KOTCL Dev Diaries - The Echo of the Northern Gate (pt 2)

Knock-knock.

Another week has flown by, full of busy work, so let me briefly tell you what’s been keeping us occupied.

Patch 1.3.8.2

We’ve been working hard on the new patch — and we actually finished it! But during testing, some technical issues popped up, and they’re being swiftly hammered out right now. The patch is coming very soon.

Aside from bug fixes, it’ll include new visuals and sounds. You probably won’t consciously notice the new sounds, but the overall feel is definitely better. And the new artwork is something you’ll be able to appreciate right away.

As usual, I’ll post the full patch notes separately here for anyone interested.

Rebalance

Now, let’s poke the game designers a bit and see how the final rebalance is going.

Misha, hello!

Already done:

• Persival class rework

• Rework of starting and class cards

• Class item rework

• Rework of all enemies

• Rework of gold rewards

In progress:

• Rework of biome and common cards

• Rework of Persival’s items and common items

• Rework of set items and effects

• Rework of reward tables

Wait, Misha — why only Persival? And how would you estimate the overall progress in %?

Because the entire rebalance starts with Persival. If it turns out well, we’ll move on to the other heroes.

Don’t worry — for Bjorn and Vanadis we’ll only need to rework class/start cards, class items, and perks. Everything else was already done as part of Persival’s changes.

In terms of %, I’d say roughly half of everything overall. Ideally, we’d also polish up the events, but that depends on whether there’s time left.

That’s how things are!

As for the literary contest, we’ll probably tie it together with the rebalance release — make it a nice combo event.

And now, it’s time for part two of our Echo of the Northern Gate correspondent’s misadventures (part one was in the previous dev diary).

We’ll start with the previously announced interview with Millenis.

Millenis

Me: Who are you and Mortis? Humans or gods?

M: Both. And at the same time, something in between.

Me: How should I understand that?

M: Any way you like.

Me: But that makes no sense. The gods created humans — everyone knows that. You can’t be something in between.

M: You see, we believe that the gods didn’t create humans. Gods and humans are one and the same.

Me: Who is “we”?

M: The Shoots. Once, the greatest mages of Midian came together to combine their knowledge and efforts in the search for truth. They called themselves the Shoots. Mortis and I are Shoots, just from different generations.

Me: Then why are you fighting?

M: Oh, it’s not fighting, it’s opposition. I want to know what he is capable of. Besides, in this opposition we both learn how to rule the world without drawing the attention of the supreme gods.

Me: But I thought you said you were seeking truth, not ruling the world.

M: One doesn’t prevent the other. Truth is the main goal, while ruling the world is only training and a way to test our knowledge in practice.

Me: Like a game?

M: Yes, a game. It’s called Knock on the Coffin Lid.

That’s how the interview turned out. For now, I’m staying at the Northern Gate to take a break from traveling, and I can still ask Millenis a few more questions from our readers. But soon I’ll head to the Rotten Bog. If we are to believe the author of our culinary column, Michelle Cherchelle, that’s where I’ll be able to try fat-finned rottenbelly stewed in mite ichor.

Let's Cook Rottenbelly

Cherchelle's culinary column here! As I promised, the new guest in our kitchen is a fat-finned rottenbelly! It swam right into my lap because it is a fish. If you don't like the smell of fish, don't read any further - rottenbelly smells like a dead skunk stuffed with rotten fish. Let's talk about its culinary merits. To tell the truth, it has ruined all the dishes which I have added it to. But I suggest you experiment with it. Send somewhat successful recipes to our editors office, and we will publish them. May the gods help you.

Oath of Fealty

I set off to the Rotten Bog. On the way, some dandy started bothering me. He kept insisting that I give an oath of fealty to the demons.

“Demons are very generous! The oath itself is a formality and a mere trifle,” he tried persuading me.

“Are you trying to bribe a member of the press? I’m sorry, but The Echo of the Northern Gate cannot be bought. It’s an independent medium,” I replied indignantly.

“Do you not have an editorial policy?”

“No, we don’t. The author’s opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board.”

“That’s even better!” he rejoiced. “Bribing an author is easier than a whole board.”

It was an outrageous offer, but as a journalist I felt it was my duty to bring light to such situations.

“What are you giving in return?” I asked him.

“Choose for yourself: upgrade 3 cards, get a cursed item, recover fully, get some gold…”

“Gold?”

“200 coins!” he said eagerly, feeling that the trap was closing.

That was foolish of him—I can’t be bribed.

“Why so little?” I asked, out of sheer politeness.

“How much do you want?”

“I want enough for me to buy an uninhabited island off the west coast and set it up exactly the way I’ve always dreamed—with egregious luxury and with lavish excessiveness.”

“Everything and everyone has its price, but yours is inflated,” he said with an offended look.

Rotten Bog

When I reached the swamp, I noticed fishermen. I decided to try my luck with them.

“Greetings, good fishermen! What are you catching today?”

“Rottenbellies,” answered one of them.

“Oh, how lucky for me.”

“There’s no other fish around here,” said the other fisherman.

“Anyway, it’s exactly the rottenbelly that I wanted to try.”

The fishermen exchanged suspicious glances.

“Are you out of your mind?” they asked in one voice.

“Why? You eat it, don’t you?”

“We don’t. We sell it to Anthony the butcher, he feeds it to his pigs.”

“Could you sell me a fish, too?”

“Just take it for free.”

“Much obliged!”

Now that I had the rottenbelly, I only needed to procure mite ichor.

“Could you tell me, dear sirs, where I can obtain some mite ichor? I’m going to boil my rottenbelly in it,” I asked the fishermen.

One of them threw up. The other one pointed to a village in the distance.

“Go ask there. You must be out of your mind…”

Let's Remember The Taste Of The Oblivion Herb

It's Cherchelle with my culinary column! I had a report planned for today on the culinary merits of the oblivion herb, but unfortunately I can't tell you much about it. I don't remember what it tastes like. I don't even remember if I tried this herb or not. I suspect that I tried it more than once, since there is not much left of it. The only thing I can recommend is to eat this herb in front of witnesses who could confirm the fact of consuming.

Mite IchorSteam post image

I went to the village the fishermen pointed me to, and as if on cue, the locals greeted me with a vat full of the coveted ichor.

“May I take some with me?” I asked.

“No,” said the village elder. “Drink it here and now.”

“Alright, but first I’ll cook this fat-finned rottenbelly in it.”

The elder threw up right into the ichor vat.

“Great, you ruined my ichor,” I muttered, annoyed.

“Trust me, some vomit won’t ruin a rottenbelly cooked in ichor. Take it!”

“But I want to cook the dish exactly according to Michel Charchel’s recipe. And there’s no vomit in his recipe. May I have another vat?”

The elder grumbled a bit, but in the end, he ordered another vat of ichor to be brought for me.

Well, it’s time to start cooking. I’m having some vague doubts, but I trust the author of our culinary column. How did he describe it again? “Finger-licking good”?

I’ll share my impressions with you very soon.

I Died

Don’t worry, my dear readers. The rottenbelly gave me the plague and I indeed died. But the life-giving power of the ichor brought me back. I feel great. However, I don’t know yet what I look like—there’s not a single mirror in this village.

I looked at my reflection in the water, and my skin seemed a bit pale. Well, that’s by far not the worst effect of death I’ve seen.

As for the taste of the rottenbelly boiled in mite ichor, I can tell only one thing—our precious Michel Charchelle is an expert in culinary eccentricities.

As far as I know, he’s tasted every dish in the world, but even so, the rotttenbelly boiled in the ichor surprised him. What can I say? I understand him. But if you haven’t tried every dish in the world yet, save this one for last.

Armored Zombie

I got incredibly lucky—I met the only existing zombie firebrother! I was a bit scared (what if he attacked me?) but I still took the risk of interviewing him.

“Greetings, brother! What did those cultists do to you? How did you become a zombie?” I started.

“Caught me, made me drink, let me go.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“And you?” the zombie asked suddenly.

“I’m fine. I’m glad you didn’t attack me.”

“Me no eat you. Me eats humans.”

“I’m a member of the press. You aren’t allowed to eat the press.”

“Me no eat zombie, me eats humans.”

“So you don’t eat zombies and members of the press, I got it.”

“What is ‘press’?”

Good gods, he’s so dumb. I didn’t manage to get a normal interview out of him. But I think it still turned out better than my interview with Batu the Smart.

The Village

The local peasants live in poverty. It seems strange to me that they don’t move away in pursuit of a better life.

The older generation might be too used to their ways to leave, so I found a younger couple to talk about that.

“Why do you not want to move to some other place?”

“Oh, we do. It’s high time we got out of this rotten bog.”

“Did you use the phrase ‘rotten bog’ as a place name or did you mean it as an insult?”

“What’s the difference?”

“You see, I’m writing an article for a newspaper. The difference is that place names are capitalized, while insults are written in lowercase.”

“Write it in lowercase then. This is a horrible place, there’s poverty all around, and no freedom whatsoever. I’d get out of here at the first chance.”

“I heard that the mite ichor extends life. That’s a good reason to stay.”

“You should see my Grandpa. All he does with his extended life is wander about the swamps, groaning and moaning. Is that really a life? Only goody-goodies live well, that is, ritualists and cult keepers.”

“Then what’s the problem? You could become one.”

“We’re atheists.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“There is no mite; no one has ever seen it. It was created to control society. It’s the opium of the people.”

“If that’s the case, what prevents you from leaving the Rotten Bog?”

“Not ‘what’, but ‘who’—the eldest cult keeper. He lets no one leave here. He won’t let you either…”

I started worrying. I needed to clarify this matter with the eldest keeper of the Mite Cult.

Eldest Keeper

I managed to get an audience with the eldest keeper.

“Hello! I’d like to leave the Rotten Bog now.”

“Where do you think you’re going with that face? Do you want to be burned alive by the Brotherhood of Fire? Have you seen yourself in the mirror?”

“I couldn’t find a single mirror here.”

“Oh, right. I personally banned all mirrors… Still, you’re not going anywhere.”

“But I have to! I’m a reporter for The Echo of the Northern Gate. I need to give an account of my work to the publisher.”

“Join us, young man, and you’ll run the local paper. It’s called The Rotten Bog Arguments and Facts. How do you like that?”

“I’ll think about it.”

The Rotten Bog Arguments and Facts

Marriage Advertisement

A charming man of royal blood, in the prime of life and good-looking, invites a fertile foreigner without bad habits to move to the Rotten Bog, become his bride and have royal offspring. If you are interested in this proposal, contact any ritualist of the Rotten Bog to begin preparing for a magnificent and unforgettable wedding ceremony on the river bank, according to ancient traditions.

I think our correspondent has only one chance to escape the Rotten Swamps — riding a giant mosquito (just like Bjorn once did, spoiler alert).

If he manages to escape, we’ll be following his further adventures closely.

And you — keep following ours.