Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy — Fantasy RPG from ATOM devs

[1998]

Right on time the next monthly update. It isn't much, but nice to see they are sticking to their schedule. Soundcloud link isn't working for me though.

August Dev Update



Hello, friends! Another month, another update. Today, we have some hopefully interesting news to share with you. So, enough with the introductions—let's dive in!



We are adding new animations to the game, primarily focused on different fighting techniques. But that's just the beginning

In any event, with these animations, the battles—both real-time and turn-based—will be much more visually interesting; the hits will feel meatier, and the heaves will feel heavier!



The land of Nova Drakonia is not only sunshine and lush, almost tropical greenery. It is also dotted with various ruins and dungeons, both recent and as ancient as the hills.

Here is a screenshot from one such dungeon we are currently working on. This mysterious place is well hidden, and not many adventurers will discover it. However, those who do will receive a truly 'serpentine' welcome...



But enough about the doom and gloom of the dank crypts. Here's a new location—an entrance to a cave situated near the western mountains. Its inhabitants may surprise you, and vice versa



Traveling in Nova Drakonia (*cough, cough* World Map) is a risky endeavor, but it can also lead to pleasant—or profitable—surprises. Along the way, you'll encounter merchants who are always eager to make a few dinars by dealing with passing adventurers. However, be very cautious if you decide to attack them.



We also wanted to share a revamped version of the loading screens. Early Access will feature several beautiful images (currently, we have two, and a third is actively being created), and we will continue to add new artwork with each subsequent update!



To stay on track with the 2D art, each inventory item receives its own icon. There are *many* different items in Swordhaven, but we promise that in the final game, every one of them will have its own picture.



We want to thank each and every one of you who added Swordhaven to your wishlist on Steam. This really helps us determine which languages to prioritize for translation. And, as you might have guessed, work on some translations has already begun.



Last but not least, here's one of the new music tracks for the game! Give it a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

That's all for this month. We didn't cover a lot of the development happening behind the scenes, but we'll share more when we feel it's more or less ready.

Stay cool as a cucumber,
Yours, as always,
Atom Team

[wndrbr]

[Element]

Lacks something exciting to latch on to. Feels like a by-the-numbers standard fantasy fare. Hope to be proven wrong.

[Rand]

I think it will still be a fun game.

[Luckmann]

Oh boy.. I always wanted to play a stinky polish farmer in a BG1 clone.

This but unironically.

[Xenich]

I think it will still be a fun game.

Yeah, looks good so far.

[wndrbr]

Releases in Early access on 12/12/24

[Rand]

Looking forward to this.
I don't expect a masterpiece, but I do expect a decent old-school style semi-open world adventure game.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

Releases in Early access on 12/12/24

Hope it succeeds in the final product(1.0 release ) even though I’m not interested in getting this game unfortunately.

[rusty_shackleford]

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LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN LET ME IN

[Rand]

Is this going to be like ATOM RPG and Trudograd where the game releases with about 1/3 of the content and the rest is drip-fed to the purchasers over the next year or so?
Then another 3 to 6 months of patches still fixing bugs?

[Rand]

Huh. Unlike most devs, they actually tell you quite a bit in the Early Access section.

► Show Spoiler

WHAT THE DEVELOPERS HAVE TO SAY:
Why Early Access?
“We find that Early Access is an excellent way to engage the community in providing valuable feedback and influencing the development process.
It also greatly contributes to financing the game, as all Early Access purchases help us create a bigger and better experience.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
“We currently plan for a release in Q4 2025. However, we acknowledge that many circumstances beyond our control could prolong this process. Therefore, to be cautious, we have also allowed for the development to take up to 1.5 years, extending the timeline to Q3 2026. In summary, the development period is estimated to be between 1 to 1.5 years.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?
“The changes we have planned to implement during Early Access development are: adding a significant number of effects, improved models, combat animations, weapon techniques, explorable locations such as dungeons, villages and of course the city of Swordhaven; quests, bosses, weapons, and items, along with many balancing tweaks, fixes, and optimization improvements based on community suggestions.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“We have finished developing the middle area of the World Map. This includes planned locations, such as background-specific dungeons for the playable backgrounds, a common dungeon, two large villages, and random encounter maps set in various biomes. Additionally, combat techniques (excluding animations) are ready, along with the main quests for this area, except for those that lead to unfinished locations.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
“We do not plan to raise prices. However, given the unpredictability of global economic conditions, we are keeping this option open in case of absolutely dire circumstances.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?
“This is our utmost goal with Early Access: to create the best game we can by using our community's feedback. We will gather this feedback primarily through Steam forums, as well as our own social media and dedicated Discord chat. Our game designers will engage with the community through these channels to collect, assess, and discuss suggested additions or improvements to the game. Our experience shows that community involvement provided ideas for more than half of the additional content in our previous games, and we are confident it will do the same, if not more, for Swordhaven.”

The price will be the price, meaning that you aren't getting a discount to be their alpha/beta testers.
So, a $40 game, I expect.

I'll give them credit. Unlike a lot of devs, they actually paid off the player investment twice before recently.
I will buy it on spec for that reason.

[Acrux]

Is this going to be like ATOM RPG and Trudograd where the game releases with about 1/3 of the content and the rest is drip-fed to the purchasers over the next year or so?
Then another 3 to 6 months of patches still fixing bugs?

Well, it's releasing into Early Access, so yes.

[Roderick]

Looks interesting. Liked the other game cover they had before.

[rusty_shackleford]

1 hour consensus:
GOOD. BUY IT.

[rusty_shackleford]

looks like some anally pained russ))))) people are leaving negative reviews because it's made by hohols
report this review https://steamcommunity.com/id/bio009/re ... d/2108180/

to be clear, I don't care if a game is made by nigerians if it's GOOD.

[rusty_shackleford]

► Show Spoiler

Almost certain this is a reference to people asking for free copies

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Swordhaven_005.webp

[Rand]

to be clear, I don't care if a game is made by nigerians if it's GOOD.

Good thing you'll NEVER have to prove that, Rusty!

[Rand]

report this review https://steamcommunity.com/id/bio009/re ... d/2108180/

[WaterMage]

How is magic in this game?

[rusty_shackleford]

How is magic in this game?

I've seen none so far, it's a low magic setting afaict.

[Rand]

I have hope.

► Show Spoiler

I hope I don't get burned again like the last time I backed a project.

[Finarfin]

How is magic in this game?

There is none. It's low fantasy

[Tinky Winky]

Releases in Early access on 12/12/24

feathered dinosaur = gay redditcore ****

[Irenaeus]

How is magic in this game?

There is none. It's low fantasy

None? That's not low fantasy, that's flat fantasy.

[1998]

Huh. Unlike most devs, they actually tell you quite a bit in the Early Access section.

The price will be the price, meaning that you aren't getting a discount to be their alpha/beta testers.
So, a $40 game, I expect.

They also were very slow discounting ATOM post-release. Might just as well buy it now.

[rusty_shackleford]

How is magic in this game?

There is none. It's low fantasy

None? That's not low fantasy, that's flat fantasy.

The setting has some magic, but the player doesn't have access to any like a magician.

[Finarfin]

How is magic in this game?

There is none. It's low fantasy

None? That's not low fantasy, that's flat fantasy.

[rusty_shackleford]

I like that they carried over the Trudograd feature where you get XP for being inquisitive in conversations. All the little dialogue icons are nice too.
Game feels very polished.

[rusty_shackleford]

I made a noble with maxed out luck that thinks he's a great swordsman, all of his other stats are mediocre. High bluff, swords, and mercantile. He never steals and always helps those in need. He's completely unaware that all of his successes in life have been due to luck.

I think I misunderstood bluff tho. It's closer to deceive, which feels wrong