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New location! New quests!

Welcome all! Today I’m very happy because I get to talk about new content added to the early access! 🙂

Indeed we’ve opened up a new location: the Northern Slopes (along with the old armory) but we also worked a lot on the existing Far Tower area. Not only is the location much prettier to look at (thanks to many new assets) but there’s actually stuff to do there now!

Here’s a lighting test for the time-of-day system which is recorded in the new area:

We’ve added 5 new quests to the existing 28, which brings us to a tally of 33 quests available in the early access version. The new quests range from quite easy to much more involved.

Furthermore we introduce a couple of new gameplay mechanics: among which are the “brisance kegs”. Those are in effect a sort of exploding barrel/nitroglycerin. They are heavy items which Tilo can grab and move anywhere within a certain distance.

And that’s what makes them special: every time Tilo takes a step the brisance bar fills up a little until it fills up completely and as you guessed… the whole thing goes ka-boom! So better not let that happen.

But that’s not all: the brisance is sensitive to shocks so Tilo can also throw projectiles at it to blow it up at a distance.

Conversely, Tilo can light up the fuse of the brisance kegs (using his candlestick or fire steel) to create a delayed explosion. Which will prove very handy throughout the rest of the game, against some enemies and also as a way to affect the environment.

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In this update we have added new shortcuts for you to discover, making traveling from one part of Dwindling Heights to another even more enjoyable.

Besides the usual helping of bug fixes you’ll also find long-time requested features like a brightness slider, an LOD slider (for people with powerful machine who just want the game to look as good as possible) and a way to sort the inventory clothing items by costume and/or body parts.

And by the way just to give you some hints: the new quests can be accessed by talking to Faustus, visiting the garden and exploring the far tower area (mind your steps).

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The guards now have new attack sounds (coupled with camera shakes when Tilo gets hit) so they overall feel more threatening. Some of them now wear greaves, which means that they won’t slip down on a grease jar anymore.

You can think of it as a rock/paper/scissors situation: some guards wear a helmet so you can’t knock them down with a bottle but they could slip and fall on a grease jar, while some others have no head protection but they wear greaves, etc… So you have to choose the right tool for the right situation.

The map system has also been improved in that the markers that appear on it now visually indicate if the items they refer to are located above or below Tilo’s current position.

Story-wise you can also pick up more roses in the world, which in turn will let you learn more about Tilo and Merra’s story.

Anyway there are too many things to mention here so I encourage you to read the detailed release notes.

With this update we are nearing the 60% of publicly available content. One thing to keep in mind about the whole process is we only publish things when they are ready. In other words out of the remaining 40% about half is already created and the other half is well on the way. Of course for now the “non-public” content is only reachable by us developers and alpha testers. But boy do we have some beautiful things in store for you! 🙂

To illustrate this point, here’s a screenshot of Tilo exploring the catacombs (which are not open to the public yet)…

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In terms of availability this update can be downloaded on Steam today, then in a couple of days on GOG and finally (barring any unforeseen troubles) on the Xbox One before the end of the month.

Update on August 18: The new build is now available on Steam, GOG and the Xbox One store!

As usual, don’t hesitate to leave your questions and suggestions in the comments below! See you in the next update! 🙂

Seith
Seith

44 Comments

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    Ben
    August 11, 2017 at 4:55 pm

    Looking good! I’ll jump in on it when it nears 100% content, and hopefully before it’s ready for release : D

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    Nautilus
    August 11, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    Every new update = the feeling you get on Christmas morning 😀

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    KwisatzHaderach
    August 11, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    It looks so, so lovely Seith! Makes it hard for me to hold out for the release build! Everytime you post an update I get so excited by the places and features that are to come! Nautilus is right, feels like Christmas (eve, where I life ;).

    Glad to see this slowly getting its head above the water!

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    Fonzman
    August 11, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    I’ll have to start it up again. Many changes since my last visit to Dwindling Heights. I am really looking forward to the final version also.
    You are one of the prime examples of early access done right!

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    Nitroflow
    August 11, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    Still hoping you bring this great game to linux! I backed it on indiegogo but I’m willing to buy another copy if this happens!

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    Bre
    August 11, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    Is the “Heroes All” quest bugged? The quest will not progress after lighting one or all candles. I lit them in the order I believe to be correct, the candles blew out by “ill wind”. I lit them in the same order again, the last candle being lit already when I got there, which maybe I did by accident, but then all the candles stayed lit and the quest still didn’t progress – as in I have tended 0/9 graves. I can’t tell if I’m missing something, or if this is not supposed to happen 🙁

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    Joseph
    August 12, 2017 at 1:26 am

    Asolutely incredible screenshots! The visual style is a perfect mix of realistic lighting and exaggerated architecture- reminds me quite a bit of the old Hobbit PS2 game that was a staple of my childhood! Excellent work.
    Also, I know that with all the work that’s being poured into this game blog posts are not top priority, but would it be possible for you to post some of your early sketches and concept art for the game? I am a sophomore in college, studying to be a concept artist. I love seeing the ideas behind the final product for games!

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    BlinxESP
    August 12, 2017 at 3:05 am

    So nice, I cannot wait to play it. Amazing UNITY can do this, they should give you an award. Turning on my Xbox to play again!

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    Philsip
    August 12, 2017 at 4:41 am

    I love this so much. I think I’ll wait until the full release to dive back in again so that I can enjoy it in its completion, but every update is just mind blowing.

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    Joaz
    August 12, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    Merci !!! C’est une excellente nouvelle et longue vie à Ghost of a tale ! (surtout sur XBox One) ; )

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    Carter Walston
    August 12, 2017 at 11:51 pm

    Just played the 60 minute trial on Xbox earlier today then spent 30 minutes contemplating if I would buy it or not. I definitely did buy it and don’t regret it all. I love it!!!! I think I’m almost done but with it and can’t wait for the rest.

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    Lee Henderson
    August 14, 2017 at 9:39 am

    I am torn. I don’t know if i want to dive back in until the finished product is available. But i reeeeeeaaally want to see what’s new.
    I’ve played through, and finished every quest, three times. I like the fact that burning the Flags now alerts the Rat Guards. I’m just worried that if i play too much of the game in small portions i’m going to loose the overall impact of the story and sense of progression.

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        Lee Henderson
        August 14, 2017 at 3:09 pm

        Agreed. I’m going to wait. Good things and all that . . .

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    Stian
    August 14, 2017 at 10:26 am

    These guys are truly Unity Wizards! Usually I’m sceptical of 3D Unity games for performance reasons, usually this is caused by developers don’t knowing or don’t caring about optimization and fine-tuning. This just runs smoothly and looks amazing.

    If Unity needs a game to showcase what this engine can do in the right hands, this is the one.

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    devin
    August 24, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    where is the cave key?

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    Tom
    August 30, 2017 at 3:12 am

    Is there any thought of adding a free roam mode to the final game? The world that you have created is a beautiful sight, and I would love to have the ability to explore it without the worry of being attacked.

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    Cutter
    September 12, 2017 at 12:57 am

    This is such a remarkable and beautiful game you’re developing. It’s really hard not to play it atm so I can experience the complete tale when it’s done – as you mentioned before Xmas I hope! After this you should see if you can collaborate with David Petersen and do a Mouse Guard game after this seeing as all the work you’ve done with Ghost could easily lend itself to that rather well I should think. Keep up the good the good work!

    Cheers
    Cutter

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    Gabriel Kannenberg
    September 30, 2017 at 12:15 am

    Hi Seith!

    I really liked Ghost of a Tale and I enjoyed soo much of it that I literally finished it’s available content quite fast (back on March). I have but one question, I have seen the update logs and all but it seams to me that I am not capable of accessing this unfinished updates (it that right?). I loaded up an old save and went for the caves (after getting the armor and spider’s antidote, still got the same message as before), is this intended to be so until you release the full experience? Does one can have access to this content, if so, how to do it? Must you start a new game?

    Best regards and keep up the good work! I am a developer – under graduation – and you are quite an inspiration to me and my friends, we truly enjoy your work!

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    Jason C. Grooms
    October 8, 2017 at 9:25 pm

    Recently downloaded the game. Great graphics, fun challenging quests. But did you leave out the Armory key? I am unable to find it, to retrieve the grieves!

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    Robert Leisure
    October 11, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    Just awesome work on this game, Seith has a classic here no doubt, I am a 72 year old kid at heart and simply love this game and am looking fwd. to getting into the catacombs lol.

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    Joseph
    October 11, 2017 at 6:51 pm

    Hey Seith! I check this blog every day to see if there are cool new screenshots or updates! But there hasn’t been a new post in two months 🙁 Do you know when we might get the next progress report on this fantastic game? Thanks!

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    Alex Garcia
    October 13, 2017 at 1:19 pm

    Amazing game, art and concept!!! It’s will be a great success.. I’m waiting the release =)

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    Ahmed
    October 27, 2017 at 6:14 am

    Thank you for the informative update and hard work, Seth. Hopefully the team considers enhancing the game for Xbox One X. From what l hear adding support for the X is smooth and easy 🙂

    Looking forward to March!
    Ahmed

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    Madi
    November 25, 2017 at 4:14 am

    I just found out about this game because of a YouTube walkthrough, I watched five minutes of it and wanted to immediately play it for myself, Tilo is sooo cute! I love rodents or as I like to call them Small Furry Balls or smfurbs because smfurbs is less insulting. Lol

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    TANIA
    March 8, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    HEY GUYS, SORRY CAPS ON …BAD EYES……WE HAVE LOOKED EVERYWHERE AND SPOKEN TO ALL GUARDS AND STILL CANT FIND IT…BEEN TO ALL CHESTS TOO….IS IT IN THE GAME YET PLEASE XOXO TANIA

  • Pingback: Ghost of a Tale – Best Guides For All Games
    April 9, 2018 at 3:42 pm
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    Cedrima
    July 7, 2018 at 12:55 pm

    Hey everyone !
    Just a quick question, how does this beautiful game go out on PS4???
    I have to confess, i’m frustated because i can’t play with it
    So please answer me as qucik as you can !

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    iCloud support number
    July 29, 2018 at 12:16 am

    The new change made in the game will increase its users to another level. I will have to try the game after the new update. It will be nice to play the game. I will have to update the game as soon as the DLC is released.

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    gwendolyn r norman
    December 22, 2018 at 7:28 pm

    I am wondering if there is a way the map could show a different color or something if we have visited that spot and no longer have to return, could help with the confusion. Great idea to show different level on map, way to go.

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      toupe
      December 22, 2018 at 7:29 pm

      I am wondering if there is a way the map could show a different color or something if we have visited that spot and no longer have to return, could help with the confusion. Great idea to show different level on map, way to go.

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