Today, we celebrate the first anniversary of Age of Wonders 4! This milestone could not have been achieved without you, our fans and players. Our journey with Age of Wonders began nearly three decades ago when Triumph's co-founder, Arno van Wingerden, and I envisioned creating a genre-blending strategy role-playing game. This dream allowed players to govern a fantasy realm set within an expansive, magical world.
Age of Wonders 4 is our most successful execution of this vision to date. It offers unprecedented freedom in faction creation and strategic development, enriching both the core gameplay and role-playing experiences. This first year since release, with its intense development and feedback cycle has made the game even better.
A heartfelt thank you to our talented developers and to you, our community, whose ongoing support and feedback have been integral to this success.
A Gift of Appreciation
In gratitude, we're excited to announce a gift: an update that includes both a standard and exotic Raptor Mount and a Dragon Scale Interface skin. This update will automatically be available on all platforms starting May 2nd.
Looking Forward
And there's more good news. Triumph will continue to develop Age of Wonders 4 beyond the current Premium Edition. We are working on more free updates and thrilling premium content. We're eager to share more details with you after the summer. But first, get ready for the Eldritch Realms expansion in June!
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News that a new version of Archmage Rises is available:
Rivals Beta Released!
RIVALS COMBAT BETA NOW AVAILABLE!
It's finally here! You can now find and fight your rivals. They won't go down easy though and will put up a good fight, with mages from each school of magic bringing it's own unique challenges and strategies to the battlefield. We released the beta on Friday of last week, and so far early feedback from the weekend has been positive.
Here are a few of the new things that come with this update:
New enemy types to fight: Fire Mage, Ice Mage, Earth Mage, Storm Mage. Each mage type has it's own unique challenges to face
New option to attack your rival when you meet them
Rivals are now more difficult to locate. NPCs will not easily divulge their locations.
Bribe or schmooze Conclave Chapterheads to discover the location of your rivals
New NPC greetings - now NPCs comment on you based on a variety of factors (your appearance, their relationship with you, how long ago they last saw you, etc)
Gain additional legacy bonuses for eliminating a rival
You can now hunt down and kill your primary rival in the Mabren's Tower quest after you've completed the quest
New combat arena - Town Street
New death animation over rival portrait after killing that rival
Plus other improvements and bug fixes
You can now try out the new Rivals update by switching to the Beta branch in Steam. We'll be Beta testing it for at least the next week or two for some extra polishing and optimizing before we release it to the main Steam branch.
Emily and Alex, our new hires from last week (with some support from Phil), will be taking on the Rivals beta through to it's official public release. If you try it out, let us know what you think, we'd love to get your feedback on it!
EXPLORATION:
Mark and the rest of the team are continuing to plow forward on the next big Exploration update. For those of you who ready our last weekly dev update, this list hasn't changed much, but we're continuing to make progress on all of these areas:
Michal, James, Nolan, Mark - Exploration Events/Encounters.
Tyler - Revised Skill/Stat System
Zach - Dynamic Quests
Jessi, Phil, Jonathan, Andrey - Continuing on UI/UX Overhaul + Controller Support
OTHER NEWS:
By request of some in our Steam and Discord communities, we're working on putting together a "Known Issues" list that will be publicly available on both the Discord server and the Wiki (which we can hopefully now put a little more attention too now that we've got some additional help).
Just a reminder, if you do try out the new Rivals beta, let us know what you think!
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Hello everyone! April is now over and it's time for our monthly Xenonauts 2 progress update.
Sound Design
Last month we brought an experienced sound designer onto the team to work on the game audio, as earlier in development we hadn't had the time and funds to give it the attention it deserved. Audio is sometimes an unappreciated part of game development, as the benefits of good sound effects can be quite subtle but are nonetheless very important.
This month we've updated the strategy UI, creating nicer sounds for the standard click / hover / error actions and then adding new clips so give subtly different feedback for different actions a click can cause (like confirming an action, closing a window, opening a tooltip, etc.). There's still a bit more work to be done on the UI sounds, but after that we'll be moving onto the tactical combat sounds and trying to give the different alien species a bit more character.
As a side-effect of this process, we've also noticed various places the game didn't have sound but needed it. Some of these are already fixed and will deployed in Milestone 4, e.g. now Medikits and the Automed Unit play a sound when healing a unit, and melee weapons play a sound if they miss the target.
Levels & Environment Art
We've also brought on a fulltime freelance environment artist to help us improve the variety and quality of our tactical environments. We worked on an assortment of smaller tasks last month ranging from improving the ATLAS Base command room assets (wall screens and the command table) to fixing up some of the assets for the Alien Base maps, but once those were complete we began to focus on the Farm biome.
Our plan is to add some new terrain objects and update some of the ground textures for the Farm to try and make the maps feel a bit more like a real agricultural environment, and then we'll be moving onto the Tropical biome to do the same thing (as there's not really enough tiles to do the inhabited areas of the Tropical maps properly right now). Once that's done, we'll be able to move onto our final biome - the Soviet Town terror maps!
Alien Crews
This month we updated the crews for all the various UFOs / alien ground missions to ensure there was a steady escalation of new enemies throughout the campaign. We now have enough units to group the alien races together, so each species now has a dedicated secondary support unit and a terror unit.
As part of this task we've added "heavy" variants of the Mentarch, Servitor, and Cyberdrone that are tougher and have more powerful weapons, which start appearing towards the end of the campaign. We'll be adding new artwork and 3D models for these units in the next month or two.
General Improvements
We've also made an assortment of improvements to other parts of the game. The air combat now supports weapons that are capable of shooting down missiles and we've added a new late-game escort UFO that provides an alternative to the alien Interceptor. We've added support for transferring scientists and engineers between bases. We've added a new soldier module that gives soldiers a 180-degree vision arc. We've made further improvements to the loading times, added many small usability features, and added various small new bits of content to the game.
Milestone 4
Last but not least, I just wanted to share that we've now done the bulk of the work on Milestone 4 and we've started internal testing on the updated campaign. Assuming there's no major issues we'll probably be releasing an early version of the build to the public early soon to get feedback - but initially this will be on our Prototype branches, as the build is currently too rough even for the Experimental branches. After a couple of weeks of polish the build should migrate to the Experimental branches, and and then we'll look towards a full public release.
So overall it's been a busy month for us, with lots of good progress made. Thanks for reading, see you next month!
The Gamer Social Club reports that Microsoft is going to close several studios and Redfall will be cancelled:
Xbox Closes Multiple Studios, Including Hi-Fi Rush & Redfall Teams
More horrible cuts hit the industry, as Microsoft shutters multiple studios.
Developing story:
In an email sent to Xbox employees by Xbox Executive Matt Booty which IGN has obtained, Microsoft is closing multiple studios within Bethesda including Arkane Austin and Tango Softworks.
The email:
Today I'm sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda and ZeniMax teams. These changes are grounded in prioritizing high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda's portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades.
To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritization of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us.
Here are the changes going into effect:
Arkane Austin - This studio will close with some members of the team joining other studios to work on projects across Bethesda. Arkane Austin has a history of making impactful and innovative games and it is a pedigree that everyone should be proud of. Redfall's previous update will be its last as we end all development on the game. The game and its servers will remain online for players to enjoy and we will provide make-good offers to players who purchased the Hero DLC.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Animations Look Incredible in New Gameplay Footage; DLSS, FSR Support Confirmed
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is going to feature some impressive animations, judging from some new gameplay footage that is making the rounds online.
The new gameplay footage, which can be watched below, courtesy of @ASexyBiscuit, was shown on Czech television, providing a quick look at one of the game's cities, likely the royal city of Kuttenberg, where most of the game will take place, complete with some NPCs going around their business. Not only does the city look impressive, but the NPC's animations look incredible, highlighting even more how the next entry in the series will be a major step forward to its predecessor.
RETRO-INSPIRED JRPG WITH 14 PLAYABLE CHARACTERS - ONE FENIX DOWN - OVERVIEW
ONE FENIX DOWN is an upcoming JRPG from indie studio Regalcraft Games that harkens back to the nostalgic '90s era of gaming with its retro-inspired, classic turn-based gameplay. The game features an expansive world with 14 unique characters and a deep, multi-layered narrative set against the backdrop of war, betrayal, and a quest for redemption. Players will encounter a variety of enemies and can engage in complex combat that utilizes elemental magic, martial arts, and more.
The story revolves around the Kingdom of Torloria, which, seven years prior, defended itself against the beastly Goa Empire. As peace hangs by a thread, a young miner, haunted by his past and driven by a cryptic message, sets out to change his destiny and protect something called "Fate."
With a rich array of items and strategic battles, ONE FENIX DOWN promises a legendary adventure that spans continents and tests the bonds of its characters. The game, still in development, is eagerly awaited with its release marked as "coming soon." on Steam. Below an overview, screens and trailer.
Patch 1.0.7 is out now! Auto-sorting inventory & boosting Unfair Difficulty
Greetings, Commanders!
It's been 54 days since we launched Zoria: Age of Shattering. The game was good at launch, but with all your feedback, we feel that it's really become great. We've implemented quality of life features and fixed some minor issues. As you're reading this, we're already working on our next Patch - stay tuned for that!
News that the Songs of Conquest devs are working on the stability of the game:
We need your axe!
Greetings Wielders!
As the release date for 1.0 is creeping closer day by day, we are trying to focus mainly on stability and a good experience.
However, unexpected issues before a release are almost more of a rule than an exception. And we have just found a pretty serious issue with the AI and how its trading has worked.
When the AI tried to trade resources, it looked something like this:
- (AI) "Hey! I want to buy two extra stone to be able to buy this building. How much does it cost?"
- (Trader) "How much gold do you have?"
- (AI) "20.000 Gold. So how much do I owe you?"
- (Trader) "20.000 Gold, please"
- (AI) "Uhm, sounds a bit expensive... But ok, here you go!"
We had a nice, but stern chat with the trader and passed some new laws that it's not allowed to raise the prices depending on the budget of the AI like that. So, good news, the issue is now fixed. Huzzah!
But as you probably understand, even though it is a small fix, it can cause a snowball effect making the AI much more difficult to beat - on all difficulty levels.
For example: If the AI could break out of the first zone by round 7, it might now sometimes break out at round 5 or 6 instead - which would give it an advantage in later stages of the game.
Consequently, if we look at the end game with an AI that wants to trade a resource to buy research - this would before deplete most of its gold reserves in the process, so now it would just have more gold in general resulting in more troops, research and all that good stuff.
The positive thing about this is that the AI will feel more competent, especially in the later stages of a session. The negative is that the easier difficulties might be too difficult to be called easy - and our efforts to give every player a difficulty that feels appropriately challenging might be unbalanced now.
But the thing is, we don't know yet. And to find out we need lots of testing and data, something that takes a lot of time.
Noobfeed checked out Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes:
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Review | PC
Command over 100 heroes in an epic and semi buggy adventure.
Remember the days of playing Final Fantasy 7, Dragon Quest, or even Fire Emblem? Those were the days of spending hours on a JRPG that just keeps you hooked with its combat and story. Well, Rabbit & Bear Studios is a Japanese studio that had a vision to create something with a fun and retro feel but with a more modern feeling. However, nothing in life is ever free and their first release is a monster on its own. So, a few months after being founded in 2020, they started up a Kickstarter for some crowdfunding to get Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes off the ground.
Well, almost 4 years later, and with every Kickstarter tier funded, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is officially ready to be released into the wild on 23 April. Lucky for us, we got to have a little sneak peek at this beast of a release and just how much work went into its creation. The very first thing to know is that Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a JRPG down to its core, but it comes with a few incredible features and a huge roster of playable characters.
[...]
Overall, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is so close to being the feel-good JRPG for 2024 but it still needs a bit of work before it can shine. If you can look past the issues, there's a whole world to explore and a literal ton of heroes to recruit and experiment with. Let's not forget the incredible story that you'll get to experience too as things unfold while you're exploring.
Noobfeed checked out the action RPG Vindictus: Defying Fate:
Is Vindictus: Defying Fate the Next Big Thing in Role-Playing Games?
The South Korean video game developer, NEXON may not be among the most renowned names in the industry, but they have started bringing in games every now and then which is great. While they made a name for themselves with the iOS title Blue Archive, even though free-to-play, THE FINALS did a fairly good job for them on Steam after the 2023 release, and DAVE THE DIVER in 2022. But they are mostly known for their yet another free-to-play MMORPG title, Vindictus, developed by devCAT, one of their internal studios. And after long thirteen years, NEXON has finally decided to bring out its highly anticipated sequel.
Vindictus: Defying Fate is the upcoming action RPG game by NEXON, and it has the potential to have a significant impact on the action role-playing genre. Expanding upon the immense universe of its 2010 predecessor Vindictus, this installment is being developed using state-of-the-art Unreal Engine 5, ensuring an immersive and graphically stunning experience.
Considering that the game is still in the process of being developed, there is a great deal of expectation among fans of both the original and newcomers to this genre. During the first pre-alpha test, which took place from the 13th to the 18th of March, NEXON provided us with a sneak peek. During this test, I tested various early game aspects such as combat styles, character apparel, and roaming the new environment of the game.
Obviously, in contrast to the original game, this sequel is developed with the intention of providing something fresh and unique. According to the developers' statements, players can anticipate discovering newly discovered parts of the game's universe, interacting with fresh characters, and going through an entirely new plot. We participated in the first pre-alpha and it turns out to be an action RPG that deftly incorporates hack-and-slash elements into its battles, which is part of the game's primary attraction.
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Age of Wonders 4 celebrates the first anniversary:![[IMG]](https://sorcerers.net/images/news/rule.gif)
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