A cooperative & solo campaign inspired by Diablo, with exploration, gold, treasure, upgrades, minions, & epic boss battles!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
2020-2-4 - Minion Madness and Choose Your Own Dice Throne Adventure!
about 4 years ago
– Fri, Apr 03, 2020 at 03:43:23 AM
TL;DR: Development continues behind the scenes; no schedule-affecting changes to report beyond what we have mentioned previously in our Covid update (1-2 month delay). Entertaining things are happening in the Dice Throne Community on Facebook.
The battles have begun! Be sure you are tuned into our Facebook page to weigh in on each match-up during Minion Madness!!! Currently, the Dreg Beast is in the lead over on Facebook after making a comeback from the Horned Harpy's early lead. The poll is up on all our channels though, and over on Twitter, it's any minion FTW. On Instagram, the Horned Harpy has a huge lead! Who will come out the victor? We'll know tomorrow afternoon!
During this tumultuous time, we wanted to play a game in the DT world together. Join the Community and help our hero chart his course through the world of the Mad King!
With each new page of the story, a community decision must be voted on (example). Manny then has the task of crafting the next portion of the story based upon your direction. It's like comic-book-improv! As they are completed, the pages are organized into an Album on our Facebook Community group. (Feel free to share with your friends!).
Here's the first, to get you started!
Meet our storyteller. He's well versed in the world of the Crimson Sands. One might say he has an eye on all that transpires. Does he work for the Mad King crafting paths for your demise or does he want to see success for you and your valiant team?
Status Report - 2020.3.19 - Options for Playing Online, Dev & Manufacturing Updates - Stay Safe & Healthy, All!
about 4 years ago
– Fri, Mar 20, 2020 at 03:28:17 AM
TL;DR: How to play Dice Throne Online. Game Dev and Manufacturing Updates are both optimistic. We hope you are all staying healthy and safe!
For all of you who find yourselves suddenly at home for some or all of the day, we thought this would be a great time to review some of the ways you can play Dice Throne online. This has already been happening, but we hope more of you will join the trend! And who knows? You might even make some new Throner friends!
If you don't already have an opponent and need to find other players, you can do so via either the Dice Throne Official Discord server (which has dedicated channels for video chat, Tabletop Simulator, and Tabletopia), or the Dice Throne Community on Facebook.
(You can ask for technical assistance in either one, but please remember that the volunteers who run them are not technicians, and we always appreciate you doing them the courtesy of doinga quick search firstto see if your question has already been answered. We are especially grateful for community members who step up to help answer questions in chaotic times like these.)
Direct Video Chat
If technology makes you feel like more of a Barbarian than an Artificer, this might be the simplest way to do it. Simply set up your own character where your camera can see your boards, dials, etc., and as a courtesy to your opponent, roll your dice within its field of view. You're good to go!
Tabletop Simulator
Playing Dice Throne via Tabletop Simulator (TTS) is a great experience and we highly recommend giving it a try!
To help you get started, we've recopied a previous FAQ about it for you here:
Q: What is TTS?
A: Tabletop Simulator is a sandbox-style app used to play board games over the internet with friends on your PC or Mac.
Q: How much does it cost?
A: It's normally $20, but goes on sale regularly for $10 (disclaimer: we did not create TTS and do not receive any money from TTS). Once you own TTS, we give away our mod for free!
Q: Which Dice Throne heroes are currently included in TTS?
A: Barbarian, Moon Elf, Pyromancer, Shadow Thief, Gunslinger
Q: What is the experience like?
A: It's fantastic! We do all of our beta testing and new development in TTS before anywhere else. Once you get used to it, the experience is really excellent.
You can post in the public chat within TTS and ask if anyone would like to join. Or better yet, if you know DT well enough and are familiar with TTS, ask if anyone wants to be taught! This is one of the best ways to help our community grow. #DiceThroneTogether
Tabletopia
Tabletopia is not as supported as TTS and doesn't quite feel as polished. However, the paid version includes the original 6 S1 heroes. Because the Dice Throne and Roxley teams only rarely use Tabletopia, we will not be able to support any technical questions about the platform or its implementations. Still, for many, this will be a good option to connect with friends and play games remotely.
Print & Play
If you're stuck somewhere without a copy of Dice Throne, and you're looking for the basic two player experience, the original Moon Elf and the Barbarian are currently still available at pnp.dicethrone.com. (Note, these are slightly out of date, and will continue to go further out of date as S1R rolls out.)
We've also heard that some FLGS's have actually started delivering games for social-distancing customers. So consider checking in with your favorite--they might be able to bring you some new heroes!
We have been play testing like crazy! We can't possibly thank our beta testers enough, and a very special shoutout goes to our lead beta tester John Heidrich, who has spent MANY 2am nights with Nate working through game balance adjustments. We have just completed a full balance pass across all bosses, minions, environment tiles, & loot. These are the things we kept in mind when adjusting the bosses:
DTA balance at all player counts (including solo and 4 player modes)
AI edge cases & resolution (we’ll never completely eradicate issues, but def improved)
Player rewards on boss cards (these keep you on the edge of your seat, even when you are behind)
AI roll type distributions & progression
Alternate game modes (Boss v Boss mode & 1-vs-many)
We are still going through HEAVY balance testing and expect further tweaks, but it’s very exciting to feel we are getting closer and closer to the final product.
As discussed, COVID has had a real effect on our delivery date. And while COVID-19 cases are on a major decline in China (good job China!), factories are still working with skeleton staff and many have not returned to work. Then they will have a backlog of work to catch up on. That said, our factory and the Dice Throne team are doing all we can to minimize the delays. We'll keep you posted.
Miniatures - Today we received samples of the unpainted miniatures. There were a few tiny alignment adjustments we have requested for the Seraph, Paladin, and Monk, but other than that, they look great!
Vac Tray - We are waiting for an updated physical sample of the vac tray, which should arrive this week. We need to physically test usability. The tray will require further adjustments after it's tested, but we are getting closer.
Dice Trays - Production complete.
Season One Rerolled: This week Gavan will be finishing the final touches on the Battle Chest, which includes the inner artwork. Once stress testing of the S1R heroes is complete, and all content goes through final proofing, we will be exporting all content to receive final proofs from the factory.
Dice - We received updated samples this week of the loot dice. They look great and we are approving them for production. :)
New Playmats - Approved for production.
Card Sleeves - Approved for production.
Rulebook - We are so close to having development nailed down! Once it is complete, we will revise the rulebook with new changes and finish the layout.
Our next update is scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd, 2020.
Status Report - 2020-3-5 - COVID-19 Impact on our Schedule. Happy Birthday, Nate! And, a Surprise!
about 4 years ago
– Fri, Mar 06, 2020 at 02:38:38 AM
Nate's birthday was actually March 3, but we thought you'd like to wish the great Shadow Ninja a happy belated! And to see this awesome birthday art that Manny created to celebrate!
Manny makes the best birthday cards!
Factories in China have been severely affected by COVID-19. Many have still not reopened and many others are still not at full capacity. Additionally, they are dealing with huge backlogs of work. Unfortunately, our factory is no exception. Sadly, we are officially going to be late delivering this project. How late? We are hoping 1-2 months, but in truth, we do not actually know.
Publishers throughout the industry are being told this same thing, and the situation is still subject to change without much in the way of advance notice.
We are in regular contact with our partners in China though, so as things progress, we will keep you up to date with details whenever they become available. For now, we can just say July is not in the cards, but we are hopeful the delay will not be a long one.
Due to the delay, we have a fun gift for you! This wasn't originally part of the plan, but we have decided to add a secret printed piece of art on the inside cover of the Season One Rerolled battle chest. Check it out!
A gift as a result of the delay: Secret art inside of the S1R battle chest!
Our next update is scheduled for Thursday, March 19th, 2020.
Status Report - 2020-2-20 - Dice Throne-Adjacent Projects
about 4 years ago
– Thu, Feb 20, 2020 at 10:31:04 PM
TL;DR: Just a quick hello, and a look at some fun Dice Throne-adjacent sightings out on Kickstarter!
Due to the corona virus, factories and shipping in China have been shut down for a few weeks now for precautionary reasons. Many projects that were closer to fulfillment (from Roxley and a number of other publishers) have been delayed by this.
We are hoping this won't have major impacts on our Dice Throne Adventures / Season One: Rerolled timeline, but we are not yet able to predict the exact effect this will have on the schedule. We will update you as information rolls in and we are once again able to confirm dates for all of the deliverables on our list.
Our very own Moon Elf is making a special guest appearance in Cindr, a push your luck game about dating dragons, from our friends at Smirk & Dagger! We hear she likes long walks in the moonlight and rolling 6's... will she Entangle the dragon she's Targeted, or will she be more Evasive and play hard to get? Bringing her date to the Mad King's Tournament might end up in someone getting burned by more than just the Pyromancer!
If you're ready to try YOUR luck at dating a dragon, click the image above to roll the dice yourself! ;)
In case you missed the livestream, our very own Barbarian has been creating some incredible images for Wonderland's War from our friends at Skybound Games! Could there be a more perfect match for his art style and Alice & Wonderland? (Well, Dice Throne, clearly, but Wonderland is a close 2nd.)
Click on the image above to check out Wonderland's War, while it is still on Kickstarter!
(Wait... is that Cheshire Cat related to the one that recruited the Gunslinger to the Mad King's tournament...?)
Our next update is scheduled for Thursday, March 5th, 2020.
Status Report - 2020 - 2 - 7 - Development Update!
about 4 years ago
– Sat, Feb 08, 2020 at 12:37:01 AM
Balancing a co-op game is very difficult.
Make it too easy, and some players will lose interest. Make it too hard, and others will be too frustrated. For both types of players, the game needs to provide intense and nerve-wracking challenges, but it must be possible to overcome those challenges through smart play and teamwork. This is more challenging when the game includes random tiles, random minions, random card draw, random loot, and random dice outcomes.
Oh, and did we mention this has to scale for 1-4 players, work with every possible hero combination, expand smoothly with the introduction of campaign content, and that the entire extended adventure must be played from start to finish, again and again and again… and again? What fools would take on such an intense challenge!?
"PICK ME, PICK ME!!!"
We are squarely in the midst of the most labor-centric part of development: balancing and polish. Things we are currently focused on:
1. Unique hero balance - We have been making many changes to ensure that squishy heroes (like the Pyro) or short/long-game heroes (like the Cursed Pirate & Shadow Thief) are equally presented with a game that is both challenging and surmountable. We have also recently made changes to ensure that the Game's AI can deal more effectively with evasive heroes (like the Moon Elf and Ninja).
2. Player skill - In DTA, there can be a LOT of next-level tactics and strategies that come into play. We are pushing the game into the sweet spot where it will reward you for clever teamwork and tactics, but is not so hard that your success will be determined by luck.
3. Dynamic difficulty - To properly challenge players of all skill levels, we have implemented self-adjusting difficulty system that makes it easier the more you lose, and harder the more you win.
4. Player count - Getting the game to be equally challenging whether you are playing with 1 player or 4 players has been a difficult challenge. But we are getting very close to this being where we want it!
In terms of risks and challenges, if anything could cause DTA to slip slightly, this is it. Many publishers have different philosophies in this regard, so we thought we would share where we stand: We firmly believe that getting the balance and polish just right is substantially more important than rushing an unfinished game to production.
Q: WAIT! Are you saying DTA is delayed!?
A: No, it is not currently delayed.
But we DO prefer to give you an honest and realistic assessment at each stage of development, so in the interest of complete disclosure, if we judge that have to delay it to ensure the best possible player experience, we may have to make that choice. So please keep your fingers crossed for us, that this complex challenge of balancing everything continues to go smoothly. This has definitely been the most painstaking and laborious part of development, but we are excited about the leaps and bounds of progress we have been making so far, and the additional content and creativity that this development marathon has allowed us to bring to the game. We believe we are in the homestretch.
And all this playtesting is making us more excited than EVER to share this game with you all!
(There is no production update this time, as we are still within Chinese New Year, with no communications with or news from the manufacturer.)
Our next update is scheduled for Thursday, February 20th, 2020.
