Exiled Kingdoms cover
Exiled Kingdoms screenshot
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Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie

Exiled Kingdoms

Update 1.2.1107 released
This is a tech update with no new content, but it includes many small fixes and adjustments over previous content updates. A few examples would be the inclusion of a bow in the Arena weapon chest, and adjusting some drop rates and enemy stats in the new areas.

It also includes some enhancements for players that want to use their keyboard or controller rather than a mouse; you can now handle dialogues (up/down/attack) and also the inventory, allowing to select an item via directional keys or your pad, and equip/unequip/buy/sell/drop via new configurable controls and keys. Still the game doesn't feature full controller support and menus require a mouse, but as you could already use the keys or controller to move, attack, use skills, loot and interact with items, these new features should allow you to handle most of the actual gameplay.

In addition all translations have been expanded. Russian, Portuguese and Italian now include all the new content, German still misses a couple of the new areas (Adaon quest). Polish, Czech and Turkish are also advancing, and seeing how translators are working on them I expect big progress over the summer.

Update 1.1.1103 is out! All three companion quests available
Now you have a chance to learn more about Grissenda and Adaon and expand their capabilities while discovering new unique locations, secrets and lore of the Exiled Kingdoms.



What's new?



  • New companion quests for Grissenda and Adaon (Hirge's quest was released past month). They are triggered by random encounters on the roads, but you must be level 13+.
  • 6 new areas, with new equipment, secrets and challenges. The two new companion-related quests should direct you to them.
  • Companions that have completed their background quest will now receive a one-time boost of 3 Trait Points and 2 Skill Points. This will be applied retroactively if you already completed Hirge's quest.
  • Skill tomes now work on companions too.
  • New player portraits added.
  • Translation expanded, the translation of the new content will be added soon.
  • Minor bugfixes.



What comes next?



I'll be working on improving controller support. With the current version you can use a controller to move, attack, use skills and quick-items, and little else. I want to allow players to manage their inventory and navigate dialogues with a controller as well, and maybe other menus too. This will complete the list of features planned for version 1.2.

Some of the translations are still incomplete, and the translation team is working on them; very likely there will be more updates to add all the new translated files during the summer.

Update 1.1.1091 is out with new content.
This new update is targeted mostly at levels 12-20. It includes about 50% of the content planned for version 1.2, the rest of it is still in progress.

What's new?











The next update will likely happen in less than a month. It'll include quests centered around the other two companions so you get to learn more about them and why they became adventurers, and just like this one it'll also deal with many "loose ends". Other than that, I'll also try to expand controller support.

I hope you enjoy it! :)

EDIT: there is a small hotfix update (1.1.1092) released after this one. It fixes an issue with the ending of Ark of Lothasan quest.

Steam Cards added!
Valve approved the game for Steam Cards feature, which means you should be getting some items very soon to your inventory for just playing the game. Some concept art was created for this, featuring the game companions, areas, quests and some historical events of the setting.



On development: I am already working on the new content and areas, some of it will be available for Beta Testers earlier, check on the forums how to join as a tester; the complete update should be available by the end of June (subject to changes, this is a mere estimate). New and exciting adventures are coming!

EDIT (June 12th): the estimated dates got a bit delayed, but work is progressing well.

Version 1.1.1084 - Screen resolution, better autosaves and more.
A new update is out. This is the full list of changes:

Improvements and adjustments



  • High resolution support: You can now select higher resolutions to play the game in the Settings menu, up to 1920x1080.
  • Area-entered autosave: This new slot will save the game whenever you enter a new map.
  • Two extra manual save slots added.
  • After dying, the game will now show the "Load Game" menu instead of the Main Menu.
  • Improved controller support: the game will be able to map extra input sources like D-pads and PoVs from controllers.
  • Fireball spell will now also explode if it reaches the end of its range.
  • German translation up to 99.5%, Italian up to 76%. Many corrections made to Russian translation.

Bugfixes



  • Pushback: sometimes the player was pushed over very long distances. Fixed.
  • Ranged attacks: when attacking with the mouse, sometimes the range was not correctly calculated and the attack would fall slightly short. It sould work correctly now.
  • Duel Skill: will now work correctly when attacking with the mouse.
  • Fixed a crash that could happen after dying in Ironman mode (Talk about adding insult to injury...)
  • Skill training requisites: sometimes the Trait requisites were not properly displayed in red color when not met by the character. Fixed.
  • Friendly NPCs will return to their spawn points upon reloading a game. This will prevent NPCs permanently blocking you.


This update addresses most of the requests from players in the Forums, I hope it makes the game more enjoyable for you all. Regarding resolution changes: the game does not prevent you from selecting a resolution unsupported by your monitor; if you end up not being able to run the game, you can manually edit the resolution settings in a file called "init.ini".

Happy adventuring everyone.


Update #7: Release aftermath, and future development.
As a one-man team I can tell you this has been a crazy week; in particular the first 48 hours were pretty intense, with all the patching and large volume of feedback to handle. But at this point it is safe to announce that the launch has been successful, going well beyond my estimates. I want to say thanks to all the old-school roleplayers that supported the game and to the ones that wrote reviews (good and bad!), and I hope each of you is enjoying the little adventures, surprises and twists hidden in the remote corners of the Kingdoms.

Future development



Until a few months ago, my plan was to hold adding more content to the game when I released version 1.1 (which featured the Mage class and the Kingdom of Thuram). It's not that I don't enjoy making EK larger and more detailed, but I have a new game to work on; this new project is still in the "sketch" phase, and will be quite different from EK, even if it's also an RPG taking place in the Exiled Kingdoms setting; it'll have a larger scope, 3D graphics and be party-based, as well as some innovative gameplay elements, yet it'll stay faithful to design you've experienced in EK.

However, after the success of PC release I will stay focused on Exiled Kingdoms development for the next months. It's the least I can do in exchange of the awesome reception the game had! I can't realistically work on two games at the same time, so I'll postpone the new project until summer.

Here is a quick list of what I will work on. This might be released in small or large updates and in no particular order.


  • New areas will be added. Most of the content will be targeted at level 18+, and playable after completing the main quest.
  • Companion-related quests. These will be high-level (18+) quests that will enable advanced skills for your companions (a fixed set of them).
  • New resolution options for PC. At the very least I'll add 1920x1080 mode and maybe higher modes, but please, don't expect miracles here; The UI will be smaller and sharper, but the hundreds of existing game assets can't be increased in resolution. I might zoom out slightly the game window in high resolutions, but I don't want to provide a noticeable gameplay advantage so this will be limited.
  • Fixing some existing PC issues, like the ranged attack calculation and a few other reported issues.
  • Improving controller/keyboard support, making the game menus also navigable with keys/controller.
  • Improving existing localization, and maybe completing new ones.
  • Steam Cards: PC version will offer badges and cards with cool original art.


There's a deliberate omission in the list regarding cooperative multiplayer mode. I will try to add multiplayer, and will experiment on it after the features above are complete. However, I am not certain it can be done without a large and complex coding effort that could also risk the existing stability of the game, so I'd rather not include it in any list of features yet, nor make any promises about it.

EDIT: had forgot to add improved controller support. Now it's in the list.
EDIT 2: added Steam Cards to the list.

Update #6: Small technical patch
I just released a patch that fixes a number of small things:

-Fixes the crash after death in Linux.
-Controller: the Recovery assigned button will no longer register multiple times when used.
-Keyboard: during dialogues, numbers 1-4 will now correctly select options that finish the dialogue.
-Gossip achievement will no longer be granted for free.
-Solved some reported typos.
-Added a missing russian dialogue with the Kingsbridge mercenaries.
-Adds more dialogues in Italian, German.
-Many other small fixes and optimizations.

For those wondering, the launch of the game has been great! I'll post an update next week about the game's future development so you know what to expect in terms of content and features. Hint: it's all good news ;)

See you in the forum!

Update #5: The adventure has begun.
The game has been out for 24 hours already, and I can say I'm very pleased with the reception and enthusiasm from so many roleplayers worldwide. We're listed as #3 in "New and trending" on Steam main page, and the number of players seems to be on the rise. To all of you I say: Welcome to the Kingdoms, Adventurers!

There has been an update earlier this morning, which fixes a crash experienced by some players at the game start; if you have found this problem please make sure you update the game and it should go away.

That's it for now; I'd like to add that it makes me very happy to think of thousands of people worldwide enjoying the little adventures, surprises and mischief I've laid out for them. Enjoy!

Update #4: Everything ready for release! a few survival tips.
I'm pleased to announce there will be no delays on release, and the game will be out today. To make up for my long-winded rant about RPG balance on previous update, here's a brief and practical one with a little advice for beginners:


  • Read the initial tutorial screens. They're not many, nor have much text, but what they explain will likely make the game quite more enjoyable for you.
  • Choose difficulty carefully. I'd suggest Normal or Casual, read the differences in character creation menu.
  • Configure your own key bindings. Per default the game is designed to be played with mouse + keys for the left hand, but it can be entirely played with mouse or keyboard if you prefer. You can set your own key bindings on the Settings menu.
  • Save all the time. Maybe even change the default key binding for quicksave, F9. If you quicksave right before dying, don't worry, as you click Continue Game you can click on the yellow folder button and pick the autosave or a manual save.
  • Read the journal!. It's easy to get lost and not knowing where to go next. The journal is your friend; even if sometimes it's deliberately vague, in most cases you'll be able to deduct your next step or at least in what direction it lies.
  • Don't be afraid to explore. There's huge rewards and boosts that are hidden or away from the "main path". Take your time and wander around... sometimes you'll pay the price for your curiosity, but it'll often be worth it.
  • It's all about quests. Quests will grant you the best rewards, both in terms of gear, XP and fun challenges. Do as many as you can and you'll progress nicely, without the need of grinding. Remember that there's no time limit on quests (except for Town Hall Quests, which will appropiately list the time limit in your journal)


That's all, I hope you enjoy playing the game as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Update #3: on difficulty and balance
"Balance" is a complicated term when applied to RPGs, isn't it? The obvious differences in challenge between classic RPGs and modern RPGs make clear the views on balance have evolved, at least for RPG designers, and by extension to players. This update is not so much about details of the game, but a rant about my views on difficulty and design and why things are the way they are in Exiled Kingdoms.

The old-school vs new-school balance



Once upon a time, games were harsh. They didn't care much about the player's feelings nor self-esteem, and developers didn't worry about player frustration, often throwing in encounters and challenges that even themselves didn't know for sure how to solve. "The players will figure out a way" they thought; and usually they were right. This finding of a way to win became the central part of the game itself, and without that search you were doomed. I can remember many games from my childhood I was never able to complete because back then, there weren't as many clues or hints available and I wasn't able to figure out how to beat them. Wizardry 6 was one of them, as well as Elder Scrolls I: Arena. For years that defeat lingered in my subconscious and only years later I revisited and found a way to beat them. Only then I became worthy and could finally sleep without nightmares :)

Sometimes the difficulty of these games was unfair, or was achieved by poor game mechanics or randomness, relying on constant save & reload. Not everything was perfect in the old days. But the sense of achievement I felt when beating those games was, overall, much higher than with modern games. The main reason is that they didn't feel like walking a road that has been laid out for me.

Over the years, the procedure to balance games became more professional, more refined, and took into account a wider variety of players. Designers came to the conclusion that most people should be able to complete the game, and frustration should be avoided at all costs.

I'm not going to dispute the validity of those conclusions because every game designer has the right to choose what he wants to do and why; and in a way, they could be right. Frustration and failure in themselves are not good things. The problem is that it's very hard to make a game fail-safe when you give full freedom to the player:


  • What if he chooses poorly how to develop his stats? Then there must be no possible poor choices, all of them must be good somehow.

  • What if he walks into the wrong area too early? Then we must make the game more linear (even if it still appears to be non-linear), or make sure the challenge scales down to the player's power.

  • What if he becomes bored with a progression that feels too slow? There must be stat increments constantly, which leads to power inflation and in turn aggravates the above point.


These design choices that I perceive as a problem are actually fine for many players. Maybe even to a majority of players, given how most games are designed. But for me, and I suspect for many others, they make games much less satisfying.


How was Exiled Kingdoms designed and balanced




While Exiled Kingdoms has been rated very highly since release, some players complained about the balance, often claiming it is too hard. Some of the most common topics are the lack of health/mana regeneration and the high price of potions. Many players find themselves needing to return to town to rest, unable to reach the deepest parts of dungeons or most remote wild areas.

Regeneration is, in general, a very bad idea for offline RPGs. It trivializes any encounter that is not hard enough to kill you; all you have to worry about is to wait long enough, and you'll be fresh healed for the next fight. Certainly staring at a raising health bar is not my definition of "fun" or "strategy". That's why in this game, every goblin fight counts. If you find a way to take less damage from each individual enemy you fight, it can mean a big difference in the end, allowing you to find that extra chest at the bottom of a dungeon. If you break into dungeons carelessly, fighting monsters in groups and not using your skills right, you'll have to back off soon. Potions are meant to be used as emergency lifesavers or as a "little extra" push when you are very close to reaching an objective, and you think their cost is worth it.

This way, EK becomes a game of managing resources and assuming risks. You have several full health recoveries per day... should you use them as soon as half your health is gone? or maybe you can risk a couple more fights in order to optimize and go deeper? This kind of choice would be meaninglessif there was regeneration, obviously.

Regarding world and area balancing, it could be said the world areas have not been balanced at all. For the most part, the encounters have fixed levels. There are high level monsters not too far away from early areas, and they won't care if you are level 1 or 20.

What has been carefully balanced, however, are the quests. Your level 2 character certainly will not be able to "clear out" the early dungeons of the game. But if played right, he can get in, do his business, and escape alive. The quests are the primary way of advancement of your character, especially early on. The game has not been designed to be "grindy", so if you find your character lacks the power to solve a quest, it's time to move to another town and leave it for later.

Now, far from fanaticisms on old-school design, Exiled Kingdoms tries to be a fun game, enjoyable to a wide audience, but striving for the good things in old design. A Casual difficulty has been added, which provides limited regeneration. But this regeneration is capped to half the maximum health, and also hard-capped to 80 health so it is mostly relevant in the early levels. Also, there's a little encounter scaling in the game; not so much as to scale up or down the difficulty, but to keep some areas useful and interesting later on. for instance, at some point the basic goblins (level 1-2) may be replaced by stronger ones (level 4-5) which also provide better XP and loot. But you will not find level 1 dragons or level 30 bandits in Exiled Kingdoms.

Ultimately, a game is about having fun, and "fun" is not an universal concept. It's simply not possible to appease everybody; that's why I think a honest approach on what to expect in this game is essential. Now you know what you'll find in Exiled Kingdoms.
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