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November 30 Update (Patreon)

Published:
2025-11-30 18:00:10
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Three things this week! Some lovely fanart, a big TLS question, and a general update on progress.

First, please enjoy the fanart above, though it's the reverse of usual. ^-^ I commissioned this piece from Rewinderon, who I believe is a patron here, for Annikath as thanks for all her work over the years! It is of Qum (Ni's favorite character) and her online persona. ^-^

Next, we have a big question for patrons regarding TLS. As I've said before, I don't intend to tinker with the game forever, but I have every intention of continuing bugfixing and polishing, which occasionally includes something a little more ambitious.

This time we have a potential redesign of Eustrin thanks to Lamsey. Check out these comparison screenshots:

What do people think? Ordinarily changing maps has the potential to add lots of new bugs (as happened with Stineford), but in this case Lamsey is a TLS player who knows how to keep things consistent. Personally, while the old Eustrin didn't bother me, it was just the dirt/cave tiles from the Yhilini tilesets, so it might be good to give the dwarves their own unique aesthetic.

If people generally like this, I'll consider updating Eustrin for version 1.1.0 - the plan is for this version to include all the illustrations for Chapter 4, since that's a major goal that's only about six scenes away. It will also address quite a few typos and other fixes.

Speaking of, more of my time than I'd like has been dealing with an avalanche of bug reports. There are people playing through the whole game, either again or for the first time, who have a lot of things to say. I'm keeping on top of it, mostly, but it's consuming more of my time than expected, cutting into work on upcoming projects.

This isn't ideal in some ways, but TLS will probably be what most people know me for, at least for quite some time, so I want to leave it in the best condition possible. All I can promise is that I'll work as hard as I can and report every week as I have over the past decade.

Files

Comments

Elena Tyler

I don't really see the point in changing Eustrin. It looks like an underground space, and that's fine.

AnythingAtAll

Love the new Eustrin look. It didn't occur to me before, but it *does* make sense the dwarves would, like, build floors. Not just stand and build in the jagged rocks and dirt.

serguzzle

This alternate Eustrin look does seem better, but it might not be worth it if it takes significant work to implement. I think TLS has been an amazing labor of love by your hand, but as you've "completed" it I would strongly consider whether your current revenue streams allow for you to outsource bugfixes to a contractor or consultant - as long as the bugfixes are well-constrained they shouldn't absolutely require your inputs to resolve, and that might free you up for other efforts.

Thinkcork

I like the proposed Eustrin look. One reason is that the current dirt tileset is by far the most "generic RPGMaker" one of the bunch and I think it takes away from Eustrin's vibe. Another (and this might be just me) is for some reason these cave textures make it harder for me to navigate. It's like sensory saturation, everything kinda blends in after a while

Jacob

I do like the alternate look to give the dwarves their own unique area but, I do agree with serguzzle about it might not be worth it to go through with it. TLS is already so great and has been an amazing effort on your part. If it isn't worth it to you to make this happen, then it won't take away from the great game so many people have played.

TBH

I think I like the walls, but the floor tiling reminds me more of a dungeon thatn anything. I also prefer the tunnel areas to look more closely to rock so there's that

AchtungNight

I vote for the new Eustrin, provided it can be implemented easily. Perhaps the southwest and spider tunnels should be left on the current tileset since they’re not yet occupied by dwarves. Looking forward to version 1.1.0.

Chex

I like the new Eustrin, gives it it's own feel.

guillaume nguyen

Well this time I'm the contrarian ^^ Personnaly I find the new look a bit too cold and clinical for me when compared to the current 'homey' feel of Eustrin (probably due to the nostalgic similarity with the Yhilin tunnels). Though it make sense for the dwarves to have built floors over their long history, it also make sense that they eventually let them degrade into a state of disrepair considering their state of acceptance and mourning at the start of the game. Hence Sierra, I think that if you feel that such graphic overall is necessary, it should happen after Eustrin Renewal to better portray said new vitality.

Annikath

Thank you again for the lovely fanart!!!! 🥰 I appreciate it! I personally don't like the gray polished stone of the new look. It seems unatural and sanitized, whereas the old "natural stone" seemed very "down to earth" 😄 meanwhile my partner prefers the new look! :0

Grim8P

I could go either way here. I think the old one is fine and fits their vibe but the new one looks good and not reusing assets from Yhilin sounds ideal. The only thing that jumped out at me in terms of being careful when implementing this is that the tunnels you visit in Megail's route have someone complaining about a boulder that you can blow up for a Shining Sword. Would want that to still make sense visually.

Lamsey

The exterior and dungeon tunnels are unchanged, it's just the city maps that would be changed.

sierralee

I appreciate that patrons are supportive of me moving on to new things, but I have no idea how I would even begin to outsource bugfixing. It's a very large project that most people won't know at all, and half the problem with bugs is figuring out what people mean and finding it.

serguzzle

Ah yes, the bug reports are probably not very... coherent. I am not familiar with the structure of RPGM and am too used to corporate software management where we TRY to be diligent about "what I know about the conditions where something went wrong and my initial assessment of the error" vs the user experience of "why no worky?!". This kind of outsourcing GENERALLY is not too complicated, I'd provide files and instructions to someone and you could even test out a process on upwork or something. That said, there are trade-offs based on how you usually work on the game: Maybe the file structure or bug fixing process is too monolithic to hand out, and if "translating" the bug report into what you need to do is 90% of the way there, then it may not be worth it; but if you find yourself spinning your wheels on the implementation or find it to be a lot of rote work, that's eminently delegateable. I think the real charm behind TLS has been its tremendous narrative optionality (choice and consequence) and how well-written it consistently is. I think that your writing is great and I'd just like to see more of it - under TLS or otherwise!

Captain Hair

I vote for the new look. If it's just the city and not the outskirts it creates a nice dichotomy between what the dwarves show outsiders and what they really are.

Andrew Harding

I'm not sure it counts as fanart when it's commissioned by the dev ;)

Modern_Viking

I personally prefer the old look, it really reminded me of other games I've played where you visit dwarves nations. Maybe the old with stone floors or the new with darker stones.

sierralee

It's fanart of Annikath's character!

Waffles

My vote is for the new look. It always felt a bit odd that the dwarves were just walking around in the middle of the city with undecorated dirt tunnels.

Archmage of the God-Queen

As a Dwarf Fortress player I can attest that smoothing and carving every solid rock surface is absolutely essential for a proper dwarven city.

Duncan Lutz

Spoken like a true Urist! While not as important as a belly full of mushroom wine or warm socks on their feet, every Urist knows the value of smooth stone walls. It's what separates the troglodytes from the civilized folk, after all!

Duncan Lutz

I whole heartedly support the new tileset. I always thought it was weird that the capital of the dwarven kingdom on Arclent was just... some rough hewn caves freshed chiseled out of the rock. Like, these drunkards have been chilling in the same bare caves for how many centuries... millennia, even, and they haven't even properly put up walls or laid down some basic flooring? Are they DWARVES carving out their EMPIRE or ANIMALS roosting in a DEN? The mining tunnels we help them clear out are one thing, they can remain bare rock, but it always felt weird that the residential and commercial sections, the very heart of their empire, remained surprisingly undeveloped.

ManWithoutAPlan

A new tile set may certainly be fun, I would say though that I think the example given seems a little sterile and militaristic which maybe doesn't super fit with the dwarves presentation

runedead56

The annikath model makes me think that it's the child of Simon and Qum.

Trisk

I like the proposed redesign for Eustrin. The polished stone surfaces make it look more like a finished structure meant to be lived in.

FinetalPies

I feel like it loses too much of its undergroundy-ness. I think it's more important that it stands out compared to other locations more than like, looking better (and it does look better)

Rachnera

I don't find the new look significantly better or worst than the old one, which I guess is a vote against changing it ("of two similar solutions, the one requiring less work is to be preferred").

honorwolf01

I'm for the new tile set

WaxerRed

Ooooh, fancy! I'm all for it, especially for the royal chambers of Neranda to give it a more regal look.

Dani

I think I prefer the old look, I like the idea of the city being made of polished stone, but something about the final result doesn't thrill me, maybe it's the color of the tiles. Or maybe it's because of me being old and the original look remembering me of the dwarven cities of the vintage RPGs xD.

Promenade

I think it'd look good in special spots - just the shops, the royal chambers, etc. Keeping generic stone for the common areas seems more realistic, and definitely makes more sense for something like the quiet monument area to be kept dirt and rock.

Nathan Phoenix

I like the paved stone for the floor, its easier on the eyes. But I would keep the rough rocky walls. That would indicated that the caves were dug in quick and "dirty" but at some points someone wanted a more comfortable footing. Which would be a nice bit of unspoken story for the dwarves

DankPotatoes

I -capital letters- LOVE the Lamsey tileset for Eustrin Cards on the table, Eustrin has always been one of my least favorite areas in the game to wander. The music was pretty bog-standard, and the tileset makes it look like a mudpit, rather than a timeless Dwarven capital The new music has made the place much more bearable for me, and this tileset? Aesthetically pleasing, less cluttered and very on-brand for a dwarven culture. This is one of the most vocal "yes" votes, I have given in my many years in this Patreon. I feel like Sarai, going "all in" with my acrued social capital at Gawnfall. Please, replace the Eustrin tileset with the new one, if you can and want. It is such an improvement.

Patrik Schwaiger

Just joined today so a little late to this Post, but when it comes to redesigns I had one small "eye-twitch" moment during my recent new run. During the war council Summit before the War against the incubus king in arclent ... the voting room has a different layout than the scenes. During the scenes of Simon taking to the yhilini ambassador the other "retreat rooms" disappear(early design remnant?). It´s nothing big, just noticed it.

sierralee

Hello, thanks for your support! Sorry you found this distracting, but it's always been that way: the side rooms are hidden during the council scenes and "open up" for the bigger scenes.

Secular Reason

I honestly like both - but the imagery also has meaning here. They are the people of the Earth Goddess. Their tie to the Earth makes dirt "different" for them. Now that does include stone too, so... maybe some kind of mixture? Maybe the stone in more "city" type locations, and leave the dirt in the more "cave" areas?