WHATS IN THIS UPDATE?

Hey everyone, and welcome to another update for FADE. In this update new areas and quests will be made available to players alongside a series of quality of life additions upon the request of the community. Before we get into it, here's the new trailer that better showcases the direction the game is going in. I hope you enjoy. ːsteamhappyː

MEET KAITHE THE UNDYING

First, I am happy to announce that Kaithe finally has a key part to play within the game. His character model has been completed and placed into the game. Many will know him as the disembodied voice that speaks throughout your journey. Now players will be able to interact with him and receive an even more personalized intro. For now you have access to three specific paths to take at the start of the game to decide your playstyle in the beginning. This is due to his ability to claim hosts and use their essence to empower himself. Kaithe also possesses the ability to reshape a hosts form, this will be explored further in the character customization update.

NEW QUESTS AND AREAS

As new areas are added to the game, more quests will be reworked, expanded and new quests will become available as you complete the older ones. With this in place, added quests in the near future will be possible without needing to start a new run. Seek out areas you've been to before and see the new changes.

NEW SELLING ITEMS FEATURE

In this update the shop feature has been improved to include the option to sell items as well as buy them. NPC merchants will buy items specific to their profession and buy them at a discounted rate based on their friendship with the player. For now the rate is flat, but expect a change in the near future.

NEW CRAFTING ENHANCEMENTS AND NEW OPTION

In order to expand the usage of materials and misc. items, across Baltane are a new type of crafting station known as the Crafting Table. Players can utilize these to craft items from recipes they've earned or found on their journey. Be on the lookout for quests with recipe rewards to further expand your combat options.

QUALITY OF LIFE SETTINGS CHANGES(TESTING)

In an effort to give players more control over their game experience, a slider has been implemented to help with the games overall brightness. Adjusting this will make it easier to see in the games darker areas or for those that have naturally dark monitors. Also a beta option for controls modification has been added to allow players to remap controls. For now you can change controls for gamepad and keyboard, but this is all subject to change once I get feedback on how effective this change is. If anything gamepad may be made standard while players will be able to change keyboard controls in the menu.

PLANNED ADDITIONS

Now that that's out of the way I'm going to go more into detail on things planned for the future of fade. The following goals are what's next for the project:

• PHASE TWO - Phase two includes what takes place after the Silver Seeker Quest. To begin this process I will need to reach out and have more character models made for the actors that play a significant role in the next update. This will be approached with UE4 META HUMANS in mind. The hope is to convert the project to UE5 or UE 4.26 and to attempt to create detailed models with capabilities for facial animation. Once attained the player will quest to a new Sea Town area being oppressed by raids of sea creatures that seem to be rising from a sunken castellum.

• COMPANION CHANGES - In the next update companions will be enhanced even further to have an Awakening ability. This ability is unlocked by getting the companion to level 15 and completing their companion specific quest. These abilities have a cooldown, are going to be what truly sets your companion apart from the others. For Example: A bowman in the game receives an ability to rain a barrage of arrows on foes.

• COMPANION WAGES - In order to immerse the player further and increase the flow of currency in the game, Companions will now have wages that are charged each day in game. If the player lacks the sufficient funds, the companion will leave the party and return to their initial locations. These wages will differ based on companion level and companion rank.

• MINIGAMES AND WORLD JOBS - In order to provide more options to the player other than selling items or killing foes, new job minigames will be added. These jobs will be based on profession, such as blacksmithing, mining, or logging. These minigames will include simple acts such as, striking metal at the correct timing to perfect an iron craft, cutting logs, and possibly tailoring. The most difficult of which is the Deep Dive mini game. In this mini game the player will work with the Briarstone Miners to dive into the deep tunnels they cannot venture. Here the player will have a limited time to mine as many metals as possible, while facing dangerous foes.

MORE LEGENDARIES - Won't say to much in the way of spoilers, but more legendary weapons are on the way in the next update. Each with a unique ability and gimmick. Good luck earning them, Death Bringer.


With that, that's everything I wanted to speak on everyone. I'm excited to bring you the next update in the future and I'm looking forward to even more feedback on the new changes. Thank you for you time and patience. Have fun out there, Death Bringer.