The big update is finally here, four new Wardens to choose from. Even more reason to return to the Realms and stop the Wild Magic!
The Chicken
Air Magic. Fire Magic. Water Magic. Cursed. Double Jump.
(For Intermediate Players.)
For the new Air Warden I wanted a very vertical character. Flying would be obviously overpowered, but double jump? Turns out it's pretty strong, too. That's why this Warden starts out Cursed!
The Meerkat
Earth Magic. Fire Magic. Water Magic. Can't Attack. Earth Summons cost one less gem to cast.
(For Beginning Players.)
OK, let's just get it out of the way, this Warden is cute. Not necessarily intentional, but hey, it's a game filled with animal creatures. For the new Earth Warden I wanted to reflect what was done with the Anole and Kiwi, emphasising the spells of that Realm, Summoning. Just making Summons cheaper would be too powerful. Instead you only get the boost on Earth allies. As an added weakness, the Meerkat can't attack! So if you choose this beast, be prepared to rely on those allies!
The Chameleon
Fire Magic. Air Magic. Earth Magic. See Invisible. Invisible.
(For Beginning Players.)
Much like the Chicken, the Chameleon is playing on the challenges of their Realm. When I decided to give this character Invisibility I thought it may be too weak a skill. Oh boy, I was wrong, turns out it plays quite balanced. I did have to tweak the starting location. The Chameleon really struggles in the Fire Realm where the enemies can see invisible objects. But now that the character starts in the Water Realm. This gives players a chance to level up before facing the Fire Realm.
The Dusky Farmerfish
Water Magic. Air Magic. Earth Magic. Swim. Breath in Water. Can control rain, wind, sun, and moon.
(For Experienced Players.)
The new Water Warden is a master of elements. I've wanted a character who would take advantage of this seemingly background environmental systems. This fish can summon rain, wind, and change the day and night cycle. This is not a Warden for beginners. In fact the Farmerfish is mostly useless on the easier difficulties where weather platforms are always on. But don't underestimate the Dusky Farmerfish. A clever player can get more use on this Warden than any other.
Steam Summer Sale
And don't miss the chance to catch Four Realms, if you haven't bought it already. It will be 50% off for the next two weeks on Steam!
Tents
Plus, just like the previous Four Wardens, completing the game with them will unlock new tents! This set it pretty basic. Each Warden gives a Realm specific tent that grants two gems of the Realm. Seen here are the Earth and Water tents that give two Earth and two Water gems respectively.
Additional Changes & Fixes
Thanks for reading. All questions, suggestions, and feedback is welcome!
-Del
New Wardens Approaching!
Did you miss thew giveaway? No worries, just hold on until the end of June because ...
New Wardens are Coming!
I teased it a few weeks ago, but here's a bigger tease. Coming at the end of June there will be four new Wardens! I don't want to give it all away, but see if you can figure out the new animals based on their silhouettes! Even if you can, can you guess their unique abilities?
They come with a variety of skills to challenge new and old players alike.
And with new Wardens comes new tents!
So hold on steady and new adventures will be coming soon!
-Del
The Great Four Realms Giveaway!
Giveaways
Hey, do you not have Four Realms yet? Well, now is your chance! There are three ways to win! The Facebook and Twitter giveaways are running until Memorial Day and the IndieDB giveaway is happening on Memorial Day! There are 25 keys to each giveaway, or 75 total keys!
Small Update v1.41 A few small tweaks to even out the game for the holidays.
The Level 1 difficulty has just been made a touch harder. With a better tutorial, people understand the game better and I felt the Level 1 was much easier than intended. So, I've removed the starting key and one starting Gem. It may be too easy still, but it should be closer.
Ranged characters get a bit more nerfing. There range has been cut down by about 25%. But should make them more balanced compared to others.
Most of this fix those is focused on the tutorial. It's long. So I cut it down by about 30%. Two sections were merged to make it more streamlined. Plus two of the later sections were completely removed. I believe the tutorial is now shorter, but still very effective. And will hopefully be less off putting to new players.
As always, all questions, suggestions, and feedback are welcome.
Thanks
-Del
P.S. Oh yeah, and the game is on sale for the Steam Winter Sale. Save 20% on Four Realms right now!
Combined tutorials 1a and 1c.
Removed tutorials 2 and 3.
Changed Follow or Lead to Team or Solo.
Ranged attacks ranges decreased.
Ranged attack aims fixed.
Level 1 Difficulty has one less gem and no starting key.
Small Update v1.40
Small Update v1.40
This update focused on two things AI fixes and ranged character fixes.
The origin for characters have been moved so they have a better chance of finding targets. I also widened their active range, so if you see them they will likely give chase.
Ranged characters can no longer damage Barracks, don't cause hit animations, and now stop on hitting any other object. This should bring the power level of ranged characters down quite a bit.
Modified range for Blue Bird, Fox Tracker, and Gila Monster.
Ranged attacks not effective vs Barracks.
Ranged attacks stop on hit.
Ranged attacks don't cause a hit animation.
A few tutorial tweaks.
Fixed Fencing Woodpecker.
Opened up AI range check.
Enemies don't slow so much when nearing for combat.
All About Four Realms
Who doesn't like a recap show? (OK most people.) But here are some classic Four Realms devlogs plus more info for those new the the depth of Four Realms. These post have some great insights into the game for those that want look into heart of he Realms.
The Making Of Get a glimpse of the start of Four Realms, it's inspirations, and some of it's biggest changes.
The Beasts of the Realms Everyone's favorite feature are the wonderful characters you can control. For those unfamiliar, the blot on hugebot.com has some posts really digging into the details of almost half the characters.
Spells of the Realms The blog also features a similar in depth look at the other Spells you can find in Four Realms, plus tips on how you can combo them!
Full Release Yay! After four years it's finally done! Check it out! It's Awesome!
I want to give a big thanks to all those that provided feedback and helped make this game possible.
So What's New? That's right this isn't just a ceremonial moment. There are new things in the game since the last update. I focused primarily on bugs, specifically I rounded out some of the rougher edges of AI. Here's list of the random bugs that were fixed.
AI Changed LOS to whole target.
Enemy damage doesn't damage neutral objects.
Removed unneccessary floor state AI checks.
Slowed characters near enemies.
Miscellaneous Enlarging and shrinking moves health numbers.
Help Box stays off in later tutorials.
Removed Beta labeling.
Blue Bird attack has less range.
Fixed missing text #TutorialPart1d_Sign_ThreeSolutions1.
Flattened out terrain for better combat in Tutorial 1C.
Unlockables are shown on character select screen.
Fixed Portable Factory not working.
Enemy Camp mission completes with ally Barracks.
Oh yeah, and now you can see what you are missing from unlockables. Beat the game and see what else it has to offer.
New Spells! You didn't think it would just be bugs did you? No! There are eight more spells to find in the game: Small Portal, Prayer, Flag, Spikes, Vertical Spike Ball, Nature's Bounty, Curse, and Sticky Paws. That's four more Structures, two more Spells, and two more enchantments. Check out Small Portal in action!
I try and make most spells multi-purpose in nature, but Curse was a special surprise. Curse a door and you can bust it down, how handy!
Alright, so if you've watched the trailer you've seen it, but here's the final spell counts!
32 Summons
14 Structures
15 Spells (Not Summon, Structures, or Enchantments)
19 Enchantments
That's 80 total spells for you to unlock!
Which reminds me, there are two more achievements in game now, one of which is getting all the spells, so what are you waiting for, go play the game!
Thanks
-Del
The Adventure Begins!
The Adventure Begins! Four Realms is leaving Steam Early Access and entering full release on October 24! After roughly four years of development and the help of some awesome players, the game is nearing completion.
Of course what's a release with out a trailer. Here is the fourth Warden trailer, the Little Spotted Kiwi!
https://youtu.be/2hYqKHJ8Ucc
Warden Trailer #4 The Little Spotted Kiwi - Indie DB
What's Left? There are a few remaining minor bugs and handful of AI issues I want to work out. If you know of anything I've missed, please feel free to leave a note and I'll take a look at it.
What's Missing? I look back at what is in the game and what was on the initial content list, and I've got to say, wow! About 75% of the planned content made it in. While some stuff didn't make it, many new features got added like Tents and Generated levels.
What's Next? Right now I'm focused on polishing out those last few kinks. Do you want more Four Realms? Then let me know, tell your friends, share video, share pics, and support the game!
As always all feedback, questions, and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks
-Del
Update 0.2.38 Polish Pass 2
Polish, Polish, Polish Another round of polish has been added to Four Realms. While there are a lot of small tweaks and fixes in this build, there is one thing in particular I want to point out. Mid Mission saving! Stuck in that long mission. Well, now you can save when you want and continue the journey at your leasure!
Miscellaneous
Removed "Solulable" mechanic.
Characters and Spells can no longer be cast into walls.
Particle effect from landing.
Fade in Attack text on switch, no more effects.
Updated Call visuals.
Removed lagging crate arrow in the tutorial.
Round Armor on Info Board.
Menu Highlights straightened.
Equipment no longer shrinks when closing menu.
New hat for Metal Heads (Bucket Heads).
Medium Air Barracks placed higher in Generated Levels.
Adjusted moving platforms to be better timed.
Reload spell info on load game.
Mid mission saving.
A bunch of level tweaks and fixes.
Can't pick up Gems and Gold when Warden is Returning.
Can quit to menu from mission.
Can't destroy invisible ladders in tutorial.
Adjusted line-up, Call, and portals in tutorials.
Spells, Combat, and More I also spent some time tuning the new balance of spells. Certain spells now no longer affect Objective targets. While I try to keep the spells as flexible as possible, these ones just ended up a bit too powerful in these cases.
A pass was also done on the text. Various mistakes were fixed and a bit of fine tuning was done on the overall tone.
Spell Balance
Less chance of gold from Pirate Macaw.
Reduced Turret Uses.
Tangle, Freeze, and Charm only work on non-Objective Targets.
Boulder does more damage.
Increased the cost of Charm.
Optimization
Infoboard pulls from title database for enchantment names.
Damage effects only spawn one effect.
Hats only updated for on screen characters.
Combat
Reduced Water damage.
Reduced Poison damage.
Reduced Snail health.
Enemies properly follow on ladders.
Warden attack has a more accurate range.
Text
Fortune Teller Tent text added(For Experienced).
Fixed missing text #Wanderer_Ranger_Option1_Success_Text.
Fixed missing #Cannon text.
Changed 'Vikings' to 'Barbarians'. Changed 'Bucket Heads' to 'Metal Heads'.
Dialogue Pass.
Fixed missing ^Aether tag in Events.
Blog And if you just can't get enough Four Realms goodness, be sure to check out the blog. You get more insights in the development, plus detailed looks at the Spells of the Four Realms.
Generated Levels Door, Stones, Environment Platforms now have proper sway and Armor.
Background Tint Generated Levels not matches Night/Day.
Walls on Water Generated Levels.
Combat
Combat gets a few annoying features trimmed and a few fixes for consistent damage.
No more Fire/Water damage ailments.
Knockback can damage after animation, but no knockback for a period.
Thrown attacks can now reach their target.
Neutral Characters can now be damaged by enemies.
Fire Salamander maintains distance in combat.
Miscellaneous
Load text on every game load.
Wall climbers don't push crates forever.
More pizzaz to dialogue boxes.
Aether Angel not stuck on player control.
Memory spell highlights appropriately, doesn't lag, and exits faster.
Made Viking and Hypnotist hats less silly.
Improved smoke effects.
Generic text editing. (Tips & "they local")
^LocalRegion Trust shop now show region.
Tool tip is now not significantly laggy.
Fixed lag on character select screen.
Sell doesn't unequip if you have two items.
Balance Tuning
A lot of the tuning went to the super game. Items and bonuses you can buy are now cheaper. Trust is easier to earn, making the whole game a bit easier. Plus a few features to make the easier modes easier. You now start with a key on the lower difficulties.
Added Combat Tutorial (Use Allies).
Cheaper Skills/Items/Time at stores.
More Days on easier difficulties.
Earn More Trust/Days on Level Complete.
Start with one key on easier difficulties.
Lose less Trust on final mission failure.
Allies magnet towards player when jumping.
Warden can call allies to position with alt attack.
One new feature I want to highlight is that you can now summon allies to your Warden's location by pressing shift once, switching your attack to "Call".
As always, thanks for reading. All questions, suggestions, and feedback are welcome.
