Hey everyone, May has been a very busy month for the team! Development of the Quest system has fully kicked into gear as we’ve begun laying down the foundation for the mechanics and story. Behind the design of the Quest systems is the idea of taking all existing features (locations, NPCs, the Stonescript language) and remixing them in new ways, creating new connections between them and expanding where needed. In a pragmatic sense, the quests are about exploring the existing space in the Dark World that perhaps was only seen briefly during the main story. This will also be an excellent way to test the capabilities of user-generated content for the eventual inclusion of player-developed Quests. In the meantime, we’ve got a few things lined up to tide you over, like Lost Items, cosmetics, and the second Challenge Event! [h1]Challenge II - Hamartia[/h1] Menacing monsters plague the Dark World. Icy giants, mad skeletons, and venomous serpents reign supreme over their dominions. However, a strange wind blows, filling these beasts with untold strength and draining it from others. Your Bardiche won’t be enough to help you for this Challenge. You must use your wits and cunning to take down these behemoths! [b]Challenge II - Hamartia goes live on June 6th with more details to follow.[/b] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/199353005ddd9b4e7d714f3fce6e76d9284e5f87.png[/img] [h1]Bashing Shield[/h1] Last time we shared [i]The Blade of the Fallen God[/i], a massive two-hander once wielded by Pallas, the Skinless. The next Lost Item we’re previewing is the [i]Bashing Shield[/i]. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/0327377c2b8bc7a89480fe20fa12aab952fa4469.gif[/img] While not quite as flashy, the Bashing Shield nonetheless expands upon the design space for shields and Lost Items. Like other Lost Items, it will be a unique item that cannot be crafted. Challenge Events and Quests are just some of the ways we plan to integrate this into the broader scope of the game’s design. [h1]Cosmetics[/h1] One of the most often requested features for Stone Story is greater variety in player customization. To address that, we’ve brainstormed a number of possible cosmetic items. First on the list is name tags! With these one-time consumables, you can give custom names to any piece of gear. Enemies will learn to fear your Big Stick of Whacking or The Bardichiest Bardiche. We’ve got several other cosmetic ideas brewing, but we’re always open to suggestions. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/8416aefaaa1da012da8e3d999bac077f78578f17.png[/img] --- As always, we’re interested to hear any and all feedback from our players. Discuss gameplay strategies and keep up to date with development on Stone Story RPG’s official Discord server. Link: discord.gg/StoneStoryRPG [i]-SSRPG Team [/i] [h2]Bonus ASCII Art / Fanart[/h2] Check out some of the awesome artwork that our community has come up with! We've got a small but mighty team of talented artists on our Discord server, so if you're curious about how to work with ASCII art stop by and we'll help you get started. [h3]Giraffe by Flan Bi[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/325d686f82d164320bb9370321ce2db123abdd9c.png[/img] [h3]Hollow Knight by Skarrdix[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/05b6ff7d54fa010ea97c2ed6370ff60a8b43e1fa.png[/img] [h3]The Cold Will Get You by Tequeru[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/17ff54b38e24cefa2a07785e27b76ebb4efc86e3.png[/img] [h3]Enoki B Cool by Fyda[/h3] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//30519309/8cd67f418f0cd208d2f53eea5d8e38cde1000885.gif[/img]