Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
The Council once held dominion over The Dark World, from the lowest Canyons to the highest Ridges. Their influence remains, a presence that tells of the Remnants of Five.

Lootmeister Hans, a former member of The Council of Five, has need of a delivery made to a destination unknown.

Surely a hero like you can handle a simple package… right?



Remnants of Five
In Remnants of Five, players will have a chance to meet Uulaa, the Ember Eye. Once a member of the esteemed Council of Five, the Matron of Flame has not been seen for many cycles. However, some say she’d prefer to keep it that way...

Hans has tasked you with discovering the location of his long-lost friend. Where in the Dark World could someone like Uulaa be hiding?


Along with this Legend, Stone Story RPG will also be adding a new shop, the Hotspring Shop, that uses a resource many of you have already been saving up: Ki Crystals!*

*You can find more details about Ki Crystal economy further down in the post

The Hotspring Shop will stock rare and hard to find items that players can purchase with their crystal currency. The inventory found here is of much higher quality than will be found in the Mushroom Shop; intrepid adventurers can expect to purchase valuable loot like nametags, legendary enchantments, and even Lost Items!



Since the items in the Hotspring Shop will be of greater quality, the way the Ki Crystal economy works will be a bit different. Crystals, however, can be obtained both through playing the game, completing weekly quests, and finding them in Delta treasures.

But that’s not all: this content patch also introduces Weekly Quests! Each week you’ll get a new set of objectives that, upon completion, will provide you with a Crystal Treasure.

New Scripts Added
As part of this content drop, we’re also including a few of our favorite entries from the StoneJam 4 as official scripts in-game!

We hope you give them a try~

New cosmetic: Knight by: Mind Stone Thief, Gergő, XX, standardcombo



To use in-game, add the following line to your Mind Stone:
import Cosmetics/Knight

New mini-game: Mystic Sword by: Flan Bi


To use in-game, add the following line to your Mind Stone:
import Games/SwordGame

New UI: Free Chest Tracker by: 10100111001


To use in-game, add the following lines to your Mind Stone:
var freeChest = import UI/FreeChestTracker
freeChest.Main()


The Quest Update Continues
Two down, many more to come. We hope you look forward to more adventures in the Dark World!



Shop Mechanics and Game Economy (design talk ahead!)
While we want to make use of certain idle/mobile mechanics, PC players can rest assured that we have no intentions of adding microtransactions to the desktop client.

We do have a mobile port with monetization in mind further down the line, but we took what was necessary for mobile (e.g. the Ki Crystal shop) and instead of excluding it from the PC, we've reframed it.

Not as a monetization tool, but as an engaging mechanic; formatted for a different purpose, with different balance values, that we hope adds to the game's fun.



As discussed in a previous post, Stone Story RPG is a metrics-driven project. This means that we base many of our design choices around trends and statistics that we notice in how players progress through the game.

Changes are made in order to engage players through the 1st day of playing to the 7th day to the 30th day (the D1 > D7 > D30 funnel).

Major factors in this design are shop mechanics. Functionally, they are a way to give players options: the option to brute force a challenge, the option to farm and stockpile, the option to choose how they progress.



In Stone Story RPG we want players to have room to experiment and play around. The Mushroom Shop does that for the early-mid game; it gives you a way to buy items like runes to overcome a difficult combat encounter that you might not have figured out the optimal solution for yet.

The Ki Crystal shop is a way for us to add this kind of flexibility to the mid-late game, going hand-in-hand with Quests and their respective rewards.

We’re still experimenting with how these systems and mechanics work in tandem with each other, which is where the Quest Update comes into play. Slowly, but surely, we’re filling Stone Story RPG’s design out and bringing it one step closer to the full vision we have in mind.

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As always, thank you for playing. We appreciate your continued support and feedback as we continue to chip away at the game.

See you in the next update!

-SSRPG Team
Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
The Council once held dominion over The Dark World, from the lowest Canyons to the highest Ridges. Their influence remains, a presence that tells of the Remnants of Five.

“Remnants of Five” will be added to Stone Story RPG as a playable Quest on October 13th



Lootmeister Hans has need of a delivery made to a destination unknown.

Surely a hero like you can handle a simple package… right?
Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
Hello Stonefriends!

We hope you’ve enjoyed the Quest Update so far. Dealing with squatting Stoneheads and frenetic frogs is no joke!

Last Friday, we added “Mr. Pallas’ Wild Ride”, the first of many Legends to come. The Wild Ride Challenge Event will continue for a few more days (ending on October 10th), so you’ve still got a bit of time to complete your goals and your reward.*

Since full completion requires use of the Mind Stone, you can consult our Discord community or see the Wild Ride forum post should you run into any problems finishing the event.

*All loot gained through events can still be obtained in-game. Events may also repeat in the future.



StoneJam 4 Wrapup

A couple weeks ago, we hosted our fourth StoneJam, an event where community members gathered to create custom content using the in-game scripting language, Stonescript.

We received all sorts of neat creations, including cosmetics, minigames, pets, and UI tools! We’ve put together a video where we look at each submission, so you can see what kinds of projects people worked on:


What’s Next?

We've got more Legends to come in the following weeks (be on the lookout next week for "Remnants of Five"!). We plan to add a total of 16 Legends: full-scale adventures featuring unique narrative experiences.



Everything that gets added in the Quest Update further builds out Stone Story RPG as a whole. More events that will repeat, new mechanics and systems, and expanded Stonescript features are just some of the things that will become core to the final version of the game.

Why are we staggering development like this? Well, we’re indiedevs!

This is not meant as an excuse or a joke, but rather a sincere explanation. We are a small team that takes pride in the quality of our work, and Early Access allows us the opportunity to work in constant conversation with our players to iterate and improve on Stone Story.

That kind of quality, however, calls for fairly rigorous testing and experimentation. Balance that with busy lives and a world that’s on fire, and you can start to see why we’ve taken as long as we have.

This is especially important when it comes to one of our primary concerns: Player Engagement & Fun.

The Game Funnel (light game spoilers)

Stone Story RPG is a niche game. “ASCII-animated incremental auto-RPG with programming elements” is a hard enough sell as it is, and while it helps us stand out it also makes it extremely challenging to get players invested.

We receive lots of valuable feedback from you guys. What we don't receive is feedback from players who did not become engaged with the game.

These are people who, for whatever reason, didn't have fun playing. They leave and don't come back, almost never giving the developers direct feedback. This might be the single largest challenge to solve as a game dev! No game can please everyone, but we know we can do better.

To tackle this issue, we track a set of usage data that is both aggregate and anonymous. For instance, when players begin a new story, they all go through the first location, gather several items, then craft their first item.

Those steps are added to a collective pool of data. Correcting for things like piracy, this tells us a statistical story of how players, as a whole, are interacting with the game and allows us to see where folks are getting stuck.

This process is called Funnel Analysis, where science intersects with art, to inform some of our game design decisions. This tells us where problems exist, but not what those problems are, or how to fix them. What comes next involves some detective work.



We've identified and fixed several minor drop-off points, where players give up, but there is one STARK drop-off that persists. It appears right after upgrading your workstation, and we believe this is the Waterfall Puzzle, where currently 18% of new players are leaving (probably in frustration).

The Waterfall Puzzle is a unique moment in Stone Story, since it’s one of the few times where we introduce a non-combat challenge. We've attempted various changes to solve the issue, with partial success. If we're going to crack this case it's going to take more than just a few text and number adjustments. We have to re-think the whole section.

Fun and Enjoyment, Through the Lens of Data

It's certainly hard to quantify "fun", but we believe Retention Rate gives us a measure of that, albeit indirectly. Retention in games is often expressed in the sequence D1 > D7 > D30, or what percentage of players are returning to play again after 1 day, 7 days, and 30 days.

  • D1 retention is all about ensuring the game has a fun and engaging hook. Stone Story RPG’s base game content can be completed in roughly 8 hours, meaning that someone can “beat” the game in about a day or so. The progression needs to be as smooth as possible, so fixing bugs and conveying the gameplay without confusion is crucial.

  • D7 retention focuses on giving people a reason to come back. This is where things like Quests and higher difficulties come into play. The goal at this part of the experience is to expose players to the deeper parts of the game, where their breadth of choices unfolds to infinity. Our work with the Quest Stone and the 3.0 release is designed to boost this area of the experience.

  • D30 retention focuses on the long-term. This is where we strive to get all our players: using Stonescript, creating custom content, theorycrafting, and generally being invested in Stone Story RPG as a whole. Community events are one way for us all to have fun at this stage of progression.

In terms of future development, we believe Green difficulty locations, quality of life systems, an expanding arsenal of complex items, as well as a new game mode are some of the ways in which Stone Story can deliver long-term enjoyment.

We love data, as it helps us understand the full picture and keep improving!



Stone Story Worldwide

On TOP of retaining players, we spend just as much time ensuring that people all over the world can play the game. We’re lucky to work with such a great localization team, Warlocs, who’ve made the game accessible in so many different countries.

If you’re a game dev and not localizing your game you’re missing out on a HUGE audience. However, it’s not as simple as just translating! Good localization involves a deep understanding of dialogue, tone, and mechanics so you can properly convey it all to a completely different audience.

Having Stone Story localized for so many languages doesn’t just increase how many players we have; it also increases the amount of data we receive!

Iteration and localization are all in service of the eventual ports and ensuring this can hit as wide an audience as possible. This process takes time and we ask that you please continue to be patient with us as we work to bring Stone Story RPG up to the ambitious vision we have for it.



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Whew, that was a lot of text! If you made it this far, thank you for reading.

Stone Story RPG continues to be a labor of love in an industry that demands so much for even a chance at success. We deeply appreciate every one of you that has stuck with us so far and continues to come back.

Until next time! o/

-SSRPG Team

Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
Something is stirring in the Haunted Halls…

Scotty the Skull has sent you the information of an associate of his- a skeleton named Auggie in need of a hired hand. Included are directions to the Skeleton Chest Factory.

Are you prepared to venture down once more and go on Mr. Pallas’ Wild Ride?



The Wild Ride
The Quest Update continues with the addition of “Mr. Pallas Wild Ride”! Players that have unlocked the Quest Stone will be able to access this new Legend and once more confront the Fallen God himself, the flayed titan Pallas.

In addition to the new Quest, Stone Story RPG will also be running its fourth Challenge Event - The Wild Ride, from October 1st until October 10th. All players who participate in this event will receive the Skeleton Arm, a powerful Lost Item that further deepens your arsenal.

Lost Items are rare pieces of loot that can be obtained outside of limited-time events. For information on Lost Items and their drop rates, please see here.



Event Details:
  • Each player is given their own Skeleton Arm at the beginning of the Challenge.
  • At the end of the event, participants will receive special loot for completing “Mr. Pallas’ Wild Ride”: a shiny treasure with an enchantment (uniquely “signed” from the event).
  • To proceed with the Challenge, players must complete a series of goals. Each goal completed further improves the loot’s enchantment bonus (up to a +11 enchantment).
  • There are a total of 4 goals, each one requiring you to use the Skeleton Arm in creative ways.
  • (Note: Events may repeat, and all gameplay-related rewards can still be obtained through normal play. Enchantments can also be removed from the event loot and placed on another item.)
The Quest Update Continues
“Mr. Pallas Wild Ride” marks the first of many Quests to come. We hope you all look forward to more adventures in the Dark World!



Thank you all for playing~
-SSRPG Team
Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
Something is stirring in the Haunted Halls… Ghastly ghosts and spooky scary skeletons lurk below. Are you prepared to venture down once more and go on Mr. Pallas’ Wild Ride?

Mr. Pallas' Wild Ride will be added to Stone Story RPG as a playable Quest on October 1st. This Quest Drop will also feature an accompanying Challenge event.



Scotty the Skull has sent you the information of an associate of his- a skeleton named Auggie in need of a hired hand. Included are directions to the Skeleton Chest Factory.

Time to see what’s got them so rattled.
Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh


Dive into the newest major content release for Stone Story RPG: The Quest Update. Available now!



Launching with four all-new adventures, the Quest Update will take players on journeys spanning the breadth of the Dark World. Uncover mysteries both magnificent and mundane as you meet old friends, wield powerful new artifacts, and get up to plenty of mischief. (Keep an eye out for a new achievement as well!)

Content that launches today is only the beginning. Updates will continue over the next few months as we add content and events to the game; you can look forward to something new nearly every week!

Several balance changes have also been patched into the game. For further reading on what’s changed, please see the full release notes: https://stonestoryrpg.com/releasenotes/



So what exactly are Quests? Good Quest-ion! (hohoho)

Quests are self-contained adventures that can be played alongside the main story content. Accessed in-game via the Quest Stone, they can be split up into two types: Basic Quests and Legends.

Basic Quests present players with a goal (e.g. “Kill 45 Mosquitos”) that, upon completion, will reward you with a small loot haul.

Legends, however, are much larger in scale. Legends are full narrative adventures that put players in contact with curious characters, both new and old. The Dark World is fraught with peril, and sometimes you need a reliable Stonehead to get the job done. In exchange, you’ll be rewarded with powerful prizes (not all of them items!).



Our primary focus when creating the Quest system was twofold: to further flesh out the Dark World and give players more choice with how to progress.

While Stone Story allows for grinding, we found that people would simply farm locations to bruteforce their way through a difficult encounter. Now with Quests, players can pursue different options for progression. Earn powerful loot while embarking on adventures throughout the realm.



The Quest Update launches with a batch of Basic Quests and 4 Legends:
  • Croaked: From the Deadwood Canyon, a symphony of croaks dance across the water, led by a conductor of annoyed moans. Investigate the disturbance!
  • Stone-Head: A Roof Overhead: There's a knocking at your shelter door, followed by the quick patter of footfalls. Someone may be in need of your help.
  • Bad Business: A panic-scrawled note from Lootmeister Hans beckons you back to the Mushroom Shop. What could have Hans in such a hurry?
  • Throwing Stones: A lone Pusher has been spotted by the Deadwood River, a remnant of those who did not make the climb. Perhaps it’s worth talking to them.


There are a total of 16 Legends, the rest of which will be released over the following months along with in-game events and challenges. Make sure to be on the lookout for new additions to Stone Story!



Thank you to everyone who participated in StoneJam 4! We had some great submissions that we're very eager to check out. Here are just a few of the entries we received:

Cozy Cave by link2_thepast


Doom Style Face HUD by Franklin Ludo


Knight by Mind Stone Thief (with help from standardcombo, Gergő, and xx)


We're excited that so many people created such awesome scripts! We've got more entries to share, so keep an eye out for a StoneJam 4 showcase soon.



The Quest Update is something we’ve been working on for a long while now, and we’re still not done! As it was for all of you, the past couple years have been challenging to both work and live in. The reality of the situation is that Stone Story RPG is and always has been a passion project.

Without you, our community, we would not be where we are today, nor would we still be working on this game after all this time. We believe in Stone Story and we’re so glad to see that many of you do too.

Stone Story RPG launched into Early Access over 2 years ago and it’s been an incredible journey every step of the way. For indie game developers, that journey is an uphill climb with obstacles and obstructions (ones that we oftentimes don’t see until they happen!).

This is our biggest content release to date, and there are so many talented people that made it possible. From all of us on the team: Thank you for playing.

We’re just getting started with The Quest Update and we can’t wait to share more!

-SSRPG Team
Sep 17, 2021
Stone Story RPG - Martian Rex
This is a massive patch, with many Stonescript changes for StoneJam 4, balance changes, audio, bug fixes and many other improvements.

See the full release notes here:
https://stonestoryrpg.com/releasenotes/
Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
StoneJam 4

Hello fellow Stoneheads--

After some time away, StoneJam returns! Prepare your ASCII glyphs and flex those functions as we kick off Stone Story RPG’s 4th jam; this time open to art-only submissions!

The Quest Update Approaches
Before we dig into StoneJam, we’ve got some exciting news to share!

It’s been a long, long road and we’re happy to announce that after months of delays, technical issues, and juggling real life responsibilities, the Quest Update will be releasing on Thursday, September 23rd.

While the update will be going live on the 23rd, Stone Story 3.0 is more than a single content patch. We’ve got several months of content planned, so keep an eye out on our feeds for the official announcement in the coming days.



What’s New with Stonescript
Stonescript is a scripting language built into Stone Story RPG, used for modifying the character's AI. Easy to use yet powerful, scripts can be as simple as automating potions if your health gets low, optimizing combat to superhuman levels, or even creating new cosmetics and UI features!

Instructions in the Mind Stone* are written in Stonescript, a minimalist language designed for use by everyone. If you can type, you can Stonescript--no programming degree required!

In the time since StoneJam 3, we’ve added a huge variety of new features to Stonescript. We’re eager to see how you make use of them!**

*(Note: The Mind Stone is unlocked part-way through playing the game. If you’re new to scripting in Stone Story RPG or need a quick refresher, check out this tutorial we’ve written up:https://stonestoryrpg.com/stonescript/intro_tutorial.html)

**You can find a full list of changes to Stonescript here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/603390/discussions/0/2959417653802347314/

What is StoneJam about?
With each new update we continue to expand what's possible with Stonescript. We want to see what YOU can create! Some of the projects that people have made with Stonescript include:

  • Minigames
  • Combat scripts
  • Pets and cosmetics
  • Custom UI elements (e.g. healthbars, ability timers)
  • ASCII-art and animations
Collaborations between participants are more than welcome (and in fact encouraged).

Don’t script? Use the Mind Stone as your canvas and show us what kinds of beautiful text art you can create!
Previous StoneJam Entries
panda by Mind Stone Thief and xx

Burger Rush by Fyda

Headphones by link2_thepast

UI Collection by Agerak


What do I get?
For StoneJam 4, all participants will receive a secret reward given out at the end of the Jam! This is a unique celebratory reward available only through this event.

Our favorite submissions will be invited to be an official addition to the game, allowing players to activate your script with a simple “import” command.

When is StoneJam?
StoneJam will take place from Friday, September 17th, to Wednesday, September 22nd. You’ll have all of that time to create and submit your scripts on our Discord server.

How do I participate?
StoneJam 4 will be hosted on our community Discord server. You'll need to have the @stonejam role, which you can get by going to the #commands channel and typing !stonejam.

Two text channels will become available for this event:
#stonejam-discuss for all discussion about the jam and #stonejam-submit for submitting entries.

How do I submit my StoneJam entry?
Submission rules:

1. Inside your scripts, at the beginning of each file include:
- Name/nickname of author or multiple names if multiple authors
- Version number of the script
- Instructions on how to use it

2. Drop your script into #stonejam3-submit, along with screenshots and/or gifs of your entry in action.

3. If a single entry involves multiple interdependent scripts, put them into a zip.

4. Submit different entries separately.

5. You can submit scripts created prior to the jam, as long as the jam week is used for meaningfully improving them.

Resources for StoneJam
Stonescript Documentation
To see a full list of all possible functions, commands, and variables: https://stonestoryrpg.com/stonescript/manual.html

Easy projects
Introduction to Stonescript - This writeup gives you an overview of Stonescript's functionality, including variables, commands, and operators: https://stonestoryrpg.com/stonescript

Modding Guide - This walkthrough shows you how to import external scripts into the game. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2003221477

ASCII-art Tutorial
Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5v-NS9o4yc
Follow-along Reference: https://stonestoryrpg.com/ascii_tutorial.html

Example of what high-level scripting looks like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR6QYxdGV9M

Reference guides
All ASCII characters currently available to use in-game: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/597668520888762388/683419636204699676/AvailableGlyphs.txt

Hex for all enchantment colors:
Cyan: #02e5ff Yellow: #ffff62 Green: #32da5a Blue: #0063ff Red: #ff2222

List of valid ?loc:
rocky, deadwood, cave, shroom, haunted, crypt, bronze, icy, temple, nagaraja

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We can’t wait to see how you all make use of the new additions to Stonescript.

See you folks soon for more Quest Update news!
-SSRPG Team
Stone Story RPG - MintyFresh
Summer Sales and Loads of Loot

A scorching summer has descended upon the Dark World!

From now until July 11th, Stone Story RPG will be running a 2x Loot Event. Complete runs by defeating the current endgame boss to earn this extra loot (which also includes 2x Lost Item drops).

For further clarification on Lost Item drop rates, please follow the link here.



Never played Stone Story before? Now’s your chance! For the duration of the Steam Summer Sale, Stone Story RPG will be on sale for a 20% discount.

If you want to try out the game beforehand, check out the demo on our store page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/603390/Stone_Story_RPG/

Development Update

Since our last post, we’ve made quite a lot of headway in development. Not only have we implemented quests, we’ve also added several quality of life improvements and further fleshed out Stonescript, Stone Story’s in-game scripting language. The creative possibilities have continued to expand and become more robust; we can’t wait to see how you play!

We are currently in the polishing and bug-fixing phase for both technical and content features. Quest implementation has brought up some interesting challenges; for every 1 issue we address, 8 more pop up! The team has been dutifully plugging away at cleanup to ensure that your playtime will be as smooth as possible.

Take a look below at some of the things we’ve got planned for the Quest Update:


A former member of the Council of Five, Uulaa now spends her days lounging and looking after her children. She may prove to be a useful contact! If you can find her…


A chest of gold! What treasures could await within?


Now you see them, now you don’t. Those Charlatans are crafty fellows.


The Quest Update will take you on mystifying adventures spanning the breadth of the Dark World. Some old faces may even show up in your travels (not all of them friendly).




We’ve added various quality of life improvements to the Stonescript workflow. One such change is an old feature request from our community: You no longer need to manually navigate to script folders!


Our audio wizard Rafael is back with some incredible new work. This track in particular is used for the “Skeleton Factory,” a scene from one of the upcoming quests.

Looking Ahead

We’re nearing the end of the tunnel and everything’s starting to come together. We’ve got an exciting launch schedule planned that the team is hard at work on. Expect more announcements in the near future!

As always, we can’t thank you enough for all of your continued support. Every single person, new and old, that has picked up Stone Story has been invaluable to the development process. Special thanks go out to our Discord community members, who have been tirelessly workshopping scripts, sharing strategies, and breathing new life into the ASCII art medium!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and join the official Stone Story RPG Discord server if you haven’t already done so:

-SSRPG Team
Stone Story RPG - Martian Rex
The beta branch has been updated with a massive patch, v2.98, leading up to v3.0.

See the release notes for v2.98 here:
https://stonestoryrpg.com/releasenotes/beta.html

If you're not on the beta branch, you can switch by following instructions here:
https://stonestoryrpg.com/faq.html#Technical%20Help

But, if you'd rather wait for the full release, no sweat! We're working hard to bring forth these changes (and many more). Once a launch date for 3.0 is locked we will make an announcement.
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