Every day, members of the Nidarian Guard will find up to a dozen Daily Quests offered by Nidarians and others on the ground, each with a specific task to accomplish that day.  For example, Cypress will have a Daily Quest to hunt down a new breed of Mimic, while Admiral Stanton may have you fighting Mimic Guardian bosses in other areas on the Ground.

While the theme of each Daily Quest will be similar from day to day, you won’t be doing the same thing each day when you start the Daily Quest:  On Monday, Cypress may ask you to hunt down the new breed of Harpoon Mimics that have invaded Steam City Ruins, while on Tuesday his Daily Quest may instead have you searching for Coaltossers in Camp Calluna.  Even if you eventually have to hunt Harpoons again in Steam City weeks later, you’ll find them in different locations this time on the Ground.

When you finish a Daily Quest, you’ll be rewarded with one of the three types of Coins, which you can accumulate to buy items from the Traders in town.  That Daily Quest will be complete until tomorrow, when it may change to a different task - though you’ll still have multiple other Daily Quests from other NPCs to do that day, earning you even more Coins to spend.

Once you’ve collected some Coins - the Aeronaut Shiners, Ferric Hatches, or Crag Tinchips - you can shop with a Trader in Nidaria who accepts each type of Coin.  You might find some familiar items that are available in other Nidarian shops, as well as exclusive items only available with these Coins.  The Traders may also occasionally get an early-bird special on clothing and furniture that haven’t shown up in stores yet, so Nidarian Guard members can pick up some items before their fellow recruits.  For players that would regularly make store purchases in Kreds, the Nidarian Guard package gives you a new rewarding way to pick up high-quality items without spending more.

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We’ve been busy working on Remnants of Skystone, fine-tuning and adding features since our closed beta started in May.  Things have been quiet lately in the beta, but we’re happy to finally announce some of the new exciting additions we’ve been working on for Skystone!

We have a number of changes and improvements to the main game in store, including a new context-sensitive training to help new players learn about Spores, Geodes, and map-traveling early in the game.  We’ve also been working on improved drop rates, new critical attacks and dodging, and enemies that level-up in difficulty.

The biggest addition however will be arriving as a massive package of brand-new features and content, available for members of the Nidarian Guard!  The Nidarian Guard will be offered as a monthly subscription, where players can enlist to gain a ton of new abilities, power-ups, quests, and rewards in Skystone.  As we get closer to testing and release we’ll go into more detail, but here are some of the new additions in store for Nidarian Guard members:

New Attacks

We’ve listened to player requests for alternate weapons and attacks, and crafted two special attacks for each character class.  Each character will have a close-range Melee Attack that can be used by holding down the attack key, useful when in tight places or when surrounded by Mimics.  Each class will also have its own Charged Attack, which can be charged and unleashed for a more powerful attack.  These new attacks are powered by the player’s Skill meter, and can be improved by boosting the Skill and Stamina stats using another addition for members:

Spectra Circuit

The old Tube Circuit has been removed and replaced by the Spectra Circuit, which members can use to permanently boost their player stats.  Members will earn Circuit Points along with the usual Experience Points when fighting Mimics, which can be used to add and upgrade Sockets on the Circuit.  Ores and Geodes can then be used to craft Etherillium Tubes to use on the Circuit, which won’t burn out like the older Tubes.  The Spectra Circuit pattern can be designed any way the player likes, with some combinations of Tubes and connections giving boosts or drains to the affected stats.

Members Co-op

Each week, members will have access to a special Co-op Trailblazing map with brand new Mimics and new bosses to fight.  These new Mimics will only be available in these Co-op maps, and each will have a series of trophies to earn for your display case or Float.  Newer, more aggressive bosses will end each of the trails, offering a new challenge in combat and ranking on the leaderboards.  Non-members don’t have to be left out either:  Members can send an invitation to team up with anyone in Floats or Nidaria, so everyone can get a piece of the action.

Daily Quests

Along with the usual missions and quests, members will have access to new Daily Quests in Skystone.  Every day, a number of these new quests will be available, which can be completed for experience and rewards.  Some Dailies will task you with finding certain items on the Ground, while others will feature more brand-new Mimics and new methods of playing the game.  Many of the Daily Quests will also have trophies involved (such as for new Mimics), and each will earn the player a special Coin:

Class Coins and New Nidarians

Starting with the Reclamation Effort in recent years, Spores have become the primary currency in Nidaria.  Before this point however, each culture had its own type of coins used for exchange.  Some groups continue to use these older currencies, and a number of traders have recently arrived in Nidaria who will only accept these coins when selling their goods.  Each Daily Quest will reward the player with one of these coins, which can be redeemed for a number of different items and exclusive wares from these traders.

And More!

We’ve just scratched the surface of these new features, which pump a lot more content and depth into the core game.   Over the coming weeks we’ll go into more detail about the Nidarian Guard and more of the improvements we’re working on for Skystone, for Guardsmen and recruits alike.  Stay tuned!

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Last week we updated the Remnants of Skystone Beta with some new features, which may not be noticeable unless you’re checking out some long-unused menus:  Friends and Options are now available in the Main Menu!

Friends Screen

The Friends Screen shows a listing of Skystone players who are friends on your Kongregate account.  Online players are shown first, with an option to join them if they’re in Nidaria or a Float.  You can also jump directly to your friends’ Floats from the Friends Screen.

Options Screen

Long overdue, the Options Screen lets players customize their keyboard controls across all areas of the game, as well as setting up shortcuts to open each section of the Main Menu.

On top of keyboard controls, we’ve added a few other options related to co-op and Floats:  Players can decide if anyone can ask to team up with them for co-op, or if it should be limited to friends only (or nobody at all).  You can also choose whether co-op requests can be received anywhere, or if you want to turn off requests in town so you can make it to Mission Deployment without getting sidetracked.  If you change your Team-Up options, players who send a request will receive a pop-up explaining that you’re not receiving that type of request if they don’t match up with your settings.

Float options have also been added, so you can allow only Kongregate friends to enter, or lock your door completely.  Players can also kick users out of their Floats, and prevent others from entering while they’re editing the Float.  Messages on the display case’s message board can also be filtered, where each new message must be approved by the Float owner before being displayed for everyone — and Float owners can still delete messages as they like.

The latest updates are available now in the beta on Kongregate for current testers.  See you in Nidaria!

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We’re getting closer to the Beta version of Remnants of Skystone, and the sign-ups have started for anyone interested in joining the group of testers.  You’ll need to have a Kongregate account to join in the action, and you can put your name on the list by posting on the Kong forums here:

Beta Testers Needed for Remnants of Skystone

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Now that we’ve completed our round of Alpha testing, we’ve been working hard towards our first Beta version of the game, which along with new and polished features includes more areas to explore beyond the Steam City Ruins.  To prove that we’re still alive and kicking, and to show some of what has been keeping us busy, here’s a sneak peak at the first area within the Ferric Forest and some of the Mimics and obstacles you’ll encounter.

Blowgrubs are curious Mimics that float towards you, wanting to see what you look like up close.  This breed of grub doesn’t attack you, though they do get in your way.  Attacking Blowgrubs sends them floating backwards for a moment, before pursuing you again.

Hexaboars lurk deeper in the forest, waiting for someone to cross its path before charging at full speed.  While looking mostly like a mammal, it has six legs like an insect, which gives it an extra boost of speed.  It’s best to jump out of the way before they overtake you, and wait for it to ram its head into a wall before attacking.

Further in the Forest you’ll find tree trunks engulfed in flames,  preventing you from passing.  You’ll have to look around your surroundings to find a way to extinguish the fire before continuing on.

When you make your way to the Rook Commander in the Forest, you’ll find your path is blocked by even stronger flames, as the center of the forest is ablaze with a wildfire.  In later Missions, you’ll work towards exploring alternate paths around the fire in the Forest, and help the Rooks solve the issue of the spreading wildfire.

There’s much more in the Ferric Forest beyond this, and as a whole the area is larger than the Steam City Ruins.  Expect tougher enemies, more difficult puzzles, and new missions once the Beta launches soon!

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When the Mimics spread their noxious haze across the land, the people of Skystone had no defense against the poison that was blanketing their world. While the early years in the sky were focused mainly on survival, in recent times the Nidarians have made strides in research to help stop the spread of the haze and give them a fighting chance of exterminating the Mimic races. At the core of this advancement is Otto von Tesla, and his use of Etherillium.

Located above the Main Dock in Nidaria, the Victory Lab is home to the great scientist Otto von Tesla, where he creates a variety of Ether-producing equipment for the Rook forces and the players in RoS. Using the rare etherite mineral, Tesla discovered that vacuum tubes constructed with an Etherillium filament would produce a gas-like substance called Ether when powered with an electrical current. Depending on the construction, these Ether-producing tubes had the effect of repelling the clouds of poisonous haze on the ground, as well as a variety of other restorative and fortifying properties.

Using this new Ether technology, the first Etherillium Coils were installed on the ground, boring deep into the earth wherever large deposits of Etherite were found. The Rook forces (and RoS players) now use the Coil installations as drop points and bases of operation in their attacks on the Mimics.

While the Ether produced by the Coils is dangerous to Mimics and their haze, it does not have any ill effects on humans or earth-based creatures. In fact, Otto discovered that by adding other elements with Etherillium in the filaments, the Ether given off by Tubes could actually be restorative and fortifying to humans that were carrying them. Realizing this would be helpful to the Rook forces (and players) on the ground, Tesla created portable Tube Circuits so people could easily equip and swap between Ether Tubes on the go, helping to boost their abilities when needed. Players in RoS can bring Etherite Geodes (found in Co-op Missions) to Tesla at the Victory Lab, where he can craft a variety of Ether Tubes with stat-boosting properties.

As with most technology, Ether Tubes can’t last forever, and their lifespan will gradually decrease as they are used in a player’s Circuit. When a tube burns out, its fortifying properties come to an end, and there’s nothing to do but toss it away. Thanks to the ingenious plug-and-power nature of the Ether Circuit, however, players can carry a variety of Ether Tubes and replace the burned-out Tubes as needed. Depending on the situation, players may want to remove all of their Ether Tubes and replace them with defense-boosting or attack-boosting models. Players will need to keep an eye on the circuit’s power gauge though, since using high-powered Tubes that exceed the battery’s safe operating levels will put the circuit into OVERLOAD! Tubes will still work when the circuit is overloaded, but their lifespan will drop considerably faster than if they were used in normal operation. It’s good for when you need a quick burst of high-powered stat boosts, but not very efficient for everyday use!

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While we haven’t updated the blog for a while, we’ve been busy making some progress on RoS — most recently with getting the town of Nidaria functional with mutliple players, chatting, and NPCs. In the screenshot above you can see a handful of players chatting on the Dock, with the NPC Captain Meelie hanging out near the edge. The fireman’s pole next to that Balboa fellow takes you down to the Barracks for co-op matchmaking, and off-screen to the right is the Command Post and a chain-lift over to the shopping level.

Co-op and Adventure modes are still going strong as well, which will be getting some more attention soon as we start fleshing out an entire level of each. We also recently finished our Character Creator, which lets players customize their characters with clothing, accessories, and facial features. The gallery below has a few samples of what we’re able to do with the Creator, and while we only have a fraction of the final clothing options right now (all the characters are wearing the “Basic Aeronaut” line), we’re already getting lots of possibilites for distinct avatars!

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Be sure to check back next week for more information, as we’ll start showing the blog some love with more information on Etherillium, the Victory Lab, Sprockets, and more!

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We’re kicking off our development blog with a recap on the various game modes that we’ll have available in Remnants of Skystone, and going into a little more detail than we previously have on our site and in press releases. Read on for more details!

Adventure

At the core of the Remnants of Skystone design is the single-player adventure, where players can take their character down to the ground below and work their way through the expansive world. Each of the three character classes have a different move-set with special abilities, which players will have to use to navigate through the side-scrolling platforming environments. While exploring the map, the player’s goal is to defeat the Mimic creatures that have taken over the land, while working their way towards the Mimic boss at the core of each area.

As the steampunk Aeronauts, players can blast their way through the environment with steam-powered jetpacks, and use their Blaster Cuffs to fire ranged steam shots at enemy Mimics. When playing as a tribal Ferric, a player can grab onto ledges and climb up sheer walls and across ceilings. The sharp armor on their arms that aids in climbing is also used to slash away at enemies at close range. As the mountain-climbing Crags, players will swing through the air using grappling ropes, and attack Mimics with short-range flails. Since there are so many special moves here and so many ways to play, we’d hate to have players choose only one character class and miss out on two-thirds of the experience. Our current plan is to let users create multiple characters tied to their account, and let them work their way through the Adventure using each of them at their own pace. Along these lines, we’re planning for some elements to be unique to each of a player’s characters (each character will have separate stats, for example), while other elements can be mixed and swapped between them, like clothing and Ether Tubes. We’ll save the details on those for a future post!

Co-op Missions

In a similar style to the single-player Adventure, players can team up with others online to take on various Co-op Missions on the ground. Each of the areas from the single-player experience will have their own separate maps for Co-op, with a somewhat different emphasis: While the Adventure areas had been cleared of the poisonous haze and the plant life that creates it, the Co-op Missions take place in the overgrown outskirts of each area, which are only partially cleared of the poison and fungal plant life. These areas will have a larger focus on environmental puzzles and cooperating with your teammate to clear your way through the area, while competing with one another for the most spoils. Players can choose whichever of their characters they like, so an Aeronaut can team up with a Crag, or a Ferric with a Crag — any combination works.

The Floating Town of Nidaria

When the ground was overtaken with Mimics and the poison haze, the Aeronauts built a floating city of platforms, and were soon joined by the Crags and Ferric in this midair refugee post. In the game, players will be able to visit this town in the sky to meet up with others — to hang out and chat, or to challenge one another for Co-op Missions. A myriad of shops are also scattered across the city’s platforms, where players can purchase new items and more, as well as NPC characters who offer quests to complete during the Adventure or Co-op. Look for more information on Nidaria and its many amenities in an upcoming post!

Player Houses

When players first create their game account for Skystone, everyone will get their own house tied into Nidaria, which other players can visit whenever they like. We’ll have a variety of furnishings available in town, so players can customize their living space however they like — as a relaxing spot between missions, a hangout with a funky look, or even a decked-out house for block parties. We’ll also put a “display case” in every player’s house, where visitors can check up on any awards or collectibles earned by the house owner.

But wait, there’s more!

There’s still a lot more to Remnants of Skystone that we haven’t talked about, from the leveling system to the collectibles to the Victory Lab. In future posts, we’ll expand on each of the above modes in greater detail, as well as hit on some other features and the finer points of customization and ability boosts that we’ve only briefly touched on here. The exact details are still subject to change as we continue to refine our ideas and adjust gameplay, but we hope these broad strokes have helped bring you up to speed, and hint at things to come for Remnants of Skystone!

Want to give us some feedback on what you’re most looking forward to in the game? Select the features below that spark your interest — we’d love to hear what people want to do in the game!

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Welcome to the launch of the Remnants of Skystone development blog! Since the initial game announcement last October, we’ve been fairly quiet about game details — but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy! As we’re moving along in development, we thought it would be a nice opportunity to share what we’re working on and shed a little light on some aspects of the game.

What exactly is Remnants of Skystone? It’s an upcoming side-scrolling platformer playable online, which also includes MMO and community elements. We’re lucky enough to be working with Kongregate as part of their Premium Game Program, and RoS will be one of the first batch of Premium Games to launch exclusively on their site this year.

In the game, players enter a world in which alien Mimics had long ago infested the land and spread their noxious poison throughout the countryside. The people of Skystone retreated to an airborne town high above the poison haze, and are now ready to launch their attack on the Mimic infestation.

Players can customize their own fighter — choosing from three classes each with unique abilities — to explore areas on the ground and exterminate the Mimic threat. Players can also mingle with others in the airborne town, and team up with another player for co-op adventures on the ground. Each player also starts the game with their own dwelling, and can furnish their home with store-bought goods and adventuring spoils. Players can visit others’ houses to chat, and to rate their decorating style.

We’ve got more information in store for the launch of the blog, so read on if you’re interested in learning more. Our galleries contain some early concept art and mockups if you’re interested in a sneak peek, and you can keep up-to-date with our blog entries by signing up for email updates or checking the RSS feed.

Thanks for stopping by, and we hope you’ll come back for more as we update!

Matt Neff and Tony Solary
Flipline Studios

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