Here is a teaser of Wield Mjolnir - new game mode which is perfect for the game lore and based on community requests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwMPjlz8X94
Let us know what do you think about it!
Guys, as you know we don't use funding on marketing purposes such as videos promotion - our the only and the strongest power is this incredible community. We will be grateful to everyone who share this teaser on YouTube, make a post on Reddit or tell your friends about the game!
Best wishes!
Blackrose Arts
Good news & Radius VoIP added & Public game mode
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the Indiegogo updates section.
For the last time we have kept all the news on our Discord channel. It's time to make a public update!
Alpha has been launched over a month and has been available for testing each week.
The schedule wasn't changed:
US Servers:
Tuesday: 5 - 7pm ET. (Tuesday: 9 - 11pm UTC.)
Saturday: 8 - 10pm ET.( Sunday: 12 - 2am UTC.)
EU Servers:
Thursday: 5 - 7pm UTC. (Thursday: 1 - 3pm ET.)
Sunday: 7 - 9pm UTC. (Sunday: 3 - 5pm ET.)
Good news for those who participate in our tests. We have added radius voice chat!
Hold T button and talk, the others will hear you. The current radius is not final, it's big for testing purposes. Enjoy.
For those who are awaiting the next stage to play.
After the last trailer release we received a huge amount of feedback. Your words mean a lot for us, it was a great pleasure to read your impressions and consider suggestions. Our team thanks you!
While developing the combat system, basing on this feedback we were working on a special game mode, which will be launched the first one as a part of a new build!
It will have no NDA and will be full of fun.
We are going to have it closer to the end of July. In the next updates we will reveal all the necessary details on it and hope you will be excited as we are!
Also, all of us understand how amount of players is important for matchmaking. With this game mode we want to try to make a transition to 24/7 servers to let you play when you want. To make that happen we will let all our backers including owners of Early Access perk play this new game mode! Please await info about it in the next update. Owners of Beta perk, no worries, you keep having all your privileges coming with Beta access (you will be first to play BR&Siege mode, etc.).
As you know each current backer will get an amazing pack of bonuses which were published before.
And as we have already announced before - all these bonuses are available for players who became a backer before Alpha launching.
We didn't make an official update about the Alpha launching clear enough, some players thought it wasn't not out yet.
This is why we decided to extend the early backers benefits to 18th of June (Tuesday).
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the Indiegogo updates section.
As we promised in the past update, we present to you a new video.
We hope that it will answer both questions that have frequently appeared after the previous update, chiefly regarding the price and the progress that has been made since the last gameplay video was published.
Also, due to a number of similar questions that we have received lately we would like to briefly clarify that we are maintaining our independence from publishers and investors.
This independence is necessary for our prolonged work as a community in VALHALL's development, because the future of this game must be paved by players and gamers. That is why, in spite of all the difficulties of developing at a low budget, which affects the timing of the implementation of certain plans, we fully disclose our nature of our indie development team.
All of this is thanks to you, everyone who has supported us up until this stage.
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section.
It's time to announce the date of the Alpha testing period beginning - the 21st April!
The Alpha build is playable, but we want to use this time to finalize a number of features before the launching.
Testing will start according to the following schedule. Days Alpha Test will be available (each week):
NA server Time: 5 pm - 7 pm ET (Tuesday)
NA server Time: 8 pm - 10 pm ET (Saturday)
EU server Time: 1 pm - 3 pm ET (Thursday)
EU server Time: 3 pm - 5 pm ET (Sunday)
The presence of the schedule is caused by the necessity to consolidate matchmaking during the Alpha tests so that no one has to wait too long for matches to begin or play with a very small number of players on the map, as well as to conduct technical work between game sessions.
In scheduling, we tried to take into account the most convenient time intervals for all the involved time zones, based on the regional positioning of the bakers.
Moreover, we are open to suggestions and if you wish to adjust the specified times to make the schedule more convenient for you personally, or voice your opinion on our current schedule, please fill out this form:
We would also ask that you take into account that the schedule can't be perfect for each participant, however, the option to vary and alter the schedule is still available, as we aim to allow each Alpha tester to be able to play at a convenient time.
As we published before, every Beta access owner will also have access to the Alpha.
You will need to enter the code in the "betas" menu (we will attach screenshots manual) of the game on your Steam library, which will give you access to the Alpha version of the game client and will automatically be downloaded.
This code is one for everyone and it will be published in advance (update before Alpha), so you will have time to download the game before tests launching.
Please fill out this form to gain access to the Alpha:
This is quite important and necessary to gain an accurate indication of server capacity during the testing period.
We also strongly recommend you join our discord server! We're planning to hold numerous community events during the testing phase.
If you would like to take part you will need to be a member in order to receive information and instructions. Games will be played, fun will be had, prizes will be won.
Moreover, connecting with us on Discord allows you to get in touch with the developers and our community during testing, share your opinions, recommendations, bugs (with screenshots please!) and overall make our community a better place.
Note: To get access the exclusive Alpha channels you will need:
Enjoy the testing with your new Viking family! P.S.We will upload a form where users will be able to report bugs with the launch update for those who don't want to use the Discord.
The combat system 2.0 is still half playable and has some serious issues which prevent its use in the game at this stage. This is why we are launching Alpha with the old one, however our team is working hard on the new version and we are sure you will understand our motives after the video with the combat system 2.0 gameplay and description is released - it will be before Alpha launch.
Throughout Alpha, we will release patches that will add some working elements from combat 2.0 to the current system. This will all be explained further with the release of our combat explanation video.
For those who missed the previous update, we recommend to check our progress there.
This one is text only, we want to surprise you with the next update's content.
With the launch of the Alpha we plan to implement the following changes to the bonuses for Early backers:
We didn't plan for the Alpha to be publicly accessible, and that decision was made this month at the request of the community.
For that reason, there will be some changes to the bonuses available to new backers. These changes don't apply to any current backers.
The extra Steam key for Early Access & the Full Game as well as all bonuses from our lost bet (which you can find in the previous update) will be available only up to the launch of the Alpha. This means that if you became a backer before the Alpha launch, this insane bundle of rewards is yours.
Note: If you became a backer before the Alpha launch, but you missed out on choosing your extra key via form as a loyalty reward, you contact with us via email at: blackrosearts.official.ad@gmail.com We will be sending extra keys closer to Early Access launch.
As many of you have already noticed, there have been some changes on the Indiegogo web page - this was planned to incorporate updates to all the perks along with the launch of the Alpha and switch to our new pricing policy. We already published that info with our update on 25th Dec.
Our pricing policy will be updated with the coming Beta release. This will allow you to reap the rewards of your loyalty with even more benefits due to your decision to support us during the earlier stages of development as an Early backer of our project.
More for less. For the convenience of understanding and comparing the prices on each stage (current, Beta, Steam) we have prepared a pricing table for all our future Backers for a visual comparison.
Warriors of VALHALL! As promised earlier, as the launch of the Alpha tests grows nearer, we will make an update with the password and video.
Thank you,
Blackrose Arts
Free Alpha for Beta Testers & Combat system 2.0 & Big progress
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section.
First of all, we are pleased to announce that you have now become apart of the recipients for the most extensive set of awards in VALHALL's development. As such, we would like to congratulate you on your perseverance and dedication to this community and its development.
A full list of awards can be found below:
Owners of the $15 perk - Weapon Chest;
Owners of the 25$ perk - Bronze Chest;
Owners of the 35$ perk - Silver Chest;
Owners of the 50$ perk - extra Beta key + Early Access & Full game;
Owners of the 55$ perk - Golden Chest;
Owners of the 60$ perk - 3 Bronze Chests;
Owners of the 75$ perk - Golden Chest + Silver Chest;
Owners of the 99$ perk - Runes Chest;
Owners of the 130$ perk - 5 Silver Chests;
Owners of the 255$ perk - extra Armor set of your choice + Runes Chest;
Owners of the 550$ perk - extra Armor set of your choice + 5 Silver Chests + Golden Chest.
Owners of the 1000$ perk - extra Armor sets of your choice + 6 Silver Chests + 2 Golden chests
And that's not all! As we move forward with development and approach the release of the Beta, we are very frequently urged to launch any build of VALHALL, regardless of its flaws of playable state.
We fully understand your wishes to make sure that VALHALL exists beyond the pages of Steam and Indiegogo and comes to working fruition, as accessible on your own computers.
Below is just a fraction of the sorts of comments we have received on this topic:
We only want to publicly release VALHALL when it is ready, and we have always envisaged this to be when the game is in a well rounded and well polished state. Not rushed one.
However, we found a way to satisfy the desire of the backers to touch the game as soon as possible, while maintaining our position.
So, heeding to the requests of a part of the community who really wants to make sure in the reality of VALHALL we would like to present a gift that is more valuable for them than anything we have presented to date.
We are launching Alpha under NDA!
After 15 days, the exact date of Alpha will be announced, which won't be started farther than 3 weeks from that announcement. No bets this time, only the date.
The launch of the Alpha will help you to understand how VALHALL looks. As we have seen from the comments and the questions that frequently arise, many people don't have a complete picture about the game. We want to fix that.
"Which combat system - Chivalry or For Honor" has been perhaps the most frequently asked question on this topic. Rest assured that all the uncertainty regarding this will be dispelled in the very near future.
The current Beta delay is all about the combat system we want VALHALL to have in a right state for a public release. In the old blogs, we have already told it is Chivalry type and showed the combat 1.0 we had with bugs. We want to launch Beta only with the combat system 2.0.
Can it be longer? - Yes, this is a teaser and we will show a gameplay video about 10 minutes long!
It will give you an understanding of why we decided to delay the Beta, and why it’s worth to wait. In this video we will show the new combat system in depth.
It will be published 1 day before the Alpha launch.
As for the Alpha, everyone who has a key for the Beta will gain access to the Alpha absolutely free, despite it never being included in any Perk.
To gain access, all you will need to do is enter an additional password in the Steam game properties and the download will start. We will send it 1 day before launch.
And a very important moment, friends, please take this into account seriously. If you would prefer to experience the game as it is intended, and have a much better first impression, then we would encourage you to wait for the Beta. We didn't plan to run the public Alpha test because its build contains certain flaws which can influence on your experience of the game, uses the old combat system of build from previous Summer, all of which is being worked on and overhauled at the moment. This build also doesn't contain some elements, which will be listed with the Alpha launch.
As we mentioned, above we would like to introduce VALHALL to the world in a state which we are proud of, and the shortcomings of the Alpha lead us to restrict the use of game content online during on the network, namely the presence of NDA for Alpha.
And once again, NDA applies only to the Alpha.
For Beta, without any change - no restrictions and no NDA!
In order to ensure proper matchmaking, Alpha will be launched according to a certain schedule. It will be published along in the next update with the date announcement.
Besides, the launch of Alpha will probably have a positive effect on the growth in the number of bakers, which means more server hours for playing Beta already on the start.
There are things we prefer to keep for Wow-effect, but also it is important for us to keep you informed about the progress, so here is some of it.
Do you remember these guys from the trailer?
Also remember what we said in the last updates about the game course.Here is one you will meet in the game.
Also, the bow you voted in the short poll has been finished.
We have recently received a number of questions concerning to the future price of the game at the time of its Early Access release on Steam.
The price will be set at $29.99 USD in Early Access. This will be the base price on Steam (for the US). As you know, there is a system of regional coefficients for international prices, and therefore the cost of VALHALL will be adjusted per region.
The development of the game is almost entirely funded by the money raised from the crowdfunding campaign. Accordingly, the more funds we receive, the more human resources we are able to attract which directly affects the rate of development.
Rewarding our backers with in-game items as a bonuses is a way to thank you and create boost that help us increase the number of supporters as well.
That's why you currently have the best deal available, but also to receive a huge number of bonuses and even 1 extra key.
There will different categories of Early backers depending on the period of purchase for the future postrelease bonuses.
For us this is an opportunity to develop and release the game in a better state, and for you it is an opportunity to make very profitable acquisitions.
It is time to summarize the results of the latest community poll regarding arrow camera tracking. The overwhelming majority, precisely 81% voted for removal of this feature due to reasons which were published with the last update.
Many thanks to all who voted for your opinion! Arrow camera tracking was removed.
Many thanks once again to the help of our amazing community, the VALHALL Steam page has already been almost completely translated into 6 languages and more are in process. You can meet our amazing translators through this link: https://discord.gg/MC4VX3b
Thank you. Your support and words of encouragement mean the world to us at Blackrose Arts.
Your involvement, dedication and support of this development has been truly sensational, and we cherish our close, family like connection with all of you.
This will not be lost after the release. The future of VALHALL is largely built from your dedication and commitment to our community and the amazing nature of the friendships and relationships developed are precisely thanks to “You”, all those who support us right now.
We would like to foster the unique interactions that arise daily. From time to time we will be hosting special offers and events that we will not forget to include you in.
Without all of you, VALHALL would be impossible.
Blackrose Arts
Headway & More rewards & Houses & Translation
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section.
Since the last update we've archived some really impressive results in achieving our main goals and different additional tasks.
We are going to name the exact date of the Beta launch with the next update as the implementation of our new combat system and it's netcode improvements are still not quite at the level we need for the Beta launch.
Therefore, we are ready to make a bet with you to somehow atone our blame.
If we don't announce the Beta Test date on 16th March then all Early backers (anyone who has backed the game before the release of the Beta) will receive the next extra rewards for long-suffering:
Owners of the $15 perk - Weapon Chest;
Owners of the 25$ perk - Bronze Chest;
Owners of the 35$ perk - Silver Chest;
Owners of the 50$ perk - extra Beta key + Early Access & Full game;
Owners of the 55$ perk - Golden Chest;
Owners of the 60$ perk - 3 Bronze Chests;
Owners of the 75$ perk - Golden Chest + Silver Chest;
Owners of the 99$ perk - Runes Chest;
Owners of the 130$ perk - 5 Silver Chests;
Owners of the 255$ perk - extra Armor set of your choice + Runes Chest;
Owners of the 550$ perk - extra Armor set of your choice + 5 Silver Chests + Golden Chest.
Owners of the 1000$ perk - extra Armor sets of your choice + 6 Silver Chests + 2 Golden chests
On the other hand, if we will finish the implementing of the new combat system and publish the exact Beta date with the next update - these additional bonuses will be replaced by the Beta launch. Its a win-win right?
Moreover, we've hired 2 new technical artists and 1 new programmer to our team. They have already produced some outstanding work. Our small team is one of the key factors affecting the rate of progress on issues related to the launch of Beta, and we hope the increase in manpower helps speed up the development process.
After the final map lighting rebuild we uncovered a lot of issues relating to meshes, however, at this time we have managed to solve all of them.
In regards to optimization issues, initial processing time on the 7th of February was 45-70ms. A later test on the 21st showed a steady 16.6ms on high settings. It's a good result - 60-70 fps on high settings on a medium strength computer.
PC specifications requirements will be published with the launch of the Beta and then tweaked slightly for Early Access as we will continue the work in this direction. Meanwhile we have also managed to minimize the game file's size while overall adding more content.
As for other news, the implementation of the new combat system is underway. While this process is in full swing, our other work doesn't stand still. We're currently working on developing a new environment for warm-up mode. It is going to be something new.
Here are some examples of the new buildings:
Let's summarize the results of the community poll surrounding horns on the helmets, which was published with the last update. The overwhelming majority, precisely 71% - voted against having horns.
As a consequence, during both Beta and early access, the number of helmets with horns will be minimized.
However, as we said before exclusive items will still have designs which incorporate horns, we wanted to clarify this issue for the most helmets available in game.
During the Early Access period, we plan to implement the option to customize your weapons and armor including the toggling of horns on helmets. This solution will allow everyone to tailor their experience to their preferences, and determine the appearance of their own helmet. However, from this period in time, VALHALL will be centred around having very few if any horned helmets.
This is just one example of how a single post on our Steam discussions (kudos to Venset) has turned into something which we have considered and are now in the process of implementing. To add your suggestions to the development of VALHALL, please take a look at our Discord Server!
While we are still working on the combat system there is one something that we would like your help in deciding.
In the first combat version we had an arrow camera tracking feature for test. It was looking good, but we are worried that it might produce a way to gain an unfair advantage by essentially having a remote camera. At the same time it leaves you vulnerable to attack while your focus is on an arrow instead of your surroundings.
Should we remove arrow cam?
#quick-voting channel
https://discord.gg/ugJjpcp
The campaign page update was published earlier, so please don't be confused, it is still under construction and will be ready by Beta.
We are very grateful to our community for help with translation. Here are the languages which are already in process.
French translators: @Hell_Frank, @Iceman, @Solved
Norwegian translators: @Demonshiver, @Sjugur
Dutch translators: @Shadix, @The Balbarian
Portuguese translator: @LapantinoPT
German translators: @bigbadbatz, @Kormakr, @LarsDerEisbär
To the end of this week you will be able to see our Steam page translated to some of these languages.
Also, the more languages are coming. Check our Discord #announcements for more details.
As you know, purchased as part of your Indiegogo package will be delivered with the start of Early Access.
That means that we still can make some changes to the "chest system" at this stage.
Therefore we want to make sure that we are on the right path and hear your thoughts and concerns surrounding an area which we are well aware can be devastating if gotten wrong.
Please fill this form
https://goo.gl/forms/56YQrapdscqeMAYI3
Today we have made the first change and we are sure that you'll like it. As you remember it was written on the campaign page that you will only receive 1 item from every chest.
From now on, 1 single chest will yield not one, but TWO items!
For example, you will receive both a piece of armor and a helmet from a Silver Chest instead of one or the other which was previously stated.
This decision is based not on desire to buy your patience, but rather for the sake of the game's success, in connection with the further perks price and for your overall enjoyment. We want you all to have the opportunity to customize your character and look unique when the time comes, as such, we have decided to increase the amount of items available for you to use in this process.
Once again, you will never be given items that you already posses from a
chest.
Kemst þó hægt fari
Stay awesome!
Blackrose Arts
Advance & NO third-person corner peeking
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section.
Recently, we began to receive several questions about the separation of servers into 2 types (FPP & TPP), depending on the type of camera perspectives available.
Being a team of diehard gamers, just like you, we are well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both types of perspectives. Being well aware of the undeniable unfair advantages of a third person camera (namely the ability to look around obstacles, corners, buildings, and so on), we have come up with a unique feature to make sure all your battlefield encounters are fair and the result is determined by skill, not camera angles.
As you can see in this video, a player with a third-person view has no opportunity to peek around both the corner of the building and the door frame.
In addition, We have received numerous questions and proposals concerning the implementation of the Steam Workshop.
The world of the Scandinavian myth is huge, incredibly rich, and overall extremely diverse. Therefore, we are happy to accept only the highest quality workshop submissions for their implementation as in-game items. The implementation of this function will significantly broaden the breadth of content in the world of VALHALL for the entire community.
However, we ask all future participants of this program to take into account that we aim to bring the mythology of VALHALL to life, not in a fantasy or cartoonic style, but in the most realistic graphics that are able to convey the severity of the Viking world.
We are well aware of how hard it is to understand our plans for VALHALL at times. Especially considering the bigger picture is still very much confidential, but as more and more information becomes public, and more of our development process is understood, we hope it becomes clear that we work for quality, not quantity. Although there's still going to be heaps of content!
* * *
The important thing is to understand is that the atmosphere of our Battle Royale map is so colorful because of the lore surrounding it. It is a place of eternal battle where great warriors have fun and then feast.
Everything we are preparing for you in the near future is very different. Please remember these words when you see what we are talking about. Our team aims to establish the true atmosphere of viking warfare:
Brutal, powerful, deep in its essence.
We would like to remind you how method of interaction works:
- To vote for features already present on the board, you can take a survey using this link:
- To take part in our one-click instant voting (as well as participate in numerous other community discussions, events and fun) take a look at our discord server:
- If you have a suggestion thats just bubbling away inside of you, something that you think would make a great addition to the game, feel free to leave it in the #suggestions channel on discord! Your friends and peers will be able to vote on and discuss all the suggestions, planned features, and other aspects of the game. However, the only the most interesting, unique, ad popular ideas will be placed into our ideas incubator process. This is exclusively available to suggestions made on the Google forms and the #suggestions channel of the discord, due to these tools having already proven their effectiveness and ease of use.
- The next stage is a more detailed assessment from both the community and from our own interpretations, on the ideas that have already been selected and placed into the idea incubator. Selected ideas are placed on our interactive community board, with their subsequent implementation to follow in development.
- As the development of each idea progresses, its status will move along and appear on the roadmap.
Quick Votes:
We hope you liked our latest method of quickly resolving certain choices that have to be made in the process of VALHALL's development. Last week we gave our discord community the opportunity to vote on a weapon design, which will later be implemented in the game.
For those who did not take part: from time to time we plan to make posts on a particular topic that allow for an easy to use multiple choice voting system on a specific design or any other questions or decisions that need to be made. The opportunity to vote in these polls only lasts for a short period of time, and is exclusive to our discord members in the #quick-voting channel. Social networks do not have such functionality and therefore this event will be held only in Discord
From time to time we plan to place posts on the subject of a consolidated choice of a particular design of the future weapon or any other question which has to be quickly defined in the voting channel of our Discord.
According to the latest community poll, the design of a future bow was chosen (the first option), which we will add with one of the patches during the Beta testing stage.
Of course we are aware that this fashion is merely the product of myth.
What is seemingly a silly issue for someone however, is exactly the sort of thing we listen to, and don't worry we aren't taking our focus away from getting the beta out as quickly as possible, but we want your thoughts!
Let us know your thoughts, so we can settle this great debate and experience an atmosphere that we will all love.
(Exclusive items will still have horns, we just want to clarify this issue for the most common helmets available in game).
All Early backers get + 1 new Weapons Chest.
https://goo.gl/forms/lBTEJCHm6PfTLi903
We ask all other owners of squad packages who missed the previous update to use this link to select their reward.
Thank you once more for keeping your fingers crossed for VALHALL!
Skål!
Blackrose Arts
Progress & Official Discord & New warriors
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section.
As we promised in the previous update, and based upon the requests we have received from many of you, we have prepared a video of how Odin's Helmet is transformed from a concept art to one of the game's rarest items.
Like with all of our custom assets, we take a lot of time giving each piece of armor, weapons, and the environment the fine detail and level of respect it deserves.
Let us know in the comments if you would like to see such creation videos of other significant in game items.
It's about time we transitioned to a more enjoyable and effective approach in the manner in which we interact with you.
We hope this space not only provides us all with a lot of fun as a place to foster new relationships, but also allows us to shape the future of the VALHALL franchise effectively together.
With the previous update we announced the first stage of our community interaction process - The community development board.
Now we are launching the second phase of this tool, which incorporates the ability to vote for the features which you would like to see developed with the single press of a button. Through this process, we hope to offer our shared vision of certain ideas and see your reactions to it.
At this stage our new official Discord server will play a key role in this process.
We are aware of the existence of several fan-made servers, some of which we recognized, but due to a number of reasons we have decided to make a single official server.
Our team of moderators and community manager have put together a well polished and engaging space for our continued interaction.
We sincerely hope that you like it!
In the process of evaluating new features, interacting with the development process and presenting your ideas, we have established a channel where your feedback and input will directly affect the interactive board discussions.
It should be noted that at the moment, due to the fact that all our resources are directed to the development of the game, we are forced to use third-party software to implement an interactive whiteboard. We don't see this as an issue for the time being, however, we hope to develop our own tool for this process on our website later.
With regards to the Discord server, verification of this server as official by the administration of Discord (which gives official servers the little tick in their name) will be carried out immediately after the start of Beta testing - this is due to Discord's rules, as the game needs to have been released before the server can be verified. We're just as eager as you are.
On the new official server you will find both moderators, who many of you are already familiar with, as well as some members of the development team.
We ask you to keep in mind that we try to answer all the questions we receive on various social networking platforms as soon as possible, but at the same time each and every member of our team has a certain set of duties, the fulfillment of which affects both the quality and development time.
Therefore, we ask you to understand that there will be cases where one of our developers is online in the Discord, but does not have the opportunity to give an answer to a question or to take part in conversation. Please be respectful of this, we work long hours to develop the game which you are patiently awaiting. If you need anything please contact one of our moderators.
We have received some concerns regarding the amount of players.
You can read how we plan to overcome this issue with the matchmaking during the Beta in the Christmas update.
Furthermore, in order to make the transition to 24/7 servers smoother we plan to implement a new mode as a "warm-up" of sorts. There will be updates regarding this process during the Beta period.
Cheer on your Viking Squad
Good news for owners of the Viking Squads and Armored Viking Squads perks. We have had a few questions regarding additional Early backers gifts for these players. As such, we are pleased to announce that we have decided to equate the number of rewards to the number of your Beta keys.
If you are the owner of the Viking Squad or Armored Viking Squad bundles, then you will receive the number of extra keys/chests (x3 / x5) in your emails, depending on the choice you made. In case you wish to change your preference, please refill the the form and select the option you would like in the newly added section.
We cannot stress this enough, the game will need a good online presence and a healthy number of players for our launch into Early Access, and bringing along as many of your friends as possible is a great way we can all ensure that we can all get the most out of VALHALL.
There still is another cool gift prepared for Early backers, it will be announced during the tests.
The good news however, is that as of this update VALHALL has been added to the wishlist of more than 21,500 Steam users.
This undoubtedly indicates a potential jump in the number of players who will join the battle eventually. Of course, we understand that not all of these players who added the game to their wishlist will play it on the very first day after Early Access release, and therefore we take this into account in our player projections.
Furthermore, during the past week, the number of players who added VALHALL to their wishlist has increased by 392% compared to the week before. Members of the press, bloggers, streamers, and content creators are increasingly contacting us to hear about VALHALL.
We are pleased with the level of exposure the game has received recently, however, we are more eager to see how much attention the game will receive at the start of the Beta period.
You are an awesome community, guys!
Many thanks for your ongoing support,
Blackrose Arts
Status & Community board & Odin's helmet
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section and check Beta development status.
With great pleasure we present to you the first and main part of the interactive tool mentioned in the before last Indiegogo update.
This will allow us to communicate with you in more detail and most importantly, to jointly determine the direction in which VALHALL will develop.
Why is this board interactive? - Your opinion will be taken into account and the board will be modified according to your suggestions.
As already mentioned, this is only the first part. As part of the next Indiegogo update, we will add communication functionality, which will also allow for a one-click assessment to a particular idea and to make detailed suggestions that will be visible not only to us but to other members of the community
It's not a space for empty words and unanswered pleas. This space will have a meaningful and significant effect on the development of the game. Board is dynamic and will be updating, give it some time, and we hope to see it flourish with your input.
We ask you to save your ideas and share with us using the second tool part in the next update.
All of this will help us to develop a game which is truly a work of art.
It is time for us to showcase the helmet of Odin, which we have not presented thus far.
This piece of armor, exactly like the other pieces of armor and weapons, is crafted and created with maximum detail and passion.
In one of the following updates, we will post a video of how this concept art turns into the 3D model that you see directly in the game.
As well the corresponding perks which are available from Early Access.
Independence
In addition, we have repeatedly noted that we are an indie team, which first of all means that we are highly independent and flexible.
We know that you can appreciate how some development companies are pressured and influenced by their sources of funding, especially when these sources of income have little to do with the project's development.
This means that in our case there are very few limiting factors to make the game come together in the way in which we have envisaged it.
It also means that we are directly dependent on our community for support, both financially and emotionally, therefore, the rate at which we are able to continue developing the game is heavily dependent upon community involvement. The greater the extent of the support, the sooner you will be able to see new things on the development board and eventually, in game.
This is a part of Indiegogo update which we are posting here for our Steam community to make sure you don't miss it. You can read full update in the updates section Indiegogo Campaign
Initially, we were going to launch the Beta using a separate game client, however, we have decided to launch the Beta on Steam so it is more accessible for you all.
You will not need to load any other clients with the release and go through additional verification this way.
To access the Beta you will need a Steam key only. It can be activated in the corresponding Steam window.
When launching the game this time, you may be presented with an information window, so please don't let download estimate times confuse you. With the release Steam will update VALHALL in your library and download all the game files.
We are sending out new keys 1 time every day. If you are Beta Tester and don't receive your key then please let us know directly through the Indiegogo page and we will help you.
Early backers bonuses
Also, we would like to remind you that bonuses for the vikings who backed VALHALL before the Beta Test launch are
Please find a link to the form in the previous updates if you are Early backer make a choice to be eligible to receive your reward if you haven’t already done so.
At this stage we are sending Steam Beta keys only. Early backers additional keys will be sent with Steam Early Access keys at the end of the Beta.
Here are some images to show you the level of detail in these products.
In addition, we want to express our deepest gratitudes to everyone who took part in our polls. Your suggestions have helped us improve and develop the game in a direction which we are proud to work.
Special thanks to the following warriors who proposed the most interesting, useful and cool ideas, some of which have already been taken into consideration and are in development.
These are the names of the emails used to respond to the polls, and as such sections have been omitted.
We would also like to note that the previously published schedule for servers working during the Beta testing period is only initial. As the number of testers increases, an amount of playable days will increase, as well as times.
Our goal is to transfer servers to 24/7 mode as early as possible, but it’s equally important for us to ensure you get comfortable matchmaking during the Beta stage, so you can experience our game in its entirety.
The restrictions on times, while they may cause some irritation due to time zones, etc, we hope will consolidate our playerbase to provide more full, and enjoyable matches. As our active playerbase increases, so will server availability.
