Alder Forge (2022; PC)

[Koby]

 

The Alder Forge story is set in the western part of the Ertheryan Continent, the game will take you during its 4 chapters to the Duchy of Elysia, the Kingdom of Royne, the Mighty Kingdom of Orvys, and the Atlas Court (The seat of your employer). In your adventures you are going to face a dark plot that will try to engulf the continent and break the two centuries lasting peace, meanwhile, you will discover that nothing is ever simpler than that while facing the complexity of human behavior and the lines that draw good and evil in each character you encounter throughout your journey, secret organizations, political entities, and other groups, each has their agendas and plots, meanwhile, the 5 protagonists will be in the center of those events.

 

 

[Koby]

Community Update 0.8.13 and Chapter 3 sub-event.

 

A new puzzle sub-event is added to chapter 3. The Rings of Celyus are available in the Etheros Path near Val Réal's city gates after you spend your first night in the Dragon capital. This Puzzle will offer you the Orvysian Royal weapons pack.

 

 

• Dialogue speed options are added to the NPCs and sub-events conversations. You can switch between x1, x2, x3, and x4 as a max speed.
• VFX added to the platform machines on Hexagon Five's first floor to help you spot them easily.
• Added teleport pods to the Dragon Towers to help you return to the central tower without walking back from each ritual stone.
• 1440p resolution added to the Graphic Options and the Shaders Quality option is updated.
• Player movement bug is fixed.
• Shader smoothing and optimization in open landscape areas.

[Koby]

Event Update 0.8.17

Greetings. Below you will find the update 0.8.17 details.

• A new optional boss is added to Chapter 3. The Azure Eques is available near Val Réal's city gates during either the start of chapter 3 or its end.
• Upon defeating the Azure Eques optional boss you will receive the "Espadon Azure" Greatsword for the Knight Class and with it, you can inherit the Aqua dance skill.

 

New fragments and new elemental skills are added to three areas from the start of the game. Upon assembling these fragments you can acquire new Anima Stones and unlock additional skills. The Anima Stones' fragments are the following:

• The Aard Anima Stone fragments can be acquired in the Garnier Core Unit during chapter 1.
• The Ventus Anima Stone fragments can be acquired in the High Council Building at the start of the game.
• The "Core Lumiere" Anima Stone fragments can be acquired in Serenza city at night.

• All the skill thumbnails are updated with new colors. Each skill thumbnail color will correspond to the elemental type it will inflict on your enemies.
• The Ignat Sentinel boss fight (Chapter 3) cameras are adjusted.
• The giant HXP drone's UI and camera lock are fixed.
• Serenza city's dominant texture (Trimsheet) is redesigned as a 4K texture instead of the previous 2K one.
• Bug conflict in the Garnier tower roofs between the optional and main story boss is fixed.

 

[Koby]

Final Chapter is Available Now!

The Final Chapter is available now alongside the transition to the Final Early Access Phase.

 

We Are Hereby and Officially at the Start of the Final Early Access Phase and the Final Stretch to Launch.

• The Final chapter is completed and unlocked, members of the Alder Forge Community who finished Chapter 3 (They're in Story Point 3.F) can progress further in the story until the end of the game.
• Status ailments, buffs, and debuffs tracking icons are added in combat to the stat details UI.
   
• A Freebie Gift DLC folder is added to where you installed the game and includes the following:
  1. PDF file: The detailed full continent map.
  2. PDF file: Val Fiery Netherwave Sangréal Bloodline.
  3. PDF file: De Roy Netherwave Sangréal Bloodline.
  4. PDF file: Sieg Vulpes Netherwave Sangréal Bloodline.
  5. 4K Artworks folder for the majority of the main characters appearing in this game.
• Removed the combination to execute the Anima Latent Skill and replaced it with one button that you can freely set in the Main/Pause menu key binding section.
  (It is recommended for members of the Alder Forge Community who modified their key bindings to check both Keyboard/Combat and Controller/Combat Tabs before resuming their adventure.)
• A full VFX and SFX pass is done for all the party members and guests as well.
• A full VFX and SFX pass is done for the mobs alongside a few bosses.
• NPC's Dialogue boxes and Optional Conversation Events' A or Enter buttons will fill the dialogue first then skip afterward. (If it is not filled already). The Text speed controls were added as well during Phase 3.
• The Soundtrack from the start of the Prolepsis has changed from the "Fourth Squadron - Disc 1" to "Battle of Voxenhold - Disc 3".
• Multiple Conversation sub-events were added to the Pax Residence during the Purple Night in the Final Chapter.
• The Anima Latent Progress Bar is redesigned.
• VFX and SFX pass for the characters' animations during exploration.
• Some of the skills' SFX and VFX have been reworked.
• UI SFX and VFX during combat are updated.

 

[Koby]

Launch Date

Early Access end date and the transition to Full Launch

 

As promised in the transition to the Final Early Access Phase on August 4th, 2023, the Alder Forge Launch Date and the moment we will finally leave Early Access are included in this community news section, and as a start here is the Launch and Final Trailer:

 

 

 

• Are there any additional events coming with v1.0.0?

• Yes. The final optional event "Divine Weapons Pack" will be added with v1.0.0, plus all the additional optional events we have done since the start of Early Access a year and 9 months ago. More details about the "Divine Weapons Pack" will be shared with the community during the Launch alongside the v1.0.0 manifest.

 

• Is there going to be any change to the System requirements?


• The system requirements are the same as the ones during the announcement 2 years and a half ago, and will still support DX11-based GPU hardware.
   
   
• What is the launch date?


• If you skipped the "Launch Trailer", then the date is September 15th, 2023.
   
   
• What is the total text content in the game from start to end?


• The game's total word count is 182266 words.
   
   
• How long is the game?


• In my latest play test, I finished the game in 31 hours and 39 minutes. I did not take any side activities, or talk to people, and I only did 3 optional events while moving quickly from story point to story point in "Normal Mode". Here is a proper detailed chrono-timed sheet from my last play test:
   
  1. Prolepsis and Chapter 1: 8 Hours 09 Minutes
  2. Chapter 2: 7 Hours 20 Minutes
  3. Chapter 3: 9 Hours 21 Minutes
  4. Chapter 4: 6 Hours 49 Minutes
   
   
• Are there any plans for post-launch?


• It all depends on the game's performance during its transition from Early Access to Launch, and even so, I will continue to welcome your feedback.

 

[Koby]

Community Update 1.0.1

• A VFX marker is added to the gate triggers in the Crius Sanctuary at the start of the game to help you spot them easily.
• The conflict between the story point and normal battles in Helsengard city (Near the Grand Cathedral) is fixed.
• The collision and camera collision for the saw traps in Helsengard city at night is reworked for better and easier navigation.
• The Tartarus NPCs camera occlusion is fixed in Helsengard city.
• All The Dragon Force target UIs in exploration will be automatically omitted when a battle is triggered.
• The conflict between executing an Anima Latent Skill and a normal MP Skill is fixed during "Skill Focus".
• Quitting the Guardian Interactive Battles in the Finale or the normal combat is updated.
• All the collision issues in the "Voxenhold Hills" near the end of Chapter 3 are fixed, and all the cliffs' collisions in that area have been reworked from hand-drawn collision to real-time precise hull physics.
• A new tutorial panel will now appear at the start of the game to help players become familiar with the combat mechanics (Adapt/Affinities/Latent Skill). Additionally, players can access both the key-binding and the tutorial menus at any time.
• All the exploration's battle trigger attacks have been reduced from a chain combo to the fastest attack each character had in the previously used combo.

 

[Koby]

Community Update 1.0.3

• The combat animation system conflict with the cinematic animations for skills and the "Anima Latent Skill" is fixed.
• The camera rotation smoothing that was added at the start of "Early Access Phase 3" is now removed due to the community's request.
• From now on, the exploration skills' UI Alerts will not only show the name of the skill required but also the name of the character who can use it.
• Spacial attenuation in battle sound effects for weapons is removed and replaced with a standard volume, similar to the elemental skills.
• GPU optimization rounds were done for the game's largest maps as the following:
  1. Valley of the Twelve
  2. The Etheros Path
  3. The Elysian Woods
  4. The Observatory
  5. The Final Dungeon, "The Netherwaves Halls".
• The reflection system is reduced by 30%.
• The shadows handler is reduced by 30%.
• The load memory handler is reduced by 20%.
• The conflict between opening the large map while getting ambushed by enemies is now fixed.
• The conflict between the "Pause Menu", "Settings Menu", and "Map" is now resolved.
• The merchant's sell amount dialogue is redesigned to fit the rest of the merchant group UIs.
• Ambient Occlusion removed from the largest maps in the game.