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

[jackofshadows]

Like how the fuck I cannot put in the inventory the dish I just prepared? There's no earthly explanation for this.

I know I wouldn't try to put a dish into my backpack without putting it into some sort of container first...

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.

That doesn't include the moments I got ambushed, died, then had to redo the journey

There's a simple manner of travel in order not to die: just stick to the map border. Pretty boring but safe. Sometimes needed.

 

[jackofshadows]

Oh yet another reason for these devs to be sent to booby hatch. You are suppose to gather all that massive amount of things for the camp but they didn't add that to the journal?! I guess I'll screenshot them all but this is ridiculous.

 

[Pink Eye]

You are suppose to gather all that massive amount of things for the camp but they didn't add that to the journal?!

Yeah... They also don't tell you where you're supposed to find the items for the upgrades too. For instance:

What the heck is a hieronite altar? In all my runs I've never seen that before. How do you even get one. Why doesn't the game at least give a hint for this stuff.

Anyways, the save system is really annoying me now with how silly the save states can be in regards to progress. I know, I know, this has already been stated multiple times throughout the thread; but man, it's just annoying me, it really is. The game's structure is that of a traditional RPG, read: an overarching main quest that doesn't change in each run; dialogues that you'll read multiple times and they don't change either; on top of the same quests that you'll do in each run without much alteration; additionally a progression system that requires time and commitment to fulfill. Essentially, there's not enough meaningful randomization to warrant this save system, there really isn't. For this kind of save system to work, runs need to be shorter, power needs to be gained quickly, there needs to be more randomization in several game elements. The design itself needs to fit this kind of save system by not requiring much commitment from the player.

The one thing that bothers me the most about this, is that this restrictive save system makes it difficult to learn encounters. Practice is how people learn to overcome hard encounters. Practice is how people puzzle the intricacies of an encounter. There's a reason why Dark Souls places its bonfires close to the boss room. 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. This is how you build upon your knowledge and experience, this is how you improve. However, if that process of learning is made tedious and restrictive, well, you're making a giant mistake, you really are. Not only are you unnecessarily punishing people for puzzling an encounter out by trying different things, but you're also making what is an otherwise fantastic combat system suffer from this tedium.

 

[jackofshadows]

What the heck is a hieronite altar? In all my runs I've never seen that before. How do you even get one.

Mannshyre, the church's guy sells it. Blacksmith sells another upgrade piece there btw

 

[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.

 

[normie]

the caravan system feels super nice

 

[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.