We are releasing a small update for Sands of Salzaar today. This is part of our bug fixing process after each major update. You can read about the November major update here.

In this patch we are addressing the issues that emerged after the November update. A couple bugs related to dragons have been fixed, including Fire Wyverns not being able to be promoted.



The long standing glitch that troops can be added to the roster without sufficient resources has also been fixed (sorry farmers!). Neutral towns (that are not affiliated with any faction) can now be taken by the player.



The full patch note can be found below. If you encounter further issues or have any questions and feedback, join our Discord, or contact us through indie@xd.com.




New Additions

• Added staff as a new weapon type. Certain heroes now use staff as their weapons.
  
• Added mod function for inventory GUI reset.

Adjustments

• Players can now siege neutral towns.
  
• Adjusted basic attack for top tier dragons.
  
• Shaman now has casting animation after transforming into dragons.
  
• Modified terrain near Snow Caverns.
  
• You can no longer cancel the action after joining a friendly siege preparation.

Bugfixes

• Beastmaster and Shaman can now correctly trigger the story for Yaksha.
  
• Fixed an issue causing players not being able to recruit Tasha, Threnody and Omar.
  
• Fixed an issue causing Fire Wyverns losing the ability to be promoted.
  
• Fixed an issue causing Bladedancer's movement abilities to dash at longer distances than intended.
  
• Reviving after being knocked down when transformed no longer retains the transformation.
  
• Fixed an issue causing troops to continue being shown as added to the roster when the player actually doesn't have the resources required to recruit.
  
• Numerous English translation fixes.
  
• Added missing translations for some UI elements.

The first major update of Sands of Salzaar’s next stage of development is now here. But before that, we have some other news to share with you: Sands of Salzaar won the Best Game Award at the 2020 IndiePlay Awards! We are honored by our players’ support and feedback, and will continue to improve the game during Early Access and beyond.



Back to today’s update! In case you missed it, you can read about our update plan and roadmap for the next few months here.




In the November update, one of our biggest priorities is to address a very frequent feedback: the quests lack direction and are often too vague for their own good. To address this, we added a new quest guidance system. You can now either pinpoint a main quest objective on the map, or follow a compass to find your destination.



For players that wish to immerse themselves in the game world, there is an option for you as well. Tavern hostesses will have rumors for your mysterious quests, and the clues will expand over time, in case you need them for late steps.




Another major addition we’ve included in this update is the first of the major changes to the combat system. New battle scenario maps are added for better visual variety in combat. Troop AI behavior in battle has also been adjusted, in particular to cavalry units and ranged units, which will now attempt to fight with melee weapons when necessary, instead of constantly trying to run away, much to the annoyance of players. Finally, there is a major rebalance of troops, especially at the higher tiers.



Some of the combat changes were part of work previously slated for later, but we’ve decided to bring them forward. These are things we are constantly working on, and we’d love to hear your feedback on the changes. In addition, we are focusing on single player mode features at this time, so the multiplayer map expansion previously planned for this update has been moved to a later date.


Last but not the least, to further support the English speaking modding scene, we’ve further expanded English tool support by localizing table headers of the reference excel files, and made them easier to access. A couple of untranslated modding tools are also localized. This is another field we are still in active iteration process, so let us know your modding experience as well.

Speaking of mods, some modders in our community are also working on localizing their award winning mods of the second modding event, you can take a look at the winners here.

If you encounter any issue in-game, contact us through indie@xd.com, or join us on Discord!



The full patch notes are as below.


New Additions

• Brand new quest guidance system, with map coordinates and compass options.
  
• You can now ask for rumors at taverns for certain active quests. Options for the rumors will expand and change over time.
  
• 12 new battleground maps, which will spawn randomly depending on army composition and related environment.
  
• New combat moveset for sword, dagger, spear and staff.
  
• New animation set for dragons.
  
• AI and animation improvements for cavalry units.
  
• Added English headers for modding resource excel files and rearranged configuration tables.
  
• Teammate position indicator widget added to multiplayer mod.
  
• You can now set password for your multiplayer session.
  
• Added custom item slot feature to the mod editor. You can custom item slot and type name of any number, define slot exclusivity logic like differentiating between one and two handed weapons and more. Refer to GUI and LUA reference mod for more information.
  
• Added trade GUI reset function to the mod editor.

Adjustments

• Some persistent NPCs (Mysterious Witch and Haberdasher, for example) now show up in the town roster.
  
• Adjusted ranged unit AI and their movement behavior. Certain ranged troops will also attempt to fight with melee weapons when necessary.
  
• Removed the time limit of Bazaar.
  
• Adjusted combat roll animation.
  
• Updated Beastmaster’s dragon form model.
  
• Tasha, Threnody and Omar are now automatically assigned “in the wild” status once certain side quests are completed. You no longer need to use Legacy to bring them into the game.
  
• Significant troop stats and skill revamp. Certain high tier troops have also been redesigned, this include Dakn Elder, Dakn Priestess, Nasir Crossbowman, Nasir Healer and more.
  
• Adjusted the following skills: Wild Wolf Bite (Beastmaster), Beast Stampede (Beastmaster), Slam (Beastmaster), Lunging Chop (Berserker), Primal Dance (Berserker), Aftershock (Sentinel).
  
• Cooldown and mana cost adjustment for some skills.
  
• Most dungeon with chest rewards now change their battleground map accordingly.
  
• Added missing illustrations for certain quest NPCs.
  
• The multiplayer lobby now shows all available and in-progress multiplayer sessions. Players will also be returned to the session itself instead of the main menu after finishing or failing a multiplayer game.
  
• All mod configuration table files are now arranged in two languages, this includes file names and column titles.
  
• All open source configuration tables can now be found in "Example_ExcelReference" folder under game installation path. Mod developers no longer need to extract them from open source mods.

Dear desert travelers,

After sifting through a variety of high-quality entries for Sands of Salzaar’s Second Modding Event, we are excited to reveal today the list of cool mods selected by our official team! Before announcing the results, we’d like to thank all the participants. It was such a pleasure to explore everyone’s creations!

Compared to the First Modding Event in May, the second comp has inundated us with more diversity, more professional mods with higher technical requirements, more multiplayer maps, and even massive story overhauls that totally remake the game with all-new gameplay and storylines. Such progress not only comes from the constant technical updates on modding toolsets, but also owes a great deal to our passionate modders always dedicated to improving modding skills to realize the full potential of our humble indie.

So, without further ado, here comes the complete list of selected mods:

The Excellence Prize:

乌坦城之变 (The Wu Tan City Uprising)
Mod Author: skyswordkill



The whole multiplayer map based on the IP of the popular Chinese fiction Battle Through the Heavens is remade with an all-new GUI, leaving a strong first impression on players. The re-designed skill system consists of passive and active abilities to be ranked up. The gameplay is more of a stats-based RPG, with huge potential in future updates.

空界之传v2.0版 (Hollow Chronicles 2.0)
Mod Author: KK大魔王Acrab



Based on the Japanese novel series Sword Art Online, this mod includes two fictional characters with exclusive plots and quests, adds several new maps, and introduces skills like crafting equipment and items. The mod overall is very polished with frequent updates. Some newly-added dungeons are also well-designed.

The Merit Prize:

墨家传人正式版 (The Descendants of Mo)
Mod Author: M3小蘑菇



If you like game storytelling and martial arts, this is the mod you can’t miss. A new character The Descendants of Mo is added and the original storylines about Mohism will soon get you immersed in the game. We really look forward to seeing the ending of the story!

少女与弯刀 (Femme Salzaar)
Mod Author: HA会长



This campaign mod is the base mod for “The Weaker Sex”. These two mods feature an original female character, new female NPCs and a variety of female combat arms. The recent update remade characters’ portraits and added a slew of new storylines. Strongly recommended.

动态人物互动与势力交互大修 (Dynamic Character and Faction Interactions)
Mod Author: skyswordkill & 勃兰登堡



This mod expands the base game’s Favor system and interactions with NPCs and factions. Now you can have chit chat, practice fighting with other fellow characters, make confessions of love to your crush, trade cities with other factions, and even beg for goods.

数码宝贝 (Digimon)
Mod Author: 宇文kong



This mod adds a variety of Digimons as combat arms in-game which can be upgraded with different progression routes. The Digimon library is comprehensive with unique signature skills , and the models are so exquisitely-designed that sometimes cause frame drops in the troop upgrade interface.

• Horde and Tank
  
• Grant Instant death to your enemies-Kara No Kyoukai -The mystic eyes of death perception
  
• 情比金坚3.0 (Heart of Gold)
  
• “星”世界 (Starworld)
  
• 弯刀塔防肉搏 (Melee Tower Defense)
  
• 命运传承 (Fated Legacy)

• 神兽坐骑大礼包 (Bizarre Mounts)
  
• Summon Skills and 3 Passive Skills
  
• 双花之禧 (The Wedding of Roses)
  
• 更有用的商品 (More Useful Trade Goods)
  
• 新角色：剑侠 (New Character: Sword Master)
  
• 月饼【商人卖】(Mooncake)
  
• 北斗导航寻人系统 (Global NPC Positioning System)
  
• 部落暖暖 (The Wardrobe)
  
• 自动翻译器 (Auto Translator)
  
• 装备大师与炼器之心 (Craftmaster and The Heart of Craft)
  
• 潘多拉魔盒 (Pandora’s Box)
  
• 告别抽卡 (Troops, on Demand)
  
• 技能魔改篇 (Skill Enhancement)
  
• 每日获取玉石 (Daily Jades)
  
• 我有一个菜园 (My Own Garden)
  
• 一些功能 (Misc Features)
  
• 有我就够了 (All You Need)
  
• 旅行药剂商人 (Travelling Potion Vendor)
  
• 灵剑角色MOD (Spectral Blade)
  
• 渣男语录~约会表白羞羞交互mod (Dating and Confession)

Congrats again to all the authors who made these awesome mods above! You guys will receive our prizes in the following weeks. If you haven’t gotten in touch with us yet, no worries, we will contact you on Steam, or you can join our Discord or email us (indie@xindong.com) so that we can send you the prize.

We are glad to see there are English mods on the list. Given some coding issues in English modding toolsets, it is quite difficult for our English modders to get their creative juices flowing this time. To fix these problems, we are currently working on localizing all the Excels containing Chinese item IDs for modding. Besides, we will optimize English modding support in the next major update, which you can read about in our roadmap update blog, and more popular Workshop mods including the prize-winning mods in this comp will be localized into English for our English players to enjoy a variety of custom gaming experiences.

For Sands of Salzaar, mod not only substantially expands the original gaming experience with innovative custom content, but also helps us find out what players would like to see and change in this game. Therefore, in addition to improving modding support in future updates, we will continue to add new content to the base game, rebalance and optimize in-game systems in accordance with feedback from our Community. The desert world will keep evolving. Stay tuned for more!

Sincerely,
Sands of Salzaar’s Team

After the launch of Sands of Salzaar's latest major update “Battle of the Black Sun” which brought English localization and a slew of new content, now we are ready to reveal what’s coming up next in the development of Sands of Salzaar.




The current iteration of multiplayer in Sands of Salzaar is just a framework of what is possible, and for the next major update we want to address the issues discovered during this period and further polish the current content.

• New additions to the multiplayer framework and “Battle of the Black Sun” map

This includes refinements for the co-op map, and various multiplayer specific item/gear changes.

• Continuous development of mod tools and expanded support for English language mod tools

There will undoubtedly be increased demands on mod tool features and stability after the English launch and the multiplayer feature, this is something crucial for talented mod makers to unleash their creativity. We are also looking to optimize the support for English mod makers so no matter what language you choose to play in, you could always share the freedom of modding.

• Quest system improvements

We also want to address some of the most emergent pain points like the quest system and further refine quest content.

• Additional mod developer support for multiplayer
  
• More battleground map variations in singleplayer

We are targeting a 1-2 month development time for this update, the features listed above are more urgent, with additional challenges from the multiplayer.


One of the most frequent feedbacks we received is the lack of variety in siege battles, especially during endgame and repeated sieges. More siege command options, and unit pathing are also we are specifically working on to fix and improve.

• Siege battle improvements

The current siege battle design is not interesting enough, the lack of AI challenge makes endgame a bit on the tedious side of things. A revamp to siege battles would significantly increase the quality of battle experience throughout the game.

• A new starting class

I mean, who doesn’t like new playable characters? Although we’d love to keep the details on this in wraps for now. Plus, we are also making improvements to other classes and tuning the overall balance.

• PvP multiplayer map sample.

After the previous additions to the multiplayer framework and Battle of the Black Sun co-op map, we are planning to add a simple competitive multiplayer map as a sample.

• Existing classes optimizations
  
• Existing troop balancing
  
• Troop AI improvements

For this kind of open world game, nuances in character interaction is a very interesting aspect. To achieve what we want from the system, a few major changes must be made, including a redesign of favor/reputation system, more character side stories and more variety in NPC actions.

• Nuanced character relationships

We envision Sands of Salzaar to be leaning towards the RPG side of a game, and we want it to feel like a proper one. The depth, characteristics, and the resulting possibilities in their interactions are what make every playthrough unique and interesting, and we want the players to have the desire to understand the world, the people and their backstories.

• More faction activities

Factions within the story will become more active in their trading, plundering and under table dealings. They will be much smarter when it comes to decisions, which leads to many more uncertainties and possibilities. You might want to change how you approach that certain Sultan a little, or a lot.

• More character side stories
  
• Controller support

This is a very important feature for us, and is something necessary for Sands of Salzaar to expand to other platforms like the Nintendo Switch. It’s relatively simple to support controllers for combat, but a total UI overhaul is necessary for full controller support, so this is something we are doing a bit later into development.


That’s what we have today for the next chapter in the world of Sands of Salzaar. We will also continue to update the game, fixing bugs and adding key features during this stage of development.

We are truly humbled by the tremendous amount of support since our last major release, and all the constructive feedback is incredibly valuable for us to determine what to do next for the game. We hope you like our showings here, and see you in the desert!

Early Access Update 0.8.0.7 for Sands of Salzaar is now live. We are taking measures to resolve some of the deeper gameplay related issues that impact your experience in this update.

You can now unstuck your character with the new feature in game settings. Opening the inventory screen in combat now pauses the game, so you can comfortably use recovery items or rearrange skills.

Further on the quality of life front, you no longer lose durability for the entire party’s items even if only a couple characters entered a dungeon, levitating some of the durability woes. Messages from other factions also no longer interrupt your more urgent actions such as preparing a siege.

We are also looking at solutions to address the following issues in future updates:

• Add new tools to streamline gear repairs.
  
• Fix quest item progress logic so you don't need to reobtain quest items you already have in your inventory.

Last but definitely not the least, expect a glimpse of what’s on the horizon for Sands of Salzaar soon!

For complete update notes, read further down below. In the meantime, check out our known issue list here and hop on our Discord server for more discussion and feedback.




Additions

• Added a button intended to fix various issues causing characters to be stuck on the world map, you can find it in game settings.
  
• Added new icons for some armor and weapons, modified some others.

Adjustments

• Diplomatic events like declaration of war or gesture of peace no longer prompt dialogue boxes that interrupt siege preparation. Players now need to address those events in the Message interface (bottom left in the world map) within a certain amount of time.
  
• Slightly reduced the power of Silver Warrior's skills.
  
• Certain dialogues now properly address characters based on their gender.
  
• Opening item and skill interface during battle in non-multiplayer modes now pauses the game.
  
• Removed reward selection dialogue from prestige levelups.

Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue causing messenger quests to sometimes display incorrect locations.
  
• Ifrit Archer can can now be upgraded to Ifrit Flamespitter.
  
• Fixed a geometry issue in Umbra Cliffs.
  
• Fixed an item description display issue caused by item customization interface in multiplayer.
  
• The legacy shop now properly displays all items under non 16:9 resolutions.
  
• Modded custom factions that do not have a designated color no longer cause all cities to lose their faction color.
  
• Battles that only require certain characters no longer incorrectly deduct item durability from all party members.
  
• Fixed an issue causing certain quests to not update their quest item obtain progress.
  
• On difficulty level 1 and higher, troop upgrade tree now displays the correct troop level required for the upgrade.

After a brief break, we are back with another Early Access update for Sands of Salzaar! In this update we are continuing to address bugs and make adjustments to game systems. Quicksave now functions like what you would expect, and AI units will no longer rob caravans from the factions they should not temper with.

You can read the full patch note below. Read our known issue list here for information and workaround on other emergent issues we are still working on. Join our Discord server for more discussion and direct bug report as well!




Bugfixes

• Sultan's Arcane Portal can no longer teleport to Ifrit Domain directly.
  
• Bandits now spawn in smaller areas in Save the Nobles quests.
  
• Players will no longer receive Lesser Demons after joining the Ifrit.
  
• If the player turns on the Akhal's back after promising them to defeat the Dakn, they can now complete the quest to vanquish the Dakn later. Added new dialogue to both faction leaders to reflect the change.
  
• Bandits no longer spawn in the unpathable wharf near Agadir North Outpost.
  
• Fixed some legacy points cap related issues.
  
• Various translation and UI fixes.
  
• Summoning skills that have increased max HP effects no longer cause summoned units to spawn without full HP (e.g. Bounty Hunter's "Most Wanted" and subsequent upgrades).
  
  
  
  
• Slightly reduced stats of bounty hunters summoned by "Most Wanted".
  
• Improved Rations talent now properly reduce food cost.
  
  
  
  
• Fixed various asset visual issues in the character creator.

Adjustments

• "Robber" class characters no longer plunder caravans from factions that have a good standing (10 or more reputation) with their own.
  
• Opening the map in non multiplayer modes will now pause the game.
  
• Quick save (F5) now saves the game to a dedicated normal save slot, instead of overwriting the autosave.

Sands of Salzaar Early Access Update 0.8.0.5 is now live! In addition to what’s included in the update preview, we added a couple more fixes in this update, you can check out the full patch note below.

And just a reminder that our second modding event is still ongoing, which you can read about here. Feel free to contact us on Discord for any modding related questions as well!



You can find a list of known major issues and potential workarounds here.

If you encounter further problems, please join us on our Discord server and let us know in the bug report channel, this is the fastest way to get feedback directly to us, so we highly encourage you to do so!




Additions

• Added a sample humanoid animation set to ModSamples, this includes animation attributes such as how it should react when on a mount, for modding references.

Bugfixes

• Difficulty multipliers now scale AI unit strength correctly.
  
• When inspecting other parties in the world, clicking to inspect party members now correctly closes previous windows.
  
• Typing M when customizing map markers no longer closes the window.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the game to soft lock when persuading NPCs to defect when the player has a full party.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the game to soft lock when displaying messenger dialogue (such as after a weekly faction payout).
  
• A number of item attribute display fixes.
  
• Radiant Staff now properly has an attack visual effect.
  
• Correctly formatted item affix display in English version of the game.
  
• Various UI and text fixes.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the shop to only refresh on hosts in multiplayer.

Adjustments

• Rebalanced how legacy points are earned. You can now gain 20 legacy from the final boss on difficulty 0.
  
• Some gift items are labeled Special Items.
  
• Added an error tolerance mechanic to the dialogue system. Incorrect game logic IDs now trigger error notifications and UI issues, but will no longer soft lock the game.

Hi everyone! We recently launched our second modding event which you can read about here. To better support the modding community and encourage your creativity, in our next update we will be releasing a new set of mod samples which includes reference points on character animation.

The way legacy points are calculated is also getting adjustments in this update, you will be able to gain legacy points when finishing the story mode on difficulty 0.



In addition, we are pushing a small update later today, fixing an issue causing the game to incorrectly launch in Chinese instead of English.

You can find a list of known major issues and potential workarounds here.

As always, if you encounter any further problem, please join us on our Discord server and let us know, this is the fastest way to get feedback directly to us, so we highly encourage you to do so!



Read the patch notes for this update below:


Preliminary, may include additional changes once the update goes live.

Additions

• Added a sample humanoid animation set to ModSamples, this includes animation attributes such as how it should react when on a mount, for modding references.

Bugfixes

• When inspecting other parties in the world, clicking to inspect party members now correctly closes previous windows.
  
• Typing M when customizing map markers no longer closes the window.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the game to soft lock when persuading NPCs to defect when the player has a full party.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the game to soft lock when displaying messenger dialogue (such as after a weekly faction payout).
  
• A number of item attribute display fixes.
  
• Radiant Staff now properly has an attack visual effect.
  
• Correctly formatted item affix display in English version of the game.

Adjustments

• Changed how legacy points are earned. You can now gain 20 legacy from the final boss on difficulty 0.
  
• Some gift items are labeled Special Items.

The newest update for Sands of Salzaar is now live! This update introduces a major redesign of the town infiltration mechanic, addresses difficulty option related issues introduced by our last update, and contains a number of main story bugfixes, you can read the patch notes further down below.

You can also find a list of known major issues and potential workarounds here.

As always, if you encounter any issue, please join us on our Discord server and let us know, this is the fastest way to get feedback directly to us, so we highly encourage you to do so!




Additions

• Redesigned town infiltration mechanics. You can now try to sneak in during day time, but with much lower success rate. Your chance of success is tied to your party size, the more people you try to sneak in with, the less likely you'll succeed. A failed infiltration will trigger a small scale skirmish with guards, defeat them to continue your infiltration.
  
• Added 4 new urban battle environments.

Bugfixes

• The Sultan can now properly upgrade the Sawmill.
  
• Pre 0.8.0.3 saves (before we changed the prerequisite for the difficulty select function) now automatically adds 1 difficulty level a shortwhile after loading.
  
• Fixed an issue causing The Nameless's Arcane Portal to be able to access the Ifrit town earlier than intended.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing players from talking to Husnu after helping the Nasir defeat all other tribes.
  
• Fixed a rare issue preventing players from progressing the main story after defeating all five tribes.
  
• Fixed an issue causing certain skills to become unlearnable in the Book of Fire quest.
  
• Players can now talk to the Ifrit mother again after interacting with the fruit first.
  
• The Ifrit towns now have more building variety other than Caster Watchtowers.

Adjustments

• (Multiplayer) Improved bare handed attack speed and adjusted attack range.
  
• (Multiplayer) Improved attack speed for sword, knife, spear, hammer and boardsword weapons. Adjusted their attack range and added new visual effect.
  
• (Multiplayer) Improved attack speed for bow and sub weapons.
  
• You can now pay the Sultan of a tribe that has you wanted to call off the contract without needing to talk to the leader.
  
• Chaka of Limestone Village now has a specialty gift item.

We are releasing another update soon, this update addresses difficulty option related issues introduced by our last update, and a number of main story bugfixes, you can read the patch notes below.

You can also find a list of known major issues and potential workarounds here.

As always, if you encounter any issue, please join us on our Discord server and let us know, this is the fastest way to get feedback directly to us, so we highly encourage you to do so!




Preliminary, may include additional changes once the update goes live.

Bugfixes

• The Sultan can now properly upgrade the Sawmill.
  
• Pre 0.8.0.3 saves (before we changed the prerequisite for the difficulty select function) now automatically adds 1 difficulty level a shortwhile after loading.
  
• Fixed an issue causing The Nameless's Arcane Portal to be able to access the Ifrit town earlier than intended.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing players from talking to Husnu after helping the Nasir defeat all other tribes.
  
• Fixed a rare issue preventing players from progressing the main story after defeating all five tribes.
  
• Fixed an issue causing certain skills to become unlearnable in the Book of Fire quest.
  
• Players can now talk to the Ifrit mother again after interacting with the fruit first.
  
• The Ifrit towns now have more building variety other than Caster Watchtowers.

Adjustments

• Pressing F5 (default quick save hotkey) now automatically saves the game to the autosave slot without having to click the save game dialogue.
  
• Improved bare handed attack speed and adjusted attack range.
  
• Improved attack speed for sword, knife, spear, hammer and boardsword weapons. Adjusted their attack range.