Based on the ton of feedback concerning initial difficulty and learning curve, we have listened to you, our players, and implemented Trade Tasks to make the initial experience smoother in the open-world campaign. While there, and because they are deeply intertwined, we also decided to include the brand-new Factions UI and the faction tier system. We were happy to see that everyone who tried it in the preview build loved it and we are also satisfied with the result. To top it off, we also have a long list of adjustments, fixes, and tweaks (see patch notes at the end of this post).

Twitchy, isn't it? Just don't let it grab your companions!

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

TL;DR: A new, extended Demo is coming to Steam and GOG so that those on the fence can take Vagrus for a spin and see what we've been cooking for a while now. This all comes at the tail end of over a month of hard work with the freshly released Open-World prototypes.

Now, let us see in more detail all the things that happened recently around the game.

We have always planned a fairly elaborate system of healing mechanics but when creating 'Pilgrims of the Wasteland', we first focused on getting the main features ready and implemented a more streamlined, placeholder set of healing rules.

Out with the Old

The PotW system simply had you use a relatively valuable resource - medical supplies - to fully heal one Companion at a time during camp. This is not only too 'gamey' but also very obtuse and not what we intended for the game or the setting.

Grufta are disgusting creatures that dwell in the darkest, filthiest, and most humid places, usually deep underground. Their nests are often found in city sewers and adult specimen hunt people with deadly efficiency. Their stench alone makes fighting these large worms extremely difficult - it renders the air around them poisonous. Grufta attack in numbers, are quite sturdy, and can avoid attacks with their fast movement. Their skill set includes a powerful attack and an ability to stun opponents:

Initially, we built Companion Combat without too much focus on the combat AI, knowing full well that it would be a massive task to code and having most of the combat features locked before we do so would make it overall a more efficient undertaking.

Javek likes to contemplate his next move. It is only natural when someone can read minds; and burn them, for that matter.

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

We have started almost every single project update with 'A lot has happened since our last update' but now the 'lot' of the past seems kind of tiny compared to the 'LOT' of today.

The Pandemic

Corona hit hard and unexpected. What we looked at with blissful ignorance and naivety in the early days turned our lives upside down in mere weeks.  Luckily, everyone from the team is safe and sound as of now, though being in the middle of the flu season we cannot be certain whether we've been exposed to the virus already or not. Either way, we  stay home to keep everyone around us safer.

Grufta are disgusting, worm-like creatures that dwell and prosper in filth - and in great cities like Tor'Zag's Shelter, filth is in abundance. Grown specimen are large enough to hunt people, and even though they live in sewers and caves far from the homes of folk, they often slither out to catch the unwary.

When Tamás started working on the Grufta, we discussed how the creature should ooze revulsion (pun not intended). The colors and the moving little tendrils all invoke the images of parasites in our minds and the Grufta are just that: huge, man-eating parasites. Soon you will see how your Companions can stomach these poisonous worms.

Hey everyone,

we wanted to provide an update on Vagrus as we come close to releasing the first Open World build. We've been talking about it for a long time now, we know, but we hope you will appreciate the ambition of this small team, along with all the effort and heart poured into the game when you get your hands on it.