Those last few weeks are especially important because, as we approach the final stretch before the release, we focus mostly on little things that may not make a huge difference in the game on their own, but added together show our love and care for the project. It's hard work, but it really pays off as the game can change its feel completely in a matter of days.
Right now, we're deep into polishing Steam Deck support, so you can just sit back and enjoy a flawless experience on release day. We're still waiting on Valve's official checkmark, but here's the deal: it's already running great, and there's even more firepower coming before launch, with more optimizations on its way!
In combat: ~55 FPS on battery, 60+ FPS when plugged in.
On the map: 90 FPS when plugged in (Steam Deck's max), with occasional drops to 60 FPS during map events. Also, 60 FPS on the map on battery.
When things are calm, and characters are idling in combat, we get a steady 60 FPS
FPS dips a bit when animations and particles trigger in combat, but it still stays above 40 FPS. This is promising, especially considering more optimizations are yet to come.
All inputs work correctly!
I mean, look at this photo below. Doesn't Shards of Order belong to Steam Deck?!
Just to get you folks into the mood, as well as shed some more light on the world of the game, we've prepared a special Bosses & Lore Trailer. Grab a cup of sinners' guilt to drink and enjoy.
This week, we sent a bunch of gifts to various streamers and creators, some of which had already arrived. Seeing them with a smile as they unboxed them was a very wholesome experience for us. They have access to a pre-release version of the game, which they can stream or record if they please, though the experience might not be as good as it will be on the 28th.
The gift came in a cool book-shaped package and included a set of tarot cards, a set of character pins, a diorama, and a few other small things.
Here’s a video of one of the lucky 500ish people who got it! (you might want to skip to 5:50 to see the unboxing, as the Steam doesn't care about our timestamp in the link :D)
Relatively early in our development, we decided that we had to include battles that have heavy story elements to them. Not just another filler encounter, but either a little plot of its own, or a supplement to the quest you are following at the moment.
You will find a great example early in the Purged Village, where we are met with a choice: save a Herbalist or a Miller. If we choose to save the Herbalist, we will actually do it in the form of a special fight. Herbalist tied to a burning stake and a group of enemies. We have to be quick to defeat the fanatics before she burns to a crisp.
We have more combat encounters like that in the game, and we really hope you will enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them.
Our playtests are still underway, and the lovely volunteers are hard at work testing, giving feedback, and helping us improve the game. As a result of that, we’ve realized that we might have gone a bit easy on the difficulty, so we’re in the middle of ramping up some of the numbers to hopefully give players more satisfaction from beating fights.
That’s all for today; we go back to work to do some more of that Polish polish (pun intended, sorry, we are tired).
Stay safe!
Fardust team
Q&A form: https://forms.gle/RjVhs3oSfyjRQtrH9.