Small update featuring some text and item updates, augmented enemy poison, and some skill/spell updates. This is currently available for all platforms on Steam, patches for standalone (and GOG), and GOG proper will be up probably Monday.
But first – what’s next before the expansion!
Our next update we’re looking into an option we have for a post-effect that will reduce the sharp edges in the art — for those of you who have mentioned having strained eyes over a period of time due to the zoom level, this should profoundly help with that. It’s similar to what some graphic drivers and DOS-emulators can do where it blends the pixels together as a sort of noise-reduction. Should be neat for those who’d like to toggle that and see Vol in smooth, fancy visuals!
Our current solution for that requires Shader Model 3.0 for your graphic driver. So while this will be a toggle in the options, you’ll need (generally) Nvidia cards since 2004, AMD from 2005, and Intel from 2006 to make it work. We’re still testing out options for that, and will make an official announcement if we add that in! We’ll also work on updating the skill/spell tables back into the website.
Along with new content and gameplay mechanics, the expansion will have any of the heavier tweaks we may need for skills/spells, along with grade 4. Well have more information on that later this year when we announce it!
Main patch notes:
Enemy Posions — changed:
FROM procing every 5 seconds, 5 rounds at 1d5
TO procing every 3 seconds, 10 rounds at 1d8.
SKILL: Rapid Draw: working as expected in all circumstances
SPELL: Arcane Shield: Spell has changed to reflect description (OCC changed to FullOCC)
SPELL: Amplify: if stopped during recasting, there is a fringe case where it could stack or stay over the course of the map — fixed.
Racial Trait: Disciples: There was an issue where this could override other health boosts from stat distribution during character creation – fixed.
SKILL: Pin Shot: fixed description error
Gameplay: Possible fix for a fringe case where enemies (who can initiate dialogue) are killed, with auto-pause on (with enemy sighted / not in combat), and are disabled from executing their deaths. Fix in place.
Racial Trait: Faithful: description error updated
ITEM: Inquisitor Mask updated with description stats
UI tweak for Auto-pause toggle appearing correctly
Various spelling errors fixed
COMPANION: Serafim had a hole in his dialogue events where you could get him in your party after talking to him twice without the necessary Nobility points.
Secret room in Hallowed Doors ground visual fixed.
Cheers!
NicheGamer Review: 8.0 ! Also V.13 Live!
Niche Gamer hosted a thorough review of Serpent in the Staglands worth checking out! Link below image and snippet that made us laugh.
"Most of the world’s people are either one foot in the grave or mentally deranged. You have corrupt government officials, a woodworker that tells you about his torture fetish, and bounty hunters who are just as happy to clear out a cave of thieves as they are murdering you for your spare coins. There is very little help to be found in the Staglands."
We've updated some remaining kinks, notes below. This is currently up on Steam and our stand-alone version for updating, and GOG most likely Monday when they are back in the office.
V.13 updates:
UI
Various spelling/grammar updates for Inv items and dialogue
Targeting consistency with AI OFF updated - only targeted enemies will be attacked, rather than toggling an attack state. Also fixed various other fringe cases with targeting walk or enemies to follow through as expected.
Issue with Fuldea Mare crossing getting visually removed from overworld map fixed
Duke of Whales text conversation loop fixed
If stat numbers get too low they turned into decimals, fixed
Fixed potential issue with arrow count dropping to zero transitional or saving hiccup
Fixed issue with Gabi where she wouldn't display correct dialogue if talked to prior to getting quest
Spells/Skills
SPELL [Morph into Fiend] displays appropriate game feed info on proc
SPELL [Siphon Poisons] game feed display updated
Fixed issue with Seismic Swing not displaying/working correctly
Fixed fringe issue when polymorphing while polymorphed or interaction and equipment not being usable again
Gameplay
Goblin King - removed instance where you could submit Necholai
Fixed ending scenario with companions being visual where they shouldn't
Fixed a few various quest saving issues if saving/reloading during interactions [Bruul, Lumen Targ Constable, Kreel]
Kreel conversation issue in Hallowed Doors fixed
Fixed interaction issue with Bloodless prior to polymorph
Fixed an issue where there were two clickable locations for a corpse's head on the ground in Lebez, now just the one is there and is easily clickable, the empty one made that difficult to get right
If traveling with certain requirements to Lev, only Southern guard gives XP as expected (removed Northern XP gain)
Fixed issue in Fuldea Mare crossing with the rope-use to descend where it removed >1, now just removes one to be used.
Nobility bookshelf in a Fuldea Mare Crossing Ruin fixed for use with 5 Nobility
Fixed visual issues with FOW visual size and night-effect if changing or selecting characters within inside/outside sub-maps during night or day. Visuals as expected now
Fixed issue with adding some Companions more than once or twice after removing (without binding)
Fixed loot issue where some enemies drop rates were too high (harvesters and some other various non-critical drops)
Cheers!
Ragequit.gr Review: 90/100!
"Serpent in the Staglands is a little gem and a great new entrance to the old school RPG renaissance. It has an excellent RPG rule system and a wonderful, magical and unique world."
The very nice folks at Ragequit.gr took the time to settle into Vol and review Serpent in the Staglands, and gave it a very mechanically in-depth and thorough review! We'll put this on our fridge.
Check it out! It's worth a read, or in our case a translate, for anyone on the fence and it's a very knowledgeable overview. Many mentions of questmarker-dependent lads need not apply made us chuckle.
We wanted to do a quick update thanking all our backers and all our new players for the post launch support!
[video in Kickstarter link above]
We’ve gotten emails and messages from a lot of you saying how happy you are to play a non-modern designed RPG like this, and some wonderful support from a lot of you spreading the word that the game is our there! It's been a pleasure to be able to design something like this, and while we'll refine our processes, this reception has made it clear that there is still an audience for RPGs with a learning curve, and we hope to cater to them for as long as we can.
The game is looking better than ever with our last update, and we’ve just been adding some UI suggestions and ideas some users have had every so often now, so if you haven’t played it yet or have been waiting, now’s definitely the time to jump in!
We’ve had such great help from you all the past month, from helping get the word around about the game to helping with finding any issues, and we really think it has embodied a lot of what the Kickstarter experience can be for small developers like us — a project, a game like this, really couldn’t have easily been made in reasonable time without your funds and support. We built this together, and with that support we'll continue to be able to make these kinds of games for you in the future. We’re so grateful for all the people that helped out and gave impressions and feedback throughout development and after, it’s been an exhausting year but we've learned a tremendous amount and are eagerly looking forward to the future. After a short hop to the west coast, (Whalenought is moving to Seattle!) we'll be right back in business and onto some real fun things we're excited to share with you.
Marketing without an easy button
While we've had and cherished a modest amount of user reviews, marketing continues to be a bit tough — it’s a game without an easy mode, and journalists can’t just jump in and make quick impressions, and we think that makes it difficult to get those early impressions reviews. We hear of a few folks that attempted that and got whiplashed with a learning curve like they haven't seen in years, which though kind of humorous to hear about, does filter the reviewers down to gamers that have patience, which is of course an incredibly slimming population. But learning to play and learning the world is part of the game, and a part we're really proud of.
Try to sit me in front of an Ultima again and I’m going to need an hour just to learn the ins and outs of controls and how to interact with the world in all the various ways — but that’s part of it — it’s a game with learning, not just consumption like television — learning the game world is kind of lost in a lot of RPGs today, and it’s something that makes it so much more engaging. Hearing people's accomplishments of navigating the Hallowed Doors to traversing the death-bog is as much an accomplishment for us, and we're thrilled when we hear about people enjoying them. Games are certainly much easier to consume if you’re just jumping to conversation to quest with knowing exactly what to do, but we think that can get a little tired and misses something we love so much, which is the exploration of the world and how to win it.
There’s a few wonderful reviewers that have contacted us saying they are really taking their time to finish the game prior to reviewing, and their initial playtime just wasn’t enough, they needed to actually finish it. Beyond exceptional journalism, we think that’s a testament to our open ended story and player explored world — it’s really about the whole experience, your whole adventure, and a couple hours getting stomped by foxes and wolves and learning how spells work isn’t really scratching the surface.
While our next project will refine this, and maybe present this in a more sophisticated way, the ‘learning the world’ design is a philosophy and foundation we'll continue to use for all our games. It’s a concept we've heard a wonderful response for, and we'd love to fill that demand in new and fun ways in future games — we'll never take our p&p-inspired RPG roots and cater them to a modern audience for as long as we have an audience to continue.
Expansion
A lot of you have asked about the expansion, and while we can’t give you concrete details on a release and of course don’t want to spoil anything (for those of you who haven’t guessed who the antagonist is), we can assure you it will be available to anyone who purchased the game, and will be automatically added with a (big) update. You’ll be able to jump right into it with that final save, so if you’ve beaten the game you can just continue on right there. The expansion update will feature a few new systems, and include Grade 4 Skills and Spells along with any rebalancing needed for the core game.
The expansion content is in the works, but we’ve been listening to players on what they like and want more of, and have already begun adjusting some things to fit that. We love hearing these ideas and building this game’s world mechanics, and the expansion will likely be the last time we visit Vol for a while so we want to end it on a wonderful note.
We’ll have more announcements and blog posts on that in the coming months while we’re in full-development of it!
Art Book
The art book is finished and we’ll be sending that to everyone this weekend! It got a little bigger than we expected, but with just the two of us we had plenty of tidbits to share after living under a rock for a year developing the game. If you’re interested in art, process, our concepts for story structure or inane knowledge of Whalenought and development, give it a look through! It’s got lots of pretty pictures.
THE FUTURE
Like we mentioned in the video, we'll be trying to get some of you awesome players and community members on board earlier to help and give feedback for future projects. We'll have a more formal announcement regarding that on our website later this year, so if you're interested in getting some early looks and giving feedback we'd love your help! Our website will be updated soon with a blog, which will go into some design, technical, and random details of the Whalenought adventure, and we'll of course continue to be active on the forums.
As always, if you have any feedback, suggestions or comments feel free to email us or message us. We look forward to providing you with more crpgs for many years to come, thank you again for making that possible.
Cheers!
Hannah & Joe
UI update v.11 live!
V.11 includes user requested UI additions for ease-of-use and a slew of other minor updates! Steam available, patches up, and full-games available for standalone download shortly, and GOG should be getting in tomorrow:
UI addition/suggestions:
Updated Spellbook and Warbook with procing information (numbered the every “X”)
Selecting [existing] save field no longer has blank save slot name
Tooltip updates for AI functionality update to reflect states (passive, aggressive, off)
AI-off — targets now continue to attack targets
Nobility crests ease-of-use update for various functionality, brainwashed now follow you longer
Racial traits now visually display in game feed when used, not just character sheet
Incantation ease-of-use update: curses now show up in game feed!
Rally and other on-start Warbook skills now even easier to use – now trigger when a character just attacks target (swings or shoots missile).
Missile damage additions now show up in Physical Damage
Traps now have a hover state for easier selecting when disarming
Other/Minor updates:
Ethereal weapon now adding [INT] mod where intended
Philosophy stat-check skill could display stacked amounts of stats for enemies if continually checked, fixed to display relevant only
post-polymorph armor set may not (visually) return as normal, fixed
Incantation for citrine now working as intended
Backup if something occurs wrong during saving/loading for NPC inventories – critical items will now always verify on load
A couple items could be ‘consumed’ if right clicked that shouldn’t have been, fixed
Various item description updates to reflect stats
Couple modifier issues with Zana Spell fixed
Cat and Bat Polymorph spell descriptions updated
Autopause now works with NPC’s that turn hostile during conversation
Darius’s fox now loads in correctly if saved nearby
Some traps didn’t save correctly before or after discovery, fixed
Companion Notol gains relevant XP like other companions when joining party
Fixed issue when polymorphing at the end of the game
Various art-tweaks and layering in maps
A dresser in Orf’s Bridge Inn now locked appropriately
Downloadable Manual now available!
We finished up converting the online manual to pdf format you can download, and have that available on our site below its digital self:
http://serpentinthestaglands.com/manual
GOG users: you can also grab it from the game package when they put it up on there.
We'll update this with any relevant changes to UI if needed, but specifically update it again when the expansion is released, as that will have some additional mechanics and adventuring information.
Also, for those that missed it, the previous update 8 change log is here:
Lumen Cavern location with island camera boundaries fixed along with save issue for character there (will retroactively fix your game if he was missing).
An issue with traps that could arise while detecting and disarming fixed
An issue with Foul Creep that could arise that made it difficult to target has been fixed, will target and hit as normal
Oil traps now sell for appropriate amount
Ending can account for having a full party of avatars properly now
Conversation with Ista Cale constable fixed with accusation option ending correctly
Lev over-world ambush maps now always have Crawlers spawn correctly if chosen for ambush
Lev Soldier repeatable conversation fixed [Windows]
Given correct items by Hunters now when following that arc
Issues that could arise with Linguistics pick pocketing power words now working as intended
Pillar entrances near ruins now only open as intended
Polymorphing and moving between overworld (or loaded) maps triggers characters to return to normal first
Spell issue with Planar Jump for some players now resolved, skill points save correctly on level up
In westernmost lighthouse you can now leave through main door from the inside
Agile Fighting skill (when equipped) during level up now fixed
overall EXP reduction for killing enemies
small rebalance of some mid-late game enemies for added STR, DEX, OCC
Next Update will have some additional minor issues resolved, and some rebalancing which includes:
overall less AC acquired by Shield Mastery — changing to a flat increase with 1d(Skill Point)
reducing spell buff potency from some like Amplify
more magic damage for damage dealing spells like Searing Light, healing spells effectiveness reduction
enemy rebalancing for more difficulty mid to late game
We’ll be making late game enemies more difficult in some various ways we’ll talk about in the patch notes, including doing increased overall damage to overcome higher potential AC numbers, having larger OCC resistances (like Vra and some sorcerers that are near impervious to magic), INT for offensive spell damage and more spell skills points for sorcerers, and overall higher PHYS dodge chances for late game characters. More details with next patch notes!
Patch 5 Live!
Patch 5 primary updates include:
Scene load fix affecting some Windows and Linux users
Inventory Item typos fixed
Rumin Ruins map exit point fix
Tratis Saltis inner-tower exit point fix
Selection-box fix if using quick-inventory
Window resizing (when in window mode) now saves through scenes
Hallowed Doors art fix in sub-outside area
Hotfix Patch 4 Live! — 5/29/2015
The newest patch includes a couple required hot-fixes:
*Map exit from Courtyard to Lumen Targ available again
*Game now runs in background — requested by quit a few folks, so that's toggled on now.
We're working on some of those other issues mentioned previously now as well, so we'll be updating those soon. Thanks everyone!
Cheers!
Post Launch Housekeeping!
We've had some reports of a few issues we wanted to get out of the way immediately that slipped into the final build, so we have a quick patch coming out soon that will address:
Using the Aptitude-quickbook cursor and clicking away/on the ground, character could no longer move
Fixed starting cinematic issues
monsters commanded with Nobility could turn invisible if too far away
We'll have an patch following this that will address:
typos in dialogues/menus
some NPC portraits had a few old images
other bugs we've had reported on the forums
After that we should be on schedule for patching any UI feedback and our continued balance patches, along with anything else that comes up.
Thanks for the feedback thus far! When the patch is live we'll post the specific details again.
