Dev Update: Early Access — March 11
Quick update on the launch date. We were targeting March 9, but Steamworks requires a minimum review window for new releases that pushed us to March 11, 2026. Not our call — just how the platform works. Two extra days, same game. We’re using the time to keep polishing.
The game is ready. v1.0.0 is tagged, localization is complete across all 10 languages, and we’re shipping daily patches. March 11 is the line.
Prestige Reward Scaling
This is the big one. After a few prestiges, flat reward amounts from events, quests, and cave-ins became completely worthless. A treasure goblin dropping 300 BP means nothing when your economy runs in the millions.
Fixed. All 6 reward systems now scale with your prestige and ascension progress:
- Events — instant ore/BP/timber/mithril floor values scale up
- Mini-events — Treasure Goblin, Wandering Merchant, and Daily Login rewards all grow
- Quests — daily quest rewards include prestige scaling at generation
- Cave-ins — both random and descent grants scale, and the preview matches
- Expeditions — all tier payouts scale
- Deep Cavern Events — rewards AND costs scale together so choices stay meaningful
Two Scaling Tiers
| Tier | Resources | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Ore, Blueprints, Timber, Mithril | 1.0 + 0.5 per prestige + 2.0 per ascension |
| Premium | Shadowsteel, Rune Shards, Trade Points | 1.0 + 0.15 per prestige + 0.5 per ascension |
Workers, Ancestral Points, and Relics are intentionally unscaled.
At prestige 5 you’re earning 3.5x core and 1.75x premium from every source. After your first ascension, that base jumps to 3.0x core / 1.5x premium at zero prestiges — and keeps growing. Both values are visible in the Modifiers panel under Prestige.
Auto-Upgrade Automations
New automation unlocks let you set buildings and upgrades to purchase automatically when you can afford them. No more babysitting upgrade buttons between depths — your dwarves handle it.
Victory Screen Overhaul
Reaching depth 20 now triggers a dramatic gold flash, a custom fanfare, and a staggered reveal of your run stats. Victory should feel like an event, not just a popup.
Quest Scaling Overhaul
Daily quests now use tier-based exponential scaling instead of a flat linear formula. Economy-tier quests scale aggressively with depth, while gentle-tier quests stay accessible. Previously impossible quest targets at high depths have been fixed.
Lithodore Scales With Depth
The Lithodore encounter now scales its difficulty with your current depth. Early encounters are approachable; late-game Lithodore is a real threat that demands preparation.
Balance Changes
- Multi-resource upgrade costs — Pickaxe and Mining Expertise upgrades now cost multiple resource types, adding more decision-making to early progression
- Shrine of the Deep capped at 10 workers — prevents runaway shrine stacking
- Doubled Shadowsteel mythic costs — mythic upgrades are meant to be late-game investments
- Shadowsteel drops delayed — drops now start at depth 18 (was 15) with reduced early amounts
Quality of Life
- 1080p visual scaling — ore vein, room ring, cart track, and events all scale properly for 1080p displays
- MAX indicators — capped rooms now show MAX in both the room sidebar and automation panel
- x10,000 converter batch — for when x1,000 isn’t enough
- Runic warrior return animation — warriors now visibly return after troll and dragon events
- Full localization pass — all remaining hardcoded strings localized across 10 languages
- Version bumped to v1.0.0
Bug Fixes
- Fixed Shadowsteel production label showing incorrect rate (now per-descent)
- Fixed effective workers exceeding room caps
- Centralized barracks bonus logic to prevent edge cases
Early Access: March 11, 2026. Wishlist on Steam if you haven’t already.