- Initialize the Smith and the Pottery. Add the correct NPC to those buildings. Begin to change the interiors.
- Added a new Potter NPC.
- Differentiate between adult NPCs (who are taller) and child NPCs (who are smaller).
- Added fences, bushes and flowers to the towns.

- When you buy seeds from an NPC farmer, the seed packet now contains 10 seeds instead of 1.
- Fixed resize screen bugs.

Along with all of my real world work, I've been busy this month with a new puppy in my house. I'm hoping to get some major game updates out here in May as this puppy settles down, and let's me type on my computer.

- Added new buildings to the towns, which will soon be populated by vendors.
- Reduced the noise in the walking on grass and soil sound effect. When walking on a road, the walking sound effect changes.

- Fix a build update issue.

- Villagers who live in towns now exit their houses and occasionally walk to the town square.
- Villagers are gradually coming alive. They will exhibit a variety of different emergent behaviors based on their needs.

- Changed Hardborough and Woolwiich to have slightly different layout and building types.
- NPCs who are farmers now sell seeds. This will be changed in the next update to farmer NPCs will sell the seeds of the crops/trees that are growing on their farms. This is the first of the vendor updates. In upcoming builds, I will be adding Smiths and Pottery vendors to the towns.
- Fixed bug in the NPC conversation dialog that would randomly cause the mouse click even to always fail.

- Two towns are now generated on the island. The towns could not simpler: a few houses surrounding a town center.
- We now have all the major building blocks: an island with shore line, randomly generated lairs, and towns. Now the work begins to add detail to all of the above. I will be adding multiple levels to the lairs, adding vendors to the town, and giving each town its own distinctive flavor and NPCs. Also, overland map movement will soon be added.

(1) Expanded map size.
(2) Added simple coast line to the overworld map. The Isle of Elanor is finally actually an island.

I can now start building the towns and more types of lairs and spawns on the maps.

(1) Fixed critical game saving bug. Scripts attached to item components caused the item save file to corrupt.
(2) Mushrooms no longer spawn in maps with sandy soil.
(3) Reduced maps to having two native random types of trees.

- Added new tree type for sandy soil map areas.
- Added new grass type for sandy soil map areas.
- Fixed various bugs with shoveling top soil.

- Slightly increased overworld map size. Preparation for building towns.
- Some map areas now have a base soil type of sandy. Some crops grow better in different soil types. Eventually, all of the fauna (grass, plants and trees) on maps will differ based on soil type.
- Fixed a bug where you couldn't till the soil if you had previously dug up the soil with a shovel.
- Fixed a map saving bug.

- Previously set zoom level set when game is loaded.
- Fixed rendering bugs with crops. Crops were appearing on top of NPCS.
- Expanded road network in preparation for adding towns.

- Fixed rendering issues with NPCs with beards.
- Fixed rendering issues with NPCs with long names.
- Increased Slime agro distance, making them more difficult.
- Added Fire Slimes to the Lairs. You don't want to use your fireball against a Fire Slime as it heals the Fire Slime.
- Added simple loot boxes to Lairs. I will be increasing the variety of loot.

- Fixed a bug that prevented regaining vitality when sleeping.

- Improved the wandering NPC system. More maps now support meeting a wandering NPC.
- In preparation for building the towns, added more NPCs.

- Added a barrel as a new craftable item. The barrel can hold large amounts of any liquid (water, slime, poison, etc).
- Improved map generation, spawning trees, resources, grass, etc into what was previously boring, empty space.

- Fixed a map issue that reprevented Earl from opening his door and going back inside.
- Upgraded Earl and Emma's house to three rooms.
- You can no longer use your tools on a map that is owned by an NPC.

- Updated the Linux build.
- Added random herds of goat to some maps. Eventually, you will be able to tame these goats.
- Randomized weather.

- Added random crops to NPC farms.
- Added random job to NPC farmers: they now walk over and check on their crops.
- Fixed fire surfaces that are generated from oil surfaces to create light sources in Lairs.
- I'm traveling again, so I can't update the Linux build. Will update in the future.

- Added Weather. Weather changes from area to area in the overworld. It might be raining on some maps and not raining on others. Eventually, you will be able to see weather patterns on the overworld map, and predict where storms are moving.
- Improved NPC path finding. NPCs will ignore items and vacuum them up if the items are in the way.
- NPCs now exit their homes and return back inside. Eventually, NPCs will be moving around their farms and other locations performing various jobs, or just getting a nice relaxing walk.
- Added farmable plots to NPC farms.

(1) Fixed map issue with shores of lakes not appearing.

(1) Added category information to delivery quests. The category of the item is indicated, helping to understand which item is being requested.
(2) Added NPC farm house variety. Eventually, the NPC farm's will be functioning farms, with crops and animals. You will be able to purchase seeds and animals from the NPC farms.
(3) Updated the Linux build. Due to travel, I didn't have access to my Linux machine. Also, now that I'm back home from travel, I hope to push out a sizeable feature build next week.

(1) A message is displayed when you discover a Named Map. Named Maps can be Lairs, Farms, Towns, Ruins, etc. Currently, only NPC farms will display the message. As the size of the overworld map expands, Named Maps will appear in the player's journal. The location of the newly discovered Named Map relative to important other locations will be noted. Named Maps will also appear via a rollover tooltip on the overworld map.
(2) I'm traveling in Mexico for the next couple days, and just getting builds to work via my laptop vs my build machine at home has been a struggle.

- When talking to Villagers, you can ask them if they need anything. This allows you to perform a random daily quest for each villager.
- Fixed a bug where Calen would ignore you after you had completed one of his quests.

Added new alternate music track to be played randomly throughout the game.
Fixed more bugs with the load game dialog.

- Fixed encumbrance when moving items to a chest.
- Added randomly generated Lair maps. There's about 6 different random variations. I will be implementing additional variations.
- Fixed birds not always finding a new tree when you cut down the tree they live in.
- Fixed birds not spawning outside of the player's home map.
- Added pools of slime to the Lair maps. These function the same way as low areas of water.

Lair generation now occurs on most open maps (maps which are not farms or inhabited by NPCs). The bare minimum of Lair maps (one basic variety with different entry points) has been implemented for this build. Soon I will implement a larger variety of Lairs with multiple levels. Multiple lairs will be on some maps in different locations on the map.
Torch and light improved at different screen resolutions.
Previous saved games will not work with this build. I will be updating the Load Game menu to indicate that a saved game file is incompatible.

After two years of work, the first Early Access builds of the Isle of Elanor are now available on Steam.

I will be releasing feature updates to Early Access every Friday.

See the Road Map in the Elanor Steam discussions to see what features will soon be appearing.

After two years of development, I will be releasing The Isle of Elanor to Early Access on February 5th.

I have updated the Road Map for The Isle of Elanor on the Steam discussion site for the game. Please see the Road Map for a detailed look at the features that will be delivered in the full version.

I will be live streaming The Isle of Elanor to celebrate the Steam June Fest and the pending release of my game this year.

Please join in the fun and download the demo.

There will be many demo updates prior to the June event.

Build 0.0.5.7 June 18, 2023

New dungeon now available using a new cave tileset.
You can now mine ore from breakable ore blocks in the new dungeon.
Some maps are now created when the player enters the map. This speeds up creating the world, and also allows for an infinitely large world map size.
Hinges can now be crafted using the anvil.

Build 0.0.5.6 June 04, 2023

Metallurgy makes an appearance. You can now craft items with the anvil. Coming soon: the furniture machine will allow for the crafting of furniture items, but first we need to be able to craft nails, hinges, etc.
Crafting machines now allow for the selection of a number of recipes. Recipes will be discoverable items.
Carissa and Calen now have "deliver quests" available via dialog. Eventually such quests will be randomly generated.

Build 0.0.5.5 May 20, 2023

Fish now appear in bodies of water. Eventually, you will be able to catch the fish you see, using a spear, net or rod.
Added Seed spitter mob to the dungeon.
Fixed some a critical crafting bug that had completely broken crafting of items from workshops.
Health potions are automatically consumed on click when your health is below max.

Build 0.0.5.4 May 20, 2023

Added relationships tab to the Main Menu. You must first speak with an NPC to form a relationship.
Fixed slow downs that were occurring on the player's map.
Added Attitude UI to the gift dialog. You can see an NPCs current attitude and how gifts effect that attitude.
Coming soon: click on an NPC in the relationships tab to see their Spouse, Parents and Children.

Build 0.0.5.2 May 15, 2023

If you become dehydrated in the game, select your Watering Can and right click on yourself. This is a placeholder for proper drinks.
The player can now sleep. You can select to sleep until morning or sleep for 8 hours. Eventually, you'll be able to sleep in other locations, such as an Inn in a town.
Added 2 more Potions.
Added initial version of the Gift Dialog. Eventually, this dialog will display information about the NPC's attitude to the player.

Build 0.0.5 May 11, 2023

The fire surface that spawns after killing a fire slime now acts as a light source.
The Bash Strike skill now stuns an NPC for a short time. This makes Bash Strike more useful. You can combo Bash Strike with a couple sword swings before the NPC recovers from the stun.
Calen and Carissa now leave the player's house and map during the evening and return to their homes. This is in preparation for the allowing the player to sleep. All NPCs will return to their homes during the night.

Let's see if this works.

Build 0.0.4.21 May 7, 2023

In preparation for adding new monster types, it was time to fix bugs with combat and refine the dungeon map. The old dungeon map was fairly boring.
Updated the dungeon map. This map is more representative of a map that might actually appear in the game, although this map will certainly not be the first available dungeon map.
Added loot boxes to the dungeon map.
The monsters in the dungeon are randomized. Although there are currently two slime types to choose from.
Fixed quite a few combat bugs that prevented the player from swinging their sword.

1. Created a load game dialog so you can load your existing games.
2. You can now select Home Type and Difficulty Level from the New Game Dialog.
3. Carissa now gives a quest for killing slimes.

1. Changed the design of the player's house. A secondary entrance is now available. This will allow for NPC's to visit your entry way and knock on your door when you are home.
2. Added a variety of sound effects.
3. Add flavor dialog for the NPCs.
4. The Journal (Quest) Dialog is more functional and scrollable.

1. Major new farming mechanic: soil types. Sandy soil type is now available. Some crops crow better in certain soil types. The player can move soil around with the shovel.
2. The main character and certain NPCs now occasionally blink.
3. Eye color can be selected from the new game dialog.
4. Bushes can now be planted in untilled soil.
5. Added 4 new female hair styles.
6. Added new shirts. The color of some shirts can be modified in the new game dialog.
7. Fixed stopping and starting of music on the loading of locations.

- Music has been added to the game. Just a few simple tunes so far. The settings dialog now has an Audio section for setting the volume of Sound Effects and Music.
- Player's inventory now defaults to 36 items, allowing the player to actually collect many more items.
- You can click when an NPC is talking to skip the scrolling of the dialog. Speeds up interaction with NPCs.

I will be live streaming The Isle of Elanor to celebrate the Steam June Fest and the pending release of my game this year.

Please join in the fun and download the demo.

There will be many demo updates prior to the June event.

- Settings tab in the Menu Dialog now allows you to set your own key bindings.
- Key Bindings are possible because I learned how to make my own Scrolling Listbox. Yes, I make all of the UI elements in the game. I don't use a library.
- NPC homes have been upgraded to have entry ways. These will be important areas in the game. You can do things like knock on an NPCs door and ask to gain entry, or have a conversation.
- You can now pick up and move around beds.

Build 0.0.4.9 April 18, 2023

Multiple machines and workshops added to the crafting system.
Map generation improved.
Birds now spawn on all maps where appropriate.
NPC home generation improved.
NPCs now own the property where their land is located. There will be a penalty for interfering with a NPCs property. They also own all possessions in their domiciles.

1. The game screen is now resizable and zoomable and the demo can be played in fullscreen mode.
2. World map generation is working. Maps beyond the player's home can be visited.
3. A few simple quests can now be completed.
4. Improvements to the NPC dialog allowing for continuing conversations.
5. Plants and mushrooms are now generating on each map and in many cases are specific to each map.

The Isle of Elanor Kickstarter launched today. Please consider backing the game.

The URL for the Kickstarter page:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/685752533/the-isle-of-elanor-an-open-ended-role-playing-game

Thanks!

I've published a new build of the demo that features potion crafting and alchemy. Hazzaa!

Please give it a try.

(1) Added three harvestable flowers to the map. This in preparation for the next build this week where you will be able to craft potions using a variety of harvestable ingredients from the map.
(2) You can now chop down bushes. Most bushes on all procedurally generated maps with be destroyable by the player. Some bushes in towns will be off limits. You will also be able to plant bushes.
(3) Added a new tree type: Birch.
(4) Redrew the bushes using a uniform art style across all large vegetation (trees, bushes, etc).
(5) Fixed a crash issue with PCs that used German as the System Language.

I will be streaming The Isle of Elanor.

(1) Single click now moves items to and from a chest.
(2) Added a small pond near the player's house.
(3) Selecting your equipped weapon now deselects a selected stack of items.
(4) Improved slime path finding.

I will be streaming gameplay from The Isle of Elanor Demo on June 13th.

I'm hoping to have the demo available in early May for the NextFest.

Cheers!

A few updates:

(1) Fire slimes added to the demo dungeon.

Fire slimes have 120% fire resistance. If you hit them with fire attacks, you will actually heal the slimes.

(2) Slimes now leave a surface (poison, fire, etc) behind when they die.

(3) Collision improved with the player's one handed sword attack. Some sword swings were not being recorded as hits when they should have.

(4) Some key bindings are now visible under the game's setting menu. Soon they will be configurable.

A few items have been updated in the demo:

(1) Slimes now randomly spawn Minor Healing Potions.
(2) You can press the character G to say "Good Day" to an NPC. If you are in range of the NPC, the NPC will respond to you.

In future game updates, (2) will be critical for briefly stopping an NPC when they are going about their daily business. You can then engage in a detailed conversation. And naturally NPCs will like it when you talk with them.

:)

I will be streaming game play in The Isle of Elanor.

I have published an excerpt from the novella that will accompany the The Isle of Elanor game.

https://www.commonwombat.com/TheIsleOfElanorPrologue.pdf

Click the link above to read the excerpt.

Click the link here to visit the Kickstarter Preview:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/685752533/the-isle-of-elanor-an-open-ended-role-playing-game

The Kickstarter pre-launch page is also live. Click the "Notify Me On Launch" and you'll be the first to know when the campaign officially launches.

Thanks!

It has been a busy summer. The Steam Next Fest came and went and unfortunately I was much too busy to properly prepare the The Isle of Elanor Demo for the event.

I thought I would have more free time for the game, but there really was a tsunami of events from August to October that stole all of my free time away. Getting my kids back in school, getting my son into college a few states away, my full time job, and a few awesome camping trips all consumed the time that I had hoped to devote to The Isle of Elanor.

I've also been landscaping my back yard and planting quite a few trees. I've attached an image of a beautiful Oregon Green Austrian Pine that I just planted.

The good news is: Winter is Coming. :) I'm going to be trapped inside. I'm not going to be able to camp and plant trees. I started working on The Isle of Elanor during the winter of 2020, really as a way to relieve the boredom of being confined by Covid and the cold weather.

There will many snowy days and nights this winter that I can now devote to the game again.

Let's play the Isle of Elanor Demo.

From Oct 1st to the 7th, the Steam Next Fest is billed as multi-day celebration of upcoming games.

I'll be live streaming for this event.

I've been working hard on getting a demo ready for the October Edition of Steam Next Fest.

From Oct 1st to the 7th, the Steam Next Fest is billed as multi-day celebration of upcoming games.

A downloadable demo of the game should be available for this event.

Cheers!