Beta 2.0 is here!

This update fixes a few important bugs and adds some new objects to dungeons.  This should help make each dungeons more varied and make exploring them less predictable.

• Fix town alliances (broken in Beta 1.0), towns should give out quests again
• Fix dungeon layout changing on reload
• Added altars: pray for help, you may be ignored, receieve a blessing or even a curse
• Added map jammers: magic pillars that prevent automapping an area (makes labyrinths much more fun!)
• Added secret doors, so keep your eyes out!
• Added jails: they contain monsters or heroes, but which one?
• Plus lots of minor tweaks and fixes

Beta is a major milestone for the game, but there’s still lots to do!

The game is also now on Steam’s Greenlight, and hopfully with you help will one day be available for purchase from Steam.  Don’t forget to vote Yes, it’s appreciated!

Between Beta and the Final version dungeon variety will be improved, with new traps and interactive objects. The game needs some balancing work, espeically with non-human classses and the end game.  Of course all bugs must be squashed and there are 100s of little issues to address before the final version can be released.

Changes:

• World tiles art updated
• Farm & Inn art updated
• Downloadable demo version added, Demo versions have level cap
• New music, longer loops
• Credits screen added
• Message log ordering & fade tweaked
• World Generation settings tweaked (larger worlds mostly)
• Fix crash when party is defeated in first dungeon, on first turn
• Fix Witch’s Hut
• Fix Weak spell castable outside of combat
• Fix 1st level recruits not having selectable classes
• Fix corrupted save game issue
• Fix issue with doors and switches disappearing (hopefully)
• Fixed bug when switches share a wall
• Numerous minor bugs and tweaks

Heroes of a Broken Land is about to release its first Beta version, which is a big peronal milestone for me and the game. But what exactly does Beta mean for you?

Beta means that the core gameplay mechanics – how you fight, explore and build towns – are working, reasonably fun and mostly bug free. Numbers will change, but the underlying systems will not.

It also means that the content – level design, art, UI, etc. – are all in place and at a quality level that represents the final product, if still in need of polish.

Beta doesn’t mean is that game is finished. Not by a long shot!

There’s still tons to do, but the focus is now on polish – making what’s already there better.

I’ll be filling out any holes in content that I find, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s so to speak. There will still be new game content – making dungeons more varied and interesting will likely be the main focus of Beta. There will also be new world events and quests added as well, but you probably won’t be seeing any new races or classes added.

It’s an exciting time for Heroes of a Broken Land!

Heroes of a Broken Land has been updated once again!

This version should be the last update until Beta, it’s also your last chance to pre-order the game before the price goes up!

So what’s new in Alpha 11.0?  The main focus has been on the UI and making the game systems more visible to the player with tool tips and tutorials.

• Tutorial system implemented
• New Game intro sequence added
• Non-human Town art updated
• Magic items now coloured
• Spells now show damage in description
• New item enchantments added (elemental resistances)
• Tooltip help for stats & attributes
• Fix for long dungeon victory screen, now scrollable
• Fix for ladders not properly opening
• Save game compatibility enforced (can load 0.9.0 or newer games)
• Typos, UI bugs and lots of minor issues fixed

A new version of Heroes of a Broken Land has been released – Alpha 0.10.0

Heroes of a Broken Land is getting very close to Beta, this is possibly the last Alpha version.  I’m also pleased to anounce that Heroes of a Broken Land is also available on Desura, for those of you who prefer that service.  Of course the game is always available directly from this site.

There’s a lot of good stuff in this release, I think the upgraded building art is the most noticable. There’s also a Linux build available for download.

• Town building art updated
• Main menu art updated (not complete)
• Linux build available (Warning: not well tested!)
• Fix inability to change hair colour to Red at Inn
• Fix dungeon switches clipping camera from behind
• Fixed bug where loading a save game in a dungeon would break the game
• Fixed bug with starting party inventory introduced in 0.9.2
• Improved UI consistency, still many dialogs to fix
• Various dungeon graphics updates
• Treasure chest graphics updated
• Many misc. fixes and improvments

Updated Building Art

Alpha 0.9.1 is now out, lots of improvements and fixes all around.

Try the latest version of Heroes of a Broken Land

• Added status effect icons (bless, stun, etc) to indicate character status
• Stunned characters cannot counter attack
• Character customization from the Adventurer’s Guild
• Increase base world movement points by 33% (6 -> 8)
• Show victory stats when dungeon is cleared
• Golem factory changed, skills are now based on Golem level
• Tool-tip help added to most UI elements
• Improved UI icon images (still a WIP)
• Improved scrollbars (a bit…)
• Building and World UI screen cleanup, making the UI more consistent (not done yet!)
• Cleanup Character stats screen, split Skills into separate tab for more detailed descriptions
• Fix some transition issues with HUD background
• Fixed Treasure Hunt quest
• Improved dungon defeat and win screens
• Plus lots of minor tweaks and fixes

What’s next? There are still quite a few features to add before the game’s done, my next focus will be on

• Party selection at start – allow the player to choose the classes of their initial party
• Improve the dungeon object variety, more interactive objects (this will be on going throughout development)
• Fix the dungeon graphics, there are quite a few minor gliches that are bothering me

Of course the game is still in development and I love to hear suggestions. So give it a try and let me know!