Quick heads up, adventurers! The Barony Beta Build has been updated and now Linux, Mac and Windows builds are alll supported. We've made numerous fixes and have revived the Direct IP connection feature. We are expecting to ship the full Cursed Edition update within the next couple of days. Thanks for your continued patience and support!

Note that the full changelist will be available with the Cursed Edition update. For those of you who have been playing the Beta builds, thank you! Please continue visiting our discussion forums for any bug reports.

Thanks!

Quick heads up, adventurers! The Barony Beta Build has been updated and now Linux, Mac and Windows builds are alll supported. We've made numerous fixes and have revived the Direct IP connection feature. We are expecting to ship the full Cursed Edition update within the next couple of days. Thanks for your continued patience and support!

Note that the full changelist will be available with the Cursed Edition update. For those of you who have been playing the Beta builds, thank you! Please continue visiting our discussion forums for any bug reports.

Thanks!

As of January 31st eager players on Windows can now take part in the open beta for Barony: Cursed Edition. This version of the game includes COMPLETELY OVERHAULED ART and EXCITING NEW FEATURES such as Steam Lobby support!
To activate the beta build, follow these simple instructions:

1. Go to your Steam Library and locate Barony
   
2. Right-click and select Properties
   
3. Go to the BETA tab
   
4. Click the dropdown and select the Beta build

We had hoped to do the full release in January, but as is often the case with game development, things take a bit longer than expected. But more importantly, we want to make sure the new features are well tested before we subject all players to them. So if you'd like to give it a try, we would love it if you could report any problems you discover to our Steam Community Discussions board.

We have very little work left before we're ready for the full release of the updated game. In addition to fixing any surprise bugs, we're also creating a new and exciting trailer to help spread the Barony vision to potential players.

For your viewing pleasure, here are screenshots of the Cursed Edition in action that we've prepared for our Steam store page:

As of January 31st eager players on Windows can now take part in the open beta for Barony: Cursed Edition. This version of the game includes COMPLETELY OVERHAULED ART and EXCITING NEW FEATURES such as Steam Lobby support!
To activate the beta build, follow these simple instructions:

1. Go to your Steam Library and locate Barony
   
2. Right-click and select Properties
   
3. Go to the BETA tab
   
4. Click the dropdown and select the Beta build

We had hoped to do the full release in January, but as is often the case with game development, things take a bit longer than expected. But more importantly, we want to make sure the new features are well tested before we subject all players to them. So if you'd like to give it a try, we would love it if you could report any problems you discover to our Steam Community Discussions board.

We have very little work left before we're ready for the full release of the updated game. In addition to fixing any surprise bugs, we're also creating a new and exciting trailer to help spread the Barony vision to potential players.

For your viewing pleasure, here are screenshots of the Cursed Edition in action that we've prepared for our Steam store page:

Hello everyone,
It's been a while. Perhaps too long. But we have been hard at work! So here's what's up.

Steamworks Multiplayer Integration
Programming-wise, this has easily dominated our attention for the past two months. As it turned out, Steamworks is a surprisingly poorly documented API, and to make matters worse, it's written in C++, with no official bindings for C (which the entirety of Barony was written in). That means, before we could even begin using its networking features, we had to decipher and wrap every tiny function we needed (and lots, it turns out, that we didn't need) into C equivalents. We then had to integrate these wrapped functions into Barony, and smack the resulting Frankenstein of a program with a debugger until it worked. Needless to say, the process was very arduous. But, it has yielded great results.

Gone are the days that you must memorize IP addresses and port numbers to connect. Gone are the days that you must manually configure your firewall and forward your ports. Starting with the next update (which I can now say with confidence, is coming SOON) creating and joining lobbies is as quick and painless as it should've always been.

So why isn't it in your hands already?

Well, we literally just got the primary features working all nice and reliably today, so it's missing a lot of polish and expected features, like filters, private/friends-only lobbies, names, and other dull stuff. On top of that, we're still deep in the middle of a couple other important projects, like...

The Art Update
Since September, the mega-art-update thingy has been pushing along steady as usual. With the texture art completed, Josiah (aka mistersneak) has gone on to redo tons of decorative models, all of the item models, all of the human models, many more creature models, and more models, models, models, and models. He's even begun to produce HD variants of all the weapon models in the game to be viewed when a player holds said weapons in first person. Snazzy.

Which brings us to our last point...

DLC? Sequels? BRAND NEW GAMES?
In a previous update, we mentioned that we were planning new DLC for Barony that would add some new areas to the game, as well as various other gameplay goodies. Nonetheless, the work we've had on our plate with this next big update has kept our small team very busy for the past couple months, so we haven't been able to spend much time developing these ideas yet. However, I will say that we are not done with Barony yet: in fact, our ideas for new content have gotten only bigger since we last talked about it. To answer a few specific questions publicly:

1. Rather than DLC, we are now pursuing the idea of creating a full-blown sequel.

2. Said sequel would involve a significantly bigger, more interconnected world. A fully 3D environment would replace the flat dungeon floor plans of the past.

3. It would contain all of Barony's primary gameplay elements, such as: a proper RPG system, persistent dungeon environments, full cooperative multiplayer, and roguelike elements.

4. Rather than a singular goal with a linear path to victory, there would be several goals, sidequests, and branching paths.

That is all for now. Here in the states I wish everyone a happy thanksgiving, and to everyone else: cheers!

Hello everyone,
It's been a while. Perhaps too long. But we have been hard at work! So here's what's up.

Steamworks Multiplayer Integration
Programming-wise, this has easily dominated our attention for the past two months. As it turned out, Steamworks is a surprisingly poorly documented API, and to make matters worse, it's written in C++, with no official bindings for C (which the entirety of Barony was written in). That means, before we could even begin using its networking features, we had to decipher and wrap every tiny function we needed (and lots, it turns out, that we didn't need) into C equivalents. We then had to integrate these wrapped functions into Barony, and smack the resulting Frankenstein of a program with a debugger until it worked. Needless to say, the process was very arduous. But, it has yielded great results.

Gone are the days that you must memorize IP addresses and port numbers to connect. Gone are the days that you must manually configure your firewall and forward your ports. Starting with the next update (which I can now say with confidence, is coming SOON) creating and joining lobbies is as quick and painless as it should've always been.

So why isn't it in your hands already?

Well, we literally just got the primary features working all nice and reliably today, so it's missing a lot of polish and expected features, like filters, private/friends-only lobbies, names, and other dull stuff. On top of that, we're still deep in the middle of a couple other important projects, like...

The Art Update
Since September, the mega-art-update thingy has been pushing along steady as usual. With the texture art completed, Josiah (aka mistersneak) has gone on to redo tons of decorative models, all of the item models, all of the human models, many more creature models, and more models, models, models, and models. He's even begun to produce HD variants of all the weapon models in the game to be viewed when a player holds said weapons in first person. Snazzy.

Which brings us to our last point...

DLC? Sequels? BRAND NEW GAMES?
In a previous update, we mentioned that we were planning new DLC for Barony that would add some new areas to the game, as well as various other gameplay goodies. Nonetheless, the work we've had on our plate with this next big update has kept our small team very busy for the past couple months, so we haven't been able to spend much time developing these ideas yet. However, I will say that we are not done with Barony yet: in fact, our ideas for new content have gotten only bigger since we last talked about it. To answer a few specific questions publicly:

1. Rather than DLC, we are now pursuing the idea of creating a full-blown sequel.

2. Said sequel would involve a significantly bigger, more interconnected world. A fully 3D environment would replace the flat dungeon floor plans of the past.

3. It would contain all of Barony's primary gameplay elements, such as: a proper RPG system, persistent dungeon environments, full cooperative multiplayer, and roguelike elements.

4. Rather than a singular goal with a linear path to victory, there would be several goals, sidequests, and branching paths.

That is all for now. Here in the states I wish everyone a happy thanksgiving, and to everyone else: cheers!

Hello Barony fans!
I'd like to give you a taste of what's in the works.

Development Update
Right now our biggest priority is the integration of Steam multiplayer features. There's a lot of fun to be had with Barony's multiplayer features as-is, but we (maybe as much as you!) would love a more streamlined multiplayer experience. Our update work should make it easier and more fun than ever to play Barony co-operatively with your friends.

Due to the challenge of integrating the Steam systems into the game, we can't say exactly when this update will be coming down the pipe. The documentation isn't the best and our homecooked engine isn't exactly standard when it comes to this kind of integration! But trust that we feel strongly about these features and are working tirelessly to upgrade the game for you.

In addition to planning and groundwork on a future content update, we are always on the lookout for occasional bugs you guys are experiencing, and bugfixes are in the works as well.

Art Update
The art overhaul is making great progress. If you frequent the forums you may already know that we've posted several screenshots of several tilesets using overhauled textures here.


We've completed the first pass on all of the level art. Yay!
But before we ship this update do you, we're taking more steps to add variety to tilesets, which means we have a few more textures to add to the game, and that we need to update all the randomizable level pieces so that these textures actually show up in the game in a way that makes it all look better.

Also, thanks to developer BlackFlux, the voxel art update is well underway. A greatly streamlined voxel art pipeline has made creating new, improved voxel modes easier than ever. The side benefit of this is that modders will also have a much easier time modding Barony!
I encourage you to check out VoxelShop here.
Replacing a lot of the voxel art is the second step in the overhaul and we're already well on our way through it.

Turning Wheel Update
We're currently in the middle of a locational transition (AKA moving!). The result is that a few of our team members will be working much more closely, facilitating collaboration and likely faster patch development process in the future.

Thanks for your support and dedication! Stay tuned, more is coming on the horizon.

- Josiah

Hello Barony fans!
I'd like to give you a taste of what's in the works.

Development Update
Right now our biggest priority is the integration of Steam multiplayer features. There's a lot of fun to be had with Barony's multiplayer features as-is, but we (maybe as much as you!) would love a more streamlined multiplayer experience. Our update work should make it easier and more fun than ever to play Barony co-operatively with your friends.

Due to the challenge of integrating the Steam systems into the game, we can't say exactly when this update will be coming down the pipe. The documentation isn't the best and our homecooked engine isn't exactly standard when it comes to this kind of integration! But trust that we feel strongly about these features and are working tirelessly to upgrade the game for you.

In addition to planning and groundwork on a future content update, we are always on the lookout for occasional bugs you guys are experiencing, and bugfixes are in the works as well.

Art Update
The art overhaul is making great progress. If you frequent the forums you may already know that we've posted several screenshots of several tilesets using overhauled textures here.


We've completed the first pass on all of the level art. Yay!
But before we ship this update do you, we're taking more steps to add variety to tilesets, which means we have a few more textures to add to the game, and that we need to update all the randomizable level pieces so that these textures actually show up in the game in a way that makes it all look better.

Also, thanks to developer BlackFlux, the voxel art update is well underway. A greatly streamlined voxel art pipeline has made creating new, improved voxel modes easier than ever. The side benefit of this is that modders will also have a much easier time modding Barony!
I encourage you to check out VoxelShop here.
Replacing a lot of the voxel art is the second step in the overhaul and we're already well on our way through it.

Turning Wheel Update
We're currently in the middle of a locational transition (AKA moving!). The result is that a few of our team members will be working much more closely, facilitating collaboration and likely faster patch development process in the future.

Thanks for your support and dedication! Stay tuned, more is coming on the horizon.

- Josiah

Hi everyone! Sorry it ended up taking longer to get this update out. As I said in an earlier announcement I wanted to have it out two days ago, but we ended up spending the rest of the day testing it instead, and that combined with obligations at my real life job prevented me from posting the update until today. Anyway... here is your changelog:

• fixed broken cross-platform multiplayer (unresponsive doors, disappearing objects, etc.)
  
• fixed herx boss start room exploit
  
• magicstaffs significantly more expensive, rarer, burn out easier
  
• fixed linking libsteam_api.so in non-steam linux builds
  
• added option for random character gen
  
• sending/receiving chat messages now makes audible ping sound
  
• window background art no longer fixed to 16x16
  
• voxel models now use their own internal palettes ingame rather than the default
  
• minor changes to map generator
  
• fixed backspace not working correctly on macs
  
• fixed fullscreen bug on macs
  
• fixed headstones not appearing in singleplayer in the haunted castle
  
• fixed performance penalty for playing with FOV other than 50
  
• fixed inappropriate ray distribution in raycasting algorithm
  
• FOV in character boxes is now locked to 50

Once again, this is a pretty minor update feature-wise, as 90% of our programming effort was spent fixing that cross-platform multiplayer issue at the top of the list. BUT as mentioned in our last collection of patch notes, we do still have some cool things in the works, and you should all get a good taste of that Soon.

Thanks for your patience, we look forward to seeing you all some more in the future. DRM-free players can expect to get this update just as soon as we can update the game files in your respective systems (Humble, Desura, etc.)

Until next time,

Sheridan

Hi everyone! Sorry it ended up taking longer to get this update out. As I said in an earlier announcement I wanted to have it out two days ago, but we ended up spending the rest of the day testing it instead, and that combined with obligations at my real life job prevented me from posting the update until today. Anyway... here is your changelog:

• fixed broken cross-platform multiplayer (unresponsive doors, disappearing objects, etc.)
  
• fixed herx boss start room exploit
  
• magicstaffs significantly more expensive, rarer, burn out easier
  
• fixed linking libsteam_api.so in non-steam linux builds
  
• added option for random character gen
  
• sending/receiving chat messages now makes audible ping sound
  
• window background art no longer fixed to 16x16
  
• voxel models now use their own internal palettes ingame rather than the default
  
• minor changes to map generator
  
• fixed backspace not working correctly on macs
  
• fixed fullscreen bug on macs
  
• fixed headstones not appearing in singleplayer in the haunted castle
  
• fixed performance penalty for playing with FOV other than 50
  
• fixed inappropriate ray distribution in raycasting algorithm
  
• FOV in character boxes is now locked to 50

Once again, this is a pretty minor update feature-wise, as 90% of our programming effort was spent fixing that cross-platform multiplayer issue at the top of the list. BUT as mentioned in our last collection of patch notes, we do still have some cool things in the works, and you should all get a good taste of that Soon.

Thanks for your patience, we look forward to seeing you all some more in the future. DRM-free players can expect to get this update just as soon as we can update the game files in your respective systems (Humble, Desura, etc.)

Until next time,

Sheridan