The decision to add the small portraits of Companions to the steps of Events where they appear was an easy one: it added a lot of character to the texts and was an easy addition due to the portraits being derived from the already existing art assets (idle combat images of said Companions).

But then in true Lost Pilgrims fashion we felt that this could become so much more if ALL major NPCs received a similar portrait, or 'chat head' in Events and so we started producing a few to see what they looked like. Most of these were based on friends to honor two decades of roleplaying together and they turned out so cool that we decided to open these up for Backers and influencers as well. So if you want your mug in the game as one of the many NPCs, here's the chance. :)

'...came from the farthest reaches of the vast expanse of Arenas Vorax and upon their defeat at the hands of Imperial forces - aided by the Sadirar tribes and the Dark Elves of Katundar - they retreated into that unknowable land of voracious sands, never to be seen again.'

- Excerpt from the Imperial Chronicles Volume XII

Crew Combat is the most common way you will handle violent conflicts as you roam the wastelands of the Riven Realms. We wanted to give you a rundown of the basic concepts here so that those interested might find some insights.

Disposition

Each Crew Combat encounter identifies the two sides as either the Attacker or the Defender. The player's comitatus can typically be the attacker when they raid small settlements or prey upon other travelers, while they are often found as the defender when getting accosted by monsters, outlaws, or worse.

Beasts of burden and mounts that a comitatus uses are large animals. They are the lifeblood of a traveling company, carrying people, cargo, and supplies on long journeys through desolate wastelands. Sometimes, however, they can literally become sustenance - in cases when you run out of supplies or when there are not enough workers to tend to them. Still, these creatures are usually very valuable but sometimes butchering them can be the difference between life and death.

2020's first Vagrus animation sneak peek time! This time, the bruiser, who's itching for a fight.

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Our crowdfunding campaign is LIVE at Fig.co. Get instant access to the Alpha build now!

It was a long and difficult haul but as I am writing this, the new Crew Combat feature (in which you can have the whole comitatus fight against a more numerous foe) has been added to the game. To 'Pilgrims of the Wasteland', too, so you can run into all kinds of trouble while out among the dunes of Arenas Vorax in the latter part of the scenario.

You will come across many caverns and subterranean tunnels in Vagrus, mostly under cities or sometimes out in the wilderness. Whether these are the lairs of terrifying monsters, the shadowy hideouts of bandits, gateways to ancient, buried ruins, or simply hollow ground is usually difficult to tell at first. There is no specific lore or design insight to be delved into here, so the only thing that remains is to admire this version of the cavern illustration by Attus, one of our artists.

• MS 6: Crew Combat Alpha
• MS 14: Unrest and Obedience Mechanics (Partial delivery): Liberate or Discipline Slaves to gain Obedience. Unrest will be added in a later update.
• Butcher beasts or mounts for supplies
• Warning triggers if an action would result in cargo loss

• MS 10: Chart Exploration
• MS 11: Companion Select during Events
• MS 13: Hidden Stash and Smuggling Contraband

• New sound effects for a number of creatures
• Camping without guards decreases Obedience
• Radial menu icons automatically pop up on the campaign map
• Node sizes increased for Point of Interests to better indicate them
• Goods tooltips now show more trade information
• Merged a few perks to make them more impactful

• Passenger destinations are now generated correctly in new games (thanks for catching and reporting this!)! Old saves remain bugged.
• New Day save now works after combat encounters in the Fighting Pit event
• Cargo slot changes are now applied immediately
• Fixed tutorial pins for closing the Journal and the Codex
• Fixed a bug causing Companion conversation portraits to be empty
• Healing companions no longer triggers the incorrect Event result text
• Fixed the Journal entry order for The Black Knight chapter V, Eliminating the Abolitionist Camps
• Clicking on the Journal or Codex during "Hold space..." tutorial/narration is up now does not open them

• More Sound Effects
• Vagrus Creation for the Main Campaign
• Companion Combat tweaks and additions
• Factions UI
• Animations for all characters

• Open World Prototype

Today we are very happy to share a Let's Play video by SplatterCatGaming. The video has 60K views already!

If you liked his Youtube video on Vagrus, check out his other stuff on on his Youtube channel. Splatty's commentary is superb and his indie impression content is a great help for small studios like us.