KickStarter Solasta Pre-Release Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[NJClaw]

They could make it use your dex modifier, I don't think that's a huge deal. My point was more that I don't remember the last RPG in which we could use javelins. Diablo 2 had them but it's a hack and slash.

Kingmaker has a couple of javelins

 

[V_K]

They could make it use your dex modifier, I don't think that's a huge deal. My point was more that I don't remember the last RPG in which we could use javelins. Diablo 2 had them but it's a hack and slash.

If I remember correctly in ToEE javelins existed.

Avernum also.

 

[The_Mask]

Mountain Breaker, of course.

I was gonna say... is there even any sort of debate on the superior choice here? :D

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Mountain Breaker, of course.

I was gonna say... is there even any sort of debate on the superior choice here? :D

Same.

 

[Abu Antar]

https://forums.solasta-game.com/forum/dev-update-11-day-night-cycles

DEV UPDATE #11 - DAY & NIGHT CYCLES

Hello everyone,

Are you ready for the first Dev Update of April? Well you better be, for we have tons of things to show you!

Community Magic Weapon Contest

Annnnd stop! With 32% of the total vote, the Arcane Shieldstaff wins March Community Contest: Design your Magic Weapon! Second place goes to the Manacalon Javelin of Sure Returning (21%), followed by the Winged Dagger (17%), the Mace of the Midday Sun (16%) and finally the Mountain Breaker (14%). Huge congratulations to our winner GreyWarden77, the runner-ups Woolynelson, Maruo Sartori, Ithron and Shadow of Olympus, as well as everyone else who participated to the contest. We will soon be sending Forum Badges as a reward to all participants - as well as some bonus XP so you can level up and get access to more avatars!

Bronze for participating, Silver for getting selected, Gold for 2nd place, Diamond for winning!

We've also been informed that the Arcane Shieldstaff looks similar to the Staff of Defense found in the Lost Mine of Phandelver D&D 5e module. However, it doesn't grant a +1 Bonus to AC, and it can also cast Shield as a Reaction (Staff of Defense can only cast Shield as an action). Oh and it also doesn't have a 5% chance of blowing up every morning, we can already imagine the amount of bug reports about "Items disappearing from Inventory" if we did that.

That being said, thank you for staying vigilant and telling us about these kind of issues - if we do conclude that it's too close to an existing item in the end, we may change it slightly while keeping the intent intact (so it won't suddenly be doling out fireballs by the dozen, but it may trade Mage Armor for a +1 to All Saving Throws for instance)

Spoiler

Day & Night Cycles

You might remember us showing you a little sneak peek of the Day & Night cycle when talking about our new World Map screen in early February (Dev Update #7). For those who missed it - or who simply forgot, it's been 2 months after all - here it is!

You can even see the clock at the top showing the passage of time!

Back then, you were only able to see the changes in luminosity on that specific screen... But it is no longer the case! When your party is inside a location, time keeps going - so when you do a short rest or a long rest (1h / 8h), you will see the level change with the time of the day.

Before / After a long rest, from 10:50 am to 6:50 pm (8h)

Now for the fun fact: even when you're not doing rests, the time is actually flowing in real time. That means if you were to leave your computer with Solasta running for a few hours (without being in a menu), you may very well come back and see that the luminosity now looks a lot different! This should almost never happen if you're just playing normally, but just for fun here is what it looks like with a (very) accelerated video. As you can see, it's not just a question of having one "Day version" and one "Night version" of the level - the luminosity changes with the in-game time! It's also important to note that the changes aren't only visual - after a certain hour, you will be fighting under Dim Light conditions - and who knows, maybe even in total darkness!

Once the night hits, you better have those torches and Light spells ready!

Alright, hope you enjoyed it! All of that was made possible thanks to our Graphic Programmer, who made a fantastic tool for the team to play with!

Most of his work can be considered as MakeThingsPretty.exe for our Dev Updates

Random Encounters!

Don't you love it when you're traveling back to town from dungeon-delving, half-dead and completely out of spell slots - only to be hit by a random encounter? Well, now you can experience these rage inducing moments in Solasta as well! That's what you get for culling down the locals, you damn murder hobos. Anyway, random encounters - they have now been implemented in the World Map, and you can even get ambushed under certain conditions. This means we've also been working on a small encounter map - and will probably end up making a few more so that you don't always fight "random" encounters in the same "not so random" location (damn it Fred, I told you we should have gone around that clearing, we've been ambushed the last 5 times we went through here!)

Hey look guys, more XP and loot to entertain us during our journey!

New Levels in the Work

We've been showing you a lot of the same locations slowly being improved - which is fairly important considering those are the first levels which new players will be seeing - but I'm thinking some of you might want to see some new locations. Well, here is a little something for you - although we won't be telling you where that is! Always keep in mind that all you're see here is Work In Progress, it's far from being done!

Ohhhh toasty. Did things get a bit heated over here, or did the wizard just drop a fireball to clear the area?

"Mellon"! "Mellon"! Damn it guys, it's not working.

Concept Art & Icons!

Time to show some love for the Art Team, who've been kept busy working on... icons. Lots and lots of icons, for all kinds of stuff! Turns out that when you want your Character Creation to be free of placeholders, there are plenty of little things you need to take care of - Divine Domains for Clerics, Fighting Styles for Martial Classes, Spells for Spellcasters, Archetypes for everyone... Anyone, here it is - once again, not everything is final so some of these icons may very well change in the future!

We finally have an image for the Acolyte Background! With this, all 8 Backgrounds are now ready

First version of divine domains & some extra archetype icons

First version of crafting component icons (ooohh crafting... another topic to discuss sooner or later!)

VFX Corner!

Today's a good day for VFX lovers. Why, you may ask? Well, how about... Fireball, one of the signature spells of D&D? Feast your eyes now, before you grow weary of it after spamming fireballs at every issue you find in your way.

How do level 5+ wizards deal with their problems? EXPLOOOOOSION!

However, it wouldn't be fair if we only showed Violet all the time. Here is Vigdis with a brand new Solasta-flavored power: Channel Divinity - Holy Retribution, from the Law Domain. When you lose HP from an enemy melee attack, you can use your reaction and Channel Divinity to immediately smack that impudent swine strike back with some added psychic damage!

RETRIBUTION, HERETIC! IT TASTES LIKE VICTORY!

Bloopers!

Unfortunate as it is, no blooper this time. There weren't so many funny bugs as there were unwanted crashes, and error messages aren't the most entertaining screenshots to share. So instead, here's a rejected helmet design doodled by our Lead Animator during our last Sprint Review.

A giant spoon for a helmet? Someone fire this man right now.

That's it for today, April Community Contest is right around the corner!

 

[Cryomancer]

Avernum also.

New Vegas too and trow-able spears are amazing.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.solasta-game.com/news/72-april-contest-design-a-magic-armor

[APRIL CONTEST] DESIGN A MAGIC ARMOR



Hey there folks,

We're back at it with a new Community Contest - Design a Magic Armor! It wouldn't be fair if we only gave a chance for weapons to shine now, would it? So get your creative juice pumping and your fingers cracking, you have another chance to get your design in-game!

Note: The rewards for the previous contest have been sent! If you can't find your Weaponsmith Trophy in your Profile, please don't hesitate to create a thread on the forum or contact me on Discord.

Contest Rules

1. Submissions have to be done through the official form: https://forms.gle/pwThRmnHauS3DG6W9
   
2. Submissions end on Sunday April 26th, 11:59pm PST
3. Anyone with a Forum Account may participate in the contest.
4. One submission per person.
5. Discussions & questions about the contest will take place over there: https://forums.solasta-game.com/forum/april-contest-design-a-magic-armor
6. Please keep your submission Safe for Work. Nothing 18+ (writing included)
7. Must not contain copyrighted material.
8. From April 28th to May 4th, the voting phase will take place. We will select a few of our favorite Magic Armor Designs, and the community will vote for the final winner!
9. The winner will have his Magic Armor implemented in-game and be credited as its designer in the Credits
10. All of those who wrote a valid submission will also receive a Forum Trophy for their participation to the contest
11. Necessary disclaimer: We reserve the right to alter submissions or work with their author to fit our design and specifications. You can read the full legal document here (roll Investigation DC15).

Some Selection Criteria:

1. Design needs to avoid being overly complex. No sentient, morphing or world ending armors please.
2. Design needs to be SRD 5.1. Please be aware that not everything from the Player Handbook is free to use - Feats and most Archetypes are not valid (Battle Maneuvers are not SRD for instance). Also, none of the material from other books such as (but not limited to) XGtE or SCAG are SRD.
3. Content needs to be planned for Solasta. For instance, any design with Warlock spells won't be selected.
4. Design needs to be balanced for a lvl 1 - 10 adventure. Avoid overpowered armors - and even items for level 10 characters are not encouraged since they will be at the end of the game already.

 

[Cryomancer]

Are robes included on that contest? Or only armor?

What would be great is a robe which gives a penalty like -2 CON BUT increases the casting level for cantrips by twp levels, so a lv 3 char can 2d10 firebolt damage. A lv 9, 3d10 damage.

 

[Rinslin Merwind]

I hope this time there will be no "surprise rules" like it was with weapon submissions.

 

[Ysaye]

Are robes included on that contest? Or only armor?

What would be great is a robe which gives a penalty like -2 CON BUT increases the casting level for cantrips by twp levels, so a lv 3 char can 2d10 firebolt damage. A lv 9, 3d10 damage.

Robes are included.

 

[Elex]

Are robes included on that contest? Or only armor?

What would be great is a robe which gives a penalty like -2 CON BUT increases the casting level for cantrips by twp levels, so a lv 3 char can 2d10 firebolt damage. A lv 9, 3d10 damage.

Too powerful for warlocks.

 

[Cryomancer]

Too powerful for warlocks.

Warlocks wound't be in the game. So, no 3*(d10+CHA mod) for lv 10 warlocks.

 

[Bara]

Warlocks wound't be in the game. So, no 3*(d10+CHA mod) for lv 10 warlocks.

Still would be safer to future proof it as they've talked about the idea of adding the rest of the classes in the future as dlc.

Should sales and time permit that is.

 

[Lawntoilet]

Warlocks wound't be in the game. So, no 3*(d10+CHA mod) for lv 10 warlocks.

Still would be safer to future proof it as they've talked about the idea of adding the rest of the classes in the future as dlc.

Should sales and time permit that is.

They can make it require attunement by a Sorcerer or Wizard then (not Bard as they could get Eldritch Blast via Magical Secrets). There's precedent for that kind of thing in the DMG.

 

[Cryomancer]

They can make it require attunement by a Sorcerer or Wizard then (not Bard as they could get Eldritch Blast via Magical Secrets). There's precedent for that kind of thing in the DMG.

Yep; i also don't know why people here are pretending that Eldritch Blast would be that broken. Warlocks on 3.5e was far more deadly and note : nwn2 is not 3.5e. They are nerfed beyond comprehension on nwn2. But a meme to compare 5e with 3.5e.

Other effects that i would like to see in armor is :

• Light armor or the winds - Constant feather fall effect and allow the caster to cast fly once per day (both will explore map verticality)
• Heavy armor of the death knight - When someone damages the user of the armor, he takes d6 necrotic damage
• Medium armor of the Templar - The wearer is immune to spells from level 1 to 2 (not immune to cantrips)
• Armor of repulsion - 3 times per day, you can activate a force repulsion, enemies at melee range are forced to make a STR check or be repulsed 30 feet
• Vampiric armor - Once the wearer of this weapon deals any damage to a enemy at melee range, he regains half of damage dealt on hitpoints.
• Spider armor - Allow climb at will with half of your walking speed.

 

[Elex]

Warlocks wound't be in the game. So, no 3*(d10+CHA mod) for lv 10 warlocks.

Still would be safer to future proof it as they've talked about the idea of adding the rest of the classes in the future as dlc.

Should sales and time permit that is.

They can make it require attunement by a Sorcerer or Wizard then (not Bard as they could get Eldritch Blast via Magical Secrets). There's precedent for that kind of thing in the DMG.

With magic initiate or similar feats all classes can take it.
A sorcerer in particular can quickened spell and multiclass with fighter for action surge.

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

Hope there will be mods to remove "Attunement" and other trash 5e introduced. ;/

 

[Lawntoilet]

Warlocks wound't be in the game. So, no 3*(d10+CHA mod) for lv 10 warlocks.

Still would be safer to future proof it as they've talked about the idea of adding the rest of the classes in the future as dlc.

Should sales and time permit that is.

They can make it require attunement by a Sorcerer or Wizard then (not Bard as they could get Eldritch Blast via Magical Secrets). There's precedent for that kind of thing in the DMG.

With magic initiate or similar feats all classes can take it.
A sorcerer in particular can quickened spell and multiclass with fighter for action surge.

I guess but they don't get the range, +Cha to damage, or pushing invocations which is where the real power of EB comes in. Without that it's like 4 bow attacks. A Dex archer with 20 Dex and Crossbow Expert with hand xbows gets 4 ranged attacks that are better than EB without any invocations.
So I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing even to let Bards wear that robe even though I don't really see robes as that much of a Bard thing.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tacticaladventures/solasta-crown-of-the-magister/posts/2816783

Dev Journal | April 2020 - Stay a while and listen!

Hey there folks!

Hope everyone is doing all right out there. On our side we're hard at work with Act I, and we'll soon start cracking at Act II as well. Also, as we'll still be working from home for quite some time, here is a bit of love to our companions who now have to live with us all day long.

Gimli loves to invade our morning stand-up meetings with his peppy chirps

April Contest - Design Your Magic Armor
Little reminder: you still have one week to submit your Magic Armor Design for a chance to have it implemented in-game at launch! On April 28th, we will select our favorite submissions and the voting phase will begin!


Time to craft your very own your magic armor in a video game!

New Systems, Operational!
As our Designers work on creating fun and challenging levels, we have a constant need to create and implement new systems to make their dreams a reality. Well, I say that but sometimes it's something as simple as needing a door that opens when you activate a lever. Or a trap that activates when you walk on a tile. Almost every interaction needs a system behind it, which is why our Programmers will never be out of work!

Step carefully now, fall damage is no joke!

Spoiler

For instance, we have recently been playing around with pressure plates - traps that only trigger when you step away from the plate, and not when you step on it. We've also implemented gadgets that only react to magic - or even magic of a certain kind (such as spells dealing fire or radiant damage). Solving puzzles and opening secret doors won't be a simple matter of succeeding a Perception check!

Here are the new gadgets we were talking about above, ready to be used by our level designers!

Systems aren't only needed to build levels, of course. Another example would be the Party Banter feature that we promised in our Kickstarter Campaign, which just made its debut in-game! It still needs a lot of love and tweaking so that the party members aren't talking all the time (trust me, it gets tiresome very fast), but at least adventuring will be a little more lively now.

Characters will react differently to their party members depending on their personality (and yes, it will be voiced!)

As we're talking about new systems, I'd say it's high time we give you a glimpse of our crafting system! Now before we start, please keep in mind that crafting is not a main progression system in Solasta. It's used to make useful items such as scrolls, potions and poisons - not forge magical artifacts of tremendous power (you're playing a party of adventurers, not a party of blacksmiths).

"You youngsters and your healing potions! Back in my day, we drank herbal remedies and it cured everything I tell you. EVERYTHING!"

Crafting is done during downtime when travelling - after setting up camp, adventurers can devote time to various activities before going to sleep, including crafting. Still, remember that as with anything else we're showing you in our Dev Updates, all of this may change in the future as Crafting is still in its infancy in Solasta.

"Can we do a long rest yet? What do you mean we did one just before this fight, my character likes to sleep a lot alright?"

We've also been working on adding merchants to the city of Caer Cyflen. You can see here that your relation with certain factions will now come into play when bartering with them, as a bad reputation may result in shopkeepers raising their prices. The opposite may also apply and who knows, they may even have some special items in the back of their shop for you...

"Hugo, listen to me. I didn't mean to stab him, I thought he was a bandit you see? Now can you stop gouging your prices?"

Caer Cyflen Wasn't Built in a Day
Speaking of Caer Cyflen, its empty streets are slowly getting filled with life! It's a long process, but we're confident that it will look fantastic when we're finally done with it. We'll even have citizens walking around soon - that may not sound very impressive, but currently every NPC in town is just standing around looking like a tree so hey, progress!

"My dear, you must absolutely tell me where you got pennants that are so white." "Oh, those are just missing their texture."

We've also worked on what towns and locations will look like on the World Map which, again, changed quite a bit since the last time we showed it to you.

This world map is getting more and more eerie at night, isn't it.

Also, since we're talking about towns...

What is it? Where is it? You'll see...

It's a Kind of Magic
The great thing about spells in D&D is that there are plenty of them. The bad thing about spells in D&D is that there are plenty of them - wait what? Jokes aside, it can be very hard for new spellcasters to choose between all the spells that are available to them - which is why we've added filters on our Spell Page for you to easily find the right spell to prepare for the right occasion!

Maybe I'll finally stop preparing only concentration spells too, it didn't work too well last time I did that.

Our VFX artist has also added Levitate and Knock to Solasta. Who said we only show flashy destructive spells? Feast your eyes on these!

Something something "Open Sesame". I'm out of bad joke slots for the day, need a long rest.

Bloopers!
As it is often the case, our bloopers this time are once again a result of our Animator breaking things. Although this time he was helped by our Graphic Programmer in his quest to make our NPCs as derpy as possible.

"No, being able to look at two directions at once does not grant you advantage to Perception."

OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT.

That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed our Dev Update, don't forget to participate in the Magic Armor Design Contest if you haven't already!

Read our previous articles here:

• [April Contest] Design a Magic Armor
• Dev Update #11 - Day & Night Cycles
• Dev Update #10 - New Gameplay Footage!

Article by Tactical Myzzrym

 

[Bara]

Some more tid bitds on what they're allowing for the armor design.

- Can we apply debuffs as part of the item? (to balance out a stronger effect)

Absolutely

- When we add the effect, can it cover multiple, say attributes (eg: +1 agility, -1 wisdom), or is it just the one per (within reason, of course)?

If it's a drawback, I'd say go for it. Just don't use one effect to say +2 STR. +3 DEX & +2 INT

- When describing enchantment effects, do we just cover the effect, or can we add some fluff (eg: when weilding this item, the user becomes inspired, and certain that their cause is right. +1 Persuasion)

You can add some fluff

I hope some how a cursed item wins somehow.

 

[PulsatingBrain]

I also somehow hope that a cursed item can somehow win, somehow.

 

[V_K]

I also somehow hope that a cursed item can somehow win, somehow.

Somehow cursed.

 

[Nortar]

I'd vote for an item with Torment style hiccup curse.

 

[Elex]

https://forums.solasta-game.com/forum/april-contest-vote-for-the-community-magic-armor

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.solasta-game.com/news/74-april-contest-vote-for-the-community-magic-armor

[APRIL CONTEST] VOTE FOR THE COMMUNITY MAGIC ARMOR!

Hello there everyone,

What. A. Contest! The quality of your submissions were incredible, even more than last month. We've had a really tough time trimming our selections down to five finalists, as each of us had our favorites... and unlike in the weapon contest, not a lot of overlap! Some of you had fantastic and original ideas that would totally fit Solasta, and trust me when I say that we've had to discard a lot of great submissions. So don't feel bad if you don't see your name in there! By the way you can always ping me on Discord if you're curious about what the team thought about your armor in particular^^

> CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MAGIC ARMOR SUBMISSION <


Here is a reminder of our most important criteria:

• Design needs to avoid being overly complex. No sentient, morphing or world ending armors please.
• Design needs to be SRD 5.1. Please be aware that not everything from the Player Handbook is free to use - Feats and most Archetypes are not valid (Battle Maneuvers are not SRD for instance). Also, none of the material from other books such as (but not limited to) XGtE or SCAG are SRD.
• Content needs to be planned for Solasta. For instance, any design with Warlock spells won't be selected.
• Design needs to be balanced for a lvl 1 - 10 adventure. Avoid overpowered armors - and even items for level 10 characters are not encouraged since they will be at the end of the game already.

Now without further ado, here the list of the selected armors (and a shield!) for this second round (in no particular order):

• Archer's Nightmare, by Jason Broome
• Armor of Shadows, by Greg W Pola
• Scales of the Remorhaz, by Lathaon
• Cloak of Lightning, by Resy
• Brightwall, by Nortar

Note that we have already applied a first balance pass, so they may differ slightly from the original submission. The lore may also be reworked later by our writers.

Contest Rules

• Voting ends on Monday, May 4th, 11:59pm PST
• Anyone with a Forum Account may participate in the voting. Limit of one vote per person.
• The winner will have his Magic Armor implemented in-game and be credited as its Designer in the Credits
• All of those who wrote a submission will also receive a Forum Trophy for their participation to the contest
• Necessary disclaimer: We reserve the right to alter submissions or work with their author to fit our design and specifications. You can read the full legal document here (roll Investigation DC15).

Spoiler

• Hide Armor (Medium)
• Grants a Bonus to AC
• Grants a Constitution Bonus when worn
• Attacks with Ranged Weapons against the wearer - such as arrows or bolts - are made with disadvantage (Spells are not affected)
• Requires Attunement
• Color Scheme: Plain brown with broken arrows patterns
• Creator: Jason Broome

• Studded Leather Armor (Light)
• Advantage on Stealth Checks
• Grants Darkvision 60'
• No Attunement
• Color Scheme: Black & grey with dulled gray studs
• Creator: Greg W Pola

• Scale Mail (Medium)
• Grants a Bonus to AC
• Can cast Fire Shield (Warm) once per Long Rest
• Requires Attunement
• Color Scheme: Blue & orange
• Creator: Lathaon

• Cape
• Can cast Lightning once per Long Rest
• Grants Resistance to Lightning Damage
• Requires Attunement
• Color Scheme: Dark navy with lightning arcs
• Creator: Resy

• Shield
• Grants a Bonus to AC
• Can cast Daylight on itself once per Long Rest
• Can cast Light on itself at will
• Requires Attunement
• Color Scheme: Mirror-polished steel with darker metal boss and rim, etched with glowing runes
• Creator: Nortar

> CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MAGIC ARMOR SUBMISSION <