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Witchgrove Games: Oh, so I wasn't far from the truth after all.
Well, there currently are some 2000 uncompleted wishes with at least 500 votes, though they include many duplicates, the vast majority had years and years to gather those votes, some may be left uncompleted though they are, impossible requests...

There are these threads for highlighting games with fewer votes:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/suggest_games_esp_indie_w_300_votes_on_the_community_wishlist_that_people_should_vote_for_p
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/which_indie_games_do_you_want_to_see_on_gog_in_2023
Post edited July 01, 2023 by Cavalary
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Witchgrove Games: I'm quite aware that many indie devs have given GOG a cold shoulder
Yeah, it goes both ways. GOG is not transparent at all & their curation is nonsencial, they're bad at communicating, often have massive delays in reaching out to devs.. basically, they give a lot of indie devs and their customers the cold shoulder. GOG has built their reputation, and fixing it is not going to be easy. I can see why devs don't want to bother with GOG at all...
Alright, the demo version is now released at itch.io! Don't mind the optional payment, the demo is free. I just left the optional payment in case someone wants to support this project, but I don't expect anything.

I hope you enjoy!

https://witchgrove-games.itch.io/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-in-search-of-the-great-wanderer-demo

Edit: This is the latest version, which was updated today.

Patch notes:

- Added new side and back sprites for the farmer, farmer's wife and traveling merchant, so they won't just stand and stare player all the time.
- Added new animated overworld sprites for bats and nikarus to make the gameworld more immersive.
- Changed a wrong value in bats' stats, which invalidated earlier balancing updates and made bats stronger than they supposed to be.
- Fixed a bug that prevented player to receive coins at the start, when female character is chosen.
- Raised the amount of coins received in the beginning to 1000.
- Adjusted the size of farmer's and merchant's sprites.
- Adjusted the camera zoom height when talking to male NPCs.
Post edited July 01, 2023 by Witchgrove Games
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Cavalary: But way back I recall a message saying that they approach publishers of games with at least 500 votes, so 45 would be far from the radar.
One thing: we've had several "interesting picks" release here which got little to no votes on the wishlist(sub 100 or less), and games(not games in legal limbo, but games GOG could likely easily get here) with many more votes did not. Point being, i'd take wishlist interest/numbers as an indicator that GOG will allow a game to be sold here with a grain of salt ;)

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Witchgrove Games: I really thought those Community Wishlist entries would play a bigger part getting your game released at GOG.
They used to be, long ago when GOG started out.....of course that, like other things(like it's original five core pillars/values) have sadly been altered/dropped by the wayside as GOG grew and time went on.

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Witchgrove Games: But at least now I feel a bit more enlightened about the Community Wishlist and forum activity, and I feel much more positive about the GOG release in general.
Tis good to hear :)

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Witchgrove Games: Perhaps the right choice might be releasing the demo in Itch.io and then start to pursuit the GOG release for the full game.
Sounds good(you can even host the full game on itch as well, as an additional revenue stream/point of sale).
Post edited July 02, 2023 by GamezRanker
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Witchgrove Games: Perhaps the right choice might be releasing the demo in Itch.io and then start to pursuit the GOG release for the full game.
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GamezRanker: Sounds good(you can even host the full game on itch as well, as an additional revenue stream/point of sale).
I would highly recommend that. When developers use itch as a mere marketing platform for their demos but sell the full game elsewhere, it only generates negative feelings for me.
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GamezRanker: Sounds good(you can even host the full game on itch as well, as an additional revenue stream/point of sale).
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clarry: I would highly recommend that. When developers use itch as a mere marketing platform for their demos but sell the full game elsewhere, it only generates negative feelings for me.
Yes, I'm going to release the full game in Itch.io also.
Demo has already been released there: https://witchgrove-games.itch.io/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-in-search-of-the-great-wanderer-demo
Small surprise update for the demo before the final update!

Patch notes:

- Updated bandit sprites to have animation when they walk in the forest
- Improved bandit battle animation slightly
- All the NPCs have now side and back sprites
- Changed bandit mobs, so Outlaws doesn't appear into battles too early
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Witchgrove Games: Yes, I'm going to release the full game in Itch.io also.
Nice....also thanks for the link :)
The final update for the Chronicles of Vaeltaja's demo has been released!

https://witchgrove-games.itch.io/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-in-search-of-the-great-wanderer-demo/devlog/557717/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-demo-final-update
Post edited July 09, 2023 by Witchgrove Games
A Chronicles of Vaeltaja Competition has been announced:

https://witchgrove-games.itch.io/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-in-search-of-the-great-wanderer-demo/devlog/562317/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-competition-update
Been a little bit quiet here, but that's about to change:

I've updated the Chronicles of Vaeltaja's demo with new 'Stat and Skill' system which is more in line with classic RPG mechanics. If the old system felt like a turn-off, this update just might change things. Detailed description and patch notes can be found here:

https://witchgrove-games.itch.io/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-in-search-of-the-great-wanderer-demo/devlog/577912/chronicles-of-vaeltaja-demo-update-143
Post edited August 21, 2023 by Witchgrove Games
So, I read about the new stat/skill system, and there's one question that I have:

Suppose I have a level 5 Warrior with 16 Stamina. Is that enough information to determine this character's max HP?
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dtgreene: So, I read about the new stat/skill system, and there's one question that I have:

Suppose I have a level 5 Warrior with 16 Stamina. Is that enough information to determine this character's max HP?
The hit point formula for the warrior goes roughly like this stamina *3 = hit points.
With caster characters it's stamina *2 = hit points.

I will do some tests and balancing to the formula before I release the main build, so there might be some adjustments to the formula (maybe also a small level up bonus to the hit points also) in the game's release version.

Edit: I'm also writing a pdf manual for the release version, which will detail these things much better. And I hope I get some good new regarding the GOG release in the near future.
Post edited August 21, 2023 by Witchgrove Games
A small balancing update for the demo.

Patch Notes:
- Adjusted 'hit point' and 'energy point' formulas
- Adjusted the spell damage little bit weaker, so spells are not overpowered in the beginning
- Adjusted the amount of Stat and Skill points that the party has at the beginning
- Changed locations of two bat mobs in the Southern part of the Great Forest
- Tweaked first quest's Outlaw mob so that at least two Outlaws appears when battle starts
- Updated 'Gameplay_Instructions' and 'ReadMe' text files found in the demo's main folder
- Updated Merchant's gameplay tips
- Added butterflies in few spots in the forest
- Added one more Water of Life and Camping Gear to the party inventory
- Some minor balancing to Outlaws, Skeletons and Wraiths
Finally, here are some launch details:

Early access starts at Steam and Itch.io (I’m still waiting news from GOG) in October 10th, which is the birthday of Finland’s national author Aleksis Kivi.

What is included in the early access release:

For starters, if you have tried the demo, you will notice that it was more like a ‘light version’ of the game with less mechanics and non-existent story content while the release version is deeper and vaster in many ways.

- Early access launch version will contain at least four overworld areas, Twin Falls, The Great Forest, Pramea and Marsh of the Condemned, which all are divided in multiple areas. For example the biggest of them all, Twin Falls, contains five main areas, plus two smaller areas, and the Castle Town, which also has two parts. At the moment I’m finalizing Lake Road, which is almost complete, but because of the day/night cycle, I have to make some adjustments to it, so I can’t promise it will make it in time for the launch. If not, it will follow during the first month in the first updates.

- Each of those main areas contain their own secrets and side quests.

- There will be several dungeons, some of them are bigger than others, with puzzles to solve, traps to avoid, enemies to fight and secrets to be found. Four (or five, if you count the small one) of them are related to plot, others are optional.

- Several plot related quests to progress the story and some bigger and smaller side quests.

- At launch there are at least seven character classes: Guide, Warrior, Hunter, Shadow, Mage, Priest and Witch, but I’m working on two other classes, which will either be part of the launch or follow in the first big content update. Some classes have alternative skill/spell sets: For example Mage can choose to become Warlock or Wizard with different set of spells, or he can learn little bit from both.

- Stat and skill system, which affects beyond battle system: For example to find some secrets, the main character must have good Perception, or good Charisma if you want some of the non-playable characters to discuss about certain topics and to progress in those conversations Speech skill is needed. But beware, if you do questionable things that lower your reputation, some NPCs might stop talking to you. On the other hand, if you build up reputation with good deeds, some NPCs may notice it and reward you with a gift.

- Lots of weapons (swords, axes, daggers, maces, bows, crossbows, staves), armors (robes, light, medium and heavy armors) and other useful equipment like shields, cloaks, gloves, rings and necklaces. Some of them raise stats and have other helpful qualities.

- Tools and other items such as torches, lanterns, lockpicks, camping gear, potions etc.

- Quest related items.

- Turn-based battles and boss fights, but some boss encounters doesn’t have to end up in violence.

- Day and night cycle, so dungeons aren’t the only places where those torches and lanterns are needed. Streets will get quieter and merchants will lock their doors when the night falls, but there might be other things happening when common people are sleeping.

- Nvidia 3D Vision support. At Steam when launching the game you should be able to choose between normal and 3d version. At Itch.io 3d version will be included in the same zip-file as the normal version. There will be some differences in the skyboxes between both versions because I haven’t found a way to add depth to the cloud layer and therefore they appear at screen depth when playing in stereoscopic 3d. I will be testing an alternative solution for the clouds, but it might affect the performance in a negative way. I will share some details about this at a later date once the testing is done.

What will be added in the future:

If Lake Road is not included in the launch, it will follow during the first month in the first content update. If it is included in the launch, I will focus on finalizing the next overworld area, the Autumn Valley, which will be added with the next big content update. After that I will focus on the last two overworld areas and their dungeons. There will be a bigger content update every time new area is finished with the story content and some smaller updates to fix possible bugs, balance things and improve the overall experience. Some of the smaller updates might also bring new stuff to existing areas, such as side-quests and perhaps new secrets to be found.

I will also update some of the graphics during the early access period as there are some pre-made assets used as place holders.

Though I’m working on this game full-time, this is still a solo dev project, so it will take some time to finish the rest of the content. Nevertheless, if there won’t be any surprising delays, the game should leave early access before the summer 2024.

At the moment I’m finalizing the game mechanics so I wouldn’t have to add them after the launch. This should prevent the need to start a new game after updates.

Early access price will be 16.90€/$, but there’ll be a small launch discount during the first two weeks. Full release will raise the price about 10€/$, so participating in early access you’ll get the game cheaper and support the further development. And don’t worry, there will be plenty of content to justify the price.

Thank You and hope to see You soon in Twin Falls!