Greetings, Heroes! In anticipation of Hero's Story's Early Access, I'd like to share with you some fresh details about the game's development. Since the last announcement, a lot has happened - the process of switching to a new engine has continued, a small prototype has been made and closed testing has begun. But everything in order.
In 2013, when I first started developing Hero's Story, I used the Unity engine. The main advantages of Unity at that time were free and relatively easy to learn. There were also disadvantages - for example, a few years ago, the documentation of the engine was less complete, and the errors were much more. I thought it would work - it didn't. Over time, I began to think more and more about switching to another engine - one of the main reasons was the need to render large open spaces in real time. Unity is a good engine and C# is a great programming language, but my project needed something different. Soon a new engine was chosen - it was Unreal Engine, which became free in 2015! An added bonus of UE is softer lighting and powerful built-in editing tools.
Starting to slowly master Unreal, I began to transfer the old demo to the new engine. Of course, most of the materials of the game at the same time became irrelevant - program code, levels, game objects, materials for the build and so on. Some of the materials were transferred without loss or quickly restored - for example, dialogues, quests, 3D models. Despite the fact that the "move" took some time, I believe that the transition to a different engine went to the benefit of the game - however, it is the players to decide, as always.
I recently announced the start of closed testing of the game, and it paid off! Several people who played in the Pre Alpha version of the Hero's Story found out that the original build could not start at all for some users, and some basic functions did not work at all. Many critical bugs have been fixed (e.g. a broken volume setting). In the next update of the test version will also be fixed character animations.
Of the new mechanics-character Stamina characteristics, which is spent on a variety of combat techniques and running. There is still a lot of work to do after the release of Early Access. I remind you that the launch Of early Access Hero's Story is scheduled for October 21!
Be strong. Sincerely, Silentplaygames.
Test Version Update - 23th of September
Test Version (23th of September Update) Changelog:
Innovations - Now the Goblins in the Expanse area temporarily initiate test dialog - RMB temporarily blocks all damage (block) - Energy and stamina regeneration of the character is slightly increased - Out-of-combat health, Energy and Stamina regeneration doubled - Now the corpses of enemies will disappear longer - Enemies will now correctly play the running animation when moving
Fixes - Fixed a bug with broken game's Volume setting - Fixed a bug where it was possible to restore more Health than its maximum amount - Fixed a bug where Idle enemy animation could be played after his death - Fixed a bug where the amount of magical Energy could become negative - Fixed the name of the test quest in the Crypt - Minor bugfixes
Known issue - Some enemy animations still play incorrectly - Some character animations don't play in time
Your Silentplaygames.
Test Version Update - 20th of September
Test Version (20th of September Update) Changelog:
Additions - Now the current target of the main task is updated correctly - Ability to attack with RMB temporarily disabled for revision - Instead of the second attack, the character now deals more damage to enemies - Now the player will not be able to attack when his Stamina is zero - Also, the player's Stamina is no longer wasted (for example, before the attack) - Jump now consumes less Stamina - Character Stamina regeneration increased
Fixes - Fixed missing character animation after attack - Fixed unnecessary "remembering" of the last entry point to another location - Fixed the ability to spend all the Stamina of the character at once - Fixed a bug where enemies played animations after death - Fixed the lack of Collider at the pile of stones in the Canals - Fixed a bug where the main menu music would not be played again - Minor fixes
Known issues - The game's Volume setting does not working properly - Enemies animation sometimes plays incorrectly
All who have gained access to test version can download the update now!
Your Silentplaygames.
Pre Alpha Is Here
Greetings, Heroes!
Starting today, I'm starting a closed test of Hero's Story. Its purpose is to evaluate the performance of the game, estimate the approximate system requirements, and identify global problems at an early stage. To participate in the testing, you need to send me an e-mail anvasmos@gmail[dot]com that includes the following data:
- Your name (optional) - OS version (e.g. Windows 10) - Processor (e.g., Intel i9-9900K) - Amount of RAM (e.g. 16 GB DDR4) - Graphics card model (e.g. Nvidia RTX2070) - The reason why you want to participate in the testing
During next 24h, the new build will be uploaded to Steam, and during the week I will send the keys to the test version to some interested, based on the specifications of the computer and the reason why you want to access the game before the release. Closed testing will last about a month, and will end with the release of the game in Early Access. Please note that some features may not work. After the end of the test, all keys will be revoked.
Your sincerely, Silentplaygames.
Early Access Pros & Cons
Greetings, Heroes!
There are a lot of articles written on the Internet about “Pros and Cons of Steam Early Access” both for the game itself and for the players. Today I would like to share with you my thoughts about the upcoming Early Access of Hero's Story and how this may affect the game.
Firstly, I am sure that in my case Early Access is rather good than bad. Some players are waiting for the game from 2013, and after a series of transfers, failures and frost, it is better to release the project at least in some state than not releasing at all - otherwise Hero's Story risks joining the “cool games that the world never saw”.
Secondly, Early Access will help get feedback from you, dear players, and make the game better. For example, now I think that there are more than enough dungeons, and they are well balanced, but in fact, maybe there are not enough treasures, or the enemies are too strong. There are questions about the design - is it convenient to control the game, does it run correctly on different machines, and which FPS it produces.
Thirdly, in my case (I remind you that I work alone) this is a good way to successfully continue and complete the project from a financial point of view - because I still do not plan campaigns on Kickstarter or similar sites for my projects. Having released the backbone of the game in Early Access, I plan to add new game zones, enemies, quests, and perhaps even game mechanics.
Finally, Early Access can be bad because the game will come out raw and scare away the audience. In the bottom line we have:
Pluses:
+ The price of the game in the Early Access will be less
+ Players will be able to play the game earlier
+ Ability to influence the development process
+ Free updates
Minuses:
- The game may be less stable
- The amount of content in the first versions can be much less
These are my thoughts. What do you think? Let me remind you that Hero's Story Early Access is scheduled for September of this year.
Stay strong! Your faithfully, Silentplaygames.
Hero's Story Dev Blog
Hello Heroes!
Long time since the last announcement, so it is good moment to share with you some details of Hero's Story development.
First, i want to thank everyone of you, who have been waiting the game for all of these years. It is very inspiring!
Second - approximate release date of the project has been set (and it scares me a lot).
Third - most of the game has been redone/reimagined for these months, including the plot, locations, characters and mechanics. I suppose, rather, for the better, but it's up to the players, of course :)
I wanted to make epic trailer. It was hushed up. Then, i wanted to make trilogy - was not worth it. Focusing more on actual gameplay, i realised, that many aspects are not essential or could be done in much more efficient way. It helped me a lot!
Now I am much more calm about the game interface, AI and graphics. It has become easier to introduce new elements into the game (do not forget that we are still waiting for a lot of updates during Early Access!).
And It does not matter how much time will pass before the next announcement - just know that the work is going on, and it goes in exact way players need it.
Stay strong! Yours sincerely, Silentplaygames.
P.S .: i remind you that the system requirements of the game are temporary, and most likely will be higher, closer to release!
Hero's Story Early Access Plans
Hello Heroes!
It's been a while since last announcement about the game. I work hard to make best player experience for you. This requires some time, especially when your team contains only one member :)
So please be patient as Hero's Story estimated release date was pushed to 2019!
I still hope to release Early Access version by the end of the year though.
What i want to see in Early Access version of Hero's Story?
– Solid core gameplay
– At least few hours of exploring the game world
– Stable game build with Steam achievements, Cloud Saving and potential for replayability
Also before the end of the year there will be some trailers showing scope of the project!
In the end of this announcement i want to share with you one of the prototype screenshots and example of game's combat UI and magic abilities. This will be changed during further development for sure.
Stay strong! Best wishes, Silentplaygames.
Hero's Story First Steam Announcement
Hello Heroes!
Today game page has been published to Steam. That means you can create discussions and add Hero's Story to your wishlist.
I will appreciate any activity before and after game launch.
I plan to release the game in Q4 of 2018 in Early Access first.
Linux and Mac versions will be released later after Windows build!
Also i plan to implement more Steam features in the future.
System requirements may change during development.
All who will gain beta keys will be able to use them during Early Access.
Thanks for attention and hope to see you in game. :happymeat:
