Hi folks, with only a few things left to wrap up, the focus remains on your input and suggestions. If you have ideas or things you would like to see in the game before we leave early access, let me know. The "official" release will not mark the end of new content or stories. It is just a milestone, but making radical changes to systems and mechanics after that point may be difficult or impossible. I still want to expand a certain story, and after that it comes down to what you want.

Speaking of feedback and mechanics, let's talk about crafting. The consensus was that it felt underwhelming, since it was usually cheaper to buy items outright, and learning recipes meant either endless book hunting or tedious trial and error with ingredients. Neither was fun. So, let's see what's new in that front.

Crafting Overhaul

This latest update brings major improvements to the crafting system, making it more rewarding and approachable. Tools can be shared across the party, deconstructing items instantly teaches their recipes without guesswork, and prices across the economy have been rebalanced so crafting always yields a profit. Taking on contracts tied to goods you can craft makes the profit margin even bigger.

However, crafting certain tools may now have additional requirements, such as Smithing, while exotic weapons will often require both Smithing and Enchanting. Beyond its immediate effect on the economy, this also opens up new avenues for crafting item types and upgrading gear in the future.

Deconstruct

Deconstruct replaces Destroy on eligible items until you learn the recipe. This applies to every item that currently has a recipe.

The option to deconstruct, if available, will always show up on the item, so you'll know right away if something is craftable. However, you must first meet all skill and tool requirements to deconstruct items. In this case, your party needs a hammer, which the popup informs me about. Other items might require certain skill ranks.

If anyone in my party has a hammer, I can deconstruct the quarterstaff to learn its recipe.

Once I learn the recipe, I can start mass-producing these weapons, either for my party or to sell.

Ok, after I find the missing ingredients, that is.

What about my profit? 109, which is pretty good in this case. Of course, this will vary depending on the regional economy. You may find the bones cheaper elsewhere, and so on.

New Skills, Perks and Actions

The skill system has also been expanded with four new skills: Perform, Cooking, Smithing, and Enchanting. Each comes with its own perks, recipes, and actions.

Smithing, Enchanting, and Cooking are primarily crafting skills, but they also provide various bonuses to your build along the way.

There are also numerous important bug fixes and other improvements throughout the game.

But, you can read more details in the patch notes below.

That's all for today, folks.

Patch Notes - 08/09/25 # 0.8.20

Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue where wounded actors could enter combat with negative HP (e.g. after a skirmish).

• Fixed an issue in the combat log where wounds displayed more HP lost than the actor's actual HP.

• Fixed an issue where wounds could reduce an actor's HP below 1.

• Skirmishes where the hostile band is wounded but the leader was killed now resolve instantly instead of leading to combat.

• Fixed an issue with the Llanford Lake romance scene that did not correctly account for the gender of the romantic interest.

• Fixed an issue with "Mortar and Pestle" and "Ink and Quill" not being parsed correctly by the requirements processor.

• Added the missing perk benefits for the vampiric bloodlines of the Veil and the Verdant Abyss.

• Fixed some typos in various conversations.

Skills & Perks

• Added Cooking, Smithing, Perform, and Enchanting as skills.

• Added new Cooking perks. Cooking is now used instead of Survival when performing the cooking duty in Camp.

• Added new Smithing perks, recipes and materials.

• Added new Enchanting perks, recipes, and materials.

• Added new Perform perks and combat actions.

• Existing Perform-related items now give a roll bonus to Perform instead of a flat bonus.

• Herbalism and Alchemy perks now teach recipes for consumable potions instead of infinitely usable ones.

Crafting & Items

• Introduced crafting recipes for weapons.

• Added new ingot types, enchanting materials and their recipes.

• Certain crafting recipes now also require Smithing.

• Some potions have quietly vanished from alchemist shelves; they can now only be crafted or found as loot.

• Merchants that sell food, such as Olivia in Llanford or Gretta in Heygrove, will now also sell cooking ingredients like salt and onions.

• Items with recipes can now be deconstructed as long as you meet their recipe requirements. Deconstructing teaches you the recipe but destroys the item in the process. Deconstruct replaces Destroy on eligible items until you learn the recipe.

• Party members can now share tools when crafting. If any party member has a required item for a recipe, it will qualify even if it is not in your own inventory.

Economy & Balance

• Adjusted the prices of ingredients, materials, and crafted item recipes. Crafting now almost always yields a small to medium profit.

• Adjusted the prices and rebalanced various Alchemy, Herbalism, Cooking, and crafted items.

• Further improvements and tweaks to crafting recipes and economy.

Editor & Tools

• In the actions editor, actions that can be crafted now list their ingredients under linked actions.

• Added filters for recipe 'loss' and 'profit>=x' in the actions editor.

• Added a button to generate placeholder actions for Rarity variants in the Actions Editor.

• Implemented the "Artwork" field in actions. It allows specifying artwork instead of using the item name; otherwise, it should be left empty.

Hi folks,

This is our second community update, built from your feedback, bug reports, and ideas. Every suggestion helps shape the game, and when it fits the vision, I’ll make it happen. So keep them coming.

In the meantime, I’m officially back from vacation and working on new content and story additions.

What’s new this time?

The combat log has been expanded with more detail and clarity. It now shows when conditions are gained or lost, and when effects like Opportunity or Feint actually trigger. With a few readability tweaks, it should be much easier to keep track of everything happening in battle. Anything else you’d like to see there? Let me know.

Portrait selection now includes a checkbox that lets you display every portrait in the game without restrictions.

The discoveries log has been improved as well. Looted items can be clicked to view their tooltip, making it easy to check details without opening your inventory.

Tutorials have been reworked to feel less intrusive. Once seen, they won’t repeat, and you can revisit them anytime in the codex. A new crafting tutorial has also been added after looting Ennathil’s supplies.

There aren’t many tutorials yet, but more will come as we move toward 1.0. If there’s something you’d like a guide for, let me know and I’ll add it.

Oxgate now has a proper inn, which will only appear on saves made before you first visited the town.

Finally, this update includes various UI tweaks and a round of bug fixes.

If you're reporting a bug, please include your player.log and a zipped copy of your save folder, both located at: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\LocalLow\\Spyridon Thalassinos\\Erannorth 3 Renaissance

Send them to 'support@erannorth.com'. Having these files makes it much easier to pinpoint issues and frees up more time for me to work on your suggestions and new content. If you’re running mods, please disable them first to confirm whether the issue still occurs.

Looking forward to your feedback and ideas as we push toward 1.0. Thanks for your support and enjoy the game!

Patch Notes - 24/08/25 # 0.8.05

• Fixed an exception error that could occur after triggering Discovery P003.

• Fixed a potential error in the crafting UI during experimental crafting and after using the last item in a stack.

• Viperfang Rod now properly applies Poison.

• Added support for tooltips in the discoveries log. Looted items can now be clicked to view their tooltip.

• Added a close button to the discoveries log, as tooltip support prevents it acting itself as the closing trigger.

• Added an inn in Oxgate (requires a save made prior to visiting Oxgate).

• Seen tutorials are now tracked and will only display once. If you need a reminder, they can also be found in the codex.

• Added a crafting tutorial after looting Ennathil's supplies.

• Misc tweaks to improve the readability of the combat log.

• Increased the verbosity of the combat log. It now also displays when a condition is gained or lost.

• The combat log will also display more info on effects that don't apply conditions, such as Opportunity, Feint, etc.

• Minor UI tweaks.

• Added a new checkbox in portrait selection to display every portrait in the game without restrictions or filtering.

• Fatigue is now properly removed when a character transitions into a vampire.

• Misc Balance tweaks.

• Fixed some typos in various conversations.

Hi folks,

This latest hotfix addresses a potentially serious error when assigning duties to yourself in camp as a vampire, along with a few other changes and improvements I was working on at the time.

Hotfix - 08/08/25 # 0.7.92

- Fixed a potential exception error when assigning camp duties to yourself as a vampire.

- Fixed an issue that prevented overriding one of Reyla's portraits through mods.

- Fixed some typos in various conversations.

- Improved feedback and layout in the World Log.

- Improved feedback for discoveries.

- Added IsMember(string), IsActiveMember(string), Terrain(string), OnDowntime(string), HasNPCActivity(string, string, int), and CheckTimer(string) as EXTERNAL Ink Script binds.

- Added some extra templates in the Perk Editor's Generate Description method.

- Added extra passives for Animals and Undead summons' Damage and Armor. Summon Damage (Animal or Undead) and Summon Armor (Animal or Undead) will affect only Animal or Undead summons respectively.

- Balance tweaks in various perks. (The new changes won't affect your saved characters in any way if they already have these perks.)

Hi folks, this update is all about your ideas and input. Whether direct or indirect, I'll always consider it and implement it if it fits the game vision. Hopefully this is the first of many community driven updates on our way to 1.0. So keep the suggestions coming and I'll see what I can make happen.

So what's new?

First, there are increased safeguards for your progress and an important hotfix. Loading a game now verifies whether the file actually exists. Sounds obvious, but I hadn't considered this edge case since I always click the file to load. If you typed the filename incorrectly and then clicked load, bad things could happen. That’s now fixed.

Alongside the autosave system that saves your progress every in-game day, there are now two extra system saves. One before random encounters and one when you quit the game, as long as you're not in combat.

There's a new World Log that shows the results of all discoveries and their outcomes during your current session. It clears automatically after a number of entries to keep it manageable.

Vampire hunger and feeding have been tweaked to make them less punishing. A couple of new vampire perks increase satiation when feeding.

Polearms can now hit adjacent targets too, and discoveries will allow your party members to contribute their gear and tools.

There are a few more additions and tweaks, which you can check out in the patch notes below.

If you're reporting a bug, please include your player.log and a zipped copy of your save folder, both located at: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\LocalLow\\Spyridon Thalassinos\\Erannorth 3 Renaissance

Send them to support@erannorth.com. That makes it easier to pinpoint issues and gives me more time to focus on your suggestions and new content.

Looking forward to your feedback and ideas as we push toward 1.0. Thanks for your support and enjoy the game!

Patch Notes - 01/08/25 # 0.7.90

• Loading will properly check if the save is valid before starting the loading sequence and show a message if it isn't.

• The game will automatically save to two extra slots: after quitting and before a random encounter, to better safeguard your progress. The two new slots, System Save (Quit) and System Save (Avoid Encounter), use a slightly different color for easier distinction.

• Tweaked the barter UI so merchants now have a 4x6 grid instead of a 3x6 grid, reducing scrolling on larger inventories.

• Added a party icon in front of the discovery roll requirements popup to make it clearer that they are party rolls.

• Item requirements in discoveries will use the collective party inventory instead of just the party leader's.

• Consume in discoveries now removes the item from the first party member who has it.

• When harvesting nodes, such as during camping or encounters, the collective party inventory will be used to determine if you have the correct tool at your disposal or not.

• Changed the frame of neutral actors to blue instead of green to avoid the subconscious connotation that they are friendly units.

• Added map pins for the various marketplaces.

• Social Feeding now restores slightly more Hunger.

• Vampires now gain less Hunger than normal while active at night.

• Added two extra perks with the Blood Connoisseur passive to further improve feeding for higher level vampire characters.

• Added a button to toggle the World Log on or off. It currently records your most recent discoveries and their outcomes.

• Polearms with reach are now allowed to hit their adjacent tile as well.

Hi folks,

this hotfix fixes a few reported bugs and adds some new content, actions, and perks. Even though I'll be in low productivity and vacation mode until September, I'm still checking reports and will push out fixes as needed. Full development will kick back into full swing after that.

In the meantime, if you’re reporting a bug, you can still send your player.log and a zipped copy of your save folder, both located at:
C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\LocalLow\\Spyridon Thalassinos\\Erannorth 3 - Renaissance

and email them to support@erannorth.com.

It really helps pinpoint the issue and frees up more time to focus on adding new content. I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback, suggestions, and anything else you'd like to see as we head toward 1.0. Thanks for your support, and enjoy the game!

Hotfix - 25/07/25 # 0.7.85

• Fixed some narrative and logic issues during the parting scene with Augustin in the Guard Tower before the Taymoor Ruins.

• Added a fail-safe after the Watchtower to automatically fail any side quests that remain active but can no longer be completed past this stage.

• Fixed an issue where it was possible to head to the Watchtower before talking to the guard at Llanford's East Gate. This ensures you can't miss the warning that certain side quests become unavailable beyond that point.

• Fixed some typos in various conversations.

• Added Lua extension: `TieLooseEnds(questId)`, which will fail the specified quest if it is still in progress.

• Added a fallback discovery for tiles that don't have any discoveries.

• Added "My Stash" container in Harronwell Manor.

• Added 10 perks and actions in the new "Corruption" tree.

• Based on their story, certain companions will start with Corruption and gain access to parts of the new Corruption tree. However, only the main character can potentially max it out.

• Buffed several underpowered perks to improve their usefulness.

• Most of the changes and fixes in this hotfix will only apply to new games, or to games saved before recruiting the affected companions or playing through the affected conversations.

Hi folks, this is a small hotfix addressing a few reported bugs along with some modding-related fixes and additions.

Hotfix - 03/07/25 # 0.7.77

• Fixed an issue where Bounty contracts could, in certain cases, fail to clear the Journal UI properly.

• Fixed an issue where fishing nodes weren’t functioning as intended.

• Fixed a potential exploit where harvested nodes during Downtimes would respawn after reloading the game.

• Fixed an issue with custom Inks featuring combat and post-combat transitions not properly parsing the post-combat transition Ink.

• Fixed an issue with the Actions editor missing fields after creating Valuables.

• The spear is no longer consumed on a failed spear fishing attempt.

• Once you've uncovered where a bounty likes to hang out, you’ll now get the option to stake out the spot and wait for them to show up.

• Added support for custom Points of Interest (UserPOIs) via embedded metadata in the Requirements field of a PlaceDBEntry.

  • Requirements must contain UserPOI:true and a valid Tile:(x,y) ie. UserPOI:true, Tile:(32,43)

  • PlacesEditor.UpdateOrAddEntry() will detect UserPOIs and dynamically update runtime data structures, without requiring reloads or restarts.

  • Only one place can be bound per tile; if multiple mods point to the same tile, only the last mod will be used at runtime.

  • Use this system exclusively for places outside of towns.

Hi folks,

Our 9th major update, titled "Hamor," is now live for everyone. We covered the main features in the last two development journals, which you can find below if you missed them.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2657930/view/509583211988255519?l=english

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2657930/view/535479449747980934?l=english

We're now 11 months into Early Access, and it's safe to say that every core feature and region is in. This actually happened a bit ahead of schedule, though I always plan with a pessimistic timeline to avoid overpromising and underdelivering.

Which leads to the question many of you are probably thinking about. What about 1.0?

And what comes after?

You probably already know the answer. 1.0 will come when it is ready.

Whether that ends up being in 3 months or 5, or more, let me clarify something. Version numbers can be misleading. 1.0 sounds final, but in game development, that’s rarely the case. A game is done when its creators decide it is done, and that depends on vision, time, and resources. Ok, that is not entirely true. Many times it depends on external factors outside your control, like your bosses. But in this case, it is just me, and I sincerely hope 1.0 is just another beginning, but that’s not something I can promise right now.

We’ll of course talk more about what’s next in the coming weeks.

So let’s focus on the present.

With the roadmap complete, the focus now is on going beyond it. The foundation is strong. What remains is tuning, polishing, and expanding on what’s already there. That includes refining balance, improving and clarifying systems, adding more qol and tutorials, and more stories and events.

Just as important is your own feedback. Now’s a great time to jump in. Play, explore, and tell me what works for you and what doesn't. Do you feel the game is ready to graduate Early Access? If not what do you think is missing?

I’m here, and I’m listening. Whether it’s modding support, feature ideas, or tweaks you think belong in 1.0, I want to hear them. Your input has already shaped the game, and it will keep doing so. As for the rest of the summer, I’ll be taking it easy with the updates. You can expect the engines to run at full steam again come September.

In the meantime, you can find all the detailed changes and fixes in the patch notes below.

New Content

• Added a Quick Start option in Sandbox mode. It skips the quest to gather your party and significantly shortens the introduction, letting you jump into the action right away.

• Added tile and regional data for the Wasteland and Hamor regions.

• Added various merchants in Hamor.

• Added inn and shortcut interactions for Hamor.

• Added a harbor to access Hamor.

• Added discoveries for Desert, Dungeon & Ruin terrains.

• Added 10 new combat maps: Forest Encounter II, Arid Encounter II, Desert Encounter, Desert Encounter II, Cave Encounter 1,2,3, and Water Encounter, Ocean Encounter, Ruin Encounter

• New passive: {Terrain} Fatigue:x, traveling on the specified {terrain} causes x more or less fatigue.

• Added Codex entry for 'Terrain Fatigue' in passives.

• Added support for multi-environment camps. The SetCamp() Lua function will now automatically determine which camp to use.

• Added 9 new Camp maps: My Camp Ruins, Water, Arid, Forest, Plains, Desert, Hills, Cave & Marsh.

• Added a stash chest in the camp to store items for later use. Note that anything you place in it will only be accessible during camp downtimes.

• Added new camp duties: Gather Herbs, Gather Reagents, Harvesting, Catch Rats, Capture Thralls, Harvest Blood

• Added a Codex entry on camp duties, detailing their requirements and benefits.

Steam Deck Experience

• Slightly increased the size of tooltip text and other UI elements to improve readability on smaller screens, such as the Steam Deck.

• When using the Steam Deck, the game will display gamepad A & B icons instead of the mouse button icons.

• Settings will now be saved separately for the Steam Deck.

• Added support for displaying a floating keyboard on the Steam Deck.

• Moved the Save/Load input field to prevent the floating keyboard from overlapping it.

• The glyphs on the Continue Story button will now change based on whether you are using the Steam Deck or a mouse.

• Updated the tutorial images and texts to show the correct glyph for panning the map.

• Increased the relative size of various text elements to improve legibility.

• The glyphs on the Book descriptions will now change based on whether you are using the Steam Deck or a mouse.

• Increased the font size in the TileInspector.

• Added a setting to toggle the visual Fog of War on the world map. Unvisited tiles remain marked as unvisited.

• Added a setting to adjust world map graphic quality. You can choose between Quality, Balanced, and Performance.

Misc changes and Improvements

• While traveling at sea, Fatigue and Hunger will be restored automatically after a certain threshold.

• Slightly increased contract rewards.

• Tweaked regional economy profiles.

• Punch and Brutal Punch now have a cooldown of 1, they can be used once per turn.

• Increased the requirement for Galdorak War paint perks to level 2.

• The reward tooltip in Contracts will now also display any requirements and the base value of the item.

• Added a numerical indicator next to the SP and PP level-up arrows to show how many SP or PP you still have unassigned.

• Your party members now remember their duties and perform them automatically each time you end the day in camp.

• You can now assign limited camp duties to Brawn and Tricks (requires a new game or a save from before recruiting them)

• Any looted items from camp duties will now be properly logged

• Task difficulty now depends on the region's average level rather than your own max rank level. This means that an easy task in a low-level area like Llanford won't be the same as one in a higher-level area like Doven.

• In the Conversations UI, added a button to quickly show your skills, your combined party skills, or an individual party member's skills. Since they are displayed as icons, you can hover over them for more details if you're unsure which skill is which. You can also display the relative chance of succeeding in Easy, Moderate & Hard rolls at your level. The estimated percentages of success will take the current region into account.

• Updated the Codex entry on Skill Checks.

• Supply contract Farthings reward will now be set to the base value of the requested items plus a 25% profit.

• Highest estimated success chance in the skills popup will now display as 95% to reflect that it's an estimated average and that failure is still possible.

• When harvesting blood from Thralls in camp, there is now only a 50% chance to lose the Thrall.

• Enemies will no longer attack you while you're standing on outer "Town" or "Harbor" tiles.

• If your character is a vampire and hungry (hunger >= 16), interacting with random NPCs will skip any random event and go straight into interaction mode, where you can choose to feed.

• Discovering the 10 deities' statues across the world will now grant a boon of 1 SP to each party member, along with a small amount of XP.

• When asking for directions or viewing fast travel options in Shortcut, you will no longer see options unavailable in your current town.

• Added a small delay before hovering over an item and showing its description in the Inventory and Barter UIs. While you won't notice much difference in practice, this change allows you to pass through items without losing focus on the selected one, for example when you want to inspect its abilities.

• Removed the limit on setting camp duties once per day. While in camp and before resting, you can now change your mind and reassign duties as many times as you like.

• Added the option to relieve a party member from all camp duties.

• Significantly increased the variation of names for randomly generated NPCs.

• Increased the number of NPCs generated right from the start.

• Tiles that were saved without random NPCs due to none being available will try to repopulate automatically.

• If the system runs out of cached random NPCs, it will now generate more on the fly as needed.

• The pool of events for Strangers, Acquaintances, and Friends will now reset after you experience a set number of them, rather than being permanently unique. This should offer more variety without making the world feel empty.

• NPCs you pickpocket, even if successful, will instinctively dislike you a little.

• Added a hard cap per pickpocket rank on the amount of wealth that can be stolen per attempt from wealthier targets like merchants.

• You can now interact with merchants in more ways, similar to random NPCs. Pick their pockets, feed on them, blackmail them, romance them, and more. But most importantly feed on them.

Bugfixes

• Fixed an issue where experiencing certain nightmares wouldn't advance the clock or run the PartyRest code. A fatigue value of 6 is now applied afterward as a result of the nightmare.

• Fixed some typos in the Discoveries database.

• Fixed a layout issue with the Mod Template Wizard on resolutions other than 16:9.

• Fixed a rare issue where allies-turned-enemies spawned on incorrect tiles during combat, sometimes ending up on barriers and breaking the encounter.

• Fixed a bug in RequirementsMet where duplicate keys weren't handled correctly, preventing recipes e.g. Lockpicks from working.

• Fixed an issue where imported Workshop mods assigned sources for Actions and Perks to the Workshop folder, preventing exports. They now correctly use a local mod path instead.

• Fixed an issue where custom species could be selected as perks by characters outside of character creation.

• Fixed an issue where Charm and Wits bonuses were not always applied when gaining influence with an NPC.

• Region simulation data missing from a save file, for example because it was added later, will now be initialized with default data if needed.

• Active discoveries will now properly hide after switching from the world map to a downtime activity.

• Fixed an issue where the actor actions panel and the Explore action behaved incorrectly in certain cases.

• Fixed an issue with Camp not having enough tiles to accommodate all party members.

• Fixed an issue with Wastelands mobs spawning at lower levels.

• Fixed an issue with the Henchman summon.

• Fixed an issue where loading a map could report incorrect tile types.

• Fixed an issue where resource nodes from a previous downtime could persist into the next.

• Fixed an issue where a certain unique event could be repeated.

• Fixed the requirements for recruiting Friend NPCs that prevented recruiting them in Sandbox.

• The reward for revealing fog of war tiles during discoveries is now displayed in a more human-readable way.

• Fixed an issue with the Respec shell command. It will no longer refund background perks like "Aspiring Adventurer."

• The reported max region level in Settings will now correctly take the Wastelands into account.

• Fixed an issue where unequipping the offhand wouldn't properly remove the bonus action it granted.

• Fixed an issue where unequipping the offhand by dragging it out of its slot wouldn't register in some cases.

• Fixed an issue in Sandbox mode that allowed a small part of Story mode's main quest to trigger.

• Fixed an issue where some event penalty rewards could reduce HP/Max HP instead of inflicting Wounds.

• Actors entering the camp with 0 HP or less will now be set to 1 HP instead. This shouldn't happen, but it's a safeguard just in case.

• Fixed some inconsistent responses while asking around for directions.

• Fixed an issue with certain camp scenes being repeatable instead of unique and/or having incorrect conditions for triggering.

• Fixed some typos and grammar mistakes.

Modding Related

• Heritage and Physiology tag exclusivity is now generated automatically based on relevant perks, improving compatibility with custom Heritage and Physiology mods.

• Added a fallback mechanism when loading downtimes to accommodate potentially larger parties than expected.

• Added a fallback mechanism when loading encounters to ensure at least the MC is placed if no ally slots were specified.

• Added Lua extensions: AssignDuty(actor, duty), PerformDuties, DisplayDuties

• Added Lua extensions: `PartyHasItem(item, amt)` and `PartyRemoveItem(item, amt)`

• Added Lua extension: `Artwork(artwork)`. Will only work on Ink stories. Changes the portrait artwork to `artwork`.

• Custom artworks placed in Artworks/Places and Artwork/Placeables will show up in respective editors.

Hi folks, in the previous journal we talked about the addition of the Wasteland region and the town of Hamor, along with new camp and combat maps, as well as Steam Deck improvements.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2657930/view/509583211988255519But that is not all the Hamor update brings.

There are even more camping improvements, especially in how you set and manage duties. Instead of having to trigger duties manually each time, you now set them once and they trigger automatically when you rest. Rewards have been increased too, and several duties now offer useful bonuses for vampire characters. There are new camp duties to Gather Herbs, Gather Reagents, Harvest Materials, Catch Rats, Capture Thralls and Harvest Blood.

Sandbox mode now has a new quick start option, skipping all introductions and the initial party gathering quest by giving you a randomized team of adventurers. You can jump in and start playing instantly.

You can now interact more with all the merchants across the world, using similar options available for random NPCs. You can steal from merchants, feed on them, flirt with them, blackmail them and more. But be careful, your relationship with a merchant affects their prices.

Most importantly, feeding on them could kill them, so there is that too.

Skill checks are now tied to the region's difficulty. Harder zones demand more from you to succeed, while easier zones become more manageable as your skills improve, creating a stronger sense of progression and less of a treadmill grind.

Beyond new features and bug fixes, there are also quality of life upgrades. You can now quickly see your unspent SP and PP in the character sheet.

In the conversation UI, a new button lets you view skill ranks, your own, your party's, or individual members’, along with estimated success chances for easy, moderate, and hard checks in your current region.

In the inventory and barter UIs, you can now move your mouse toward associated skills without the selected item losing focus.

Asking for directions or using fast travel is also more reliable, no longer showing destinations that do not exist in your current town.

Contract rewards have been buffed, and you can now view the base cost and any requirements of your potential rewards. Supply contracts will be more profitable and no longer feel underwhelming to complete. Good luck finding 22 units of Siren's Kiss. On the other hand, it'll now be worth your while, and you won't get ripped off.

Finally, the world will feel more alive overall, with the game now generating additional random NPCs as needed. It will also attempt to recover automatically tiles in saves where those tiles were marked as empty after the pool of random NPCs had run out.

Once I wrap up the essential tests in the coming days and consider the update ready to ship, it will go live for everyone. In the meantime, you can currently play build 0.7.74 of the Hamor update in the public beta branch. It includes everything we've talked about in this and the previous journals, along with a few dozens of bug fixes, new features, quality of life improvements, and other balance tweaks.

Have fun, and let me know if you run into any issues in the beta or have any questions!

Hi folks,

The upcoming update, codenamed Hamor, is well underway. As always, you can try the latest beta build (0.7.62) by switching to our beta branch. Our 9th major update will take us beyond the wall, into the wastelands and the desert city of Hamor.

The new region is roughly larger than Llanford, Oxgate, Taymoor, and Heygrove combined.

Here’s a bird’s-eye view of our playable map as of the next update.

When it comes to worldbuilding, there are two main approaches. The first is a top-down method, where you start with a broad concept or overarching lore and gradually work your way down to the details. This might include nations, cities, cultures, and eventually specific characters or quests. It helps with consistency and a clear thematic vision throughout the world.

The second is a bottom-up approach, where you begin with specific, grounded elements such as a village, a single character, or a small region, and then expand outward. This often creates rich, lived-in environments with strong local flavor, though it can take more effort to maintain coherence as the world grows.

My own approach is to iterate between these two, shaping the big picture while allowing smaller, grounded pieces to evolve and influence the larger structure. Pretty much what we've been doing since the start of Early Access.

With this latest region in place, we have essentially completed our zones progression from low to epic levels, as well as the core geography of the continent, and we'll be fleshing out all these areas more leading up to version 1.0. But let's talk a bit more about Hamor and the Wastelands and what else is in this update.

The wall itself was built in 301 EC, which places it about 1,062 years before the present day. It was originally constructed to contain a deadly plague that wiped out a large portion of the population. Over time, it became a common destination for exile, sometimes for political reasons, sometimes simply out of necessity.

In 1350, the region became a warzone between the knights of Doven and the undead legions of Hlorfen, who was the last known avatar of Morheliss. The war lasted ten years and ended when Sir Gregory allegedly defeated Morheliss herself. Whether or not that actually happened, the wall still stands as a dividing line between the kingdom of Doven and whatever remains in the waste. Even though all of this is ancient history, dating back two centuries before the current timeline, no one is allowed to pass through the wall.

The gates are locked, heavily fortified, and guarded. Picture something even grander than the Sinic Wall. Aside from being exiled, the only way in and out of the wastelands is by sea, through a small port just north of the city of Hamor.

In addition to expanding the world, this update also brings new discoveries in desert and arid terrains, which come alongside new contracts, new mounts, and new battle maps. Rewards from all contracts have been improved to make them more worthwhile.

The wastelands around Hamor are the highest-level zone in the game as we speak, and they are extremely dangerous. It’s recommended that you head there after reaching level 20. If you’re heading into the desert, a camel mount will make travel much easier by reducing the fatigue penalty across the desert terrain.

The increased variety in biomes means that it no longer makes sense to always be camping in a forest setting. That’s why this update also includes 9 new camping maps. Each one is tied to the terrain you’re currently in, so you’ll not only see more fitting backdrops while resting, but also gain access to different resource nodes depending on the location.

To help manage your gear, I’ve also added a persistent storage container called "My Stash" that will appear in your camps. Anything you place there will remain accessible during future camp downtimes, which should help free up your inventory.

Aside from the camping maps, there are also 10 new battle maps for both new and existing environments. Whether you're fighting in the deserts or revisiting old regions, these should provide a fresher tactical experience.

Finally, I've worked on a number of optimizations for players using a Steam Deck. These include a separate configuration file tailored for Deck-specific settings, a pop-up keyboard for easier text input when using the gamepad, and improved UI legibility across the board. To help boost performance, you’ll also have the option to load a smaller world map graphic or disable the fog of war entirely.

That’s all for now, folks. But that is not all there is to the upcoming update. Everything mentioned here is already available in the beta branch, so feel free to dive in and explore. Have fun, and let me know if you come across any issues.