Vintage Story Fantasy (Adventure Mode)

[Echo Weaver]

Just now, CastIronFabric said:

no I think I am going to walk away from this conversation. Sorry I got involved.

Me too.

[LadyWYT]

1 hour ago, Echo Weaver said:

I've actually never played either, though I've seen plenty of Skyrim from other sources. What is Divinity like?

The first game is good, but avoid the second. The first has a couple of rough spots, but you can interact with most of the environment, and the choices you make regarding most things may help you or haunt you later. The characters are very likeable, and while the story is fairly serious, the game isn't afraid to poke fun at itself. I will also note that while it's recommended to be an appropriate level to enter some areas, the game doesn't stop you from doing things if you're underleveled, and if you have the skills you can actually get some great rewards early on if you're willing to take risks like that.

The sequel to Divinity: Original Sin? Uh...well some people praise it. It has flashier graphics and a few more playable races and cosmetics, I suppose. I made it through the first couple of story chapters before I quit. The best way I can describe the experience is that it feels like playing with a DM that's only interested in killing the player, or otherwise punishing them for playing well. If you're the least bit underleveled for an area, you'll die. Your character builds don't matter, because the enemy will have a teleport, or a damage resistance, or some other way to deal with whatever you throw at them. Pretty much every NPC treats you like absolute dirt, and there's no playing the hero because benevolent actions are punished. As for the ending...I looked up what the story's conclusion was supposed to be, and it's...underwhelming, at best. From what I saw, it breaks the lore of the first game entirely.

As for other Divinity titles, I can't really speak for them, as I've not played them or watched someone else play them. 

[Echo Weaver]

1 hour ago, Zane Mordien said:

When did temporal storms get crazy in the RCs? I played up to RC.4 and I didn't see a storm that produced 30 bowtorns. There were a few peppered in that I took care of before they got out of hand. When I played the stable it was completely different. I guess on RC 5 & 6 they used the Spinal Tap method and turned the spawn to 11?

So, I gotta ask -- what's the state of temporal storms now? Did they get nerfed back down to something reasonable?

[Zane Mordien]

2 hours ago, Echo Weaver said:

So, I gotta ask -- what's the state of temporal storms now? Did they get nerfed back down to something reasonable?

They are more reasonable, but I still don't care for them. Tier 4 bowtorns blasting you from far away gets old to me. You can build walls and such to break up their line of sight, but it annoys me to do it. I differ in opinion from many players so let's not rehash that in this thread. 

 

Just to be on topic. I wonder how long it will take them to come out  with a RC for this new adventure mode?

[Zane Mordien]

2 hours ago, CastIronFabric said:

that is a generalized abstract implied understanding at best.

I do not think one can safely assume all companies making block games understand that as a hard written explicit no-no.

I do not know if 'hard questing' is the plan or not. I do think however story will be more important in this upcoming title than in the core game. Exactly HOW that is expressed I really am not even going to guess

 

I'm sure Tyron or his wife have played an MMO and understand the basic mechanics. I may be wrong, but it seems like a reasonable assumption. From listening to Tyron's interviews, he generally sounds like a fairly intelligent person, so I think he probably understands the difference in how an MMO needs to be run vs a game like he is creating. Of course maybe I am wrong, but then again I don't have to play this new game. I can try it and go, "Ugh not this again" and never play it again.

[Echo Weaver]

8 minutes ago, Zane Mordien said:

They are more reasonable, but I still don't care for them. Tier 4 bowtorns blasting you from far away gets old to me. You can build walls and such to break up their line of sight, but it annoys me to do it. I differ in opinion from many players so let's not rehash that in this thread. 

 

Just to be on topic. I wonder how long it will take them to come out  with a RC for this new adventure mode?

Hmmm. I've been playing in my world with my teenager daughter a lot recently. She likes playing an archer and didn't want the competition, so I modded out the Bowtorns when I upgraded. The shivers were left alone, however, We'll see how that goes. I don't like modding out a vanilla foe like that. I prefer to come up with an in-game way to neutralize it. I'll just have to wait until another time to see what I think of them.

I may see if I can find that thread, since I'm pretty conflicted about them myself and am curious to see the viewpoints. 

I honestly don't know how quickly we might see a few features. Tyron is proud of his engine being versatile and future-proof, so I guess we'll now put that to the test. For the mode to be different from VS with texture pack, I think we'd need some different major mechanics such as the aforementioned quest system. I'd be happy to playtest something they make available early, though. 

To be fair, I think Tyron is literally just looking at resumes right now. It's going to take months just to assemble the dev team for this effort.

[dakko]

2 hours ago, Zane Mordien said:

Just to be on topic. I wonder how long it will take them to come out  with a RC for this new adventure mode?

I'm sorely tempted to post an "Are we there yet?" in the announcement thread but I'm not sure that my humor would be appreciated.

eta: Oops, dang it! I meant to 1.21! sigh

Edited July 11, 2025 by dakko

[Enjen]

Me seeing that Echo got their reactions reloaded

[Enjen]

OOOOOWhat about summons?! Anyone like summons or even automatons like the Golems from Thaumcraft 4(?) Little minions that do your bidding. Or maybe one's that fight on your behalf.

[Echo Weaver]

3 hours ago, Enjen said:

Me seeing that Echo got their reactions reloaded

IKR?? I'm free! For a few hours at least. Honestly, I can see that spamming wolf bait or something, but what's so bad about spamming "like"?? 

Or maybe this is related to our rank? (You know, Iron Smith and Steel Worker and whatnot.) I think I read someplace that the rank is related to both your posts and the way other people react to them. So everyone could spam everyone with likes so they all rank up faster? 

Partly, I'm a bit exuberant, but partly I just come from a social networking culture where "like" is a baseline way to let people know that their contributions are read and appreciated. It's easy to feel invisible on the Internet.

ANYWAY.

3 hours ago, Enjen said:

OOOOOWhat about summons?! Anyone like summons or even automatons like the Golems from Thaumcraft 4(?) Little minions that do your bidding. Or maybe one's that fight on your behalf.

Oooh, that's great. And, again, it has a crafting tie-in. You could craft a golem and animate it. Wood golems, standstone golems, granite golems, iron golems, plant golems (?). Perhaps some could be assigned to guard your base like That Other Block Game and others come with you to assist in combat or other tasks.

Summons don't have a craft tie-in that I can think of, but they're classic dramatic fantasy spells.

[Arcane Gunslinger]

When I think about the kind of fantasy that would truly complement what Vintage Story already offers, my mind goes to a concept from tabletop RPGs, specifically, Pathfinder’s Kingmaker.

You arrive in an untamed land, tasked with establishing a foothold. Building a forward settlement or colony naturally ties into Vintage Story’s strengths in survival, crafting, and world-building, while introducing a strong layer of adventure and exploration. It’s a classic “New World” scenario, pushing into the unknown, carving civilization out of wilderness, and making strategic choices about growth, governance, and defense.

And in regard to Magic in a Vintage Story fantasy context, I’d much rather see something mysterious, ritualistic, and utility-focused, rooted in folk traditions or animism, than the flashy, combat-heavy systems of typical high fantasy. Think less fireballs and more blood rites, carved runes, spirit pacts, herbalism, and weather omens. Magic should feel like a strange, ancient force, something you earn through understanding and reverence, not just another skill tree to min-max.

Vintage Story already has the right foundation for a more grounded, mysterious take on magic. Systems like temporal stability, astrology, and the game’s overall folk-horror aesthetic naturally support a form of magic that feels ancient, ritualistic, and deeply tied to the world. Instead of high fantasy spellcasting, I’d rather see magic as a subtle, earned force, something practiced through rites, symbols, offerings, and an understanding of natural or cosmic cycles. Think animism, folk magic, and forgotten knowledge passed down in fragments, druids and bog witches, not fireballs and mana bars.

I  mean, come on, there is already a Carcosa, the King in Yellow, Yellow Mythos vibe going on, play into that.

Edited July 12, 2025 by Arcane Gunslinger

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, Echo Weaver said:

Or maybe this is related to our rank? (You know, Iron Smith and Steel Worker and whatnot.) I think I read someplace that the rank is related to both your posts and the way other people react to them. So everyone could spam everyone with likes so they all rank up faster? 

Not to get too sidetracked from the main thread, but that's not quite how the rankings work. I don't know exactly what goes on behind the scenes with it, but I do know there is a limit to how many rank points you can get from people reacting to your posts. The reactions don't need to be likes to count as a point, I don't believe--as long as it's a reaction, it counts. Once you hit Steel Worker, I think the reactions stop counting towards your rank somewhere in there, and only your posts will count towards ranking up. My rough guess on the Historian rank is that a member will need at least 1k posts to achieve it.

[Bumber]

19 hours ago, CastIronFabric said:

The hint is in the name of the game Vintage Story. Is the team extremely satisfied with how the story of Vintage Story turned out?

Is the story of a good vintage?

[dakko]

With all due respect for something that you're obviously passionate about, @Arcane Gunslinger, I'm not a fan of having a heavily religious theme as part of the base game. This is where modding could provide a means of opting-in to the religious aspects of magic being full of "reverence", 'ritualism', "blood rites", "spirit pacts", and "rites, symbols, offerings."

Alternatively, for those that feel as I do, the game should be marketed clearly so that an informed purchase can be made.

[ifoz]

23 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

The NPCs aren't illiterate, it's just been that long since the cataclysm. Human NPCs have plenty of books in their homes, so they can obviously read and write, but they can no longer understand the writing of old. It's also why all the human NPCs(except traders, which really need updating) sound very different than the player--the spoken language is still similar enough to understand(also because the plot demands it), but to the NPCs the player talks rather funny.

I always compare it to a modern human trying to read old English.
Yeah you can get there with enough practice, but the average modern English speaker probably wouldn't be able to glean much from a 1300's English manuscript.

Speech would likely be a bit easier though, since there's none of that "spelling wasn't that widely known so we just guessed" that written old English can have. 

[EDIT:] Oh also, I asked Saraty the other day and she said that traders would hopefully be getting updated in 1.22, so fingers crossed!

Edited July 12, 2025 by ifoz

[Thorfinn]

2 hours ago, ifoz said:

but the average modern English speaker probably wouldn't be able to glean much from a 1300's English manuscript.

Chaucer, towards the end of the 1300s:

Quote

 Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,

[EDIT]

Beowulf is only 300 or so years older:

Quote

HWÆT:  WE GAR-DENA
IN GEARDAGUM.
þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon.
Hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon!

 

Edited July 12, 2025 by Thorfinn

[Arcane Gunslinger]

12 hours ago, dakko said:

With all due respect for something that you're obviously passionate about, @Arcane Gunslinger, I'm not a fan of having a heavily religious theme as part of the base game. This is where modding could provide a means of opting-in to the religious aspects of magic being full of "reverence", 'ritualism', "blood rites", "spirit pacts", and "rites, symbols, offerings."

Alternatively, for those that feel as I do, the game should be marketed clearly so that an informed purchase can be made.

I get where you're coming from, especially if you're wary of anything that smells like organized religion in a game system. That said, I think there’s a key distinction worth making here.

What I’m proposing isn’t “religion” in the doctrinal or institutional sense. There’s no dogma, no worship, no divine authority handing down rules. It’s not about belief; it's about relationships and systems of meaning. The rituals, offerings, and pacts aren't religious obligations; they're mechanics with narrative weight. They're a way of grounding magic in a cultural or metaphysical framework that feels deeper than just "cast fireball, roll damage."

Yes, it uses the language of reverence and symbolism, but that’s because those ideas have been historically effective in human cultures to explain the unknown. Magic systems without some kind of metaphysical structure can feel like just tech with glowing VFX. I'm not against abstract or modular magic, but I want an option where magic feels consequential, costly, and intertwined with the world’s logic and entities.

To your point about modding, absolutely, customization should be on the table. But I do think the base game needs to stand for something. If it tries to please everyone by defaulting to something generic, it ends up with no flavor at all. So if the base game’s magic feels too evocative for some, that’s honestly fine. Clarity in marketing and good mod support can bridge that gap.

But let's not confuse symbolism and metaphysics with religion. This is about designing meaningful systems, not preaching. I personally feel that generic "High Fantasy Spellcasting Magic" is the wrong call. There are already many great systems in the game that can synchronize with magic: Seasons, star alignments, herbology, etc.

Edited July 12, 2025 by Arcane Gunslinger

[Enjen]

22 minutes ago, Arcane Gunslinger said:

I get where you're coming from, especially if you're wary of anything that smells like organized religion in a game system. That said, I think there’s a key distinction worth making here.

What I’m proposing isn’t “religion” in the doctrinal or institutional sense. There’s no dogma, no worship, no divine authority handing down rules. It’s not about belief; it's about relationships and systems of meaning. The rituals, offerings, and pacts aren't religious obligations; they're mechanics with narrative weight. They're a way of grounding magic in a cultural or metaphysical framework that feels deeper than just "cast fireball, roll damage."

Yes, it uses the language of reverence and symbolism, but that’s because those ideas have been historically effective in human cultures to explain the unknown. Magic systems without some kind of metaphysical structure can feel like just tech with glowing VFX. I'm not against abstract or modular magic, but I want an option where magic feels consequential, costly, and intertwined with the world’s logic and entities.

To your point about modding, absolutely, customization should be on the table. But I do think the base game needs to stand for something. If it tries to please everyone by defaulting to something generic, it ends up with no flavor at all. So if the base game’s magic feels too evocative for some, that’s honestly fine. Clarity in marketing and good mod support can bridge that gap.

But let's not confuse symbolism and metaphysics with religion. This is about designing meaningful systems, not preaching. I personally feel that generic "High Fantasy Spellcasting Magic" is the wrong call. There are already many great systems in the game that can synchronize with magic: Seasons, star alignments, herbology, etc.

I think what gives @dakko the impression that your idea is magic that works with religious based systems is your use of certain words like: 

12 hours ago, dakko said:

"reverence", 'ritualism', "blood rites", "spirit pacts", and "rites, symbols, offerings."

While I do believe some of those words have connotative roots in religion, I think they are also Occult and Metaphysical, not exclusively religious.

If I'm understanding correctly @Arcane Gunslinger is pitching a much deeper magic system. One that has reason and meaning. A system akin to science. Where there is an explanation for how and why things work. Please correct me if I'm not understanding you properly.

[Echo Weaver]

I don't know how close I want the magic system to be to science, but it's definitely more immersive if there's some sense of how/why it works. I was thinking heavily about a zap-with-wand sort of magic system like Electroblob's Wizardry, but I do really dig the idea of of something with more arcana. Craft a stone table and etch it with magic symbols. Say the right word under the right phase of the moon. That stuff is pretty interesting and immersive. It feels magical. 

[dakko]

2 hours ago, Echo Weaver said:

I don't know how close I want the magic system to be to science, but it's definitely more immersive if there's some sense of how/why it works. I was thinking heavily about a zap-with-wand sort of magic system like Electroblob's Wizardry, but I do really dig the idea of of something with more arcana. Craft a stone table and etch it with magic symbols. Say the right word under the right phase of the moon. That stuff is pretty interesting and immersive. It feels magical. 

That is the kind of magic that I would feel comfortable with as well.

@Arcane Gunslinger To me, religion is a very personal thing that involves acts of worship; it involves relationships. I think we are describing the same depth of intimacy and the same phenomenon, especially with your inclusion of this phrase (emphasis mine) "and intertwined with the world’s logic and entities."

In Echo Weaver's example of a more immersive type of magic, she is using language that I perceive as a recipe of sorts, or what @Enjen called "A system akin to science." I do not sense anything of worship being involved in either of those descriptions.

I hope that makes sense, @Arcane Gunslinger. Of course those are just my thoughts/feelings. It will be interesting to see where the devs go with this new Adventure Mode.

[Zane Mordien]

I want real magic in adventure mode and not occult ritual whatever. The main VS story already has "magic" that is occult and based on science. 

[Enjen]

Hey guys! Was scrolling on YouTube and came across Big Dude Games' interview with Tyron (posted a few hours ago as of right now)

They talk about Vintage Story Adventure and some other questions that might interest the community!
 

 

[CastIronFabric]

On 7/11/2025 at 3:27 PM, Zane Mordien said:

I'm sure Tyron or his wife have played an MMO and understand the basic mechanics. I may be wrong, but it seems like a reasonable assumption. From listening to Tyron's interviews, he generally sounds like a fairly intelligent person, so I think he probably understands the difference in how an MMO needs to be run vs a game like he is creating. Of course maybe I am wrong, but then again I don't have to play this new game. I can try it and go, "Ugh not this again" and never play it again.

guys..

there is nothing magical about a game being a block game that implicitly means it should never work as an MMO. That is not a widely understood rule and its likely just been made up here in this conversation.

'Understanding how an MMO works' and 'understanding that one is not supposed to make a block game ever work like an MMO' are two COMPLETELY different conversations and the later is not even remotely true.

 

 

[Zane Mordien]

1 hour ago, CastIronFabric said:

guys..

there is nothing magical about a game being a block game that implicitly means it should never work as an MMO. That is not a widely understood rule and its likely just been made up here in this conversation.

'Understanding how an MMO works' and 'understanding that one is not supposed to make a block game ever work like an MMO' are two COMPLETELY different conversations and the later is not even remotely true.

 

 

Um, who is arguing that is a rule or they cant develop the game however they want?  Your response feels very random. 

[CastIronFabric]

1 hour ago, Zane Mordien said:

Um, who is arguing that is a rule or they cant develop the game however they want?  Your response feels very random. 

What makes you think Tyron Intelligence (as you say) in being able to understand what an MMO is and how it works (as you say) sways him away from ever making a block game in such a traditional MMO way BECAUSE its a block game?

I am not sure who made the core assertion I am addressing but here is the core assertion I am addressing

'traditional quest based MMO would not make sense in a block game'

 

I do not understand that assertion and I do not think its even true.

Edited July 15, 2025 by CastIronFabric