Solasta II

[1998]

Not too optimistic after the first one, but at least somewhat of a real RPG. Making it look closer to BG3 won't save them if they are once again fucking up the combat.



Demo "soon"



Also not looking promising, no idea how many twitter handles all those females could be managing.

[J1M]

I liked Solasta, especially Lost Valley. It is a mistake for them to be making a sequel without continuing a steady stream of expansions for income and mindshare.

Their business plan is basically "Neverwinter Nights" but they don't seem to know that.

[1998]

I was really excited for the first one, but damn especially the encounter design was a major letdown. Never played Lost Valley though, or anything past 1.0.

[Nooneatall]

I liked Solasta, especially Lost Valley. It is a mistake for them to be making a sequel without continuing a steady stream of expansions for income and mindshare.

Their business plan is basically "Neverwinter Nights" but they don't seem to know that.

I'm going to make my own game called "always summer days"

[J1M]

I was really excited for the first one, but damn especially the encounter design was a major letdown. Never played Lost Valley though, or anything past 1.0.

Lost Valley is more open and faction-based. Easily the best Solasta offering.

[1998]

I was really excited for the first one, but damn especially the encounter design was a major letdown. Never played Lost Valley though, or anything past 1.0.

Lost Valley is more open and faction-based. Easily the best Solasta offering.

Then maybe there is hope for II

[Brother Chad]

I liked a lot about the first game besides the actual campaign. Wish the editor was more functional.

[Roguey]

They've decided to start over from scratch code-wise by going from Unity to Unreal.

French game developers, everybody.

[rusty_shackleford]

Wow, the UI looks even worse. How did they manage that?

Main issue with Solasta is that it was 5e, and barely even had any houserules. Without something like larian reactive world design, the game was just boooooring. I tried to beat it twice and didn't finish it.
Also, they added pronouns last minute right before launch after it was funded + people bought EA.

[rusty_shackleford]

They've decided to start over from scratch code-wise by going from Unity to Unreal.

If I had to guess, it was due to the Unity debacle. They probably regret it now, I'd assume.

[Acrux]

Wow, the UI looks even worse. How did they manage that?

Main issue with Solasta is that it was 5e, and barely even had any houserules. Without something like larian reactive world design, the game was just boooooring. I tried to beat it twice and didn't finish it.
Also, they added pronouns last minute right before launch after it was funded + people bought EA.

The Unfinished Business mod is almost required and has dozens of houserules, feats, classes, etc. Maybe they will learn from the popularity of that mod. Or they might just expect someone to create another mod for 2.

[rusty_shackleford]

Wow, the UI looks even worse. How did they manage that?

Main issue with Solasta is that it was 5e, and barely even had any houserules. Without something like larian reactive world design, the game was just boooooring. I tried to beat it twice and didn't finish it.
Also, they added pronouns last minute right before launch after it was funded + people bought EA.

The Unfinished Business mod is almost required and has dozens of houserules, feats, classes, etc. Maybe they will learn from the popularity of that mod. Or they might just expect someone to create another mod for 2.

The problem is the world is just boring and uninteractive, more classes aren't going to fix that.

[rusty_shackleford]

Just as I wasn't really a fan of the kotc games, I don't find pure combat simulators fun. I know some of you do so I'll just say "not for me". D&D was never meant to be a combat simulator tho. It feels like they're just adapting half the game and giving up on the rest.

But even for a combat simulator, it's very barebones compared to e.g., ToEE with TemplePlus. The entire gimmick was basically verticality.

[WaterMage]

ToEE > Solasta. Mainly due the better ruleset.

[ERYFKRAD]

Just as I wasn't really a fan of the kotc games, I don't find pure combat simulators fun. I know some of you do so I'll just say "not for me". D&D was never meant to be a combat simulator tho. It feels like they're just adapting half the game and giving up on the rest.

But even for a combat simulator, it's very barebones compared to e.g., ToEE with TemplePlus. The entire gimmick was basically verticality.

Did you happen to try any of the mods for it, by the way?

[rusty_shackleford]

Just as I wasn't really a fan of the kotc games, I don't find pure combat simulators fun. I know some of you do so I'll just say "not for me". D&D was never meant to be a combat simulator tho. It feels like they're just adapting half the game and giving up on the rest.

But even for a combat simulator, it's very barebones compared to e.g., ToEE with TemplePlus. The entire gimmick was basically verticality.

Did you happen to try any of the mods for it, by the way?

I rarely ever use mods that affect game balance unless it's for RP reasons. I just have an autistic thing about playing game as 'intended'

[Acrux]

Just as I wasn't really a fan of the kotc games, I don't find pure combat simulators fun. I know some of you do so I'll just say "not for me". D&D was never meant to be a combat simulator tho. It feels like they're just adapting half the game and giving up on the rest.

But even for a combat simulator, it's very barebones compared to e.g., ToEE with TemplePlus. The entire gimmick was basically verticality.

Did you happen to try any of the mods for it, by the way?

I rarely ever use mods that affect game balance unless it's for RP reasons. I just have an autistic thing about playing game as 'intended'

Almost all the mods are new adventure paths. They are still almost all only combat though, so it's unlikely you'd be interested.

[ERYFKRAD]

Just as I wasn't really a fan of the kotc games, I don't find pure combat simulators fun. I know some of you do so I'll just say "not for me". D&D was never meant to be a combat simulator tho. It feels like they're just adapting half the game and giving up on the rest.

But even for a combat simulator, it's very barebones compared to e.g., ToEE with TemplePlus. The entire gimmick was basically verticality.

Did you happen to try any of the mods for it, by the way?

I rarely ever use mods that affect game balance unless it's for RP reasons. I just have an autistic thing about playing game as 'intended'

Mods as in modules. Shoulda made that more clear.

[Cipher]

D&D was never meant to be a combat simulator tho. It feels like they're just adapting half the game and giving up on the rest.

This is the most correct take about D&D and roleplaying games in general that I've seen on the internet.

[Unhelpful Contrarian]

I hope the sequel improves its very underwhelming campaign and the abysmal VA.

[Dorateen]

Combat is the greatest theatre for role-playing in D&D. Having said that, by the time this sequel is released in 2026 or later, I doubt I'll have the hardware to run it. So I'm sticking with KotC 2.

[Yankee Zulu]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/2975950/ ... 157924976/

[1998]

New faces! They obviously look much better, not a big achievement though. And yes, no need to repost that hideous nigger girlboss. I am talking in general terms here.

Dev Update #03 - Show me your game face!

Let’s see how we improved those character models!

Hey hey people,

Once again, happy new year! Now that 2025 is on its way, we’re back in the studio to share more about Solasta II. Hope you managed to get a good long rest off, because the train ain’t stopping any time soon!



We humans have to get back to work, you adorable little freeloader!

Show me that face!

Let’s be honest, one of the weaker parts of Solasta I was our character models, which were the first things people saw when they started playing. In fact, even in positive reviews some of you said that they were apprehensive about getting the game at first because of how the characters looked.

Now, we explained quite a few times that we unfortunately couldn’t update them in Solasta I because of the entire pipeline already being built for that game. But you know what doing a whole new game in a different game engine allows us to do? That’s right, exactly that! Now, without further ado let me show you in-game screenshots showing currently implemented characters.


Playing around with face paint on our party's halfling.


Our dwarf in his trusty heavy armor.


Another cute lady halfling, this is the first NPC you'll be talking to in the demo!

Keep in mind that we are still in pre-alpha, and these are all pre-made characters as we have yet to implement the Character Creator. Be assured that once we do, we’ll share it in an article to give you more information on the new visual customization options!

And if you’re wondering if they only look detailed during cutscene, here is a quick screenshot we nabbed in-game while playing. All we did was hide the UI, but no special developer camera or other treatment otherwise.


Part fighter, part cleric, full-time hero - experimenting with multiclassing.

You will soon be able to play around with this crew when the demo comes out. When? Eeeh, we’ll have to ask you to be a little more patient!

A Blast to the Past

Just for fun, for those who may not remember here is how our character models looked in Solasta I for comparison.





The number of "we have BG3 at home" memes that Solasta: Crown of the Magister churned out...

… Quite a glow up, wouldn’t you say?

Community Stream #03 Friday 10th
And with 2025 comes another Community Stream! As usual, I'll be here on Friday to answer even more of your questions about the game - and if we ever run out of them (doubtful but hey maybe after answering 2014 vs 2024 ruleset twenty times we'll get there), let's tackle D&D and the 5e ruleset in general. What are some of your favorite... and most hated moments of playing D&D?

[rusty_shackleford]

we wuz dwarves

[PixiGreen]

Well, I can see some progress at least in character look. I like the first game well enough but - god! - the characters there are ugly! The ugliest I've ever seen in any game.

[J1M]

At no point in Solasta did I say to myself "I wish they spent more resources on faces".

I had thoughts like "why do so few of these enemies have abilities other than basic attack" and "I'd prefer a vastly different inventory system".

[1998]

At no point in Solasta did I say to myself "I wish they spent more resources on faces".

I had thoughts like "why do so few of these enemies have abilities other than basic attack" and "I'd prefer a vastly different inventory system".

I don't consider myself as being a graphic whore but damn those faces were offensively bad.

[Nooneatall]

Not too optimistic after the first one, but at least somewhat of a real RPG. Making it look closer to BG3 won't save them if they are once again fucking up the combat.



Demo "soon"



Also not looking promising, no idea how many twitter handles all those females could be managing.

I hope there's more trans representation in this one

[1998]

Dev Update #05 - Back to Combat!

Welcome adventurers!

Now that we’ve shown you how much our character models have improved as an appetizer, let’s move on to the main course - combat! If there is one thing that people have always agreed on, it’s that Solasta: Crown of the Magister was a fantastic combat simulator. So, does Solasta II share this strength?


You better read the entire article properly lest our fierce ferrets Kaiju and Soba be nibbling your ankles.

Good old Turn-Based Combat
First things first, yes Solasta II will still be Turn-Based. Not a very surprising decision considering we’ve always said that we want playing Solasta to feel similar to playing D&D on Tabletop. Rolling initiative, taking time to make your decisions, playing in turns one by one…


Those monsters’ initiative rolls are nasty, 21, 20 & 19? Hope the Sorcerer isn’t in range…

Not to say that RTwP (Real Time with Pause) doesn’t have its own advantages - for instance it makes combat much faster, which can be a boon when the enemies are much weaker than your party. Buuuut that’s not what Solasta II is going for!

Find your own tile to stand in!
One question we’ve seen quite a lot: is Solasta II still going to be grid-based? The answer to this one is a little more complex, but long story short: Yes, Solasta II will still be grid-based… in combat!


Remember we’re still in pre-alpha, so the combat grid and UI are still subject to change!

What does it mean? When it comes to combat, as stated before we want to stay true to Tabletop - so every character and monster will still occupy their own tile, just like before. However due to how movement is computed in Unreal Engine 5, characters will now take the shortest path to their destination instead of walking “tile to tile”. This will make their movement less robotic as they won’t have to touch the center of each tile they’re moving through (thus being able to turn more naturally instead of being limited to 45 and 90 degree angles).

Keep in mind they still have to start in a tile and end in a tile! There might be a slight difference in the quantity of movement used - as some eagle-eyed fans pointed out, a character in the trailer has 2’ (feet) of movement remaining - but unless you’re moving very large distances it should be scarcely noticeable. In fact, some of you may remember the Tabletop rule where every other diagonal movement is doubled: the result is somewhat similar to what is currently implemented in Solasta II.


You can also dash by double clicking where you want to go instead of clicking the Dash action in the UI.

Outside combat, there is no grid anymore - characters can freely move around and turn as they wish, they are no longer constrained by invisible tiles. Again, this makes movement feel much smoother and natural, especially when using the direct control movement scheme (WASD / Gamepad).

Wait wait wait, we can move using WASD / Gamepad?
Yes! We’ll give you more detail in a future article about the different control schemes, but just know for now that during exploration you will have the option to choose between indirect control like in Solasta I (clicking to tell your party where to go) and direct control (using WASD or the gamepad to move your party around).


You mean I get to choose? And swap whenever I want?! The best of BOTH world!

During combat however, it’s back to indirect control as you will have to navigate the grid, and direct control would feel very awkward there.

More information, and easier to access
If you played Solasta I, you know that there was tons of information available to you during combat… but it wasn't always easy to find. Some would be in the combat log, some would be icons that you had to recognize, either on the mouse cursor or on the enemy’s portrait at the top of the screen… Not an easy task for a newer player!


Daisy bows are for long range combat Daisy, what are you doing running into melee range Daisy.

Which is why we’re putting more effort in Solasta II to make it easier to get access to such information, so that there will be less frustrating moments like “wait, how the heck was I supposed to know that?!”

You may also notice that we’re showing hit chances when targeting the enemy - in the future, this data may only appear depending on your difficulty settings and the party’s level of knowledge of the monster you’re targeting (you’d need to know its AC).


The combat log will still be here to show you all the details you need, so you can scream when you end up rolling 1 & 3 with advantage.

Now, I don’t want to show you too much of the game before the demo goes live but… I think we can share one last screenshot, as some of you may become familiar with it pretty soon. Also, quick shout out to the newest member of our Game Design team who handcrafted these tutorial screenshots I’m sharing in this article. They look twenty times better than what I would have come up with on my own. Thanks buddy!


Death Saving throws baby! Get ready for some home grown, organic game overs!

Community Stream #04 Friday 24th

[rusty_shackleford]

No idea why they decided to stick with a combat grid considering it's a complete rewrite