Dapper dwarves, our fashion and quality of life update is here!
This update is focused around player reception and feedback we have received for the game after our Early Access release. We wanted to address immediate suggestions by players before we begin to turn our focus to the future major content updates like Caves Awaken Part 1 & Part 2. Everything we do as a development studio is based off player reception, so please write your suggestions and ideas in the comments!
Keybinds
As a dwarf, you are in control of your destiny. We recently added the keybinds menu to the game, to allow keyboard and mouse users to customize their controls. We will soon follow up and do the same for controller users as well. This was a much requested feature that we wanted to deliver to everyone for a long time, and got it ready for this dripdate.
Wardrobe/Cosmetic
Before you tunnel your way Below The Stone, it's time to slay with your fashion! A new wardrobe has appeared in your dwarven fortress, allowing for new styles to be equipped without risking their loss. Items equipped here will appear on the player, but not alter your current stats. There are 16+ new rare cosmetic items to find, with more to come in future updates.
PLAYER CUSTOMIZATION
Strut into the depths with style that'll make the baddies jealous. From Mithril chic to bedazzled battle gear. Dwarves can now stun their enemies with new beard and hair customization options. Drag the perfect ensemble to match your stout heart. Remember, in the deep dark, it's not just about fighting; it's about shining. As more updates go out, we plan on expanding this customization further!
Testing QOL Features
(New Descriptions, ALT key Functions)
New item descriptions will be more accurate to what the items do, and more helpful with guiding players in the future. Healing items will now show the exact amount of health they heal, and items which apply debuffs will show their effects.
CAVES AWAKEN Pt 1 PREVIEW
As our roadmap has shown, Caves Awaken part 1 and part 2 will focus primarily on adding more to do in the caves, and more meta-style progression to the kingdom. The caves will have new events which will challenge players to spend too long in the caves, while also adding more things to do while on your descents. We will also be adding more meta-styled progression to your hub, allowing you to do more quests, upgrade your kingdom, and save new NPCs.
"Shade" enemies which will begin to spawn and threaten your runs!
[Cosmetics] * Player now has "cosmetic slots" that affect how your dwarf looks, but retains all the power of your legendary armor in your main armor slots. * Added wardrobe to the kingdom, introducing the Cosmetic Item Slots feature. Where you can equip items and have them override your appearance, without affecting your armor stats. * Added 16+ different cosmetic items that you can collect to customize your dwarf (which you can equip in the wardrobe)
[Dwarf Customization] * Updated the interface to exist within our special "menu interface" * You can now back out of the character customization ui on the main menu * Added several new beards and hairs to choose from when creating a new dwarf. * Added a green hair color type.
[New Features] * Added a keybind system and UI to allow players to customize their controls (currently keyboard only). * Added "Ore Identifier" visual to allow the player to know what ore they are looking at. * Added "Alt Text" UI system to allow you to identify various nearby objects. You can press the "Alt" key to toggle this feature. * Updated the "item pickup indicator" to show the item name, and is also now anchored to the top of the screen, and can show multiple item pickups. * Added new visual indicators for throwable items and ranged weapons. Now you can snipe those kobolds and skeletons with a lot more ease! * Improvements to throwable/ranged weapons on gamepad.
[Shopkeep] * Fixed the Shopkeep tabs not being in the right position at some resolutions. * Fixed issue where a sound would somtimes play very rapidly when opening the Shopkeep interface.
[Journal] * You can no longer flip pages infinitely. * Added "spam guard" on page flipping to avoid issues with too many page flips happening and causing visual issues. * Various other fixes to page flipping. * Added UI buttons for paging left and right in journal. * Fixed controller icon still being visible when using keyboard.
[Improvements] * Improved hitboxes on player and various static objects, including making many hitboxes smaller. * Updated tooltips of consumable items (food items and potions, for example). * Updated melee weapon tooltips to include info about effects they may apply. * Updated various ore wall sprites, to help make them a bit more distinguishable. * You can now skip the main menu animation by pressing space, to get into the game faster.
[Layer 2 Fixes] * Exit points will now tell you on layer 2 that they will bring you back to the kingdom. * Moving from layer 1 to layer 2 will no longer count as an embark. * Exiting the cave at layer 2 via portals or holes (exit points) will no longer bypass your escape rewards; you will still get bonus chests in the kingdom. * Leaving layer 2 via an exit point will count towards your "Total Successful Embarks".
[Fixes] * Fixed item duping bug related to consumable items. * Fixed spark effects playing at world origin. * Projectiles will no longer hit "fallen rocks" (for example, an arrow hitting a falling rock from cave-ins or cave troll attacks).
Next Update Release Date + Beta Test Sign Up
The Below the Stone team has been spending the month of January unearthing the Fashion + Quality of Life update, and expect to have it out February 16th for you to dig into. We also have a special announcement for those who are interested in seeing what we're working on ahead of time...
BETA TESTING:
We've done beta testing throughout the entire development for Early Access, and we'd like to open the mines again for all the new followers who yearn to tunnel their way to new adventures. If you'd like to take part this week, it only takes a minute or two to sign up for an early test of the game. ːcraftsdwarfː
THANK YOU for getting us to above 250 reviews! We're getting SO CLOSE to 300 now, a huge milestone for the team working on this game. It amazes us every day seeing you all pour your love into this game, and letting us know what you want to see us work on next. That is what gamedev is all about, and it's a gem to be able to wake up every day and see you enjoying what we created. It only takes a couple minutes, but helps us a ton.
These are our plans we put together for the first half of 2024, based on what you the fans have told us you're excited most for. Feel free to dig on in.
Wew, big year ahead of us, we're diggin' it.
Below the Stone has always been incredibly community driven, so please feel free to join the discussion here on what you'd want to see in the next update, or join our discord to be a part of our big dwarven community theorizing what we are crafting for the game next.
Alpha 0.3.2 - Important News Coming Soon!
Tiny Update
This update is mostly for disabling all of the holiday content, nothing fancy. BUT, we did include one small change with the hopes of getting some feedback from our community.
In this latest update we reduced the size of the player's hitbox and collision box. We did this as a response to some of the feedback we've been getting from people. So we'd like to have you all try this change out, and let us know if it feels better.
We will also be reducing the size of collision boxes for various other static objects in the caves, because it sounded like people were getting annoyed by occasionally getting caught on them in strange situations.
So let us know what you think! Thanks again!
Alpha 0.3.2
* Removed all of the holiday stuff until another year. * Slightly reduced the size of the player's hitbox and collider to see if that improves things.
Oh, and one last thing!
Keep an eye out for some more upcoming news on Below The Stone in 2024.
MAGFEST! NATIONAL HARBOR, MD
Below the Stone has been invited to take part at MAGfest next month! We're excited to meet up with fans and fellow developers in the indie section. Let us know if you're in the area and want to stop by to see us!
MAGFest is a 4 day event taking place in National Harbor, MD, dedicated to the appreciation of video game music, gaming of all types, and the gaming community. The event runs 24 hours a day, and offers consoles, arcades, tabletop, LAN, live video game cover bands, chiptunes, vendors, guest speakers, and much much more.
This is the last game update for 2023. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the year. Relax, find time for yourselves, and be with family. Peace out everyone!
Patch notes:
Alpha 0.3.1 - Bugfix Update
[Fixes] * Updated Shopkeep's tooltips to work as expected * Fixed exploit where item drops would influence creature pathfinding, allowing the player to encircle themselves with items for absolute protection. Though, this concept may come back in the future, in some other form. * Added low chance of spawning hostile mole in bioluminescent biome * Fixed bug where the player could still craft after cursor grabbing an item from their inventory * Fixed a bug where you would not be able to craft items after cursor grabbing an item from your inventory, clicking buttons in crafting ui, and then putting the item back in your inventory. * Minor improvements to crafting UI logic
[Tweaks] * Reduced drop chances of gingerbread kobold's from kobolds * Reduced candy cane pickaxe power to same as iron pickaxe * Increased contrast on health bar hearts * Updated snowballs to do 5 damage * Updated silver pickaxe to mining tier 5 * Added a welcome message for when a player enters the kingdom for the first time, to try to help introduce the player to the kingdom, and what to expect.
Below the Stone winter sale: 20% off!
For a short time, Below the Stone is going to be 20% off during the Steam Winter sale taking place right now!
If you're looking for a time to get in on some Holiday loot, or just want to give a friend a chance to dig into some Below the Stone during this winter, here is your chance to join us by the fire, and enjoy some Kobold cookies.
We plan on having another update this weekend for folks waiting for more content and fixes to come your way. The team has been incredibly active at getting many of your requests done before the holidays, and we plan on having much more done as we head into the new year!
Thank you for giving us such an amazing end of the year.
I say it again and again because it needs to be said. We wouldn't be here without you guys. It makes our day reading your reviews, and just having you be a part of our community. Whether it is here, on Discord, or just patiently following what we're doing. Hope to see you diggin' below the stone soon, fellow miners!
- Mike @ Strollart; Below the Stone
Below the Stone x Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot collab sale!
Dwarves, prepare for Glory, Death, and Loot in your descent Below the Stone!💎⛏️
Below the Stone is teaming up with Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot this Steam winter sale!
Dwarves, pixel art, death, loot, I don't think there's a collab that makes more sense than this.
- 20% discount on Below the Stone during Winter Sale ☃️
- Additional 10% Bundle discount for buying both games 🍺
[Holiday Content] * Dwarven Kingdom is looking more festive * Gift tree added to the Dwarven Kingdom, spawns holiday loot with each return * Added Kobold Cookies * Added Candy Cane Axe * Added Candy Cane Pickaxe * Added Egg Nog * Added Holiday Hat * Added gift trees which now spawn in the caves * Kobolds will be seen wearing festive hats * Main Menu looking more festive * New Kingdom music * New easter egg
[Tweaks] * Lodestones now spawn on Layer 2 * Tweaked spawn chances of some creatures in Arid Sands biome * Nerfed torch burn effect
[Fixes] * Addressed some other UI issues
[Tweaks] * Tweaked the spawn chances of some creatures in the desert biome on Layer 2.
HOLIDAY UPDATE!
Below the Stone's Holiday Update is here!
We're releasing a day earlier than we had scheduled, so you can get an early start on some of the exclusive holiday loot we added to the game. The dwarven halls we call home are looking a little more festive this time of year, so check out the new holiday decor, open presents under the tree, and enjoy some kobold cookies by the fire.
We'll be posting a full changelog later today for those looking for a list of new items and features.
Thank YOU for being part of Below the Stone's early access journey. This humble time of year has given the Strollart Studios dev team a huge reminder of why we're so thankful to the people who are part of our community, and love indie games. Reading your reviews, seeing you on our discord, letting us know your suggestions. All of these things have been getting the team even more excited to deliver the game to you.
