With each update, the notes in this section will offer some need to know notes for the latest build.

• Save Games May be Broken- Some folks will be able to play older saves without issue, others will have to restart sadly. It depends on where your avatar was located in the world when you saved as we culled part of the game map in this build.
  
• Idle Enemy Bug- We are actively tracking a bug that has delayed this launch long enough. Enemies sometimes stand idle. Just defeat them to progress. We will patch this as soon as we get it pinned down for good! (This should be fixed in v17.1)
  
• Map Non Functional- This build introduces a new world map UI but the math and art are off sync, so it doesn't quite function. It's a decent reference at times just not super helpful. This will be fully functional in Build 18. The compass feature does work to help guide you.
  
• Main Quest Incomplete- You will not be able to continue the main quest beyond the Dreamworld, once you conclude that chapter you can continue side quest adventuring but the main quest will not continue.
  
• Control/Setting Oddities- We're still in the process of remapping some of the controls so the schematics in the main menu have a couple keys that are out of date, we'll be updating them with each build. Some settings may also be displaying incorrectly but will be resolved. Gamepad controls are still limited, but are in the pipeline for Build 18.
  
• Combat & AI WIP- We are making significant changes to combat and AI so both may be glitchy at times but will improve with each update!

• Main Quest Progression - The Dreamwolrd is Unlocked bringing new challenges and new enemies!
  
• New side quests!
  
• New Activities!
  
• Major UI Overhaul (Still In Progress)
  
• Functional Totem Compass to Guide You
  
• Overall region size reduced to eliminate dead space.
  
• Archery has been greatly improved!
  
• More deer and rabbits to hunt!
  
• More & Deadlier Longclaw monsters!
  
• New and improved dialogue and cinematic sequences.
  
• New and improved animations.
  
• Level Streaming, NavMesh, LOD, and Collision optimizations and fixes.
  
• Whole host of bug fixes and improvements.
  
• Updated to Unreal Engine 4.18, bringing along more optimization and additional features.

===•===•===•===•===
Build 17.1 Change Log
===•===•===•===•===

• Fixed a crash related to Oculus Rift.
  
• Fixed a crash that would occur for some people when they got to a certain distance away from the village.
  
• The Five Brothers quest can now be completed.
  
• Fixed a mistake in the name of the Longclaw enemy.
  
• The testing equipment in Briarthorn Ruins have been removed.
  
• Ffyn now has the correct weapon equipped.
  
• Added icons to a few items.
  
• Improved the description of certain armour pieces.
  
• Corrected certain location types.
  
• Reduced the amount of hitching experienced when loading in new areas.
  
• General performance improvements.

Here is a list of some of the changes coming ahead in Build 18

• Main Quest Progression - The Blackclaw Key
  
• More Menu/UI System Updates
  
• Map Updates
  
• Totem Animal Companions at Last!
  
• Expanded Skill System
  
• Expanded Totem Skills
  
• Achievements, Badges, Cards
  
• More Creatures
  
• More Sky/Lighting Improvements

After the Steam Summer Sale ends Dreamtime will be going up to $14.99 for this release! Make sure you grab your copy at this steal of a price and you'll get all future updates free! ːsteamhappyː

Hail Witanlore Fans, Cole here checking in with a loooooong overdue update on the project. Development is quite slow but sure at this stage, the team is much smaller now (only about six of us at the moment) and our time is split between Dreamtime and other jobs we've had to take to maintain some kind of income for things like roofs and food. However, the project is still alive and making steady progress. Our updates on Twitter are much more regular, so if you want to stay up to date with Witanlore and all things Druid Gameworks, follow us on Twitter @DruidGameworks or @Witanlore for more regular news. These Steam updates just take a lot of time and we don't always have significant enough news to share to fill out a news worthy post!

A time may be fast approaching when we will have to move on from Witanlore: Dreamtime in order to pursue projects that will help grow the company financially rather than drain it, but for now, we remain dedicated to this game and our wonderful fans, so don't count us out just yet!


Build 17 is finally in testing! We've only uncovered a few minor bugs so far and the testers are progressing well. We should be shipping the update this weekend if all continues to go smoothly. This build will introduce a lot of new content in the dreamworld, as well as improvements overall to optimization, lighting, and controls. Gamepad controls are still limited but should be finalized in Build 18. We will post another announcement here when Build 17 is ready for purchase/download with a complete changelog and detailed information!


Today is the first day of the Steam Summer Sale and you can grab your copy of Witanlore: Dreamtime for 50% off! After the sale ends the price will go up to $14.99 so make sure you grab your copy during this steal of a sale! If you purchase today you will get the Build 17 update and all future updates free so no need to wait! A portion of our revenue will be donated to TotalBiscuit's memorial fund to support his family. Despite our struggles, TotalBiscuit was quite kind to us and we'd like to pay our respects however we can. ːsteamsadː


There's regular speculation here about whether this project is dead or abandoned. We would NEVER abandon our community. If we reach a point where development must be suspended, we will make that announcement. We would never leave you guys guessing so if you haven't seen a post like that it's safe to assume we're just buried in the engine making new content for you to enjoy and haven't had a chance to post a progress report! In the near future we'd like to bring on someone whose job it is to just post updates regularly, as game developers we're a bit rubbish at this part, sorry! ːsteamhappyː

At this time, we aren't making enough sales to cover our basic development expenses, or to even be paid by Steam at all. Dreamtime is draining our budget month to month. We plug in our own cash every month to squeak by but it definitely seems like interest in the project has waned in the gaming community. Despite pumping thousands of dollars into ads and reaching out to the media repeatedly for years, we're just not catching mainstream interest. It's unclear how long we can carry on, or even if we should. Pouring our time, money, and meager resources into a project that is failing to catch air seems counterproductive. Unfortunately, not every game ends up a winner and studios sometimes have to shelve games they love just to stay afloat business wise. But if that time comes for Witanlore: Dreamtime, we will be here, giving you the news, and forging a way forward together.

That's it for this update, I need to get back to adjusting the world map UI to accommodate recent changes, fun stuff! Keep an eyeball out for Build 17's release notes, I expect it to be this weekend. Until then, happy gaming!

With each update, the notes in this section will offer some need to know notes for the current build.

• Optimization in WIP- We have improved frame rates in this build, however, you should not expect finished optimization yet. Proper optimizing tools are new to the latest engine builds and we're still working to reverse optimize the game. Performance will continue to improve with every build.
  
• Main Quest Incomplete-You will not be able to reach the Dreamworld yet, the MQ will end after the Dreaming Ritual chapter. This is due to finishing AI in the Dreamworld so progression will be available soon.
  
• Control/Setting Oddities- We're still in the process of remapping some of the controls so the schematics in the main menu have a couple keys that are out of date, we'll be updating them with each build. Some settings may also be displaying incorrectly but will be resolved.
  
• Combat & AI WIP- We are making significant changes to combat and AI so both may be glitchy, we are working to make improvements that will make combat more interesting and AI more organic!

• New side quests.
  
• The Main Quest has been tweaked, so you no longer have to run to the ruins in the east for the oil.
  
• Major UI Overhaul (In Progress)
  
• Strange runes have appeared, allowing you instant transportation to certain locations. But first you have to find the runes!
  
• The environment of Duan Rhod is now much more atmospheric (enabled Atmospheric fog).
  
• Archery has been greatly improved.
  
• More deer and (new) boars to hunt.
  
• An evil creature has made its nest in the dark caverns of Wanderer's Demise.
  
• The forests of the valley have been overhauled.
  
• A new (WIP) settlement has been built in the eastern hills.
  
• Clothing improvements.
  
• Some armor will now grant health/stamina boost.
  
• New and improved dialogue and cinematic sequences.
  
• New and improved animations.
  
• More NPC bios for your journal.
  
• Your character will now sheathe their weapon when dialogue is started with an NPC.
  
• The floating clovers are no more.
  
• Health potions now grant a bit more health.
  
• Level Streaming, NavMesh, LOD, and Collision optimizations and fixes.
  
• Various minor fixes and improvements.
  
• Updated to Unreal Engine 4.17, bringing along more optimization and additional features.

Here is a list of some of the changes coming ahead in Build 17

• Main Quest Progression - Dreamworld
  
• More Menu/UI System Updates
  
• Map Updates
  
• New Totem Functions
  
• Expanded Skill System
  
• Expanded XP System
  
• WIP Crafting System
  
• Achievements, Badges, Cards
  
• More Creatures
  
• More Sky/Lighting Improvements

Please note this is the last build we'll be releasing at the $6.99 price point. Build 17 will essentially double the content that's currently available so we'll be raising the price at that stage. In response to fan (and potential buyer) feedback that we are underselling the game, Dreamtime will be going up to $14.99 at the next release.

Be sure to get your copy while the price deal is prime and you'll get all future updates free! ːsteamhappyː

Hail Witanfans, time for another progress report! We have a few things happening all at once so we'll try to get you all caught up here!


Our Thunderclap campaign tipped tonight and sent our story out to 50,000+ followers on social media! We're really grateful to everyone who took the time to click support and share our campaign, you guys are awesome! Hopefully the extra coverage will bring in some funding in our last hours on IndieGoGo too so that's a bonus!


2 days remain on IndieGoGo and we're camped at 2% funded. We will keep all the funds raised but we're only breaking even since we invested that much into the promoting and marketing of our IndieGoGo efforts. We really need someone with some pull in the gaming industry, media, youtuber, or reviewer, to say "Go, back them up!" but either we haven't been seen by anyone with that kind of reach OR they saw and just haven't elected to help. We'll keep promoting until the end bitter or sweet, stranger things have happened!

If you'd like to pledge you can find our campaign {LINK REMOVED}HERE


In happier news, we’ll be rolling out a maintenance update/patch here on Steam in December to bring the current EA version up to date. It won’t be Build 17 because we lost our AI programmer for the Dreamworld and Dreamworld AI still needs to be done (our lead programmer is on it now!) but it’s a large patch with lots of fixes, improvements, and hopefully some more of the new UI bits. If you already purchased a Steam key, or pledged on IndieGoGo at $5 or higher you will get the update free of course. The price will not be increased until after Build 17 that means you can still grab the game at the Early Access special price!

We’re aiming for December 15th so keep an eye out for release news and I'll add a changelog to the comments section below when it's compiled!


Witanlore has been nominated for the "No Apologies" Steam award! If you would like to participate you can vote on our store page, we'd sure really appreciate a vote! We unabashedly #LoveWitanlore and we know you do to so, click that button and let's see Witanlore get a nod from Steam! ːsteamhappyː


Join the movement! On Twitter some die hard Witanfans have started rolling out the hashtag #WitanloresArmy and we're joining in too! You can post this on Twitter or FB, even Instagram to show that you are part of the movement to support the game! If you pledge to IndieGoGo and tweet @DruidGameworks that you are part of #WitanloresArmy you will be entered to win a free #WitanloresArmy Hoodie featuring the Witanlore Rune Tree Logo!

If you just want to grab some Witanlore Logo Swag to keep you warm this winter we have new designs up in our teespring shop too! Including the Witanlore Logo Zip, a portion of our profits go toward Polar Bear Conservation!

https://teespring.com/stores/witanlore-dreamtime-shop


I know with the end of IndieGoGo looming and the chances of funding dwindling with every hour it can seem like our prospects of finishing Witanlore: Dreamtime have gone from dire to dead, but we're not ready to give up just yet. We've failed to fund before, granted that was back when we had some savings...and some income, but all hope is not lost. We are doggedly persistent if nothing else!

Without funding we will likely lose additional team members, those who remain are determined to stick it out as long as they can though. We have a lot of content in the pipeline at various stages of completion so we're going to give it our best effort. Some folks have suggested we run a campaign on fig or Patreon. We'll look into both, and we have some other ideas for how to bring in more funds, perhaps using our vast collection of lore notes to write a series of books or stories to gain more of a fan following.

Some days it's rough, we don't know if a couple of our guys will have homes in a month, or how we'll get Santa to the house this year for the kids, we're struggling and honestly, it feels at times like no one cares about this project. But there are those of you out there (I see you stop shouting at the screen) who have supported us, embraced our vision, played the game, and know how special Witanlore is. We carry on for you, Witanfans. This story isn't over by a longshot, don't give up.

Until next time, Witanfam! Take Care!
Cole

Just a quick note to keep everyone up on the latest Witanlore News!


A Thunderclap allows folks to join their social media networks to our campaign and on November 22, all linked accounts will automatically tweet/post the same message to create one loud voice together! Please follow the link and join us on Thunderclap! CLICKY[thndr.me]


We've also opened a Discord sever! CLICK HERE[discord.gg]

It's free to join and you can interact with the team, with other Witanlore fans, ask questions, even catch some behind the scenes development notes and images! Come on by and hang out! ːsteamhappyː

We hope you'll join us in our efforts to build the hype for Witanlore!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RohvsM_baMg

Hail Witanlore Fans, Cole here for another update on how things are progressing with the project and the latest Druid Gameworks news! I know some of you have been concerned by the lack of progress reports lately, never fear the game is alive and well. We’ve just been hard at work on the next build which is bigger than the previous updates and also had our hands full getting ready for IndieGoGo! So we have some updating to make up for, let’s dive right into what you want to know most: how’s the build coming along?!


Build 17 is progressing well, slowly but surely, with lots of new features and content getting ready to roll out. The programmers are working on AI for some of Dreamtime's most complicated and challenging enemies which can be found lurking in the Dreamworld. They're also bringing big improvements to combat! Level Designers have been adding additional settlements to the valley region, unlocking potential for more exploration, more new friends, and more questing! Artists are whipping up new creatures to encounter, new enemies, and new activators like crafting and ritual tables. We may be rolling out an update patch before 17 just to fix some of the bugs being reported in 16 so at least your games can get some fine tuning while waiting on 17, we’ll keep you posted if it looks like we have time to push a patch out before 17 releases. We’re very close to the next build so we’ll see how this next month goes!


Starting tomorrow, October 10th, we’ll be launching a new crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo to raise some much-needed funding to support/ promote the project and the dev team!! You can view our pre-launch page here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-witanlore-dreamtime-on-steam-early-access-rpg-adventure/coming_soon

As many of you know we’ve been chasing our dream of developing this epic RPG for almost four years now, working overtime with no pay, living on ramen noodles, and choosing our passion for making games over almost everything else! We love it of course, even the challenges, but to be honest we’re starting to feel some financial fatigue at this point. Folks are close to losing their homes, debts are mounting, we even took some hurricane damages, and the stress is enormous on top of having nothing but our collective pennies to cover development costs month to month.

We're really pleased with how far we've come from our early days and the current state of the game. The reviews on Steam have been quite good overall, sales increase weekly, but we’re still not getting enough exposure to be easily visible among the sea of games on the market. So, the purpose of running this campaign is three-fold: we hope the campaign itself will bring in more exposure for the game on Early Access, we need to give the team a piece of the pie to sustain key developers financially a bit longer so we can finish the game without having the power shut off, AND we hope to use what’s left of that pie to generate more PR including taking Dreamtime to some of the more notable shows like PAX and GDC next year.

To succeed, we're going to need many hands and many voices behind us and that's where we need your help!

We're reaching out to you, our ever growing fanbase of ursine warriors, to get behind the campaign and help us spread the word on social media and on gaming haunts across the web to help support the team to the finish line! With an injection of funds into the empty studio coffers we’ll be able to pick up the pace on our development schedule and get this game finished! The team has a ton of great content developing in the pipeline we just need to buy more time. We hope you’ll turn out tomorrow and cheer us on!


Whenever we’ve done crowdfunding in the past there’s always a burst of media interest for keys and interviews. If you have a gaming channel, a vlog, a website, or fandom and you want to get in touch you can email us at support[at]witanlore[dot]com or shoot us a DM on Twitter @DruidGameworks we’d love to hear from you! Please supply a link to your page and use your official email/Twitter for contact so we can verify. If we can’t verify, we’re not able to help you out unfortunately.

That’s it for this progress report, we hope that all of you are keeping safe out there and we’ll post again soon! Remember you can always post on our forums here or join our community at www.druidgameworks.com/forums to get in touch! Sometimes the notifications here on Steam are a bit hit or miss so if we miss your post, bump it, or shoot us a support email, we’re here for you!

Cheers!

With each update, the notes in this section will offer some need to know notes for the current build.

• Optimization in WIP- We have improved frame rates in this build, however, you should not expect finished optimization yet. Proper optimizing tools are new to the latest engine builds and we're still working to reverse optimize the game. Performance will continue to improve with every build.
  
• Main Quest Incomplete-You will not be able to reach the Dreamworld yet, the MQ will end after the Dreaming Ritual chapter. This is due to finishing AI in the Dreamworld so progression will be available soon.
  
• Existing Saves May Break- We're working really hard to make sure save data doesn't break between updates, but in this first update to Build 16, saves may break and may require players to start a New Game as we've updated the engine twice since the last build.
  
• Control/Setting Oddities- We're still in the process of remapping some of the controls so the schematics in the main menu have a couple keys that are out of date, we'll be updating them with each build. Some settings may also be displaying incorrectly but will be resolved.
  
• Clothing Oddities- Epic has added new cloth physics to UE4 which may result in some odd movement on clothing/cloth assets, this is temporary

• New side quests, where you can learn more about the lore of Duan Rhod.
  
• Overhauled User Interface.
  
• Sky / Lighting improvements.
  
• Post Processing improvements.
  
• New creatures now roam the land.
  
• Your journal now records your actions during quests.
  
• Opened new “Characters” tab in the journal. This tab records the bio of every character you have met.
  
• The forest has now crept back into the village.
  
• The villagers have decided to spruce up the village with more stuff, making it look much more alive, even at night, with lanterns and torches lighting it up.
  
• You will now be greeted by a Discovery prompt when you find notable locations in the world.
  
• Explore an entirely new (WIP) dungeon down by the coast. But watch your footing!
  
• Digging spots have been scattered around the world. Don't forget to bring a shovel!
  
• Landscape improvements and additions to the entire playable area.
  
• New locations for you to explore, and old ones have been improved.
  
• The grass is always greener on the other side they say. Well, now you're on the other side!
  
• Added more dialogue and cinematic sequences, and the current sequences looks and plays better.
  
• New and improved animations.
  
• Automatic detection of keyboard/gamepad.
  
• Fixed the pop-in/out of objects on the path to the seer's tower.
  
• The unbelievably huge lodgepole outside the abandoned shrine is now no more.
  
• Tired of carrying a table on your back? Good news! The training shield has been reduced to a sensible size.
  
• Lighting has been improved in caves and dungeons.
  
• The Main Menu and CharGen scene is now brighter.
  
• Rivers will no longer be invisible while you're underwater.
  
• The current state of your gameworld will now be properly saved, even for future updates.
  
• Material and texture fixes and improvements.
  
• Level Streaming optimizations. There will be less hitching when the game loads in new content.
  
• NavMesh optimizations. How and where NPCs and creatures walk is now more precise, as well as being less taxing on your CPU.
  
• LOD optimizations. The LOD of a massive amount of objects have been optimized, both for better performance and greater looks.
  
• Collision optimizations. Less floating, less sinking into objects, and more performance friendly collision.
  
• Key Rebinding
  
• Invert Y Axis setting
  
• Updated to Unreal Engine 4.16, bringing along great optimization and additional tools for us to use and you to enjoy.
  
• Loads of bug fixes.

Here is a list of some of the changes coming ahead in Build 17

• Main Quest Progression - Dreamworld
  
• Menu/UI System Updates
  
• Map Updates
  
• New Totem Functions
  
• Skill System
  
• Expanded XP System
  
• WIP Crafting System
  
• Achievements, Badges, Cards
  
• More Creatures
  
• More Sky/Lighting Improvements

Please note this is the last build we'll be releasing at the $6.99 price point. Build 17 will essentially double the content that's currently available so we'll be raising the price to $9.99 at that stage. Be sure to get your copy while the price is prime and you'll get all future updates free! ːsteamhappyː

Hi Folks,
Cole here! Hope you are all enjoying the start of the summer season, apologies for the long weird silence here, we've been working hard on the back to back updates we mentioned back in April but we've also been juggling some challenges in real life that unfortunately took some time away from the game's progress for a bit. We're getting back on track now so the next update should be rolling soon; we just need to run it passed our testers first.

Hopefully when we launch our IndieGoGo campaign shortly we'll gain more exposure for the game, and more funding to keep our developers from losing their homes. It's too late for me sadly, as of June 1, my family and I are without a place to call home as many of you may know (the story seems to be making rounds in the Elder Scrolls modding community), but I'm not going to let that impact my work with Druid. We are struggling, but determined, so we don't want our players to start planning Dreamtime's funeral any time soon; we are devoted to bringing our vision to life, no matter what challenges we face.

We hope you'll stick with us!

Excluding some of the really boring technical notes only we understand, this is a complete changelog for the next update, which will be Build 16. We ended up having to update the engine again to fix a couple engine level oddities but as usual it broke the game in a few places. We've stabilized it but want to run a couple tests before updating the depot here on EA, just to make sure we don't serve up some ugly engine bug! Here's a list of what you can look forward to!

• New side quests, where you can learn more about the lore of Duan Rhod.
  
• Overhauled User Interface.
  
• Sky / Lighting improvements.
  
• Post Processing improvements.
  
• New creatures now roam the land.
  
• Your journal now records your actions during quests.
  
• Opened new “Characters” tab in the journal. This tab records the bio of every character you have met.
  
• The forest has now crept back into the village.
  
• The villagers have decided to spruce up the village with more stuff, making it look much more alive, even at night, with lanterns and torches lighting it up.
  
• You will now be greeted by a Discovery prompt when you find notable locations in the world.
  
• Explore an entirely new (WIP) dungeon down by the coast. But watch your footing!
  
• Digging spots have been scattered around the world. Don't forget to bring a shovel!
  
• Landscape improvements and additions to the entire playable area.
  
• New locations for you to explore, and old ones have been improved.
  
• The grass is always greener on the other side they say. Well, now you're on the other side!
  
• Added more dialogue and cinematic sequences, and the current sequences looks and plays better.
  
• New and improved animations.
  
• Automatic detection of keyboard/gamepad.
  
• Fixed the pop-in/out of objects on the path to the seer's tower.
  
• The unbelievably huge lodgepole outside the abandoned shrine is now no more.
  
• Tired of carrying a table on your back? Good news! The training shield has been reduced to a sensible size.
  
• Lighting has been improved in caves and dungeons.
  
• The Main Menu and CharGen scene is now brighter.
  
• Rivers will no longer be invisible while you're underwater.
  
• The current state of your gameworld will now be properly saved, even for future updates.
  
• Material and texture fixes and improvements.
  
• Level Streaming optimizations. There will be less hitching when the game loads in new content.
  
• NavMesh optimizations. How and where NPCs and creatures walk is now more precise, as well as being less taxing on your CPU.
  
• LOD optimizations. The LOD of a massive amount of objects have been optimized, both for better performance and greater looks.
  
• Collision optimizations. Less floating, less sinking into objects, and more performance friendly collision.
  
• Updated to Unreal Engine 4.16, bringing along great optimization and additional tools for us to use and you to enjoy.
  
• Loads of bug fixes.

That's it for this progress report, but hope to be posting again soon with update news, keep checking back!