Blacksmith
Blacksmith + Yogscast Jingle Jam 2018
Blacksmith is a part of this year's selection for Yogscast Jingle Jam!
There are also other amazing games on the Bundle, you can donate what you can and all profits go to Charity, sharing the good spirit of Christmas!
Check it out on this link!
Also, check out this gameplay video by Funghis Canale Grande (in German) and Yogscast Twitch playing the game!
¡Felices Fiestas!
Maly.
Merry Christmas from Ironwell + New Armour Art!
Today's build includes a heap of bug fixes and improvements as well as a ton of new art. We now have proper late-game Armour!
I feel confident that the game is feature complete and that this is all the content we need for now, unless there is demand. At the moment the game takes between 10-20 hours to complete, depending how diligent you are with the side quests.
From now until Full Release on January 11th 2019, besides family commitments, we will be fixing bugs, adding art and improving the experience. We will then plan updates depending on how much demand there is.
Special event coming up tomorrow!
Cheers,
Otis and Maly
ps Be sure to say hi to Chris the Paladin on his birthday!
Update 6th December 2018
Hotfixes have been going well. There were a few bugs, as expected, with the last patch, but they should be mostly fixed.
Also, we now have a tutorial! Check it out!
So, between now and release I'll be inserting the art as I get it, playtesting and fixing, taking feedback and otherwise getting started on the first update.
Cheers,
Otis
Blacksmith Pre-emptive Update
We're releasing the next patch a little early since I heard of at least a couple people with problems on the title screen. So better to release an unfinished build than to let that problem persist.
This patch will definitely feel a little incomplete, with a bunch of missing textures and some untested features in the late game.
So, what's new:
- Brand new graphics for the UI!
- A skill tree for learning Blacksmithing Recipes!!!
- Some improved graphics for the basic Armour sets and Handles!
- A whole heap of new Armour to go with the skill tree! (Untextured!)
- A reworking of the Shop. You can no longer run your own shop, but instead Sid also now sells everything in the game but at an increased price.
- More Sound Effects.
- Several fixes and improvements as always.
- If you are a returning player you may find your save doesn't work anymore. I'm sorry if that's the case, but you can be assured that there will be no more problems with that post version 1.0.
And what is going to be broken in this patch! Caution for:
- Some missing/bad textures in the UI, and some of the colours are wrong. We are still figuring this out and as always I am waiting for more assets from my artist.
- Almost all the new Armour is missing a texture. We will have those soon. All of the pre-existing weapons and armour should be fine.
- New features like the Skill Tree and Sid's Trade MAY be bugged, they are relatively untested, but should work for the most part.
I will be working to turn this into a finished build asap. If you see any bugs besides those in the list above, it's because I don't know about them! So please tell me.
So what's next?
- I will hotfix as new art assets are given to me and bugs are discovered, until this build is completely stable.
- The next build will have an Apprenticeship! This will be an optional tutorial at the start of the game. When you hit New Game you will be given the option to take on a 3 day Apprenticeship with the Legendary John Smith!
- Once all of that is stable, we will examine how much time we have between then and release, and see what we can do until then.
- Version 1.1 will release not long after full release, and we have a lot of plans for that.
So, look out for hot fixes and I hope to see you on the 11th of January for the full release. We also have a very special announcement coming on the 23rd of December.
So, keep your forges bright and strong as we hammer our way into 2019!
Cheers,
Otis and Maly
Build 0.93 is live!
Latest build has some new and exciting things.
New features:
- Each Townsfolk now has 3 different default 'Chat' dialogues, offering more insight into the characters and tips for playing.
- Potionmaster Jake has a couple new Abilities to sell and a short quest line!
- There is also a new magical Hero coming to Ironwell, complete with his own quest line and a special Enchant!
- New Spell animations.
- There is some extra dialogue and animation in the final Dungeon.
- Minor tweaks and fixes.
- Reprogrammed Catalysts.
- Improved some camera work.
- Improved spell animations.
There are a few Art assets missing, so we will put them in the next build. Also there may be a couple bugs there that weren't before, to do with retreating or failing a dungeon, but I will get to that over the next couple of days. Last thing to note is that if you call your save game 'EasySpells', all Heroes will have 5 Int and you have access to all Spells (this will be removed at some point).
For the next build we plan to have an updated UI, a fully implemented Skill Tree for learning recipes and also some improved sound effects are in the pipeline. Needless to say, I'm really excited about these things.
So keep Smithing and see you soon with the next update.
Cheers,
Otis and Maly
Hotfix and Final Release Date!
Blacksmith 1.0 will be released on the 11th of January 2019! Until then, there will be hotfixes to address any bugs or issues but I won't be making an official update until that time.
What new to expect in Blacksmith 1.0.
- An extended ending sequence.
- New and improved sound effects, animations, sprites etc.
- Your feedback addressed.
- Anything else I have time for.
Until then, play some Blacksmith and have a say in the final product!
We have also committed to a few post-release updates. More news on that when appropriate.
ps Name your game EasyMode as in the trailer and you'll get 10 Steel, 1 Frozen Tear and 1 Phoenix Feather a day.
The Music Update + Next Update is Blacksmith 1.0!
I'm proud to announce The Music Update for Blacksmith, with music from the very talented Aliki Lef.
What's new?
- Lots of original music that changes dynamically based your your gameplay!
- You can now finish the main story of the game!!!
- Several new Story Quests, Dungeons and Enemies.
- Tons of bug fixes as always.
- Send yourself into battle as Ironwell's most handsome Hero! (Must be unlocked through the Main Story)
There is a lot of new stuff and improvements. The game can now be called complete! Therefore the next update will be version 1.0. Until then I need as much data from the players as possible to make the game shiny for the final release.
More details about the Final Release and a new trailer to follow in the next few days. Expect hotfixes to address bugs, missing art assets and anything else that comes up (things that shouldn't effect your save game).
So I hope you enjoy the latest update and if you have any suggestions or bug reports, now is the time!
Cheers,
Otis
The Sparks Update
It's been a few weeks since an update. I'm waiting for the music before I unlock the final scenes in the game and get ready for final release.
I have, however, received some new art. So this update includes more decorations in the Dungeons, sprites for Weapon Handles and a few basic fixes and tweaks.
Also, we've introduced a new Hero complete with their own Story, as a thank you for your patience bearing with us while we wait for the music. This is a pure homage to my favourite anime. It is unlocked after finishing Val's Story.
At present the game is very stable and playable. Once I get the music I can finish the Main Story and release an update which should be much more representative of the final product.
Until then, let those Sparks fly and see you in a couple weeks or so.
Cheers,
Otis
Progress Update
I've just uploaded a build which deals with a lot of little bugs in the story and gameplay.
Right now what I'm doing is fixing the final cutscenes. I'm currently waiting for art and music assets before I upload that content. We're looking at having the first draft of the finished game by the end of August.
The main thing I want feedback on is the Farms/Food system. I'm happy that the player gets to do some farming, but I feel that actually it's quite tedious. I'm thinking of overhauling it with a much simpler system where you get 'ingredients' in the Dungeon, then Trade with the Farmer to cash in combinations of those ingredients for meals with permanent stat boosts. Or perhaps I'll just streamline the current system. Everyone's thoughts are appreciated on that.
There may still be a couple of instances of Hero Stats changing permantly after a cutscene or something similar. If you spot any instances like this, please let me know and I'll fix them promptly.
See you all later in August as Blacksmith approaches the finish line! Get your Heroes strong for the end!
Cheers,
Otis and Maly
Achievements are now here!
Today's patch includes Achievements! I heard people like achievements, I'm not one of them, but it does feel good when you get that 'Master Blacksmith' notification in the bottom right. Or the funny message when you first make a Knife. Some of the achievements will be impossible to obtain with this build but you can make progress towards them.
There are also a ton of bug fixes and balance improvements as usual. Some of the things that I announced as fixed last week were, unfortunately, not fixed so I apologize for that. They should be this time.
With regards to the story, everything from the previous patch seems to work so there's nothing new there. I will continue to address any bug reports with prompt hotfixes, otherwise I will be working on the final stages of the story. Exciting stuff ahead, but it may take a while.
Until then, keep gathering the scrolls of John Smith and be prepared for loss, devastation and eventual glorious victory against the forces of Evil!