A quick update today - I had originally planned to release the story update this week, however, the turn-based system has taken longer to test than originally anticipated. With that in mind, my goal is to launch the story update next week. I can't wait for you all to get your hands on it, it's a ton of fun! This update will add a lot of structure to the main branch and restrict unfinished areas quite heavily, unfinished areas will exclusively be within the [beta] branches from now on.
A big graphical change will be coming as well - Substances are finally back in Arakion which allow for much more character visualization and customization than is currently in-game. Below is a preview.
That's it for today, I just wanted to keep everyone in the loop as many have asked when the update will launch. Thank you all for your patience. As a (mostly) solo developer, large updates like this take time, but I can't wait for you all to get your hands on it.
Have a wonderful day!
Lavidimus
Click for larger detailed preview
Preview | Turn-Based!
Hey Everyone!
Short but awesome announcement today!
I'm happy to announce that turn-based is working and in Arakion! I absolutely love it and it really gives Arakion that Might and Magic feel that has been sorely missing. It will be included in the story update launching in (hopefully) two weeks.
I will likely be playing most of my games in turn-based mode from now on.
First off thank you to everyone for participating in the wishlist drive! Arakion received a total of 1600 wishlists during the drive! It may not seem like a lot but for Arakion this is a huge result and a great outcome!
So let us move onto the goodies!
30% Discount During Story Week
This reward is for everyone! Even though we didn't quite hit the 2500 wishlists necessary, we got darn close. So I'm going to go ahead and post the largest Arakion discount ever of 30% during the story week update!
Journey Quest Winner!
Winner - Nyat17 ('Pale as the Moon, Proud as the Sun') If you didn't win, don't fret, more wishlist drives coming soon!
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun (trumpets playing in my head).
The official winner of the Journey Quest contest is Nyat17 with 'Pale as the Moon, Proud as the Sun'! I'll be working with him to create a journey that will forever be part of the world of Arakion. I'm really excited about this opportunity to create a community built experience. I may post quest updates along the way so you all can see how this community reward is progressing.
More Wishlist Drives?
Due to the positive results of this wishlist drive, I would love to hear from you!
Do you want to see more wishlist drives?
What would you like to see as rewards? In-game item? NPC? More quests?
How could I make the experience more fun and engaging?
Story Update Coming Soon!
TL:DR - This update will launch sometime between June 23rd and August 6th. Turn-Based combat with it, pending.
The story update has taken a little longer than expected. I have gotten side-tracked working very hard to try and get turn-based combat in. This has been the most heavily requested feature and some serious bugs were found during testing. I'm going to continue working on this to try and launch it alongside the story update but will wait no longer than August 6th to launch the story update.
That's all for today, look for an announcement about the story update very soon!
Have a wonderful day!
-Lavidimus
Wishlist Drive | 1000 Strong!
Hey Venturers!
The wishlist drive has officially hit 1000 strong! I will be extending out the drive until the end of the Steam Summer sale, we're only 1500 away from an even larger discount! Be sure to keep it up.
A large story update will be coming soon I'm hoping to release it next week!
That's it for today, be sure to tell your friends about Arakion so we can get those wishlist numbers even higher!
Have a wonderful day! Lavidimus
Early Access 2 [beta] 7 Hotfix
Hey Venturers!
A hotfix has been patched in to [beta] 7 fixing some critical bugs. These include things like some enemies ignoring the player and being unable to leave certain dungeons (load screen stuck).
Thanks to all the new and returning Venturers for reporting these issues, be sure to report any others you find on Steam or Discord! If it is a critical bug I will fix it in the shortest time possible, if it is a minor bug I will patch a fix in the next week!
Also, I will finally have a new Linux and Mac build available next week!
That's it for now, have a wonderful day!
Lavidimus
Early Access 2 [beta] 7
Hey Venturers!
It's time for another fantastical update!
Today, I'm officially moving the Early Access 2 content into the [default] build. Players can and will always be able to switch to Early Access 1 by changing to the [ea1] build!
Early Access 2 is still considered to be in beta but given the amount of content and engine changes, I felt it was time to move to the [default] branch.
If you try to play EA2 with an EA1 save, there will be bugs! Please start a new save!
After review, I'm expecting Early Access 2 to be in beta for another four weeks. This update primarily focuses on bug fixes and graphical optimizations.
Updated builds: Windows Unity hasn't fixed my ability to use cloud builds, I have been attempting to create mac and Linux builds on my end without much success yet. I will be continuing to attempt to get a Linux and Mac build out.
Be sure to check out the new Intro and first story cinematic here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mn2iyqKClg
Be sure to check the video for a preview of some graphical changes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS9xaPsXo8U&t=1s
For the immediate future, I will mostly be focusing on improving the current content in the game while slowly rolling out the final pieces of Chapter Two.
Chapter Two Hub: General visual enhancements, a lot of content will be added over the next two weeks.
Story Ennhancements: The first of many cinematics has been added for the story update!
Mob Skills: Some mobs have gained new skills as I continue to improve combat mechanics.
Graphic Optimizations: A lot of graphical optimizations have been implemented for the new and previous zones. Arakion currently runs at 100fps on my machine and should run reasonably well even on lower-end machines.
Bug fixes: Reported bugs have been fixed.
As noted above I am running a bit behind my schedule so please check for new dates!
<*>Combat Improvements [2 weeks] - While this is only the start of things, a combat improvement patch will be rolling out to make combat in Arakion more enjoyable.
<*>Story Enhancement [2 weeks] - Arakion has a wonderful story to tell and I want to make sure it is told. I have been frustrated with myself that a big part of Arakion that has been lacking is a coherent story and world progression. This will be changing soon - with this launch, areas in Chapter One and Chapter Two will be modified to work with this update.
<*>Chapter Two Part Three [4 weeks] - The final part of Chapter Two, with this launch I will be moving from [beta] to full release and continuing updates on full release from then on. Oh, and there are some very very large lizards you're going to be fighting.
<*>Turn Based Mechanics [6 weeks] - This is the highest priority after launching Chapter Two Part Three.
Have a wonderful day!
Lavidimus
Wishlist Drive | 500 hit!
Hey everyone!
Short and sweet announcement. After a week on we have officially hit 500 wishlists for the wishlist drive, so a community journey quest will be created!
A big thanks to everyone who has wishlisted so far and be sure to tell your friends about Arakion! The more wishlists the more fun stuff you get!
Additionally, with the story overhaul in full swing, be sure to check out a preview of the new intro cinematic here:
https://youtu.be/8Mn2iyqKClg
That's it for today, a big update rolls out next week!
Have a wonderful day!
Wishlist Drive | Design A Quest
Hey Venturers
Today kicks off the 'Design A Quest' wishlist drive! This is the first in a line of wishlists drives that are planned for Arakion. Over the next two weeks, we hope you will add Arakion to your wishlist, help shape the world of Arakion by designing a quest that players from all over will experience, and head to your favorite corners of the internet, spread the word about Arakion and drive up wishlists! The more wishlists that Arakion receives the more quest designs will be unlocked. When all is said and done, up to THREE winners will be announced and have their quests live on forever in Arakion!
A wishlist drive is a way to promote Arakion and reward the community with fun events and discounts.
How long is it?
The drive is a little over two weeks long and will end on July 1st.
How do I participate?
Participation is easy! First, click that wishlist button to drive up those numbers! Next up, head to the stickied posts on Steam and lay out your best ideas! Finally, head to your favorite gaming forums or social networks and tell people about Arakion! Chat with anyone you think may be interested in Arakion to help drive up those wishlist numbers!
What are the rewards?
Every drive will have a discount reward. This will reduce the price of the Arakion based on the total number of wishlists received. Additionally, each drive will have specific rewards, you can probably guess the 'Design A Quest' drives reward. 'Design A Quest' has three types of rewards:
Design A Journey Quest Each venturer can post one time with up to three ideas A minor quest a venturer may stumble upon during the course of their journey. These quests are ideally short and fun. Maybe you need to slay a giant monster in a nearby tavern or perhaps a lonely troll lost his special blanket in the nearby woods, use your imagination and design something FUN!
Design A Recruit Quest Each venturer can post one time with one idea. These are one of my favorite types of quests in Arakion. These are multipart quests that end with our heroes gaining a new recruit for their town. Maybe you need to help a noble knight see his quest to the end or maybe you just need to simply help an insane brawler entertain his puppets by putting on an imaginary show in his arena, the possibilities are endless. You are not only designing a quest but also shaping a character in the world!
Design A Lore Quest These quests are directly related to the world of Arakion and dive deep into the lore. Aspects of this reward will be announced once the goal is met.
Winners of the contest will also be represented in Arakion!
So who wins?
Everyone is a winner in the sense that you all will get the discount! For the contests, each quest type chooses a winner differently as follows:
'Journey' - Winner will be chosen via a random roll.
'Recruit' - We will curate the top quests (count to be determined) and allow the community to vote on what they would like to see in game!
'Lore' - there will be a single elimination tournament to determine who the final winner is! Each matchup will be polled.
What are the limitations?
Limitations are noted in the threads themselves.
So head to the threads in the discussion forums and get started on your own quests! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!
It's time for another fantastical update.
Early Access 2 officially launches in two weeks!
Updated builds: Windows Unity hasn't fixed my ability to use cloud builds, so it looks like I'll need to manually build Mac + Linux. I'll be attempting that this weekend.
Important Notice! This build will be laggy for some! My energy will be focused on resolving this issue, with an update as soon as possible. Once the lag is fixed I'll be pushing the build to the main branch as I prepare for Early Access 2 official launch.
I am running a bit behind my schedule so please see upcoming for changes!
Be sure to check the video for a preview of some graphical changes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS9xaPsXo8U&t=1s
The big addition this week is the introduction of the Chapter Two hub, new dungeons, story improvements and graphical overhaul of some previous zones. While the hub is very unfinished you are free to roam around and explore the secrets already in place. This new zone has really helped with the flow of Arakion and I'm very excited about what's coming next!
For the immediate future, I will mostly be focusing on improving the current content in the game while slowly rolling out the final pieces of Chapter Two.
Chapter Two Hub: This new zone is quite large. There are secrets to find and people to meet! This hub now connects all content in Chapter Two.
New Dungeons: New dungeons have been added connecting the Chapter Two hub with content.
New Settings: Some new settings have been added to help optimize the game. These help Arakion run more smoothly under the hood and affect some graphics, they can be toggled on or off in the settings.
Minor Story Enhancements: Very little done so far but story enhancements have begun to be added in Arakion. Big changes and improvements can be expected over the coming weeks!
Mob balancing: A single pass at balancing mobs to be more enjoyable. Big combat improvements rolling out soon.
Bug fixes: Some annoying bugs, such as the new action buttons not saving, have been fixed.
As noted above I am running a bit behind my schedule so please check for new dates!
<*>Combat Improvements [2 weeks] - While this is only the start of things, a combat improvement patch will be rolling out to make combat in Arakion more enjoyable.
<*>Story Enhancement [2 weeks] - Arakion has a wonderful story to tell and I want to make sure it is told. I have been frustrated with myself that a big part of Arakion that has been lacking is a coherent story and world progression. This will be changing soon - with this launch, areas in Chapter One and Chapter Two will be modified to work with this update.
<*>Chapter Two Part Three [3 weeks] - The final part of Chapter Two, with this launch I will be moving from [beta] to full release and continuing updates on full release from then on. Oh, and there are some very very large lizards you're going to be fighting.
<*>Turn Based Mechanics [4 weeks] - This is the highest priority after launching Chapter Two Part Three.
That's it for now - a big community event will begin later today!
The big addition this week is the introduction of the new character creation system as seen above. While it's not quite finished yet and in a very beta phase, it does add a lot! This system overhauls ALL old character customization, so until the town building is implemented to further customize your characters (next week) old save games will have characters without any customization set.
Build notes are small this week as creating the data for the new CC system took longer than anticipated.
Builds Updated : Windows Note to Linux users, I'm waiting on unity to resolve cloud builds - I'm hoping it is fixed this week. After that, I will be pushing both Mac and Linux builds with each update.
New character customization: This new system will allow me to easily add new customization options in the future as well as more easily manage it in the games memory. This is a much-needed update that should have happened a while ago.
New Game Changes: When starting a new game you are now presented with options for choice of difficulty and settings. This makes them more obvious and clear. Additional creation changes will be rolling out in the next few weeks.
Character Textures: I've finally gotten around to enhancing the characters' textures. They were years and years old and they really need a facelift.
Run In Background: Please note that the game will now run in the background by default. You can change this setting in the gameplay settings.
Chapter 02 Part 02: Additional content has been added and changed in this zone. I'm hoping to add a big and final chunk in two weeks.
There are some really cool things in the pipeline, but I'm going to try and keep this area limited for today. The dates are an estimate of time.
<*>Chapter Two Part Three [2 weeks] - The final part of Chapter Two, with this launch I will be moving from [beta] to full release and continuing updates on full release from then on. Oh, and there are some very very large lizards you're going to be fighting.
<*>Story Enhancement [4 weeks] - Arakion has a wonderful story to tell and I want to make sure it is told. I have been frustrated with myself that a big part of Arakion that has been lacking is a coherent story and world progression. This will be changing soon - with this launch, areas in Chapter One and Chapter Two will be modified to work with this update.
<*>Turn Based Mechanics [4 weeks] - This is the highest priority after launching Chapter Two Part Three. This will be launched alongside the story enhancement.
That's it for today - I'll try to get better at making patch notes in the future.
