Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Indie
Achilles: Legends Untold
The Road to Update 0.2.0 (Devlog #1)
Hi everyone!
Recently, we have been sharing some insights about the development of Achilles: Legends Untold. The posts were pretty well received, so we decided to officially make them into a regular thing! This is the first entry in a new series of Devlogs, that will show you some of the features we’re working on, as well as behind-the-scenes stuff happening at our studio. Let’s begin, shall we?
We’ve been working on a big content update for some time now.
One of the main and most requested features that will be making an appearance, is the in-game map. Well, we think you’ll be happy to hear that the hardest part is already behind us, and the basics are already in place!
The map in Achilles: Legends Untold will consist of a minimap on the HUD, and a bigger, fullscreen one, that you can scroll around to seek various points of interest.
Of course, it still needs improvements, but seeing it in a working state made us all even more motivated to work. We're still working on the visual design of the map, but we’ll have something nice to show you soon ;).
Another thing that’s in development right now, are the fight arenas.
It’s a new activity for Achilles to take on – the player will be able to enter a new level, where he will face a sequence of special enemy waves.
We grabbed a short gif of the place, to showcase where you’ll be fighting. Take a look!
The Arenas are all Hades-themed, with a slightly spooky vibe to them. You’ll get to fight unique, stronger enemy variants, tainted by the underworld’s energy.
Each arena can be visited once, through an entrance point on the main map, that will close after you successfully complete the challenge.
Tydeus
The next feature we want to talk about is our newest boss fight. The enemy in question is the mighty Tydeus, known mostly from the story of the Seven Against Thebes, who fought to take back the Thebes for Polynices.
The boss fight itself is still being polished, but if you’re curious how’s he going to look, here’s a concept art straight from under the pen of one of our artists:
Castor
That’s not all! We’re also still expanding on our current bosses. Castor just got more skills to aid him in defending his village. He’s a master in wielding his battleaxe - he’s able to perform a powerful 2-hit combo, swinging it at you, or rush at you from a distance. Be careful while fighting him, or you can easily get chopped in half.
The boss also received a second move - he can slam his shield against the ground, summoning a healing circle around him. His health will slowly regenerate while he stands inside, so better try and kick him out of there!
Castor will now pose as a greater challenge for heroes daring to cross the stone bridge, that the passage through he’s guarding so vigilantly.
We’re livening up the map a bit! Now you’ll not only encounter warriors and various beasts scattered around Greece, but also the villagers that live and work there.
They’re not really the combative type – when they see a fight, they get scared, scream, and run for their lives. See for yourself!
Killing them is completely optional, and it doesn’t grant any rewards, so it’s up to you to decide what kind of warrior you’ll be.
Apart from working on the new features, we’re still honing our current ones. The AI will be getting a new and improved player targeting system (see our previous dev post for more details!). Some items will be getting a bit of a rework, mostly new icons and descriptions. We’re also smoothing out the controls, squashing the leftover bugs and increasing the overall optimization.
It’s all hard work here at Dark Point Games! Our team’s morale is high, and we’re excited to let you play the update for yourself when it releases.
Achilles: Legends Untold’s setting is entirely based around Greek Mythology. It’s full of interesting stories, and we’d love to share some of them with you! From here on out, the Devlogs will have a special trivia section at the end - ranging from fun facts about our characters, through some lesser-known details about the events from the myths they partake in.
Did you know?
Tydeus was mortally wounded by Melanippus during the war. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, intended to make him immortal, but the seer Amphiaraus cut off the head of Melanippus and gave it to Tydeus, who proceeded to eat the brains of his killer. The Goddess, revolted by what she saw, changed her mind and left Tydeus to die.
Hey everyone! This week we wanted to highlight some great screenshots from our community, and show you how you can become a virtual photographer and set up your own amazing shots in Achilles: Legends Untold!
Nvidia Ansel
Players with Nvidia cards have a built-in tool to be able to create their own unique shots in most titles. We made a quick video to show you how to use the tool!
Community Shots
Below are some great creations from virtual photographers in our community! Share your own creations with us on our social accounts and in our Discord for a chance to be featured in our next community showcase!
Hey everyone! We're back with another behind-the-scenes look into our development process. This week we're diving into how we're improving combat in the game by focusing on improvements to enemy AI.
Achilles: Legends Untold is an action game - one of its most important elements is the combat system. And, as you know, combat is only as good as the enemies you fight! That’s why we give special care to the enemy AI during development. We want the game to provide you with truly formidable opponents and memorable, challenging encounters. Here’s an inside look on how we’re managing and continuing to improve our enemy AI:
The Old AI System
The original system we were using was based on “attack tokens”. First, the game checked the current condition of the fight - how much time has passed since the last attack? How many enemies are fighting Achilles right now? What type of enemies are they?
Then, the enemies, who were chosen after the condition check, were given some amount of attack tokens from the limited total pool. They were able to consume these tokens by attacking Achilles - then the AI returned them to the pool, so they could be dispensed again, during the next condition check.
(Enemies attacking & instantly backing off)
That’s how the game chose who will be striking at our hero and when he should do it. We decided the system needed improvements. We’ve been getting feedback from our players, that the opponents back off too quickly after attacking, and that it’s hard to counterattack efficiently. We’re listening! - and that’s why we’re making some changes.
The New AI System
The new & improved system is similar, but it splits enemies into certain groups. The AI can either be on the passive or the active list. What does this mean?
Active - An enemy that gets on the active list will stay close to Achilles and try to attack him.
Passive - On the other hand, the enemies on the passive list will give way to the active ones - they will move around at a distance and taunt our hero, waiting for their turn.
What does that mean for the player? With these changes, the combat will feel a lot more continuous - enemies that attack Achilles will stay focused on him longer, giving the player a better opportunity to punish them and counterattack. The fights will be much more natural, with enemies moving around more strategically. It will make the whole system feel less clunky, improving on the current AI behavior.
(Improved token system, enemies stay more focused)
On the Offensive
The combat style of our AI is shifting from a focus on defense to a more offensive-minded behavior. Now the enemies will be more vulnerable to your counters, but they won’t just let you attack them so easily. They are becoming more aggressive and will hunt you relentlessly! You will have to adapt your fighting style and strategy in order to survive against these more aggressive enemies . This fundamental change will make gameplay feel more dynamic and keep you on your toes, as you maneuver your way through more challenging opponents.
New Enemy Abilities
That’s not all! Apart from improving the AI system, we’re also actively expanding upon it. We want our enemies to have a wide array of attack types and environment interactions, so we’re constantly experimenting and adding new ones. For example, here are two new abilities we’ve been working on:
The Spear Throw
See these spears in the ground, scattered around the map? Enemies are able to locate them, pick them up, and throw them at Achilles using all their might and strength. If you don’t want to become a human shish kebab, watch out and dodge them!
The Flaming Arrows
We have many fireplaces placed in all of Greece, and it’s time we put them to a better use! Apparently, the archers haven’t been taught not to play with fire - they are now able to come up to any fire source, and light their arrows with flame. Better extinguish their enthusiasm, or you’ll get 3rd degree burns!
Bonus
We’re also creating unique abilities for the bosses. As you might’ve already seen, in patch 0.1.3 we expanded on Menelaus’ skillset. Now he’s carrying a bottle with a purple fluid - he can drink some of it and spit at Achilles, poisoning him. He’s also able to cover his weapon with it and start dealing poison damage on hit.
As it turns out, Menelaus is also a bit of a pyromaniac - he likes to light his sword on fire, burning Achilles with each strike. Using it, he can also spit fire at you! A dangerous foe indeed.
We’re giving our all to the game’s combat. We want to make it dynamic and exciting, but to also fully incorporate the strategic aspects of the top-down view, so it’s a challenging experience for the players. Thanks to the input we’ve been getting from you, with each update we’re getting closer to that goal!
Remember that you can also become a part of the process - we’re actively collecting and looking through your feedback, both here and on our Discord server. If you have any thoughts you want to share with us about the game, make sure to write us a message in a discussions thread, or in the dedicated Discord channel (link below).
One of the things we’re focused on, while creating assets for the game, is the time period in which our story takes place. The Trojan War is estimated to have taken place in the 12th century BC. It was during the Greek Bronze Age, that our hero took his journey to vanquish the Trojans. But it’s a long way from Greece, leading right across the Aegean Sea - to get there, he needed a suitable vessel…
The Trireme
The Greek Triremes have been known as formidable warships. They had three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. One of these ships could hold up as many as 200 warriors, every one of them ready for battle.
We haven’t really felt like the model we’ve been using (the one behind in the photo below) was adequate to their legend, so we took it upon ourselves to design one that would get even the best shipwrights of the time to look in awe.
Research
As usual, the creation process began with research, mainly of the ship’s architecture and its overall look. We got reference from photos of real ship replicas, which were perfect for our needs.
We carefully studied each detail and feature using reference photos, and after all that work, the 3D model finally came to be. Of course, there was still far more work to be done, we only had a shape back then.
Models
The ship itself is composed of multiple parts - there’s the standard low poly version, as well as a sculptured one with all the ornaments, making the textured model look much more realistic.
Textures
Of course, the textures had also needed to be separately prepared. For example, the wood from the ship consists of a few different texture images. The most important ones are the normal map and the color texture. The first one contains all of the bumps and dents in the wood and is used to give it depth.
The second one, as you might’ve guessed, is used to give the wood colors. Pretty straightforward, right? After putting them together and applying the finished texture to the model, the ship is looking really natural and convincing.
Lighting
And now, the thing that really gives the scene life - lighting! After setting up the scene and carefully placing the light sources, the ship is looking better than ever. The reference images we used were a great help in reproducing a realistic sunset over the Aegean Sea.
In-Game
Now we can put the ship in the game’s engine. As you can see on the GIFs below, it’s not just a rigid model - it actually supports physics! It’s a great accent, making the boat look alive, as if it really was sailing through the waves.
We hope you enjoyed seeing some of the behind the scenes stuff and us revealing parts of our creative process. It’s not just the fixes that we’re focusing on - as you can see, we’re actively working hard on creating and adding more content to Achilles: Legends Untold.
We want to make more posts like this one in the future, as we love to share our passion for making video games with the players. Make sure to follow our announcements page, so you won’t miss out on any of them!
We’d also like to really thank our players for all the feedback we’re getting, both on Discord and Steam. Thanks to your help, we’re on our way to creating the video game that everyone will be able to enjoy. If you also want to take part in the development, you can leave us your suggestions and input, either on the discussions page or on our Discord server (link below).
Hey warriors, we're back with another patch Achilles: Legends Untold!
In Patch 0.1.4 we added a "New Game +" mode to give players a more challenging experience after they've finished the last quest available. We've also added an "Attack at Cursor" mode, the ability to split sprint and dodge inputs, and made a variety of other quality of life improvements to the game.
Below is the full list of all the updates made to Achilles: Legends Untold in Patch 0.1.4.:
Added Features
"New Game +" mode - after finishing the last quest available in the current version of the game, you can choose to either continue playing or enter the New Game + mode. The game will carry over your progress to a new campaign, where you can continue to play and upgrade your character.
"Attack at Cursor" mode - Selecting "Attack at Cursor" in game options will make Achilles strike in the direction the cursor is currently facing.
Split Sprint and Dodge inputs - Mouse and keyboard players can now choose to split the sprint and dodge inputs between two buttons, or to have a singular one for both actions.
Side mouse button binding - you can now add inputs to side mouse buttons 4 & 5
Fixes and Improvements
You now get the Shield Throw and Kick skills during the tutorial in Troy.
Improved the target-locking system. Switching between enemies will now be a lot smoother.
Grenades will now target the exact location of the cursor when thrown, while target-lock is disabled.
Autosave frequency has been decreased.
Fixed all known level collision issues.
General improvements to AI behavior.
Slight improvements to ambient environment SFX.
More weight behind attacks. They should feel more satisfying.
Improved visibility of enemies hidden behind map elements.
Thank you to everyone in our community who have been following our updates and continuing to play Achilles: Legends Untold throughout Early Access! We're working on a lot of exciting new things for the game in the coming months (including an in-game map, new bosses, and more!), and we'll be revealing our full roadmap in the future!
We're monitoring all platforms for player feedback, though the best way to chat with the team and compare notes with other community members is in our Discord server.
In Patch 0.1.3 we added a highly requested 'Unstuck' button for those tricky times that Achilles clips into terrain and cannot get out. We've worked hard to fix this issue in all known areas, but on the rare instance it happens this feature will stop you from frustratingly losing progress.
We've also added an option to force return Achilles to the last Shrine rested at, at the cost of leaving all Souls behind. Effectively a 'Kill Achilles' option; use it carefully.
Many other known bugs have also been fixed in this patch, including: blocked quest progression, enemy/boss despawn issues, unreachable loot, and many others.
Below is a list of all the updates made to Achilles: Legends Untold in Patch 0.1.3.:
Added Features
Added “Unstuck” button. Now, if Achilles gets stuck somewhere in terrain, you’ll be able to free yourself by using this feature from the pause menu.
Added an option in the menu to force Achilles to return to the last shrine he rested at, leaving your collected souls behind.
Menelaus was given new special abilities.
Inventory items are now sorted into categories.
Added support for French AZERTY keyboards.
Fixes and Improvements
We’ve applied a temporary fix to the issue with animations in co-op mode being inconsistent when the client’s frame rate was different than the host’s. For technical reasons, we are temporarily limiting the framerate in co-op to 30 FPS, until we finish working on a solution.
We’ve made multiple improvements to the AI, focusing mainly on pathing.
Fixed quest progression issues. Completing the Temple of Cronos before finding Hephaestus no longer prevents quest progression.
Fixed an issue where Firtos quest could not be completed.
Fixed an issue where co-op dungeon couldn’t be completed.
Fixed boss despawn bug. Skeleton King and other bosses will no longer despawn when quitting the game during a boss fight.
Fixed a variety of visual bugs, including erratic enemy movements.
Fixed unreachable loot bug, where loot from enemies could spawn out of Achilles’ reach.
Fixed all known clipping issues. Every known spot where Achilles could get stuck or fall through the map has been fixed.
Fixed Window type selection bug. Fullscreen/Windowed selection will now save correctly.
Fixed a crash that could appear in the equipment screen.
Avast Antivirus will no longer return a false positive on scan.
Fixed all known localization errors.
We thank everyone who has shared and reported bugs across the Discord, Steam forums, and social media! We see all of your reports and they really do help us improve the game experience.
We're monitoring all platforms for player feedback, though the best way to chat with the team and compare notes with other community members is in our Discord server.
Hey everyone! We've fixed the 'Fatal Error' crash some players with Nvidia cards were experiencing, and made a variety of other improvements to the game based on player feedback. Thank you for your patience and for taking the time to leave detailed and valuable feedback and bug reports!
We'll continue to release regular patches to improve Achilles: Legends Untold throughout Early Access!
Below are the updates made to Achilles: Legends Untold in Patch 0.1.2.:
Fatal Error crash when launching the game on certain Nvidia cards has been fixed.
Player interaction with Hades Shrines, Ladders, and descent to the basement has been improved.
Added Difficulty select option. Players will now be prompted at the beginning of the game to choose difficulty, but can also change at any time during the game. The easier difficulty option improves Achilles' speed and stamina efficiency, while also altering enemy behavior. Achilles' base damage and health remain the same.
6 new Hades Shrines have been added. 3 in the first area, 1 near the Forge, and 2 in the Dark Forest.
Performance has been improved. FPS performance in Greece in particular, as well as momentary game freezes.
Balance improved for Bosses and larger enemies. Their health has been increased to be more of a challenge.
Item drop rates have been increased. Most notably from the Cyclops.
Fixed a variety of collision issues with the environment. Achilles will get stuck less often.
We're monitoring all platforms for player feedback, though the best way to chat with the team and compare notes with other community members is in our Discord server.
EDIT: This patch originally went live on May 13th, but the announcement was unintentionally only posted to players that owned the game.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted feedback and bug reports so far!
We're monitoring all platforms for player feedback, though the best way to chat with the team and compare notes with other community members is in our Discord server.
Below are the updates made to Achilles: Legends Untold in Patch 0.1.1.:
Hit boxes have been improved and there is now better weapon collision with these hit boxes.
Shield-wielding enemies have their shield up less, and it is now easier to break their block.
Block time reaction has been improved.
Attacking animation response time improved.
Added 'empty' weapon and shield slots in the inventory. You can now unequip weapons as needed.
Archer behavior and arrow damage balance has been improved.
Warrior Ethos and Hero Ethos skills have been fixed.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted feedback and bug reports so far!
We're monitoring all platforms for player feedback, though the best way to chat with the team and compare notes with other community members is in our Discord server.
Below are the updates made to Achilles: Legends Untold in Patch 0.1.1.:
Hit boxes have been improved and there is now better weapon collision with these hit boxes
Shield-wielding enemies have their shield up less, and it is now easier to break their block
Block time reaction has been improved
Attacking animation response time improved
Added 'empty' weapon and shield slots in the inventory. You can now unequip weapons as needed.
Archer behavior and arrow damage balance has been improved
Warrior Ethos and Hero Ethos skills have been fixed
Player feedback is incredibly important to us, and is a big reason why we brought the game to Early Access. Your feedback will help us make Achilles: Legends Untold the best it can be.
Co-op
We are aware of the performance issues players are experiencing in our co-op game mode. The team is working hard to address and fix these issues as soon as possible.
Known Issues
Below is a list of other issues and bugs in the game that we are aware of so far. These are all actively being worked on.
Despawning Skeleton King and other bosses Exiting the game during the Skeleton King boss fight can cause issues after reloading the game. Players will get back to the boss arena and despawn the Skeleton King, locking themselves into the arena. Other boss fights might have the same issue
Getting stuck in environment In some cases, players can get hard-stuck in some environments. In rare cases, players need to restart the game entirely, as only reloading the game may have Achilles still stuck in the same position
Visual bugs when opening the equipment menu during portal travel Opening the equipment menu during portal travel may break the camera settings and cause the Achilles model to disappear from the equipment menu screen
Unable to interact with Shrines after potion teleport Using teleport to home potions during combat can cause problems with some interactive objects, mainly Hades Shrines. To fix it players will have to leave to the main menu and get back to the game.
Chiron's armor visual bug Wearing Chiron's Armor may distort Achilles' look in gameplay.
Firtos quest completion bug Dying during the fight with the three scorpions may cause an issue where one scorpion despawns, leaving the player unable to finish the quest.
King Scorpio completion bug Dying or leaving a fight with King Scorpio may cause him to de-spawn leaving the player unable to finish the quest.
Fullscreen/Windowed selection not saving Changing video settings to fullscreen or windowed fullscreen may not be saved in config file.
Fall through world at Chronos' temple On the wooden stairs close to Chronos’ temple it's possible for the player to sometimes fall through the world
Inconsistent co-op animation In co-op, low FPS on the host will cause jumpy animations on the client side.
Teleporting to Mountain Forest issue Interaction with the portal to Mountain Forest may cause game freeze
Equipment screen crash Opening the equipment menu at the exact time a tutorial message pops up may cause the game to freeze or crash
Cronos before Hephaestus blocking progression Entering Chronos’ temple before releasing Hephaestus can block progression in the main story line
Falling through world in the lower dungeon In some instances, entering the lower dungeon level can sometimes lead to falling through the world
Avast Antivirus false positive Avast antivirus can report false positive virus detection. We have confirmation from Avast that Achilles is verified and should not cause this issue
Localization issues Players may encounter some localization issues in languages other than English – missing translations, some text boxes might be empty or have text from other languages
Co-op Dungeon completion bug In rare cases during co-op, players may encounter issues that make dungeon completion impossible
Collision with objects bug In Greece, there are rare occasions where the player may get stuck in objects or fall through the map. Exiting to the main menu and selecting ‘Continue’ should fix the problem
Erratic enemy AI Sometimes enemies may act erratic, or in rare cases stop fighting the player entirely
Unobtainable loot In rare cases, loot drops from enemies may spawn outside the playable area and be unobtainable by the player
Completed quests shown as ongoing Some completed quests may be displayed in the journal as ‘ongoing’
We're working hard on fixing these bugs and we appreciate your patience. We will continue to be transparent with the community on what we are working on with the game throughout Early Access.
We welcome feedback and other bug reports in our Discord, on our social accounts, and in the Steam forums.
Thank you for your passion and support for Achilles: Legends Untold!
