Version 0.5 is available!

It took us a little longer than expected, due to unforeseen technical hurdles, but we finally managed to upload and release Dustgrave's 0.5.0 build!

This new update brings several changes and improvements that many of you have been asking for since the game's Early Access release! We have a massive changelog, so we split it in several sections to make it easier to read.

Major Changes

• It is now possible to Respec Characters. Newly recruited companions will immediately open the respec panel, so that they can be customized after joining the party, but the respec feature is also accessible by going talking to Innkeepers.
• Greatly improved the political simulation, and factions will now launch raid and conquer settlements by sending proper parties on missions. There are also caravans moving supplies around and wandering traders now move around using the world's map.
• Added a lot of information on the world's map, and it's now possible to see more details about settlements, locations, and parties.
• Added a button to wait for some time inside locations. It can be used to wait until the morning so that NPCs will wake up, or to wait until midnight to ambush an enemy camp.
• Special locations like Dungeons or Ruins are now invisible on the map, and will require you to get closer to discover them, making them permanently visible on the world's minimap.
• Added four new dynamic quests. They will be available on their own or as part of Major Quests.

New Features & Additions

• It is now possible to see on the map if there are available quests in a settlement. No more loading for nothing!
• Added several new notifications to better inform you about what's changing in the world and what consequences your actions have.
• Added a lot of barks to NPCs, and changed the conditions of the ones we already had to make them appear more often. Now NPCs have many more things to complain about!
• Added markers for traders, which can be turned off in the settings menu.
• All containers can now be highlighted, the default key to do that is Alt.
• Wandering traders now have merchandise to sell.
• Improved the UI used in the world map to show details about NPC parties.
• Added some delay in combat when enemies start their turn, to make everything a little more clear.
• Added shop signs to all non-faction traders.
• Factions Traders are now accessible at 15 Relationships, and the Progress Meter related to relations has been updated to reflect that.
• Added a new Infested enemy, the Fleshmass, a tanky enemy dealing AoE damages.

Balance & Gameplay Changes

• Rebalanced bows to be less damaging.
• Push and Pull statuses now trigger opportunity attacks as they were intended to do.
• Saving is now blocked when the player is being chased.
• Spellcasting Focuses will now be much more common to find in traders' inventories.
• Close range enemies are a little smarter, the Bloater in particular will stop exploding too far away to hit more than a single target.

Performance & Quality of Life Improvements

• Improved loading times when entering or exiting locations.
• The "Buying Prices" modifier is now blue when negative, since lower buying prices are actually a good thing for your pockets.
• It is no longer possible to use special characters in savegames, to prevent potential issues like saves not being created properly.
• Changed Metals and Precious Metals materials icons to be more distinct compared to materials used to upgrade weapons.
• Removed shadows from particles to prevent crashes on some systems.
• Slightly changed the real-time UI to improve clarity and have it ready for future improvements.
• It is now easier to revert recently assigned Skill Points.
• Quest notifications now appear on the World Map.

Bug Fixes & Minor Adjustments

• Fixed an issue with dashes blocking the game after equipping a new armor.
• Fixed an issue with trackers on the world map appearing over UIs.
• Fixed a few dialogue-related issues.
• Fixed some graphical issues in different levels.
• Fixed an issue with records not showing properly in the Faction UI.
• Fixed some cities that would have strange materials when destroyed.
• Fixed an issue with a few unique items spawning in traders' inventories.
• Fixed some visual issues related to animations in combat.
• Fixed a major issue with several quests related to finding or retrieving items. That lead to broken data and unfinishable quests.
• Fixed the dialogue with the ambushing faction NPCs that could end unexpectedly.
• Fixed several armors that couldn't be dismantled.
• Fixed a few quests having wrong markers in certain situations.
• Fixed an issue with missing enemies at the end of a Protect Settlement major quest.
• Fixed a framerate drop in fights when a different character is selected.
• Fixed the walking animation in combat not triggering properly sometimes.
• Fixed some missing variables in dialogues that prevented a few diplomatic quest resolution paths to be available.
• Added a special UI effect to make Tutorial Panels more noticeable.
• Added a special UI effect to make the Join Faction notification a little nicer to see.
• Fixed an issue with the Major Quest: Rebuild and Expand not completing in certain cases.
• Fixed an issue with rewards not being given to the player in certain rare cases.
• Fixed an issue with pending events not being saved properly.
• Fixed an issue with visitors and wanderers being assigned to the local settlement, leading to wrong AI behaviors and non-consistent reputation gain.
• Fixed some doors in Wujinquan that would not open when walking through them.
• Talents buttons are now easier to see and interact with.
• Improved the Level Up visual effect.
• Fixed an issue caused by passive skills which could lead to unstable behaviors
• Fixed an issue with damages being multiplied by 75 instead of 1.75, turning characters into killing machines with godly powers.
• Fixed an house in Baitay with too much furniture that prevented moving inside it.
• Fixed a few roofs not disappearing properly when walking inside their building.
• Fixed an issue with items getting cloned while being dismantled.
• Fixed some minor animation issues with characters wielding a spear.

Know Issues

• In some tests we experienced bad performances in some settlements, like Baitay. We are investigating the issue and trying to fix it.
• When fighting parties on the map, sometimes the fight doesn't immediately start. We had to remove the fix we made for this, because it caused issues, but the situation will be addressed soon.

Thank you so much for your support and your patience, many of these fixes are the direct result of players sending us bug reports! We hope you'll have fun!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2393370/Dustgrave_A_Sandbox_RPG/