[h1][b]We are proud to announce the first major update to the RFVR Early Access! [/b] [/h1] [h2][i]First a huge thank you to all of our users and supporters for helping us make RFVR a great game, we <3 you.[/i][/h2] This update is the culmination of over 3 months of development progress and brings with it a slew of new experiences to RFVR. The users asked us for updates to NPCs and NPC interactions and and that's exactly what Update#1 delivers. We estimate to be about 25% complete with the early access development at this time and are on target for an end of year 2023 finish of Early Access and into the Full Release. If you've played the game then you know just how massive it is already and for how much there is available to do it's hard to imagine we're only 25% of the way there. This update just about brings quadrant 1 of the map to a close for now, the next update will focus on the next quadrant and we have some really awesome things in store. Check out the overview of this update here [previewyoutube=T0qhKmObPRc;full][/previewyoutube] Here's what you can expect to see in Update #1 [h3][b]Mercenaries and Adventure Parties: [/b][/h3]You can now hire a variety of mercenaries to join along in your adventures, as well as team up different with adventure parties spread across the world. Join and interact with over 15 new and unique NPC adventurers which all have their own personalities and special abilities. Adventurers and Mercenaries come in a variety of ranged or melee attack styles and bring a whole new dimension to exploration. [h3][b]NPC Townsfolk:[/b][/h3] New dialog and quests have been added throughout the first quadrant of the map. Help the local townsfolk complete various tasks for unique and sometimes hefty rewards. NPC's will have you traveling to areas of the map you didn't even know existed. Additionally, new daily lifecycle behaviors have been added to all Townsfolk. [h3][b]Improved Town Guards:[/b][/h3] The guards were missing a lot of their attacks and frankly not very effective. We've given them that much needed attention and now you can expect those town guards to be able to fight well during town attacks, especially if you take the time to upgrade them. [h3][b]Growing, Breeding, and Smoking Herbs:[/b][/h3] Now you can be just like your favorite fantasy wizard with this revolutionary new mechanic in RFVR. 8 special varieties of herbs have been added throughout the map and can be grown within special herb boxes. Herb plants can be cross pollinated up to three times, enhancing their potency and effects. Herbs are then consumed with a wizard pipe and offer temporary bonus's to strength, insight, and resistances. [h3][b]New Tutorial:[/b] [/h3] More detailed and thorough tutorial is now provided to new players in the great hall starting area and the tutorial is able to be toggled on or off at any level. [h3][b]Boat Upgrade:[/b] [/h3]Tired of getting stuck in the middle of the shallow sea after your boat hit a small wave and exploded? We've made the boat a lot more durable and forgiving. If you do still happen to break the boat, a boat hull and enough materials to build a new boat will spawn in it's place. [h3][b]Purchasable Homes:[/b][/h3] You can now purchase and own 4 different homes in RFVR. Each home comes with a variety of useful tools, a save location, and an additional long term storage chest! Hoarders be aware! Many more purchasable homes are on the way! [h3][b]Wood Crafting:[/b][/h3] Now available for crafting Wooden Wizard Pipes, Boat Hulls, and Herb Boxes [h3][b]Leather Crafting:[/b] [/h3]New item 'Food Pouch' can be crafted and increases food item storage. [h3][b]Advanced Armor Smithing: [/b] [/h3]A new tier of armor smithing has been added. Trust us, you're going to need the bonus to resistances you get from this vendor in the very near future. [h3][b]Shoulder Holster Text:[/b] [/h3]Previously, It could be a bit difficult to grab shoulder holstered weapons. Now, you are prompted with text when your hand overlaps a holstered weapon, or when a weapon overlaps a holster. [h3][b]Continued Profession Quests[/b][/h3] New Farming and Smithing quest tiers have been added. [h3][b]New Enemies[/b][/h3] Added a few new enemy species. [h3][b]Various Bug Fixes, enhancements, and optimizations:[/b] [/h3]Fixed issues with Torch lighting, Ore Satchel and other storage pouch item persistence, Cooked food bowl item persistence, and too many more to list here. Thanking our players and our Discord users again here for all the feedback they provide, we probably wouldn't find some of these bugs without your help. Lighting improvements and performance optimizations. Stayed tuned for the next major update, we're already getting started and we can't wait to share the progress. Join our [url=https://discord.gg/EZfGVh9SKb]Discord[/url] to get access to the beta as soon as its live and chat with us, share you thoughts, suggestions, and help us keep improving on RFVR. Peace, OMFGames