Hey everyone,

today, we are happy to share the changes we squeezed into this new update! Better yet, we have included two additional features that we managed to implement on top of our initial plans.

A quick recap of what we have added (skip ahead to see the bonus additions):

Stinger Scorpions are true terrors of the forsaken wastelands of the Riven Realms. You will need a good team of powerful Companions to down one of these skittering beasts. Their high Vitality along with their Armor makes them very tough to beat, and a great Block stat further enhances that Armor. Additionally, some of the creature's Resistances (like Bleed or Impediment) are also exceptionally high - though in turn some others are fairly low (like Fire or Poison). To top it off, Stinger Scorpions are Terrifying, which means most of its enemies will suffer Accuracy penalties when attacking it.

Scorpions of all sizes, colors, and features plague the arid wastelands of the central continent of Xeryn, and most travelers are quite used to their presence and to the threat they may present. However, nobody is used to the presence of a Stinger Scorpion, this hulking yet frighteningly fast monster that hunts beasts and men during the cool night hours. Unfortunate souls may learn that while these solitary scorpions are inert during the day when they are buried under the sands, they are far from being safe around, as they can awaken with a sudden and fatal rage. There is a cunning viciousness about them that makes them far more than simply a large animal.

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.

• 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

The end of last year marked the 2nd Anniversary of Lost Pilgrims Studio and the five of us celebrated the occasion on Saturday.

Five of us? Wait a second, was there not four of us a second ago? Looks like someone joined the party! It was about time, too, because not only did ferocious beasts shown up on our gaming tabletop but we also had way too much work on our hands.

The most common type of Yrg are Workers, so much so, in fact, that most people on the continent equate the Yrg race with these nearly mindless drones. Though there are many more sub-species of these insectoids, the Workers indeed make up the vast majority of hives. With utter disregard for their own safety they build, haul, guard, and explore in the name of the hive. Sometimes workers are abducted by specialized hunters and are made to serve as mounts, beasts of burden, or even arena fodder by the use of crystal magic.

'But guys, there has already been a post about Criftaa. Is this the same?'

'No! And yes! The Criftaa you have seen is from 'Pilgrims of the Wasteland'. She is an enemy there, and a very important one at that. This Criftaa is a companion version of the same person, some 10 years after the events of 'Pilgrims of the Wasteland'.'

'I'm not afraid of your little bug. I've seen its kind before, squished its kind before. And you dare call it a 'warrior'?! Yrg are pathetic, as are people who think they can measure up to real warriors. So send it in, let me splatter its insect innards over the hot sands of the arena.'

- The Orc pit fighter Logh'Ran's last words before being vivisected in the arena by a Warrior Yrg