I wanted to have at least some kind of playable version available to the public, but I had my hands full getting the full game working and released first. Since I was forced to remove the sale option for the full version of the game, I wanted to work towards the demo version next, and here it is!
The result is the demo that is now freely available to anyone who wants to try out the game. You will be able to play through the first couple of levels, slightly modified to fit into the scope of the demo.
Now that the demo is out, and I am able to easily make separate builds for both the full and demo version, I can return focus to game content. No major promises, but the idea was to be able to easily update the demo version with applicable content, in case something changes for the full version. With how it was implemented, this is now achievable for me to do, by changing a few settings and making a new build, very handy!
Additions:
A separate demo version of the game, available through the store page for those who don’t already own the game.
Fixes:
The keybinds menu now has its sub-menus scale appropriately (no more large grey box covering the whole screen).
Version 2022_11_06
Patch notes for version 2022_11_06
The main focus on this update is to make sure the game runs properly after the Unity Engine upgrade to 2021. I have also been implementing the framework needed in order to release a demo version of Monsterstone: Prelude, that has less features and levels than the full version. I also implemented a development tool, where I can simply press a button in the Unity Editor, and it will automatically add the correct scenes into my build settings. This reduces the amount of steps in my development pipeline, which will become valuable once I add more levels to the game. It still needs some integration with how levels are selected for the randomizer when completing a level, but it should make it practically impossible for me to forget to add the right levels to the game build, assuming they are present in the correct folder of course. I have also been laying out which tasks need to be done for the game, so I have a more clear overview on what needs working on next. Once the demo version is out, I would like to start adding more levels, though that will require a bit of preparation in terms of level content to facilitate it.
Additions:
Some backend stuff in order manage the differences between the current full version, and a potential demo version that I have been working on.
Changes:
More Heatscale resources available in Goldenglow caverns.
Fixes:
Some internal handling of level selection randomizer to be more robust and work more like intended.
Various shader fixes/tweaks after Unity upgrade to 2021 version, still a bit of work to do.
Major Unity Engine version upgrade
Monsterstone: Prelude now uses Unity Engine 2021!
Monsterstone: Prelude has been running on Unity 2019.3 for a very long time now, and recently, I discovered some issues that could only be resolved by upgrading Unity. Therefore, the game now runs on Unity 2021.3, a significant jump in version number.
Why the upgrade?
The game is being built using Unity’s visual programming tool, now called “Visual Scripting”. However, this used to be something called “Bolt” which was not integrated into Unity by default, and required you to buy it on the asset store. Unity acquired Bolt some years ago, and turned it into their Visual Scripting tool. This means that support for Bolt was dropped, and the only way to fix any Bolt version related issues, was to upgrade the entire project to a newer version of Unity.
One issue that has been annoying me for a while, was that any UI element, say an image or button, would prevent scrolling inside scrollable UI areas, if you would hover over the aforementioned content. I could never figure out why this was happening, and thought it was simply me setting up the UI incorrectly. Turns out, it was an issue with Bolt and Unity, which was fixed in later iterations of Unity/Visual Scripting. By upgrading the project, the scrolling feature now works as intended, yay!
Is that all?
At first glance, kinda yes. In the long term, it is way more beneficial for me to be using Visual Scripting, now that Unity acquired and converted Bolt. It means that any future issues will be easier to resolve, and also that the project won’t be stuck with an old deprecated scripting tool. It also means that the game benefits from any improvements made to the engine since the 2019 version, though I can’t say exactly what kind of improvements were made.
Upgrading the project did cause a few headaches, for instance, though you could migrate your Bolt code into the new Visual Scripting (since it is still the same internally), there were some parts of my code that needed fixing/replacing. Hopefully those types of issues won’t happen in the future, say if I decide to upgrade the game engine version again.
I have also noticed some Unity Editor improvements, which should make the process of making the game a bit smoother/quicker moving forward.
Additions:
A description explaining the bookmark system when completing an area.
Changes:
Unity version upgrade from 2019.3.7f1 to 2021.3.12f1.
Removed the scroll bar for the resource inventory and moved the top left UI further out.
Scroll speeds when using mousewheel for various UI menus have been adjusted.
Increased the drop chance on various “shrimp” type resources, to better reflect the amount of fish resources present compared to say wood and stone.
You are now forced to bookmark the first level in the game.
Reordered some UI menus for better rendering priority (e.g. so you can’t access the main menu button while in dialogue).
Fixes:
Scrollable UI menus can now be scrolled when hovering over their contents.
Profile selection menu properly resets when opened.
Main menu shortcut key is no longer usable during various states of the game.
Fixed various backend bugs.
Version 2022_10_21
Patch notes for version 2022_10_21
Additions:
Autosave feature, can be disabled in options menu (enabled by default)
Autosave interval setting in options menu (default is 15 minutes)
Autosave countdown is paused when navigating main menu or interacting with dialogue
Legacy build on Steam, which enables you to play the last stable regular/major updated version of Monsterstone: Prelude.
Changes:
Chest contents were tweaked to be slightly more useful
Autosave dimming overlay now has an hourglass
Fixes:
Bad level topology in
Changed ocean water current direction for
Why is Monsterstone: Prelude not for sale anymore?
I have some unfortunate news about the game and its future development. It will require a bit of an explanation, so I invite you to listen to what I have been going through to get the game to this state.
TLDR: I am no longer allowed to run a company, as I will be going back to receiving unemployment benefits. Because I have to be actively job searching, I can’t guarantee full-time development at this point in time, but I have not given up on the game.
The practical side.
First off, I unfortunately had to make the decision to remove the purchase option for the game on the Steam store. If you already bought the game, you will be able to continue playing it, and I have the intention of fixing any critical bugs if they appear, as well as continuing development, though at a potentially slower pace. Should you want to refund the game, Steam should be able to help with that. I deeply appreciate anyone who has bought the game, and hope you have had fun with it so far. I am not intending on giving up on the game, but I have to take a step back from its development due to a rather complex situation.
If you are interested in the game, the best you can do is to wishlist it for now and share the store page with your friends. For anyone who would also want to play the game, I want to release a demo version, though I can’t give any time estimates at the moment.
Why this decision?
Monsterstone: Prelude had its early beginnings around 2013, when I started learning how to use Unity and Blender, while also attending university classes covering game development related skills such as programming, UI design, narratives etc. If you are curious, you can go to the Bended Rules Facebook page and take a stroll back in time, as I made a few posts about what I was up to back then, you can find it here: www.facebook.com/bendedrules - new posts get reposted on both the Bended Rules and Dragon Claw Community Discord if you are interested in development posts.
Fast forward to 2018, where I graduated from University, now a master of Medialogy with a specialisation in games. Since then, I have been attempting to get a foot through the door in the game development scene, but have had no luck landing any positions, even with several years worth of game development experience. I also had no success landing a job in other lines of work either, so it has been a very long and frustrating couple of years.
In 2020, the jobcenter I was getting help from suggested a programme called “innovative growth”, which I took part in. It spanned over the course of a few months, with business development “classes” and time given to work on your company idea. At that time, Monsterstone: Prelude was slowly taking shape, and I was able to release a demo version of the game on Itch.io, which is now unavailable due to the Steam release. The programme was split into 3 segments, and between each, you had to present your business idea to a panel of investors/business people, quite nerve wrecking stuff! If they deemed you worthy, you would progress to the next step, but they also had a limit on how many they allowed through their filtering process, so I got eliminated simply because I was alone on my team, and the idea was a video game. Still learned a lot, but it meant I had to return to the job searching market.
Then the epidemic hit, and made everything even more difficult. Getting a job or even an internship seemed impossible. In 2021, I started streaming on www.twitch.tv/dragonking2504 because I wanted to get better at making public appearances, and also sharing what I do. I met a lot of really cool people and learned a ton of practical skills that would improve the quality of the streams and more.
At the start of 2022, I had another opportunity through the jobcenter. This time, it was something called “micro loan”. This programme gave me 10 weeks of business development classes and sparring with a dedicated business coach, who also ran all the classes. Once those weeks were up, the product was a fairly fleshed out business plan, an application for this micro loan, which is essentially a low rate loan through the Danish government. Most importantly, I also got to have a registered company, allowing me to do official business, and the programme allowed me to do so, even while being unemployed, while also receiving social welfare benefits (money) from the government, and I wasn’t obligated to be actively job searching either. I got through this process, and everything was going well, though I often felt that I had to wait for the next bit of crucial information in order to continue, so some time was wasted here and there.
Why it is hard to get into the game development scene in Denmark
Normally, EU law forbids a government to “fund” local companies, and unfortunately, that also means you can’t receive any social welfare benefits (money), while also having a registered company, even if the company makes no money. This is important, because it makes it impossible to do a lot of what you have to in order to produce and release a video game. The worst that could happen is the government demanding you to repay whatever money you received over the last x months, cause they “caught” you running a company when you weren't allowed to, a risk I was not willing to take.
So I have been stuck in a situation where there were no jobs on the horizon and I could not establish my own either. For reference, there are about 20 game companies in Denmark that could use more people, but realistically, it is maybe closer to 6 companies that would be able to afford it on a more regular basis. This essentially means you have to compete with hundreds of other unemployed, with each year only adding more people that are fresh out of university, not to mention that you also compete with those that have better proven track records and have connections in the industry that I don't.
What happened during the micro loan period (6 months)?
After signing the papers for the loan, I was provided with 6 months to become self-sufficient. 6 months to ready the game demo for an Early Access release, spread awareness and interest, set up the store page and all the other small time consuming tasks that would pop up. If by the 30th October I was not self-sufficient, I would have to either deactivate the registered company into a dormant state, or continue running it, while also doing a part-time job at the side. Given my previous experience on the job market, I was not confident that I would be able to get a part time job on such short notice, so I defaulted to going back to job searching and disabling the company for now.
I spent the first 4 months on doing full-time development of the game, and did a decent amount of development streams, which are all available on my Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UClvlZgo7JS01BB0c0lumeeg/videos
During this time, I failed to promote development on the game on other platforms, and I also failed at making weekly status updates. I was getting quite stressed because of the time pressure, and I realised it would take a lot of my time to just work on the game. 4 months later, and the game had sound and music, an ingame configuration menu for most settings, and I had laid the groundwork for adding more content. The 5th month, I spent mostly working on the Steam store page, as there was a lot of text that had to be written, art assets to be sorted out and also some really annoying practical hurdles, such as my passport having to be renewed and also needing a company bank account. This meant a lot of waiting around for things to happen, but I did my best to do tasks in a proper order to eliminate as much waiting time as possible. Whenever there was downtime, I would work on the Upgrades Update, so I only needed to spend an extra week on it after the Early Access release.
Now the game was out in Early Access… and I didn’t have a proper plan to follow at this stage. I could only plan so far ahead, but a lot of the ins and outs of the Early Access onboarding process, and what to do post release, was foreign to me. I had to learn as I went on, and that just wasn’t fast enough. I was alone, with a problem I had to solve, and a strict deadline looming overhead. The game was not selling any significant amount of units, I panicked a bit, and figured I would give the game some time, and work on the update.
Realistically, I should have postponed the Early Access release until I had finished the update and included it at launch. I felt pressured into rushing the EA release due to the deadlines, so when I did, the game had only very basic upgrades, and I was not happy about marketing the game in that state.
The final month
I now had a game in Early Access, with enough content for me to consider it acceptable, and a clear path on how to make more with relative ease. Too bad I was out of time.
Now I had only 1 month left to become self-sufficient, and Monsterstone: Prelude was not doing as well as I needed it to in terms of sales. It was becoming really difficult to deal with the stress at this point too, but I had to give it a try. So I started doing what I should have done on day 1. I had already sent out requests for curator reviews on Steam, but it was far from enough. If no one was directed to the store page, barely anyone gets to read those reviews. To make matters more stressful, I was also having more talks with my business coach about the situation and what to do forward, taking time away from other tasks.
I began preparing marketing material that I could send out to influencers, as well as offering a game key in return for some exposure, and hopefully establish some kind of collaborative situation where both parties would benefit. I have been in talks with some of the amazing people I have met through my 1 year of streaming and sent out a few keys, but there is still a long way to go.
Because the deadline is the 30th October, I actually have slightly less than 6 months, as I will be on my own the day after the cutoff date, if I don’t set things in motion for a transition several days prior. This means the purchase option removal, deactivating the company and applying for social welfare benefits as well as returning to the job market. I should be fine in regards to the micro loan, as I haven't had many expenses for the company.
What will happen moving forward?
Besides what I have already mentioned, I can’t say for sure or give any time-frame for anything. Generally, I will be slowing down, so I can do everything I need to at a more reasonable pace, and not feel like everything has to be rushed, ending up in bad decisions. For the more practical side of things, it largely depends on what activities the jobcenter wants me to partake in, and what else might happen.
I still want to work on the game, and also try to create an interest in it. If I manage to get a job, there would be nothing preventing me from reactivating the company, which would allow for the store purchases to be re-enabled too. I would only do that, if I consider the job position to be stable though, as I can’t be going back and forth with the availability of the game.
If something noteworthy happens, I will make sure to keep you updated through Steam, Discord, Facebook and Twitch.
For now, thanks again for giving Monsterstone: Prelude a chance, and I hope I managed to satisfy any potential questions.
First regular update, the "upgrades update"
First major update to Monsterstone: Prelude!
I have been working towards a new framework that can better handle upgrades moving forward. It took a while, but now it should be much faster to implement new upgrade types, as well as integrate future stat modifiers for various aspects of the game. Furthermore, I made a simple implementation to show whether you meet the requirements for upgrades, quests, processing recipes etc. I also took the time to revise some level geometry and clean it up a bit.
Additions:
Autoharvesters now require a 1-time upgrade to be unlocked
Upgrades for autoharvesters
Upgrades for processing buildings
Upgrades for generating buildings
Quality of life
Resource, upgrade and enemy streak requirements now get greyed out if insufficient, making it easier to see which resources etc. you might be short on.
Changes:
Level terrain has been refined, closing open gaps and making it look cleaner
Chests now get a 50% of level modifier bonus added to their "level", resulting in much better rewards as you build the modifier value. Some chest contents were also changed to be more useful in regards to the new upgrades.
Skeletons now drop more resources as a baseline.
Lava fish now have a new glow outline effect, in attempt to improve visibility
Bug fixes
Fixed visual glitches with fish in some levels moving out of sync with the water.
Welcome to Early Access!
Today, Monsterstone: Prelude has launched into Early Access, and I am super excited to hear everyone's feedback!
The future
I consider the current state of the game as a solid foundation on which to shape the future of the game, with many possibilities in mind. Though a lot of the technical backbone and core features of the game are implemented to a certain degree, there are still some features that have yet to make it in. With your feedback and support, I will also be able to paint a better picture of what you would like to see in the game.
The plan is to continue development as I have been, and gradually expanding the core mechanics of the game. Along the way, I also want to expand the content of the game, so that there are more levels and variation to experience, though currently, this would be in order to better experience new features.
I will do my best to be transparent as to what is going on from a development point of view, but I am also conscious about the fact that I am having to do everything by myself at the moment. I will do my best to listen to the community, and address more pressing matters first.
Ideally, I would like to spend most of my time improving the game, as well as hear what you have to say about it and take it into consideration.
As this is Early Access, I would like to emphasize that some game features are not final, and that some changes might break saves in the future.
Where did it come from?
It has been a long road to get to this point, but there is still much that needs to be done before the game is finished. As a starter, I would like to mention that this is currently a solo project that I have worked on/off for the last couple years, but am now giving full-time development a shot with this release.
Development technically started way back around 2014, where I was first learning how to use Unity, and had some previous experience in making levels for the Source engine, as well as small game experiences using various tools and platforms. A lot of the technical backbone for the game was established over several years while I was studying at university, so that most of the pieces were ready once I was done.
Experimental build
If you want to try out new features before they are released into the main build of the game, you can access the "Experimental branch" through the "betas" section. You can find the "betas" section by right clicking Monsterstone: Prelude in your steam library, and clicking "properties". Simply switch to the "experimental" build, and you should be good to go.
Development streaming
In case this might interest you, I happen to also stream on Twitch, where I have been sharing game development of Monsterstone: Prelude over the last couple months. You can check it out here: dragonking2504 on Twitch
My schedule got quite inconsistent when I switched from gameplay to gamedev though, mainly because some of the gamedev related work was a lot of boring businesst development stuff that is hard, if not impossible, to make entertaining. That, and the fact that there is a lot of personal and company related information when setting up a Steam page etc.
Did I miss something?
Let me know if there is anything else feel like I missed, and I will do my best to cover those questions in the future.
