[table] [tr] [td]
Neighbors invited to the party.[/td] [/tr] [/table]

Yes, Aeon of Sands is 4 years old!

To stave off the unforgiving cold of northern hemisphere, we are inviting you in the scorched desert of AoS; celebrate their birthday with us by taking advantage of a 75% OFF sale on Steam, check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/ In addition, you can download the pantellan acoustic theme of AoS soundtrack for free. While here, you can also download the new AoS desktop wallpapers: [table] [tr] [td]
2560 x 1440 px[/td] [td]
2048 x 1536 px[/td] [td]
1920 x 1200 px[/td] [td]
1920 x 1080 px[/td] [/tr] [/table][table] [tr] [td]
2560 x 1440 px[/td] [td]
2048 x 1536 px[/td] [td]
1920 x 1200 px[/td] [td]
1920 x 1080 px[/td] [/tr] [/table] If you like them, get the deluxe edition of the game, with the art book and the full soundtrack: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/10096/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail__Deluxe_Edition/ If you are unsure about purchasing the game, why don't you check the fantastic playthrough of Aeon of Sands by Lotaeri on his Youtube channel? We would not normally endorse a youtube playthrough, but in this case, Lotaeri did something special: he explained the game mechanics in a clearer and more concise way than we did, and he played through the game acknowledging the "Choose Your Own Adventure" nature of it, and therefore not spoiling too much of it. Here's the link to the first chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip0CIJvkj10&list=PL9bRdWouNEWQM4xjqYrDlnowtIykktXZ9&index=1 If you are interested in playing AoS yourself, we recommend that you watch his first couple of videos, then play the game through the end, and finally get back to his channel to see what he did differently! We hope that you'll have a great time with the game, and not think about the man eating snowflakes outside, for a little while at least. Have a great holiday time!

[ 2022-12-22 21:11:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

After 1.5 years, this is the release of Aeon of Sands patch v1.5! If you've finished the game at least once by reaching one of the three possible endings and start the game all over again, you can now skip the Tutorial Dungeon (the Underroots) and experience a new start to the adventure.
When you select the option to "skip the Underroots", two new characters are ready to join Setrani in Pantella right at the beginning to help him repeat his adventure.

Meet Tula and Kturim!

Besides Harro, you now have the extended choice between Tula resilient scavenger or Kturim a Berseker fighter. They speak little or not at all, but you can open up new ways to explore and fight, and face new challenges! Each of them comes with a special item that offers you both normal and experimental combat modes, depending on whether the item is used or is rotting in the backpack. [table] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]Tula, a smart and resilient scavenger, can use her technical skills to trick the magic out of the elements. So did the ancients in the tradition, but for the enormous price of their own health. But Tula can also do without it and become a formidable ranged warrior.[/td] [/tr][tr] [td]
[/td] [td]Kturim, a wise Berserk warrior, can summon the power of a lost civilization with his scepter to attack from afar the ravenous beasts that plague the scorched desert. Or he can lay down his scepter and stand before Setrani and be a true shield. This works even better when he is armed ;).[/td] [/tr] [/table] What will you do, how will you decide? "Decisions and consequences. Why do you always have to play with me?" Let them accompany you while you explore a different path through Aeon of Sands!

[ 2020-06-26 08:07:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Aeon of Sands updated to build v1.0.831. This is a small service patch to fix two issues and to add the chosen difficulty to the end game statistics. - bug: crash reported in maze ( "P#ntel!a - De5p Und%rroots", "#4n/e*#a - %5e9 Un#6rr00ts" ) - fixed! - bug: inaccessible lever in "P#ntel!a - De5p Und%rroots" - fixed (now a new room is accessible in which you find a new "Trooper Suite" and "Zot Overcharged/Elemental Air" ) - new: difficulty added to game-play stats that are shown at the end of the game after the credits
Stay tuned!

[ 2020-04-20 22:04:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Aeon of Sands The Trail is a roleplaying game set in a post-apocalyptic desert world. It combines real-time exploration gameplay with classic gamebooks where you create your very own non-linear story adventure.

Think Legend of Grimrock meets Dune meets Mad Max!

Try now the free 5+ hour Demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1277780 Savegames are compatible with the full version! ANNNND...

Aeon of Sands has now a new reduced price of 12,99$ / 11,98 / 12,98 (etc)!

ENJOY! :)

[ 2020-04-14 17:09:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

During the Steam Winter Sale, Aeon of Sands, a game that inhabited the 2010's at length, is being ushered out for good with the terminal discount of 75% off, to welcome a new decade!
Disclaimer: - Aeon of Sands (AoS) does not endorse Climate Change! - No lizards or leeches have been purposely harmed to create AoS! - AoS ranked #1 on RPGCodex, as the game that everybody love to hate and misunderstand in 2019! You probably will be able to like it, if you:

• don't stress over "winning"
• don't care about "completing"
• like to read in games, and/or be punished by texts, just because you exist

You probably will be prevented to like it, if - non exclusively - you:

• are a hoarder
• you want to keep everything under control
• You detest the color orange ;)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/

[ 2019-12-29 18:12:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Bugfix patch

• "double-mouse-click" changed to hold 'v' + left-mouse-click (configurable!)
• weapons targetting multiple enemies targetted them too much during one attack phase
• directional facing of wall inscriptions fixed
• when an enemy dies, there is now a dead description in textbox log
• Nomad Traders dialogue fix (items are now correct checked and removed)
• manabar bug fixed (when no mana class was assigned there was an unusual color when in inventory)
• when Setrani was the only partycharacter and at 0 hp ... a large dead dialogue was triggered when going back to worldmap (fixed)
• description of a hole fixed, when hole is closed
• tutorial fixed
• typos
• + some minor stuff

[ 2019-10-29 22:02:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Celebrate Summer's End with a proper crawl adventure in the world of Aeon of Sands, the admission fee was never before this convenient! https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/ :D

[ 2019-09-17 09:20:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Feeling the heat? Refresh yourself with AoS.

Never before this cool at 37% OFF!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/

[ 2019-07-30 13:41:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

The best indie rpg with a leech and a gardener is NOW 33% OFF!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/

[ 2019-05-07 20:12:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

To mark 100 days from the Aeon of Sands release, were doing a special promotion sale! The game is at 30% discount from today until Monday 10am (US Pacific)!

Thanks to our wonderful community, in 100 days Aeon of Sands has become 100% better!

Heres what we did:

• 6 patches released since December 4, 2018!
• improved bosses after feedback from players
• enhanced range combat and projectiles
• improved hard mode
• added the active-pause ability to beginner mode
• game difficulty can be changed on the fly

AoS is now available on 5+ operating systems:

• Windows 7, 10
• macOS (10.12+)
• Linux (Ubuntu LTS, SteamOS)

We remixed the sound of Aeon and released the Soundtrack with 22 amazing tracks.
Marco created a 100 pages Art Book about the intriguing style of Aeon of Sands, together with lots of information about the influences, the story and the development
Yet, still 8 (of 24) achievements in the game have not been discovered!

This means that a lot of branching story paths are still unrevealed in AoS!

This is a perfect time to join us in Aeon of Sands land, at a 30% discount! https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/

So what can you expect in the next 100 days (give or take)?

Heres our roadmap!

• new game modes like Iron Man, Survival
• New Game+
• More gameplay stats
• Search for "The missing maze"
• make community translations possible (long term goal)

Thank you for your feedback, help and support! Marco & Florian

[ 2019-03-13 17:06:58 CET ] [ Original post ]

Check out our indepth interview with lostlevels about the influences, the origin, the development of Aeon of Sands - The Trail (german only, but you can turn on funny auto-translated subtitles). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8kzfKWhPmw

[ 2019-03-06 20:15:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are happy to announce the release of the Linux version of "Aeon of Sands".

SteamOS + Linux

Steam supported Ubuntu 12.04 LTS/SteamOS and we could successfully test the game on it.

other distributions:

Furthermore, we and some users have successfully tested the game on other Linux distributions as well. These include Linux Manjaro (Arch) 64bit, Fedora Workstation 64bit and Linux Mint 64bit. However, this info is unofficial and we cannot provide any support here.

Steam Play/Proton

If the game does not run on your Linux, you can also use Steam Play or Proton to run the Windows version of the game on your Linux. Since this release also the Windows version should be compatible with Proton!

Window & macOS

The Windows and MacOS versions of the game will also be updated to v1.081. Have fun playing and please spread the word about the Linux version! Thank you for your support! TwoBitsKid^Marco & Florian

[ 2019-02-27 14:02:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Aeon of Sands - launches its DELUXE VERSION on Steam:

Get the soundtrack and art book in the Deluxe version, as an upgrade or as a separate DLC. [table] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]
[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr] [/table]

Art Book

The game's 100-page art book, brimful of cool artworks, including game production art and final illustration, in high resolution, complete with a bit of behind-the-scenes information, and an in-detail article about the game inspiration. At this link, you can download a 15 pages preview of the Art Book:AoS_Art_Book_1.3_press.pdf]AoS_Art_Book_1.3_press.pdf https://store.steampowered.com/app/1025290/Aeon_of_Sands__Art_Book/

Soundtrack

Many have asked for it and its finally here: 22 high quality MP3 192kbit/48Hz tracks, composed, performed and amazingly remixed by jazz musician Gabriele Artuso. The collectioncombines the exotic feelings of the desert of Aeon of Sands with those of a tense movie out of the 80s. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1025280/Aeon_of_Sands__Soundtrack/

From February4 to February 11, the game is on sale on Steam!

If you have not yet bought it, this is theperfect time to get into the hot Aeon of Sands world, at a reduced price in the current Steam Lunar sale! What are you waiting for? Head on over to our Steam store page, and don't forget to spread the news! Aeon of Sands - DELUXE Version Aeon of Sands - DELUXE Version Upgrade Marco & Florian of TwoBitsKid

[ 2019-02-07 13:11:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.0.8

1. Bosses improved with new abilities!

2. Charges now shown on Icon!

3. Improved range weapons and projectiles!

'smallstone' 8 dmg + 'unmoveable' effect duration 0.1 + trait mod 'bolt' 14 dmg + 'unmoveable' effect duration 0.4 + trait mod 'flechette' 12 dmg + 'unmoveable' effect duration 0.3 + trait mod 'pellet' 20 dmg + 'unmoveable' effect duration 0.2 + trait mod 'stone' 3 dmg + 'unmoveable' effect duration 0.1 + trait mod 'splinteredstone' 6 dmg + 'unmoveable' effect duration 0.2 + trait mod

4. The game's difficulty can now be changed on the fly during play!

5. Improved hard mode! Combat dance and hit&run is now much more difficult.

6. Traits have levels now (just like in DM). They are shown in the character stats panel!

'Novice' 0-15% 'Beginner' 16-25% 'Competent' 26-45% 'Proficient' 46-65 'Expert' 66-85% 'Master' 86-100%

7. Improved normal enemies. Resistances & Abilities added.

Skeletons - invulnerable auran & elemental magic damage CyberAnts - invulnerable auran damage Rogue Thug - invulnerable auran damage +Enemies that cast hide spell are now also permeable (no physical damage!) and a lot more..!

... and much more!

New Features:

• 60 - visible 'charges' on Inventory Item Icons
• 1212 - change difficulty on the fly
• 1190 - PauseMode added to Beginner Mode (press Space to activate)
• 1433 - Ant Queen fight reworked & improved
• 1431 - improve hard mode (better AI, faster turning, better usage of Magic, and a lot more improvements!)
• 1427 - improve Bosses independant from difficulty modes (new abilities)
• 1456 - trait levels names added to stats panel
• 1465 - disable tutorial button added to every Tutorial Screen
• 1357 - rising of a traits is now better written in textbox (blue)
• 1459 - textbox comment added for spike damage, to better protect the feets
• 1440 - improve range weapons (cooldown reduced; and stun effect added to projectiles to make range combat more fun!)

Corrections:

1421 - Route on Worldmap from Valley to Fallen Dome disabled
• 1416 - Dialogue fix: COMOR OF THE LOST AND FOUNDS 2
• 1422 - Dialogue fix: Valley 1 - Link1.1b
• 1423 - Dialogue fix: A desert camp
• 1425 - Dialogue fix: A RUIN_Screen
• 1467 - A Pit Dialogue wrong image adjusted
• 1419 - GATE SCENE D: when choosing Harro in marketplace, unneeded bronce helmet removed
• 1411 - "sluggish" fade in / out of LargeMap fixed
• 1441 - blocker in maze 6_4 removed
• 1442 - correct damagetypes for green_spit, god_spit, green_spit_pool, acid_spit, reddust defined
• 1430 - Flamethrower shouldn't stack; damageoutput lowered a bit; fixed
• 1446 - Fix that break attack was not recognised by rangeattacks and static_enemies where affected by LOVE & UNMOVEABLE spell effects
• 1439 - Combat difficulty: improved normal enemies by using Flags to add resistances
• 1454 - ammo for crossbow/sling in random market added
• 1458 - Peculiar stone bug fixed; stone is now accepted as well aas other stones
• 1435 - more corpses added to the branchways (because of the Story)
• 1078 - maze 4_2 stone puzzle small bug fixed
• 1461 - bug in range combat targetting of NPCs fixed
• 1413 - Tutorial fixed: large_map_3
• 1412 - Tutorial fixed: character_stats_2
• 1415 - Tutorial fixed: wrong shieldhand -> lefthand + doubled sentences
• 1432 - maze 21_e_1 fix the start; more mobs at the start suiting the story
• 1402 - rename button "Character States" to "Character Stats"
• 1414 - Music-Loop 'fallen_branchways' fixed

[ 2019-02-04 18:06:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

During the last month, we have been hard at work on the next patch for Aeon of Sands, which will introduce a number of fixes and improvements to the gameplay. We will also add some premium content to complete the package of the game.

Soundtrack

You can expect 22 tracks for 35 minutes of great ambient and theme music. It's a direct, to the point collection, combining the exotic feelings of the desert of Aeon of Sands with those of a tense movie out of the 80s.

Art Book

Along with it, there will come a 100 pages Art Book of the game, brimful of cool artworks, including game production art and final illustration, in high resolution, complete with a bit of behind-the-scenes information, and an in detail article about the game inspiration. All of the above is coming early February!

Upcoming combat improvements:

• NEW ability to change the difficulty of the game on the fly
• NEW easy/beginner mode gets an active pause (freezing time, but allowing you to consume health salves and reagents)
• Hard mode will be significantly harder, with quicker opponents and more difficult combat dance
• NEW stun effect added to projectiles (range combat)
• NEW strategies to bosses, making them more challenging
• Updates stats to range combat throughout all difficulty modes (range fighting is now more efficient and fun)
• Some normal enemies have learned resistance (i.e. skeletons are invulnerable to magic, and more...)

There will also be improvements to other minor aspects: specific items, enemies etc. Overall, the game combat is less prone to feel mechanical and it feels more challenging and fun. There are more things we are going to polish in our continuing support for Aeon of Sands. Suggestions are welcome!

[ 2019-01-30 13:29:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.0.6.1

New Features:

• macOS build now also supports achievements

Sorry for the long wait! TwoBitsKid wish you all a Merry Christmas and many achievements next year !

[ 2018-12-24 12:02:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.0.6

Our X-mas patch is ready!

Corrections:

• a bug in the stash was fixed, where under certain circumstances an item can disappear
• two reversed results in the Skirmish were corrected
• Xunis progression in focus has been slightly improved
• non working platform in "#4n/e*#a - %5e9 Un#6rr00ts" removed
• 'abs' (absorbtion) is renamed to 'prot' (protection)
• 'weaponhand' and 'shieldhand' renamed to 'righthand' and 'lefthand'
• small visual cropping bug in titlemenu and worldmap fixed
• walkable fences in Kovas Camp fixed
• a couple of spelling fixes
• credits updated

[ 2018-12-22 16:53:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

A Coffee Break with: Aeon of Sands - The Trail The Gazette of Independent Gaming did an in-depth interview about the development and design choices with TwoBitsKid, read it here: https://medium.com/@gofig.news/a-coffee-break-with-florian-aeon-of-sands-the-trail-5410422ac0d8 [quote]

What impresses me with Aeon of Sands, is the amount of choices youve left up for the player to take, giving the game a feel thats almost Choose your own Adventure-like. Its especially impressive because theres only the two of you, and you really didnt go the easy road. So, why was it so important for you to give player narrative choices?

Yes, to create, implement, test and revise the branching nature of Aeon of Sands narrative is one of the most difficult things in development, but we felt that it was necessary to be very specific with this story, to avoid it being only a blurred background. And this specificity meant for us that the choices needed to have different and tangible consequences, plus an amount of text that is novel-sized. But thats the point: any game is a story. Such mechanics are something we as players care for, even subconsciously; thus, we should care for it even more as developers. In this case, the game is a story we tell. We wanted to tell it the best we could, so, this was the choice we made. And if it required complexity, we would have gone for it, as we have. ... [/quote]

[ 2018-12-18 21:28:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.0.5

Corrections:

• hotfixed the rewards at "A Skirmish"

Version 1.0.4

New Features:

• added 4 new stats to gameplay stats screen, which is shown after the end and the credits

Corrections:

• fixed the wrong number of all story scenes in the gameplay stats screen (we have 147)
• fixed a bug where under certain cercumstances some enemies where not counted as kill for the result screen after a playthrough
• fixed a bug where you couldn't click on the portrait anymore to access the inventory
• help menu background has now the correct background when exiting a game
• problem solved with Xunis tear attack (thanks to the reporter of this bug)

[ 2018-12-11 14:59:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.0.3

New Features:

• double-click (or middle-click) on an item in the inventory to identify items (for touchpad/macOS users)
• hard mode is now even harder: enemy AI improved and chances to break an attack lowered
• the order of items in your inventory is now saved!
• you can now throw items into holes

Corrections:

• fixed a bug where difficulty mode was not saved into savegame and was reset to normal mode (only for new game)
• added a fix to close the hole to the ant queen, when ant queen was already killed (only for new game)
• small visual update of "a ruin" maze
• some item locations in starting mazes and "the valley" changed
• skeletons now drop 'poultice' instead of 'water skin' or 'raw meat'
• 'water skin' lowered to 5 hp and 5 stamina instead of 5 hp and 10 stamina
• stats of shoes improved
• typos fixed in "the pit", "the marketplace", "xuni", "intro", tutorials and help pages
• parser fix in "skirmish" where a party of three can meet the leech
• "Centipede" made a bit faster
• "Pantellan Cutthroat" drop chance and items changed

[ 2018-12-09 18:57:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello readers!

For this installment of Sleep till late with Marco, Ill guide you in the process of Aeon of Sands The Trail official Titlescreen and desktop wallpaper creation. The first requirement to create artwork is someone who asks or forces you to do it. Usually a perverted creature called co-worker who ignores the fact that you already have something to do: to recover from too little sleep, to buy food and to defend yourself against garden vines that try to enter your floor uninvited. This kind of thing. For proper illustration making, there are engagement rules to be respected.
Thumbnails ahoy After some other unjustified jokes associated with the threat that he would add heinous features to the game that only his distorted mind could love, like, more statistics, I give up, and for the sake of reason, Ill make a few sketches that you see above.

What I wanted to create:

• a bold view of the sacred giant tree of the city of Pantella, called: Kinami
• the tree: important to the story of the game, thus should show its vitality, its will to spread, and to fill up the image
• the city: had to be shown growing on it, in a symbiotic relation
• a figure in foreground to help me state the proportion of the scene, and most of all to give a sense of story, of a final destination reached, or of something about to happen.

I thumbnailed a dozen possibilities, and decided for the one that seemed the most clear and sharply cut: a straightforward one.
Black and white rough At that point, I usually want to have only a couple of values; in this case that was also seconding a scene overflown by the two suns light. Im mostly concerned with shape and flow until very late in illustration, in any case. After that, I distanced the various planes a bit, and thought about the mood. In our story there is a kind of metaphorical veil, sometimes even a real one. A warm strangulation that threatens to suffocate the main character. This sometimes leads him in situations where right and wrong are blurred and Setrani, our leading actor, cannot help but miserably move on. So, I started playing with that idea and the tree.
Add heat The rough was ready, and I started to work on the preparatory drawing. I dont need such drawings to be very precise in respect to line, but I do need that in respect to masses; I need to know what goes where precisely. Im not the kind of visual artist that has the details fixed in mind from the start: I usually find them as I go on, as long as I have an expression, or emotion in mind, and a structure in place. Now for instance, the placeholder figure in foreground was really lame. I needed a clear purpose for it, beyond the simple balance of the image. So I borrowed a particular creature from the story, I covered it with a cloak, and gave it a sense of foreboding menace which fits with the general theme of the game.
Draw the skeleton out Then I started to paint it. A lot of clone-mix brush work and pencils later, I arrived the stage of the following screenshot.
Pour the color in And even later, after adjusting the overall hue, adding detail and trying to pursue light diffraction and more distance separation, I came to the following one.
Add detail Then, I had to add the game title that also called for a revision of the logo used for the normal advertising screenshots.
Enter the logo I decided not to occupy myself so much with the dome, and to suggest it only in the distance. Besides, whatever the creature in the foreground is, the dome is an obstacle that didnt stop it: its already inside the city limits. , Now I just had to add the shadows cast by the tree and by the figure on the ground, and add a bit of detail to it: grass, maybe a bit of farming for the sustenance of the city inhabitants. Finally I placed the logo on it, and added the finishing touches.
Floor it Thats it! Thank you for reading!

DOWNLOAD

with Logo:
without Logo:

download more different sizes our website:

https://www.aeonofsands.com/2018/10/14/desktop-wallpaper-process/

[ 2018-12-09 00:33:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are happy to announce the release of our game "Aeon of Sands - The Trail". After 6 years of work it's finally done! Aeon of Sands - The Trail combines a Dungeon Crawling RPG with Game Books! Extremely non-linear, replayable story with multiple endings. Out now on STEAM: https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/

[ 2018-12-04 17:01:03 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 1.0.2

New Features:

- achievements added to the Windows version of the game (macOS achievements comes later) - lock mouse cursor in video options - two new tutorial pages added - new window screen resolution added (1920x1080) - reset all options menu added

Changes:

- various tutorials updated and enhanced - typos in dialogues fixed - typos in item descriptions fixed - party inventory improved - quit via escape/pause button from largemap and partyinventory - starting mazes improved a bit

[ 2018-12-04 16:02:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 0.9.987

New Features:

- made 4 zones out of 2 zones, which influence how far you can throw items (0,1,2,3 tiles - the higher, the farer you can throw) - automatically take a screenshot of gameplay stats after a playthrough - a 'tiny dagger' added to the start of the game - borderless fullscreenmode option added

Changes:

- help for character stats and magic refreshed - later worldmap improved - camp dialogue improved - Xuni tutorial improved - Intro spelling fixed - random event fixed - bugfix small visual issue on worldmap - bugfixed the bugreport ;)

[ 2018-12-01 01:27:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello!

Have you ever wondered about what one needs to consider when it comes to video game music? Then let me tell you about our creational journey to the music of Aeon of Sands and check out this blog post. main theme sample: https://www.aeonofsands.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AoS_main_theme_snippet_mixdown_1.mp3

Considerations and First Ideas

Back then when we started, Florian and me both knew we wanted a rich audio environment for Aeon of Sands, with three constituent parts: Game audio effects: GUI sounds as well as sounds triggered by players or their opponents Ambient track: the loopable constant sounds that create the background for the game experience Musical themes: the loopable melodic tunes that introduce the game, underscore encounters and take you out of the game and back to your room. Besides, we both wanted all the audio in the game to be very specific, convincing, direct, and most of all, musical. Given the particular narrative of the game, we also wanted its music to be not at all high fantasy or over-epic. In fact, the scope of the game story is not a fantasy of macho super-heroics stumping over the lives of a galaxy, or some stuff like that; its the story of a clerk, stumbling through things larger than him, and the story becomes broader only when hes forced to confront his humanity in face of his own survival. Plus, add a little bit of humor. game credits - sample: https://www.aeonofsands.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AoS_credits_snippet_mixdown.mp3

Influences

On the other end, we had a few examples in mind, something that came from our roots, like games we loved of the Commodore Amiga era: Perihelion, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, some pieces of Mass Effect for its coherence, and something even from the Commodore SID era as an inspiration. But we also wanted the bulk of it recorded live using analog tools and instruments, the same I (Marco) did for most of the audio effects.

Fruitful Collaboration

Enter Gabriele Artuso, our musician friend, who has collaborated with us on Aeon of Sands for the last three years.
Gabriele added to the mix - besides his compositive experience - his taste for jazz improvisation and his exhilarating sense of experimentation. He did most of the real work, to which I added post-production and editing, contributing only a couple of tunes, just because his enthusiasm for this creation work touched me. gameplay ambient music: https://www.aeonofsands.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AoS_in_game_snippet_mixdown.mp3

The Result!: 40 Tracks and more

The result of this fruitful confrontation is a set of almost forty tracks: tuneful ambient loops and direct groovy main tracks that echo back to John Carpenters Eighties. All of these tracks youll be able to listen to in the game! Additionally, we are in the process of distilling the games tracks into a soundtrack to be released further on the road. Stay tuned on radio Aeon of Sands :) And besides, if you have not yet done so, please add Aeon of Sands to your Steam wishlist! https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/ marco from TwoBitsKid

[ 2018-11-30 13:27:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 0.9.986

This is a prerelease update.

New Features:

- a visual hint has been added if a dialogue needs to be scrolled down - consumable goods receive a green glow to make them easier to identify - you can now configure up to three keys to fire up spells (still you need to open up the spellchoice first) - added help menu categories - note added to tooltips how to read item descriptions - more dramatic world map presentation in a special situation - improved the gameplay statistics screen after a complete play through - some bosses where made a bit stronger - nice side-effect added to 'tiny-rat' equipment item

Changes:

- fixed a problem with continuous playback of music - fixed global music volume level for dialogue music - fixes a bug that caused a crash when writing notes, if the input was not confirmed with the "enter" button - fixed a bug that made items temp. unuseable when moving weapons in party-inventory from one character to the other - spelling fixes of various dialogues - costs of 'wooden sword' and 'rusty sword' fixed - costs of 'flechette pistol' fixed - tunnel updated for better handling - readme updated

[ 2018-11-26 14:47:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Version 0.9.985

This is a prerelease update.

New Features:

• new Key configuration menu added to Options
• new Help Menu added to Main & Pause Menu
• new Gameplay Stats Screen added after a full playthrough
• new Savegame system (old savegames can still be loaded!)
• new Title music track
• new Intro music track
• new Credits music track
• two new Story Branches opened

Changes:

• saveslots updated from 5 to 7 manual savegames
• preselected Window Modes
• better Fullscreen detection
• windowmode default resolution changed from 1280x800 to 1366x768
• problematic dialogue at The Pit fixed
• dialogue typos edited
• credits updated
• Options cleaned
• Mazes updated
• Particles improved
• Spelling fixes
• balacing of bosses improved
• ... and a lot of smaller issues fixed

[ 2018-11-20 15:06:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

On the proper ways to address strangers in the desert.

One would assume that there were none, as in a desert, there should be nobody to address. But if you find yourself there, a desert ceases to be deserted, and it unmistakably follows that there should be an etiquette and a protocol to addressing strangers. Because everything goes so much smoother when you have protocols, right? That is at least what Setrani, the main character in the story of Aeon of Sands The Trail told himself when was ushered out of town and faced the desert for the first time. Barely before he thought Let me back in! and at the same time of There must be some kind of error! There was also the conflicting thought: No please, I dont want to die!; but his habit of trying to be inconspicuous, which he acquired early in his life, won that friendly bid. Whether the concept of less resistance path would serve him during the course of our story, thats a matter for another day, but it will serve me now to describe the (probably not) happy encounters a traveler might have in this (really not) merry land.

So welcome to Strangers in the Distance and You.

You come from a domed city, a society clustered on the colossal body and limbs of a tree, all covered by a glass dome, sheltering people and vegetation from the brunt of the suns and the cruelty of the winds. You know that there are other cities like yours, by hearsay: youve never been to one and you personally know noone who has. But even if they exist, your city is probably in a state of war with them too, as it is with the desert. So, even if the chance is very little, those strangers you see there in the distance could be from another city, they could be every little bit as scared of the blinding emptiness around them as you are. Would they set aside their inbred hostility to foreigners, because of this common trait you have? You would, right? Hah, like you could! Well Not easily anyway. Maybe you should listen to your empty belly, though, and let it dictate a protocol to barter some food, while letting them know you still are better than them. Is there a protocol for that? Of course, they seem to be traveling in a group, while you are alone. However, your moral superiority must surely be evident, even to them! But now that you are getting closer, you are not so sure that you should think of them as other citizens at all. Those bright colors and plumes of some bird? They dont look like proper and respectable townsfolk of a foreign, detested city at all.

Maybe Are they nomads instead?

Could they be the bandits roaming freely through the desert, in slow migrations? Those who, from time to time, get closer to your town, in raiding parties, attacking the less guarded entrance, robbing what they can in the hovels and plazas nearest to it, taking things and people alike, scavenging for food and for slaves, before making a run for the sands? Could those approaching be men so unafraid of this terrifying waste, that no badge of honor, true or made up, could sway them from the intention to kill you, capture you and eat you alive, and probably all of the three at the same time? If they are nomads, you surely better start running. Not that you could outrun a bolt of lighting or the sand storms that a nomad warlock commands. But lets just hope they have no warlock.

Ahhh you are raving. Its probably the heat. You are not used to its full violence.

In fact, lets not be too hasty: the strangers dont seem to quicken their pace. Actually, it seems like the distance between you and them has not decreased. Is that possible at all? This damn creamy hot haze Making it difficult to judge distances and appearances. Your stomach closes further. What if they arent men at all? What if they are some creatures just human looking, but not human at all? A bug, walking upright, a sand threader, something you have not seen before! Not that you have seen anything non human before, except the rotten and dried husks of some small animal sold at the markets in town, from the grim and outlandish people who dare travel the surroundings of their city, trapping, hunting.

But you never doubted that they existed, alive and skittering in the deep of the desert.

Therefore, these creatures must be certainly them, running in a frenzy, and getting close to you by the minute! No No. Bind your imagination! They cannot be that. Bugs exist. You could even encounter them if you are unlucky, but for sure they are not so calm and upright. All of this doubting is making you sick and feverish. Cmon then! Come show me what you are made of, you will not have an easy feast of me! But then you are ashamed of your sudden outburst. They are still far, but not out of ear! All movement has stopped. They seem frozen in the haze. Precious sweat falls on your eyes and quickly evaporates. What if they are the worst possible thing imaginable, something of magic and of savagery that you have no name for, not one that you would chance to utter. Magic. You have magic, everybody has it, its common where you come from. Its natural in this wrecked nature. The only thing that can keep what human life there is on the land. Sure, your people work with their hands, they tend sheltered farms and manufacture the tools they use. They build their homes, they suspend the bridges between the limbs of the sacred Kinami tree. But to keep the tree alive, to bend its wood and the glass blown in the furnaces to create the dome that guards you Magic! A natural magic.
But there is a different magic. One so perverted and dangerous that any practitioner would be killed on sight by anybody, from old man to children, in town and outside You never saw it, but you heard from one who knew, that a traveler once told him, to have a cousin who was sure to

What if that ahead is a group of magicians, with their green plumes and brown masks?

What if What if You are trembling, feverishly. Thats it! Surely their magic is already killing you! You try to find your balance, but you cannot but stumble on; wiping your brow from your copious sweat does nothing to help you see. But you are getting closer to them now, they are for sure luring you with a charm! They are getting larger and larger Monsters! Its the end! The end THUD! ARGH! Help! Im killed! Im killed! But the killing blow doesnt come, as you wait for it, in a fetal position on the floor, eyes shut and covered from the sting of the evil magic. What are you waiting for? I will not beg! (Unless Would I beg Would it save my life? Im an important person you know?) But still no answer comes, from cruel lips. Slowly, you remove one hand from your eyes, and then the other, extending your arms slowly in the space between you and the unknown, your eyes still closed. You touch a leg. Whoever he is, hes toying with you. This is undignified! Shaking, you inhale a lungful of hot air, so that you can face death at least a bit more calmly. Then you open your eyes, to see the rarest creatures on the land. The brown mask stands there. Scaly and covered with green plumes.

You are looking at the green and brown face of a palm tree.

On December 4, 2018 youll be able to walk your own trail in Aeon of Sands!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/Aeon_of_Sands__The_Trail/

[ 2018-11-16 14:09:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Here, have some of my water says the man under the cowl you clearly have not packed enough to get here. Setrani has no strength to object, and, from his curled position, half buried in the sand, accepts the water skin with a hoarse groan.

Easy, easy Careful not to drop it!

Setrani peers from below at his saviour . A rover, from a city, thankfully, and not a nomad. Or else, he would probably be attached to a slave caravan, by now. Still, a rover, a man so resilient to walk the desert, scavenging his sustenance and finding items to sell back at a city, is just slightly safer than a nomad, in his view. Setrani nods at the man, and notices his sack. Only half empty. Thank you. Are you going back? The man looks around. Not yet. You are from Pantella, yes? I think I saw you there.

Did they throw you out to die?

A surge of pride in Setranis chest overcomes his caution What? Ill let you know Im an important person! I was sent out on a job! Not casted out! Hah! Yes, the sand half burying you seems to disagree. The clerk deflates, but refuses to admit that hes indeed having a terrible time at this mission. The rover, gently pushing back his sack with his feet, continues No, Ill have to find something more to sell before going to the markets. Theres a mine I visit when my runs are fruitless. But I dont go there gladly. Too dangerous. He gives the clerk a look, calculating. I could use the company. Setranis mouth dries up again, considering his options. How is his death more likely today? In the open desert, with the little provisions he has, or following this man he doesnt know anything about to a, what has he called it? A mine? Whats a mine?
He wishes he had not argued with Harro, the guard that was accompanying him the last few days. At the time, to send him alone to those travelling merchants seemed a good idea

How could he possibly know they were cannibals?

Besides, the man in front of him is not a nomad, so there is that, even if theres no guarantee that he would not use him as sandcrawlers bait. The idea hits Setrani: what is unthinkable inside a city wall is very possible out here. Hes really new to these outlandish rules, but hes learning. And if the rover would act funny, he still could probably run away. Maybe with his provisions The man awaits an answer. What are the clerks options? Whatever he chooses, he hardly will be able to retrace his steps, and the night, the very short night is coming, with all the fanged things that live in it.

Setrani must choose.

So you are asking, what is it like to play Aeon of Sands? Well its like this: You play a character that is as removed from the ambient hes exploring as a city clerk in a dangerous desert: you know nothing about it and its customs, and you have an urge to survive. Therefore, you make decisions while not having a clue about the consequences: your only tools to navigate the adventure are your own morals as a compass, and the order of your priorities.

• Is it your survival first and then perhaps everyone else's?
• Is it the greater good above your needs?
• Is it an ideal of law and civilisation that guides you, or the knowledge that nature must rightly overcome all men?
• Is it an ideal of law and civilisation that guides you, or the knowledge that nature must rightly overcome all men?
• Or are you comforted in the idea of a brotherhood of humans, with no distinction between cities and tribes?

Whatever your path, the consequences have little to do with your skills or your statistics, and much to do with your choices, current and previous ones. Its more a roleplaying adventure, at its core.

On December 4, 2018 youll be able to walk your own trail in Aeon of Sands!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907820/

[ 2018-11-06 14:50:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Aeon of Sands - The Trail is a retro, post-apocalyptic RPG, set in a dangerously pixelated desert world that eats people, and has a taste for city clerks. - Oh, by the way, you are a city clerk. And it's lunch time. Berlin, Germany - October 17, 2018. Two Bits Kid is proud to announce the release date of its upcoming game Aeon of Sands - The Trail, coming on December 4, 2018 for Windows and MacOS. Watch our Announcement Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isz3xdfjawY Features - Extremely non-linear, replayable story with multiple endings - Real-time combat - 20 locations and more than 60 mazes and dungeons to explore - More than 140 dialogues - Completely hand-drawn 2.5D environment, 240 hand-drawn illustrations - Up to 2 other characters can join your party during play - Each characters personality influences the outcome of the story, and opens up new paths * Platforms PC: Windows | MacOSX Available on December 4, 2018 Aeon of Sands official site and socials - Official site: https://aeonofsands.com - Presskit: https://presskit.aeonofsands.com/ - Blog: http://blog.aeonofsands.com - Fb: https://www.facebook.com/aeonofsands - Twitter: https://twitter.com/aeonofsands - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv5pWton5kS8wIdSVqFY3mA Prerelease Press Coverage https://www.rockpapershotgun.de/tag/aeon-of-sands Der Dungeon-Crawler Aeon of Sands verspricht einen Liebesbrief an die klassischen PC- und Amiga-Spiele der Neunziger... indieretronews.com An incredible looking crawler that takes us back to the golden age of grid based crawlers... Indiegames.com Aeon of Sands transplants the classic first-person RPG to the desert ruins of a lost city, brought to life through hand-drawn art and strategic combat.

[ 2018-10-17 16:05:25 CET ] [ Original post ]