Dear Players,

Abalon (formerly Summoners Fate) will launch from Early Access into 1.0 on Thursday, May 11th.

After seven years of full-time indie development and close collaboration with many of you, it’s an honor to finally deliver on our ambitious vision: a game that combines the best elements of classic tabletop games: tactics, cards, dice, and the magic of using your creativity to devise amazing strategies!

I can't express enough my gratitude for your encouragement, your feedback, and your support. It is because of you that we've made it this far - and what an incredible journey it's been! I smile looking back at some of our early Steam reviews. Many of you had shared that the game felt very complete for an EA title when we first launched - but take a glance at our update history to see just how much we could (and did) improve the game during Early Access:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1681840?updates=true


Here's a quick look at the 1.0 content and how it's changed since our Early Access launch.

1. 5 Worlds to explore, each with its own events, characters, and bosses (+2 from EA launch)
   
2. 15 Bosses to hunt down and defeat (+9 from EA launch)
   
3. 20 Summoners to guide through an adventure, each offering a unique ability for you to master (+12 from EA launch. 16 currently in the game. 4 more coming for 1.0)
   
4. 48 Guardians to meet through world events, all of which can join your adventure (+15 from EA launch)
   
5. 400+ cards you can collect on your quest to build the perfect deck (+100 from EA launch)
   
6. 50+ Artifacts that provide permanent upgrades to your heroes for the duration of your adventure run (New since EA Launch, More Coming for 1.0)
   
7. PvE Battle Mode, the perfect arena to master your favorite Summoner
   
8. Full Gamepad Controller and Keyboard Support with customization (New since EA launch)
   
9. Endless Adventure Mode lets you continue your adventure with ever increasing challenges. (Also known as New Game+, this was our top player-requested feature so it's been added to our roadmap for 1.0 release, replacing our previous goal of multiplayer)
   
10. PvE Leaderboards let you compare stats with your previous adventure runs and other players so you can set a new personal best (Coming for 1.0)

Due to their random and replayable nature, it's hard to gauge how many hours of content a roguelike game has. I use this formula to conservatively estimate: Number of unique heroes * adventure length (3 hours). The EA had around 24 hours of content and I'm confident the 1.0 launch has 60 hours or more.


Yes. In consideration of the many updates we've made to the game and the many more we still plan to add up to and post 1.0 launch, the price of Abalon will increase from $19.99 to $29.99 following the conclusion of the Steam Spring Sale, which runs March 16 - 23. During the sale, you can pick up Abalon at a 10% discount on the current price of $19.99.


Looking back on the past year in Early Access, I've realized a few things. As a player-driven developer, I need to be flexible and able to adapt to meet the needs of our community. I also need to be more considerate of how these changes can impact production. Many features, like gamepad controller support, were a lot bigger than I thought. Others, like multiplayer, were far too ambitious and not the right focus for the majority of our player base that wants more single player content and challenge modes.

I realize it's not possible to please everyone. I'm not perfect, and I appreciate your patience and understanding as I continue to learn. I am entirely sincere in my belief in this game, this community, and the potential we have to continue building something great together.

My next goals for Abalon are:

1. Complete Remaining Features indicated in the 1.0 launch feature list above. This includes adding the remaining 4 Summoners, additional spells and artifact cards, the new endless adventure mode, thematic shops where players can purchase the new spells and artifacts, AI improvements, bug fixes and performance improvements.
   
2. Post 1.0 we're planning to add an additional world (cave biome), continued enhancements to AI, additional artifacts, more QoL changes, new and revisited fate encounters, and continuing to adapt and improve the game based on player feedback.

I still strongly believe in our potential for multiplayer, and I've realized to succeed we're going to need a critical mass of players and a whole suite of new features to enable the best competitive and cooperative play experience. I want to do it justice to realize its vision, so I plan to release a new stand-alone multiplayer focused game called Abalon Arena.

My sincere intent is to ensure we'll have enough players for matchmaking, and this way we can directly reach multiplayer focused Steam players and dedicate the development resources necessary to give multiplayer the attention it deserves.

I’m committed to supporting everyone who purchased Abalon in Early Access. Anyone who's already purchased Abalon Early Access or buys the game from now to 1.0 launch will get access to Abalon Arena at no additional cost! We even have a sign-up for multiplayer in our Discord[discord.gg] in the #multiplayer channel where you can register to get access to Arena right now and help shape its development with fellow players.


Thanks again to all of our players for supporting our journey! As always, please feel welcome to share your thoughts and feedback.

Join the Discussion:
- Steam discussion board: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1681840/discussions/
- Discord: https://discord.gg/d20studios(RossD20Studios#2359)

~Ross

The cover art for Abalon is designed to look like a boardgame box, which best represents our innovative mechanics that combine cards, dice and tactics together.


Greetings players!

It is with great excitement that I share my latest and wildest idea yet: We're changing the title of Summoners Fate to Abalon.

What?! What kind of crazy are you talking here Ross? Who changes their game's title so close to release?

Well, I'll tell you something about indie devs like me: We don't get much sleep. The second my head hits the pillow, thoughts flood my mind. And no problem more concerns my attention more than this ever-burning question: “How do I get folks to discover this amazing game I’ve created?”

It’s during these late night musings when the “muse” - a manifestation of sudden inspiration that ancient Greek legends depicted as a goddess - often visits. And sometimes, she suggests an idea so crazy, it just might work. In this case, “What might happen if you change the name of your game?”

Once an idea like this hooks in, it's hard for me to ignore it. I have known for some time that the title of Summoners Fate hasn't done us any favors. Combined with the previous cover art, the whole package has given many the initial impression that Summoners Fate is a generic mobile game, when in fact, as popular YouTuber Retromation states in his coverage “this game is anything but generic. It is outlandish. It is weird. And it is, honestly, it is quite fun.”

Retromation's words echo the sentiments of many shared here. It's time to take action and change that first impression. That's why the cover art for Abalon is designed to look like a boardgame box. Tabletop games like D&D, Magic the Gathering, and Hero Quest are what inspired me. A boardgame depiction also best represents our innovative mechanics that combine cards, dice and tactics together - and signals to players the actual experience they can expect when they play.


Changing a title is no easy feat, as we have websites, social media, trailers, and of course the game client itself still referencing Summoners Fate. It'll take some time to fully roll out the changes, but my plan is to do everything I can to have everything transitioned over by the end of next week.


I wanted a name that was totally original, and Abalon just appeared in my head - a gift from the muse. Pronounced like Babylon, the ancient city at the cradle of civilization, it immediately evoked that feeling of an ancient, fantastical world that I wanted to convey. Coincidentally, it also sounds similar to Avalon, the ancient island of King Arthur legend, which sweetened the deal as I’m a huge fan of these stories.

I want to create a world people care about, one filled with original and amazing characters like our squirrel hurling druids, time traveling steampunk rats, and psychic lizard wizards. Abalon just has that fantastical ring to it, I think - something players will want to revisit, and something I can continue to expand and explore with new game titles.

So here, in this final leg of the journey towards 1.0 release, I've decided to take a leap of faith and make the bold move to change the title of “Summoners Fate” to “Abalon”.

I have deeply appreciated our players' support, and invite you to join us in this new and exciting chapter of the journey. To Abalon!

~Ross Przybylski,
Founder & Game Developer, D20Studios