New Beta Build

I’m happy to report I really focused the last 10 days and built the new Resources feature. Hopefully this will fix the experience people had with the Hex Events feature.

I want to thank everyone on the "real time dev blog" Discord channel who helped with responses, advice, and general encouragement as I built the feature.

The build is available for play on the BETA steam branch.

This Build IS NOT BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE - Saves and Worlds have to be created again.

What it includes:

• Resources are now available from Sources on the map. They are either Organic or Mineral.

• Sources have a level, starting at the wild untamed version at level 0. Levelling up will come when I have time to build it out. All the structure is in place.

• Mineral sources have a surface deposit at level 0 which you can mine with the right tool. Once they are empty, that’s it. Levelling up is what allows larger harvesting operations that allow you to access more of the deposit.

• Organic sources are like a mini-farm sim. They grow on a set calendar, example a Rose Bush blooms in Spring. Organic resources die at a certain season, like Roses die off in winter. Each source has its own cycle.

• Spells (for now, just Haste) can be cast to enchant an organic resource and speed its growth. Example: a rose bush takes 1 year to grow (spring to spring), but with haste it will bloom in only 6 months – Fall. You can use your magic to double yields. The spell lasts until the next growth. There is a calendar system under the hood, but it gets weird: when a haste spell is cast for 9 months, but the plant yields in 3 months, and you don’t come back for 12 months – how many should be there? It’s complicated!

• Spells can also be cast to enhance harvesting. Sure, you can swing a pickaxe and get some silver, but it’s more productive to cast Mage Hand and get 50% more! No, you don’t need a second pick axe for the mage hand, but thanks for asking. :-)

• There are specialist harvesting spells that allow you to just extract the resource magically – without a tool. These will always be the most productive and take the least effort (beyond casting).

• How to find resources? There are four new spells to search for them. Each detects different kinds of resources. They are: Earth Sense, Harmonic Burst, Bloom Sense, Deep Root Sense. Cast them and they cover a 3 hex radius. If they find something, great! If not, that area is used up, you’ll need to move elsewhere. The game will tell you if you aren’t in a new search area.

• How do you get these new spells? For now, go to the Chapter House and the master there will teach you one of them, for a fee. Travel around to get them all.

• In summary, there are 7 new world spells: Earth Sense, Harmonic Burst, Bloom Sense, Deep Root Sense, Haste, Mage Hand, and Earth Rip

• There are 2 new items at the outfitter: Knife (harvest fruit, flowers) and Hammer (harvest stone)

• This build marks the beginning of casting spells in the world, something long needed!

Here is a playtest video focused on the new functionality by starting a new game:

I'd love to get your feedback on this build and see if it is ready to release to all! As always, thanks for your interest in Archmage Rises!