Chronicles of Vaeltaja: In Search of the Great Wanderer (in Early Access)

[Vaeltaja]

Thanks Hastar and Carnifex! That's good to hear! I've been planning this for some time, as those original bat and wolf sprites were the first ones I ever made. I will re-draw few other enemy sprites as well and also test side and back profiles, so that enemies wouldn't be always facing to the player when roaming around the world. I want to make the same for all the NPCs at some point.

First I thought I wouldn't bother with them, but it seems that I have to launch this as an 'early access' anyway, so now there's no reason to cut corners. There's been so much things happening in my life these past few months, and most of those things have been something that I haven't had any control of or couldn't just ignore, so the development progress has been slower than I thought it would be. I 've been working on this almost daily basis, but there were couple of weeks I wasn't able to work at all.

These next few weeks I will be focusing on improving things that are already made and adding some more content to the existing areas. If things go well, I'll be sharing some info in the next couple of weeks about the release, price range and other stuff, such as how much content there is and so on. But don't worry, I'm not doing some half-assed early access release with just a skeleton of a game - there will be lots of content and I'll do my best to make sure that all the existing content will feel like it's already a finished game.

 

[Vaeltaja]

I've released a balancing update to make the beginning easier. I also made a tutorial video for the demo.

Patch notes:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2421440/discussions/0/3836550120030219089/

Tutorial video:

 

[Vaeltaja]

Here's a little teaser of one feature that has been asked few times since the beginning - side and back profiles for NPCs:

 

[Vaeltaja]

The demo will get two more updates which will bring the new sprites for enemies and NPCs. After the second update I will announce a little competition, so three lucky ones will win a Steam key for the release version, but more about that later.

Spoiler: Screenshots of new enemy sprites!

 

[Vaeltaja]

Here's a quick look at the new sprites in action:

 

[Vaeltaja]

I found a wrong value in bats' stats in the Chronicles of Vaeltaja's demo, which invalidated all the previous balancing updates. This and certain other issues are now fixed. I also added some new sprites for some enemies and NPCs to add immersion.

Sorry for the inconvenience if the demo has felt way too tough in the beginning!

Patch notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2421440/view/3663164071059471134?l=english

 

[Vaeltaja]

Today seems to be a busy day, as the demo's latest version is now available at Itch.io:

https://witchgrove-games.itch.io/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-in-search-of-the-great-wanderer-demo

 

[Vaeltaja]

Small surprise update for the demo before the final update!

Patch notes:

- Updated bandit sprites to have animation when they walk in the forest
- Improved bandit battle animation slightly
- All the NPCs have now side and back sprites
- Changed bandit mobs, so Outlaws doesn't appear into battles too early

 

[Vaeltaja]

The final update for the Chronicles of Vaeltaja's demo has been released!

Steam: Final patch notes!

 

[Vaeltaja]

A Chronicles of Vaeltaja Competition has started!

Chronicles of Vaeltaja Competition

 

[Vaeltaja]

Been a little bit quiet on this front, but that's just calm before the storm.

I've made a surprise update to the Chronicles of Vaeltaja's demo, which implements the new 'Stat and Skill' system that is more in line with old school RPGs. If you didn't like the old system, this just might be the game changer that you were hoping for.

Here are the details of the new system:

Stat and Skill system:

'Stats' have now a wider impact when building your characters and here's a little rundown how they work:

• Strength
  is important to characters who wield melee weapons, such as sword, axe or mace, but there is one exception, which is dagger. Strength increases physical damage directly, so it is important to Guide, Warrior and Knight.
• Perception
  is important to Guide as it helps with finding secrets, but it also affects to some ranged battle techniques.
• Stamina
  determines how much 'Hit Points' a character can have, but it there are some differences how it works between the character classes. With caster characters 'Hit Points' are gained in a more restrained manner, therefore Mages, Priests and Witches are physically more vulnerable than Warriors for example. Stamina also affects directly to the 'defense' value, so it is important stat to all classes.
• Charisma
  affects how willingly people are going to share their troubles and secrets with you.
• Intelligence
  determines how much 'Energy Points' characters can have, but just like with 'stamina' and 'hit points', there are some differences between classes. With classes dealing physical melee or ranged damage 'energy points' are gained in a more restrained manner. 'Energy points' are needed to cast spells or to use different battle techniques. Intelligence is important to all classes, but it also affects directly to effectiveness of spells, so it is the main stat for Mages, Priests and Witches.
• Agility
  affects to ranged and dagger damage, defense, to some battle techniques and acting order in combat. It is important to Hunter, Shadow, Witch and Witch Hunter.
• Luck
  affects little bit here and there.

Stats may also play part in some stat/skill checks in the release version of the game.

Here's how 'Skills' work:

• Each class have their own specific skill sets. First skill in the skill list of every character is the 'Class Skill', improving it will give access to stronger spells and techniques, and raises their effectiveness. Some classes, such as Mages and Priests, have actually two class skills. For example Mage has 'Warlock' and 'Wizard' class skills and they both have their own spells for Mage to learn - Warlock is specialized in elemental spells, while Wizard is focused on another kind of spells. Higher the 'Class Skill', the more powerful spells and techniques can be learned.
• Caster classes can also have skills like 'Elemental Power' or 'Spirit Power* which raises the effectiveness of certain spells.
• Weapon skills, such as 'Sword', 'Axe' and 'Bow', allow you to wield stronger weapons and it also raises the damage dealt with that certain weapon.
• 'Armor', 'Robes', 'Magic Armor' and 'Shield' skills allow to wear better armor, robes, trinkets and shields.
• There are also some 'Utility Skills' in the skill list, such as 'Lock Picking' and 'Speech'. These are the skills that can be used to interact with the game world. Before these were on restricted to the main character class Guide, but now other classes can improve certain 'Utility Skills' too. For example Shadow can improve 'Lock Picking' and try to open locked doors instead of the main character. Some of these 'Utility Skills' have no purpose in the demo, but will be used in the release version.
• Spells and battle techniques doesn't appear in the skill list anymore, so their effectiveness is improved through 'Class Skills'. Spells and techniques are must still be bought from the merchant. Spells and battle techniques consume 'Energy Points'.

Patch notes at Steam

 

[Vaeltaja]

A small balancing update for the demo.

Patch Notes:
- Adjusted 'hit point' and 'energy point' formulas
- Adjusted the spell damage little bit weaker, so spells are not overpowered in the beginning
- Adjusted the amount of Stat and Skill points that the party has at the beginning
- Changed locations of two bat mobs in the Southern part of the Great Forest
- Tweaked first quest's Outlaw mob so that at least two Outlaws appears when battle starts
- Updated 'Gameplay_Instructions' and 'ReadMe' text files found in the demo's main folder
- Updated Merchant's gameplay tips
- Added butterflies in few spots in the forest
- Added one more Water of Life and Camping Gear to the party inventory
- Some minor balancing to Outlaws, Skeletons and Wraiths

 

[Vaeltaja]

Some changes:
- Camping gear won't be consumable, so you only need to buy it once. But there's always a but... I think I'll add a slight chance for enemies to attack when camping.
- Using the camping gear will show picture (probably animated eventually), it's still a little bit wip, but gives the idea.

I'm also testing two new skills for all the characters to balance the character development:
- Resilience: every level for this skill adds 5 hit points to character.
- Channeling: every level for this skill adds 3 energy points.

 

[Vaeltaja]

Day/night cycle added.

 

[Carnifex]

That's a great enhancement!

 

[Vaeltaja]

That's a great enhancement!

I have some other news coming, hopefully today or tomorrow.

 

[Vaeltaja]

Chronicles of Vaeltaja has finally launch details!

The game's early access will start at October 10th!

Detailed announcement at Steam

 

[Carnifex]

Congrats on getting a date for launch. I'm not an early access fan myself yet I bet you'll have plenty que'ing up to give this one a try!

 

[Vaeltaja]

Congrats on getting a date for launch. I'm not an early access fan myself yet I bet you'll have plenty que'ing up to give this one a try!

Thanks! I wanted to avoid early access and if this game would have been like it was first planned out (light-hearted adventure-rpg like the first Lands of Lore) I could have made it straight to full launch. But along the way this grew up to be something different, something much more. But the good thing is that now I have all the needed mechanics and systems almost ready, so I can soon focus mainly on the content.

 

[Carnifex]

Lands of Lore are one of my all time favourite series, so even a nod in that direction gives me even more hope that I'm going to truly enjoy your project. Best of luck!