Frequently Asked Questions

Wanderfolk is a medieval survival RPG coming to Steam on Windows and macOS. You play as a penniless wanderer arriving in a procedurally generated world with 14 biomes, AI-powered NPCs, crafting, dungeon exploration, and village warfare.

Wanderfolk is coming soon to Steam. The public browser version has been closed so the launch can focus on Steam wishlists, reviews, and launch-day momentum.

Every NPC in Wanderfolk is powered by AI with persistent memory stored as vector embeddings in a PostgreSQL database. When you talk to an NPC, they draw on their personality, role, backstory, memories of your past conversations, and their current opinion of you. They respond in character and remember what you said across sessions.

Yes. Conversations are summarized, embedded as vectors, and stored permanently. When you talk to an NPC again, the system retrieves the most relevant past interactions via cosine similarity search. If you promised the blacksmith iron ore and never delivered, he remembers — and his opinion of you drops accordingly.

Your reputation with each NPC ranges from -100 (enemy) to +100 (beloved). Low reputation means higher shop prices, refused services, and fewer job offers. NPCs also gossip — anger one villager and the whole village may hear about it. If your global reputation drops below -90, the village banishes you. Banishment is game over.

Wanderfolk shares Stardew Valley's focus on village life, relationships, and crafting, but the two games differ in key ways. Wanderfolk's NPC relationships are driven by freeform AI conversations rather than scripted dialogue. The world is procedurally generated with 14 biomes. And the game includes dungeon exploration, village warfare, and a reputation-driven gossip system that Stardew Valley doesn't have.

Wanderfolk is launching on Steam for Windows and macOS. Mobile is not currently supported.

Each Wanderfolk world is procedurally generated using a Whittaker biome diagram that maps temperature and moisture to 14 distinct biomes. The world is divided into chunks that load as you explore. Villages are generated with unique cultures, economies, and military ambitions. No two playthroughs are alike.

Wanderfolk has 168 crafting recipes spread across 7 stations (anvil, forge, workbench, loom, alchemy table, cooking fire, and enchanting altar). Each recipe uses a skill-based minigame — timing, temperature control, rhythm matching, balance, or sequencing — that determines the quality of the finished item. Higher quality means better stats.

Yes. Wanderfolk features procedurally generated dungeons using Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) to create layouts of 15-20 interconnected rooms across 250x150 tiles. Dungeons have biome-themed environments, amplified combat difficulty (3x monster HP), environmental hazards, multi-phase boss encounters, and tiered loot from steel through mithril.

Yes. Bandit war bands spawn in the wilderness and raid villages. Thieves target wealthy settlements to steal stockpiled resources, while marauders attack villagers directly. Groups scale to biome difficulty — mountain bandits are tougher and better armed than meadow outlaws. Villages defend themselves with alarm bells, military garrisons, and defensive formations. You can also encounter roaming bandit patrols while exploring the wilds — they use coordinated human tactics like threat assessment and retreating when outnumbered.

Yes. Each village has a military power score based on garrison size, training, fortifications, and cultural bonuses. Villages can declare war, raise armies, and conquer neighboring territory. You can manipulate politics to instigate wars, lead war parties, build traps and fortifications, or hire mercenaries. Conquered villages undergo a 28-day cultural assimilation process.

Wanderfolk launches in Steam Early Access on May 21, 2026. The current pre-launch phase is focused on a limited Steam Playtest and final launch prep.

Wanderfolk is a single-player experience. The game focuses on your personal relationship with AI-driven villagers — their memories, opinions, and gossip are all shaped by your individual choices. Multiplayer is not currently planned.

Wanderfolk targets desktop and laptop computers on Steam for Windows and macOS. A stable internet connection is needed for AI-powered NPC conversations.

Not currently. Wanderfolk uses keyboard controls — WASD or arrow keys for movement, and single-key shortcuts for actions like interacting (E), harvesting (Q), attacking (F), and opening your inventory (I). Controller support may be added in a future update.

No. Wanderfolk requires an internet connection because NPC conversations are generated by AI in real time on the server. The game also saves your progress server-side. Without a connection, conversations and saving would not function.

Mobile support is planned but not yet available. The launch focus is Steam on desktop first.

Playtesters can report bugs and share feedback through the Wanderfolk Discord community or by emailing the development team directly. Bug reports with steps to reproduce are especially helpful. You can also follow development updates on the Updates page.

Wanderfolk has no fixed endpoint — the game is a sandbox. Long-term goals include mastering all 7 crafting stations, conquering dungeon bosses across all 14 biomes, building your farm to level 6, achieving beloved status with every NPC in a village, and influencing village warfare to reshape the political map. Each playthrough creates different opportunities.

A single playthrough has no set length — the procedurally generated world and sandbox design mean you can play for as long as you want. Reaching a comfortable mid-game with established relationships, a working farm, and basic crafting mastery typically takes 10-20 hours. Endgame goals like dungeon completion and village conquest can extend well beyond that.