The concentration mechanic nerfed magic to such an extent that most spells are mutually exclusive, since they require a character's concentration that can only be maintained for a single spell at a time. If magic was overpowered due to buffing of player-characters with multiple spells prior to combat, there were various other ways of ameliorating this problem while still permitting the player-characters to usefully cast spells during combat. The attunement mechanic is the same bungled approach to a perceived problem, where the designers thought too many magic items were being used by the PCs, so they required most items to be attuned to a specific character with a low limit to the number that could be attuned by each character at any time. It simply results results in an arbitrary waste, where player-characters can't utilize magic items in their possession whatsoever due to the attunement limits and similarly can't cast useful spells in combat because the concentration requirement conflicts with a concentration-dependent spell that has already been cast.
Clearly the solution is to run larger teams. You're not thinking big enough dude.
The main mitigating factor to this is that it incentivizes using potions and items to get some of the concentration effects. In practice though, I agree with you, it just feels bad and "not D&D".
Goodbye 2024! Community Stream 1 & 2 Recap
Hello there people!
New year is right around the corner, bringing us ever closer to the release of Solasta II! We hope you had a fantastic year - and if not, don’t worry - may you be blessed with better rolls in 2025. Cover yourself well and head into the next year with gusto and courage!
Kaiju doing some code review to make sure your characters don’t fall through the ground.
Before we start, don't forget to wishlist Solasta II on Steam - it helps us a ton!
Community Streams VODs
If you just want to catch up on the Community Stream VODs, here are the links below!
Community Stream #01 - December 13th 2024
Community Stream #02 - December 27th 2024
Community Streams #01 & #02 Recap
As not everyone can tune into the Community Streams (or want to, some people prefer reading and that’s all good) and since you were many to ask for a recap, we’re closing the year by answering your wishes! We know this won’t prevent people from coming to ask “2024 or 2014 ruleset?” for the eighteenth time in an hour in Twitch chat, but hopefully we can cut it down to a single digit number. Here are some of the most asked questions.
Remember, Solasta II is still very much under development, meaning anything we’re saying here may be subject to change in the future, just as our wording implies.
Question: Is Solasta II still grid-based?
Yes, Solasta II is still grid-based during combat. This question was asked because some sharp-eyed viewer noticed one character ending their turn with 2 feet of movement in the trailer (instead of 5’ or 0’). This difference is due to how pathfinding works in Unreal Engine 5 - characters no longer have to go through the center of each tile they’re moving through (which made their movement look a little robotic in Solasta I), instead taking the shortest path to their destination.
This means in the current implementation, you will often end with less than 5’ of movement after moving, as you still need to end your movement on a tile of the grid. You will also still be able to see which tiles are valid before moving just like in our previous game.
Question: Will you be using the 2014 or 2024 Ruleset?
Solasta I used the SRD 5.1 ruleset - for those who don’t know what that means, it’s basically the 2014 D&D 5th edition skeleton, allowing us to use most of the systems like races / classes / subclasses / backgrounds, but with more limited content. For instance, we could use the Champion subclass for the Fighter, but none of the other archetypes like Battle Master, or Arcane Archer. Similarly, some monsters and spells are off-limit, as is the Artificer class.
The 2024 ruleset currently does not have a SRD yet, as the last of its 3 core rulebooks is not out yet (Monster Manual, scheduled for February 2025). WotC has already announced that a SRD 5.2 will be released within weeks of the Monster Manual coming out, however until then we can’t know for sure what changes will be included.
This means Solasta II is currently using the 2014 ruleset, but we’re not opposed to the idea of switching to the 2024 one once we know what it contains. Just keep in mind that implementing a new and different ruleset takes no small amount of work!
TL;DR: Currently 2014, we don’t know yet for 1.0 release!
Question: Gamepad support at release?
Yes! One of the decisions we took early on for Solasta II was that both mouse & keyboard and gamepad would be supported from the get go. This should provide a much smoother and streamlined experience for gamepad users.
Notably, this means we’re adding a direct control mode where you can just move a single character using WASD or the joystick and have the other 3 characters follow you automatically… and the ability to lower more than in Solasta I, which is something quite a few of you wanted!
Note that top down indirect control is still possible for those who prefer clicking, that’s not going away.
Question: Multiplayer at release?
Hopefully yes! Solasta II is being created with Multiplayer Co-op in mind, contrary to Solasta I where it was a post-launch addition to what was planned to be a single player game (and which caused us quite a lot of headaches, as the game was not built for that initially). This should improve things quite a bit, such as
Note that when I say “at release”, I mean the 1.0 release. The Early Access version will likely not feature Multiplayer Co-op at launch as we want to focus on getting a playable, stable single-player version first - but we intend for Multiplayer to be added during an Early Access update!
Question: Will flight be handled similarly than in Solasta I?
This question is a little more difficult to answer. As a reminder, Solasta I was a little like Minecraft (oversimplification, but you get the idea) - the world was made of 5’ cubes, making it fairly simple to select where you wanted to go, even in the air. You could select the vertical layer by scrolling up and down, then once on that plane move to the desired X & Y coordinates as if on the ground.
Solasta II is no longer simulated using cubes, and we’re also implementing direct movement for better gamepad control, which increases the complexity - however, that doesn’t mean we’re giving up! Our Programming Team is very much on the job to make it work.
So, TL;DR? It won’t be the exact same, but we’re working to have something a little similar that would allow you to move around and stay in the air.
Question: How many classes will Solasta II have?
Ideally we want to have all 12 classes available at 1.0 - however as we’re a small team of 35 we don’t know yet if we’ll be able to squeeze all of that content in… but that’s our goal for now, 12 classes each with 2 subclasses for a total of 24 archetypes when 1.0 hits the store.
At the start of Early Access we’re probably looking at 6 classes, with more coming with each update.
Question: Are we going to see some subclasses from the previous game?
Possibly, yes! Our current plan is for each class to have 1 original subclass from Solasta I, and 1 new subclass linked to the new continent of Neokos where Solasta II takes place.
Question: Multiclassing?
Ayup! That’s something we’re currently implementing. Should be available from the start of Early Access, but as always no promises.
Question: Will there be more Community Votes / Design Contests for Solasta II?
That’s the plan! If you want to be involved, make sure you follow us during Early Access because we have tons of ideas involving your participation.
Question: What’s the max level cap going to be?
Our current plan is level 4 for the start of Early Access, and level 10 for 1.0 release - with a potentially higher cap post-launch. With all 12 classes in mind for 1.0, each additional level is a large amount of work considering the number of new spells and class and subclass features involved.
Question: When and where does Solasta II take place?
Some 70 years after the events of the first game, in a faraway continent called Neokos! There will be callbacks to the first game, and the setting is still Solasta - but it will follow a different and new story.
Sorry for those who wanted to save a certain someone from the ending of Palace of Ice…
Question: Can we be evil in Solasta II?
Solasta II will feature choices and multiple endings, however it’s still a heroic journey at heart. While you won’t have to roleplay as Lawful Good Paladins as you fight for your own reasons, you likely won’t be able to be irredeemably evil either.
Question: Is the Party size still going to be 4?
Correct, in Solasta the experience is tailored for you to play a party of 4 adventurers - in particular the dialogue system where all party members participate. Increasing that number adds complexity.
However, we’ve also heard that some players would like to control larger parties during combat, so we’re planning to implement additional companions that could accompany and level up with you.
Question: Will there be a Dungeon Maker like in Solasta I?
This is something we very much want to have, but can’t give any guarantee as of yet. Due to us moving to Unreal Engine 5, we ourselves are not sure at the moment what can or can’t be done on that end. The current plan is to make sure our base game is good and solid, and once we’re confident in that, start chipping away at the Dungeon Maker.
Keep in mind that we know full well how important the Dungeon Maker is for many of you, and be assured that it’s very important for us too. We just don’t want to make any promises since we haven’t explored that area yet.
Question: Will there be modding in Solasta II?
That is something that depends on modders! Unreal Engine 5 is less easy to mod than Unity, but it’s not impossible. We have nothing against modding, but we’ll likely be too busy to work on an official modding kit at launch - but we do plan to help where we can.
Huge salute to Zappastuff by the way, long time veteran and creator of the Unfinished Business mod on Solasta I, which adds Multiclassing, Level 20 cap, unofficial localization and a plethora of additional content including new subclasses and stronger tools for the Dungeon Maker!
Question: Will you keep the same Crafting system in Solasta II?
No, there will be crafting but the system itself will be revamped. Solasta I crafting system was done a little rapidly towards the end of development, which in turn showed quite a few issues that we attempted to fix with post-launch patches. We want to avoid the same pitfalls this time around!
Question: Underwater exploration / combat?
Adding Underwater exploration & combat would require us to not only program many additional and new interactions, but also nearly double the amount of animations, sound effects and visual effects if we wanted to do it properly. This would be a tremendous amount of work, and considering we’re only 35 in the studio…
So no, no Underwater exploration or combat planned for now!
Question: Can I pre-order the game?
No, the game will be available once Early Access starts. If you give us money, you get something to play!
Question: Pineapple on Pizza?
Hell no.
Article by Tactical Myzzrym
Balancing around a bigger party is easy. It's like adding more ingredients to a recipe. so if a party of 4 fights 1 beholder, then a party of 8 would fight 10 beholders. its so easy
It isn't a nerf per se, it just makes some spells even more mandatory than others by forcing an opportunity cost. Meaning you are incentivized to cast the already op spells even more frequently and relegating everything else to trash tier. The solution is a total overhaul of spellcasting and spells.
It was intended to be a nerf and functions that way. No question about that. The unintended consequence is the opportunity cost it creates between spells. I agree that the spell system didn't go far enough with its reimagining. They got skiddish departing too much from tradition. There are lots of elegant and logical conclusions that weren't implemented because of it.
I'm very surprised nobody picked up on the opportunity cost thing when playtesting 5E. It's a glaring issue with spellcasting.
The issue is that they took casters from being good at things like support and zone control and made it so they're basically either blasters or shit.
Yes there is- excess application of Meteor Swarm.
I OBJECT! I consider Cloudkill a zone controller
It is, the problem is that in another game you could try to make it more sticky by layering it with web or grease, etc. without using multiple characters.
Dev Update #03 - Show me your game face!
Hey hey people,
Once again, happy new year! Now that 2025 is on its way, we’re back in the studio to share more about Solasta II. Hope you managed to get a good long rest off, because the train ain’t stopping any time soon!
We humans have to get back to work, you adorable little freeloader!
Before we start, don't forget to wishlist Solasta II on Steam - it helps us a ton!
Show me that face!
Let’s be honest, one of the weaker parts of Solasta I was our character models, which were the first things people saw when they started playing. In fact, even in positive reviews some of you said that they were apprehensive about getting the game at first because of how the characters looked.
Now, we explained quite a few times that we unfortunately couldn’t update them in Solasta I because of the entire pipeline already being built for that game. But you know what doing a whole new game in a different game engine allows us to do? That’s right, exactly that! Now, without further ado let me show you in-game screenshots showing currently implemented characters.
Playing around with face paint on our party's halfling.
Our dwarf in his trusty heavy armor.
Another cute lady halfling, this is the first NPC you'll be talking to in the demo!
Keep in mind that we are still in pre-alpha, and these are all pre-made characters as we have yet to implement the Character Creator. Be assured that once we do, we’ll share it in an article to give you more information on the new visual customization options!
And if you’re wondering if they only look detailed during cutscene, here is a quick screenshot we nabbed in-game while playing. All we did was hide the UI, but no special developer camera or other treatment otherwise.
Part fighter, part cleric, full-time hero - experimenting with multiclassing.
You will soon be able to play around with this crew when the demo comes out. When? Eeeh, we’ll have to ask you to be a little more patient!
A Blast to the Past
Just for fun, for those who may not remember here is how our character models looked in Solasta I for comparison.
The number of "we have BG3 at home" memes that Solasta: Crown of the Magister churned out...
… Quite a glow up, wouldn’t you say?
Community Stream #03 Friday 10th
And with 2025 comes another Community Stream! As usual, I'll be here on Friday to answer even more of your questions about the game - and if we ever run out of them (doubtful but hey maybe after answering 2014 vs 2024 ruleset twenty times we'll get there), let's tackle D&D and the 5e ruleset in general. What are some of your favorite... and most hated moments of playing D&D?
Article by Tactical Myzzrym
