Dear Innkeepers!
Its’ time for our monthly update. Below you will find a quick recap of our work in the past month.

Gameplay & code

Our devs are working hard every day and we already know the names of our pizza delivery men.

That really means something!

Last month we have implemented such options as:

• the possibility of building multiple floors in your tavern.
  
  
• the option of setting work schedule for your employees.
  
• random events such as fires.

Apart of that we are mostly focusing right now on polishing elements that are already in the game and adding small improvements and ideas which have come along the way. Thanks to you, by the way:)

<drums>

Mini games in your Inn - Knife throwing![/b]

It's the first game we have developed for your inn.

How does it work? Quite simply.

1) First you will have to buy a shield for your inn.


2) Then in your inn will be appearing customers who will challenge you to a duel.

Money, special items, recipes and many other special things will be at stake.


3) Each of you will have three knives to throw in several rounds. After each round the winner will have to drink a pint of beer. This means that in the next round the picture will be rocking and your accuracy will be very impaired. It will be more and more difficult with each round, but also more and more funny!

You can see it here.

That’s definitely not the end of the games you will be able to play in your inn!

Graphic design:
Our graphic design team have been working on special characters and guests. The results are really promising.

Here you can find Alstero:


And his squire:)


We also did a pretty decent job with the furniture and liquors!








PR & MARKETING
We have been working on our presence on PAX WEST and Gamescom in Cologne, altough we will be there only in the business area with our publisher - Klabater. If you are a journalist, a blogger or you would to talk with us, let us know: michal.lowigus@klabater.com
We have also appeared in the Polish Eurogamer with a really nice preview.

Have a great weekend and let us know if you have any other questions!

Dear Innkeepers!
It's time for our monthly update![/b]

Team

First of all, we are really happy because our team is growing and we have some really talented colleagues on board!

The graphic design team has been boosted with Mateusz and Paweł!

Szczepan, the screenwriter is now supported by Kacper, who focuses on game design and Patryk, our lead programmer, can count on Darek.

Apart from that, we are also hosting three great student interns who help us with sound production, game design, and graphic design!

Below you can see a picture of us with the newest CD-Action, the biggest Polish gaming magazine, where you can find a big preview of Crossroads Inn.



PR & Marketing activity:

We announced some weeks ago that we invite Paweł Sakowski on board - this guy had a pleasure to work on the set of Game of Thrones. Paweł will be responsible for the Polish voice over and will be present in our marketing campaign. As our ambassador and had the chance to talk about Crossroads Inn in the biggest Polish media such us: Onet or Polish National Radio. He was also present at Pyrkon convent in Poznan.

As we mentioned, Crossroads Inn receives a really nice preview in CD-Action and in Hungarian PC Guru. And those previews look really cool:)





Gameplay & code

Work on the game enters a crucial phase, our developers stay longer and longer after hours, which means that the crunch time is coming!:)

We keep you informed about the progress of work on the #changelog channel on our Discord. You will find there all the details about our current state of work on new elements of the game and the patches we make, as well.

Now, we are working on both the sandbox and the campaign, but we also pay a lot of attention to improving the bugs and features that you report to us. We hope you can see the progress:)

We haven't been bragging about it before but we are developing some really cool and entertaining small games inside the tavern and we are really excited about it. :)

We also have some bad news for Mac owners. Right now we need to focus all our efforts on the best possible refinement of the code on the PC and fixing bugs. If we leave some broken elements somewhere there in the code and start doing Mac, you know... neither PC or Mac will work. We are really sorry about that but it's crucial to save time and work efficiently on the code.

We will be able to work on the Mac version only in a month or two. Nothing changes, the game will be available on this system 100%. So don't worry!


Graphic design.

Jakub Kaktus and Tomek have been working mostly on new characters in the game. Mateusz and Paweł focus on items and furniture in the game - as an innkeeper, you will choose between a great diversity of different tools and kitchen furniture.









We are working on the diversification of the furtniture as well.








Have a great day!
Kraken Unleashed Team.

The first Kickstarter backers of Crossroads Inn have received their keys to the closed beta. As it is an early version of the game, it still contains bugs and a lot of features that require polishing, further work and improvements. Our backers will be able to help shape the final version of the game. We will use their opinions to improve the game, find a proper balance and develop it in a direction our community desires.

Long weeks of researching, discussing, creating and collecting the materials, designing the graphics and the videos, adjusting the pledges and then when the campaign was finally live…

Refreshing the Kickstarter’s site every 2 minutes... around the clock. Probably, if the campaign lasted longer than 30 days it would break up our families 🙈

But… it was totally worth it, because on the way we met you - the best backers in the world.... and it was you who made us reach the finish line happily.



Once again - we wanted to thank each of 1010 of you (so far) for being an inspiration and motivation for hustling every day harder. We couldn’t expect so many ideas, brilliant questions and such commitment on your side to make this game better. We are making this game for you and your satisfaction is our ultimate goal.

We are sure that this Kickstarter campaign is helping us a lot to understand your expectations and we can guarantee that during last month we've already implemented changes and new features mainly because you, as the future players of Crossroads Inn, asked us and suggested to do it.

For example we decided to implement new languages, the possibility of romances between the employees or to develop the bards more widely and many more. Other suggestions we are still discussing and we will keep you updated about them!

Don’t forget that this is not the end of our bond! After the end of Kickstarter you will get an access to our Discord channel where you will be able to discuss all kind of topic connected with the game. Both with the developers and other members of the Crossroads Inn’s community!



And remember! The Kickstarter campaign is not over yet!

We still have more than 3 days until the end of the campaign, during which we can still collect a lot and unlock one or more of our additional goals! The first one is:

$34,000 - Scenario editor and Steam Workshop integration

Achieving this goal will allow us to transfer some of our workforce to create an editor for maps and game scenarios, which will be integrated with Steam Workshop.



We still would like to ask you to spread the word about the campaign among your friends!

Cheers!
Kraken Unleashed Team.

Funny. While writing this update, we have just noticed that there is a big inscription centrally above our stands that is connected with the subject of our game:

It’s fun to get together and have something good to eat at least once a day. That’s what human life is all about — enjoying things. – Julia Child



I don't think we've noticed it all the time, but maybe subconsciously, for the last two years Julia Child has been watching over the creation of this game? :-)

We've often said that the inspiration for creating Crossroads Inn was to look at the adventures in games and stories from the other side. Every adventure begins with a meeting of the characters with a mug of good beer and filling food. This is how we dreamt up our tavern.



And every aspiring tavern in Delcrys must respond to the various needs of its customers with offerings to satisfy the desires of both their palates and spirits. The smart pricing of drinks, dishes and services makes up only a fraction of the responsibilities of a successful inn manager. One of the biggest challenges is to obtain the unique recipes and rare ingredients necessary to serve up specialties about which legends are told throughout Delcrys’ many roads and byways. Ambitious innkeepers, while sitting in their bowers during breaks, dream of this secret knowledge, hoping that finally, their own menu will be enriched by the most valuable culinary goods from across the continent.

We are a group of guys who are not masters of cooking, so the next, extremely important step was to find someone who would help us to reflect the atmosphere of Delcrys and the cultures living in them through food.



Anita from Nerds' Kitchen, responsible for preparing a culinary e-book based on the world of The Witcher, prepared for famous CD Projekt Red was the perfect choice.



Anita and her blog, Nerds' Kitchen, have been dealing with the influence of food and cooking and its impact on building the culture of virtual universes and immersion in the broad sense of the term for years. Anita herself says that

However, well-thought-out culinary motifs that are integrated into the game and the universe itself have a huge power, thanks to which the game can rise to the next level of good game design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiVTsih3WCU

We don't think we could have imagined a better person to work with. That is why together we have created several dozen proposals of dishes and drinks, thanks to which each inn will be able to boast of its exceptional and unique menu.

The process of creating menus and dishes in the game was a result of many factors. Inspired by the mythology of the Delcrys world, which was created by the boys from Kraken Unleashed - the culture of countries and societies inhabiting Delcrys, and what they were based on, which was also inspired by real cuisine such as European, medieval or Middle Eastern world. The next step was to match the ingredients, tastes and textures so that they fit the theme to the character of the kingdom of Delcrys.



Thanks to our efforts in the culinary aspects, the game and its universe have taken on a richer and more original dimension. At the same time, I am proud that this will be the first title on the market, in which dishes appearing are the fruit of my work as well. In addition to the mechanics aspects, we also developed 12 recipes for the legendary game dishes and included them in the "Crossroads Inn Cookbook"- Anita says.



The “Crossroads Inn Cookbook” will be available as an ebook in the pledge from $55 and above. Inside you will recipes for 12 unique, legendary meals such as:

Cheese & Ale soup from Untermach



Dear Haunch with wild berry sauce from Yorevale



Gilded Potatoes from Sambria.



One of your main goals and ambitions in the game will be collecting all of them and serving them to guest to ensure fame and wealth to ensure fame and wealth loudly throughout the kingdom.

To give you a sneak peak of the recipe awaiting in the cookbook, you can find a delicious recipe of SWEET FISH DUMPLINGS FROM BERSUHL on Nerds' Kitchen Blog!



Ps. We almost forgot! We take the creation so serious that we have even created our own beer! :-)

🍺 http://kck.st/2WYth0H

Dear Backers!

We made it! $26.000 lagged behind and we are not stopping until we get the $30.000!

Thank you for the enormous trust you have placed in us! Today we want to talk a little more about the development of the game after it will be published. We are planning to keep adding extra features to the game for at least a year after the actual release.

Additional content will be grouped into two categories:

1. Free Add-ons (a.k.a Assets Packs)

Those will introduce new equipment, tavern objects, new meal receipes, materials and whatever it takes to run and enhance a legendary inn.

2. Paid Add-ons (a.k.a Additions)

Those will contain new story-driven scenarios, new NPC's and new mechanics which will diversify the game itself e.g. illegal gamblig den!

During the development of the game We had a lot of new ideas that we needed to throw away because we wouldn't be able to publish the game on time. That's why we've put them into additional content. We also want to make game alive and community engaged long after the game release.

Dear Backers!

It's really important to get your feedback in that matter. So please don't hesitate to comment on this update. Is there to much of this content? Or maybe to little? What kind of content would you like to see? What can we do to make it better? This is still an open subject for us so all suggestions will be taken into account!



Below you will find a sneak peak of our ideas for additional content:

Dogs and cats:

A DLC that gives the player the opportunity to have a dog or cat in an inn. You can have more than one pet, but their encounters end in a fight between them and possible damage to equipment/furniture.

In order to keep a pet in an inn, it is necessary to have a bed or a kennel for him and to feed him regularly. A neglected animal simply leaves the inn. Animals have special functions: cats hunt rats - in the room where rats are located they never appear, while dogs bark bandits. If a dog appears in an inn with the intention of theft and encounters a dog, he barks at him and forces him to leave the inn.

Officials:

This DLC will introduce special characters, Officials, who will visit your Inn. Among them you will find: sanitary inspectors, tax collectors, judges, notaries and many more. Like in normal life, a visit from an official may cause you some troubles... but there is also a chance of gaining some good money or... respect!

Plagues and diseases:

It doesn't sound nice, right?

Well, it won't be pleasant at all but... on every misfortune you can earn some good money!

This DLC will introduce different diseases and mental illnesses. Both clients and your employees will be susceptible to diseases. There will be a way to cure them -with the plagues, two special characters will appear - an herbalist and a feldsher. You will get a share from their work!

Bathroom:

Bathroom is an additional room that can be built in your inn. Introduces for customers the possibility of taking a bath, using the sauna, massage, stained glass beating.

The bath can be arranged in three different styles: Yorevale (like the Roman terma), Untermarchia (Russian bubble), Sambria (Turkish Hammam).

If there is a bard in the inn, he will visit the bathhouse regularly and give his poems here. If there is a courtesan in the inn, it will also provide its services here and generate a higher income. The bathhouse gives you the opportunity to earn extra money by providing services available in it. Additionally, it reduces the number of illnesses in the inn. There must be a stove at the bathhouse.

Secret Room:

The "Secret Room" gives the opportunity to build an underground floor. The entrance has a hidden character (sliding wall, hidden flap, etc.). The supplement introduces the mechanics of municipal police raids. If the secret entrance is open during the visit of the guards of the law, they confiscate all equipment placed in a secret room, stick a fine and cause the loss of reputation. To increase the security of illegal business, you can make a secret exit through an underground corridor leading beyond the inn. In the secrets room you place a fighting arena, an alchemist lab or a kidnappers stash.

Horseshoes and carriages:

This addition introduces the stable building and the blacksmith's workshop. Thanks to this we have the possibility to receive guests with horses in the inn. These animals are another attraction of the addition.

We take additional payment for taking care of the horse. There is also a possibility of accepting the carriage if the player builds a place for him. Visiting guests with the carriage is associated with a big profit. This addition also allows you to create a special box for the Griffin. Maintaining the stable requires importing or producing hay, which is stored under the wall. Here, your employees also go for a walk.

At the stable we can build a blacksmith's workshop.

Cowshed and pigsty:

This addition makes it possible to build a barn and pigsty. The player breeds new animals: cows, sheep, goats and pigs.

Each DLC will introduce special bards, vedetas and adventurers as well. In the pledge of $65 among others you will get a season pass for all the content we will be releasing. Please, keep in mind that this is just a sneak peak and you can expect much more from us!

🍺 http://kck.st/2WYth0H

Dear Crossroads Inn backers! We have so many news to announce!

1. First of all, we have already collected more than 80% of the amount and we hope to exceed the magic threshold of $25,000 even today!

We would like to thank those who have supported us so far, and those who are still wondering about it! There is not much missing and now we need you now in particular!

2. Tomorrow, 6th of March, at 7pm CET/ 1pm ET we are planning a livestream with Szczepan, Patryk and Michal - boys will talk about the process of creating a game from a scratch in a really small team. How the ideas developed and what were our inspirations.



And guess what... you are invited! We are counting on you and your questions!

Apart of that we are planning some giveaways during the livestream, so save the date!

3. Last but not least. Today we would like to introduce you to a few detailed game mechanics. Remember that we are still in the process of developing Crossroads Inn so each of them can still change.

Theft of a purse - The Scoundrel

From the moment of employing a scoundrel, the player gains a unique opportunity to steal from customers. This is an additional opportunity to earn money and acquire special items and as long as no one catches you, you will have no problems.



Each customer has a specific number of slots. The higher the social group and the wealth of the guest, the more of them. The slots are initially covered - the player does not know what is in them. In order to unveil them, you first need to get information about the client. The Scoundrel can be supported by a Helper or a Vedeta. The content of the slots remains the same, so the whole operation can be extended in time. Getting information during one visit, stealing during the next visit.



Theft can give you measurable benefits: money, regulations, construction schemes, valuables or acts of ownership of the surrounding land, which will allow you to expand the inn more widely. The success of theft depends on the fate and level of experience of your Scoundrel. A failure results in a loss of the customer and a loss of reputation, and in some cases in the arrest of your employee by the guards of the law. The whole operation should therefore be planned very carefully. There is a lot to gain, but also a lot to lose.

Outhouse

You are surely wondering what will happen to all these great dishes in our game when they are digested. No surprises in this matter! That's why in our game there are outsiders.



Each of your guests may have an urgent need. There are 4 different levels in the game. The best ones give a smaller minus to the decoration of the inn, and their cleaning takes much less time. However, their price is relatively higher.



Imports of goods

One of the basic elements of the Crossroads Inn is importing goods. In order to do this, the player has to find the right suppliers who will offer the best price. As the gameplay unlocks more and more locations on the map, the player gains access to new suppliers. By ordering goods you will be able to speed up transport or buy additional protection. Thanks to this, your goods will reach the inn efficiently and on time.



Once the supplier has disposed of the ordered products from his cart in front of your tavern, you must ensure that they are properly stored. Each player must have a special space for this and storage facilities. And don't forget about one important detail. These goods will not move by themselves. That's why make sure you have the right number of workers to move them!



Cooperation with an Adventurer

When your inn has a good reputation, an Adventurer may appear. If you have a free private room, start a conversation with your guest as soon as possible. Then, you will have the opportunity to start a cooperation with him. His presence in the inn will give you the opportunity to unlock a board with Quests!



You can choose the right quest yourself. After issuing the command, your Adventurer sets off to execute it. The chance of success is determined by the amount of his experience and by the correct adjustment of the hero and quest parameters. The player must guess whether "Strength", "Dexterity" or "Intelligence" will be the most useful in a given task. In case of success you will earn extra money. In case of defeat, be prepared for the fact that the damaged hero will have to regenerate his health for a few days.



Bard and Vedeta services

Just like an Adventurer, as you gain a reputation as an inn, there is a growing chance that a Bard or Vedeta will appear in it. These special workers also need their own chamber and if you have one, you can start cooperating with them. Each of these employees gives you specific benefits and is able to provide services appropriate to their profession - artistic performances and the provision of bodily pleasures.



Bear in mind that special workers have their own requirements. In order to maintain them you will have to meet the following from time to time!

🍺 http://kck.st/2WYth0H

Most esteemed Innkeepers!

There are still 10 days left until the end of the campaign. So far we've managed to gather almost 80% of the initial goal. During those 10 days left anything can happen, so we decided to create extra goals for our campaign. Check out what additional elements of the game we can create with your help.




$34,000 - Scenario editor and Steam Workshop integration

Achieving this goal will allow us to transfer some of our workforce to create an editor for maps and game scenarios, which will be integrated with Steam Workshop.

$38,000 - Hiring a lector of our dreams

Thanks to this amount we will be able to hire Brian Blessed, famous actor, as a narrator for Crossroads Inn.

$42,000 - Additional tavern games: “Four and a half finger”, “The Shutmouth”, “Hand to hand”, “Bone poker”

The money from this level of support will free us from other work-related responsibilities, allowing us to design unique tavern mini-games, from the world of Delcrys.

$50,000 - Additional campaign - Martyn’s Legacy (Martyn establishes a tavern) +2-3h of gameplay

Thanks to these resources, we will be able to pay for additional work, to create an individual campaign for Martyn.

$80,000 - Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 ports

This level of support will allow us to hire an additional programmer, who will create PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions of the game.



Each of those additional goals is within the reach of your hand. Help us fill to the mug and enjoy the game even more!

We would also like to remind you about our live stream and "AMA" session on Wednesday. It'll take place on Wednesday, 6th at 19:00 CET (13:00 EST). The life stream will last for 20 minutes. Hope you'll be there to spend some time with us!

Good news everyone! We’ve reached ⅔ of our campaign goal. Meaning - we have $20.000! Huge thanks to all of you who backed us and supported us in any other way.



We would like to announce something special we plan for next week. That’s a live stream and “Ask Me Anything” session with the team standing behind the development of Crossroads Inn.



So save some time for us on Wednesday, 6th of March. We’ll be answering any question you have regarding the game or our team. Keep your heads up for more news!

🍺 http://kck.st/2WYth0H

We still have ⅓ of the road ahead of us and we would appreciate any kind of help very much - whether it’s a pledge or spreading the word about our campaign.

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

https://youtu.be/LNviWCE3Ypw
The process of creating special characters is different than in the case of universal characters. There are many more elements and details that need to be developed. W need to show who a given character is, what are its special features, its personality. In Crossroads Inn players will interact with these characters. Therefore, during the dialogue they will see their full silhouettes. That's why Jakub's task in the case of these dozen or so characters doesn't end with initial sketches, which are enough to create 3D models. He has to create a fully rendered illustration of each character, on which the current emotional state and her attitude is marked.



Jakub Balewicz: Usually I try to show classical features in characters, which often refer to stereotypes. At the same time I mix them with interesting, often contrasting details, which are supposed to bring something unique out of the character. It's like building "visual conflicts" that are meant to extract something one of a kind.

As an example of the process of building special characters, we will focus on two of them. The first one is Martyn. The central person of the campaign and the player's guardian, who introduces him to the flow of the game, presents the first information about Delcrys, the history of the kingdom and our past. The second character is Kii. She belongs to the one of the most important groups in the game - Vedetas. This is a group of special workers, whose members have additional functions and requirements during the game. This particular character also shares certain features of the representatives of Courier faction, because it originates from them.

Martyn

Martyn is the face of our game. He appears in a huge amount of visual materials promoting Crossroads Inn. That's why designing him was a very important task. As a character he is a bartender and owner of a basic tavern in the campaign. That's why, on one hand, it was necessary to show his current profession and, on the other, to smuggle information about his past. As a former soldier he wears parts of outfit that refer to years of his youth spent in the army. These are a military vest in the colours of Yorevale and a knife with a handle made from antlers of a Daer, which were used by the King's side soldiers.



Martyn must look like an experienced and dangerous person, but at the same time he must also arouse the player's sympathy. The balding head and wrinkled face is meant to show age, but the hairstyle (moustache, sides, etc.) suggests that he still has a lot of life and verve in him. He's powerful, a bit thick. Strong, but also caring and a little bit melancholic. The intention was to build him as a person you can always count on and who is able to sacrifice everything for the people important to him.



Martyn was one of the first characters to be created. With the development of the game and changes in some concepts, his image evolved. From the gloomy, almost pale character, it was necessary to bring out more life, rejuvenate him a bit and make him more player-friendly. He had to become a character you will like starting with the first conversation and whose fate you will be concerned about until the last moments of game. Hence the changes that you can see on the graphics below.



Kii

Kii has a completely different task in the game than Martyn. She represents Vedetas, kamasutra masters, who have the function of special workers. In addition, Kii comes from the Kurier faction, what is indicated by her ethnic features and specially selected outfit. These mountain people, who ride on extraordinary creatures such as griffins, are inspired by the cultures of the Far East - especially the inhabitants of Tibet. Kii's costume, which is supposed to resemble kimono, is diversified with a tunic inspired by the fashion of ancient Greece. Delicate colours and accents of feathers and flowers are supposed to make her appearance softer. The tattoo and a determined attitude are supposed to suggest that she is full of strength and a kind of wildness. Her rich outfit additionally suggests that not everyone can afford the unusual pleasures that she can provide in her private chamber.



Jakub Balewicz: I believe that each of us has a certain set of features that help to assign him to a specific group - in connection with the profession they perform, the subculture with which they identify, their hobbies or their life passion. These features make us fall into a unitary mass of people, we become a homogenous group. At the same time, these features are intertwined with a set of special qualities, very often incompatible with the rest. Those qualities make us stand out from the crowd and give us our own, unique voice. If we look at somebody long enough, we will get to know them, we will discover that everyone is an extraordinary, unique person. And this is what I try to show in the characters that I design.

The workshop of a 3D graphic designer

The process of creating 3D models begins with the analysis of concepts prepared by Jakub. First, Tomasz chooses the right body for the hero from among several types that occur in the game (e.g. ordinary, muscular, slender).



It is always good to set up an action plan. That's why the order and priority of creating individual parts of characters is set first, so that the working time is well distributed among them and unnecessary complications are avoided. For example: If the characters are wearing long coats, it is a good idea for them to first create their lower body parts. Otherwise it may turn out that the coats are unmatched and penetrate the legs, for example.



Tomasz Kuczyński: I use classic workflow, that is I create a very detailed highpoly model first. Usually this stage is the most crucial during the creation process and often takes half of the whole process. Then I create a simplified variant of the model, which will be used directly in the game. I move the details from the detailed version (chiaroscuro, normals, accents on the edges, etc.), thanks to which it seems to contain almost the same amount of information, but it does not overload the computer so much.

The next important step is texturing. Our graphic designer has a database of different materials and procedural tools at his disposal to improve production. Almost all texturing of characters takes place in Substance Designer, which in the case of character creation is quite an unusual method of work.



Thanks to the visual scripting system, the appropriate materials are allocated to different parts of the model and colour variants are created by changing the values of several variables in the program. Certain fragments of such completed graphs are often copied between different assets, which saves even more time. This way, despite a small team, we are able to texture a whole group of characters very smoothly.

Tomasz Kuczyński: often modify the characters and their clothes from concept-arts, styling them in such a way that they look good from afar and do not get lost visually in the crowd. It is very important how a given character looks from a bird's eye view. I focus on this perspective, because most of the time Crossroads Inn heroes are seen this way by the player. At the same time, I try to maintain the appropriate level of detail, so that after zooming in on the camera, the player has something to keep an eye on. It is his experience and the pleasure of spending time in the world of Crossroads Inn that are the most important for us in the end.

This part concludes the tale about the creative process of our graphic designers. Hope it was informative and inspiring for you. If you know anyone who might be interested in our project give him or her a shout. We still need your help to finish our Kickstarter campaign successfully!

🍺 http://kck.st/2WYth0H