DevLog #16 | Hunting, Mining & Trading

We're excited to share a big round of updates for Sword & Shield Simulator. It's been a while since you heard from us, but that's because we've been busy rebuilding the game's core. Thanks to your feedback, we did more than just adjust a few numbers. We rebuilt the forge, expanded the world, and added a rich storyline to your blacksmithing adventure.

New UI & Interactions

We’ve introduced a new UI that makes every system easier to use and understand. These changes were made based on Demo feedback.

Here’s what changed:

• 3D Character Body Now, instead of just seeing through a floating camera, you’ll see your own character in first-person view. We’ve also added Metahumans integration and improved the lighting throughout the game.

• Interactive Inventory The inventory isn’t just a menu anymore. Now, items are physical objects you can pick up, hide, or assign to your slot bar.

• Storage & Cart You can now move and manage items between your new storage room and your cart. The cart is important for carrying heavy goods and helping your character travel lighter.

The Forge 2.0

The forge once again evolved to give you more control over your craft. There is a new smelting system for melting down materials and producing iron ingots, plus a material-mixing feature that lets you blend resources for the best blade stats.

You can now choose from many new sword molds for casting and forging, and sharpen every blade to improve its quality. You can also craft smaller items on the anvil, like lockpicks, nails, knives, and weapon parts. To help you get started, we've updated the forge interactions and added a new tutorial to guide you through the changes.

What changed:

• The new smelting system lets you melt down materials and craft ingots.

• The material mixing system lets you blend materials interactively to get the best stats for your blades.

• Now, you can sharpen every blade, which improves the final quality of your weapons.

• There are now many new sword molds available for casting and forging.

• The tutorial and forge interactions have been improved.

• You can now use the anvil to craft smaller essentials like lockpicks, nails, knives, and weapon parts, giving you more options as a blacksmith.

New Mechanics

Recently, we’ve been working on making the core gameplay loop bigger and better. Now you can mine ores, chop trees, and hunt wildlife, which gives you more ways to collect materials or trade with NPC merchants coming soon. Your crafting is now directly linked to how you progress in the game.

You’ll need to equip regional outposts with the gear you make to open up new areas. We’ve also set things up so you can return to specific spots and gather extra supplies whenever you need them.

• Ore Mining & Gathering Use a pickaxe to mine ore veins or chop down trees to collect materials. These resources are needed for smelting and forging better blades.

• Hunting and Resources You can now hunt animals like deer and bring them to the Trapper NPC, who will turn the deer into a useful skin resource that can be used in your forge!

• Trading with NPCs Traders are now found on every map, so you can barter and exchange resources with them.

• Arming Outposts To progress, you need to equip regional outposts with weapons and armor. This unlocks access to new maps.

Lockpicking and the Prison System

Breaking into houses is risky. With the lockpicks you make at the anvil, you can now break into homes to steal important items or collect evidence.

If you get caught, you’ll end up in the new prison system, where you’ll need to find a smart way to escape and win back your freedom.

See you in the next devlog.

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