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

[Pink Eye]

Thank you very much bro!

 

[Raghar]

Frankly a lot of players are playing RPG by at least semi-ironmaning. Learn encounters? Shouldn't each encounter be unique? Dark Souls players were known to beat boss without any hit, but they were mauled by a random encounter. And that feels weird.

 

[thesecret1]

Essentially, there's not enough meaningful randomization to warrant this save system

KCD has zero randomization of any kind, and alsohas a save system like this. The point of it is to build tension and increase difficulty, so that you cannot save before each encounter.

 

[itsme]

Essentially, there's not enough meaningful randomization to warrant this save system

KCD has zero randomization of any kind, and alsohas a save system like this. The point of it is to build tension and increase difficulty, so that you cannot save before each encounter.

kcd allows you to save at any time as long as you have schnapps iirc.

Last I heard devs would love to change their saving system but the games core was built un a way that doesnt allow that. At least that was their excuse when asked a gazillion times on the forums.

 

[Sweeper]

kcd allows you to save at any time as long as you have schnapps iirc.

So does Stoneshard, if you have a bedroll.
*can't save in dungeons though

 

[Salvo]

Essentially, there's not enough meaningful randomization to warrant this save system

KCD has zero randomization of any kind, and alsohas a save system like this. The point of it is to build tension and increase difficulty, so that you cannot save before each encounter.

kcd allows you to save at any time as long as you have schnapps iirc.

Last I heard devs would love to change their saving system but the games core was built un a way that doesnt allow that. At least that was their excuse when asked a gazillion times on the forums.

It's a bullshit excuse, they just don!t want to implement it

 

[GrainWetski]

Essentially, there's not enough meaningful randomization to warrant this save system

KCD has zero randomization of any kind, and alsohas a save system like this. The point of it is to build tension and increase difficulty, so that you cannot save before each encounter.

kcd allows you to save at any time as long as you have schnapps iirc.

Last I heard devs would love to change their saving system but the games core was built un a way that doesnt allow that. At least that was their excuse when asked a gazillion times on the forums.

It's a bullshit excuse, they just don!t want to implement it

Good if that's the case. Not every single game on the planet needs to be the same. You don't have to consoom everything.

 

[Theodora]

Is there a consensus on the state of the game since Rags to Riches? Like overall, and not just the recent additions. Hard to get a feel for things off Steam since so many reviews were framed around it being dead in development, seemingly unaware of That Whole War Thingy.

 

[flabbyjack]

Stoneshard is my favorite modern cRPG. My favorite build are the mage classes.

I have been waiting for this update for 18 months. Stupid Ukraine war...

Levelling up is 'flat' in that the required experience for each level is linear, not geometric. 2500 for first level, 2750 for second, 3000 for third, etc etc.

Pink Eye
The save system needs some tweaks, like auto-saving when you enter or change floors in a dungeon. A bedroll is a nice workaround, but I just manually savescum using the exit saves. Dev if you are reading... you better not 'fix' that shit.

Theodora
The game is basically complete. There are some skills and locations to implement, but the core gameplay is all there. There is nice skill, stat, and gear progression. We're currently at version 9.1.10 or something. The Rags to Riches update introduced a huge update to the map with new villages, new equipment and items, a fast travel wagon, the caravan upgrade/management mechanic, which enables travel on the world map.

They also added a new 'backfire' mechanism for spells, which means if you spam spells un-managed you can end up frying your brain. There are Magic Mastery skills to neutralize this though.

It's definitely a hard game, especially when starting out.

 

[Theodora]

It's definitely a hard game, especially when starting out.

I remember it being hard when it first released! So that's not surprising. But thank you, very helpful response. Finally have a numpad again, and been trying to decide on what roguelike to get (back/) into.

 

[Pink Eye]

Is there a consensus on the state of the game since Rags to Riches?

I can't speak for the others but for me personally the game overall left a strong positive impression on me. I've already dumped 100+ hours and have been playing non-stop now. It's just some questionable design choices that bring the experience down for me: Walking being tedious, no local map, save system being a bit too punishing, and so on. What there is though is good, very good - I love how the combat can be challegning, I enjoy how the limb/morale system plays into combat, it's all so fantastic. What will make or break the game is if you're willing to put up with the tedious aspects. I know I'm a super casual when it comes to rogue-likes/lites but Tangledeep still remains my favorite because of how accessible it was for me to get into. In my casual opinion, Stoneshard could do with just a bit of accessibility when it comes to some design elements. Otherwise the game is awesome.

The save system needs some tweaks, like auto-saving when you enter or change floors in a dungeon.

Yeah some auto saves would be nice.

 

[Salvo]

The fact that you are able to manually copy a save made on exit / bedroll save means a proper, official save system could EASILY be implented, but the developers don't want to. Atmosphere and combat are top notch, but lacking QOL features and slow development, alongside a swingy RNG, make me reluctant to play again until the full version is out, that is if it ever is.

 

[Fedora Master]

It's obvious that the devs would rather fix the pixels on a berry bush sprite than come up with a decent balance or good mechanics.

 

[Hydro]

It's obvious

For whom aside from your asshole?

 

[Fedora Master]

It's obvious

For whom aside from your asshole?

 

[itsme]

kcd allows you to save at any time as long as you have schnapps iirc.

So does Stoneshard, if you have a bedroll.
*can't save in dungeons though

Are you a retard or a troll? Retarded troll? How can you compare these two? KCD has a rather generous weight based inventory and you can basically have as many schnapps as you lije with you at all times. Stoneshard has a tiny inventory and your bedroll takes half of it AND its a one time use item which expires after a day if not used.

 

[Harthwain]

Yeah but putting it on a plate and then in your backpack is ok? It comes down to game conditionings and in this case the bowl part wasn't necessary if you ask me. But whatever, glad it's been cleared up.

You said "there's no earthly explanation for this" and I provided one. Stoneshard is a fairly simulationist game, despite not being strictly a simulation. So, yeah, having to put your dinner in a container (be it a bowl or a plate) kind of makes sense, the same way as water requires of you to have an empty bottle/flask/gourd/tomato to fill in order to carry it around.

It's just some questionable design choices that bring the experience down for me: Walking being tedious, no local map

It sounds like somebody complaining about having to walk in Gothic 1. I, on the contrary, do appreciate that not all games are designed like theme parks and instead take space and time as its own consideration to create places that feel realistic yet still offer a plenty of action (on account of the existence wildlife or bandits). This also means food becomes a necessary resource to manage, instead of something that is easily ignored in 99% of games (unless it is used as a subtitute for healing potions or something).

There's a reason why Dungeon Rats and Chalice have the type of save system they do. You need to make that process as accessible as possible so people can learn the encounter, try out different strategies, figure out what works and what doesn't.

You're talking about different games here, with different save systems for a reason. While you can master Dark Souls simply by repetition (and it isn't even difficult if you upgrade your equipment), Stoneshard forces you to be careful. You play turn-by-turn, meaning there is no need to rush things, even in the middle of combat. You can also take notice of your surroundings and use them to your advantage (traps, narrow chokepoints, etc.), instead of running blindly at your enemy and hoping that will suffice. Seriously, you would think that Codex should be the one place where people ought to appreciate having a challenging game for once.

 

[jackofshadows]

You said "there's no earthly explanation for this" and I provided one.

I was being sarcastic. Seen more absurd mechanics than that.

 

[GrainWetski]

It's obvious that the devs would rather fix the pixels on a berry bush sprite than come up with a decent balance or good mechanics.

Go consoom some more goyslop and leave good games alone.

 

[Sweeper]

kcd allows you to save at any time as long as you have schnapps iirc.

So does Stoneshard, if you have a bedroll.
*can't save in dungeons though

Are you a retard or a troll? Retarded troll? How can you compare these two? KCD has a rather generous weight based inventory and you can basically have as many schnapps as you lije with you at all times. Stoneshard has a tiny inventory and your bedroll takes half of it AND its a one time use item which expires after a day if not used.

Yup. So if you have it in your inventory you can save any time in Stoneshard as well.

 

[thesecret1]

Decided to finally play it (wanted to hold off until full release but it's taking too long) and tbh I don't understand the issues you people have with the game. There's enough beds strewn around the world to have a nearby save point basically anywhere even without the bedroll (what do you think all those camps around the map are for?), you can fast travel between any settlements for a relatively small fee (enough to discourage spamming it, not enough to really hinder meaningful travel) and should all else fail, you still have the caravan, which you can park right next to the dungeon if you need to save so damn badly.

The game's pretty solid by my reckoning, the only nitpicks being that itemization is awful ("+3% healing effectiveness" – seriously? Absolute dogshit), enchanted items are by and large worthless (and indeed, merchants don't even pay you that much for them. Better leave that trash lie where you found it), and making dungeons reset after a time cheapens the experience somewhat (the only reason for it is to allow grinding, but the game would be better off without it, IMO). Looking forward to it being finished in 2030 or wherever

 

[Hydro]

I remember the dev visiting here, pity he does not anymore. Guess plenty of garbage to dig through to get some valuable feedback.

 

[Sweeper]

enchanted items are by and large worthless

Wrong.

Anywho, my two stash tabs at camp are full, you uh, you niggas find them spacious chests somewhere?

 

[thesecret1]

Wrong.

most of them give like +3% to something and aren't worth much more than their base variety.

 

[thesecret1]

Wrong.

most of them give like +3% to something and aren't worth much more than their base variety.

with how granular the turns are, a 100 turns is nothing and 3 percent on top of a bunch of other percent effects is something
enchanteds in the wild can come with multiple effects, so over a bunch of kit it can become a lot

What? Bulk of the effects is only relevant in combat, and it takes like 4 attacks tops to kill most enemies.