[color=#54cbff]The roadmap represents the stages that the new content and features will be implemented as we work towards the full 1.3 expansion release. During this period we aim to keep the Demonlore expansion available on the public test branch for players that own the game.
This gives you an opportunity to provide feedback and help shape the game. Let us know which aspects of the expansion you love, which you don't, and, well, any other opinions you have on the expansion!![/color]
"Demonlore" Expansion Roadmap to 1.3
One Quick Note: Above are our current plans, but, they are subject to change based on player feedback.
Thanks so much for your support! All of your feedback so far has helped shape the game, improve balance and make it more enjoyable for everyone.
⚡ If you enjoy the game please consider writing a Steam review, it really helps us small indie developers getting recognized in Steam. ❤️
Join Us!
We are very active devs, so you are more than welcome to join our discord or leave your feedback on the Steam forum with anything you would love to see in the future of the game! Join discord here
Very soon something unprecedented will happen in the Valley. We advise you to prepare for an adrenaline rush and new heights! And in the meantime, update your desktops!
The 1.0.0.5 update brings bug fixes and a new way to check your looting progress during a level!
Changes
In-game menu now also shows a summary of all loot in the level, to let you quickly check your progress for both scouting and collecting every available loot.
Smoother enemies' vision cone when they are moving
Ravens: Sunyang leaves after the player starts moving into the level (it was possible to swap skills after the level started).
Shop Attack: 2 sharpshooters are now asleep to give more time to deal with them.
Map hints of loot have now more priority than map hints of enemies. For example, a sleeping guard carrying loot will now be displayed as loot in fog of war
Bug fix
Max loot in in-game gold summary tooltip was too high.
Thieves won't auto-close locked doors that they wouldn't be able to reopen afterward (when they don't have the key for it)
Alerted guards who got their key stolen could get stuck on a locked door
On a few specific levels, music would stop playing or the wrong music would be played after a rewind
Sharpshooters correctly entrench after being feared
Possessed sharpshooters correctly enrage when alerted
Drunk or lazy sharpshooters correctly kill players that stay immobile in their sight
Evil spirits would target but not attack characters standing in a doorway
Evil spirits created from possessed enemies could spawn on top of furniture
Throwing Knife description had an incorrect range
Scouted loot in fog of war correctly have a tooltip when hovered
Ruby: the sentinels cannot forget the distraction anymore (it could happen if something else happened to them)
While sheltering from the sun's relentless rays, we've been immersed in the arcane art of game development. Today, we're pulling back the curtain to reveal the intricate web we've been weaving for V Rising's nefarious future. As always, it's time to find your most lavish silken throne, command your minions to uncork that age-old blood wine cask, and dive deep into the mysterious depths of Stunlock Studio's crypt.
Foundations for Flourishing Futures
If you’re familiar with earlier entries of our Dev Updates, you’re aware that V Rising is built on a still-in-the-works experimental engine, which enables us to achieve technological witchcraft that might seem impossible to many developers. Taking the gamble on this engine has been worthwhile, giving life to the immersive world of Vardoran that you have come to know and love alongside us.
However, with this system came its trade-offs. One significant point was the inability to update the engine we were working on… that is, until now. Deep in our crypts, over the course of many careful steps, we have been upgrading our foundation. With the much more stable and well-supported 1.0 version of the game engine, it’s no coincidence we’re doing it right on time to pursue our own ambition of bringing you V Rising 1.0 in our next major update.
We believe this change will allow us to overcome previous limitations with optimization and pave the way for a smoother game experience. Those of you who have been hoping to indulge the ungodly power of your rigs should finally be able to feel the unspeakable frames-per-second your eyes have gotten so used to.
Furthermore, on the tech sorcery side, we're also refining our game development tools. This gives us an incredible advantage in testing and iterating on level and gameplay design in a more organized, quick, and efficient way. We hope this will help us speed up future development and bring you more of what you love faster.
Just sit back and watch us work.
Here Comes the Big One (V Rising 1.0)
As we’ve stated, we are set on making this next major update our full release of V Rising, planned for the second quarter of 2024. While the tech team has been strengthening our support structure on the programming end of things, our design and art teams have also been working hard, shaping the coming release. So…what does it mean for V Rising to be in its ‘complete’ state?
The full version of V Rising represents a fusion of our original vision from years past and the invaluable feedback-driven enhancements and directions we've adopted over time. It means a fully fleshed-out and enticing journey through Vardoran, with a captivating beginning and a heart-stopping finale. It’s pushing forward with a complete vampire experience we can stand behind with pride.
We also want you to understand that ‘complete’ does not mean ending the game's development. Our journey with V Rising continues as long as our players keep returning, hungry for more. There will still be plenty of ways for us to bring more bloodshed, decadence, and terrifying Vampire magic to the table beyond 1.0.
Speaking of which, let’s get into some of the fun stuff. Here’s what we’re looking at adding to V Rising in the next major content patch. Like earlier previews, this is, of course, subject to change and by no means a complete list of possibilities.
Check out these cute vampires from an early V Rising concept done in 2019.
… compared to the final key art for the V Rising Early Access launch. Things have changed!
Rule the Vampire Realm
Prepare for the zenith of your Vampire saga! We're crafting an experience that feels like the grand finale of an age-old legend, and naturally, such a grand tale requires a grander stage. The ground beneath your feet will expand ever further, and once more, you’ll feel the call of bloodshed bringing you to new places…
That’s right! We're unveiling a brand-new zone! It’s time to venture beyond Hallowed Mountains into dark and icy realms, where history has been frozen and unseen treats await.
Beautiful yet dangerous new lands to explore. Early concept of the new biome.
Within this land, you’ll find an untapped faction of enemies, bosses to consume you, and of course…
The ultimate rival.
The final challenge.
The throne of Vardoran's top predator awaits... dare you seize it?
The 1.0 patch is centered on enriching the final chapters of your Vampire chronicle, providing thrilling pursuits worthy of the immense power you've spent time collecting. It would be fun to share more about this now, but we think it might be a bit more fun to save the finer details for later. You know we love to tease.
Just some regular guys, nothing to see here.
… And Look Good Doing It
We're also working on some sizzling cosmetic overhauls to quench your thirst for fashion. Originally, when designing V Rising, we had shied away from allowing players to customize their outfits because it felt important to be very clear about what gear another Vampire was wearing when encountering them in a player vs. player scenario. Since then, we added character-level displays, which mitigate that concern considerably. While cosmetic variety took a backseat back then, it's roaring back into the limelight!
Envision this: Customizing your character's ensemble down to the last detail. We're brainstorming ways to craft varied outfits, experiment with vibrant color palettes and potential dyeing techniques, and, most importantly, grant you the freedom to personify your ideal Vampire vibe.
You can find yourself swaying gracefully in a lovely noble garment at a friend's Vampire Masquerade or parading through Brighthaven in an ethereal gown, your scythe concealed, ready to surprise an unsuspecting Paladin of the Light. They'll be too entranced by your elegance to anticipate the impending doom.
Get ready to flaunt your fangs in style!
Bringing an unfamiliar take to the familiar.
As with Gloomrot, we’re also looking to add more cosmetic options for the castle! While we're keeping the grand designs under wraps, your suggestions are the heartblood of our darkest innovations. We want you to have the castle of your dreams, so tell us all of them.
Also, you may want to sit down for this one, but… oh, wait, you can’t sit in chairs in V Rising.
Yet.
Shaking Things Up
It’s time to crank up the heat and delve into a more immersive experience! Here’s where things get a bit spicier and a lot more experiential.
Another significant revamp is on the horizon for the spell and progression unlocks. We've noted a recurring sentiment: V Rising's gameplay can feel a little repetitive at multiple playthroughs, especially for you vampires who spent hundreds or even thousands of hours in Vardoran.
You always have access to the exact same arsenal at the exact same points in the game. While such linearity works wonders for tech progression, it dulls the magic for spell unlocks. You're essentially revisiting each stage with a déjà vu toolkit. Moreover, late-game spells and ultimates often get overshadowed, and the current dominance of "merciless charge" in the early mid-game is a testament to this.
Our solution?
We're focusing on broadening spell accessibility early in the game, possibly separating the bond between learning specific spells and V Bloods. This doesn’t mean you’ll lose the feeling of draining the power from your foes to add to your own but instead looks to indulge that feeling in a way that’s more flexible for gameplay. We’re still figuring out the details, but it will include other advantages, such as allowing us to more freely chase our inspirations to design V Bloods without having to design a spell to fit them and vice versa. This change could mean more build variety at every stage of V Rising, but it also allows us to add spells and V Blood bosses whenever the creative thirst strikes!
Whatever route we take for unlocking talents, fresh blood from new challengers is always a cherished ingredient!
Twisting the Tale
Last but not least, something you've clamored for is inching closer to reality: live events! When you’re reaching the apex of your vampire journey, you’ll find the new area bustling with spontaneous happenings, beckoning you out from your cozy castle for some tasty treats. Engage in alliances or face-offs with other Vampires, collecting valuable resources and bonuses crucial for the game's advanced stages. These living events, if all goes well, could pave the way for dynamic events bursting to life all across Vardoran! While we're still finetuning the mechanics and determining what will make the cut for the 1.0 patch, rest assured, our focus is on making Vardoran a more vibrant and unpredictable playground for the full release - both for PvE and PvP.
A concept of something itching to beat you to the bite!
And yes… whispers abound about weapon additions. Though some savvy players have uncovered potential leads and might think they've deciphered some clues, be wary, as not every hint is a revelation. There is, however, a specific weapon we're especially keen on, one that's yet to be discovered by you clever bunch of skulkers.
Brace yourself for new weapons, a unique biome, new enemies and bosses, live events, revamped spell mechanics, enhanced character customization, an epic finale, and more as V Rising unveils its grandeur in 2024. Stay tuned for more about this and other well-kept secrets in upcoming blogs!
Until Next Time, Vampires!
Thank you so much for playing our games, from our first to our most recent; without you, none of this would be possible. With this comes a promise to ourselves and a promise to you that we’ll continue to progress and bring you games that we will strive to make better and better.
The path ahead looks better every day, and we couldn’t ask for better companions on our journey.
[added] The gold distribution is now randomized on every claim (the overview below is just an example; you might have a different distribution in your game).
[added] Additionally, each claim features a unique distribution with its own pros and cons (e.g., Old Arnold's has an even distribution while having less overall gold than Nighthawk, but Nighthawk requires lots of drilling to find rich deposits).
[balanced]Increased drilling range for manual drilling (mostly likely you'll make 9 holes, sometimes 6, and rarely 4 - instead of the usual 1 to 4 per use).
Gold distribution per claim:
[Old Arnold's] - even distribution, low density.
[River Town] - very big clumps of moderate density.
[Pine Valley] - a lot of small clumps of high density.
[Nighthawk] - a few very small clumps of very high density.
Seasonal features:
[adjusted chest locations]Quest for chests: Grab up to 22 chests placed randomly around Heines, Alaska. As a reward, you will receive a buff per chest that applies in the current season.
[balanced] The value of extra gold nuggets from drilling has been slightly increased after the previous reduction.
[added] The Pine Valley parcel rent price was set to $0.
[removed] The Nighthawk parcel rent price has returned to its default value.
[added] Fade into the night with the new Season #29anthracite excavator skin (winners only!).
Thank you for sending us all the reports and suggestions. You're awesome human beings!
IGNISTONE was exhibited at Tokyo Game Show, held from September 21st to 24th, 2023. To everyone who came to the IGNISTONE booth, we sincerely thank you!
IGNISTONE is finally releasing next week on October 3rd.
We've put our hearts into creating an exciting rogue-like action game that focuses on parry.
We would like to invite you to a live stream that will start on October 9, 2023, at 22:00 Central European Time (1:00 PM Pacific Time). You will have the opportunity to see gameplay from the demo, which will be released on the same day at 17:00 Central European Time (8:00 AM Pacific Time). We will be available to chat with you during the stream, and the game will be broadcast by our friend Mirela "Emi," who has been a streamer for several years. You are warmly welcome!