Background
My name is Kyle Postlewait (35) and I got into game development years ago because I can't find the game that I want to play. I am not a veteran game developer. I do not have any published AAA titles. I am self-taught and I make mistakes. Having said that, I'm tired of survival crafting games being abandoned, focusing only on PvP and guns, or turning into major time sinks. I quit my day job in February of 2018 to focus on Solace Crafting full-time, and am doing everything I can to make a great fantasy survival RPG despite the tremendous challenge that is game development. Please don't buy into early access expecting a fully polished AAA game and then give it a bad review. In return, I promise to make sure that this game is NEVER ABANDONED. If sales are more than enough for me to survive, then I can hire more help. First and foremost I will always work to secure financial longevity and legal stability, and maintain all intellectual rights, never selling power to sponsors, publishers, or anything that could endanger continued development.Early access ends when there is enough content to constitute selling the game without the above warning. Even after we leave early access the game will continue to be improved and expanded on, and has a long list of planned features post early access including other dimensions and multiplayer.
All features listed on this page are undergoing constant improvement and are subject to change.
Short description
Solace Crafting is a crafting and building heavy survival RPG focused around player crafting, building towns, and summoning NPC townspeople. With an open class system, open-recipe crafting, customizable enchanting, modular building, defensive structures, town management, distance-based difficulty, and an infinite game world, players are free to move and level at their own pace. With an uncapped leveling system you can try to push further than anyone ever has. You can try and make the ultimate sword, staff, or anything, thanks to complete control over all recipe settings. Build massive towns full of NPCs not limited by physics-based construction. Seek out rare enchants and exotic resources.About the game
SurvivalSolace Crafting starts out much like similar survival games: you need to make clothes to avoid freezing to death, you need to find food to keep from starving to death, and you should build shelter from the dangers of nightfall.
Crafting
Once you are surviving it's time to evolve. Build resource processing and crafting facilities to create improved weapons and armor. Leveling up your professions levels up your recipes and allows you to unlock new recipes and crafting abilities. Our crafting system is quite unique, allowing even the creation of custom sets. I definitely recommend you watch the getting started video available above.
Role-Playing Game
Once you're armed and ready it's time to push back against evil and it's minions. Level-up and develop your character using an open-class system of evolving skill trees. Mix melee, ranged, magic, and heals however you like. Skills are being designed with fun and visual uniqueness in mind, not minimalism and strict balance.
Solace Crafting
Crafting and placing a solace will allow you to instantly return to it from any other solace in the world, letting you create your own points of interest. Be careful though as the further you travel in any direction, the more difficult everything becomes. In order to level up a solace you'll have to defend it from waves of attackers that will try and stop the procedure. Build static defenses to help protect your solaces during upgrades.
Town Management
An upgraded solace allows you to summon townspeople. In order to summon higher level NPCs you'll need to push deeper into the wild, setting up towns of various sizes as you go.
Astral Travel (not yet under development)
When the time is right you will find your way to the Elemental Planes. Most heavily affected by the infectious anger and hatred, these have becomes dimensions of extreme danger, both environmental and sentient. You must find out where the hatred stems from and find a way to put an end to it once and for all. The Elemental Planes are also the birthplace of all resources mundane and exotic alike. Only here will you find the purest, most powerful resources for crafting and enchanting equipment worthy of a hero.
Developed by a gamer
I started learning how to make games years ago because the design decisions of so many of the games I played often made so little sense to me. Here are some of the design decisions I refined over the years that I do my best to uphold:- No pay-to-win, no pay-to-play, no paid DLC, no gacha or gamble mechanics
- No metered progression
- Level any and all professions freely, no arbitrary caps
- Minimal sub-ingredients, minimal crafting and refining timers
- Completely open, point and level based branching skill trees
- Multiple, incremental skill points every level
- Classic roles, not forced balance. Some classes may be harder than others.
- Unlimited player levels
- Completely open physics-based world, no off-limits
- No "realistic" building physics that destroy everything
- Unlimited access to parallel realities (alternate seeds)
- Shape and color your avatars freely instead of using preset races
- Allow alternate characters in the same world
I know a lot of fans of the survival genre are pretty jaded, myself included, after so many titles have lost their leadership, changed projects, or plain given up. I'm here every day hoping to heal that sore and would very much appreciate your $15 support if any of this interests you. There are months of frequent patch notes and forum discussions between me and players here on Steam as proof that I'm capable of more than a couple new items after weeks of silence, something far too common in game development!
Multiplayer, and all of its many features will absolutely be implemented when a much more content rich single player experience has been achieved. Multiplayer like single-player will be PvE oriented and grief prevention/anti-cheat will always take top priority. Turning single-player towns into multiplayer guildhalls complete with defense quests and special achievements is something I very much look forward to, and have quite a few plans for.
Unix and Mac support will be tested and released soon.
The best is yet to come!
🕹️ Partial Controller Support
- Solace Crafting Linux [2.77 G]
Hello everyone,
Fab here. Not quite a Producers Letter but something like it ahead of time.
Based on some feedback, comments and conversations between us, we wanted to share a clearer vision of where Solace Crafting is headed. Not just for the beta branch or the upcoming Builder, but for the broader universe were building together.
We also want to share some new screenshots throughout this post!\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/6f30655c70a260c6517dd47fa748fca0b2747c9a.png\"][/img]Prototying designs for Solace Builder\n\nClassic Solace Crafting (Live Main Branch)
This is the version you know from Steams main branch: the original game, still online, shaped by years of development and the passion of veteran players. Classic Solace Crafting embraces an old-school, deep-fantasy RPG spirit and continues to be available for everyone who loves its endless progression and open-ended play. We have no intention to abandon or overwrite it. On the contrary, we want to maintain and improve Classic over time, honoring those whove made it part of their gaming life. Its taking a bit of a backseat lately due to the foundational work were doing, but its not being phased out, shelved or otherwise abandoned.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/4daf0c43a8b4d3fd8b55728ec2cb0fb6499ceeae.png\"][/img]\nSolace Keeper (Formerly \"the Beta\" Branch)
Whats been known as the Beta is actually a new and parallel evolutionary step: think of it as Solace Crafting 1.5 or even 2.0, and from now on, well call it Solace Keeper. Solace Keeper isnt meant to replace Classic. Its about streamlining, and expanding whats possible: bringing in a more painterly, colorful style; introducing modular world creation; and letting players build worlds, cultures, and rules in new ways. Our vision is for Solace Keeper to coexist alongside Classic, not overwrite it. Where possible, were working towards data sharing and compatibility, so your worlds and progress can move more freely between the two experiences.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/f79a1c6f40e9fa97765e80513c7bdfd949c472cc.jpg\"][/img]Two in One
For the time being, the idea is to let you access both games from the same Steam key. It will remain like this at least for the duration of the development of Solace Keeper through alpha and beta. Well see after that, as we reach Early Access stage, whether its still the right way to do it or whether Solace Keeper needs its own Steam Page. Either way, owning Solace Crafting now means owning both Solace Crafting and Solace Keeper forever.
But lets get deeper into all this!
An Evolving World
So, Solace Keeper is going through its growing pains and visual development. This transition phase has us in an in-between zone with focus on setting the right palette and moods. Our goal is to offer multiple aesthetics and moods within branches of the same game universe, reflecting both nostalgia and innovation. The current Classic branch features an old-school look reminiscent of early 2000s MMOs like EverQuest 2: a style we intend to preserve and eventually improve further. Meanwhile, the beta branch (which we now call the Solace Keeper alpha) embraces a more colorful, animated feel. Khora, the world of Solace Crafting, is a multiverse. It seems fitting to treat these two instances of the game as different worlds, different times, different rules, different aesthetics, same universe.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/c20090ec0deedbf7a1b46a7bed26988c4950e6b8.png\"][/img]\nModular Worlds and Cultures
Through the Builder and Solace Keeper, Solace Crafting is becoming more modular, both in map generation and in how cultures and biomes work: the Builder will be the first place to reflect this. Previously, Solace Crafting held to this old school fantasy tinged with weird orientation (mostly due to restrictions in asset choice and art direction). It allowed you to build square, blocky towns and warehouse-like houses. The Builder will begin introducing actual fantasy styles as Cultures from this Khora multiverse, reflecting various aesthetics and influences. The net result for the game, as these assets make their way into Solace Keeper, is that Players will be able to craft worlds la carte. At world creation, you will be choosing which cultures and biomes to include, whether its a D&D-inspired adventure, a Tolkien-esque landscape, or even more exotic mixes in the future. Each culture will bring its own aesthetic and lore, and as broader modding opens up in 2026, we fully expect even more diverse worlds, embracing everything from classic fantasy to creative surprises, to come up.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/af69b5c71b3a077fbca4bfe25a0bd7c42363247c.png\"][/img]The modular Elendor Tower\n\nThe Builder: Our Next Focus
Right now, our main focus is the Solace Builder, improving it and expanding its asset library. The Builder is central to how well support ongoing development, both for Solace Keeper and for maintaining Classic. It will also help define the unique look of each culture. At launch, were focusing on three foundational cultures which have a classic fantasy feel. Well tell you more about them but in these screenshots, you can guess about the direction of two of them. Each culture will be linked to specific biomes, but nothing stops us from dreaming up lizardfolk jungles, fire elementals in molten halls, or whatever the community and our own creative energy can sustain. Some of those wild things were already in Solace Crafting, so itll just be a matter of filling up assets templates sheets to make them work for you as your own construction toys.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/2ec91faee7d03439571cdee11e2e542fc8f279a6.png\"][/img]The Willowlane Mansion, all familiar underhill coziness\n\nThe Solace Ecosystem
Long term, we see Solace Crafting not just as a game, but as a living ecosystem: an ever-evolving set of worlds and tools for players, modders, and creators. Classic Solace Crafting will remain playable and receive care as were able, honoring the investment of veteran players and remaining the Old Canon. Solace Keeper, our next-generation branch, aims to take world-building to new heights, allowing you to shape landscapes, cultures, and rules from the ground up. The Builder is the gateway into this creative future: free to play, deeply moddable, and supported by optional themed support packs.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/94dc87fd9d05dee097ddcd2ad828c866b3ea8eca.png\"][/img]The Elendor Tower catching the light\n\nSupport and Community
In August, Solace Builder will launch as a free demo on Steam, followed by a live version in the fall (free as well). To support further development, well introduce themed support packs, each one filled with special assets, props, NPCs, and more, usable in both the Builder and future Solace Keeper worlds. Your support will help keep the lights on, power future updates, and open the door to hiring talented freelancers impacted by industry changes.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/5fb1e33c3572edc840b5d4935c5078b16f951216.png\"][/img]Building custom structures is how we establish what parts the Builder will need crammed in\n\nVision for the Long Haul
Were old school players over here, as are some of you. Having crossed over into game-making around a decade ago, weve naturally developed a vision not just for games and how they could or should be, but also about the industry, the job, the venture of making games and sharing them with audiences. We are creators, developers and players. We dont think that for the past 10 to 15 years (arguably more), this industry has treated its creators, developers and players so well. So even though right now were just mostly two guys, we want to contribute to that at our little level, by creating a mutually supportive space between creatives, game worlds and supportive players.\n\n[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/2a2d95e036e4215d4335c0ab7f215bd2124e9c09.png\"][/img]Its not just structures! Its also props. Medieval tomatoes from another dimension.\n\nClosing
Were passionate about keeping Solace Crafting alive, growing, and open-ended. The infinite planes of Khora concept, written long ago by Kyle into the budding Solace Crafting lore, is only just beginning to take shape. By supporting and sharing, you help us build not just games, but a community and creative space that can thrive and surprise us all.
You know that whats done here at BKG, through the history Kyle has set, is long term. On my own side, I have the same mindset of never quit, never surrender. If you stick with us, well show you what we can do together. Were committed to giving you fantastic tools and toys.
Thank you for being with us, for your feedback, and for believing in what Solace can become.
See you in the next update next month!\n\nhttps://discord.gg/solacecrafting
Thank you, truly, for being here.\n
What You Can Do To Help
If you wanna push us up, either one of these will support us more than you know
Keep up the kind words on our Steam posts and the Likes
[/*]You can get and support the builder here:
[/*]
https://bigkittygames.itch.io/solace-builder
Drop by our IndieDB page to help make it visible:
[/*]
https://www.indiedb.com/games/solace-crafting-rebuild
And of course, support on our Ko-fi page for our developer Newbery here:
[/*]
https://ko-fi.com/bigkittygames
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/33753a07e25c1208840b66df6e26be6280359ba9.gif\"][/img][img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/29537945/03a919d6033553cba509cea24d2f2ef312f7fa65.png\"][/img]Dont trip, Johndude. Those battlements look very uneven.
Minimum Setup
- OS: Ubuntu 12.04+
- Processor: Dual Core 3 ghzMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 680
- Storage: 8 GB available space
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