Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Adventure, Indie, Card & Board Game
Grand Guilds
October Progress
It’s time for another monthly update! A lot of big gameplay changes came in last month so let’s dive right into it.
New Gameplay Systems
Last week, we released the Passive Cards system to our Beta build which introduced huge changes for card combat and character management. You can read detailed info about the new system here - https://steamcommunity.com/games/939120/announcements/detail/1642051978773601510
This is our largest update to the game since starting the beta. If you have beta access to the game, this is the perfect time to try out the new mechanics.
Content Updates
As always, we worked on a lot of new character portraits, 3D models, and card artworks for the game. We’re actually almost done with the needed assets for the full game. Here are some of them.
Lyria D'Altan, our 9th playable hero is also now available on the Beta version. Which means the player's roster is finally complete!
Design Rewards
Since we’re almost done with the originally planned game assets, we began working on the various design rewards from our Kickstarter backers. We’re still reaching out to a couple of backers who have not yet replied regarding the designs they want. Rewards range from lore pieces, to side quests, to boss enemies.
Here’s a concept art of one of the Boss rewards.
Voice Overs
All voice over files have been recorded and processed. Not all of them are in the game yet, but we’re looking into having them integrated by the end of November. We also plan to make a big pass on the sound effects and music for the game.
Nintendo Switch Version
A couple of people have been wondering about the Switch version for Grand Guilds. We’ve been developing it alongside our PC version, testing builds and working out bugs everytime we make big content updates. The main thing we still need to fix on the Switch is the performance and some QoL changes.
That's all for now. Cheers!
- Justin V.
Beta Backers 0.6.0 - New Gameplay Systems!
We're introducing some brand new systems in this update that will change how combat and party customization is played. Not to mention we also added our 9th and final hero - Lyria D'Altan. This is probably our biggest update yet!
Passive Cards System
This new system allows players to outfit their heroes with Passive cards. These cards give your heroes stat bonuses and effects that compliment their skill cards and playstyles. This system completely replaces the old passive trinkets and primary stat allocation mechanics.
Primary Stat points are now gained via 2 ways:
Pre-allocated points upon the character's level up.
Passive cards giving stat bonuses.
Each Passive card will have slot costs, allowing you to equip more than one passive. The higher the slot cost, the more powerful the effects and more stats you gain. All heroes start with 2 slots and unlock a slot every 5 levels, up to a maximum of 10 slots.
The goal is to provide more ways to customize each hero (apart from their decks) while making sure that all stat builds remain viable. Currently, 8 passives are available per hero. We plan to have 20 passives per hero on release.
With this new systems in place, we highly recommend that you play from the start to fully experience the new mechanics.
New Content
New Chapter 13 of main story.
New Hero: Lyria D'Altan - a magical damage nuker and single-target healer.
Added 9 story combat encounters.
New Enemy: Hellhound.
New Enemy: Succubus.
New Enemy: Undead Kings.
Added a total of 27 unique passives.
More card artworks.
Gameplay Changes
Added the Passive Cards system.
Adjusted base stats for heroes and enemies.
New Eliza card: Seven Blades - deals physical ranged damage.
New Kadmus card: Focus - grants an INT buff.
New Rei card: Fulldrive - grants STR and Mobility buff.
Replaced Skyla's "Assassinate" card with "One Tap".
Decreased max cards per deck from 20 to 15.
Adjusted max copies per card to the following: 4 Common, 2 Rare, 1 Epic, 1 Legendary.
Changed the default decks to reflect the above deck adjustments.
Increased intensity of all Armor and Resistance buffs to cope with the primary stat changes.
Increased duration of multiple damage buffs by at least 1 turn.
Reduced "Rush" damage from 100% to 60%.
Reduced "Kneel" STR buff scaling.
Increased buff scaling for "Valor's Blessing".
Suppressive Fire now triggers with every single-target damage.
Resized the Elder Lycan to occupy just 1 tile.
Disabled auto wait and end turn as it was conflicting with the Redraw system.
Added Text Pop up when a passive is activated.
Bug Fixes
Fixed a bug causing the Ice Wall to incorrectly reset the state of affected tiles.
Fixed an issue where redrawing did not give a new card.
Fixed a bug where you can't use a card with "Push" when Immobilized.
Fixed a bug where skipping cutscenes didn't show units.
Fixed an issue that reduced effectiveness of Bleed debuffs.
Fixed a bug that shuffles non-collectible cards to the discard pile.
Fixed a bug that caused redrawn cards to not be added to the discard pile.
Fixed a couple of line of sight issues.
Minor UI fixes.
Well that was long. Thanks for reading!
Beta 0.5.3 is Here! New Draw mechanic and more!
The latest beta version is here! New chapters + new combat mechanics are the highlight for this one.
New Content
NEW story chapters 11 & 12.
Added 8 story combat encounters.
New animated cutscenes.
New Enemy: Magical Weapon Constructs.
More card artworks.
More dialogue portraits.
Updated dialogue UI.
Added 6 new soundtracks.
Added multiple voice over lines.
Gameplay Changes
Changed draw mechanic: 1 Draw, 1 Redraw per unit per turn. Press "R" to toggle redraw mode.
New status effect: BURN - Deal damage per turn based on Magic Power and deal damage to Armor.
New status effect: BLEED - Deal damage per turn based on Physical Power and reduce healing received.
Reduced POISON damage from 10% to 5% of max HP.
Increased POISON duration from 2 to 3 turns.
Replaced Skyla's default passive with: Suppression Fire - repeatedly attacking an enemy in a turn will apply a stacking -1 Mobility for 1 turn.
Dragon's Breath now applies BURN.
Fire Bomb now applies BURN.
Execute now applies BLEED.
Moved the unlocking of Draken to 1 chapter later.
Bug Fixes
Fixed the bug causing incorrect calculation for elevation damage bonus.
Fixed a bug with AI movement cards.
Fixed a bug that caused AoE Taunt skills to be incorrectly applied.
Fixed bug that enabled the Deck Builder to show hidden cards.
Replaced collisions in all Ship combat maps.
Fixed the way Intensity Stacking effects were stacked.
Fixed a bug that caused blank dialogue for Guild Quests.
Some music looping fixes.
Minor UI fixes.
September Progress + Slacker Backer
Hey everyone! A lot of content has come and is coming into the game. So let's get into it!
Slacker Backing
First things first, a lot of people have been requesting that we provide a late backing option for those who missed the Kickstarter campaign. It took us a while to set it up, but we heard you loud and clear! You can now show your support by backing us via PayPal through our website.
All the funding received through this will go into developing Grand Guilds. Since the full release is just a few months away, we're only offering up to the Veteran Guildmate tier ($45) since all other rewards are now locked in.
Monthly Progress
We made a lot of progress towards the game's completion. We released Draken, our 8th playable hero, earlier this September and included a ton of story content alongside him. Draken is a damage character who utilizes stealth mechanics to execute his enemies.
New enemies, cards, character portraits, and controller support have been added as well.
Bruce The Sky Broker
We finally have a design that I'm quite happy with for my brother's character in-game. Introducing Bruce the Sky Broker, a mysterious travelling (or should i say flying) merchant who supplies our heroes with the rarest of cards and abilities to aid them in their quest. More details on his mechanics and interactions soon!
Upcoming Changes
A lot of gameplay changes are lined up for our Beta version. We've been experimenting on a lot of new systems and mechanics which will hopefully make the gameplay more engaging than it already is.
One thing we're working on is a revamped Passive system. Instead of trinkets, you will be able to "equip" passives using separate cards. These cards will also have stats (STR, INT, VIT) associated with them. This in turn will mean that we'll be adjusting the main stats as well.
The draw system will be seeing another change. We're planning to have a 1 draw, 1 redraw system currently. We're also adding new status effects such as Burn and Bleed to some cards and characters.
Thanks for reading!
- Justin V.
Beta Build 0.5.1 is live! New Major Character!
Hey everyone! Here's our latest beta release where a major character is making an appearance.
New Content
Added Chapter 8 and part of Chapter 9.
6 new story encounters.
3 new combat maps.
New Boss Enemy: Shadow Vox Assassin.
Lots of new card artworks.
Updated Mami's UV and textures.
Gameplay & Balance
Enabled Auto wait for units with no more actions left.
Renamed Paco's default passive.
Improved Paco's idle and run animations.
Adjusted sword attack animations.
Increased Monico's overall healing.
Bug Fixes
Fixed bug where cards appear with incorrect integer value.
Fixed a bug that produced inaccurate damage values when attacking from an elevated position.
Fixed bug when taunting a Player unit.
Edited passive descriptions for multiple characters.
Fixed Eliza's skin weights.
Fixed several dialogue typos.
Fixed bug with Deadeye card not working.
Fixed bug with Return Fire not always triggering.
Fixed victory sound stinger.
Fixed visual bugs related to gas masks.
Thanks for reading!
August Progress Report
Hey everyone! A lot of cool things happened last August so let's dive into it!
Gamescom 2019
Grand Guilds was in Gamescom last August 20 to 24 as part of the Indie Arena booth! Hundreds of people played the game and I know some of our Kickstarter backers were there too!
New Artworks & Updated Ship
As always, we worked on a lot of new character portraits, 3D models, and card artworks for the game. Here are some of them.
We also updated the Player Ship's textures. If you remember, I wanted to add Bruce's name to some of the 3D models he created. We ended up adding his online tag "BRZ" which is just short for "Bruce". This is what he signs his drawings with so I figured it was best to use it.
Full Voice Cast
As of August 23rd, the voice cast for Grand Guilds is officially complete! We finished casting all the available character roles for the game. The actors are already in the process of recording their lines so you can expect to hear them in-game in the coming weeks.
Combat Adjustments
We made a ton of combat changes in the latest Beta update. Here's a short summary:
Card draw per turn increased from 1 to 2 cards. Initial hand is now 2 instead of 3 cards. Previously, some characters ran out of cards easily and it felt like you were just using whatever card you drew for that turn. This change will help solve the said issues.
Changed some physical cards to magical ones and vice versa. This is to add pros and cons for various cards and stat combinations. It also adds more flavor to the characters (E.g. it didn't feel right that Raze only had magic cards when he looks physically strong)
New card keywords!
Balanced AP costs for a lot of cards.
Beta Releases
We released two Beta updates last month which included new enemies, new maps, and a new playable character - Monico Sternhat. Beta testers can play him when they reach Chapter 7 of the story.
The next beta update will be tomorrow, September 3rd, which will feature another major character and some exciting new content! Hint: it has something to do with "shadows" and "killing".
That's it for now. Let us know how you like the progress. Cheers!
- Justin V.
Beta Build 0.5.0 is out! Card Gameplay Changes!
Hey everyone! The new Beta build is here and there's a ton of gameplay changes and new content!
Quick side note: We'll be at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany from the 20th to 24th August. Our booth is in the Indie Arena, Hall 10.2. Feel free to drop by and say hi!
New Content:
New Story Chapter 7.
Added 6 story combat encounters.
New Hero: Monico Sternhat.
Added 8 cards for Monico.
New Enemy: Automated Turret.
New Rei Card: Overcharge.
Added Range indicators for cards.
New soundtracks and stingers.
Updated card artworks.
Added F1 for Info/Help.
Gameplay & Balancing:
Reworked card draw per turn. Each unit will now draw 2 cards per turn but will no longer draw on the first turn after the Mulligan screen. The initial hand is still set to 2 cards which the player can still mulligan.
Replaced "Deploy" keyword with "Instant".
"Piercing" and "Lifesteal" are now keywords.
Gloria Lumen cost reduced from 5 to 4 AP.
Reworked Kadmus Card: Bubble Mend. It now heals based on the number of adjacent enemies to the target.
Ice Wall now lasts 2 turns.
Increased Healing Rain's heal amount from 100% to 120%
Forst Field cost reduced from 3 to 1 AP.
Flash Step cost reduced from 2 to 1.
Discharge cost increased from 1 to 2 AP. Damage increased from 40% to 50%
Discharge is now Magical.
Magnum Fulgur is now Magical.
Removed Fulldrive card from Rei.
Rapid fire range reduced from 4 to 3.
Poison Gas range reduced from 4 to 3.
Changed Skyla's starting stat distribution.
Kneel now scales from Magic power.
Fire bomb is now Magical.
Changed Raze's starting stat distribution.
Buffed Raze's default passive, increasing health bonus from 10% to 15%.
Fire Smash is now Physical.
Self inflict is now Physical.
Dive bomb is now Physical.
Bug Fixing:
Save slots enabled.
Fixed bug with Gloria Lumen giving Armor and Resist before selecting the target enemy.
Fixed bug where some wall occlusions are not working.
Cards are now sorted by AP cost by default.
Some minor UI fixes.
Fixed some minor gameplay gripes.
There's probably some more that I missed but I do hope you like this update. Let us know what you think of the new draw mechanics and card changes.
Thanks for reading!
- Justin V.
Beta Backers Build 0.4.3 is now out!
We just updated the beta build to version 0.4.3! This new build includes Chapter 6 of the main story, some gameplay changes, and lots more!
New Content
Added chapter 6 of main story.
New Enemy: Diospore
New Enemy: Rifleman
New Enemy: Hagspawn
New Enemy: Night Hag
Added Paco Card: Master Tracker
Players can now select a landing tile when using a damage card with "Move".
Rotating while placing a wall will not rotate the camera anymore.
Added camera occlusion for some walls, houses, and other objects that block view.
Added music and ambient sounds to some scenes.
Balancing
Hailstorm now costs 4 AP and applies Weak.
Winged Feet now draws a card.
Reduced Skyla's overall card damage.
Adjusted level scaling when acquiring new heroes.
Bug Fixing
Fixed a bug where Kadmus Water Bolt would not deal damage.
Fixed Skyla's cape physics.
Fixed a bug that showed wrong damage values in deck builder.
Fixed a bug where the UI would show negative available stat points for Paco, Skyla, and Raze after leveling them.
Fixed some typos in the dialogue.
Fixed bug with some tool tips.
July Update + Release Date News
Monthly Progress
Hey everyone! I'm Justin, here with another update on Grand Guilds. There's a bunch of things I want to discuss so let's get into it.
New Content
Lots of new content in the art side of development. I'm happy to say that we finished all concept arts for the entire cast in the game. We have some new cards and 3D models as well.
On the other hand, the main story has undergone some revisions which included dialogue edits, cutscene changes, combat encounters, spelling checks, and just general polish. We expect this to be the last major revision for the story.
Gameplay Changes
The closed beta has been really helpful in determining issues with the gameplay, particularly the card system. We've been working on some changes to address these issues such as better draw mechanics, more unit interactions, and card balances.
Some mechanical changes and general QoL stuff are also in place. Things like being able to choose your landing tile when using a card with the "Move" keyword, occluding certain obstacles to better see the map, and much more. Some of these are already present in the next beta backers build.
Voice Casting
The casting call for our minor and stock characters is currently on going. If you'd like to be in the cast for Grand Guilds, feel free to audition here! There are 17 male and 5 female roles available at the moment.
Other News
Release Date
As some of you may have noticed, I wasn't able to work on the game for almost a full month following Bruce's passing. While the team has been working really hard on making the game, we now know that it would take some time to catch up on all of the postponed tasks and team restructuring. We also plan on adding additional content for all of you, as mentioned in previous updates. With this in mind, the new release date for the game will be on January 2020.
The extra development time will definitely help in polishing the game and getting rid of some nasty bugs. We know that not everyone is going to be happy about this delay, but I believe that this is the best course of action for Grand Guilds and ensuring that we deliver a quality game for you all. We want the game to be in the best state it can be.
Gamescom 2019
The game is still progressing strongly and reaching more people. In fact, we'll be at Gamescom this August 2019 as part of the Indie Arena Booth! This is really exciting for us as Gamescom is a really big event with lots of great games.
If you're attending Gamescom, please let us know and feel free to drop by our booth! We'll be demoing our Nintendo Switch version there too.
Beta Build
The new Beta backers build will be uploaded this Friday, August 2nd. Lots of new story content and gameplay changes are in place. Full change logs will be posted soon. Be sure to check it out when it goes live!
That's all for this monthly update. Thanks for reading and see you soon!
- Justin V.
Beta Build 0.4.2 is now Live!
It's time for an update on the Grand Guilds beta backers build! In summary, we've added Chapter 5 of the main story, new possible guild quests, and a ton of balancing + fixes!
Changelists:
New: Story chapter 5.
Added 2 possible guild quest maps.
New: Guild mage enemy.
New: Guild swordsman enemy.
New: Spiderling Illusion enemy.
New: Blood entity enemy.
New: Blood Golem enemy.
Added ability to open settings menu during combat.
Fixed bug with inconsistent tile visibility.
Fixed a bug where Paco would have Kadmus's stats and cards after unlocking him.
Pushing an enemy to the edge of the map should now work as intended.
Changed Kadmus's hero ability from "Water Shot" to "Water Bolt".
Fixed an issue where the player could still undo a move after receiving a buff.
Fixed missing texture for Web Shot.
Fixed bug where non-integer damage value would be dealt.
Fixed issue where cleansing a Stun or Immobilize debuff would not free the target unit.
Fixed bug where Inspire card was immediately discarded.
Fixed bug during Eliza and Kadmus mulligan system.
Added correct deck images for Paco, Skyla, and Raze.
Fixed crazy ragdoll issue on death.
A few UI and UX adjustments.
Addressed a lot of typos and grammatical errors.
Nerfed Vampire Brute's Dark Bonds ability.
Buffed Elder Lycan's based stats.
Fixed level scaling for new heroes.
Adjusted Paco's starting deck.
Adjusted some obstacles during the first sniper battle.
Tweaked some quest rewards.
Increased Water Refresh heal amount by +10%
Changed Skyla and Raze's base stats.
Known Issues:
Some missing sound effects and music/ambiance.
Placeholder card artworks.
Placeholder dialogue portraits.
Multiple save game slots is still disabled.
Let us know what you think of all this! I hope you like the new content.
Thank you!
