⚜️In this post, we’ll recollect what we had, show you what we have, and present what we aim to deliver to you!⚜️
At the very beginning, we approached the Forge as something easy to pick up — and we achieved that.
As development continues, systems are refined and mechanics improved — the Forge evolves alongside them. Our team strives to deliver the best possible experience through both our internal processes and your feedback! 🔥
What have we improved?
🛞Grinding Wheel🛞
The mechanics of the grinding wheel were simple to understand and master. The grinding wheel was straightforward yet satisfying. Player had to move the blade along the spinning grinding wheel.
Upon your feedback, we have decided to expand on it. We felt the UI drew too much focus, and the mechanics lacked depth, so we improved it! Currently, to grind the sword, the player must maintain proper RPM of the wheel while pushing the blade against it. We also moved progress from the UI and put it onto the blade.
We love the changes we have made, and we value the feedback that has pushed us to make them! Additionally, we made it possible to make mistakes now and damage the blade. Right now, the player faces a greater challenge⚔️ and doesn't have to take their eyes off the blade!
Our constant struggle to improve what we are going to deliver to you doesn't end here!⚔️
🔨Avnil🔨
Previously, forging was based on striking the target in rhythm with a bar that represented strength. Aim, time it, and strike. Looking back at that iteration, we realized it wasn’t complex enough. Moreover, the player's attention was drawn away from the forged item and onto the bar itself.
We concluded that similar issues occurred within the anvil, so what have we done about it? We transformed the rhythm — the bar has been replaced with a hammer tapping the anvil. We replaced the previous UI target with cracks on the blade, and last but not least, we connected accuracy and rhythm with the rate of progress.
🔥Melting steel🔥
Our previous iteration of melting was super simple: hold the metal over the pot and melt it! As you may already guess, it was too simple!
Now, to melt the steel, the player shall drop the metal into the pot, pump the air to raise the temperature🌡️, and keep it in range as displayed by the metal rod.
Sword Designer
Last iteration of sword designer just served it's purpose, it didn't bring any joy. UI was plain and simple, Animation were a little bit jittery. We wanted to make it better so we did!
We improved UI, added icons, improved naming conventions, polished animations added descriptions and many more!
Just take a look!
What have we added and our plans for the future!
What have we managed to add?🥳
- Improved cart mechanics – now it's easier to load and drive the cart🛞
- Chisel – Swords brought from the battlefield can be dismantled for their precious components⚔️
- Smelter – Blades from dismantled swords and armor pieces can be smelted for metal used later in the forge🔥
- Shop – Now you may purchase and sell swords and their parts in John's shop💰
- UI – We have overhauled the entire UI📖
🛠️More details about Chisel & Smelter🛠️
Chisel allows you to dismantle the sword by finding clutch points and striking them. Dismantling swords gives you four separate parts of the sword: Blade, Guard, Handle, and Pommel. These parts can be sold or reused in your next crafts!
How will you use the chisel? Slide it along the sword, find a weak point, lock it, and strike it until all 4 parts are separated!
Smelter will help you get more steel! How? Just fill it with blades, chestplates, or helmets and fire this baby up! 🔥 It will burn through your loot in no time and give you some fresh, smoking-hot steel that you can later use to forge even more swords!
🌠Plans for the future of development!🌠
So, what are our plans for the Forge? We're aiming for a smoother smithing process. We plan to merge the anvil, casting, and smelting into a unified system, removing the need to switch between stations. Our future updates also include a system to determine the quality of your forged sword — assessing sharpness, steel quality, balance, and more! Finally, we’re reworking the Sword Designer to improve readability, offer previews of parts, and help you assemble your masterpiece.
We hope the changes we've made — and those to come — will meet your expectations.
Stay tuned! 🔥