Couchpotato spotted patch 1.28.1 for LoA: The Forgotten Crown:

Legends of Amberland version 1.28.1

Version 1.28.1 released

A small update targeted at improving gamepad support.

• [interface] Gamepad support: Improved Virtual Keyboard (physical keyboard can be used identical to a physical keyboard when detected, more characters supported).
• [interface] Enable/Disable Gamepad option (Options/Controls/Gamepad), useful for people who have a gamepad plugged in but who do not intend to use it. The option is ignored if SteamDeck is detected.

By the way, the sequel, Legends of Amberland II: The Song of Trees is out tomorrow!

Wizard Worm checked out Legends of Amberland - an RPG in the style of Might & Magic 1-5:

Legends of Amberland Review - Where is The Forgotten Crown? (Party-Based RPG)

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Patch 1.21 for Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown has been released:

Legends of Amberland version 1.21

Version 1.21 released

This version introduces what some of you waited for a very long time. Yes, the long promised Steam/GOG achievements have finally arrived! Total 13 of those. Also, I think that from now on all my games would come with online achievements implemented on day 1 (full release, not Early Access), not guaranteed by very likely.

•  [misc] Added 13 online achievements. One can be unlocked on Hard or Insane difficulty only. Two are more hardcore and require more effort to unlock. The remaining ten are pretty casual. Note that some of the achievements can be unlocked retroactively using your old save (but not all of them), check the “Steam achievements” topic for fro more details.
• 
   [misc] Updated localization files.

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The RPG Crawler checked out Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown:

Indie Game Friday - Legends of Amberland

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The RPG Codex has reviewed Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown:

RPG Codex Review: Legends of Amberland

Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown is a computer roleplaying game inspired primarily by Might & Magic. When making reference to that venerable series of open-world dungeon crawlers, one must draw a distinction between the earlier titles and the later ones. Midway through the franchise, beginning with Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven in 1998, the series reduced the number of characters in the party while introducing a hybrid real-time combat system alongside traditional turn-based combat. While retaining first person exploration, it switched to allow free movement in a fully realized 3D world (not including Might & Magic X: Legacy, which was more of an experimental throwback).

The original Might & Magic and its four sequels were step-based and played on a grid. Party sizes ranged from six to eight, including hirelings who could be recruited into the party and functioned like normal party members. Conforming to the oldest of old school principles, they initially had no automap, thereby necessitating orientation via hand drawn maps on graph paper. The first two games were considered to have the most hardcore combat of the series, with tactical back and front row formations and restricted saving. It was the Might & Magic III engine that first presented a more inviting approach, boasting bright friendly colors and even cartoonish imagery, producing a more comfortable experience for the player.

That is where The Forgotten Crown fits in, with its seven character party, 100% turn-based combat, and arrangement of tile-based outdoor maps and dungeons. It's a game very much in the style of Might & Magic III through V.

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The oldschool RPG Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown has been released:

Version 1.00 released

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Finally, the game leaves Early Access. After several years of working on this (when I add up all the abandoned prototypes, rewrites, reuse of older code and so on, this would be the longest in development game I made), the game is going to be released. I'm quite happy with the state of the game, of course one could always improve something and could do it for another 10, 20 or even 30 years and one still have the filling something more could be added or improved. But one need to call the end one day and push it out of the door for players to enjoy.

What's next. First there are some minor things (linguistic check was not fully completed yet, a few images are still missing and some other cosmetic things need to be done, it will be done in versions above 1.00+ during the next 3 months). So please overlook the minor things during next few months, I'm aware of those and those will be dealt with. But other than that the game is complete. There might be some balance tweaks if needed (especially for Hard and Insane difficulties), interface improvements and other minor things, but I will not touch gameplay (quests, story, world, etc), the game is complete in this regard.

Version 1.00 is mostly polish and last minute changes. There is one important change, monsters can't move through doors now, I believe it adds another layer of thrill and tactics plus it solves some minor problems and inconsistencies.

[...]

Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown is scheduled to leave Early Access on August 1, as it will be released at that moment in time.

Here is some info of the game, in case you haven't heard about it before:

Classic party-based western RPG, inspired by games from the 90s era.

Core design choices:
1) Classic, 90 degree rotation, FPP, turn-based, tile movement RPG.
2) Party-based (7 party members assembled upon start).
3) Open world with a big overworld to explore.
4) Fast paced combat. Quick travel. Easy inventory management. No grind.
5) Light, fairy tale like fantasy, epic story about heroes on a noble quest.

Inspiration:
The game is a classic western RPG inspired by the games from the 90s. Basically, it's the kind of game I personally find missing nowadays. Light, fairy tale, epic, heroic and slightly humorous. One that does not take tons of hours to complete or require endless grind to progress. Something that caters to players like me who don't have tons of hours to beat one game but still like to play and have a sort of nostalgia for the way games were made in the old days.

It was inspired by Dungeon Master, Eye of The Beholder 2, Might & Magic 3-5, Crystals of Arborea (a not so well known prequel to Ishar series), GoldBox series (Champions of Krynn, Dark Queen of Krynn, etc).

Mechanics:
Mechanically it's 100% turn based (so you can go and make tea in the middle of a fight) with grid movement and 90 degree rotation. All this very fast paced, both combat and travel is really fast. The goal was to cut down the boring parts and flesh out the fun parts. Also, there is no loading screen when changing locations or other slowdowns
Overall, the mechanics are pretty traditional and straightforward with modern additions like weightless bag combined with equipment encumbrance system.

World and Storyline:
Storyline is a fairy tale, mythical heroic fantasy. You are the good guys on a quest to fight the forces of evil. The world is non linear, with very few locked areas. You basically can go anywhere and do things in different order. In addition you can choose a different set of quests to finish the game (but those are not mutually exclusive, so you can finish all quests if you like). It's more world driven than story driven. The priority was to make the world feel alive and let you explore it as you wish than follow a linear list of quests.

The game starts when the royal wizard finds out about an old crown that belonged to the royal family for generations. Yet, strangely no one ever heard about the crown and there was just a single mention of it in the royal annals. Upon further study he discovered that there has been cast a powerful spell of forgetfulness of unknown origin which caused everyone in the whole land to forget the crown ever existed. Without knowing who or why someone went to such trouble to conceal the existence of the crown he decided to investigate it. He summoned a party of noble heroes and tasked them with finding whereabouts of the mysterious crown and the origin of the spell.

The Early Access version of the retro-RPG Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown is now available:

Inspiration:

The game is a classic western RPG inspired by the games from the 90s. Basically, it’s the kind of game I personally find missing nowadays. Light, fairy tale, epic, heroic and slightly humorous. One that does not take tons of hours to complete or require endless grind to progress. Something that caters to players like me who don’t have 40 hours to beat one game but still like to play and have a sort of nostalgia for the way games were made in the old days.
It was inspired by Dungeon Master, Eye of The Beholder 2, Might & Magic 3-5, Crystals of Arborea (a not so well known prequel to Ishar series), GoldBox series (Champions of Krynn, Dark Queen of Krynn, etc).

Core Design Choices:

1. Classic, 90 degree rotation, FPP, turn-based, tile movement RPG.
2. Party-based (7 party members assembled upon start).
3. Open world with a big overworld to explore.
4. Fast paced combat. Quick travel. Easy inventory management. No grind.
5. Light, fairy tale like fantasy, epic story about heroes on a noble quest.

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Mechanics:

Mechanically it’s 100% turn based (so you can go and make tea in the middle of a fight) with grid movement and 90 degree rotation. All this very fast paced, both combat and travel is really fast. The goal was to cut down the boring parts and flesh out the fun parts. Overall, the mechanics are pretty traditional and straightforward with modern additions like equipment encumbrance system.

World and Storyline:

Storyline is a fairy tale, mythical heroic fantasy. You are the good guys on a quest to fight the forces of evil. The world is non linear, with very few locked areas. You basically can go anywhere and do things in different order. In addition you can choose a different set of quests to finish the game (but those are not mutually exclusive, so you can finish all quests if you like). It’s more like a world driven than a story driven. The priority was to make the world feel alive and let you explore it as you wish than follow a linear list of quests.

The game starts when the royal wizard finds out about an old crown that belonged to the royal family since generations. Yet, strangely no one ever heard about the crown and there was just a single mention of it in the royal annals. Upon further study he discovered that there has been cast a powerful spell of forgetfulness of unknown origin which caused everyone in the whole land to forget the crown ever existed. Without knowing who or why went into such trouble to conceal the existence of the crown he decided to investigate it. He summoned a party of noble heroes and tasked them with finding whereabouts of the mysterious crown and the origin of the spell.