Hey everyone!
When you see this we have just dropped a major update to our playtest of Runekingdom. There are a lot of new functions, mechanics and systems in place now, which we gonna introduce in detail to you here, as these can be quite different from the systems you have experienced in previous playtests. Also, this update marks a major steps towards the release and we gonna explain what our plan is in the end of this post.
General Update Summary
To make it short, we touched effectively every single mechanic in the game to improve the visuals, the mechanics, the fun or all above. Most systems are now nicely intertwined to build a robust and fun core game loop, that keeps you entertained for a good chunk of time (more Info below). Overall, we are really happy with the result and think that you will be too.
However, as some of the reworks have been massive, we are gonna explain some topics in detail now.
Analytics
Starting with something that is minor in terms of gameplay impact, but has bigger implications all around. With this version of the game, we have introduced analytics code via the Unity Analytics Service. This means, on start of the game, you will be greeted with a Data Collection Agreement.
For the playtest your agreement to these terms is mandatory for playing, this will not be the case for the full game!
Reasoning for that is that we need the data it provides to balance and fine tune the game to its best possible state. This kind of feedback is also the main reason for a playtest, that is why we combined these two things for the time being. Once we release the game, we still need balancing, but its up to you then to provide this kind of insight or opt out if you do not feel comfortable with it.
For your decision, the only user based information Unity Analytics collects by default without a way to opt out is:
The country Unity considers you playing from
A unity given persistent user ID
The platform you are playing on (e.g. Windows, Linux)
Anything else is in game data only, consisting out of completion of checkpoints, usage of items/weapons/equipment, combat behavior, economy values, session times and skill levels.
We are not looking forward to selling or passing this data to anyone. It is purely a mean to help us see where difficulty spikes, unbalanced equipment and overpowered enemies are.
While this type of analytics is standard in most games, we feel you should be well informed.
Combat
Combat has received the biggest overhaul of all systems. It is now equally easier and more complex at the same time. Your equipment matters more than it ever did before, enemies differ in meaningful ways now, running away will come in handy more often than you will like it. So let's break it down.
Weapons
Weapons now have the following stats:
Damage
Hit Rate
Attack Cooldown
Damage is exactly what you would think it is, same as attack cooldown. The hit rate however is a bit more tricky. In general, the higher the value, the more likely you are to hit. Internally the hit rate value is checked against an enemy value. If these are equal, you get a 50% hit chance on the attack. If yours is double compared to the enemy you have a 66% hit chance. As you cannot see the enemy values, you gonna need to get a feel for it. Just do not take it as a direct hit chance.
Equipment
Equipment now has the following stats:
Evasion
Damage Reduction
Evasion is the counterpart to the above mentioned hit rate. Enemies have their own hit rates and will use it to challenge your evasion. In case your evasion does not work out, damage reduction comes into play. This is a flat damage decrease, that is applied to the damage an enemy can do. Most important here, but applies to the damage, a value of 1,45 means a guaranteed 1 with a 45% chance of getting a 2, so getting a slightly higher values still has an effect.
Strength and Weaknesses
Completely new to this version, enemies now have strengths and weaknesses that influence damage dealt to an enemy. There are two types of categories regarding this.
Physical: Slashing, Piercing and Blunt
Magic: Air, Fire, Earth, Water
There are also five different levels of strength/weakness: Very weak, Weak, Slight, Strong, Very Strong.
Figuring out the affections of the enemy will make beating them a lot easier.
Enemies do not attack with special attacks, so you do not need to worry about your own resistances.
Quests
The quest system is now fully operational, giving access to the story. You can now follow a path that not only introduces you to the mechanics of the game, but also grants access to new items on the market.
Yes, you heard correctly, the market now starts with a limited set of items to buy from it. If you want more items, you gotta jump some hoops from now on. Enemies still drop what you need, but fighting them is bit more tricky now.
Quests will notify you once you can complete a quest or start a new one.
Things that need work
We are aware of a few things that need more work.
The weapons stats are not shown until equipped, it will need some kind of tooltip.
Once equipped, equipment cannot be unequipped any more.
Quest items need to be in the inventory, while market items need to be in the bank. This is confusing and needs unification.
Road to Release
So, whats our plan from now to the release?
Starting with this playtest, we will close in release in the near future. For that to work, this playtest will be limited in time from now on, potentially ending in the beginning of May.
With the data collected from that, we will work on a fleshed out demo for the game, which should be available shortly before the Steam Next Fest. We are hoping to get a little bit of attention there, which we then take to release shortly after the Steam Next Fest.
So if you are waiting for this game to come out, you do not have to wait much longer any more.
We will inform you with more details regarding release and update schedule as well as pricing once we are closer to that point.