Riot Murdered a Colony Survival Contender, But Modders Have Quietly Revived It - Stonehearth ACE 

Hey there! ACE Lead dev here :) We are extremely honored and humbled by this shout-out! Thank you so very much for the kind words and for shedding some light onto our passion project! There's so much to experience, discover and enjoy in Stonehearth with ACE (and many other great mods) and we're happy to see people finding time and interest to do so. This means a lot to us! We're now on the great march towards 1.0, ACE's initial and greatest promise - the Mountain Folk kingdom (our dwarves)! And our community is always open for questions, suggestions, support and to people willing to join the fun! Again, thank you very much for the kind words and the honor to be featured on this great channel :) - Dani, on behalf of the ACE Team

Incredible what they’ve been able to do with ACE, completely revitalized the game. Also, thanks for the shoutout again 😁

I hope everyone remembers what actually happened, the developers did not abandon the game. They said numerious times they were bought out and given a new project. When a big company comes in and buys everyone out, they have zero options. Unless you want to risk losing your job and main income you are going to listen to your new development boss and team. That is all that happened, they gave them some more time on stonehearth but they did not give them the desired time they wanted. It was a small company that developed on it a lot, streamed some development that was awesome, and then they cought the eyes of a really big company (think it was riot). No one here would say no to a multi-million dollar deal. It is just good business. I just wanted to say that as somene who played it with my wife a lot and followed it from the start. They really did nothing wrong and they were put in a situation where they either kept their jobs, or quit. Because they cannot work on the game anymore for the rights were bought by riot (if that was the company). Once that happens they legally cannot take back ownership and release offical updates unless the mother company allows it. Hope that educates a lot of people.

Oh man, this makes me tear up a little. Stonehearth was one of the first games I wanted to get with my adult money, I enjoyed watching Splatty and Lathland play, and then it died before I could get it and I was devastated. I am so glad it's still going. I will get it when I have a better laptop/desktop setup.

Man, the fact you mention Nook is also why I love your channel. Most youtubers out there just hoard their fanbase and pretend the rest of the internet doesn't exist. And here you are, just giving some more recognition to others.

No, I think Stonehearth needs more coverage. Its not as dead as people think it is. And it is one hell of a unique survival/colony builder. You will be hard pressed to find something else like it. The building is incredible, the systems are incredible, the fact you only have 3 stats lets you focus more on other things instead of trying to micromanage everyone.

I love Stonehearth. The ACE mod really helped this game keeping up. My buddies and i played the shit out of it. Sad the devs abandoned it.

I had no idea about the ACE mod until this video. I remember backing Stonehearth on their kickstarter and was crushed when development died. Thanks so much for giving the heads up about this! Viva la Modders.

Nookrium I recently found his videos. He’s a sweet soul. I’ve sometimes just put his streams on in the background and it’s relaxing.

Twee weeks ago I actually bought the game due to the ACE mod, it has been amazing. The performance and stability have been massively improved, which was a major issue during the official development of the Stonehearth.

This game was popular not only because of the artstyle and the similarity to Dwarf Fortress, it was because this game allows you to fully customise functional buildings, allowing you to interconnect stations, make them serve multiple purposes or one single one very well, while allowing you to also tweak layouts and hence affecting pathing and stuff, ALL THE WHILE being extremely aestheticallly pleasing, enhanced only by how well you design your buildings, or how good that blueprint you downloaded on Steam is. Not only that, for what it already had before 'miscarriage', it was already very fleshed out and detailed and in-depth, giving you a very good simulation feel where you really ARE in control of almost quite literally EVERYTHING in the colony, village, township, castle, whatever you want to call it and make it into. You can make literally anything, and you are pretty much in charge of literally everything. Heck, you can even not build structures and just plop down the necessary stations for a structure in a room dug out from the hills and boom, you have it. This game was a full-on RTS buillder's dream. A surreal fantasy coming to life. Only to be punched in the gut by Riot's big-ass fist.

The profound audacity of modders, rebuilders and preservers like ACE deserve the utmost respect. A prodigious thank you, from me and all the gaming community, goes to you guys and gals for all the things you enable us to enjoy again.

You and Nook are the two indie-game guys I follow on RU-vid. Good to see a shout-out.

I back this game on kickstarter back in the day. I was so disappointed when the devs abandoned it 😢 Didn’t even know there were mods for it! Will have to check it out.

this game deserves so much more attention than it gets. Fantastic game

Thanks for showing this some love, it's a great little game. It just got bent over with no lube and it didn't deserve that. The modders are fantastic keeping it alive.

That's not a dead game, that's a game rescue story.

Same here, was shocked to see (recently) that ACE was still being worked on, nice!

The last warrior came back from murder at the last seconde of the video. x) Good job to the passionate modders. Thanks for showcasing. ^^

Thank you for taking the costco time machine and playing this game once again. Love this game, great video cheers

I love this game, and am so glad that the Ace mod exists. Thank you for shouting it out.

Community, always where it's at. Good of Splat to mention Nook, he's good People.

Having worked at Riot when we bought the studio back then, Riot didn’t just shut the game down. Riot actually invested heavily in it for a while to see if we could finish it out at AAA quality level. At the same time the two founders of the company (brother) were wildly into fighting games like Street Fighter and their ultimate goal was to make an amazing fighter dream game, which they started working on (Project L). The new project fitted a lot more with Riots PvP DNA and core game design philosophy (alla Tom Caldwell). So development on this beloved game was slowly set aside for the new big project.

Modders definitely don't get the credit they deserve. Love that you are giving them the shout-out!

Hi Splattercatgaming, It's really great to see you revisit this game. I would like to share the true story about the release state of this game. As I see that there is a lot of misconceptions about how it ended up like it is. Let me start by stating that: RIOT Games is NOT the reason this game was left in the state it was. I'm super happy for the ACE team to keep on adding things that should have been added to the game during it's development period. Let me explain what happend to this game as someone who was into, backed and followed the game from the start of it's Kickstarter event. The false Kickstarter claims: The two brothers who developed this game stated during it's Kickstarter that they already worked so hard and long to create an engine that would fulfil the vision they have for this game and to allow for their very flexible building mechanics. This was absolutely not the case, as when the first alpha build that backers could get it was very clear that this system only worked for the very simple layouts and would break as soon as you try to be a bit flexible of creative. Also this never fully got addressed during the entire development cycle of the game. The First couple of releases were also in a very bad state technically speaking as you could barely build a house before the game starting stuttering, crashing or fully consuming your memory. I really can't give them a pass for calling the foundation being completed when they recorded the KickStarter promo video. The development was super slow: This is fine, and i'm not saying they should have rushed anything. However every update was super small in scope, and mostly trying to fix things that are a part of the core gameplay features, and mostly just adding very minor things here and there. There would be updates that introduced new classes and additional items to the game, however these were very few if you look at the entire release history of the game. Besides this they would show a lot of things that might or might not ever make it into the game. And mostly they did not at the end. Why RIOT purchased the studio: RIOT did NOT By the studio because of StoneHearth. The brothers who founded the studio are veteran fighting game developers who created and published a loved online fighting game (Rising Thunder). RIOT games wanted the brothers and the rights to this fighting game. After RIOT owned the studio: The brothers stopped working on the game, this is clearly their own decision that started with the whole acceptance of the RIOT deal. We surely can't blame them for taking an opportunity like this one. Most people would have taken this opportunity for sure. I have no problem with this what so ever. The problem that resulted is that the team they build for StoneHearth, just kinda stagnated and had no vision or clear direction to continue with the game on their onw. It was clear from every dev vlog and showcase they did that there was no direction or real commitment to get anywhere. Progress was still super slow as always and got even worse. I even commented on some of these updates. However they would never show any comment that was criticising the near to standstill pace they were moving at. You only see positive posts and nothing else (on the game website). They were clearly lost: For about 2 years they kept on saying they are reworking core aspects of the game to finally be in a position where they can start introducing new features and content at a steady pace. This never happend. They spoke for 2 years about updating their roadmap that has now clearly changed and shifted from the one available on the website. This also never happend. Every update was mostly about the same things and just testing things in dev and seeing if it is fun to possibly add one day. That never happend. The RIOT conclusion: One day, they created a dev vlog stating that RIOT asked them to present a plan for the future development and a planned finish date that was not "Some day when it's done" but an actual milestone in the future where they see this game reaching a 1.0 state. Also it's important to add here, they (the devs) also stated that at no point was RIOT involved in their development process, nor did they every push them in a direction or restrict them in terms of timeline etc. Mind you, the game was still in Alpha at this point! Their response to this question from RIOT was: bring the game to Beta after 2 weeks. Make it so that when you finish the super shallow main quest, you can move somewhere else and start over again as an ending of the game. Not adding any of the features that were planned from the Kickstarter! about 5 years ago. Neither any of the things they have been working on seemingly for ever. And two weeks later the game was in 1.0 fully released. From Alpha to 1.0 in about a month time. The hard truth: The game was simply not going anywhere, the devs had reached the point where they did not think they could continue working on the game or bring it forward anymore, and just decided to call it Done and move on. I'm really disappointed by this as the game has an art style that I just love so much, the whole style and ambiance of the game is just super pleasing. It's just a shame that they did not just admit the game engine was not going to do it for them and possibly migrate to something more stable (the game was very unstable as a result even at 1.0) so that they could actually build and release this game in a way it can reach it's potential. It's a real shame, as I was eagerly awaiting this game to be feature complete and get released one day, however after closely following the development for years I could see that the game was not going to get there, and the whole ending just confirmed this suspicion I had. Even though I was really hoping that I would be wrong. If you are still here, ThnQ for reading and I hope that I was able to show the truth about how the game ended in this unfortunate state. Take care and I wish you a great day

I bought this after your first review. Have been checking in on it now and then. Thank you for acknowledging the folks that have been keeping it alive.

This video has so many examples of why I love your channel Splattercat. From shoutouting out Nookrium to picking up an old game and showering kudos on the awesome modding community who are working to keep it alive (and improve it). There are very few big youtubers out there who support the indie community like you do. Thank you! And thank you for reminding me to check in on Stoneheart again. Loved that game and can't wait to test it out with ACE. :D

I remember tuning into the Dev Diaries every tuesday (or were they on thursdays?), I loved the idea of this game so much. Shame things turned out the way they did, but I'm so very happy to see the ACE team continuing the dream. Thank you Splat for covering this!

Good job for highlighting the work that these guys do. Ive always loved this game!

I for one am glad you did this video splat, thanks. I totally didn't realise that Stonehearth was being worked on and I was gutted when initial development died on it. Thanks for letting me know that some awesome people have breathed life back into a game that had so much potential!

Wow, thank you for drawing attention to this mod. Stonehearth was on my radar for a long time but I was kinda bummed out when they stopped development and didn't know about this mod.

Appreciated the reminder Splat, and happy to hear you watch Nookrium, you two are my "go to" for indy gaming. I own the game, but haven't played it in a long time. Knowing that ACE exists I'll give it another go.

Thank you for this Video Splat, I absolutely loved Stonehearth and now I know I can get back into it!

In spite of the bugs, lag and then abandonment, I cannot let this game go. In spite this game being 8 years old, I cannot let it go. In spite all of the other great games that have came out since, I cannot let this game go. In spite of all the other games I have bought and played since, I cannot let this game go. In spite all of the games on my wish list, I cannot let this game go. I believe it is that I just love how this game looks. So many games are dark and I strain the see. This game is bright and colorful. Thus, I enjoy looking at it. And therefore, I enjoy playing it.

Splatt man your stuff on yourube is just getting better all the time, keep it up and stay professional as much as you can I remember first video from you i saw was aboit the gaem long dark and since then im here everyday, cheers man

WOW! Thanks for doing a video Splat! I didn't know this game was continued by the modders, I had heard the devs abandoned it after I bought it, and I just never looked into it again.

This is and has been my fav. game ... thanks ever so much Splatt for giving us some more ... And thanks much to ACE ... The work you have done on this is ... amazing ...

Haven't watched the video yet... but man I remember following this game from the very beginning of the Kickstarter, pledged a few bucks to it, followed it off and on and played it as soon as I was able. Fucking loved the game so much. Then when the 2 brothers who ran the company decided to call it quits, I was incredibly disappointed. I'm so glad the community kept it alive, Stonehearth deserves it

This game is making a comeback, saw another vid about it not long ago and gave me some mad itch to play it again. Really glad you have covered this gem again.

whoa, i remember picking this game up when it was being developed. Was super sad that it just died after riot, it had so much potential but just ended up being so shallow. Seeing you play this mod has brought me back

Yoooo... So many years. I remember huge hype for it. It feels like yesterday.

This game was so endearing to me when I saw it come out. The art, the ability to build what you want, the music, it really got me stuck in a whole lot, even with all the performance issues. I still play it every so often, the ACE community have been doing such an awesome job with it, but my games do still suffer from dropped tasks or building if I play the same save for a while unfortunately, but I can't not keep playing!

Oh I remember this little gem. I remember playing the heck out of it in the desert biome. Loved my little clay town buried deep within the mountains. We mostly dug up metal, turn them into items and then trade them for extra food. Building the town over a plateau meant that goblins couldn't get to us. But eventually we had to expand to the lower areas to get more room and more resources.

I remember watching one of the devs do coding on twitch for this game. It was truly a travesty that it was ruined by Riot basically forcing them to stop work. Such a great game, glad to see it's still being worked on by the Mod community, and being covered by people like you and Nook. I absolutely love the class based combat/jobs

Huh, I'm super grateful for this video...I loved stonehearth and didn't realize there was such an active modding community. (I don't tend to spend a lot of time on forums for games) So now I'll go and give this ACE a shot, so thanks!

This game is such a gem in the rough. Its performance really suffers later in the game, but it's totally worth a play. Thanks for covering it, Splat!

Ah jeez, stoneheath is a throwback. I missed this

Wow.. I loved this game when it came out.. maybe it's time to check it out again.. great job ACE.

The ACE mod does add more complexity in combat due to different weapon types. Like the cleric can use the book to heal at a range while also using a heal aura around itself. However, the mace cleric is quite tanky and MURDERS undead while using the heal aura (loses its ranged heal tho) for the melee line. Then your melee weapon variants for fighters and knights have little niches for things like debuffs, DoTs, AoEs, DMG, and DEF. But, since splat mentioned Towns, yeah that game had a cool theme of building a city that would draw in adventurers to explore underground dungeons. But that game got dropped very early in its development.

Played this game a long time ago, glad to see it come back to life, the modding community can make a game live forever.

Thank you for giving attention to this hidden gem of a game

This makes me SO happy! I absolutely loved Stonehearth!

I remember looking at this one when it first came out, but so many great games were coming out at the time I didn't pick it up. I might have to go back and pick it up now.

I love this game! Thanks for the video, gonna get this immediately

I know you probably won't see this but i'm going to try anyway. Would you consider briefly showing the options screens at the beginning of your videos. I play on a large tv (seated in a recliner) and scaling options are very important to my old eyes. It's the first thing I look for in games to make sure I'll actually be able to play. You know, doesn't need to be long, just enough to hit pause. Just discovered your channel and think you're doing a great job. Thanks for that whether you see this or not. :)

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Due to the ACE Mod I would buy this game.

my absolute favorite colony management game and just one of my favs in general. really sad it got abandoned but the mods were a fun addition

Love to see you dropping updates on "dead" games good way for us to know if some our games are dead or not. And Maybe I will pick this up in a future sale.

Well I have had this game on my Wishlist for a long time and after I heard they stopped developing it, I considered removing it, but never did. The game was right up my alley and so I hoped one day the studio may pick it back up. Thanks to this video, I now have an incentive to pick it up on the next Steam sale. Thanks a lot and thanks to the modders for their passion and dedication.

lol, love the not-so-subtle name change to the video

after watching I actually went and bought the game and I'm loving it. thank you

Man.. I miss this game.. I've had issue running this game ever since I installed W10 even with the solutions that exists out there.. Brings out so many memories. This game had lots of potential..

Giott, Luca, Watts... those are FF dwarf names. Explains why Stonehearth's dwarves look so much like the best dwarf NPCs ever.

its always nice having a game with a comunity that can survive for so long...might have to try this out

The ACE mod is awesome. The developers are very active and have been working on it for a long while.

You should do a "retro review" of "A Game of Dwarves". It was a Paradox game that played very well, but was abandoned.

Holy crap, I actually found your channel back when you first covered this game when it was not even on early access because RU-vid algorithm actually kinda worked back then

This game has always had a special place my stone heart 🙂

I'll have to give this a look, I loved the game when it was being actively developed. I always played as the desert folks, building cities atop stone pillars or hill sides.

It's always nice when the indie game youtubers recognize each other.

I saw that the modders were playing it, but I REALLY wanted to see someone play it!

It's thanks to you i bought the game back in the day ^^

Random factoid, Stonehearth was from Radiant and the Canon brothers, founders of Evo. They're now developing Project L (LOL fighting game).

Great to see you do another video on stone hearth I was wondering what happened to it

I love the ACE stuff. Has fixed so much in the game.

"ridiculous trajectory towards victory" is quite the tongue-twister

Get it my brother. May the algorithm bless you!

There was a time where I just kept playing this even though I heard that its no longer being continued but at the same time ACE was also there and I have no idea about it and just kept on playing and had to play it even more after accidentally seeing a post about ACE.

This game was around the same time that Timber and Stone was around, both were fun, both unceremoniously axed before they reached full finish

This game was one of my first ever purchase game, back when I just start working in some retail store. The my heart died when the news about the dev move on to join Riot and stop development. It was heartbreaking but after 10 years, ACE mod maybe is the real update we deserve

as a massive Dwarf Fortress/Rimworld fan, somehow i havnt heard of Stonehearth before.... will definetly check it out

We crack open Sttoneheart every now and again. It's like Minecraft, you never fully give up on it.

well, just to prove you wrong, you made me want to buy this game after watching your video.. so.. good job

My favourite thing about this game, was when your colonists were so dumb they'd build themselves into the wall they were building, then die because you had no idea it was happening.

It's awesome that modders are picking this up, because I kickstarted Stonehearth and really loved the game's aesthetic and idea. It's a shame it never delivered on the original design and promises, but I hope they keep working on it until it does! Also, OOF RIOT... anything Tencent is toxic. It's a real shame the studio ended up there.

man i played this when it was launched along with timber and stone. good to see modders are reviving it. though timber and stone has alot of potential also and hopes that the community revives it

OMG! Stonehearth!

You mentioned Towns, I'd like to see that game come back, lol

I dunked so many hours in to this game back in the day. So I got really pewwed when it was abandoned and equally excited when it's was picked by the community, cause it's a nice little title. Sure it's janky as hell, but also has a lot heart. So kudos to the splat for dusting off this loved relic 😊❤

Nice @Nookrium shout-out!

Stonehearth was my absolute favorite for a while and it always makes me so sad that it it got dropped the way it did.

Cool, man. I live on Oahu. :)

You know, I wasn't really into this, but then Splat sold some healing herbs on accident. That really humanized the content for me.

This looks nice so far

Have loved this game for years. Was into a 3 month stretch of playing nothing else when Fallout 76 came out in Oct 18 and I switched for just a few weeks, much to my regret! Still play it on and off.

You can dig down. And dig stairs into the ground. You’re hearthlings will climb up a one block high step.

Definitely gonna get this!

Definitely do a play through of "Lords and Villains". Basically a 2D Stone Hearth.

I don't think a day goes by without a github update on the discord for the ACE mod. It's astounding that they're consistently updating the mod even now, a decade later.

Great viddy as always.