Stoneshard: No Pain No Potato

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Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

Stoneshard is a currently in develepment Early Access title available on Steam. It's a top down turn based rogue-like RPG with a fairly detailed injury/pain management system and basic survival mechanics (food/drink).

From the dev site:
Stoneshard is challenging turn-based RPG where your tactical skills will be tested in battles with enemies, diseases and injuries alike. In the world of Aldor you�ll go on the adventure across medieval lands where you�ll decide how to approach each battle and situation. With unrestricted character development you�ll be able to wear any equipment, combine skills and invest in chosen stats to create a truly unique experience.

Features:

Open World: War always takes its toll. Villages ruined, dungeons infested with monsters and old roads deserted. Explore Aldor to know more about the events of the past.
Economics: Wartime economy is ruthless but full of opportunities - complete contracts, hunt for treasures, trade different goods and travel between the cities to make a coin.
Character Development: Experiment with your build by combining 200+ skills and more than 400 pieces of equipment without any class restriction and level prerequisites. Stealth, magic or melee - everyone will find something to their liking.
Enemy Variety: Combat with various factions: unpredictable orcs, disgusting cults, raised dead - every each of them will require a unique approach, while the combinations of enemies will make battles more tense and exciting.
Tactical Battles: There is no hand holding here. Carefully plan ahead and adapt to your surroundings with your numerous skills.
Health System: Dieing by enemy�s blade is the least of your worries. Master simple but deep health system: cauterize your bleedings wounds, ease pain with alcohol and drugs, cleanse your blood and heal ailments with all kind of brews.
Psyche: Different situations will affect your character�s mental state. High morale could turn the tide in your favor even in the most hopeless fights, and downed state of mind will only lead to panic attacks and paranoia.
Permadeath: If you�re risky start the game in Ironman mode where all your decisions are irreversible and your character can die once and for all.
New Content: New places in Aldor, including three majestic cities. New enemy factions: mysterious Deep Dwellers and ruthless Hive. Even more activities, equipment, enemies and skills.
Caravan: Find and employ followers for your caravan - their skills and masteries will definitely help you along the way. Tired? Go back to the camp to listen to the new stories or just rest near the campfire.
Devotion: Devote yourself to one of the mysterious deities but know that each one of them will demand its own price. Are you ready to strike the deal?
Campaign: Participate in dramatic events that will decide the fate of the Aldor kingdom. To solve the mystery of the Shards you�ll need to explore dozens of unique and exciting locations, make choices with long reaching consequences and defeat fierce bosses.

Development roadmap as of February 2020.

Popete fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Apr 26, 2021

# ? Feb 8, 2020 18:36

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 07:58

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

*Reserving for future things*

# ? Feb 8, 2020 18:37

Vietnom nom nom: Oct 24, 2000; Forum Veteran

So I backed this game based on the prologue/demo (which was really good), and I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

Fair warning though, the game is pretty rough compared to modern low friction game design. A lot of this is supposed to be resolved as they update, since they're planning a 1.5-2 year early access cycle, but as it stands expect things like limited saving, lots of inventory tetris, and a somewhat rough translation (the developers are Russian).

But the skill system is fun, the build variety is pretty neat, and it has a nice ARPG loot + turn based roguelike structure.

If you have any interest, try the prologue (just look for Stoneshard: Prologue on Steam). It's recently updated and will give you a good sense of the current game design, just understand the rest of the game content IS NOT as polished as the prologue.

# ? Feb 8, 2020 18:52

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

Most complaints I've seen so far are regarding the food/drink system being tedious and that you can only save at a bed at an inn which costs money. So far I haven't had huge problems with the food/drink mechanics, it's a bit onerous but mangeable my biggest problem with it is that hunger/thirst/pain are hidden in the character panel so it can be hard to tell how you're doing unless you open that up frequently.

The saving at an inn is fine so far as it's pretty cheap and from what I can tell you'll be making frequent trips back to town anyways.

I've not put much time in yet but I could see after playing awhile both system become grating, we'll see though. For now I'm really enjoying the art style and the world feels quite alive so it's fun to explore.

# ? Feb 8, 2020 20:57

Saraiguma: Oct 2, 2014

it's a fun game, my biggest gripe is my build couldn't complete the tutorial so I had to restart the entire thing to do it again

# ? Feb 8, 2020 23:57

BurgerQuest: Mar 17, 2009; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

I'm liking it - for some reason it's giving me Baldur's Gate vibes, like when you first leave candlekeep.

I am finding it very difficult to get past early encounters generally though.

# ? Feb 16, 2020 08:28

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

Yeah there seems to be some balance issues. I get the games supposed to be difficult but it's hard to even make it to your quest cause of the sheer number of wolves/bandits on the road.

# ? Feb 17, 2020 17:08

Sickening: Jul 16, 2007; Black summer was the best summer.

Being melee this game is awful. Injury is just tedious and being melee means you are just going to get injuries while doing what your class does.

# ? Feb 17, 2020 18:48

Sylphosaurus: Sep 6, 2007

I really like this game and hope that the developers will keep on finetuning it further. Is there some kind of roadmap from the developers? I�m kind of curious to see how far off the game is from a full release.

# ? Feb 17, 2020 18:48

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

Sylphosaurus posted:

I really like this game and hope that the developers will keep on finetuning it further. Is there some kind of roadmap from the developers? I�m kind of curious to see how far off the game is from a full release.

I just added a roadmap image to the OP.

# ? Feb 17, 2020 19:04

Sylphosaurus: Sep 6, 2007

Popete posted:

I just added a roadmap image to the OP.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

# ? Feb 17, 2020 19:31

BurgerQuest: Mar 17, 2009; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Popete posted:

Yeah there seems to be some balance issues. I get the games supposed to be difficult but it's hard to even make it to your quest cause of the sheer number of wolves/bandits on the road.

Part of my problem was rushing a bit too hard and not knowing rest mode. It's still a grind to get a few early levels though.

# ? Feb 18, 2020 00:01

stopgap1: Jul 27, 2013

I had a lot of trouble with melee classes but at some point things just click.

I like it so far, though it is limited.

# ? Feb 18, 2020 00:41

TescoBag: Dec 2, 2009; Oh god, not again.

I bought this, I don�t know why. Seems like there is some fun to be had but they�ve removed the stealth system from the game and that is normally the kind of character I play.

Fingers crossed development goes as well as they�re hoping.

# ? Feb 19, 2020 00:33

Sickening: Jul 16, 2007; Black summer was the best summer.

TescoBag posted:

I bought this, I don�t know why. Seems like there is some fun to be had but they�ve removed the stealth system from the game and that is normally the kind of character I play.

Fingers crossed development goes as well as they�re hoping.

Play as the archer. Its basically easy mode. Once you have a good grasp on the game try something else.

Its actually incredible how much easier the game is as archer. I think archer + mace skills will do everything in the game at its current state very easily.

# ? Feb 19, 2020 00:48

TOOT BOOT: May 25, 2010

This seems like it's the hot new indie roguelike but I don't see the appeal. Maybe it'll be cool in a year but it feels like they launched in a very barebones state.

# ? Feb 19, 2020 01:46

juggalo baby coffin: Dec 2, 2007; How would the dog wear goggles and even more than that, who makes the goggles?

it has a very nice old-school feel to it but i wish there were a few more characters to play as. they show an elf and a metal face guy but your choices are beard guy or lady right now

# ? Jun 20, 2020 01:42

ZLogic: Feb 14, 2006; THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IS HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE

It's like if Diablo and Valheim had a roguelite baby.

This game is hella fun and I can't wait til the next update where you get to guard a caravan.

# ? Apr 26, 2021 16:56

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

It's been awhile since I last checked in but I keep loose tabs on the patch updates, it sounds like they are making steady progress. Probably still gonna give it some more time before I really dive into it but I'm hopefully it's coming together.

Edit: I've updated the roadmap image in the OP.

Popete fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Apr 26, 2021

# ? Apr 26, 2021 17:26

Shaman Tank Spec: Dec 26, 2003; *blep*

I played the Kickstarter demo they put out a billion years ago and really liked it, so I backed it. I haven't played it since because I keep waiting for release, so I don't burn myself out on the game during Early Access.

Maybe I should give it a shot sometime.

# ? Apr 26, 2021 18:16

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

Big new update is out that adds the first major city Brynn as well as expanding the map by quite a lot. Lots of other changes and additions such as a new rumor and crime system, new enemies and items as well as lots of balance tweaks.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/625960/Stoneshard/

# ? Nov 19, 2021 06:11

deep dish peat moss: Jul 27, 2006

Any advice on how to start in this game? I bought it back when it came out but I've never played it much because I literally cannot beat a single enemy as a non-melee class, and all the injuries you get as melee are too much to deal with. I always die to the first wolf or bandit or whatever I run across

# ? Nov 19, 2021 07:58

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

I just started playing it again with the update and I am also bad so I can't give much advice. Only been playing melee classes but it seems a bit more forgiving with this update. You still need to bring ointments and splints with you on journeys to keep yourself in fighting condition but there's still a chance you just get unlucky and run into a mob of 5 guys who surround you. I like going with a two handed-axe and make sure you are unlocking the 2 skills you are allowed at the start, you wanna be using your combat skills as often as you can. You don't have to play with permadeath anymore and they've made the save system a bit less restrictive in that it auto-saves when you exit the game but that save is deleted when you reload to prevent save scumming, you're still meant to save in towns semi-frequently.

# ? Nov 19, 2021 21:12

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

So the City of Gold update did bump the world size a good amount and I made it to the big new city Brynn but I stopped playing once I realized you couldn't enter any of the buildings. Over the past couple weeks they've added a tavern, grocery store, bakery and pawn shop to Brynn so at least there is a place to save your game (you can only save at inns). There is also a quest giver in Brynn but I didn't interact with them yet so idk how detailed that chain is.

Overall a bizarre choice to push the update featuring a major new city but not have any of the buildings implemented yet making the city kind of pointless and then over the course of the next few weeks adding all that content in. They probably should have just waited until they had finished those buildings before pushing the update but whatever. For anyone following this game waiting to buy in I would continue to hold off, the game is fun and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes and I like what they have so far but it's definitely not finished or even all that well balanced.

# ? Nov 30, 2021 18:02

Popete: Oct 6, 2009; This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs; Grimey Drawer

New update is out, good to see after they announced development had been impacted by the war in Ukraine (a lot of their devs are Ukrainian).

quote:

MAIN ADDITIONS

- New boss
�and a quest that goes with it. You can receive it in a location of questionable repute after reaching level 14.

- New magic school: Electromancy.

- New ability tree: Magic Mastery.

- New enemies
13 high level Proselytes.

- Brynn content
Added the House of the Azure Thread, the Bank, the Golden Grain Inn, the Cathedral, the University, the Printing House, the Alchemical Emporium of Curious Goods, a dockside store, the Close Harbor Tavern, and the Fence�s hideout - each new location has its own characters and gameplay function.

- Next stage of the main quest: �Gwynnel�s Answers�.
It will wrap up the introduction sequence and prepare you for the sandbox part of the game.

- Stationary Caravan Camp
It comes with access to a sizable storage. This location becomes available after arriving to Brynn and completing �Gwynnel�s Answers�

- New system: Fatigue
Using abilities and performing various actions will now generate Fatigue, which lowers your character�s Max Energy. Fatigue can be kept at bay with regular sleep, quality food, and some consumables.

- Changes to the Sleep System
The character can now only sleep for a limited amount of time that depends on how long they spend awake and their Fatigue.

- Changes to the Magic System
Added several new magic-related stats and a Backfire mechanic that causes reckless mages to take damage from their own spells.

- New loot type: Folios
11 unique books that provide information about the game�s lore and grant some experience when read for the first time.

- New items
1 new sword, 7 new necklaces (including a unique one), 3 new artifacts, 12 new valuables, crabs, crab meat, and shells.

- New Points of Interest.

- New biom: Seashore.

- 4 new achievements.

GAMEPLAY AND CONTENT

- New camp types.
- Changes to some of the existing Proselyte abilities.
- Added a few unique interactions with Brynn guards.
- Changed Jonna�s starting Affinities: instead of Daggers and Dual Wielding she now has access to Electromancy and Magic mastery. Also changed her starting inventory and unique trait.
- Added an option to fill various vessels with water.
- Added a system that lets time pass in locations even if the character isn�t present there.
- It�s now possible to read signs and comment on certain important items.
- Damage Reflection now returns damage before the application of Protection and Resistances.
- Added Armor Penetration to the majority of spells.
- Armor Penetration gained from Perception now also applies to spells.
- Changes to the Curses mechanic. Removed Curses of Goldhoarder and Loudmouth from the game.
- Starting from 2 stacks, the effect of Wetness will increase Backfire Chance for Electromancy spells.
- Some merchants are now willing to purchase artifacts.
- The Witch�s Hat will have a few things to say about your Miraculous and Backfired spells.
-- Hunger and Thirst gain from using abilities now scales with their Energy cost.
- Walking through shallow waters will now slowly drench the character until a certain threshold.
- Walking through shallow waters now takes 2 turns instead of 1.
- Changed some of the existing interiors and Points of Interest.
- Removed thyme from the Herbalist�s request.
- Reading treatises now awards you with experience.

...

# ? Aug 6, 2022 01:55

Pb and Jellyfish: Oct 30, 2011

Well, time to start another character and play another 30 hours on it. I wonder if it's time to do a ranged class with spear for melee?

# ? Aug 6, 2022 20:21

AtomikKrab: Jul 17, 2010; Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

Electricity has so far been a fun fun time,

Especially if you do it in the depths of a storm when everyone is soaked and lightning is coming down.

Fatigue is also interesting and it encourages you to take breaks, make a fire, sit down for a bit to charge up enough vigor to push through the next dungeon

AtomikKrab fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Aug 6, 2022

# ? Aug 6, 2022 20:52

BeAuMaN: Feb 18, 2014; I'M A LEAD FARMER, MOTHERFUCKER!

So y'all saying this game is pretty good? It's on sale right now for $15

# ? Feb 10, 2023 04:20

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 07:58

BeAuMaN: Feb 18, 2014; I'M A LEAD FARMER, MOTHERFUCKER!

Been playing this for a bit. It's fun. I'm getting my $15 worth, though it's still a bit rough. So far been playing Jorgrim dual-wielding Axe and Sword. Been following this guide as far as build and it's pretty crunchy and the lower health leading to more killing is pretty neat.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2777611174

Currently level 7. Will say that it's never not satisfying when you find a wild animal and one or more corpses of dead bandits who were along the road ready to ambush you.

# ? Mar 4, 2023 04:18

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