Sword Coast Legends Director on Future Free Content, Includes Dialogue and Level Editor

The new “State of the Game” update that was published on Sword Coast Legends’ official website, which was penned by game director Dan Tudge, seems to be mostly meant to respond to the concerns of players who weren’t pleased by the title. To respond to this criticism, Tudge has announced an aggressive free content schedule, starting with a Halloween-themed update today.

The most interesting additions, though, seem to be included in the December update, which will include official support for modding, a new tileset-based level editor, a new dialogue editor that supports branching dialogue, and a series of additional options including the ability to disable monster scaling in DM campaigns.

Here’s the full update schedule up until December:

Halloween Update: “The Pumpkin Patch”: October 30th

• New “Liars’ Night” themed area and placeables in the spirit of Halloween
• Cemetery DM location with over 35 new placeable objects and new player gear
• Screen nudge with mouse (toggled option)
• Players will now be able to move the camera by nudging the edges of the screen. The WASD keys and the middle mouse button will still work the way they currently do.
• Auto-heal at Adventurer’s Camp
• When entering the adventurer’s camp, the party will heal any damage previously taken.
• DM collect quests will display “x of x found” on the HUD
• Hotkey added to re-center camera on player
• Doubled the max length for DM quest conversation text
• Added the option to lock your cursor to the window
• Bug fixes

Community Pack 1: Week of November 9th

• Companion-Specific Skill Trees Unlocked for Players
• Existing unique companion skill trees will become available to players
• Nature Set
  New outdoor area cleared and ready for customization with over 150 new placeable nature objects for DMs.
• Ability Respec
  Characters wishing to forget their prior training will be able to do so. All character points will be refunded, allowing players to change builds or reselect their characters’ abilities.
• Player Stash
  Players will be able to store additional items within their own personal stash.
• Skill Rolls
• Players will be able to use ability rolls that take their character’s bonuses into account. For instance, characters will be able to specifically make a “Strength” roll and have their Strength modifier automatically added to the roll.
• Increased Number of Available Monster Abilities
• Custom creatures will have additional monster abilities available to them.
• Bug fixes and additional community feedback items as time allows

Community Pack 2: Week of November 30th

• Address concerns with ninja looting in multi-player games
• New Playable Sub-race: Drow Elves (including access to Darkness and Faerie Fire abilities)
• DM-placeable visual effects (fire, smoke, etc.)
• Revisions and improvements to the rules for death, party wipe, and stabilize, including new options for players that want more challenge
• Village area and village-related placeable objects for DMs to use in their modules
• Ability to give ambient text to NPCs on select
• Ability for DMs to change the randomized interiors of every tile
• Lock/unlock locations on all quest states (give/update/complete)
• Bug fixes and additional community feedback items as time allows

Community Pack 3: December

• Official introduction of mod support, including
• Tile based level editor
• Branching dialog editor
• Adjustable game systems, ex: round timer, loot tables, etc.
• Community facing development of these features to begin immediately
• Option to disable monster level scaling in DM campaigns
• Bug fixes and additional community feedback items as time allows

Rage of Demons: Coming Soon

Return to the Underdark in this all-new adventure taking place as part of D&D’s “Rage of Demons” storyline, featuring the legendary outcast drow Drizzt Do’Urden and some of the deadliest enemies ever to terrify Faerûn.

• New Rage of Demons tile sets and placeable objects
• New playable race: Tieflings
• New creatures available for DMs
• New Playable class based on community input
• Allow player-created characters as companions in story mode
• Enable players to control their characters’ movement with the WASD keys
• Bug fixes and additional community feedback items as time allows

Additionally, the developers are planning some more post-release support in 2016, largely based on player feedback.

I was hoping for some post-release support, but to be honest I’m completely and positively surprised by the amount of positive changes listed here. As much as I wasn’t pleased by the impressions I’ve been reading since released, I have to commend the developers for their response to player feedback.