Epic Tavern
Hotfix Patch 1195 - Spirit Tweaks
It's your friendly village programmer Rich here to let you know we've just gone live with a hotfix (version 1195) that adjusts some elements of spirit and fatigue to create a more player-friendly experience, building upon our recent major release (ver. 1193). As always, please keep in mind that we'll be doing a major balancing pass on the game as we head into final release.
Please let us know if you experience any bugs that significantly harm your experience by contacting us on our Discord at:
http://discord.gg/epictavern
, or by creating a bug report on our Steam forum (we check the Discord a little more often, so expect a faster response there).
If you encounter an issue and I can get your game saves and logs, that will be a tremendous help toward getting the issue fixed and improving the game experience for everyone.
Thanks so much for being along with us for Epic Tavern's development. We appreciate each and every one of you.
Take care,
Rich
PS. If you have time, be sure and drop by my live dev stream pretty much every Tuesday and Friday on either http://twitch.tv/epictavern or http://youtube.com/@epictavern . It'd be great to hear from you.
Critical Choices update is Live!
We are all kinds of psyched to unleash our new Critical Choices update, including an overhaul of adventuring, hunger, spirit management and resting on the road. The Critical Choices feature will allow for greater control over your parties in the field and more opportunities to use their specific skills.
Included in this feature are Conditional buttons that only appear if you have certain heroes or skills present. In the screenshot above, the Fireball button only appears if you have a fire mage in your current party. Casting fireball will cost a bit of spirit, weaken enemies for the upcoming fight (if not end the battle outright), and potentially damage any destructible loot. Below you can see that the fireball destroyed the treasure chest, so instead of the Bandolier of the Goblin Chief, you receive the slightly less powerful (but definitely more cool) Charred Bandolier of the Goblin Chief.
The first widespread usage of this Critical Choices feature is in our new approach to adventuring and spirit management. We got rid of micromanaging hero meals and removed Hunger/Starvation effects entirely. In their place is a new Rest Stop/Side Quest choice. Midway through each adventuring day, your parties will be offered a choice between Resting (+10 Spirit for everyone), Healing (conditional button that only appears if you have a healer along), or pursuing one of our new Side Quests.
Side Quests come in many forms, such as exploring a nearby cave, volunteering to serve as a lovely assistant for a traveling magician, gambling at a pop-up pavilion (Undermarket-aligned taverns only), attending wine/food tastings in hopes of unlocking rare new menu items, or your heroes can shop at one of three new traveling vendors, each with a rotating inventory of goodies. Each Side Quest has at least 10 different results and many include conditional buttons and little Easter Egg rewards if certain skills are present, so there is a ton of variety baked in. Below is a little peek behind the curtain at what’s actually happening in just one of the data fields controlling these new stages.
Skill Scrolls are another new item in this patch. Purchasing one from a traveling merchant will award that skill to a random hero in your party.
There are some extremely powerful artifacts to be discovered on the shelves of these new traveling merchants and in the results of the new Side Quests, along with a secret or three, but there are dangers as well. Drawing a card from Oracle Ophelia's Deck of Mixed Blessings is not an action to be taken lightly.
This patch also contains our first efforts at explicitly labeling when results have changed due to your having a particular skill or class or item in your party. Having a healer or medic along can often reduce damage as you receive it, or prevent effects like Poison or Disease from happening at all. Having the Illusion skill can sometimes reveal hidden walls and unlock bonus loot. Our old approach made these things super easy to miss if you aren’t carefully reading results. So over the coming patches, we’ll be making it more clear when the story has changed due to your particular party configuration or actions. “Ignatius will remember this.”
A huge, huge thanks to the players who dove into our last few testing builds and provided invaluable feedback to help with the multiple rounds of testing/tuning required to make these sort of foundational changes to our spirit management and adventuring systems. We appreciate you.
We Want to Hear from You
If you have thoughts on these new changes or encounter any bugs, please stop on by our Discord and let us know: https://discord.com/invite/epictavern
Thanks and happy adventuring!
Test Build 1193 is Live on Unstable!
We've now completed our main overhaul of the adventuring experience. Micromanaging hunger and starvation effects are a thing of the past. In its place is a whole new system for managing Spirit through midday Rest stops. Each day, your parties in the field will receive a popup offering a choice between Resting (+10 Spirit) or going on one of our new Side Quests, each with 10 different results.
Side Quests include three new popup shops (Weapons, Armor, Accessories) with rotating inventories, exploring a seemingly deserted cave, gambling at an Undermarket pavilion, helping rangers track down dangerous fugitives, and lots more. In all my time testing this new feature, I have yet to encounter the same Side Quest result twice.
I'll break down the Side Quests a little more in the patch notes for the upcoming Stable release, but we wanted to put it up this weekend for those wanting an early peek at the new adventuring system. Also included in this update is our first big shift toward explicitly labeling when one of your skills has changed the story. You'll see lots more of that labeling in the coming months as I work my way through more than half a million words of Epic Tavern adventures to update them.
Huge, huge thanks to the folks who spent time into our past few testing builds and provided invaluable feedback to help us tune these new features. This was a substantial change to our adventuring system and getting it all tuned right wouldn't have been possible without your help.
How to Access the Unstable Testing Build
Disclaimer: Unstable testing builds can be, well, unstable. If you’ll be using a beloved tavern in the test build, we always recommend creating a backup of your save file, just in case.
1. Go to your Steam Library
2. Right-Click Epic Tavern
3. Select Properties
4. Click the Betas tab at the top of the pop-up window
5. Click the drop-down arrow and select Unstable - Public Test Tavern
We are all kinds of psyched to roll out this overhaul to our adventuring system for everyone next week. Have a great weekend and happy adventuring!
Your Friends at the Tavern
When Good Heroes Break Bad
While we're chipping away at the last major bug preventing the release of our new Rest Stop patch, I thought I'd shoot you folks a quick update on one of my favorite aspects of Epic Tavern... the fact that heroes you fail to recruit will continue their careers without you and often become your enemy.
SPOILER WARNING: I deliberately stay pretty vague with the info below, but folks who would rather discover everything on their own might want to skip reading this update.
Here are 11 Epic Tavern characters who can Break Bad...
Emilia Mortalis
If you bungle your attempt to recruit the animal-loving necromancer Emilia, she runs off your heroes with her swarm of Zombees, signs up with the Necromancer Guild, and you'll encounter her again in the Frozen Games. I have another Emilia Gone Bad quest chain outlined that I'll sneak into an upcoming patch.
Carver
If you encounter Carver in the prologue and successfully save him, he'll instantly become one of the most skilled heroes on your roster. But if you fail to save him and leave him locked in a cell as the invading netherkin swarm the jail, he manages to survive and will come looking for payback in one of the most potentially deadly quest chains in the entire game. There are very few outright kill shots in Epic Tavern for failing a stage. Two of them are triggered by crossing Carver.
Bengar Skullsplitter
If you save Bengar from the Netherkin in the prologue, this weaponmaster will become a combat anchor for your squad. But if you fail, Bengar falls in the invasion and is transformed into a monstrous and extraordinarily dangerous new form of Netherkin, and must be hunted down and killed in a special quest chain.
Grusilla Marrowsucker
We used to just give you Grusilla as an automatic unlock, but that changes in our upcoming patch. In order to sign her now, she'll have to get past her differences with Grunson Wolfspawn, who was held captive for years by Grusilla's mother. If you fail to unlock Grusilla, she'll return to the Badlands, kill her psychotic mother and claim leadership of her clan. Next time you see her, she'll have an army of Badland raiders at her command.
Odessa Dauntless
Odessa is a powerful paladin with strong all-around skills. If you save her in the prologue, she'll happily join your roster. But if you fail, Merrick raises Odessa as a vampire and commands her to continue the fight against the invading netherkin. After that battle, Odessa is now free to wreak havoc as a master vampire and she must be stopped in a special quest chain.
Arielle Nightbloom
Undermarket assassin Arielle Nightbloom runs into your tavern looking for sanctuary from the Fantastical Crimes Unit. If you provide it, she and the Undermarket will become powerful allies. But if you turn her over Victor Marshall and the FCU, you'll earn powerful new enemies in Arielle and the Undermarket.
Victor Marshall
If you hand over Arielle Nightbloom to the Fantastical Crimes Unit, Victor will welcome you into the organization, unlocking special perks. But if you help Arielle hide, Victor and the FCU will become enemies intent on shutting down your tavern.
Tatiana Tanglewood
The most versatile caster in the game, Tatiana is adept at every school of magic, including necromancy. If you fail to unlock Tatiana, she'll sign on with the Mage College and you will see her again.
Horley Halfast
The most accomplished "locksmith" in Beor, Horley is a master thief ready to anchor your squad on stealth missions. But you aren't the only organization courting him. Fail to recruit Horley and he'll sign on with The Thieves Den, making clashes against them all the more dangerous.
Wallace Wilder
This young squire is one of the most skilled pure combatants in all of Beor. Wallace bailed on the Knight Academy after defeating all their instructors in single combat and he's ready for a life of adventure. But if you fail to recruit him, he'll get sucked back into life at the Academy and he'll be a full knight working against you next time you cross paths.
Juliana Jaggedheart
Weaponmaster Juliana Jaggedheart is the fourth in the four-way choice between trying to recruit Tatiana, Horley, Wallace or her. If you pursue a different hero, or try and fail to recruit Juliana, she'll sign on with rival tavern The Hungry Huntsman, joining the likes of gnoll warlord Braarg Faceripper on their already imposing roster.
There you have it. 11 heroes who will readily turn on you if you fail to recruit them. So recruit carefully, tavernmasters. The fate of Beor hangs in the balance.
Back to bug squashing I go.
Test build 1191 is live on Unstable!
Our new testing build 1191 is now live on Unstable. Included are a host of little fixes and tuning adjustments to our new Rest Stop feature that gives each party a mid-day choice between Resting, Healing (only if a healer is present), or sustaining a spirit penalty to skip rest and pursue a small side adventure.
Rest stop stages include: three new vendors with rotating inventories, food- and drink-tasting events with a chance to unlock new menu items for your tavern, assisting dwarven miners with a dangerous task, training local soldiers, drawing a card from the Oracle Ophelia's mysterious Deck of Mixed Blessings, exploring a nearby cave or mysterious lights floating through a cemetery, or a couple dozen other options.
Each of these little Rest Stop encounters has at least 10 different results, so you can hit them multiple times and still get a different experience each time. Here's a little peek at what's going on behind the scenes in just one of the data fields that control these new events. This is from a Rest Stop encounter where your heroes join a group of rangers in pursuit of an escaped fugitive.
Since there are so many moving pieces to this new feature, we want to offer a special thanks to some of our players who took a deep dive into our recent testing builds and helped Rich and I out tremendously by reporting bugs and sending us their save files. A raise of our mugs to Discord users: Zephir, Asmo, mhirodj, Csetreki, kkatlas, SwitchBlade, and all you other wonderful folks who have reported issues to help us make Epic Tavern the best game it can be. You can join the ET community on Discord here: https://discord.com/invite/epictavern
In addition to the bug fixes, the last couple weeks of heavy testing have also led to dozens of minor quality of life improvements on quests and random encounters. I rewrite and tune stages as I play, often ripping out older encounters entirely and replacing them with new ones that take full advantage of our current feature set. I've done a whole lot of that this month and I can't wait to get this new build out to everyone very soon.
How to Access the Unstable Testing Build
Disclaimer: Unstable testing builds can be, well, unstable. If you’ll be using a beloved tavern in the test build, we always recommend creating a backup of your save file, just in case.
1. Go to your Steam Library
2. Right-Click Epic Tavern
3. Select Properties
4. Click the Betas tab at the top of the pop-up window
5. Click the drop-down arrow and select Unstable - Public Test Tavern
Barring any unexpected issues with this new Unstable build, we should be able to promote it to Stable very soon and let you folks all dig into our new features and a fully overhauled approach to hunger/fatigue/spirit management on the road.
Thanks for joining us on this adventure,
Your Friends at the Tavern
Development Update
In response to your requests for more regular news, we'll be posting behind-the-scenes updates to keep you in the loop. Stay tuned for more information on the exciting changes and features we have in store for you.
Speaking of changes and features, get ready for critical decisions and revamped hero rest stops to hit Stable branch soon, adding even more strategy to your fantasy management narrative. From serving up ale to managing resources, these changes will keep you on your toes!
So gather your heroes, sharpen your blades, and get ready for the ultimate RPG tavern experience. We value your feedback and suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share them with us. Cheers to more epic adventures!
- richiebee
Test build 1189 is live on Unstable!
We're excited to announce that a new Unstable testing build is now live! This update rolls out our new Critical Choices feature in full force along with a new approach to rest stops and hunger.
Say goodbye to micromanaging hunger and stopping twice a day to eat/rest. We’ve scrapped hunger/starvation effects and having to manually feed your heroes. Any food shortages on the road will now be handled directly through the story instead of as a separate mechanic.
In our new system, each party will instead be presented with a midday choice using our new Critical Decision feature. The options:
Option 1: Rest and recover spirit
Option 2: Heal (if you have a healer in the party)
Option 3: Embark on a mini adventure (and pay a small spirit penalty for skipping rest)
That's right, heroes can now embark on fun little mini adventures during their daily rest stop, including gambling at an Undermarket pavilion, attending exotic food and drink samplings to acquire new menu items for your tavern, assisting dwarven miners with a dangerous haul, drawing a mysterious (and potentially disastrous) card from Oracle Ophelia's Deck of Mixed Blessings, or scoring your heroes some unique gear at one of three new merchants with rotating inventories: Weaponcrafter Emeric Ironfist, Armor merchant Gendrya Stormforged, and Accessory merchant Elara Silverleaf.
These changes were made based on the valuable feedback provided to us by players on our Discord server. Feel free to stop on by and join in the conversation: https://discord.com/invite/epictavern
How to Access the Unstable Testing Build
Disclaimer: Unstable testing builds can be, well, unstable. If you’ll be using a beloved tavern in the test build, we always recommend creating a backup of your save file, just in case.
1. Go to your Steam Library
2. Right-Click Epic Tavern
3. Select Properties
4. Click the Betas tab at the top of the pop-up window
5. Click the drop-down arrow and select Unstable - Public Test Tavern
We hope you enjoy this early peek at an exciting new feature before we release it for everyone in our upcoming patch.
Cheers,
The Epic Tavern Team
Build 1184 is live!
We have been hard at work overhauling some of the outdated mechanics from the earlier incarnations of the game to lay the groundwork for a much more robust narrative experience. In addition to a host of bug fixes, the new 1184 build contains your first early peek at Critical Decisions, my personal Holy Grail feature that I've been searching for a way to make work since I started on Epic Tavern.
Here's an advanced look at what this new more robust style of questing looks like...
The previous version of Bandito Verde had the heroes attempting to negotiate with a group of goblin raiders. Walk there, roll once, walk home. Super simple, kinda boring. Here's what it looks like after being overhauled with new features...
Before the fight, your crew encounters an orc barbarian also scouting out the goblin encampment. A potential ally in the fight ahead?
Which leads to a choice on how to proceed...
Critical Decisions can offer up to four choices, including conditional choices only available if you have certain heroes, skills, artifacts, faction affiliations and such. Since the pyromancer Murgul is in the party, the conditional button appears for FIREBALL! Let's try that...
By unleashing a fireball on the unsuspecting raiders, the heroes weaken them, leading to an easier version of the key stage...
...but the fireball destroyed the treasure chest in the camp, so instead of receiving the Bandolier of the Goblin Chief, you receive the slightly less powerful Charred Bandolier of the Goblin Chief.
And about your new orc friend...
It turns out that's Grusilla Marrowsucker! If you pay attention to character backstories, you may recall that Grunson Wolfspawn was imprisoned by the Marrowsucker Clan, who exterminated his people. And that Grusilla is also no friend of her own clan due to her mother murdering five of Gru's six sisters in hopes of avoiding a prophecy that she'd die at the hands of her daughters. So what happens when Grunson and Grusilla come face to face?
Will Grunson lash out in anger, alienating a potential ally...
Or will Grunson and Gru put their past differences aside and learn to work together...
With this whole new narrative toolset, writing encounters in Epic Tavern feels more than ever like DMing a tabletop session. I'm currently locked away adding Critical Decisions all over the place for our next big content patch, as well as relationship-defining moments for characters like Grunson and Grusilla who have overlapping backstories.
Another big upcoming change is that if you fail to recruit a hero, they'll no longer just vanish from the story world... Grusilla, for instance, signs on with one of your rival taverns, The Hungry Huntsman, and you'll cross paths again. When presented with a four-way choice between pursuing Horley Halfast, Wallace Wilder, Juliana Jaggedheart, or Tatiana Tanglewood, the other three will sign with rival taverns and become enemies. I've always loved the idea that the heroes of one playthrough could be the villains of the next.
Epic Tavern already tracks more than 500 story variables for each playthrough, in addition to quest results. With our new narrative tools, I now have everything I need to take full advantage of that data, shaping the story to your past decisions, successes, and failures. With that comes an increased focus on clearly communicating when your actions have impacted the story world.
IGNATIUS WILL REMEMBER THAT.
Okay, enough babble out of me. In case it isn't clear, I am crazy excited about Critical Decisions and I can't wait to unleash a bunch of them on you in our next content patch. Back to the writing dungeon I go!
We Want to Hear from You
Is there a feature you want to see in Epic Tavern? Stop on by our Discord and let us know: https://discord.com/invite/epictavern
New Unstable testing build 1181 is up!
We have a new Unstable testing build (1181) up with fixes for a number of questing bugs, most notably an issue where exiting the game with multiple parties in the field could result in wonky behavior upon reload. That fix unleashed a few other bugs that we have also since tracked down and squashed with the help of our faithful players on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/epictavern).
There are also data fixes for a dozen or so random encounters that could cause the game to soft lock and force you to reload. And we’ve squashed an issue where dead heroes were occasionally eligible for the infirmary, which would transform them into a still-dead, but somewhat functioning zombie hero. While funny and kind of cool, that was not intended behavior.
We’ll give the build a few days on Unstable to see if you folks are able to break anything we weren’t in our internal testing. As always, once we’ve confirmed stability, we’ll promote this build to Stable/Release.
We’re also testing out internally what has always been my personal Holy Grail feature request, the ability to make story decisions on the road…
Sneak up on the goblins or avoid the encounter entirely?
Attempt to pick the lock or just kick the door down?
Try to talk your way past the guards or make a run for it?
Follow the fresh footprints leading into the roadside cemetery or remain focused on your main quest?
The potential applications are endless and crazy exciting from a storytelling standpoint, allowing us to give you far more control over your heroes’ adventures in Beor. I’ll babble lots more about that soon, but for now, there’s a new Unstable build with a couple hefty bug fixes ready to roll.
How to Access the Unstable Testing Build
Disclaimer: Unstable testing builds can be, well, unstable. If you’ll be using a beloved tavern in the test build, we always recommend creating a backup of your save file, just in case.
1. Go to your Steam Library
2. Right-Click Epic Tavern
3. Select Properties
4. Click the Betas tab at the top of the pop-up window
5. Click the drop-down arrow and select Unstable - Public Test Tavern
Until next time,
Your friends at the tavern
Build 1171 is Live on Stable
Our new build just went live on Stable, containing fixes for every Achievement that wasn't previously triggering properly. New achievements await on your next trip to Beor.
Along with a host of stability fixes, Build 1171 contains a fix for our Death & Dying system for heroes. Character deaths could sometimes get a little wonky if you only had one living hero in your party, and the system never really handled party wipes elegantly up until now.
This fix means I now have much more leeway in my writing to unleash potentially lethal consequences for failed missions. Look for a deadlier adventuring experience in coming patches. Mwahahahaha!!!
UP NEXT
Your choice between siding with the Undermarket or Fantastical Crimes Unit will play a much more significant role in the reworked first month of quests and we're expanding the Spirit/Hunger/Foraging system.
We're also testing out a crazy exciting potential new feature this week that I hope to tell you lots more about in the very near future.
DECORATE THOSE TAVERNS!
Clicking the DECOR button allows you to decorate your tavern with the trophies earned by your heroes' victories (and defeats).
We Want To Hear from You
Epic Tavern streams development every Monday and Friday on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/epictavern).
Mondays at 7pm EST: Narrative Chat with Tomo and Shawn
Friday at 7pm EST: Bug Squashing with Rich
Dev Chats on Discord
NEW TIME: Every Wednesday from 2-3 pm EST, join Tomo and Shawn for an open voice chat about game design and storytelling where we field any questions from our players. Stop on by!
https://discord.com/invite/epictavern