This week we have been working on adding and improving ‘level filters’. These filters can modify existing levels in subtle ways. They are now used more frequently and their presence creates new gameplay opportunities.

Gameplay Changes
- Expands the palette of possible ‘level filters’ that are used to vary the nature of a generated level.
- Automatically and retroactively assigns level filters to appropriate levels.
- Adds encounters and features that are the result of active filters and/or that allow you to manipulate the state of a level.
- New creature: deep root spirit.
- New creature: ruin spirit.
- You can encourage refugees to settle, but they might need some help dealing with hazards in a level first.

Bug Fixes
- Adds the camp marker to the monster cave to prevent Ghuls not spawning correctly.
- You can always interact with the folk in Haven, even if they are marked as friends.
- Repairs a malformed generation rule that could cause doors to go missing.
- Increases the level size of a specific section of the underground shrine to make sure the generation doesn’t fail because not all requested features fit.
- If you make amends with a clan, the guards are notified.
- Addresses some text issues.

This week we have managed to add more texture to some of the more common encounters with bandits and kobolds. Those factions even have learned a few new tricks!

Gameplay Changes:
- Adds extra texture to the basic bandits encounters.
- Adds new encounter: refugees.
- Adds new item: scraps that can be used to restock repair kits.
- Improves the way a site might get plundered by a force.
- Certain NPCs can collect key items from a level, for ‘safekeeping’.
- Improves the kobold cave dweller encounter.
- Reduces the number of hazard locations encountered en route through forests with many thickets and regions with many tunnels.
- More local bosses are identified when you encounter them (even if their encounter hasn’t been storified yet).

Bug Fixes
- Informing Clan Wulfmane about keeps and other sites works correctly.
- You can leave the Edge correctly again.
- Prevents large height differences from being generated that create untraversable stairs.
- Roadhouses are populated correctly.
- When clans take control of locations with scrying stones, their meeple takes priority over the sky magic meeple.
- Raaf no longer places you at the bottom of a shaft leading down after praying for help.
- Repairs broken level exits where you should have been able to climb up to the next level.
- Encounter triggers that are only allowed to trigger only a fixed number of times have their counters correctly restored after reloading a level.
- When the Fly Lord says they are going to attack you, they really are going to attack you.
- Fixes issue with skeleton lairs not spawning correctly.
- Adding missing pieces for short loam bridges.
- Loam fortresses use correct rounded corner assets.
- When rat skin boots become threadbare they don’t drop down to negative uses.
- Updates some texts.

We continued to make the encounters more dramatic. This week saw improvements to the stories resulting from rat infestation, spider nests, and skider nests. In addition, boss creatures are more clearly identified for these storied encounters.

Players haven’t been idle, either! Thanks to all the reports on our Discord server, we managed to solve at least three dozen issues. For a full list, please check out our discord.

Gameplay Changes
- Level bosses are identified more clearly in ‘storied’ encounters.
- Storified the ‘rat infestation’ encounter.
- Storified the ‘spider lair’ encounter.
- Storified the ‘skider lair’ encounter.
- Leaders of NPC groups are labeled better.
- Adds holes that can spawn enemies in lairs.
- Adds a plague egg that you don’t want to encounter in some rare rat nests.
- Reduces the number of sparks you get from a successful fortune test if you already have many of them.
- You can pick up items faster, but doing so in combat will leave you briefly exposed.
- The Ablative Shell ring (form 2) has been redesigned: its ward will only activate once every 6 seconds, and only after you have been hit once.

Bug Fixes
- Rare resonance on items is saved and restored consistently.
- The Whispers in the Dark encounter is generated correctly when Latest Content was not selected during the world generation.
- Scrying Devices can be claimed again.
- The serpent spheres encounter doesn’t prevent a site from being claimed.
- Blood cloaker nests no longer share an inventory.
- Incantations that automatically summon wardens do so only once.
- When you pick ‘less hope’ during world generation the Wayfarer actually starts with 9 hope points.
- When you pick ‘no healing brews’ as a world option then there actually should be no more healing brews, or healing brew recipes.
- ‘Climbing up’ level exits are generated with correct heights more consistently.
- After completing the game blocked parts of the user input are released again.
- Root singers and similar devices counter hardships based on their current type, not based on their original type.
- You correctly skip hazards negated by root singers.
- One-handed axes deal damage as intended and advertised.
- When you would gain hope, but are already maxed out, miserable is still removed.
- Prevents a case where the generator accidentally blocked an entrance with a bookshelves.
- Defeating the leader of a rough company actually ends the encounter.
- Gates generated to block passages in caves make extra sure they actually connect to the cave walls.
- Replaces a missing staircase in rare instances of the Marang Keep level.
- Cruips act aggressively when they spot you.
- Prevents walls to be accidentally moved away from stairs.
- When you plunder a monster hoard after defeating its owner, the treasure inside it remains there for the taking.
- The layout stays correct despite having way too many sparks during a fortune test.
- Adds rare missing doors to walls that separate two rooms that should have been connected.
- Prevents shrooms from blocking narrow paths leading up to climbing spots.
- Prevents the missing ‘nuisance’ register from failing the generation of rare levels.
- When a tree is spawned on a narrow path, the path is widened to make sure you can pass.
- When you attack quickly after a power attack, the second attack is a normal attack (and not a power attack).
- Messages about forces changing their action are not shown while you are on the map.
- The HUD is hidden from a few map screens where it didn’t need to be shown.
- The ‘Find Iron Ore’ challenge (and similar challenges) is only activated when it can actually be found.
- When modding a different level in combat practice level exits going ‘south’ behave normally again.
- If you have no repair kit, you cannot repair damaged items that require one.
- Fixes a possible generation issue where irreversible height differences appeared unintentionally.
- You can use the Staff of Yendor to free yourself from being webbed and entangled.
- Abilities that increase the damage you deal with melee weapons also apply to the Staff of Yendor.
- Triggering a trap while disarming it has a better chance of actually hitting you.
- Improves some texts.

The major changes for this patch involve the ‘forces’ (aka meeples) visible on the map. These forces now indicate what they are doing or what their intentions are. This informs how the actual encounter is going to be generated. At the same time your interaction with the encounter can affect their behavior for better or worse.

A few players have been very active reporting bugs on our Discord this week, which is very, very much appreciated. As a result we’ve managed to eliminate a fair number of them as well!

Gameplay Changes
- Roadhouses, farms, trading posts, and garrisons have been updated to the new clan relation and reputation mechanics.
- Roadhouses are more common in newly generated worlds.
- Hides markers on map info panels that reveal resources or opportunities, you’ll have to rely on rumors more.
- Overhauls the mechanics that chose map forces (meeples) to make a move.
- While traveling, you are only notified for big world events and world events that happen reasonably close to your current location.
- Forces on the map indicate their current activity.

Bug Fixes
- Corrects the typo in the crafting recipe for a layered garment.
- Another attempt to get grips on the shallow water issue that could cause your character to get stuck on bridges.
- The sizes of icons in map info panels is consistent.
- The percentage of damage caused by the wayfarer is correctly saved and restored, reducing the chance other creatures can steal your kill.
- Shades summoned with a scepter disappear after 30 seconds as advertised.
- You really need three pieces of magentol to forge the magentol key.
- Updates the introduction text for combat practice.
- Prevents ‘high up’ levels from lowering their paths to the same elevation as the sky and thereby allowing you to walk out onto the air.
- Restoring the path up towards the vantage point for certain peak locations.
- You cannot keep pacifying Kobolds in order to farm sparks.
- Restores the proper position, orientation, and function of the gong that operates the Helico.
- Fixes an issue with incorrectly casted enumerators that could lead to game freezes.
- Prevents natural hazards overwriting secret passages.
- Moves the cave entrance halfway up the cliff-top ruin to the correct place.
- Killing solitary bosses informs the encounter about the demise of a boss correctly.
- Segmented creatures no longer launch themselves into space when trying to traverse over ramps.
- Incantations that require a test to cast activate their effect correctly.
- A sword with 2 flow sigils has the right effects.
- Elemental rods with rare resonance and more than one flow sigil correctly increase their number of charges.
- You can forge Crusader Armor from 4 pieces of iron ore.

In this patch the new system to better handle the developing drama while exploring a site has been deployed to improve existing encounters with regular wolf lairs and bandit camps. We have also used the system to improve interaction with clan’s in their capitals.

One huge advantage of this is that now a clan’s relationship with Haven is distinct from the wayfarer’s personal reputation. The former can only be affected by diplomacy, while the latter is now more volatile. This should help you recover from unfortunate, unintended, diplomatic ‘incidents’.

These changes were pretty substantial under the hood and we haven't been able to test out all cases and interactions yet. In addition, for the changes to be complete we also need to update the clan encounters on other locations such as farms, keeps, and Haven. So we feel it better to keep it in the beta branch for now. I hope you will understand.

Gameplay Changes
- You need to travel twice to get rid of hunted status.
- Improving the appearance of the stealth effect in dark surroundings.
- Improves the stronghold icons.
- Improves the drama of the wolf lair encounter (Wild Wulf Reconing).
- Improves the drama of bandit camp encounters (Rough Company).
- Distinguishing between a clan’s disposition towards the Raafi and the wayfarer’s reputation.
- Making clan disposition more stable.
- Making the wayfarer’s reputation more volatile.
- Better scripting of diplomatic status and reputation in clan capitals.
- Increases the animation speed of a riposte with a sword.

Bug Fixes
- Addresses a rare generation instance where the wayfarer does not spawn at a hazards location.
- Prevents the Empire to advance to an incorrect location which causes the game to freeze on the map.
- Potential fix for two ‘stacked’ groups of travelers camping at the same campsite.
- Potential fix for equipment going out of control in the Edge or in the Spirit World.

The number of bullets in this patch is only small, but that doesn’t mean we have been idle. Far from it! We’ve added two brand-new, interlinked adventures. They span the bridge between the stuff we have been working on for a few weeks: more dynamic behavior inside a level and a larger impact these adventures can have on the world map. We’re actually very happy with how these adventures fit into the whole, and we plan on expanding on this formula quite extensively.

To find the latest content you need to generate a new world. If you use the latest content modifier you are almost guaranteed to get a world where these adventures are spawned. Just explore the region that has fallen under a new type of curse…

Gameplay Changes
- New adventure content: Veiled in Darkness
- New adventure content: Whispers in the Dark
- It’s more common to dig up iron ore.

Bug Fixes
- Prevents a missing location preventing you from loading a saved game.

This week we have been working on the impact you can have on the map. You will notice the effects of scrying stones, magic hearths, and similar devices have been improved. In addition, the way you can now actively inform clans about abandoned keeps or other useful locations. The result of this is that you can take a more active role in the global power struggle between the clans and the Empire.

The intention of these changes is to create a more meaningful context for your adventures. At the same time, we hope that soon NPCs will act on and according to this context better, too!

Gameplay Changes
- You can inform clans about the locations of keeps, mines, abandoned farms, and similar locations.
- You can try to convince unaligned folks on farms, trading posts, and roadhouses to join a clan.
- Increases the impact that garrisons, scrying devices, root singers, magic hearths, and magic wells have on hardships.
- Clans need to have a stronghold in a region to be able to claim sites in that region.
- Communicates the status and effects a location more clearly in the location info panels on the map.

Bug Fixes
- Removes a generation flaw that caused regular columns, gates and levers to appear in the spirit world.
- When traveling through serpent gates the conditions reflecting your local reputation are set correctly.
- The description of the cast for the Magentol key makes clear it can only be used on the Forge of Destiny.
- You use the same consumable item from the quick item slot multiple times without needing to reassign it.
- Trading posts are correctly staffed.
- Defeated factions cannot salvage the wayfarer’s items after they died.
- A group of NPCs needs at least one humanoid creature to be able to camp around a fire.

We have managed to address most of the bugs reported to us on Discord and via email over the past two weeks.

At the same time, we are still working on improving NPC behavior. There has been progress on that front but it is still very much under the hood. Essentially, we have reduced the complexity of the underlying systems, which was a necessary step on our way to create better and more complex behavior.

Bug Fixes
- NPC groups with different creature types behave more consistently.
- When generating a new world after playing another, your reputation in Haven is set correctly.
- Potential fix for the issue that you cannot eat a shared meal in the inn.
- If it isn’t common knowledge already, you can correctly study the Spiced Tonic Recipe.
- Being encumbered no longer incurs a penalty on fortune tests while camping.
- Items, gear, and arrows taken from a stack should always be taken from the smallest stack first.
- The ‘find rare book’ challenge can be completed correctly.
- The Skye Halo and similar items that protect against ‘Lost’ work correctly.
- Prevents inner rooms cutting off level entrances.
- Bows offered in trade or found in chests display their description correctly.
- The Miserable status indicates it can be removed by eating a hot meal.
- When gloom causes you to lose hope it is not doubled.
- Fixing another instance where the Wayfarer got stuck crossing bridges across shallow water.
- Potential fix for waypoints placed on stairs interfering with the wayfarers ability to climb them.
- Prevents blocking assets from spawning too close to stairs.
- The recipe for Refreshing Liqueur is displayed correctly.
- Rummaging through old libraries can no longer yield an ‘item.loreBook’.
- Adjusted the wording for when you find a potion or a flask in an old library.

This week we have been laying the groundwork for creating better contextual NPC behaviors which in itself is a first step towards making encounters and adventures more dynamic, dramatic, and impactful.

For now, most of that effort remains under the hood, although you will notice that at night shops close and fewer people will roam the streets of Haven and other settlements.

Gameplay Changes
- Less people are on the streets of settlements during the night.
- Shops in settlements close down during the night.
- When you are allowed to recover health after completing a deed, you will always also recover from wounds, poison, and other conditions affecting your health.
- You may catch outlaws and imperials destroying vases because apparently they are feeling like it.

Bug Fixes
- When you have completed a task, folk in Haven, and similar quest givers, stop offering associated hints as useful information.

Bug Fixes
- Replaces an instance of “fortune.hunted” with the correct fortune: hunters.
- Rotating rock gates recall their state (open or closed) better when a level is reloaded.
- You can reach inside hollow trees and rocks again.
- Places a chest in variant ‘a’ of the root cavern, and marks it as the place to store lost treasure.
- Making extra sure the final machine quest is not placed inside the First Valley.
- Rubble can appear as the ‘purpose’ of an open side room in Edge or Spirit World levels.
- The traveling bowyer no longer has a bow levitating near their shop.