Hearkenwold Beta

[Dorateen]

One thing I just wanted to highlight is the loot placement - so far it's great. My party found a weapon with an interesting description last night. Turned out it was "just" a normal longsword, but the description of the weapon made it feel like it had so much more purpose and value. My only magic item so far is a lucky rabbits paw, which Breccia is wearing with pride. Aside from that, everyone is decked out in leather armour and short swords/a mace. Finding new items will be really rewarding.

Ah, you found the longsword, the first weapon upgrade to the original issue short swords. Wield it well!

I am kind of stingy with the loot. As you explore further, hopefully you will find a steady progression of arms and armor. More powerful items await down the road.

[Pongo]

I've just found the woman that speaks in Iron Maiden lyrics... quality!

Edit: and the Slaughtered Lamb pub - there's some great references in this! I'm having a blast.

The bugbear lords who speak to you about the troll king - their conversation triggers again even if you have killed them.

[Pongo]

I get a consistent game-breaking crash when I fight the goblin master wizard. It happens every time he first goes to cast a spell - I get an error message and Iceblink shuts down

Edit: fourth time lucky. This time he cast a fireball first, killing lots of his own footsoldiers and allowing my frontline drwarves to barrel in and cut him down before he could cast his problematic spell.

There's definitely a problem somewhere in his spell repertoire though.

[Dorateen]

Pongo, thanks for the further reporting. I will look into those, and catch them in the next update.

In the meantime, I have already posted a new version of Hearkenwold, using build 116. This fixes typos and some triggers mentioned earlier, and I bumped up the saving throws on creatures.

There are a number of engine fixes, and I believe one of them may in fact address casters using self-targeting spells. It could be, that would fix the crash bug on the goblin wizard.

The new version is available here:

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... earkenwold

Transferring saves from ongoing playthroughs is possible. Just copy the "Hearkenwold" folder in the previous version's saves folder, and paste it into the saves folder of IBBeta116.

[Pongo]

Quick work! thanks. I'll download it later.

[Pongo]

The dwarves are making good progress. In the north they made it all the way to Hamhock, and in the south they've been through Kelton Manor and are hot on the heels of the escaping ranger. There's an enjoyable and perceptible jump in difficulty at the double bridge in the south - both the fight on the bridge (with its difficult positioning) and the werewolves (with their multiple attacks) felt far harder than any of the fights further north. The fight on the bridge was the first time I'd genuinely missed crowd control spells - they would have been massively useful at tackling the archers whilst my fighters were stuck in close combat. "Hold" is a great spell, but my cleric can only cast one per round of course and was often busy casting mass healing spells instead. It was an enjoyable conundrum!

The changes in v116 are good as well. The bigger portraits make much better use of the screen size, and the additional combat information (eg, the round indicator) are nice touches.

I haven't got much further yet, but I'll be pressing on when I have the time. My thief Hornfels is keen to get to the big city and put his skills to use...

[Dorateen]

I haven't got much further yet, but I'll be pressing on when I have the time. My thief Hornfels is keen to get to the big city and put his skills to use...

Good to hear your quartet of characters are facing stiffer challenge. This will be a true test of dwarven mettle.

I'm sure Hornfel will feel much more at home on the city streets, after making it through the wilderness!

[youngneil1]

Back in Hearkenwold! I am having fun in the Thieves‘ quarters of Skardale right now. So many cool and dark humored stories here, awesome. Meeting Knuckles and his ill fated neighbour made me laugh out loudly, good stuff .

[Dorateen]

Good to hear, and that you are enjoying the cast of characters who can both amuse or frustrate the party as they explore the city.

[youngneil1]

Found the arena, first challenge cleared! I have the gut feeling that my party will find its master in here if the difficulty ramps up over three more challenges, ha, eager to find out .