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

[Peachcurl]

Glad you snapped out of it, you really lost it for a second, right there.

 

[Tyranicon]

All steam babies, reddit retards and faux-hardcore gamers demand these days from devs is: easier games, full with memes and made faster.

Just wait until zoomers really get their hands on gamedev.

Devs for Stoneshard are lamenting for past few days on their Discord how they are being review bombed on Steam. 99% of negative reviews are: game too HaRd, nerrrrf or wherez update?!?!?

Gamers are children 4LIFE

Wait, why is stoneshard getting reviewbombed? Any meta reason?

 

[Sacibengala]

While this thread went full berserk for a moment, a new devlog was posted. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/625960/view/2970672919206336554
EDIT: how do I past the content direct to the thread instead of the link? I should know it by now. but I'm stupid.

 

[Tygrende]

“City of Gold” release, planned for this October.

I think it's reasonable to request an official definition of "Summer" Wayfinder is using.

 

[Abu Antar]

While this thread went full berserk for a moment, a new devlog was posted. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/625960/view/2970672919206336554
EDIT: how do I past the content direct to the thread instead of the link? I should know it by now. but I'm stupid.

Just copy/paste it.

Devlog: Global Map

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since the last announcement! During this time, we’ve been working on lots of stuff: new enemies, locations, mechanics, quests, changes to combat, and other features - we’ll tell you about it all in a series of devlogs prior to the “City of Gold” release, planned for this October.

The first devlog will showcase the largest of the new systems: the global map.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

The global map is one of the most ambitious mechanics that we have ever worked on. It’s vital for implementing the proper scale and introducing the intended progression system, so that’s why it took the longest to make.

We experimented with multiple map sizes, settling on a size smaller than what we had originally intended - this way the map will be denser with points of interest and random events. In the “City of Gold” update you’ll be able to explore Brynn and its surrounding areas - it’s about 20% of what we plan Aldor to be on full release and ten times larger than the existing map.

The map generation uses a mixed approach: some elements are static, while others are randomized with each new playthrough. The static locations are mostly tied to lore, they include cities, villages, some story locations, mountain ranges, the coastline, and rivers (although rivers will also be randomized in the future; we’ll talk about them in greater detail in a separate devlog).

Most points of interest, dungeons and their types, forests, some bioms, and roads are procedurally generated, preserving the spirit of exploration even after multiple playthroughs.

In the future it’ll also be possible to use the caravan to travel across the global map, but it won’t be just an unlimited fast travel option. It’s more of a means to occasionally cross large distances rather than something you use to ride to a dungeon and back.

NAVIGATION

In a sense, the global map records your journey, only marking the locations you personally visit or hear about. The rest is concealed by the fog of war.

That’s why instead of replacing paper maps, the global map will complement them. You’ll still need to purchase paper maps in order to find points of interest and to navigate through new zones, comparing the information you learn from them with the global map.

Naturally, there’ll be other ways to learn about interesting locations (rumors, for instance), but paper maps will remain the most readily available and reliable option to do so. They will more or less work as notes - the large part of their function, such as pop-ups with tile descriptions, was moved to the global map.

This function was greatly expanded as well: most locations now have lore descriptions, letting you better understand the game world. Abandoned carts, roadside shrines, graves, and other minor landmarks now have their own map marker. So does the player character, as it’s way too easy to get lost on such a large map without a character marker, especially after taking a long break from a playthrough.

Our ultimate goal is to make exploration exciting and unpredictable, and the world - vivid and more detailed. That’s why we also added many new points of interest as well as places where you can rest and regroup for a fair fee, such as lonely homesteads or roadside inns.

SYSTEMS

The global map has a few hidden systems under the hood, meant to improve the player experience and make the world more logical and believable.

The most important of them is the reworked progression of dungeons. Now that we aren’t limited by the map’s size, we can place many more dungeons on it. As a result, there’ll be only beginner level dungeons around Osbrook, which will prevent sudden difficulty spikes and will make levelling smoother and more measured.

The dungeon respawn system was also reworked. First of all, it will take significantly longer for them to respawn: you’ll have to move between settlements upon completing all their contracts, otherwise you’ll waste a huge amount of time waiting.

The level of enemies you encounter in dungeons is no longer static - it can shift with subsequent respawns, making enemies stronger or weaker. However, it’s still limited by the zones’ level: even by the time you reach the endgame, you won’t be able to encounter rogue knights around Osbrook.

Some dungeons can only be found far from settlements - you’ll have to search for them on your own, as they don’t have contracts leading to them. The payoff is usually more than worth it: there you will find not only the strongest foes, but also the most valuable loot.

Another important factor is the
Wildness
of an area. This hidden parameter influences many things: it increases the overall amount of animals, the chance of them spawning, and also reduces your chances to run into a random bandit group in the middle of the woods. This parameter is much lower next to cities and dungeons, so it will be a rare occurrence to come face to face with a bear or a huge wolf pack upon stepping outside of Osbrook. The wilderness factor also affects the chance of being ambushed: there’ll be less ambushes on distant roads and more of them near brigand Bastions.

There’s one more important addition - a new type of points of interest that can be called “
dens
” or “
habitats
”. These locations attract specific animal types, guaranteeing that you will encounter them there. Most large animals will have such locations: wolves, bears, moose, boars, etc. The habitats also increase the spawning chance for these animals in the surrounding map tiles, so discovering them can make hunting much easier. On the other hand, it’s best to exercise caution in your search - sometimes instead of a deer trail you can find a ghoul den or something even worse...

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

That’s all for now. Until the next devlog!

 

[Wayfinder]

“City of Gold” release, planned for this October.

I think it's reasonable to request an official definition of "Summer" Wayfinder is using.

No snow

 

[HeyCheckOutHowHardICanPee]

On my way to shovel snow onto your driveway as we speak.

 

[Fedora Master]

Mindset of average woman is EXACTLY THE FUCKING SAME as with average gamer. You kneel for and tolerate all the BS of badboi devs like Todd Howards, who use you and abuse you, and don't give a fuck about you, find communicating with you beneath them, and shit on indies. Fuck many indies too man, but fuck you too, for falling into mindless consumer-hedonistic trap, yet trippin to be some kind of ressistance, in gaming or outside of it


TLDR: GAMERS ARE MENTALLY WOMEN

I JUST WANT A FINISHED GAME, NOT A SHAMBLING ZOMBIE PROTOTYPE

 

[Takamori]

Early Access ain't the issue, there is several success stories where the devs used to collect the feedback and do a better game. As for Stoneshard, 2023 release schedule makes me wonder regarding their funding. Either they are receiving funds on little drops, like the devs have an actual job where they funnel into the project so thats why the snail pacing or they closed a contract where they don't have to give a rat ass with a really generous investor.

Either way the game has lots of potential but I imagine how frustrating must be to the people that jumped in when the game first arrived at steam.

 

[Tygrende]

“City of Gold” release, planned for this October.

I think it's reasonable to request an official definition of "Summer" Wayfinder is using.

No snow

 

[Wayfinder]

Early Access ain't the issue, there is several success stories where the devs used to collect the feedback and do a better game. As for Stoneshard, 2023 release schedule makes me wonder regarding their funding. Either they are receiving funds on little drops, like the devs have an actual job where they funnel into the project so thats why the snail pacing or they closed a contract where they don't have to give a rat ass with a really generous investor.

Either way the game has lots of potential but I imagine how frustrating must be to the people that jumped in when the game first arrived at steam.

It's because people somehow expect an amount of content comparable to AAA RPGs and gameplay complexity comparable to classic roguelikes to be done in a year or two by a team of 7, which is unrealistic to begin with.

The previous year progress was good, and this year's progress will be even better because the game will have a much bigger scale once the update is finished.

 

[Tygrende]

It's because people somehow expect an amount of content comparable to AAA RPGs and gameplay complexity comparable to classic roguelikes to be done in a year or two by a team of 7, which is unrealistic to begin with.

The previous year progress was good, and this year's progress will be even better because the game will have a much bigger scale once the update is finished.

People expect devs to keep their promises, early access is based on trust to begin with. This includes deadlines. Don't make promises you can't keep, don't delay updates, especially twice. Don't lie in general. There would be a lot less bitching if each update had "when it's done" next to it.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

2023? So, how long now has this been in development?

 

[Fedora Master]

I mean, I suppose by 2025 the public will have forgotten the flood of indie pixelart games again so it'll be like a novelty.

 

[Harthwain]

2023? So, how long now has this been in development?

I'd say 5 years.

Alpha 0.4.8 was released in May 18, 2018.

Estimated delivery according to Kickstarter was December, 2018.

 

[fantadomat]

I mean, I suppose by 2025 the public will have forgotten the flood of indie pixelart games again so it'll be like a novelty.

Have you checked GoG of lately,it is filled with that garbage. On steam is less noticeable because it is flooded with other trash too.

 

[Fedora Master]

I mean, I suppose by 2025 the public will have forgotten the flood of indie pixelart games again so it'll be like a novelty.

Have you checked GoG of lately,it is filled with that garbage. On steam is less noticeable because it is flooded with other trash too.

Indiefags are slowly evolving away from SNES-era pixelart towards Quake 1 era "retro" (read: shit) graphics though.

 

[fantadomat]

I mean, I suppose by 2025 the public will have forgotten the flood of indie pixelart games again so it'll be like a novelty.

Have you checked GoG of lately,it is filled with that garbage. On steam is less noticeable because it is flooded with other trash too.

Indiefags are slowly evolving away from SNES-era pixelart towards Quake 1 era "retro" (read: shit) graphics though.

You could get a good game with any graphics,the problem is that the majority of those fucks are talentless hacks. There is just too much generic pixel garbage with retarded arcade style of gameplay.

 

[jackofshadows]

Got this in a bundle and was going to dig in but this shit around game's development look grim as fuck. Based on what I've read I suspect devs are working on some side-project or something else entirely at the same time. If by the end of october there will be no "major update" I'll write negative review and forget about this even if the game itself does look promising otherwise.

 

[jackofshadows]

Alienman what you mean? Just read this very thread and/or steam hub/reviews. My favorite dev's quote is this (on Russian "the very first iteration of roadmap"). I mean yeah of course postponements are happen in gamedev but guess what else happen? Right, abandonware. Then again, like I said, I got this in a bundle for next to nothing and haven't digged in yet so I'm not pissed or anything, just rather sad.

 

[0sacred]

You faggots need to learn patience.

I'm still rooting for Aledorn despite them already taking my money in 2015 or thereabouts and having nothing to show for it except a tiny alpha.

 

[Tygrende]

You faggots need to learn patience.

I'm still rooting for Aledorn despite them already taking my money in 2015 or thereabouts and having nothing to show for it except a tiny alpha.

The devs need to learn that giving out deadlines has consequences. I wouldn't mind waiting 10 years, but if someone swears something will be done by x and it isn't, they fucked up and everyone who paid money for their product has a right to call them out. Worse, if they start making a habit out of it, they not only fucked up, they are being plain dicks with zero respect for the customer's expectations they themselves set up and their words are not to be trusted.

Guess what would happen in any other serious profession if you were constantly late and gave zero fucks about deadlines you yourself came up with in the first place, then complained when your customers adressed that.

 

[0sacred]

Worse, if they start making a habit out of it, they not only fucked up, they are being plain dicks with zero respect for the customer's expectations they themselves set up and their words are not to be trusted.

if you start making a habit out of calling them out that just makes you look retarded, fyi

 

[Harthwain]

The devs need to learn that giving out deadlines has consequences.

Spoiler

Deadlines already have consequences - the hype dries up and the costs gets exacerbated by having to finance the studio for longer period of time than it was originally intended.

Complaining about deadlines is why "It is done when it is done™" became a thing: can't complain about not meeting a release date when there is none. It is worse when deadlines are set due to publishers' or some other interest group (shareholders), because then you are more likely to end up with a rushed game being pushed out of the door and a steaming pile of shit is not really a more favourable outcome...

 

[Tygrende]

if you start making a habit out of calling them out that just makes you look retarded, fyi

Yeah, it sure is retarded to call out dishonesty whenever it happens.

Complaining about deadlines is why "It is done when it is done™" became a thing

And it should be a thing. You seem to misunderstand my point. I don't care how long the development takes and fully agree with Miyamoto. I care about making false, meaningless deadlines. Wayfinder might as well start writing "It is done when it is done™" because whatever dates they give out are not true anyways. It would be genuinely preferable to false deadlines they don't care about. Just drop the pretense at this point. Is it really this hard to be honest?