Greetings gobbos! In today's dev blog we will be talking about map events. With this feature, we believe it will make it easier for everyone to plan out where to go. We decided to add Map Events to give a more roguelike feel! Let’s list down what map events we can come across in-game.
Enemies
There are two types of enemies, we have Normal Enemies. They usually have smaller enemies that don’t hit as hard as the larger enemies. The other one is Powerful Enemies, we wanted to provide players with a “high-risk, high-reward” option where players can choose to fight more powerful enemies that can provide players with better loot.
Normal Enemies
Powerful Enemies
Enhance your gear
Have you met the Smithy? If you are having a hard time with your adventure, the Smithy will be the best one to visit as he can upgrade your weapons to help you in battle! We thought of adding the smithy because we wanted to make adventures more interesting by providing players with an upgrade path.
Level up abilities
Look, it's the Battle Guru! The Guru teaches you how to use your abilities more effectively. He is similar to the Smithy but instead of the weapons being upgraded, it will be your abilities that will be upgraded. Only class-specific abilities can be upgraded.
We wanted to make things interesting, so we added the Battle Guru to provide players with a different upgrade path in adventures. Players can decide which one is a better upgrade, ability, or weapon.
Expensive Treasure
Let’s talk about treasures! Treasures can be seen anywhere in your adventures. Finding treasures will give you a lot of items that you can sell to the merchant for gold. They contain high-value loot that can be helpful to you other than gold. An example would be High-healing food, it can be game-changing having them.
Harvest materials
Harvesting spree! There are a lot of harvestable in the area, it is good to collect as much as you can before you return to the lair! Who knows what you’ll find? Be careful as enemies may ambush you anytime. You’ll randomly find a room full of Harvestable materials in your adventures, this could be very valuable to some if they lack the materials they need.
We added this room to help players gain more materials than they normally would. We also added random encounters to this similar to Treasure.
Rescue captured goblins
Oh no! You see fellow goblins being Captives! Free the goblins and you can add one of them to your team. The other goblins will also be free but will just escape. If you’re down a few goblins in your adventure, this could be a lifesaver.
Look out for the next dev blog where we’ll discuss more Map Events! Check out our discord to find out more about our game!
Discord: https://discord.gg/3VbsDVaYKm
Thank you for reading. We hope you will look forward to our next one. Please support us by adding Goblin Stone to your Steam wishlist if you haven't yet!
New Goblin Stone Demo
Hello everyone!
We’ve been away for a while but we are back with fantastic news to share. Over the past few months, the development team was hyper focused on polishing Goblin Stone and developing a whole new demo build for the general public to enjoy.
Yes, you read that right! After reading the feedback from our previous announcement about the removal of the demo version on Steam, we reconsidered bringing back the demo on STEAM. The new demo version will be shorter than the first demo, but just long enough to offer the player a general feel of how the game works, particularly in combat and adventure.
New title screen for Goblin Stone
Players can now choose to begin their game by using the Tutorial mode to learn the basics of the game or jump straight into adventure with a party of 6 goblins led by our Discord community’s favorite goblin, BellPunter.
As this is a short demo, some features will not be available in the demo like the Goblin lair but you’ll noticeably see the visual upgrades, quality of life and interface improvements that we’ve recently added to the game.
The new Goblin Stone demo is to be re-released today on STEAM. Grab your free demo copy at the store page and test your strategic skills as you lead these goblins for their survival.
If you enjoyed the demo, please let your friends know by sharing, adding it to your wish list, and subscribing to Goblin Stone on STEAM:
Hello everyone, we have an important announcement.
Since the demo's release the previous year, we have had a lot of comments and suggestions that have helped us make our game better. Goblin Stone has undergone more than a year of development and optimization, and as a result, we believe the present trial version will no longer fully demonstrate the quality of the game.
After discussion with the team, we made the decision to take the demo version of Goblin Stone down on June 27, 2022, at 12 a.m. (GMT+8). Players won't be able to download, install, or launch the demo version after it has been removed from Steam.
Thank you for participating in our demo and hope you'll support us when Goblin Stone launches in Early Access later this year.
Shrines, a new adventure feature that adds challenge and variety to each adventure run in which your team can benefit from incredible bonuses sometimes with negative effects attached to them.
In our previous dev blog, we discussed the direction of our game development with Goblin Stone and some notable features we recently added to the game. Today's dev blog is dedicated to the previously mentioned Shrine features, and we will go into detail about the progress and mechanics of this new feature.
What’s in development
Since the demo, shrines have been an existing feature, but these structures were initially introduced as the 'Obelisk' and 'Oriflamme', which grant a fixed one-time-status effect to the player's party when interacted with, such as a 30% heal or a buff to combat speed.
We realized that simply gaining buffs and bonuses weren't enough to make each run unique and challenging as we iterated on the adventure system. We decided to revamp the shrine feature and added in a forced-choice mechanic to bring in a layer of randomness and provide the player with meaningful choices that affect the outcome of their adventure.
Appearance
Starting from Chapter 2, players will be able to randomly encounter shrines during their adventures. Each shrine's appearance is designed to match the biome it will be displayed in, such as Forest, Grassland, or Underground. For variety, each biome has two different designs for its shrines.
As you may have noticed, each shrine statue has some similarities in its features, such as the trapezoid-shaped head, oval eyes, wide mouth, and sometimes accessories. We also made sure to add environmental elements to the final design, such as bushes, plant growth, splotches of moss, and even spiderwebs.
Shrines are sacred spaces dedicated to a revered figure in which they are adored.
Shrines can bestow both power and curse on anybody who comes near them. We can easily tell that these goblin-esque statues are constructed and depict an element of the monsterfolks' culture.
The new shrine mechanics
Players will be able to encounter two different kinds of shrines in the game: The Normal Shrine and the Cursed Shrine, which is more of an experimental feature that we may or may not include in the final version.
Unlike in its early version, where the player may choose to interact with it, Normal Shrines automatically activate once your goblin party is within its vicinity. This is where the forced choices system comes into play. The shrine will ask the player to choose between two different effects. Both of these effects come with a buff and a debuff that will be applied to their current adventure party. In most cases, the benefits of the buff outweigh the drawbacks of the debuff.
Our rough mockup versus the current UI design
These effects apply immediately and will last throughout the adventure or until the goblin party returns to the lair. Depending on the player's choice, these effects can either aid or hinder your adventure party during combat. So be sure to choose wisely!
The Cursed Shrines, on the other hand, are something you want to avoid as they only bestow negative effects. These shrines come with a mini-game that begins when you get too close to them. To avoid the shrine's curse, your goblin party must stop if the shrine opens its eyes and looks at your goblins. Wait for it to go back to sleep before trying to sneak past it.
A rough illustration of a cursed shine's mechanic.
Cursed shrines in action using temporary "programmer art."
If the goblin party successfully sneaks by, no effects will trigger. Otherwise, the player will be forced to choose one or two unfavorable debuffs.
Our rough mockup versus the current UI design
While some players may use these shrine effects to gain an advantage in combat, others may use them to make the game more difficult. Some players may even opt to take on short-term handicaps in exchange for more lasting effects.
We want our players to be able to make more meaningful decisions in Goblin Stone and have a different gameplay experience each time they play. Please let us know about your ideas in the comments! Some of the best ideas come from our community, and we take them seriously.
Thank you for reading our development blog, and we hope you will look forward to our next one. Please support us by adding Goblin Stone to your Steam wishlist if you haven't yet!
We're excited to be part of Steam’s Going Rogue - A Festival of Persistence event from May 2nd to May 9th. Re-tread the adventures of our brave Goblins and battle despicable fortune-seeking adventurers in this epic side-scrolling adventure game. Check out Goblin Stone and download our game demo to experience a one-of-a-kind roguelike game.
Aside from the demo, we also have a lineup of gameplay streams on our Steam page so you can get a better sense of how the game plays and what our community thinks about Goblin Stone. If a quiet 10-minute gameplay video is more your style, you can also find it on our YouTube channel.
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We hope you have as much fun with Goblin Stone as we do! If you haven't already, please FOLLOW us and add Goblin Stone to your WISHLIST. We'll be releasing Early Access soon, so don't miss out!
Devblog#11: Early Access roadmap and game improvements
Hello there, Gobbos! In today's dev blog, we'll discuss what we accomplished following the Closed Beta Test, as well as our plans for Goblin Stone as we get closer to the Early Access launch.
Over the last year, we've added a lot of new features that weren't available in the demo version, so we expected new bugs and balancing issues within the game. We spent a lot of time reading the feedback that we received over time and this helped us identify areas for improvement and address easy-to-miss issues within the game.
Game Feature Improvements
We focused primarily on polishing and balancing the combat feature during the pre-closed beta period, and as a result, we overlooked other aspects of the game, particularly in the lair and during adventures. We've been working hard over the last few weeks to make these features more interactive and appealing to the player, while also gradually improving the game's performance and visual quality.
Some of these ideas have been in the works for some time, while others were taken from the community's suggestions and wishlists which were recently added for development. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s in development:
Puzzles during adventures such as collapsing bridges and teleporters.
New things to encounter during adventures such as normal and cursed shrines.
Rescuing goblins with uncommon genetic traits.
Upgradable campgrounds, new merchant tiers, and character models.
Balancing the Lair’s room upgrade requirements
Allowing the party to quickly exit the level at any time if objectives have been completed.
Snappier feel to the menu navigation.
Quality of Life Improvements
Our community also pointed out the game's lack of tutorials, which makes it less intuitive and difficult for new players to understand how some features work. Our plan is to simplify the user interface while keeping it detailed and consistent with all the information displayed.
When the player encounters a new feature, tooltips and prompt messages will pop up to guide them through the controls.
Keyboard and gamepad control lists will be added to the menu options This is still a mock-up design of our developer for the user interface but in future developments, the player will be allowed to customize the controls for each key.
We improved the tooltips with clearer wordings to hint the player on what they need to do to unlock certain features.
Visual effects and animations were also added to assist the player in locating buttons. Active buttons are also highlighted to alert the player that they can be used.
These are just a few of the features that we are currently developing. We have a ton of additional features and content on our to-do list and wishlist to make this game everything it needs to be. But we can't keep everyone waiting for the next release for too long, can we?
Goblin Stone Road Map
Now that we have completed the Beta Testing phase, our community has been inquiring about our future plans for Goblin Stone. Is the Early Access still planned for this year? Will more testing invitations be sent out before the launch? What are our development plans after the release? Let's start by looking at our Early Access Road Map to get some answers.
Goblin Stone is almost feature-complete, with all of the main game features and 5 story chapters set-up for Early Access. However, before we can release the game, it must go through a few more steps to ensure that we deliver a high-quality, bug-free game. This overall plan will help us in meeting our goal of launching Early Access in the third quarter of 2022.
Currently, we only have a few days left to reach the first milestone on our roadmap. After the feature lock phase, no new features can be added to the game design, allowing our development team to focus solely on a set list of features. That being said, this is a great time to tell us about your Early Access suggestions and wishlist HERE.
Our next step is to focus on bug fixes and polishing the game. Goblin Stone will go through a series of internal playtesting sessions. Once the game has met our standards, we will consider inviting a small group of testers to conduct a more focused user experience playtest.
In terms of Goblin Stone development, we still have a long way to go. Early Access only tells the first half of our goblin's story. We intend to add five more story chapters and introduce the northern region of the world, where the realm of menfolk can be found, as well as a slew of new characters such as the Elves, Kobolds, and Trolls.
Thank you for your patience, gobbos! Goblin Stone Closed Beta is finally live.
Goblin Stone Closed Beta starts today March 3, 2022, Thursday at 15:00 (GMT+8) and will end on March 11, 2022, Friday at 23:59 (GMT+8). Selected beta testers should receive their Steam beta access key and access guide through their e-mail. Please make sure to check both your e-mail inbox and spam folders.
We also highly recommend that everyone join our Discord Server for updated news and information about the Closed Beta Test. All beta testers who signed up with their Discord information will be automatically added to our Beta Tester role list. If you already received your Steam Beta Key and did not receive this role, kindly inform our Discord Community Manager to give you access.
Happy gaming, everyone!
BUG NOTICE
Be aware that the beta version will be less stable than the final version released to the public. You may encounter problems such as features that do not work properly or bugs that may prevent the game from progressing. Some bugs may force you to close the game or completely start a new game.
BETA CONTENT
Features and content for chapter 3 onward will not be available in the beta build.
Important notice about the Closed Beta and Change logs
Hello everyone!
We have an important announcement for all interested Closed Beta participants. Our hardworking team ran into a few major bugs while preparing the game for the beta test. Due to this, please expect that there might be a delay to the Beta release scheduled for tomorrow. We sincerely ask for your patience while we fix the game, and we hope to deliver it soon!
Beta sign-up will remain open until the new date of the Closed Beta Test is set. Please stay tuned to our announcements in our Discord for any updates. 🙇♂️
In the meantime, let us share with you what content you can expect during the Closed Beta Test.
Change Logs for Closed Beta Test
Adventure
Added a new feature called Shrines
Adjusted the type of enemies that spawn per location. Specific enemies will spawn in specific locations.
Adjusted the type of loots that drop per location. Specific loots will now drop in specific locations.
The Goblin Details UI was revamped to improve its intuitiveness and add more functionality.
Players may select 2 out of 4 genes to be active.
Combat
Added resistance to certain Status Effects for Bosses. (Each boss has unique resistance stats)
Adjusted the Innkeeper’s stats and AI Behaviour.
Adjusted the Shadow Wight’s stats and AI Behaviour.
Added partial Keyboard controls for combat (‘1’, ’2’, ‘3’ for abilities)
Adjusted the Ham Hammer’s stats.
Added 2 new weapon types (Spear, Blunt)
Changed and rebalanced the Goblin Abilities
Added 4 abilities for each Class (each goblin now has a total of 8 abilities)
Note: Only 4 can be active at a time. Players can select which abilities to activate
Lair
Adjusted required materials to build different rooms in the Lair.
The breeding feature is now available in the Lair by building the Warrens.
Goblin genes were improved to become more intuitive.
Adjusted Goblin squatters that visit the Campgrounds in the Lair.
Adjusted the number of inventory slots available in the Larder and Armory at Lvl 1.
Dismissing a Goblin from the Lair now provides the player 1 Ancestral Point if the Goblin is a veteran.
Following up on last week’s dev blog about mortal wounds, this week we’re talking about another lair feature that will give purpose to old age and injured goblins. Let's dive into goblin retirement.
Retirement
When a goblin in your adventure party has suffered permanent wounds in combat or whose stats are starting to fall behind to newer, stronger recruits, the player should consider retiring that goblin.
As mentioned last time, retired goblins can still be as useful to the lair as any other active goblins. Once the player retires a goblin, they will earn valuable ancestry points to advance the lair, and class ability points for their class guild to level up their class abilities.
The number of points that they will receive will depend on how experienced the goblin is.
For example, retiring a veteran guard goblin will gain guard ability points, mystic goblin gives mystic ability points, and so on. Retiring veteran peons, on the other hand, will only gain ancestry points as they haven’t changed class yet before retiring.
New recruits do not give any points upon retirement.
What are these points?
Ancestry points are required to upgrade the Ancestor’s Hall, a vital room in the lair that determines how deep you can dig, how many rooms you can build, and how much you can upgrade your existing rooms. Retirement is only one of a few ways to acquire ancestry points but it gives the most number of points. A player can receive up to 4 points of ancestry from retiring a goblin, and 1 point if they die or are dismissed.
We briefly mentioned how the new ability deck works in our previous blog and one of the new features we added is the ability upgrade system. Class ability points can be used to either unlock new abilities or level up the available ones. There are 8 different combat abilities to improve for each of the goblin classes.
Goblin’s life after retirement
Retired goblins will be part of the lair’s population and they will take residence in the Quarters. Once retired, they will freely roam the lair. Players can still use them for breeding and create new goblin spawns to continue their legacy.
Look out for goblins who have outstanding traits!
It is also important to note that the retirement feature will only be available once the Quarters are built in the lair. It will take about 2 goblin days or 2 adventures to build one. The Quarters houses the retirees and the population of non-adventuring goblins. Players can initially have 42 goblins in the Quarters which can be later on increased by upgrading the room, or by building more Quarters.
When the Quarters are ready to accommodate retired goblins, the retire button on the goblin details UI will be accessible. The player can then easily retire goblins and give them a pat on their back for their service.
If you enjoy our dev blog, please give us a thumbs up and make sure to wishlist Goblin Stone. See you in our next update!
As we prepare for the Early Access launch on May 2022, we're eager to welcome players to join us as we hold our first ever Closed Beta Test. We're excited to share new features and content we've added since our last demo update. We would like to invite participants to play Goblin Stone and share their experience and feedback during the Closed Beta.
Access
This Closed Beta Test will have a limited number of participants and any game progress will not carry over to Early Access. We will be selecting participants from our Discord community, through the Closed Beta sign-up form and personal invitations will be sent out for video game streamers and content creators. Participating is 100% free and chosen Closed Beta Testers will be mentioned in the game credits.
Recruitment for testers begins February 9, 2022. We look forward to your application, testers!
Details
Recruitment Period: February 9 - February 27, 2022 For interested participants, please sign up HERE.
Closed Beta Period: March 1 - 7, 2022 Platform: Steam / PC / Windows
Features & Contents:
Story Chapter 1 - 3
New Characters & Locations
Breeding & genes
Lair Management
Shrines
Ability Deck
Improved Goblin Details UI
※The schedule and content for this test are subject to change. For interested participants, please join our Discord community for any updates and announcements for Closed Beta.
Closed Beta FAQ
Where can I sign up for Closed Beta? https://forms.gle/k96g6BDY2wRiEd2t7
How to join your Discord community? Please follow the invite link HERE
What language is the Closed Beta available in? The Closed Beta will support English text and voice-over.
Can I talk / post / create content about / or stream the Closed Beta? Yes, we highly encourage everyone to share, record or broadcast any beta content or gameplay. Please do not forget to share it with us so we can properly record any feedback or bug findings.
How do I know if I am selected for Closed Beta? We will be announcing when the keys are already sent out. If you have been selected to participate, please expect to receive the beta key access from us through email or discord. We plan to conduct a questionnaire after completing the Closed Beta Test.
