New Monsters - Training Dummy and Minotaur

0.7.1b Update Released

Patch Notes:
- Skill balancing
- Shield Breaker skill replaced with Vengeful Blow
- Bonus mana rewarded for clearing board
- Show round # at top during battle sequence
- Bug fixes

Skill changes

Fireball

- damaged changed to 800

Frozenblast

- damaged changed to 400

Polymorph

- cost changed to 400 Earth

Crusader Strike

- cost changed to 400 Fire

- additional damage changed to 40% of defence points

Boss - Black Knight

Here are screenshots of one of the bosses you will face, the Black Knight.

0.7b Update Released

You can now customize your character with new class skills! Be sure to check out the Mage's Polymorph spell :).

Patch Notes:

• New class skills
• Live Events (experimental)
• Skill balancing
• AI tweaking
• Bug fixes

New Monster - Goblin

New monster. Obviously inspired by WoW

I'm learning more about texturing each and every time i make one these guys!
I was using the hobgoblin character for wow as reference

New Skills Preview

We're currently working on new skills for our upcoming 0.7b patch. Here's a preview of the skills. Keep in mind that these skills are subject to change (in fact they likely will).

Paladin

Charge

Charge towards your opponent, delivering a deadly blow upon impact. Deals 50% of your current defence points as damage to your opponent. Costs 300 Fire.

Conversion

Convert your opponent's attacks into defensive energy. The next incoming attack is absorbed and converted into defence. Costs 300 Earth.

Mage

Polymorph

Transform your opponent into a helpless sheep. Causes all of your opponent's attacks and skills to be nullified for a short period of time. Costs 300 Earth.

Amplify

Amplify your inner energy. The next 3 element cubes collected are worth twice as much. Costs 200 Fire.

Berserker

Shield Breaker

Unleash an armor piercing blow to your opponent. Causes the next two attacks to deal 200% damage to your opponent's defence. Costs 300 Fire.

Stone Skin

Invoke your natural ability to harden your outer skin during combat. The next 3 defence cubes collected are worth twice as much. Costs 200 Earth.

0.6.1b Update Released

This is a medium sized update. Let us know what you think about the new puzzle formations. Have a great weekend!

Patch Notes:
- New puzzle formations
- Regional leaderboard
- Skill slot assignment
- Mage skill balancing
- UI changes
- AI tweaks

New Monster - Bandit!

One of the earlier monsters that you will face

Skill Assignment

We're current adding support for assigning skills to a specific slot in the skill bar you see during puzzle play. This is a prelude to more skills being added to each class in the game.

Polymorph!

Sheep texture for the polymorph spell. I hope it gets into the game

Werewolf Texture complete!

How weapons work in Hero Forge

There have been a lot of players asking about whether or not items have an effect on battles. The short answer is that that they don't have an effect on PvP battles and the reason for this is to keep things fair and balanced. However, eventually there will be a PvE mode where you fight NPC monsters and items WILL have an effect on these battles. This is the mode where weapons will cause more damage and armor will give you bonuses.

Read on for the long answer...

There have been more than a few debates at Clapfoot about what role items should play in the game. From day 1 we've never taken this issue lightly and we've actually changed directions several times. In the end, we decided to have items not affect PvP for the following reasons:

1. We wanted skill and strategy to be the determining factor in battles as oppose to grinding. For example, a player that has strategized a bit should be able to triumph over a player that has simply spent hours and hours grinding in the game. We believe that this would provide a healthier competitive environment.
2. We didn't want to divide the player base between old and new. Specifically, we didn't want new players to come in and have less players to face because everyone was already at the "end game",  carrying high end gear.
3. Eventually we have to monetize the game by selling items (like what they do in TF2 and DOTA2) and we don't want the game to be pay-to-win. While we may make more money if we allowed players to buy their way to more powerful weapons in PvP, we believe that the competitive environment would be ruined by this.

Having said that, there is always a chance that we may change our stance on this issue as the game evolves over time. If you have any questions or comments about this issue, please let us know on the community board:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/115639536687102698143

Thanks!

New Monster - Werewolf!

Made these Yesterday, just got some base textures in.

No they aren't in a scene together, but its just funny how they turned out side by side

0.6b Update Released

Our first big-ish update has been released to Google Play. We've added a couple of neat features. Let us know what you think.

Patch notes:

• Helms
• In-game leaderboard
• Mage reflect skill now uses Water instead of Earth mana
• Balanced cached matches
• Increased chances for live matches
• NFC initiated PvP battles (experimental)
• Bug fixes

Town Guard - Final

Leaderboard Feature

Based on feedback from early beta testers, we've begun implementing an in-game leaderboard screen. Initially, it will just contain the top 10 players, but we may extend the functionality to include more in the future. Check out this WIP screenshot.

Town Guard W.I.P

Freelancer Character Artist

We're looking for a freelance 3D Character artist to work on several monster characters in the game.

Requirements:

• Freelance experience
• Low poly character modelling
• Hand painted textures
• 3DS Max

Both local (to Toronto) and remote candidates are welcome. Please send your resume and portfolio to mark@clapfootgames.com.

Concept Art Development - Then and Now

               

                    

UI development

Hero Forge Beta!

We just launched the Hero Forge multiplayer beta on Google Play. The features are limited at the moment and there may be a few bugs in the game, but it'll give you an idea of how the final game will play. Please let us know what you like (or hate) about the game.

Download the beta!

New Environment - Graveyard

Starting a new environment is a very exciting process. We generally allot 1 week for planning and execution. Depending on the complexity of the scene, and the amount of other work that needs to get done, usually we are on time.

I've been following a thread over at Polycount: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119602
Some of the artists I respect for their hand painted textures and "low" poly game models are working on this challenge. Its very exciting to see, as well as awesome to learn from

Ive also been drooling over this blog: http://simonschreibt.blogspot.de/2013/01/diablo-3-trees.html
I always love learning new techniques, and I'm definitely going to give the amazing Diablo 3 "2.5d" a try.

I'll keep you posted as I block in the environment as well as get the base textures in there.

-Adam

Environment Art

Character Art

Welcome

Welcome to the community blog for Hero Forge, a fantasy puzzle RPG being developed by the indie studio Clapfoot. We'll be updating this blog with all sorts of development news including artwork, programming, and design issues. We want to share both our discoveries and failures, so that the community can help us improve the game. If you have any questions or feedback for us, please feel free to leave a comment on any given post.

For more information about the game, please visit our FAQ and Media pages.