KickStarter Stoneshard - open world roguelike RPG - now available on Early Access

[Harthwain]

Today I learned that you can hit yourself in the hand while casting Fire Barrage. Also, it's possible for Burn to cause Bleed. And I had Feed the Flames to further extend the Burn effect.

 

[Wayfinder]

Today I learned that you can hit yourself in the hand while casting Fire Barrage. Also, it's possible for Burn to cause Bleed. And I had Feed the Flames to further extend the Burn effect.

Ha-ha. Well, Burn doesn't cause Bleed directly, but it damages all your bodyparts, and when the injured body part takes damage, there's a chance it'll start bleeding. The worse is the body part's condition, the higher is the bleed-on-damage chance.

 

[Harthwain]

It was a critical hit and the enemy died, so I guess the two remaining hits "landed" on my square, since they lost their original target (and since the hit was a crit damage to body part was considerable enough).

It's either that or Varren got Parkinson.

 

[fantadomat]

Why are you playing this game when it is going to come out soon? Isn't it better to experience the whole thing as a new experience?

 

[Lyre Mors]

Why are you playing this game when it is going to come out soon? Isn't it better to experience the whole thing as a new experience?

The demo is essentially a standalone mini-adventure/game in itself. I'd agree that playing it over and over would probably sap some excitement from me, but playing through it once should only enhance your anticipation.

 

[underground nymph]

Is there any fun in making perfect build?

 

[Wayfinder]

We've just released our last patch for the Prologue - both this year and before the Early Access launch.
Alongside with recent hotfixes, it improves balance a bit and fixes all major grievances we've received so far. Like no more re-reading books every new try and gangs of enemies right near the floor entrance, yay.

Full patchnote available here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/869760/announcements/detail/1689344848600745176

 

[Bah]

It's fairly enjoyable, but I think my largest complaint is the requirement to use the mouse so much. I was happy to see that 'space' is take-all, but I'd like to be able to open up the loot window by pressing 'g'.

Edit: Ah, 'g' is working after all. Maybe it was just the skeletons on the ground that didn't let me loot them that way. Would be great if I could close books with Esc as well instead of having to use the mouse to click the X. I guess I'd recommend disconnecting your mouse and try playing for a bit, and anything you can't do with pure keys needs some hotkeys.

 

[Harthwain]

We've just released our last patch for the Prologue - both this year and before the Early Access launch.
Alongside with recent hotfixes, it improves balance a bit and fixes all major grievances we've received so far. Like no more re-reading books every new try and gangs of enemies right near the floor entrance, yay.

Full patchnote available here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/869760/announcements/detail/1689344848600745176

So the 6.2.2020 date from this site was for Early Access? I feel betrayed.

 

[TwoEdge]

Wayfinder could you guys implement an inspect pane on a mouseover instead of right clicking over an enemy then hitting inspect? This is a big QoL feature for turn-based games (especially on roguelikes).

 

[moraes]

Don't "interpret" movement input from the player, I've died twice to the final boss because the game decided to convert my diagonal movement into a two step "side and up/down" movement. You can test this behavior by moving diagonally while hugging the column in the room with all the skill books.

 

[Trash Player]

Don't "interpret" movement input from the player, I've died twice to the final boss because the game decided to convert my diagonal movement into a two step "side and up/down" movement. You can test this behavior by moving diagonally while hugging the column in the room with all the skill books.

It is a feature. You cannot move diagonally adjacent to a standing feature or an enemy, moving away is of course possible but risk AoO from enemies.
This is not alien to the genre, I think some older RLs have it but the modern popular ones unlikely barring forks of the classics. Sil(only walls, I think) is a rare modern example.

 

[HoboForEternity]

just played it for 30 minutes or so. don't want to play the whole thing trough because it will ruin the release surprise, but i am really liking it alot. is the february release full release or early access releasE?

 

[Harthwain]

Early Access, sadly:

On February 6 the game is just being released for Early Access

 

[HoboForEternity]

ah well. i dont really play EA so i will wait for full release + it might get more feedback and reviews. i am really liking the demo tho. atmosphere and sprites looks great the system looks pretty deep and versatile. the combat itself is kinda meh since there are no AP or whatever just your turn, enemy turn, your turn etc but it can be fun and it's fast.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...rld-roguelike-rpg-with-tactical/posts/2723161

Update In Which We Talk About Rewards & Plans For The Future

Hello everyone!

We hope you had great holidays. The work on the game continues and since there were many questions about backer rewards, we decided to update you on their current status as well as share our future plans.

Right now we are busy with implementing new mechanics and additional content before the Early Access release on Steam. As we learned in the making of the Prologue, it’s not a good idea to introduce and modify game mechanics concurrently with adding story elements. Every gameplay change inevitably brings a time-consuming redesign of an entirety of the story content, even if there isn’t much story as it was with the Prologue.

We’d like to avoid this situation in the future, so at the moment our main goal is to focus on implementing planned mechanics and design an enjoyable sandbox first. After that we will introduce the main story in a single update, as we don’t want players to experience it in chunks over a few months, forgetting original events by the end of it as a result.

Before the EA release we will publish a more detailed roadmap, demonstrating our vision for the game’s further development and features, which will plan to introduce in the near future.

Now let’s get to the backer rewards and list their status along with their approximate delivery dates. Some of the rewards are tied to mechanics, which are not yet fully implemented. Before we are able to start our collaboration with the backers, we plan to finish their implementation within the timeframes listed below.

Spoiler

Digital game key
Date: February 6, 2020

All backers who picked Steam as their platform of choice will receive their keys on the day when the game is released into Early Access, February 6, 2020.

Backers with alpha/beta access have nothing to worry – their keys have been already activated and won’t go anywhere. Those who have not yet received their extra keys (mostly alpha access backers) will receive them on the day when the game is released into EA.

Console ports
Date: approximately 2021-2022

Console porting is tricky, so we can’t yet announce a definite release date. After Stoneshard enters its EA phase, we plan to spend another couple of years on bringing it to completion. Our team can’t lead active development across multiple platforms at the same time and some platforms don’t support releases of unfinished games (such as Nintendo Switch), so porting will only be possible after the game leaves Early Access.

We’d also like to remind you that if for some reason you want to change a platform for your game keys, you can send us a direct message and pick a new platform.

Your name in the credits
Date: WIP; February 6, 2020

We’ve already started collecting your names so that we could list all our backers in the credits by the EA release.

Please check your mail and fill a short questionnaire, so that we could list your name in the credits.

Development polls
Date: WIP; starting from February 2020 after each major update

We’ve already started sending out polls to our alpha and beta testers. After the EA release, we will include the rest of the backers as well.

Closed alpha/beta access
Date: delivered

Eligible backers have already received access to closed alpha and beta versions of the game.

Design a treatise
Date: WIP; Q1-Q2 2020

Due to a number of reasons, we decided to change this reward and instead let you become an author of a random book or a note, which can be discovered in the game by other players. As a compensation for changing the original concept, we plan to give you a bigger control over books’ content.

We’ve already sent out a questionnaire, where eligible backers can decide on an author's name, a background for their book’s creation and its overall contents, based on which we will write a text in accordance with our setting.

Your portrait for a NPC
Date: WIP; Q1-Q2 2020

The process is easy: send us your front shot and our artists will use it to create a pixel art portrait. Then we will assign it to one of the in-game NPCs of our choosing and send the portrait to you.

We’ve already sent out a questionnaire for eligible backers to provide their photo. Portraits will be drawn gradually and should all be finished by the first half of this year.

Unique Kickstarter item
Date: after implementation of lighting and stealth systems; Q1-Q2 2020

The unique Kickstarter item is a special lantern which restores its charge over time. At the moment there is no gameplay-relevant lighting system, but we plan to implement it with the first couple of updates after the EA release. The lantern will arrive along with it as an exclusive DLC. All eligible backers will receive a code for its activation.

Digital manual
Date: before the final release, when all game systems are fully fledged (approximately 2021-2022)

Digital soundtrack
Date: February 6, 2020

The digital soundtrack will be available upon the EA release. All eligible backers will receive an activation code.

Digital art book
Date: before the final release (approximately 2021-2022)

Hero portrait pack
Date: approximately Q2–Q3 2020

The pack will be released as a DLC. All eligible backers will receive an activation code.

Unique Kickstarter side quest
Date: Q2 2020 – Q2 2021

The unique kickstarter quest will be released along the update, which will add the first fully fledged city into the game. This quest will be released as an exclusive DLC, available for activation on Steam for all eligible backers.

Name a random location
Date: after implementing a majority of dungeons; Q3 2020 - Q2 2021

Name a random NPC
Date: Q2-Q4 2020

We’ve decided to rework this reward and include backer generated NPCs into the random encounter system. You’ll be able to assign names and appearances to random traders, hunters and other characters which can be encountered during exploration. For now the system is in development, but we expect to bring you this reward by the second half of this year.

Design a legendary item
Date: after implementing a majority of planned skill trees; 2021

Design a monster
Date: after implementing a majority of enemy factions; Q4 2020-2021

Design a follower
Date: after a complete implementation of the caravan system; Q4 2020-2021

At the moment we are preparing the basis for the caravan system. On the EA release it will lack a large portion of its planned functionality, which will be gradually added with future updates. There isn’t much sense in collaboration on backer-designed followers until the system’s basics are in place, providing you with a full picture of this complicated system.

Along with our team you shall be able to:

• Choose your NPC’s name, gender and race
• Choose their functionality
• Design their backstory and personality
• Design circumstances, during which a player character can encounter your NPC

Design a class
Date: Q2-Q4 2020

The class system was completely reinvented over the last year and a half along with some other mechanics. We decided that a classless system is much more suitable for our game, so we switched to it in favor of preset and player generated characters.

So instead of designing a class, you will be able to design a preset character, available for all other players at the start of the game.

Along with our team you shall be able to:

• Choose your character’s name, gender and race
• Design their appearance
• Design a short backstory
• Design their unique perk and choose their starting attributes
• Choose which skill trees your character is focused on
• Choose their starting inventory (including unique items)

=================================================

We eagerly await the opportunity to work with you on backer-generated content, and we’d like to thank you once again for your support.

If you still have questions, you can ask them in the comments – we’ll try to answer all of them.

That’s it for now. Expect many more devlogs this January!

 

[Alienman]

Damn... I want my own merc. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for that function.

 

[Infinitron]

Early Access launch trailer is out...early:

 

[Murk]

I think I may end up buckling and getting the Early Access version, looks too damn good.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I played the demo for a bit, but I can't remember if there was an option for a visible movement grid. Anyone know?

 

[Harthwain]

I played the demo for a bit, but I can't remember if there was an option for a visible movement grid. Anyone know?

Grid as such is only visible when selecting abilities.

However, when you hover your mouse over a square it shows the outline of that square and shows you in how many "dots" (turns) you will get there. You can see it in this random YouTube video:

Spoiler

 

[Life of the Party]

Astromancy sounds fun.

 

[Curratum]

Nothing can deflate my ehtusiasm about an EAccess game than a roadmap that stretches for 12+ months even before all the missed deadlines and delays kick in.

 

[Tom Baker's Arse]

We’ll need approximately 2 years to implement everything we’ve planned.

Fuck that for a game of darts ...

 

[AnnoyanceCrime]

Save system. It’s only possible to save the game in taverns. To save your progress, you need to find a tavern, rent a room, and sleep for any amount of time. Unfortunately the game’s engine doesn’t allow saving anywhere and anytime when the game is this expansive.

I dont like this. Please tell me that you are still working on it and will implement it eventually.