PAX West Beta Build

PAX Beta Branch Is Live — Fishing Overhaul + Pyra Story Slice (Part 1)

Hi everyone!

We’ve pushed a public beta branch ahead of PAX. This is a test build —expect rough edges and please report anything you hit so we can fix it fast.

How to access the beta

1. In your Steam Library, right‑click Alterium Shift → Properties…

2. Betas tab → choose the public beta branch.

3. Restart Steam if you don’t see it. Need help? Hop into our Discord.

What’s actually in this beta (from our Jira done list)

🎣 Fishing — overhauled & expanded

• New/updated fishing spots including Dalduran Lake and Desert Oasis, plus a broader pass on fishing locations.

• Area‑specific backgrounds/visuals and a system to apply them per location.

• In‑game instructions/onboarding for the fishing minigame.

• Bug fixes: controller prompts and bait selection issues in the “How to Fish” sequence, plus a “can’t exit after bait selection” edge case.

These items come from closed tickets covering new/updated areas, background art, the background‑by‑area system, instruction flow, and multiple fishing bug fixes—so you can play them right now.

🔥 Pyra’s backstory — first slice in Gilberry Port

• Playable chapter touching the abduction from Gilberry and new interactions in town.

• New animation work (behavior/emote sets; shared kneel/pickup frames) to tighten cutscenes.

• Music update for Pyra’s past scenes and a supporting doctor/healer NPC.

This is part 1 of the arc; we’ll keep refining after PAX.

🌍 World & systems polish (live in the beta)

• Map‑edge visibility improvements applied across more areas (better hints about transitions).

• Misc fixes & tweaks called out below.

Fixes in this beta (highlights)

We’ve closed 13 bug tickets in August alone, including:

• Map key (“M”) sometimes not opening the map (fixed).

• Controller icons appearing oversized in menus (fixed).

• Quest Log details sometimes empty + sub‑quest scrolling clean‑ups (fixed).

• Settings → SFX bar color inconsistency (fixed).

• FixedEndless Duneskeyboard “C” input issue (fixed).
• FixedFishing tutorialbait/control prompt problems (fixed).
• FixedBooksstray “Space” key behavior at the end of a book (fixed). …and more.

For transparency: across 2025 we’ve closed 118 Jira items so far (35 of them bug fixes). This beta packs the items above; some unrelated tasks (e.g., design‑only tickets) are not visible in‑game yet.

Not in this beta (but in active development)

• Racing minigame, on‑map battles, and expanded world interactions are next up and will land in a post‑PAX build.

• The UI refresh (reskins, new message/toast windows, battle UI pass) is still in development and not included here.

See us at PAX West

We’ll be at Booth #750 all four days. Swing by to play this build, grab free buttons & postcards, score five unique trading cards through booth activities, and—if you’re a Kickstarter backer—pick up your Shobii keychain (while supplies last).

Want to support development?

We’ve opened new Kickstarter add‑ons (VIP Upgrade, Cooking/Alchemy Item, Collectible Trading Card Set) and a limited Epic Edition – Late Pledge (20 units), and we just revealed the next stretch goal: Companion Pets at $145k. Every dollar goes straight to the contractors creating music, art, systems, and QA for the updates you’re playing.

Thanks for helping us test—your feedback during PAX week will directly shape the post‑show push to the main branch. 💙