1. Quest balance
   
2. Final cutscenes for the German (DE) language
   
3. Game technical framework

1. Screen flickering when switching between final videos
   
2. An issue where the game UI could appear over videos during subsequent playthroughs
   
3. A sound playback issue that could occur when skipping final videos with Esc
   
4. An issue where the current save could be selected after completing the game

The first week after the release of The Succession of Changing Kings has come to an end, and I would like to summarize the results, share some plans with you, and hear your thoughts on a few things.

About the numbers

Over the past week, Steam showed The Succession of Changing Kings more than 4.4 million times, and 121000 users visited the game’s page. That is a lot - far more than I expected even in my boldest fantasies. In this single week alone, the game was installed more than 3000 times on Steam, and total sales since Early Access have exceeded 11000 copies. The game also still has about 27000 wishlists (+6500 net during the week).

A little about me

I am 35 years old. I was born in Russia, but I have been living in northern Spain, in Asturias, for quite some time. I am not a professional developer, and this is my first game. My work has always involved a lot of writing: I taught at MGIMO at the Faculty of International Journalism (which I also graduated from), and I have also worked in marketing agencies.

I am almost as fond of chess as Father Lumiel. I play for a local city team. If you would like to play a game with me on https://chess.com, leave your nicknames in the comments.

About neural networks and what is “under the hood” of the game

I always wanted to make my own game. But before the emergence of generative models, it felt almost like a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. Neural networks pushed me to the realization that it was time to make a game - either now or never. But not in the way some people imagine.

A neural network cannot make a game for you, no matter what anyone says. When I started working on The Succession of Changing Kings in 2024, neural networks could not even write Tetris. So when I read something like “the code in the game was also written by AI,” it gives me a rather strange mix of emotions. That is simply impossible, even today. And in 2024 even more so.

The foundation of the game is a balancing table like this:

The actual table is much larger, but this gives a general idea. It contains all the connections, probabilities, and conditions. In the tabs below there are localization files, buildings, characters available for hire, and so on. Each time, a parser pulls the data from this table directly into Unity.

The map in the game was created using the Inkarnate[inkarnate.com] service. I have been a paid subscriber for about two years, and before starting development I even wrote to them to ask whether I was allowed to use the assets as a subscriber to create my own game. I do have that right. Inkarnate offers a huge number of different styles, so I definitely recommend taking a look at the service.

The Russian and English voice acting was performed by Sergey Mayskiy and Wolenard respectively.

The scenario and all the texts were written by me. I had to find some practical use for my journalism education, and this is what it turned into. I think Russian-speaking players who have played for at least three or four hours especially understand that the texts are written by a human, because the game contains a huge number of references to various cultural phenomena - music, literature, films, names - that are primarily familiar to people from the post-Soviet space. There are also many other references. There is even a special thread about them on the forum, though even a quarter of the Easter eggs have not been collected there yet.

I cannot say that I never tried to run texts through AI or consult it during the early stages of development. I did try. But Alesta would very quickly turn into Alesta I’Vinshel, and after that I basically swore off using it for writing altogether.

So how exactly did AI help me? As I mentioned earlier, only with the images for quests and events. But there are about 2000 such images and I simply would not have been able to afford them financially otherwise.

That is why when someone writes in a comment or review that “the whole game was made by AI,” it really frustrates me. Aside from the quest images, what exactly in this game was made by AI?

I am writing about this here because I genuinely care about what you think.

Future plans beyond The Succession of Changing Kings

Right now I am working on two projects: Your Judgement, Inquisitor and Nowhere Mage (it is not on Steam yet). With the money earned from The Succession of Changing Kings, I hired a pixel artist, Rufina, who is creating very atmospheric locations for Inquisitor.

In the story, you travel to a quiet monastery in northern Spain, where you will hear confessions, conduct investigations (and interrogations!), uncover mysteries, and exorcise demons. After all, what would you not do to become the Supreme Inquisitor… perhaps even form an alliance with Satan himself?

A short advertisement break: I would be very grateful if you added the game to your wishlist.
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Nowhere Mage, on the other hand, will be very similar to The Succession of Changing Kings in terms of mechanics, but you will also be able to travel across the map, fight opponents in card battles, and of course build relationships with factions.

Updates to The Succession of Changing Kings

Already this weekend I will release an update that fixes several issues. I am also actively working on gameplay statistics and the ability to watch the final video at any time. Steam Deck optimization is coming soon, and Japanese and Chinese language support will also be added.

That is all for now. I am very grateful for your support, your interest in the game, and your fair criticism. It inspires me and allows me to continue doing something I unexpectedly fell in love with.

The time has come to part ways with Early Access.

As a longtime player myself, I understand why Early Access often causes frustration and distrust. But in the case of The Succession of Changing Kings, it ultimately benefited the game:

• Acts II, III, and IV have now been completed. In the end, the game features more than the promised 80 deaths and over 800 events and quests.

• The Succession of Changing Kings now has two wonderful original voice-overs: one in Russian by narrator Sergey Mayskiy and one in English by Wolenard. And the songs he performs, just listen to them!

• The save system, which had caused frustration for many players, has been redesigned.

• The game now includes three difficulty levels, and a lot of work has been done to balance the gameplay.

• Across the four acts, the game contains about 4.5 million characters of text. Of course, there were plenty of typos... My tiny publishing house, consisting of myself alone, worked without a proofreader, but many attentive kings stepped in to help, and I believe we managed to clean everything up together.

• The visual side of the game was also reworked. As many correctly noticed, the map was created in Inkarnate, while the quest illustrations were generated with neural networks. I started working with them back in the days when characters could end up with six fingers and a tank might be peeking through a doorway. Now the visual style is finally close to what I originally wanted it to be.

• I am not a professional developer. This is my first project and, Tenebris and all its shadows, I am proud of the final result. Thank you to everyone who supported the game, gave advice, and offered constructive criticism. If there are developers among those reading this, they will confirm that one of the greatest pleasures is receiving feedback from players.

• When I see that someone has spent 30, 50, 70, or even 100+ hours in my game, it is simply… incredible.

• The game has a fantastic (for me) 88% rating, and almost all negative reviews are related to the fact that I used AI to create the quest illustrations. I have never hidden this, and it has always been openly declared.

The game leaves Early Access at 14:00 New York time and 19:00 Central European Time. Welcome to the throne of Valendor. Try not to die too often… actually, no - die!

Save Import and Conversion Feature

1. Added:

1.1 Professional Russian voice-over for Act IV quests
1.2 Korean (KO) localization for Act IV quests
1.3 Ability to load a save from the menu after completing the current playthrough
1.4 Conversion of saves created before update 4.0.0 to ensure the correct ending cutscenes play
1.5 Option to skip the Act intro animation

2. Updated:

2.1 Quest balance and localization
2.2 Several loading screens

For some players, after reaching turn 100, not all epilogue videos that show the further fate of the characters are displayed. Depending on the decisions made, there can be between 13 and 17 such videos.

These scenes reveal what happened to the key characters: Lynn, all faction advisors, the investigator, your spouse, and several others. If even one of them is missing from the epilogue, this is a bug.

Most likely, the issue is caused by the save file being too old. New players and fresh playthroughs do not encounter this problem. I am currently looking for possible solutions and have an idea involving save file migration.

If you have experienced this issue, please leave a comment and indicate the month when you started your current playthrough.

Citizens of Valendor!

The final Act IV of The Succession of Changing Kings has been released. The full game is now available; however, as I mentioned in my previous post, I am not rushing to press the “Leave Early Access” button.

Over the next 2–3 weeks, I will be collecting your feedback on typos, bugs, any issues you encounter, as well as your suggestions.

Please note the following:

1. In the Russian and English versions, only “Voiceover 2” is currently available, which means machine-generated voiceover. The voice actors are actively working, and an update with the familiar voices of Sergey Maisky and Wolenard will be released soon.

2. Unfortunately, the Korean language for Act IV is not ready yet. It will be added in the coming days.

3. Several new map effects have been added to the previous acts.

4. A new building, “Irrigation of fields,” has been added.

5. The balance of a number of quests and events has been adjusted.

I am deeply grateful to all of you for your support and kind words. This is my first project, and I was very unsure of my abilities, but your feedback, suggestions, and encouragement inspired me to keep going and to make more games. Thank you for being with me in Valendor!