I'm pleased to announce that, after years of development, we are almost ready to release the Early Access version of Archaelund https://store.steampowered.com/app/1082970/Archaelund/ Archaelund is not a sequel to EK, but it takes place in the same universe and, of course, I am making the game with the same principles and ideas that fueled EK development. It is, however, different in many ways: you play a whole party of adventurers, and explore the lost continent of Andoria in first-person view; battles are turn-based and in third-person perspective. Yes, you read it right! pretty much the only game to do such a switch, with the exception of a few classic 2D games. system requirements are much higher than those of Exiled Kingdoms, be warned! Looking forwards to share the game with you all. David 4 Dimension Games

[ 2023-12-26 13:42:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

This minor update should ensure the saved games from android become again compatible with the desktop version.

[ 2023-10-24 09:50:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Bugfix for the "achievement reset" bug on recent update.

[ 2021-09-27 11:19:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update includes the translations for most of the new content in version 1.3, as well as dozens of small bugfixes related to the new content. Enjoy!

[ 2021-09-24 17:35:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

This update adds content mostly targeted at levels 12-19 (with a few harder encounters), allows a new mage build based on melee weapons and introduces a new difficulty level(Story) to make the game more fun to casual players. It also enables an option to permanently reduce the difficulty of an already started game. Some of the translations are still underway. This is a free upgrade for everyone. Enjoy.

Content and world changes/additions

• Added new maps including 6 outdoor sectors, new monsters, over 30 new items and 7 quests. To find the new content just walk to the town of Solliga or to the Elder Forest. Most of the new quests are targeted at levels 11-19, but there are some optional fights that should be challenging at any level.
• Some bosses are respawned and can be killed one more time: Faazvolfrul, King of Korne.
• The optional mass-battle with the Forsaken now grants some non-unique loot.

Features and improvements

• New skills for Mages that wish to play as Arcane Knights trainable at Icemist, but might require solving a quest first.
• New General skill available in Elder Forest for those who are friends with the Varannari.
• New "Story" difficulty with better regeneration, and enemy HP and Damage reduced by 25%.
• Difficulty can now be lowered (never raised) from the Options menu.
• Added link to "News" in main menu.

Balance and Adjustments

• XP required to level up reduced slightly between levels 10-24; you may gain a level when loading your game.
• Gossip skill now grants a discount when buying from shops (3%, 6% or 9%).
• Traits can now be raised up to 12.
• Player and companion melee damage slightly increased. Previously Rogues gained +1 damage at levels 1/6/12/18/24 and other classes gained nothing. Now Rogues gain +1 damage at levels 1/4/8/12/16/20/etc. Warriors gain +1 melee damage at levels 5/10/15/20/etc. Clerics gain +1 melee damage at levels 7/14/21/etc.
• "Gate" mage skill level two now costs 1 Skill Point instead of 2. If you learned it, you'll be refunded one Skill Point.
• Carrion Eaters and other creatures now paralyze for 6 seconds instead of 10. Improved item stats: Assassin's Cuirass & Leggings, Crushing Ember, Enchanted Vulcan Bow. Justice, Righteousness are now usable by Cleric. Totem of Protection is usable by All.

Bugfixes

• Fixed a bug that caused offhand weapons' proc effects to last much longer than intended.
• In rare cases, a combination of Intervention going off with near-zero mana could fail to trigger the Ankh of Life power. Fixed.
• Enemies casting defensive spells were receiving no bonuses from them. They work as intended now.
• Certain revelation from in a dialogue with the Undermother was not having effect on the main quest. Solved.
• Fixed many dialogue small errors.
• Sometimes after "A Fair Deal" resolved peacefully with Janod your reputation with Thuram and the
• Wizards' Guild wouldn't be fixed. This will be solved retroactively.
• Retribution fixed for Hirge... this time for real!.

[ 2021-05-16 10:38:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

You can begin playing brand new content in Exiled Kingdoms right now by becoming a Beta-Tester! This update introduces some new mid and high-level content, allows a new mage build based on melee weapons and introduces a new difficulty level(Story) to make the game more fun to casual players. It also enables an option to permanently reduce the difficulty of an already started game. If you play in a language other than English or Spanish, please understand that the new content will take some time to be translated. This is a free upgrade for everyone. Enjoy.

About the Beta

This is a pretty safe Beta, already tested by thousands of people from the mobile version, but glitches or errors may happen. You may wait a few weeks until we release the update to all players, or you may become a Tester and get it now. To become a tester, simply go to your Steam Library, right-click on Exiled Kingdoms, go to Properties, Betas and use the access code: EKbetatesting

Content and world changes/additions

• Added new maps including 6 outdoor sectors, new monsters, over 30 new items and 7 quests. To find the new content just walk to the town of Solliga or to the Elder Forest. Most of the new quests are targeted at levels 11-19, but there are some optional fights that should be challenging at any level.
• Some bosses are respawned and can be killed one more time: Faazvolfrul, King of Korne.
• The optional mass-battle with the Forsaken now grants some non-unique loot.

Features and improvements

• New skills for Mages that wish to play as Arcane Knights trainable at Icemist, but might require solving a quest first.
• New General skill available in Elder Forest for those who are friends with the Varannari.
• New "Story" difficulty with better regeneration, and enemy HP and Damage reduced by 25%.
• Difficulty can now be lowered (never raised) from the Options menu.
• Added link to "News" in main menu.

Balance and Adjustments

• XP required to level up reduced slightly between levels 10-24; you may gain a level when loading your game.
• Gossip skill now grants a discount when buying from shops (3%, 6% or 9%).
• Traits can now be raised up to 12.
• Player and companion melee damage slightly increased. Previously Rogues gained +1 damage at levels 1/6/12/18/24 and other classes gained nothing. Now Rogues gain +1 damage at levels 1/4/8/12/16/20/etc. Warriors gain +1 melee damage at levels 5/10/15/20/etc. Clerics gain +1 melee damage at levels 7/14/21/etc.
• Carrion Eaters and other creatures now paralyze for 6 seconds instead of 10. Improved item stats: Assassin's Cuirass & Leggings, Crushing Ember, Enchanted Vulcan Bow. Justice, Righteousness are now usable by Cleric. Totem of Protection is usable by All.

Bugfixes

• Fixed a bug that caused offhand weapons' proc effects to last much longer than intended.
• In rare cases, a combination of Intervention going off with near-zero mana could fail to trigger the Ankh of Life power. Fixed.
• Enemies casting defensive spells were receiving no bonuses from them. They work as intended now.
• Certain revelation from in a dialogue with the Undermother was not having effect on the main quest. Solved.
• Fixed many dialogue small errors.
• Sometimes after "A Fair Deal" resolved peacefully with Janod your reputation with Thuram and the
• Wizards' Guild wouldn't be fixed. This will be solved retroactively.
• Retribution fixed for Hirge... this time for real!.

[ 2021-05-03 22:24:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

For the last two years I've been working on my upcoming game, Archaelund. However I never gave up on, one day, expanding Exiled Kingdoms further... I wondered if I could work on both games at the same time, and for the last weeks I've been doing exactly that. It's progressing well, and it's not delaying my work on Archaelund in a significant way. I can't provide details about the update itself yet. There'll be a few new outdoor areas, some new dungeons and new quests. I am afraid silly humor is non-negotiable and is bound to happen as well. Maybe new skills, if old code behaves, since I want new builds to be possible. One thing it's going to have for certain is answers to important Lore mysteries... although don't be too surprised if it also brings plenty of new unanswered questions. There is no fixed release date for this update, since Archaelund is still my absolute priority. This update is still several months away at least. However if Archaelund keeps progressing nicely and I don't run into any trouble with the old code, it's my intention to keep expanding EK until Varannar is complete, and even beyond. Of course everything added in this update will be available for free to owners of the game. That's all for now!

[ 2020-08-25 21:03:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

You can check out Archaelund Store Page here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1082970/Archaelund/ Archaelund has been in development for slightly over a year; an Early Access version is scheduled for Fall 2020. If you want to stay tuned, remember to wishlist the game!

[ 2019-12-02 21:59:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today is the first anniversary of the Steam release of Exiled Kingdoms, making it a great time to make an announcement about Archaelund. For those that don't know, since last October I've been working on this project. Archaelund is set in the Exiled Kingdoms world, but is a very different and far more ambitious game. Party-based, with far more options and possibilities and featuring tactical combat, but with the same open world concept and design philosophy you loved in EK. An Early Access release is planned for Q1 2020. DISCLAIMER: many of the 3D models in these screenshots are temporary placeholders that will be replaced with better ones before release.

Archaelund, at a glance

• Exploration as you remember it: take your party of adventurers through a vast open world. Explore as you wish, find awesome secrets and run into unexpected trouble, get involved in conflicts or just pursue your own goals and discover what lies beyond the horizon; the world is being handcrafted in great detail, just for you to discover. You can play Archaelund your own way.
• Tactical combat, but also immersive dungeon-crawling: just as the best classics did, you'll be able to explore the world of Archaelund in first-person perspective. But when combat starts, perspective seamlessly changes to top-down, and you'll issue orders to your party, placing them over a battle grid to face your enemies.
• Deadly battles with a focus on strategy: a non-inflationist, bounded system will ensure that every battle matters, and every opponent is scary. When your characters advance in levels, you'll gain new tactical options to defeat your enemies, not merely bloated and meaningless numeric stats.
• Career-based character progression: your party members will start out as thugs, ruffians, scavengers, hunters, beggars or fortune-tellers; initial Career will be chosen semi-randomly. Later on you can reach the more "heroic" Advanced Careers, leaving your ignoble origins behind... Archaelund features over 60 Careers divided in Basic, Advanced and Elite.

Story Introduction

Humanity has survived, and now has returned to its ancient Homeland: Archaelund. Two centuries ago, a magical cataclysm brought the Horrors upon our world, and the Andorian Empire was annihilated in a matter of weeks. The few survivors fled to the savage island of Varannar, a distant Imperial Colony. For generations the Exiles endured the hardships of this new life, although they never again stood united under the old Imperial banner. The Exiled Kingdoms were born, but the scars left by the Fall were still painfully visible in them, for the Kingdoms were mere grotesque parodies of what humanity had once been. Varsilia, the mightiest of the Kingdoms, became morbidly obsessed over Imperial history and preserving its traditions. Ilmarans turned into fanatical zealots of a new faith, while in Thuram, the remnants of the Imperial Wizards established a magocracy that disregards all matters except the arcane, and quickly declined into endogamy. On the west, the Kingdom of Mercia had emerged from the surviving Imperial Legions, establishing a nightmarish rule based on slavery and arbitrary discipline. The four Kingdoms held irreconcilable views and ambitions, and locked together in a small and hostile land as they were, they often plotted against each other or even clashed openly in the battlefield. But the in-fighting ceased when, generations later, a route back to the old continent of Andoria was discovered, and it was proved that the Horrors were no more. For the first time in centuries humanity looked at the future with optimism, and many left aside the old grudges and obsessions. Expeditions were sent, and thousands of colonists, soldiers, adventurers and ruffians embarked to Archaelund. The promises of land, riches and Imperial relics excited the imagination and ambition of thousands, from mere farmers to noble second-sons. They quickly found they were not the sole claimnants of Archaelund, and re-colonization has not been peaceful nor easy; the Horrors are gone but they left behind a scarred world, eldritch energies and warped monsters roam the lands, and a subterranean race called the Geldryn, once slaves to the Andorian Empire, now aspire to inherit the surface world. Because of all this, Archaelund is a land full of danger, adventure and opportunity. Just like many others before, your party of adventurers has finally saved up enough money to embark and sail East. The Silver Star has crossed the Andor Sea for two weeks, when you catch the first glimpse of the ancient land of your ancestors, unimpressed by its mundane visage. Little you suspect that, very soon, you're going to get involved in a plot that traces back to the terror of the final days of the Empire, and now threatens with destroying the remnants of civilization...

[ 2019-02-23 08:58:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today's update brings 100% complete Polish translation and other small improvements/fixes. You can check the full changelog of the game for details. Since September I've been working full time on my next project. It's still too early for a full announcement, but there's a few things I can share about it already.

Archaelund

Prepare yourself to take control a full party of adventurers, and explore the broken lands of the vast continent of Andoria, home of the fallen Empire. The Exiled Kingdoms are claiming the shores of their mythical Homeland, but they'll find the region is not as deserted as they expected... you'll explore freely a huge world full with small details and hidden secrets, and will get inmersed in dozens of small stories and quests, and a main plot of epic proportions (no, really!). Archaelund features a very unique combination of real-time exploration and careful turn-based strategy during combat; you'll explore the world in first-person perspective in a 3D world, much like in the Elder Scrolls games or in the classic Wizardry or Might&Magic games. But battles will happen in isometric perspective! When combat begins the camera floats up to offer a top-down view of the scene, so you can individually control your party members. The idea is to have the best of both worlds: an immersive exploration and tactical combat at the same time, allowing huge epic battles.. One of the main aspects of the game is the Geryon Rulesystem. I've been working on it for over a year already, specifically for Archaelund. I believe it offers many interesting ideas of my own, but at the same time it's deeply inspired by the versatility and flavor from my favorite tabletop RPGs from the 80s (WFRP, AD&D, Runequest, Rolemaster...) . Geryon will offer endless character development options; you can go for a straightforward approach... but it'll also allow crazy builds, even crazier multiclassing, and you'll never run out of things to try, if that's your thing. Content is, as EK players probably guess, another essential pillar of the game. Expect the same open-world design, and the same weird combination of seriousness and silly humor and themes you "enjoyed" in EK; yeah, I am afraid the terrible jokes stay, and might get even worse. Note: despite taking place in the Exiled Kingdoms setting, Archaelund is a completely standalone game. It's a far more ambitious project in scope, both in terms of design, graphics and depth. There's little else I can disclose at the time since development is still at a very early stage. But I'll make a proper and detailed announcement in the next weeks/months.

[ 2019-01-14 16:40:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is a tech update with no new content, but it includes many small fixes and adjustments over previous content updates. A few examples would be the inclusion of a bow in the Arena weapon chest, and adjusting some drop rates and enemy stats in the new areas. It also includes some enhancements for players that want to use their keyboard or controller rather than a mouse; you can now handle dialogues (up/down/attack) and also the inventory, allowing to select an item via directional keys or your pad, and equip/unequip/buy/sell/drop via new configurable controls and keys. Still the game doesn't feature full controller support and menus require a mouse, but as you could already use the keys or controller to move, attack, use skills, loot and interact with items, these new features should allow you to handle most of the actual gameplay. In addition all translations have been expanded. Russian, Portuguese and Italian now include all the new content, German still misses a couple of the new areas (Adaon quest). Polish, Czech and Turkish are also advancing, and seeing how translators are working on them I expect big progress over the summer.

[ 2018-07-05 12:53:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Now you have a chance to learn more about Grissenda and Adaon and expand their capabilities while discovering new unique locations, secrets and lore of the Exiled Kingdoms.

What's new?

• New companion quests for Grissenda and Adaon (Hirge's quest was released past month). They are triggered by random encounters on the roads, but you must be level 13+.
• 6 new areas, with new equipment, secrets and challenges. The two new companion-related quests should direct you to them.
• Companions that have completed their background quest will now receive a one-time boost of 3 Trait Points and 2 Skill Points. This will be applied retroactively if you already completed Hirge's quest.
• Skill tomes now work on companions too.
• New player portraits added.
• Translation expanded, the translation of the new content will be added soon.
• Minor bugfixes.

What comes next?

I'll be working on improving controller support. With the current version you can use a controller to move, attack, use skills and quick-items, and little else. I want to allow players to manage their inventory and navigate dialogues with a controller as well, and maybe other menus too. This will complete the list of features planned for version 1.2. Some of the translations are still incomplete, and the translation team is working on them; very likely there will be more updates to add all the new translated files during the summer.

[ 2018-06-28 09:22:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

This new update is targeted mostly at levels 12-20. It includes about 50% of the content planned for version 1.2, the rest of it is still in progress.

What's new?

• New areas added in northwest Ilmara. New quests; one of them will trigger if Hirge is your companion and you are level 13+.
• The Freetown Arena now offers you battles in exchange of gold and experience! (It opens up only after certain quest is completed)
• Teleport scrolls now allow you to travel to Tremadan's Tower.
• Traders added inside the Grey Library, they allow to buy certain useful items at lower prices and sell loot at higher prices. Only available if you're not an enemy of their faction!
• Wearing helms/hoods now shows on your character!
• Translation: Italian and german complete (except the new content). Czech up to 75% translated, other languages improving soon.
• Minor bugfixes and optimizations.

The next update will likely happen in less than a month. It'll include quests centered around the other two companions so you get to learn more about them and why they became adventurers, and just like this one it'll also deal with many "loose ends". Other than that, I'll also try to expand controller support. I hope you enjoy it! :) EDIT: there is a small hotfix update (1.1.1092) released after this one. It fixes an issue with the ending of Ark of Lothasan quest.

[ 2018-05-30 15:42:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Valve approved the game for Steam Cards feature, which means you should be getting some items very soon to your inventory for just playing the game. Some concept art was created for this, featuring the game companions, areas, quests and some historical events of the setting.
On development: I am already working on the new content and areas, some of it will be available for Beta Testers earlier, check on the forums how to join as a tester; the complete update should be available by the end of June (subject to changes, this is a mere estimate). New and exciting adventures are coming! EDIT (June 12th): the estimated dates got a bit delayed, but work is progressing well.

[ 2018-03-20 23:25:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Valve approved the game for Steam Cards feature, which means you should be getting some items very soon to your inventory for just playing the game. Some concept art was created for this, featuring the game companions, areas, quests and some historical events of the setting.
On development: I am already working on the new content and areas, some of it will be available for Beta Testers in about a month; the complete update should be available by the end of May (subject to changes, this is a mere estimate). New and exciting adventures are coming!

[ 2018-03-20 23:25:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

A new update is out. This is the full list of changes:

Improvements and adjustments

• High resolution support: You can now select higher resolutions to play the game in the Settings menu, up to 1920x1080.
• Area-entered autosave: This new slot will save the game whenever you enter a new map.
• Two extra manual save slots added.
• After dying, the game will now show the "Load Game" menu instead of the Main Menu.
• Improved controller support: the game will be able to map extra input sources like D-pads and PoVs from controllers.
• Fireball spell will now also explode if it reaches the end of its range.
• German translation up to 99.5%, Italian up to 76%. Many corrections made to Russian translation.

Bugfixes

• Pushback: sometimes the player was pushed over very long distances. Fixed.
• Ranged attacks: when attacking with the mouse, sometimes the range was not correctly calculated and the attack would fall slightly short. It sould work correctly now.
• Duel Skill: will now work correctly when attacking with the mouse.
• Fixed a crash that could happen after dying in Ironman mode (Talk about adding insult to injury...)
• Skill training requisites: sometimes the Trait requisites were not properly displayed in red color when not met by the character. Fixed.
• Friendly NPCs will return to their spawn points upon reloading a game. This will prevent NPCs permanently blocking you.

This update addresses most of the requests from players in the Forums, I hope it makes the game more enjoyable for you all. Regarding resolution changes: the game does not prevent you from selecting a resolution unsupported by your monitor; if you end up not being able to run the game, you can manually edit the resolution settings in a file called "init.ini". Happy adventuring everyone.

[ 2018-03-16 08:21:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

A new update is out. This is the full list of changes:

Improvements and adjustments

• High resolution support: You can now select higher resolutions to play the game in the Settings menu, up to 1920x1080.
• Area-entered autosave: This new slot will save the game whenever you enter a new map.
• Two extra manual save slots added.
• After dying, the game will now show the "Load Game" menu instead of the Main Menu.
• Improved controller support: the game will be able to map extra input sources like D-pads and PoVs from controllers.
• Fireball spell will now also explode if it reaches the end of its range.
• German translation up to 99.5%, Italian up to 76%. Many corrections made to Russian translation.

Bugfixes

• Pushback: sometimes the player was pushed over very long distances. Fixed.
• Ranged attacks: when attacking with the mouse, sometimes the range was not correctly calculated and the attack would fall slightly short. It would work correctly now.
• Duel Skill: will now work correctly when attacking with the mouse.
• Fixed a crash that could happen after dying in Ironman mode (Talk about adding insult to injury...)
• Skill training requisites: sometimes the Trait requisites were not properly displayed in red color when not met by the character. Fixed.
• Friendly NPCs will return to their spawn points upon reloading a game. This will prevent NPCs permanently blocking you.

This update addresses most of the requests from players in the Forums, I hope it makes the game more enjoyable for you all. Regarding resolution changes: the game does not prevent you from selecting a resolution unsupported by your monitor; if you end up not being able to run the game, you can manually edit the resolution settings in a file called "init.ini". Happy adventuring everyone.

[ 2018-03-16 08:21:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

As a one-man team I can tell you this has been a crazy week; in particular the first 48 hours were pretty intense, with all the patching and large volume of feedback to handle. But at this point it is safe to announce that the launch has been successful, going well beyond my estimates. I want to say thanks to all the old-school roleplayers that supported the game and to the ones that wrote reviews (good and bad!), and I hope each of you is enjoying the little adventures, surprises and twists hidden in the remote corners of the Kingdoms.

Future development

Until a few months ago, my plan was to hold adding more content to the game when I released version 1.1 (which featured the Mage class and the Kingdom of Thuram). It's not that I don't enjoy making EK larger and more detailed, but I have a new game to work on; this new project is still in the "sketch" phase, and will be quite different from EK, even if it's also an RPG taking place in the Exiled Kingdoms setting; it'll have a larger scope, 3D graphics and be party-based, as well as some innovative gameplay elements, yet it'll stay faithful to design you've experienced in EK. However, after the success of PC release I will stay focused on Exiled Kingdoms development for the next months. It's the least I can do in exchange of the awesome reception the game had! I can't realistically work on two games at the same time, so I'll postpone the new project until summer. Here is a quick list of what I will work on. This might be released in small or large updates and in no particular order.

• New areas will be added. Most of the content will be targeted at level 18+, and playable after completing the main quest.
• Companion-related quests. These will be high-level (18+) quests that will enable advanced skills for your companions (a fixed set of them).
• New resolution options for PC. At the very least I'll add 1920x1080 mode and maybe higher modes, but please, don't expect miracles here; The UI will be smaller and sharper, but the hundreds of existing game assets can't be increased in resolution. I might zoom out slightly the game window in high resolutions, but I don't want to provide a noticeable gameplay advantage so this will be limited.
• Fixing some existing PC issues, like the ranged attack calculation and a few other reported issues.
• Improving controller/keyboard support, making the game menus also navigable with keys/controller.
• Improving existing localization, and maybe completing new ones.
• Steam Cards: PC version will offer badges and cards with cool original art.

There's a deliberate omission in the list regarding cooperative multiplayer mode. I will try to add multiplayer, and will experiment on it after the features above are complete. However, I am not certain it can be done without a large and complex coding effort that could also risk the existing stability of the game, so I'd rather not include it in any list of features yet, nor make any promises about it. EDIT: had forgot to add improved controller support. Now it's in the list. EDIT 2: added Steam Cards to the list.

[ 2018-03-04 11:56:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

As a one-man team I can tell you this has been a crazy week; in particular the first 48 hours were pretty intense, with all the patching and large volume of feedback to handle. But at this point it is safe to announce that the launch has been successful, going well beyond my estimates. I want to say thanks to all the old-school roleplayers that supported the game and to the ones that wrote reviews (good and bad!), and I hope each of you is enjoying the little adventures, surprises and twists hidden in the remote corners of the Kingdoms.

Future development

Until a few months ago, my plan was to hold adding more content to the game when I released version 1.1 (which featured the Mage class and the Kingdom of Thuram). It's not that I don't enjoy making EK larger and more detailed, but I have a new game to work on; this new project is still in the "sketch" phase, and will be quite different from EK, even if it's also an RPG taking place in the Exiled Kingdoms setting; it'll have a larger scope, 3D graphics and be party-based, as well as some innovative gameplay elements, yet it'll stay faithful to design you've experienced in EK. However, after the success of PC release I will stay focused on Exiled Kingdoms development for the next months. It's the least I can do in exchange of the awesome reception the game had! I can't realistically work on two games at the same time, so I'll postpone the new project until summer. Here is a quick list of what I will work on. This might be released in small or large updates and in no particular order.

• New areas will be added. Most of the content will be targeted at level 18+, and playable after completing the main quest.
• Companion-related quests. These will be high-level (18+) quests that will enable advanced skills for your companions (a fixed set of them).
• New resolution options for PC. At the very least I'll add 1920x1080 mode and maybe higher modes, but please, don't expect miracles here; The UI will be smaller and sharper, but the hundreds of existing game assets can't be increased in resolution. I might zoom out slightly the game window in high resolutions, but I don't want to provide a noticeable gameplay advantage so this will be limited.
• Fixing some existing PC issues, like the ranged attack calculation and a few other reported issues.
• Improving controller/keyboard support, making the game menus also navigable with keys/controller.
• Improving existing localization, and maybe completing new ones.
• Steam Cards: PC version will offer badges and cards with cool original art.

There's a deliberate omission in the list regarding cooperative multiplayer mode. I will try to add multiplayer, and will experiment on it after the features above are complete. However, I am not certain it can be done without a large and complex coding effort that could also risk the existing stability of the game, so I'd rather not include it in any list of features yet, nor make any promises about it. EDIT: had forgot to add improved controller support. Now it's in the list. EDIT 2: added Steam Cards to the list.

[ 2018-03-04 11:56:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

I just released a patch that fixes a number of small things: -Fixes the crash after death in Linux. -Controller: the Recovery assigned button will no longer register multiple times when used. -Keyboard: during dialogues, numbers 1-4 will now correctly select options that finish the dialogue. -Gossip achievement will no longer be granted for free. -Solved some reported typos. -Added a missing russian dialogue with the Kingsbridge mercenaries. -Adds more dialogues in Italian, German. -Many other small fixes and optimizations. For those wondering, the launch of the game has been great! I'll post an update next week about the game's future development so you know what to expect in terms of content and features. Hint: it's all good news ;) See you in the forum!

[ 2018-02-28 19:07:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

I just released a patch that fixes a number of small things: -Fixes the crash after death in Linux. -Controller: the Recovery assigned button will no longer register multiple times when used. -Keyboard: during dialogues, numbers 1-4 will now correctly select options that finish the dialogue. -Gossip achievement will no longer be granted for free. -Solved some reported typos. -Added a missing russian dialogue with the Kingsbridge mercenaries. -Adds more dialogues in Italian, German. -Many other small fixes and optimizations. For those wondering, the launch of the game has been great! I'll post an update next week about the game's future development so you know what to expect in terms of content and features. Hint: it's all good news ;) See you in the forum!

[ 2018-02-28 19:07:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

The game has been out for 24 hours already, and I can say I'm very pleased with the reception and enthusiasm from so many roleplayers worldwide. We're listed as #3 in "New and trending" on Steam main page, and the number of players seems to be on the rise. To all of you I say: Welcome to the Kingdoms, Adventurers! There has been an update earlier this morning, which fixes a crash experienced by some players at the game start; if you have found this problem please make sure you update the game and it should go away. That's it for now; I'd like to add that it makes me very happy to think of thousands of people worldwide enjoying the little adventures, surprises and mischief I've laid out for them. Enjoy!

[ 2018-02-24 15:24:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

The game has been out for 24 hours already, and I can say I'm very pleased with the reception and enthusiasm from so many roleplayers worldwide. We're listed as #3 in "New and trending" on Steam main page, and the number of players seems to be on the rise. To all of you I say: Welcome to the Kingdoms, Adventurers! There has been an update earlier this morning, which fixes a crash experienced by some players at the game start; if you have found this problem please make sure you update the game and it should go away. That's it for now; I'd like to add that it makes me very happy to think of thousands of people worldwide enjoying the little adventures, surprises and mischief I've laid out for them. Enjoy!

[ 2018-02-24 15:24:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

I'm pleased to announce there will be no delays on release, and the game will be out today. To make up for my long-winded rant about RPG balance on previous update, here's a brief and practical one with a little advice for beginners:

• Read the initial tutorial screens. They're not many, nor have much text, but what they explain will likely make the game quite more enjoyable for you.
• Choose difficulty carefully. I'd suggest Normal or Casual, read the differences in character creation menu.
• Configure your own key bindings. Per default the game is designed to be played with mouse + keys for the left hand, but it can be entirely played with mouse or keyboard if you prefer. You can set your own key bindings on the Settings menu.
• Save all the time. Maybe even change the default key binding for quicksave, F9. If you quicksave right before dying, don't worry, as you click Continue Game you can click on the yellow folder button and pick the autosave or a manual save.
• Read the journal!. It's easy to get lost and not knowing where to go next. The journal is your friend; even if sometimes it's deliberately vague, in most cases you'll be able to deduct your next step or at least in what direction it lies.
• Don't be afraid to explore. There's huge rewards and boosts that are hidden or away from the "main path". Take your time and wander around... sometimes you'll pay the price for your curiosity, but it'll often be worth it.
• It's all about quests. Quests will grant you the best rewards, both in terms of gear, XP and fun challenges. Do as many as you can and you'll progress nicely, without the need of grinding. Remember that there's no time limit on quests (except for Town Hall Quests, which will appropiately list the time limit in your journal)

That's all, I hope you enjoy playing the game as much as I enjoyed creating it.

[ 2018-02-23 11:12:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

I'm pleased to announce there will be no delays on release, and the game will be out today. To make up for my long-winded rant about RPG balance on previous update, here's a brief and practical one with a little advice for beginners:

• Read the initial tutorial screens. They're not many, nor have much text, but what they explain will likely make the game quite more enjoyable for you.
• Choose difficulty carefully. I'd suggest Normal or Casual, read the differences in character creation menu.
• Configure your own key bindings. Per default the game is designed to be played with mouse + keys for the left hand, but it can be entirely played with mouse or keyboard if you prefer. You can set your own key bindings on the Settings menu.
• Save all the time. Maybe even change the default key binding for quicksave, F9. If you quicksave right before dying, don't worry, as you click Continue Game you can click on the yellow folder button and pick the autosave or a manual save.
• Read the journal!. It's easy to get lost and not knowing where to go next. The journal is your friend; even if sometimes it's deliberately vague, in most cases you'll be able to deduct your next step or at least in what direction it lies.
• Don't be afraid to explore. There's huge rewards and boosts that are hidden or away from the "main path". Take your time and wander around... sometimes you'll pay the price for your curiosity, but it'll often be worth it.
• It's all about quests. Quests will grant you the best rewards, both in terms of gear, XP and fun challenges. Do as many as you can and you'll progress nicely, without the need of grinding. Remember that there's no time limit on quests (except for Town Hall Quests, which will appropiately list the time limit in your journal)

That's all, I hope you enjoy playing the game as much as I enjoyed creating it.

[ 2018-02-23 11:12:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

"Balance" is a complicated term when applied to RPGs, isn't it? The obvious differences in challenge between classic RPGs and modern RPGs make clear the views on balance have evolved, at least for RPG designers, and by extension to players. This update is not so much about details of the game, but a rant about my views on difficulty and design and why things are the way they are in Exiled Kingdoms.

The old-school vs new-school balance

Once upon a time, games were harsh. They didn't care much about the player's feelings nor self-esteem, and developers didn't worry about player frustration, often throwing in encounters and challenges that even themselves didn't know for sure how to solve. "The players will figure out a way" they thought; and usually they were right. This finding of a way to win became the central part of the game itself, and without that search you were doomed. I can remember many games from my childhood I was never able to complete because back then, there weren't as many clues or hints available and I wasn't able to figure out how to beat them. Wizardry 6 was one of them, as well as Elder Scrolls I: Arena. For years that defeat lingered in my subconscious and only years later I revisited and found a way to beat them. Only then I became worthy and could finally sleep without nightmares :) Sometimes the difficulty of these games was unfair, or was achieved by poor game mechanics or randomness, relying on constant save & reload. Not everything was perfect in the old days. But the sense of achievement I felt when beating those games was, overall, much higher than with modern games. The main reason is that they didn't feel like walking a road that has been laid out for me. Over the years, the procedure to balance games became more professional, more refined, and took into account a wider variety of players. Designers came to the conclusion that most people should be able to complete the game, and frustration should be avoided at all costs. I'm not going to dispute the validity of those conclusions because every game designer has the right to choose what he wants to do and why; and in a way, they could be right. Frustration and failure in themselves are not good things. The problem is that it's very hard to make a game fail-safe when you give full freedom to the player:

• What if he chooses poorly how to develop his stats? Then there must be no possible poor choices, all of them must be good somehow.
• What if he walks into the wrong area too early? Then we must make the game more linear (even if it still appears to be non-linear), or make sure the challenge scales down to the player's power.
• What if he becomes bored with a progression that feels too slow? There must be stat increments constantly, which leads to power inflation and in turn aggravates the above point.

These design choices that I perceive as a problem are actually fine for many players. Maybe even to a majority of players, given how most games are designed. But for me, and I suspect for many others, they make games much less satisfying.

How was Exiled Kingdoms designed and balanced

While Exiled Kingdoms has a, some players complained about the balance in Exiled Kingdoms. Some of the most common topics are the lack of health/mana regeneration and the high price of potions. Many players find themselves needing to return to town to rest, unable to reach the deepest parts of dungeons or most remote wild areas. Regeneration trivializes any encounter that is not hard enough to kill you. All you have to worry about is to wait long enough, and you'll be fresh healed for the next fight. Certainly staring at raising health bar is not my definition of "fun" or "tactics". That's why in this game, every goblin fight counts. If you learn a way to take less damage from each individual goblin you fight, it can mean a big difference in the end, allowing you to find that extra chest at the bottom of a dungeon. If you break into dungeons carelessly, fighting monsters in groups and not using your skills right, you'll have to back off soon. Potions are meant to be used as a "little extra" when you are very close to reaching an objective, and you think their cost is worth it. This way, EK becomes a game of managing resources and assuming risks. You have several full recoveries per day... should you use them as soon as half your health is gone? or maybe you can risk a couple more fights in order to optimize and go deeper? This kind of choice would be impossible if there was regeneration, obviously. In a way, it could be said the world areas have not been balanced at all. For the most part, the encounters have fixed levels. There are high level monsters not too far away from early areas, and they won't care if you are level 1 or 20. What has been carefully balanced, however, are the quests. Your level 2 character certainly will not be able to "clear out" the early dungeons of the game. But if played right, he can get in, do his business, and escape alive. The quests are the primary way of advancement of your character, especially early on. The game has not been designed to be "grindy", so if you find your character lacks the power to solve a quest, it's time to move to another town and leave it for later. Now, far from fanaticisms on old-school design, Exiled Kingdoms tries to be a fun game, enjoyable to a wide audience, but striving for the good things in old design. A Casual difficulty has been added, which provides limited regeneration. But this regeneration is capped to half the maximum health, and also hard-capped to 80 health so it is mostly relevant in the early levels. Also, there's a little encounter scaling in the game; not so much as to scale up or down the difficulty, but to keep some areas useful and interesting later on. for instance, at some point the basic goblins (level 1-2) may be replaced by stronger ones (level 4-5) which also provide better XP and loot. But you will not find level 1 dragons or level 30 bandits in Exiled Kingdoms. Ultimately, a game is about having fun, and "fun" is not an universal concept. It's simply not possible to appease everybody; that's why I think a honest approach on what to expect in this game is essential. Now you know what you'll find in Exiled Kingdoms.

[ 2018-02-21 12:40:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

This post and a few more that'll follow will serve as an informal "manual" of Exiled Kingdoms. The wiki is certainly an exhaustive reference about everything in the game, but it does not "break down" the game for you as a new player. I hope to help a little with that. The first contact with the game mechanics is, of course, character creation. However this is deliberately a fairly simple process; the player must choose a Class, distribute four Trait Points and assign one Skill Point. While I do love complex RPG systems with dozens of classes and hundreds of spells, the idea behind this simple setup is not forcing the player to make uninformed choices when all the game mechanics are still unknown. The options to endlessly customize your character will unfold later on.

The big choice

The Character Class is the single most important thing to define during character creation. It will make the game entirely different for you; each class is really unique and has different challenges and advantages. Certainly you can later on specialize your character many different ways within the same class, but important things like the wearable equipment is defined by class, as well as the base Health and Mana and their increments per level. Each class offers eight basic skills, which can make your character play very differently. Later on will come the Advanced Skills learned from trainers across the world, but for now you don't need to concern yourself with that... A brief introduction of the four classes may help you choose which one may suit better your gameplay style: Warrior: likely the easiest and more straightforward class to play. High survivability, plenty of gear choices, and several skills that can harm more than one enemy at the same time. If you're unsure on what to play, a Warrior with the Whirlwind skill is a solid start. Rogue: more fragile than the Warrior and with less equipment choices, the rogue relies in his skills to survive. Once mastered it can be far more formidable due to his insane damage output. A good first skill to try is Stab, as it can easily one-shot low level enemies. Cleric: It has a relatively easy start if you pick the Heal Wounds skill, but later on requires careful skill choice to be up to the high level challenges. The cleric is a melee figther, but it is a common mistake to try to play it as a 'warrior that heals'. It is much more than that! Mage: at the same time the most powerful and the hardest to play. In the early and mid levels your character is little more than an apprentice, struggling to survive. But later on... it really makes up for the hard beginning. Lightning Bolt is a good initial skill choice.

... and another fateful decision to make

You are also asked to define a difficulty level for the new game. This can NOT be changed later on, and Exiled Kingdoms is a real challenge so don't hesitate to go with Casual Difficulty if you are unsure; despite the name, it is still no joke. This game doesn't just "look" like the classics, it also shares the challenge level of the old games. Victory is not just a matter of spending enough time, you have to earn it the good, old way. Some fights are designed to be almost impossible, until you realize the importance of certain items or potions for an encounter in particular. And there is no regeneration except in Casual difficulty, so your ability to go deep into dungeons or dangerous areas will depend on your ability to avoid damage. If you explore carelessly and lose Health to every goblin and wolf, you'll end up depleted and returning to the town too often. Unlike in other games, if you are surrounded by 3 or 4 enemies you will die very quickly. Remember, in Exiled Kingdoms you can play a hero, but not a superhero.

Your adventure begins (and if you are not careful, ends just as quickly)

Pay attention to the few tutorial messages in the first area of the game. It's vital information that can make your life much easier later on! This tutorial area is the only "linear" part of the game; don't worry too much about its outcome as your real adventure begins right after that. Exiled Kingdoms is truly an open world, but beware what you explore and when. A few encounters will vary slightly in level related to the player, but the majority of the world challenges and rewards are not level-scaled at all. This means you can run into a high level monster if you walk into the wrong place... even at level 1. Luckily, there is an universal solution for that situation: Run away! You will be able to outrun most creatures, taking just a hit here and there. There's no shame in surviving to fight another day. The final piece of advice is simple enough: complete as many quests as possible. In theory, you don't need to "grind" to reach the high levels and complete the game. However, this means that sometimes you'll have to leave "unfinished businesses" in an area and seek easier quests and challenges elsewhere. Some players obsess over "clearing" completely each geographical region before moving onto another, and that is why they end up grinding too much. This is truly an open world and nothing must tie your character to a particular place.

[ 2018-02-14 23:52:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone! I'm overwhelmed by the large amount of people that has wishlisted the game or is contacting me with questions about Exiled Kingdoms. So the first thing I'll say is: Thanks! It's very reassuring and encouraging for a developer to get this kind of warm reception (or pre-reception, whatever). I'll try to answer the most commonly asked questions below. On development status: the game is complete and ready, and will be released on time. I am still adding some UI/controls enhancements but it is really fine as it is now, so the chances of a delay are almost zero. All the improvements that aren't ready on release will be added in updates later on. Importing saved games: yes, you will be able to import your saves from iOS/android version. You'll need to use the "export to file" method and then manually move the file between PC and mobile. Maybe I'll add the connection to GPG cloud as well to make it easier, but can't guarantee it as of now (in theory it is not supported by PC games, but there's always a way...). On future updates: over the last 2 years I've been releasing more areas for free to all versions of the game, and that is not going to change. Maybe it'll happen less frequently now that the game is complete, but there will be more content, and will always be for free and for all platforms. Your saved games will remain compatible after updates. Mac/Linux versions: will be released the same day as Windows. Localization: the game was originally written in English and Spanish, and the community is translating it to the rest of listed languages. Some are complete (or >95% complete) and are listed as such at Steam page (German Russian, Portuguese). Other translations are still in progress but should eventually be complete, check our forum for details. Please keep in mind that the most newly added areas of the game may require some time to be translated. I think that's all. Now back to coding!

[ 2018-02-10 10:27:32 CET ] [ Original post ]