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Steam News26 March 20263mo ago

DevLog 03: The Mist, The Weather, and The Night

Heyo - Richard here, Lead Designer for Above: Colonies of the Mist. Welcome back to another Design DevLog for Above: Colonies of the Mist.

In this update5

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Full Above: Colonies of the Mist update

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What changed

0 fixes1 addition9 changes0 removals
  • Events
  • UI and audio
  • Gameplay
  • Balance
changedWelcome back to another Design DevLog for Above: Colonies of the Mist. The last time I was here, we went over the basics of how the landscape and logistics come together to create a unique challenge. This time, we'd like to talk to you about our approach to the environment.
changedThe MistThe Mist is a corrupting force that always signals a Bad Day for anyone who spends too much time in it. The longer your colonists spend around it, the more it will affect them. Their morale will drop as they hear whispers of voices in a long dead language. Their body will fail as the mist fills their lungs.
changedWhat does this mean for gameplay?Over the course of your time exploring the forgotten lands, you'll find the Mist rises and falls. This cycle is something you'll want to keep an eye on throughout, because when it starts to creep up and over your colony, you'll want to make sure your people are either protected or, as the name of the game implies, above it and somewhere else entirely.
changedWhat does this mean for gameplay?Just remember - while the Mist does recede, the longer you survive, the higher the Mist will rise.
changedWhat does this mean for gameplay?On the surface of it, the Mist rising is a purely negative thing. For the most part, that's true, and dealing with the shrinking available land is one of the core challenges you’ll face, but learning to survive means learning to make the most of every advantage. As the Mist rises, you'll find it presents you with opportunities. To give two quick examples, some valuable herbs only grow in the mist, and as your mastery of technology grows, you’ll be able to harness the Mist itself to power machinery.
changedWhat does this mean for gameplay?With that in mind, you'll need to organise your Colony around the Mist, preparing work details for the moment it's safe.

Above: Colonies of the Mist changes

changedWelcome back to another Design DevLog for Above: Colonies of the Mist. The last time I was here, we went over the basics of how the landscape and logistics come together to create a unique challenge. This time, we'd like to talk to you about our approach to the environment.
changedThe Mist is a corrupting force that always signals a Bad Day for anyone who spends too much time in it. The longer your colonists spend around it, the more it will affect them. Their morale will drop as they hear whispers of voices in a long dead language. Their body will fail as the mist fills their lungs.
changedOver the course of your time exploring the forgotten lands, you'll find the Mist rises and falls. This cycle is something you'll want to keep an eye on throughout, because when it starts to creep up and over your colony, you'll want to make sure your people are either protected or, as the name of the game implies, above it and somewhere else entirely.
changedJust remember - while the Mist does recede, the longer you survive, the higher the Mist will rise.
changedOn the surface of it, the Mist rising is a purely negative thing. For the most part, that's true, and dealing with the shrinking available land is one of the core challenges you’ll face, but learning to survive means learning to make the most of every advantage. As the Mist rises, you'll find it presents you with opportunities. To give two quick examples, some valuable herbs only grow in the mist, and as your mastery of technology grows, you’ll be able to harness the Mist itself to power machinery.

Heyo - Richard here, Lead Designer for Above: Colonies of the Mist.

Welcome back to another Design DevLog for Above: Colonies of the Mist. The last time I was here, we went over the basics of how the landscape and logistics come together to create a unique challenge. This time, we'd like to talk to you about our approach to the environment.

The Mist

The Mist is a corrupting force that always signals a Bad Day for anyone who spends too much time in it. The longer your colonists spend around it, the more it will affect them. Their morale will drop as they hear whispers of voices in a long dead language. Their body will fail as the mist fills their lungs.

What does this mean for gameplay?

Over the course of your time exploring the forgotten lands, you'll find the Mist rises and falls. This cycle is something you'll want to keep an eye on throughout, because when it starts to creep up and over your colony, you'll want to make sure your people are either protected or, as the name of the game implies, above it and somewhere else entirely.

Just remember - while the Mist does recede, the longer you survive, the higher the Mist will rise.

On the surface of it, the Mist rising is a purely negative thing. For the most part, that's true, and dealing with the shrinking available land is one of the core challenges you’ll face, but learning to survive means learning to make the most of every advantage. As the Mist rises, you'll find it presents you with opportunities. To give two quick examples, some valuable herbs only grow in the mist, and as your mastery of technology grows, you’ll be able to harness the Mist itself to power machinery.

With that in mind, you'll need to organise your Colony around the Mist, preparing work details for the moment it's safe.

Well. Safe-ISH.

Night Time and The Weather

While the Mist acts as an omnipresent threat, always threatening to engulf your hard work, there are two other aspects you're going to want to keep an eye on.

Let’s cover the weather first; Weather causes a number of everyday effects, with familiar faces like Rain and Heatwaves leading the charge. These can cause a number of different issues, but also provide a set of opportunities.

Now it’s time to talk about Nighttime. Let's not forget how dangerous the world is. While we're not ready to talk about the various things waiting to hunt your colonists, rest assured that there are… things out there that are looking forward to stalking the ones unlucky enough to be caught out. And when better to stalk your prey than after sunset? It’s usually safer to travel during the day. The question is; can you wait that long?

Putting It All Together

Above: Colonies Of The Mist is a game of decisions. We don't want to create a static experience with easy choices; we want you to grapple with ever-changing situations.

We have three systems - The Mist Rising and Falling, the Weather changing, and endless Day/Night Cycle - and they all operate on their own timeline. Depending on the technologies you research, the equipment you make, and the structures you build will provide you with a suite of tools.

  • Do you equip your Expeditions with protections against the Mist, or armour strong enough to protect them from the enemies?

  • Do you build a mountaintop colony safe from the Mist, or will you choose instead to build lower, in the valleys, where the frost won’t bite as hard?

  • The Mist is falling, opening up a valuable causeway to another plateau you’ve been wanting to get to for a while. But that causeway is inhabited by predators who are more aggressive at night. With the sun setting, you face a choice: cross now, or wait until morning and hope the Mist doesn’t return?

With resources as scarce, choosing what to prioritise and why is a major task. We’re very excited to see what you all choose to do and hear the stories you and your colonists write.

Bug Of The Day

Game Development isn't always smooth - and we tend to find ourselves wrestling with some very odd problems. Our favourite this time has been an issue with the ziplines. For a short while, the Colonists would scale up ever so slightly to match the Zipline scale. Just a fraction. Barely enough to notice.

Unless, of course, you took more than one Zipline. Then it would stack.

The most hardcore Zipline enthusiasts were soon veritable Kaiju, the earth shaking under their mighty footsteps, the great forests naught but toothpicks to them. Turns out our Expeditionaries are less like a Survey Corps and something considerably more… titanic.

Stay tuned for more and join the expedition today!

Best,

The Docklight Games Team

Looking for more?

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Source

Steam News / 26 March 2026

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