Here's a gameplay video of a free Strategy RPG called Unity Wars (the game is similar to the Vestaria series):

Unity Wars (SRPG Studio)

The oldschool RPG The Accursed Crown of the Giant King has been released:

The Accursed Crown of the Giant King

"Your journey is at an end as you arrive in Greenvale, seeking adventure here in the north. The Unknown Duke Inn lies just to your north, but rather than the comforting sounds of a peaceful tavern, you hear screams and noises of violence."

Old School Role Playing Game

• Epic, classic-style fantasy adventure. Single player, controlling a main hero with a band of companions.
• Real-time with pause gameplay, for complex tactical combat with full control.
• Combines open-ended exploration with an overall quest. Dozens of locations and side-quests to explore and conquer.
• Deep, complex role-playing system, inspired by popular paper-and-pencil role playing games.
• Build the party of adventurers you want, with dozens of skills and powers, and hundreds of spells and items.

Ty the first chapter "Danger in Greenvale" for free, which includes a full adventure and conclusion. Continue your adventure by purchasing chapters 2-4. 

Rat Tower posted a dev update for Monomyth, with feedback on the beta and general progress information:

Monomyth - July Update

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Another month, another update! Beta 1 is just around the corner and in the last few weeks, plenty of significant improvements have been implemented. So let's take a look at those!

Current Progress
As you know, Monomyth's beta has been out for about a month now. In this short period of time, there have been numerous hotfixes. Beta testers have been very busy reporting various problems and as a result, both major and minor bugs were corrected. One particularly nasty bug involved the functionality of NPC navigation, which, luckily, could be tracked to a simple, incorrect engine setting.

Besides fixing bugs, I have also been adding various features that would improve the overall experience of the game. NPCs will now greet the players via text messages over their heads. The same system is also used for idle chatter and combat taunts.

I have also re-introduced Offhand Actions, which were sort of a last left-over from the old codebase's feature list. This means you can now, again, press the middle mouse button and use your torch to light other torches in the game world (and set certain inflammable objects on fire as well).

Video - Offhand Actions

Some of you may have been unaware of it, but the Kickstarter demo also featured a shield-bash that could be activated in the same way. This feature is back as well, however, this time it is far more impactful. It can be used to knock enemies down or push them off ledges.

Video - Shield Bash

Combat AI has been improved as well and while it still needs work encounters are now more balanced. The rebalancing in the latest version of the game also affected weapon durability. A frequent feature request from the Kickstarter demo was the possibility to pick up the weapons dropped by enemies. This was an option in Arx Fatalis and Ultima Underworld. However, in Monomyth, this feature devalued some weapons, because of their sudden high availability. More precisely, it had an effect on the urgency of keeping an eye on your weapon's durability. This called the necessity for the durability feature into question (at least with regard to highly available weapons). Ultima Underworld circumvented this problem by permanently breaking weapons. This introduced an element of resource management into the game and reduced the effects of readily available weaponry.

I have been experimenting with a similar system in Monomyth's early game now. You can still repair your weapons at a forge, but if you don't pay attention to their durability you will risk losing them permanently. So far, at least in my experience, this little change makes the early game significantly more exciting. Obviously, this feature will be somewhat less relevant for rare weapons. These aren't readily available in the first place and some of them are indestructible anyway (they still wear off over time though, so they have to be repaired to fulfill their potential).

Video - Weapon Durability

I have also been thinking about the save system during the rebalancing process. At the moment free saving is the standard game mode on the basis of which the distribution of level-up shrines is balanced (these were originally used to save). I might actually turn this around and balance the distribution around the classic system from the Kickstarter demo. People will still have the option to turn on free saving during the character creation though.

I have also reworked the object carrying/placement system since I have noticed that players kept having problems with putting bread near a fire or into an oven. Therefore, I implemented a feature with which they can drop items from the inventory directly into their character's hands. Players can then precisely rotate and place the item with the help of a "ghost object". This is also very useful for stacking boxes.

Video - Obect Placement

Beta 1
The rest of the time, I have focused on closing the gap between the actual beginning of the game and the current beta content. This required a rework of the "Serpent's Bastion", an area you already know from the Kickstarter demo.

The patch integrating this content should be ready within the next few days. With its release, Monomyth will enter the "Beta 1" phase. Just like after the release of "Beta 0" I will then shortly focus on documenting and fixing various bugs found by the beta testers. Afterward, I will shift my focus toward working on the next beta patch. Going strictly by the plan from last month's update that would include the game's main settlement, I might, however, switch Update 2 and 3 around, since the latter still requires more work.

Either way, there is still a lot to do. I will keep you posted!

Best wishes,
Michael

Thanks Redglyph!

Elmarion: The Lost Temple has recently received a big update which added turn-based mode. Currently the game is in Early Access on Steam and 50% off.

1. Turn-based mode! A turn-based mode has been added to the game - the same as in the game Might & Magic 8. The mode is switched by the Enter key.

[...]

"Elmarion: the Lost Temple" is a real-time party-based first-person RPG in the spirit of games like Might and Magic, Wizardry, Legend of Grimrock, Diablo.The player controls a squad of 4 brave adventurers.

Each hero can be one of 8 different classes: knight, archer, fire mage, ice mage, air mage, nature mage, cleric, necromancer.

During the game, the squad explores the dungeons and clears them of monsters using a combination of different abilities of each hero.

Each class of heroes has 10 unique skills. Thus, there are 80 different skills available in the game that you can try on your enemies!

Items and Equipment: Dungeons contain many great magic weapons and armor. Try them on the heroes.

Excess items can be sold in the "village" from a merchant and with the proceeds to buy valuable potions, scrolls, armor. To quickly move to the village, the game provides portals.

The game consists of one safe village and several dungeons: main, fire, ice, air, natural and some others.

History

The king of one of the kingdoms learned about an ancient powerful artifact hidden in an abandoned temple, and sent a detachment of brave adventurers after him, promising them a generous reward for this.Purpose of the game: to get this ancient powerful artifact. 

Couchpotato interviewed GrapeOcean Technologies, the developer of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness.

Link to article

A new dev log for Underrail: Infusion promises improved character models with the new engine.

Hi guys,

In this dev log, I'm going to give you a little sneak peek of what character customization will be possible in the new engine. Today, I'll only be showing and discussing male characters, but you can expect analogous customization for females as well.

As I mentioned in the previous dev log, we're now using PBR (physics based rendering) for characters. Might not be that apparent in the screenshot below, as all the characters are naked, but it'll definitely make a lot of difference once we start equipping them with gear made of different materials..

Of course, first and foremost, you'll finally be able to pick a skin color. Then you'll be able to select your hair style, beard and mustache styles and colors. Both skin and hair colors will be chosen from a predetermined list, so no orc, alien, or other unnatural silly characters will be allowed.

You'll also be able to choose a face from a predetermined list, though this will probably have the least visual impact due to the size at which models are rendered.

Characters also support having piercings, tattoos, scars and the like, but we'll see how we're going to make these accessible to player. For the most part, you'll probably not be able to choose these at characters creation, but will instead have to earn them along the way.

The most important feature, for me at least, is the body type variety. This you will not be able to pick freely, but instead, your visual body type will correspond to your physical attributes: strength, agility, and constitution. Strength will make you bigger, while agility will make you leaner. Constitution has a more complex interaction with your visual appearance as it is both a measure of physical sturdiness and endurance.

These things will also, generally, apply to the NPCs, so you'll be able to gauge their physical properties from their appearance.

That's it for now. I know a lot of you are very interested to see some environment screenshots, so hopefully we can get those out relatively soon as well. I think you'll be quite impressed with the upgrade from the previous game.

Cheers.

The dungeon crawler / shooter-RPG Earth's Shadow has been released into Early Access:

Earth's Shadow

Earth's Shadow is a third person action Sci-Fi dungeon crawler set in the year 3081 on planet Sumbra; a remote alien planet where legends of valuable relics surround this black world, calling to the greedy and brave explorers seeking a bright future... but end up uncovering an even darker past.

Working a dead-end job... Alexi-Ru, a cyborg CSP (cargo ship pilot), tends to fill the void-ness of his boring flight job by day-dreaming of the mysterious stories surrounding planet Sumbra, aka Earth's Shadow.

In the year 3081, the original Earth and it's galaxy has been dead for centuries, and although a few humans still exist, colonized in far away sectors... Earth's legacy is not forgotten with some even referring to Sumbra, as the shadow of Earth.

Intrigued by Earth's history, Alexi-Ru often finds himself flying millions of light-clicks off his normal cargo route just to speed by the mysterious planet, hoping to catch a glimpse of something on the alien surface via radar that might force him to slow down or possibly even stop.

Eventually Alexi-Ru's curiosity is justified when his ship encounters a malfunction one night, while passing by the tiny planet, forcing him to crash-land on the surface he dreamed of so often on previous flights.

Alexi-Ru remembers his attention right before the impending crash, focused on an un-jostled book, thrown from a compartment during the violent atmosphere re-entry, titled... "When Day-Dreams Turn To Nightmares"

"That doesn't mean anything," mumbles Alexi-Ru, trying to re-assure himself as he arms himself with a Tec-9000 semi-automatic and sets forth to explore... Earth's Shadow.

Features

• Three different game modes: ROGUE, ADVENTURE or STORY mode (Never lose progress or equipment)
  Fully Voiced NPC Characters
• Role Playing Shooter (RPS) - Level up your character while building your stats to become a powerful cyborg
• Explore and uncover secrets from an ancient alien civilization
• Find and equip weapons and tech with dynamic stats and modifiers
• Crawl through procedural and custom locations
• Adjustable DIFFICULTY settings to allow for an easier or more challenging experience
• All loot is random, allowing each playthrough to be a completely different experience

Movies Games and Tech has reviewed Outward Definitive Edition:

Review: Outward Definitive Edition

A crafting survival RPG that strays into simulation territory as it wants you to do everything yourself, Outward – an RPG of the fantasy variety – removes all modern conveniences from fast travel to levelling up, making you walk every inch of the map and defeat enemies just to get you meal to meal. 

This is mostly in the name of exploration and discovery rather than quest-led gameplay as you pull out your own bed, grab a huge cooking pot and stare at the stars when it’s become too dark to continue exploring. As the trailer states ‘Forget what other games have taught you’, Outward certainly does head in a different direction to what you might expect – a somewhat realistic one. 

[...]

Outward is quite the divisive title and will likely continue to be a dichtomy amongst gamers. Some will love the lack of hand holding, the long walks and the creative combination of crafting and survival gameplay, while others will pick apart its average implementation and frustrating mechanics. It is often said that when trying to write a story, it is helpful to think of the ending first and write backwards. Outward seems to think that the gameplay needs to be much the same, putting the onus on the player to make it fun through a significant time investment and hoping something sticks, instead of first making the formula fun.

Score: 6/10

Black Geyser got an update with a full companion quest, localizations (more to come) and bug fixes:

Arvex Companion Quest, Russian And Turkish Localization & More!

Black Geyser is now available in Russian and Turkish, while Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese are in progress!

Greetings, adventurers!

The current update not only brings a fully finished Arvex companion quest along with several fixes and improvements, but we are also thrilled to announce that Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness
is now available in Turkish and Russian! Our eternal thanks goes to Gökhan Halil Düzgün from 23 Studios for the Turkish translation, and to Roman "Scarab-Phoenix" Matsuk for the Russian translation of the game.

Additionally, we are happy to share that the Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese translations are now in progress! Regarding other languages, we will update you as soon as we have more information.

For more information on why some localizations arrive sooner than others, please take a look at this Steam post. 

[...]

Thanks Redglyph!

Here's a gameplay sneak peek for the dungeon crawler Dungeons of the Amber Griffin:

Dungeons of the Amber Griffin - Fight (Gameplay Sneak Peek)

Some  character classes in Knights of the Chalice II got an upgrade:

Update #61: KotC 2 Version 1.43 Upgrades The Barbarian, Rogue And Monk!

Hello everyone! The latest version of KotC 2 is version 1.43. It can be downloaded here for both Windows and macOS. It can also be downloaded on Steam and GOG. In the past month, I've been focusing mainly on the upgrade of three character classes: the Barbarian, Rogue and Monk. I've also spent time on the upgrade of the code in order to accelerate gameplay.

Here are the details of the upgrade of each class.

[...]

Vagrus: The Riven Realms got a new patch:

A New Build is OUT - Patch 1.1.21 - Codename: Spectacular

Hey everyone,

Originally, we haven’t scheduled a patch before the next DLC, but since that is still in progress and you’ve reported a few larger bugs – which is always much appreciated – we decided to release one anyway. The new major scouting features are still being tested, however, we squeezed in a few smaller changes into this build, so it’s more than just a simple hotfix. Event image panning is a new effect you may have heard of already, while House Venari and the Carpenters’ Guild becoming one another’s associates is a meaningful change in the life of the comitati roaming Terra Supra.

Furthermore, we have turned on ‘Cloudsaves’. It’s supposed to be easy-peasy but getting the config and cross-platforms sync right took longer than we initially anticipated. Nevertheless, we managed to crack it eventually! Please give us a shout if it works or not. Thank you!
Important for macOS users: if you cannot find your save files, please refer to this post about the possible folders they may be located in.

Now let's jump into the patch details.

Important Note: Considering the extent of the improvements, there is little to no chance that we broke nothing in the process. Assume that we did not want to make anyone's life harder. If you see something amiss, please flag it to us using the usual channels, like the inbuilt reporting tool (F1 button), forums, and our Discord server.

--------------------------------------------------
Patch 1.1.21 - Codename: Spectacular

Content update

• Carpenters Guild and House Venari are each other's associates from now on
• Some crew stats (mostly Reptile beasts’) have been slightly tweaked

User Interface Improvements

• Event and Settlement image panning added
• Closing enlarged settlement picture with ESC now works
• Finndurarth's Fly II skill will not change skill slots

Bug Fixes

• Deploy max number of characters is working properly again (no more exploits here, sorry)
• Dead Weight related crash fixed
• Bladedance layering fixed
• Taunted AI improved

What’s Coming Up Next

• Scouting Changes
• Glossary (beta)
• Knowledge Ambition (Codex-related victory)
• Sunken Tower free DLC

Currently Known Issues:

• Escort tasks-related anomalies
• Crew combat chance percentages are sometimes shown in reverse

Stay tuned and conquer the wasteland!
- The Lost Pilgrims Team

Watcher Kordanor has finished and published his review about the old school dungeon crawler E.X.P.L.O.R.: A New World:

EXPLOR - Review / Conclusion [EN] by Kordanor

[...]
I wished that EXPLOR did more according to what the name implies...as in Exploring. Exploring of alien Planets. Having an adventure. I would be fine with low production values, similarly as in the Spiderweb games, if the game offered good world building with great storywriting or if it offered great combat mechanics.

But unfortunately that's not the case here. It's nice that the game does have at least a few texts and NPCs with quests, but overall there is really just a very minimum of storytelling here. And while I would neither classify the Dungeons, nor the Combat, nor the Characterdevelopment as catastrophy, they are just means to an end. If just one of the main elements of the game was great, you could have looked over the other ones. But as it is, the overall experience can't really convince.

Fortunately EXPLOR does at least throw those mechanics overboard, which annoyed me the most in The Bards Tale 1, in the original as well as in the remake. You will neither find endless grind in EXPLOR nor the misery of randomized level ups. And so personally I would definitely chose EXPLOR over The Bards Tale. That said, the HD Version of The Bards Tale 1, originally from 1985, only received the lowest score from me, as I always rate depending on the gaming experience a game offers today, independently of the budget being used to create the game.

And I can't give more than a thumb half way down to EXPLOR either.

Even the average Crawlerfan (if something like that should actually exist) who would look over the presentation of the game in the steam-trailer, would probably not be convinced by the content the game offers, and I'd rather recommend other indie titles like "Legends of Amberland" or "The Quest".

If, even after this review, you think like "I don't mind, I just want to chill and kill some monsters", then you might still get some enjoyment from the game. And considering it's price is less than 7€ or 8 USD, and accordingly even less in a sale, you can't really do anything wrong in the case you still want to give it a try. 

A big update for Stellar Tactics has arrived which introduces Psionics and new story content.

The first major story update since the game released is now available. Over the last few years I have been primarily focused on all the core game systems - ground and space combat, salvaging, crafting, trade, special attacks, perks, progression, the ship boarding system and more. It's been great to spend the last few months actually working on the story...finally. This is the first of three major story content updates what will bring the game closer to final release. I hope you all enjoy the new content!

KEY FEATURES

Chapter 1 of the Stellar Tactics story. New missions, new encounters.
To trigger the story content you must:
1) Unlock the FTL drive
2) Unlock smuggling. Speak with Forley Coresh on Achmedius trade station standing near the bar area of the station by the stairs and complete his mission. Everyone should be able to smuggle contraband...right? Doesn't mean you need to do it.

There are several places in the narrative where you will need to wait for a NPC to contact you. Just go about your business for a 1/2 hour or so, and eventually, when entering FTL space, you will receive a communication that moves the story forward. This includes the start of the new content where you will be contacted after a period of time.

You will be heading into deep space and there will be higher level ships in various areas you will travel through. Remember, you can always micro-warp to escape ship combat. So, not a big deal...really.

I highly recommend getting the best FTL drive you can afford. Slogging through FTL space with a low tier FTL drive is - well...slow. The piloting perk tree has ship speed perks and tiers that increase your speed.

Just my 2 credits - don't rush the content. Take time to place beacons, take missions if you can and build your crew.

Make sure to place beacons in the systems you will visit. You may need to return and translocating is the fastest way to get back when you need to.

PSIONICS

--Psionics are powered by a special device - the Psionic Amplifier - a reward granted when playing through the story. This device is equipped in the sidearm slot on any one crew member.
--There is only one Psionic Amplifier. There are no upgrades and they do not drop as loot.
--Instead of improved variants dropping, the player is given a lot of control over how the device works.
--The device cannot be sold or destroyed.
--The Psionic Amplifier requires at least 20 BASE INT to equip. That is a PURE 20 INT not modified by equipment bonuses. It does not have a skill type that levels like other weapons. It does not have perks or mod slots. Instead, the device has a rudimentary interface that lets you create and edit psionic amplifications - the Psionic Editor. The higher your INT/PER, the more power you have to overload and to add a secondary effect to amplifications.
--The power of psionic amplifications is governed by INT and partially by PER. Bonus INT and PER above your BASE INT does affect your amplifications.
--INT and PER are the key STATS for psionics. INT has the greatest effect and PER provides a lower bonus. So, respec to INT/PER and loot that +INT/+PER gear.
--The power of your amplifications related to INT/PER is expressed as available MIND. As your stats increase, the amount of available MIND increases. Through the use of the Psionic Editor, you will notice that INT/PER increase the power of amplifications and reduce the possibility of damaging your crew member.
--There is no limiting resource to Psionic amplifications. That is, you can use psionics indefinitely unless you are overloading and then Medkits are a resource you want available.
--Psionics cannot sprint. Instead, their specials for the sidearm slot are locked and used as reference and to access the Psionic Editor.
--For psionics, it's important to understand "Initiative" which is used to calculate turn order. Initiative is calculated primarily from DEX and AGI with a bonus from INT. So, you will likely want to pump some stat points into DEX or AGI depending on whether or not your primary weapon is ranged or melee. 

[...]

Henriquejr spotted a new community update for the strategy RPG Wartales:

Community Update #4 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content and full Chinese localisation!

Attention mercenaries!

We’re very proud to release to you all the fourth community update for Wartales! This update is built primarily around some of the most popular community requests we've been receiving, addresses and implements a number of issues and suggestions we've seen over the last few months and massively changes multiple aspects of the game!

In addition, following a very successful beta period, the much requested Chinese localisation is now live!

So... let's take a look at what's new!

各位玩家，欢迎来玩。

Chinese language has been implemented and is now available in game.

SYSTEM UPDATE - Fleeing merchants!
When you attack a merchant caravan, the merchant units and their ponies will try to flee the fight while their mercenaries will fight you. Catch them before they run away with their cargo!

SYSTEM UPDATE - Suspicion
After much feedback, we wanted to allow more freedom and risk-taking with the suspicion system.
In this sense, the suspicion is now divided into 5 wanted levels of 100 points each. You become wanted when you pass the first level and each level will make your life more difficult by sending more powerful and better prepared patrols with waves of reinforcements.
Unlike now, you will also be able to steal while being wanted unless you have reached the final search level which makes you public enemy n°1. At this stage, we don't give a damn about your skin...
To round off this update, we've also reviewed the various bonuses and penalties for suspicion.
If you're feeling like a thief, then brace your horses and get ready to run!

SYSTEM UPDATE - Choose your companies specialities
Following your feedback, we have decided to limit the randomness in the leveling of your units. In this sense, we have implemented a new knowledge that allows you to spend Influence to allocate your units' Attribute points as you wish and keep total control over your companions' evolution.

SYSTEM UPDATE - Partially-controlled ally!
Your extensive feedback on the subject has helped us to improve the ally system. So now, for each ally that fights alongside you, you can now select a stance that gives you more control: Flee, Defense or Attack. Meaning no more incidents of your allies randomly marching themselves to their doom…

NEW Tomb of the Ancients!
Recent excavations have uncovered a new ruin at Tiltrën.

[...]

With seven days to go the shamanic tactical RPG The White Raven has already been funded on Kickstarter:

The White Raven - A Tactical Open-World RPG is now LIVE ON KICKSTARTER

The dungeon crawler Dungeons of the Amber Griffin has been announced for 2023:

Dungeons of the Amber Griffin - Announcement Trailer

Get ready for an exciting journey through the world of the Mystical Kashubia. Learn the beliefs of ancient Pomeranians and deal with the monsters that have begun to roam the area. While defeating the monsters, gather information for a bestiary, based on Kashubian stories.

Bestiary
In cooperation with the Museum of Kashubian and Pomeranian Literature and Music in Wejherowo, we have created a Kashubian fantasy world, unique and unprecedented in cRPG games.

Unique character classes
Create a team of four daredevils with various skills useful in combat. Choose character classes such as, e.g. WÒJÔRZ (Warrior), DULAS (Rogue), ŻÉRCA (Priest), KÙTIN (Mage) and decide on their development.

Skill System
As you advance your team, you will decide on the direction of development, which will have a major influence on the combat mechanics. Passive skills will allow you to survive tough fights or enhance base skills such as allowing you to carry more items.

In-Game Items
Collect equipment for your team that will help you survive in the dark fantasy world. Weapons, armor, artifacts, magic scrolls, gold and necessary provisions are all available within the game world. During your journey you will learn a lot of unique items available in Kashubia, such as healing plants, poisonous mushrooms and the Kashubian runic system called Merki.

Magic
As you gain experience in the game, you will unlock new spells in the magic books. You will have battle spells at your disposal to help you fight monsters and demons. Passive spells will protect your team and enhance the effect of magic items.

Map of the World
We have created the world of Magical Kashubia based on real geographic locations. The names of the places come from the Kashubian language, which is an endangered language, but still used by the community living in the region of northern Poland.

NPC
In the world of Magical Kashubia, you will meet many interesting people with whom you will be able to talk, trade and perform smaller or larger tasks. The stories of the inhabitants are strongly supported by the actual beliefs and prejudices of Kashubians.

Real legends
The main plot of the game is related to the figure of a griffin who, according to one of Kashubian legends, hid a huge lump of amber in an unknown place in Kashubia.
Even at the beginning of the 20th century, in Kashubia, there were cases where the corpses of the deceased were dug up and their heads cut off with a special peat shovel. People believed that these were the so-called wieszczi or òpi, who – after death – rose from the grave to kill members of their family. 

Thanks Pappy!

Henriquejr spotted a new update for Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children:

[Notice] Contents Update and System Maintenance Announcement

Hello everyone, this is the Troubleshooter development team.

We beg to inform you that the game contents update and system maintenance.

During the maintenance, players who use the Online mode can't play the game.
Please end the game normally before the maintenance begins.
During the maintenance, players who use the Offline mode can play the game.

Maintenance Schedule
Daylight saving time is not applied.
Date: July 15th, 2022
Friday 10:00 ~ 12:00 CET
Friday 17:00 ~ 19:00 JST
Friday 01:00 ~ 03:00 PST
Friday 08:00 ~ 10:00 UTC

Update Details:

• Added a level 45 normal case 'End of the dark - Dust Wind Highway Garage'.
• You can select this once you complete the scenario mission 'For me.. - Silver Cloud Backstreet'.
  Added the Duel Battle to the Joint Training.
• You can select it once you completed the tutorial for the Occupation Battle.
• Added the unique items to the Valkyrie shop of the NPC on the Shooter Street to allow players buy them again if players lost them by selling or salvaging them.
• Added an additional effect on the legendary class items below:
  Frostmourne Bangle
  Breaking Sword
  Pink Horn
  Eluote
  Blood-red Ogre Wrist Guard
  Pink Horn's Wrist Guard

Changed the effect of modules below:

[...]

Changed the extracting the material so that you can check the expected extract in advance.
Changed the Decoy Hologram not to be affected by the Bleeding and Poison.
Changed the keyboard shortcut for the 'Hide Interface' from Ctrl + U to Shift + U.

Fixed a bug that some enemies equipped wrong items and was affected by wrong item options.

Thank you.

NGN has reviewed the Metroidvania Souldiers:

Souldiers Review

A soldier's work is never done

Anyone who has dabbled with Metroidvanias knows that patience is at the heart of the experience. They often test your tolerance as you spend endless hours exploring every inch of moribund environments, constantly circling back on yourself like a carousel ride until you eventually find the right path to your destination. Souldiers, the debut game from Retro Forge Games, has made patience the main ingredient for their dish as both Metroidvania and Souls-like mechanics are stirred together in a 2D side-scrolling world.
After an eye-catching animesque opening, the story kicks off in the Kingdom of Zarga, which is at the height of a bloody war. The court magician orders a regiment of soldiers to ambush the enemy forces by infiltrating a cave, but after a devastating earthquake, the squadron becomes trapped. Out of nowhere, a Valkyrie appears and promises the troops another shot at life if they enter the mysterious land of Terragaya. From here, you pick one of three Souldiers that follow their comrades into the unknown realm. Not too long afterwards, many of your fellow soldiers are slaughtered by ruthless monsters, and it quickly becomes apparent that this new world is just as cruel and unforgiving as the last.

[...]

Souldiers is a worthwhile venture if you are someone who is seeking a brutalising challenge. The retro graphics are also an absolute delight to gaze upon as you traverse through various environments, cunningly using the terrain to your advantage in battle. Although, there is no sugar-coating that the plot is middle-of-the-road, and the technical issues can hinder the final acts. However, if you don't mind rolling with the punches, inside and outside of battle, then you're in for a good time.

Score: 70/100

Mortismal Gaming checked out Outward:

Outward: Definitive Edition - Review After 100%

SplatterCatGaming checked out the Early Access title Death Trash:

Death Trash - Post Apocalyptic Open World RPG

Rat Tower Software posted a new Kickstarter update for Monomyth:

Quick Update: Backer Content Rewards | Slacker Backer Option

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Just a short update: I have sent out the e-mails for backer-created content rewards. If you have backed the project at the "Lysandrian Knight" level or higher, you should have received a short message with a form to fill out. If you have not received such an e-mail please get in touch with me via michael[at]rattower.com. You can take your time filling out the form since backer-created content will probably be added to the game last. I will notify you in time when the deadline is coming up.

Due to popular demand, I have also re-opened the slacker backer option, which can be found here:

[...]

All rewards are the same as on Kickstarter. The slacker backer option will be open until the end of the month. So if you know anyone that wanted to back the project last year but could not at the time, you can send them this link.

As for the project itself: The beta is going well. The testers and I are locating and fixing bugs almost every day. Since the last update, there have been numerous hotfixes, adjusting menus, gameplay mechanics, visuals, etc

[...]

Thanks Redglyph!

Vagrus: The Riven Realms got a new patch:

A New Build is OUT - Patch 1.1.20 - Codename: Roamers of the Wasteland

This patch brings new features and changes to existing mechanics

Hello all,

The team has been hard at work on a variety of impactful changes; this build is the culmination of those changes in the lead-up to our upcoming free content: The Sunken Tower (DLC). A teaser about the Tower and its associated knowledge victory questline is coming soon.

The build itself introduces several quality of life improvements to general gameplay, including Quick Camp, automarch, daytime hunting and foraging, and automatic supply acquisition. The goal of these changes is to streamline core gameplay loops and minimize micromanagement for players who enjoy those less while still leaving the same options open for others. For more information about specifics regarding these changes you can view our recent devlog post, which covers each change in detail and check out our summary video below:

Important Note: Considering the extent of the improvements, there is little to no chance that we broke nothing in the process. Assume that we did not want to make anyone's life harder. If you see something amiss, please flag it to us using the usual channels, like the inbuilt reporting tool (F1 button), forums, and our Discord server.

Patch 1.1.20 - Codename: Roamers of the Wasteland

New Features

• Daytime Supply Acquisition (aka Hunting and Foraging)
• Set up Auto Supply Acquisition rules during camp
• Automarch option
• Quick camp option

Bug Fixes

• Slice and Dice animation sped up
• Overwatch skills now break move+attack skills
• Conduit now has its proper POW animation
• Various smaller fixes/polish

Coming up next

• Scouting design changes
• Glossary (beta)
• Sunken Tower free DLC
• Knowledge Ambition (a Codex-related victory path) and related quests

Stay tuned and conquer the wasteland!
- The Lost Pilgrims Team

The beta phase of the dungeon crawler Monomyth has started:

Monomyth - June Update

Beta Start
Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Monomyth's closed beta has finally started! Those of you, who backed the game at the "Seventh Oath Cleric" level (€ 125) should have received their invitation mail by now. In case you haven't, please do not hesitate to contact me via contact@rattower.com.

The first beta phase will still be a bit of a bumpy ride with many bugs and some missing features. It is mostly a focus test for the new code base and the first area of the game (hence the name Beta 0). What follows now is a constant loop of feedback and patches that will push the project closer and closer to a stable release.

In that regard, the game already received various hotfixes over the weekend. Among other things, these fixes included the following:

• Slimes are no longer invincible
• Various level design fixes
• Swimming should be much less of a pain now (still not entirely painless)
• Comfortability features + fixed bugs in container GUIs
• Some adjusted/corrected dialogue options
• Books should display correctly while being carried around
• Torches burn longer and burnt-out torches are now placed in the inventory
• The GUI for money should update correctly now
• Fixed a bug that would respawn the player in a mysterious Ankh room
• Fixed a collision problem that made leaning impossible
• Visual updates to the environment

And so on. At least until next week, I will still focus on hotfixes of this nature. After that, I will start focusing on the first beta content patch. Speaking of which, the roadmap for the coming months looks as follows:

Update 1: To close the gap between the beginning of the game and the current beta content I will first reintroduce the "Serpent's Bastion" - the area you may already know from the demo. In the full version, this area will be slightly extended. In the same patch, item balancing will be overhauled as well.

Update 2: This patch will include the game's main settlement as well as the updated trading systems. It will also include some portions of the game that may not be accessible until later but are possibly interesting for testing at this point.

Update 3: This patch will introduce the area below the heartlands, where players will really start their vertical descent into the depths of Ariath. Releasing this patch will probably take the most time because the area in it is still at a very early stage of development.

Update 4: This patch will introduce the most classic dungeon crawling experience Monomyth has to offer. Lots of dark hallways, lots of traps, lots of tough enemies. Stressful and my personal favorite at this point. The development of this area has already progressed nicely.

Update 5: This patch will introduce the final area of the game. This area is slightly smaller than the others. The core focus of testing here will likely be level mechanics, as well as the conclusion of the main quest.

Polishing: At this point in time the content creation phase should be concluded. After that, I might open the beta to all backers or go for a short early access phase before the final release.

And that's the entire plan for the beta. Some parts may still be adapted in terms of scope but overall this is how I will attempt to push the project forward. Something that will be helping me in this regard is a highly useful debug tool I implemented some time ago. This tool is, by the way, also available to beta testers. You can bring up the GUI by pressing "K".

Due to popular demand, I will also be re-opening the Kickstarter Encore (slacker-backer option). I will send out a short update about this later this week. The same goes for the backer-created content rewards.

Until then!

Best wishes,
Michael

Thanks Henriquejr!

Redglyph spotted devlog #61 for Vagrus: The Riven Realms:

Devlog #61 | Feature Request Update & New Features

A devlog post about planned features

Hello All,

Back in October, when we published the game, we opened up a pinned discussion on our Steam Community Hub where our players were encouraged to post improvement ideas. The topic received 82 posts containing hundreds of ideas. We’ve been monitoring them but between managing a steady supply of ad hoc issues, hiring new Pilgrims, and creating and publishing the Vorax DLC, we didn’t have much time to give the matter the attention it deserves – until recently!

After combing through these posts, we then further consolidated repeated requests and related ones, eventually arriving at the list of 48 suggestions shown below. From there, we were able to discuss, debate, and eventually categorize everything to a point where we could move forward with development for those features.

After examining and considering various suggestions, it quickly became clear that the most talked-about improvements were pertaining to map movement, camping, and scouting. As a result, we ended up focusing on the first two of these, and we will be releasing a new build with a variety of additional features that correspond to the requests made in the near future. In this post, we would like to discuss a few of those features.

New Features

Automarch and Quick Camp

Quick Camp and Automarch will make exploring the Wasteland easier and more efficient. While they will be turned off by default, you will be able to turn them on in the Options menu under Game Settings.

Toggling Automarch on will make it so that when you choose to travel beyond your normal Movement Points (MP) limit, your comitatus will proceed forward and expend March Points automatically. With this feature toggled off, you will instead automatically stop moving when you run out of MPs.

Multiple quality of life changes have been made to camping, too. First off, you will no longer need to go to a node before deciding to camp, you may now also simply click the normal camp icon at your destination node, and when you get there, the camp UI will pop up automatically.

Quick Camp, on the other hand, is an entirely new feature. When toggled on through Game Settings, it will give you an additional option from the radial menu when you travel, which allows you to instantly camp, ending the day without the usual camp UI popping up. Quick Camp will use all the settings you have locked in from your previous regular camp, such as how much you wish to pay your crew or how many rations you want to give them.

The below image shows exactly how these features will look: the top left tent icon will make your camp UI pop up when you reach that destination, while the colored tent icon is for Quick Camp.

Daytime Supply Acquisition

As an alternative to acquiring supplies when you camp and end the day, you will be able to also acquire supplies during the day! This can often be useful, as the node you choose to hunt or forage on may have a significant impact on the results.

In almost all cases, this will cost 2 Movement Points (MP). If you do not have any remaining MP, it will instead cost 1 Vigor. You can send out multiple hunting and foraging expeditions during a day, though these will face increasing penalties depending on the outcome of previous attempts.

Supply Auto-acquisition settings

You might also notice that we have renamed the whole process to ‘Acquire Supplies’, partly because of another new feature we will be integrating, namely, ‘Auto-acquire Supplies’. This feature functions just how it sounds: it allows the player to set predetermined conditions that will automatically get your workers, scouts, and slaves to the task of hunting and foraging, provided that the node you occupy meets those conditions.

In the example below you can see the new feature in action; the top slider below each category represents the minimum chance of success for that action to be triggered when you next strike camp. Here, the auto-action requires an average base chance of success of 48% for hunting and 30% for foraging, respectively. Below that, we can see another slider that represents the minimum average supply yield from a node, which can function as an independent condition or together with the above slider, simply by toggling the two buttons that sit between them.

That’s all for today. We will be releasing our new build shortly (probably next week), and are currently developing a large piece of free DLC content: The Sunken Tower.
A teaser about the Tower and its associated knowledge victory questline is coming very soon.

Until then – as always – stay safe and conquer the wasteland!
The Lost Pilgrims Team