- WIP Patch, Vulnerability Fix, Oct 6, 2025 - 6 October 2025
Hi All, Unity recently patched a vulnerability that would have allowed malicious code execution in certain scenarios. That vulnerability affected both the Unity Editor and games made with Unity. Since then, both Microsoft and Valve issued mitigations via Windows Defender and a Steam update. This patch addresses that vulnerability within the game. And since we haven't updated the game in a while, you also get to see what we've been working on in the meantime. Details below. Security Fixes New build with Unity Editor that patches vulnerability CVE-2025-59489 (https://unity.com/security/sept-2025-01) Changes Upgraded to Unity 6 Card description update card descriptions now showing during combat Cards get straightened during combat highlight Initiative change is now based on the number of cards played instead of the number of APs spent Added belts for consumables and gear UI now highlights…
- Events Update - 3 February 2025
Hi All, Today's update implements duty events. Some duties have a chance of an event happening. When the event triggers, you'll be presented with a short story that requires you to make a choice. At least one choice will be free, while the rest will cost resources: money, fame, and infamy. Fame and Infamy can now be gained from combat missions. Enjoy!
- Small Patch, Jan 7, 25 - 7 January 2025
Hi Everyone, Today's patch fully implements the Bow and Maul cards. Both two-handed weapons are good at range and can do some AOE. When starting a new adventure, you will receive three random weapons, two 1-handed and one 2-handed. The base shop also has a stock relative to the starting weapons. Enjoy!
- Happy New Year! - 1 January 2025
Happy New Year to all! It has been a very challenging year here at Read Play Code, but ultimately fun too. I personally read a lot of opinions and stories of game devs getting laid off, burned out, or struggling with their games, and I realized a few things this year: We are lucky to be alive at a time when there are so many video gaming options: many different games and game genres, platforms, gaming accessories... Of course, that also means competition is meaner... Generative AI is here to stay. Even though in terms of quality and accuracy, it's not there yet, I have seen successful games blatantly using generated images as their Steam capsule - blatantly because if you look closer, you can notice defects specific to generation. Now, we also used generative AI in our marketing material but also retouched it to deal with glaring issues. Does that matter? Probably not. What matters is t…
- Hotfix, December 8th - 9 December 2024
Fixed an instance where the game was left in an unresponsive state.
- Small Patch, December 6th - 6 December 2024
Hi All, This patch brings a small number of improvements to combat. Full list: Card descriptions updated to be shorter Cards now get straightened and larger during highlight to help with readability Card keywords now get tooltips during card highlight Combat initiative now increases based on the number of cards played in a turn instead of the number of action points spent Fixed characters having gray teeth. Now they are blooming white. Literally. A fix for another day Upgraded to Unity 6 to take advantage of all the performance and usability improvements during development Known bugs: After acquiring the first mutation, the game might get stuck in a state where you can't take on duties or do training. Quitting to main menu and reloading would fix the issue. Enjoy!
- Mutations Update - 22 November 2024
Hi Everyone! Two quick things: Firstly, if you plan to buy our game, wait until the next Steam Sale - Autumn Sale starting on the 27th of November. Secondly, as usual, try the game first! Our Playtest is open to all, and access is granted instantly. This is one of the most significant updates to the game since we released it in Early Access. It has a lot of improvements and additions that we discussed in past Dev Logs. Please take a look at the important highlights and full patch notes below. The most disruptive change: the saves folder has been moved, and older saves are no longer supported. Starting on day 10, the bandit arc begins. That will spawn over a series of missions that can award ballads on completion and discords if they expire. Get 3 discords, and the game is over. Those critical missions are marked accordingly. Weapons now have a chance to drop from enemies. You will be ab…
- Update coming soon - 8 November 2024
Hi All! A new big update is coming soon containing the changes talked about in the dev logs since last update. It already is on the test branch (for both the EA and Playtest versions), so if you want you can try it out right now and feedback would be much appreciated. To change the game branch open the game properties from the library -> click Betas -> then select from the Beta Participation dropdown "test - Public Test Branch". Previous saves will not be visible to the new version. Enjoy!
- Dev Log, Oct 5 - 5 October 2024
Hi All! September went by in a flash, but we haven't been idle. The focus this past month has been on making the changes needed to support the mutations system. We're finally in a place where we can iterate content much more easily. We've also worked on AI, and some enemies might act differently based on what cards they draw. Other notable changes: weapon icons, video effects, and critical path marking. While we're gearing up for our biggest Early Access update, note that the previous saves will not be compatible. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
- Dev Log, Sep 6 - 6 September 2024
Hi All, It's been another busy month, so quite a few things to talk about! While the focus has been on enabling the supernatural part of the game, we had to invest much time into the game progression, which the mutation system depends on. This new system will allow players to push the boundaries of attributes over those of mere humans into the realm of Ballads. Along with that central piece of work, we are also introducing the first item drops - which we talked about in the last dev log. Of course, that highlighted a few issues with the inventory, one was that we had to mark new items appropriately. Finally, we've also been working on the world map, touching it here and there and introducing a zoom functionality (which still needs a bit of UI work, as seen in the last dev log). That's all for now, enjoy the weekend!
- Dev Log, August 9 - 9 August 2024
Hi Everyone, It's been a while since our last update, and we've been busy. For the past several weeks, the focus has been on weapon variants and mission rewards. The first weapon variants introduced are several swords - some curved, some straight. They are historically inspired and have different effects on cards, both beneficial and detrimental. Each comes with its own visual representation and inventory icon to make recognition at a glance possible. The default/standard/vanilla sword is based on the arming sword, or more specifically, on the Replica of the Sword of Saint Maurice (see wiki page ) Next up is the gladius, which is currently as long as a spatha. We might rename it that, although spathas were historically used by cavalry units. This one, specifically, has a golden guard, golden pommel, and ivory grip. Finally, the sicas. These have been especially difficult to draw, as the…
- Early Access Update - Duties and Attributes System, July 7 - 12 July 2024
Hi Everyone, We're excited to reveal the latest update, introducing two interconnected systems into the game: Duties and Attributes. The attribute system, acronym S.A.D.I.C., adds more depth to the character progression and performance. Attributes values can range from Abysmal to Balladic with 7 total levels, and can be improved through training, combat and duties, and affect many different aspects of the character, from the damage they deal with certain weapons, to how many cards they can draw and keep in their hand at the end of the turn. You can now hover over each one to get a list of current bonuses and what the next level would bring. You can also hover over each combat attribute to see where the different bonuses are coming from. The other major system, the Duties, is primarily used to boost attribute progression, at least at lower ranks. Duties are assigned at intervals of 3 day…
- Steam Summer Sale and Dev Log - 21 June 2024
Hi All, The Steam Summer Sale is just around the corner, so if you were planning to buy the game, wait a little bit longer. As for development, I am still hard at work on the duties and attributes system, the latter of which has been the focus for the past two weeks. Progress is steady, with most attribute effects implemented. In the next couple of weeks, the focus will shift back to duties in order to complete their implementation and finish off the integration of the two systems. That's all for now, have a marvelous weekend!
- Dev Log, June 7 - 7 June 2024
Hi All, It's been two busy weeks since the last update. I have been working on the Duties feature; please take a look at the concept below. In your journeys through the lands of Unsung Ballads, the Legion will call upon you to undertake periodic, mandatory, and (sometimes) menial duties. These tasks will be represented by a unique set of cards, from which you will draw three initially and up to five as you ascend the ranks of the Legion. Initially, you will have to do a blind selection of the duty, meaning the cards will be flipped after you've had a chance to inspect them. The selection will change through progression to be more strategic rather than random. Our philosophy is "bells and whistles shouldn't waste the player's time." With that in mind, it took a bit more effort to animate the cards and ensure the animations were all skippable. There's still work to finish the feature, and…
- Early Access Small Update, May 24 - 24 May 2024
Hi all, Today's small update changes how the initiative works during combat: - initiative values are now correctly taken into account; before, all characters started at 0 - delaying the turn will decrease the initiative at the end of the round by the character's max AP value - ending the turn without taking any actions will not affect initiative - initiative increases at the end of the round by the number of spent APs, provided the character didn't delay their turn Other changes: - Inventory visual update - A few combat visual updates - various UI/UX bug fixes Enjoy!
- Early Access Update, May 17 - 17 May 2024
Hi all, Today, we bring you another vital feature: sparring! If you felt that combat was brutal and there wasn't any chance to experiment, this is the update for you. Sparring is a combat scenario that doesn't end the game when defeated. You can access it through the new interactable badge. Upon clicking it, you will be presented with a short dialogue, and then you'll face a force similar to your team. And since Sparring is now implemented, the Trainee rank now tracks your sparring sessions. Hint: you don't have to win them. Enjoy!
- Early Access Small Update, May 9 - 9 May 2024
In this small update, we added a little combat tutorial. Enjoy!
- Early Access Update, May 3 - 3 May 2024
Happy Friday, everyone! With this update, we introduce the first steps in our efforts towards better accessibility, as we talked about in this dev log. We also had a combat tutorial lined up, but unfortunately, our playtests showed that it didn't function properly in the release builds despite showing no issues when run in the Unity environment. Try it out, and please drop a word on Discord or the Forums. Enjoy!
- Accessibility work in progress - 26 April 2024
Hi Everyone, Another week flew in the wonderful world of game development, wonderful despite the job losses and tragic choices. While there's no patch this week, I've been fully dedicated to enhancing the game's accessibility, even though that was further down the roadmap. It's been a challenging two weeks, but I'm making significant strides. Two crucial things not well imparted in the game were when the cards were drawn and discarded during combat. With combat being a core gameplay feature, it became clear the situation needed to be addressed. In most deckbuilders, the player gets their hand of cards at the start of their turn. However, in this game, each character on the field gets their own hand of cards at the start of the round. And then get to discard most (if not all) of their cards at the end of their respective turns. Neither of those events was visually represented in the game…
- Early Access Small Update, April 13 - 13 April 2024
This small update introduces a new popup that displays a larger version of the card and explanations for the secondary effects such as Bleeding, Opener, Finisher, etc. As part of that effort, we also had to move the card type to its own graphical element on the card. And finally, the first iteration of the re-design of the combat UI.
