Why Stoneshard refuses to go easy: A conversation with Ink Stains Games

Time truly flies. Stoneshard was released 5 years ago but it feels like it was just yesterday. I was one of the first players (even before the caravan was a thing), drawn in by the unique art style and the interesting approach to survival and combat. A lot has changed over these years, making this the perfect time to reach out to Andrii Tsypaiev, a Game Designer at Ink Stains Games. I decided to ask him for his perspective on various topics frequently discussed within community. Curious about the difficulty level, the deadliest opponents, or what’s coming in the next update?

Related:Stoneshard RPG Hits it Big on Steam

Damian Gacek (DG): How do you handle the pressure from players who want the game to be easier? What would you say to those who find it “tedious”?

Andrii Tsypaiev (AT): A high learning curve is one of the hallmarks of our game, as it is designed for people who enjoy overcoming challenges and understanding the intricacies of numerous game mechanics. So we strive to develop in a direction that helps to interest newcomers and give them an incentive to understand and overcome this entry barrier without making direct concessions in the form of simplified difficulty levels and other such things. I think it's very beneficial for the community around the game (and the game as whole) when all players, new and veterans, deal with the same challenges and share same experience.

As for “tediousness,” this is a common complaint, but in our opinion, it is a very subjective category. What seems boring to one person works to immerse someone else. Therefore, we try to maintain a certain balance here – after all, Stoneshard is a game about the life of a mercenary, not just fighting, leveling up, and looting. And we try to do our best to represent even less exciting aspects of it – like scavenging for food, recovering from injuries or regaining good morale.

NOPE!Source: Stoneshard, developer: Ink Stains Games

DG: Speaking of difficulty – the game is packed with incredibly tough opponents. The Ancient Troll is notorious, but even a Bison can be deadly for my melee character. Do you have a personal pick for the deadliest foe in the game?

AT: It depends on what you exactly mean by “deadly.”

If we're talking about the basic combination of abilities and characteristics, then it's probably the Proselyte Fiend, who can dismember careless adventure with just a couple of strikes. If we're talking about mechanics and the need to find an approach to win, then my favourites in this regard are two mini-bosses: the Proselyte Brander and the Ghastly Herald, who force you to change your strategy and adapt to what is happening in battle.

It is a small thing… but so useful!Source: Stoneshard, developer: Ink Stains Games

DG: I keep discovering new things about the game. For instance, I recently learned that you can access the caravan inventory from the cooking screen. What would you say is the most useful “hidden mechanic” players might not know about?

AT: This button is also available when trading in settlements if the caravan has stopped nearby - within 2 global tiles by default, and within 5 tiles if you have hired Darrell! I think this is the second most useful “hidden” mechanic, as it prevents a lot of back-and-forth walking. I've already thought about writing a separate pop-up hint about it, since many people seem to be completely unaware of its existence.

If we're talking about the hotkeys, many players don't seem to know about Shift + LMB to quick inspect enemies.

I would love to see chunk-based world loading!Source: Stoneshard, developer: Ink Stains Games

DG: Is there something you’ve always wanted to add to the game but know you can’t, for one reason or another?

AT: Perhaps the chunk-based world loading system to achieve full seamlessness. I'm not a programmer and I am not really well-versed in various technical stuff, but as far as I remember, at the beginning of development, this was impossible to do on our engine, and at the current stage of development, it's too radical a refactor that we simply can't afford anymore.

DG: I was drawn to the game by its distinctive visual style. What inspired the art direction behind it?

AT: It would be best to ask our lead artist! But as far as I know, inspiration was drawn from a variety of sources—primarily the Diablo, Witcher, Kingdom Come series, and also Battle Brothers. We also constantly draw inspiration from historical illustrations and museum exhibits to create authentic equipment and environments.

I lack some upgrades, but the team is complete.Source: Stoneshard, developer: Ink Stains Games

DG: I was surprised to see that fewer than 12% of players have earned the “Full House” achievement for collecting all three companions. Why do you think that is?

AT: This achievement was added not so long ago, and Stoneshard has been in Early Access for a long time. Many of those who bought the game do not return with every update, or are waiting for the full release. In addition, in order to hire all followers, the average player usually has to spend quite a lot of time in the game (unless they are specifically aiming for this achievement) - and here, the high entry threshold and difficulty can also work against us. Well, it's only up from here!

DG: Your last major update, Of Beasts & Sages, came out in August. Can you give us a small glimpse of what to expect in the next big patch? And will we have to wait long for another major update?

AT: Right now, we are working on an interim patch that will add several new quests to the game and significantly expand the Proselytes faction, adding dozens of new enemies with a variety of new abilities - at the moment they're lacking in numbers when compared to other enemy factions.

After that, we will focus on the next major update, which will bring players the long-awaited rework of the enchantment system, legendary items, as well as wands and a related skill tree. We're also working on Character Creator on the background, but it'll probably arrive a bit later, as it's a lot of work and most of our time and resources are spent on the features I mentioned above.

Stoneshard

February 6, 2020

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