November Update

November 26, 2024

Greetings, adventurers of Unyha!

As the frost begins to creep over the lands, our team has been hard at work on one of the most challenging aspects of Unyha’s development: the final piece of the Autochronicle AI game loop — heirloom quests.

Tackling the Toughest Challenge Yet

Heirloom quests represent a pivotal element of Unyha's world. These quests tie deeply into your House's unique history, leveraging AI-driven storytelling to craft missions that are both personal and dynamic. Each quest takes into account your past actions, relationships, and the fate of your heirlooms.

But creating this feature has been no easy feat. The logic behind heirloom quests is extremely complex, weaving together:

• The history of your House, including past heirs and their achievements (or failures).

• Dynamic relationships between characters and heirlooms.

• The evolving world events, threats, and challenges you face.

Adding AI into the mix only raises the stakes, as the system must balance handcrafted lore with unpredictable, emergent scenarios. It’s been a massive undertaking—tricky to test, painstaking to refine, and occasionally mind-bending in its complexity.

Why It’s All Worth It

Despite the hurdles, we’re thrilled by what we’ve achieved so far. The results have been nothing short of magical: heirloom quests feel alive. Each one is a narrative gem tailored to your House’s story, whether you're reclaiming a legendary sword lost in battle, or tracking down a stolen artifact tied to a fractured alliance.

The way these quests echo your previous decisions is something we’ve never seen before in an RPG. The AI doesn’t just create a quest—it creates a story you’ll remember.

Example (still early!)

Ben has completed a first season where his first character Dava founded the house Devian in Brimmar. She practiced her lumberjacking- and woodcrafting skills, and eventually crafted a birch bow. She later enchanted the bow with a Tome of Destruction increasing its power. Before the season ended Dava decided to bind the bow to house Devian as a heirloom.

The season ends and Ben creates his second character Dave. As the new season starts Ben learns that his previous character's bow has been lost from the house's armory over the centuries. It'll now be Dave's mission to investigate what happened to Dava and the bow and try to reclaim it. As Dave starts to study the House lore the clues that emerge point to the city of Brimmar.

And so the quest of the legend of Dava's bow of ruin begins. Using the events from the previous season — the crafting of the bow, the enchantment with the tome, and finally how it was lost — Autochronicle AI can now generate a chain of challenges referencing those past events. It also pushes players to explore new areas of the world as new unpredictable yet personal stories unfold.

What’s Next? Playtesting!

We’re getting closer to letting players dive in and experience the magic for themselves. Our next steps involve playtesting the full heirloom quest loop, ensuring it not only works as intended but truly feels immersive. Playtesters will be crucial in helping us refine the experience further.

As we approach the end of the year, we can’t wait to share more updates and begin opening the doors to Unyha’s evolving world. Stay tuned, and thank you for being part of this journey with us!

Until next time, may your House grow ever stronger.

— The Unyha Team