at the right elevation for the mantle to take hold, and I don't like it being automatic. I wish the system was more like Thief where you need to hold the jump button to grab onto ledges, and if you can grab a ledge, you should be able to at any elevation (as long as you qualify for the mantle). Sometimes I also want to jump near a ledge without grabbing it.
- Maybe make blacksmithing a little bit faster? I had to move my sword several times to the fire pit and back to the anvil if it was really broken to fully fix it. I actually like the involvedness of it all, but I wish the process was just a little bit faster.
- Breaking down wooden doors makes a metallic cling sound with sparks instead of a wooden thump, a bit immersion breaking.

Edit: Now that I think about it, why not just drop the stamina system altogether? Haven't played Soulslike games so I don't know how it works there, but I feel like the system here just slows things down too much. Like when I'm hammering on an anvil, after a few strikes the player character is exhausted. Or breaking down a door, attacking an enemy etc.

 

[Gargaune]

Heads up, guys, GOG key request forms have gone out, got mine two days ago.

RatTower, I assume we get a key at the email address on the form and then we can redeem it independently? My GOG account is on a different email.

 

[RatTower]

Heads up, guys, GOG key request forms have gone out, got mine two days ago.

RatTower, I assume we get a key at the email address on the form and then we can redeem it independently? My GOG account is on a different email.

Hi,
Yes, it's independent. Enter your Kickstarter mail address on the form (should be the one you received the mail on) so I can make the connection between the pledge and the GOG key request.
You'll then receive your GOG code on that mail address and from there on you can add it to any of your GOG accounts.

Finally, something good outta this Summer Games Fiasco!

Are these Skellies an addition or are they replacing the "Draugr" enemies from way back? I like 'em.

The wastelanders (draugr looking guys) are still in the game. I might give them a new look though (I have a sculpt ready, but it depends on the schedule whether it can make it into the game in time). Then I would probably repurpose them in an enemy type more befitting their undead looks. Can't say yet though.

 

[Gargaune]

Cheers, dude!

 

[Infinitron]

Witcher detection mode skill. Problem?



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/836367155/monomyth/posts/4143906

State of the Game: Video Devlog 14.0 | Searching & Fishing​

Hi dungeon-crawling fans!

It's time for another project update! We're getting closer to the early access release. But before we can get there I must address a few remaining issues. Both the "Search" skill and the fishing feature have been on my to-do list for quite a while. You can find out all about it in this month's video devlog:


As always, you can find the transcript below.

Best Wishes,

Michael

----------------------------------------------

Hi dungeon-crawling fans!


A lot has happened over the last month. Monomyth received a new demo and plenty of new features have been implemented since then. We’re getting closer to the Early Access release date, and you can expect a release date announcement very soon. So, let’s take a look at the latest improvements!


During Steam Next Fest, I uploaded an entirely new demo featuring a new area with new enemies. This area will be added to the beta branch later. The next beta patch will include various combat improvements made for the demo. Combat is now more challenging and interesting, with enemies using magic more frequently and gaining the ability to dodge player attacks. There are three new enemy types: Skeleton Warriors, Bone Mages, and Necromancers. The latter two extensively use magic to weaken the player and summon support.


After receiving feedback during Steam Next Fest, I adjusted some enemy behaviors and their spells. Originally, the Bone Mages could hit trace your character with the ensnare spell. This is no longer possible as the spell has been changed to a projectile. Additionally, I reduced the splash damage on the fireball spell. Combat will continue to improve throughout Early Access.
I also created a new undead enemy type that didn’t quite make it into the demo. The Wraith supports other enemies and casts negative status effects on the player. It has the highest physical damage resistance among enemies. You can probably guess how it can still be damaged, but I won’t spoil anything. I also added some objects useful to warriors in such situations.


After Steam Next Fest, I finally had the time to implement fishing, one of the most popular side features from Ultima Underworld. Monomyth’s fishing mechanic is relatively simple: you throw out the bait, wait for a fish to bite, and reel it in at the right moment. Depending on the rarity of the fish, you have to react faster. The real motivation lies within the meta game. There are several types of fish, each with different positive and negative effects depending on how you prepare them. It’s generally recommended to grill the fish before eating them, but it’s not necessary. Some fish have simple regenerative effects, while rarer ones have utility effects. The type of catch depends on various factors, and each fish has a specific probability of being caught. Some fish only appear in certain regions or specific waters within these regions. So, there are specific fishing spots for specific fish. Additionally, in certain areas, you can reel in special items that can only be caught once. I hope fishing serves as a nice, little distraction from your dungeoneering adventures and provides useful items that will integrate well into your playstyle.


Lastly, I added the search skill. This skill must be used actively by the player to highlight objects and secrets in the world. The higher the skill, the more secret elements it can detect. It works within a certain radius depending on the skill level and also helps with seeing in the dark. However, it costs a high amount of focus, the stamina equivalent for magic. Players can only activate the skill if their focus bar is full.


I will probably update the demo one more time to add the search skill and the Wraith. There are no bodies of water in the demo, so, I’m afraid, you’ll have to wait for the Early Access version to try out fishing.


I also sent out emails to choose the GOG version of the game. If you want a GOG key, please fill out the form linked in the email. The GOG site will be up shortly.


And that is already it for this month. There might not be an update next month, as I may already be very busy preparing for Early Access at that time. However, I will give you a quick note before locking your beta access and sending out your final game keys. Until then, I’ll keep you updated and see you soon!

 

[Gargaune]

Witcher detection mode skill. Problem?

Not at all, I'm loving the idea - it's an actual skill, scaling with your build investment like a dynamic FPP D&D Search. Its success will be highly dependent on how it's balanced, though.

 

[garren]

Witcher detection mode skill. Problem?

Not at all, I'm loving the idea - it's an actual skill, scaling with your build investment like a dynamic FPP D&D Search. Its success will be highly dependent on how it's balanced, though.

I never really liked this "sense" thing so many games do nowadays, which highlights all the loot and enemies and lets you see through walls and other crap, it feels like just another "I win" button instead of the player having to focus on the environment around him.

Still, at least it only seems to highlight loot and secrets here, and is a skill you have to invest separately in, so cool I guess. Though I can see it only being useful on first playthrough, because when you replay the game you already know where all the loot and secrets are. Unless the late game will have devilishly hard to find secret buttons which can only be found by pure luck or a high skill.

If you have a lower level searching skill then maybe the loot and secret highlighting could be less obvious too, you are going to definitely see the red highlight like in the video, with a really low skill the highlight could be barely noticeable, and some loot and secrets not highlighted at all.

 

[Gargaune]

I never really liked this "sense" thing so many games do nowadays, which highlights all the loot and enemies and lets you see through walls and other crap, it feels like just another "I win" button instead of the player having to focus on the environment around him.

It's often an expediency thing since modern visuals are so much more cluttered than back in the day, but tends to be overused and over-relied on by designers indeed.

If you have a lower level searching skill then maybe the loot and secret highlighting could be less obvious too, you are going to definitely see the red highlight like in the video, with a really low skill the highlight could be barely noticeable, and some loot and secrets not highlighted at all.

I think he was describing an on/off effect - it seems to highlight regular interactive objects in the vicinity and, when it comes to secrets, if your search skill meets their DC, they're highlighted, if it doesn't, they're not. At least that's what I gathered from the video, it doesn't appear to be a gradient thing.

 

[garren]

I saw posts of some people preferring a passive search skill kinda like in Arx, but I think we'll have to see how the current implementation works in action. That got me thinking, maybe there could be a passive element to the skill too? Let's say you need ten skillpoints in detection to highlight a hidden button. But if you exceed the DC by a certain amount, let's say five, and you have 15 points in detection, there could be a message on screen like "You sense something hidden nearby." if you haven't found the secret yet.

There could also be other utility uses for the skill (passive or not), like somehow maybe helping in trap detection too.

 

[MasterofThunder]

This looks good, happy it's coming to GOG (?).

 

[Bad Sector]

I never really liked this "sense" thing so many games do nowadays, which highlights all the loot and enemies and lets you see through walls and other crap, it feels like just another "I win" button instead of the player having to focus on the environment around him.

That's character skill vs player skill :-P.

One way to "balance" this could be to add the highlight effect in stuff that are almost useless, like the *character* thinks something *might* be interesting before interacting with it but in reality ends up not being so. While some players may remember only the interesting stuff in later playthroughs, i'd expect if there are many of them to misremember. And well this is again character skill vs player skill, after all some people will remember the layouts of the areas in later playthroughs regardless of if there is a search skill or not.

 

[Harthwain]

I never really liked this "sense" thing so many games do nowadays, which highlights all the loot and enemies and lets you see through walls and other crap, it feels like just another "I win" button instead of the player having to focus on the environment around him.

That's character skill vs player skill :-P.

One way to "balance" this could be to add the highlight effect in stuff that are almost useless, like the *character* thinks something *might* be interesting before interacting with it but in reality ends up not being so. While some players may remember only the interesting stuff in later playthroughs, i'd expect if there are many of them to misremember. And well this is again character skill vs player skill, after all some people will remember the layouts of the areas in later playthroughs regardless of if there is a search skill or not.

I would balance it with the literal character skill: the more skilled you are at something, the more you can spot and more detailed the results are (maybe even on the verge of being too detailed. Disco Elysium really did it well with overinvesting in its skills resulting in overload). You could even turn it into a hidden skill check, without telling the player there was one to begin with.

 

[Infinitron]

Coming to GOG: https://af.gog.com/game/monomyth?as=1649904300

 

[Gargaune]

Will you be a nimble assassin, a dreadful battlemage, or maybe something completely different?

RatTower, I don't think being a dreadful battlemage is something to aspire to. I know it can technically mean what you want, but in that context it's almost exclusively used in the second sense, as a synonym for "awful." Maybe go with "dreaded" or "dread" or even farther afield, like "fearsome?"

P.S. This means we'll start getting GOG keys?