v1.0 Status Update

Unity update and technical work

One of the biggest steps has been updating the project to a much newer version of Unity. Because Faeland has been in development for many years, the project was still running on an older version that would not meet current certification requirements. This was a necessary step forward, but it also meant that many parts of the game stopped behaving exactly as they had before. The good news is that we have not had to rebuild the systems already in place. In most cases, we were able to update plugins, find workarounds, and apply targeted fixes instead of replacing entire features. Even so, this process has required a great deal of review and adjustment. For example, the dialogue system broke, the pixel perfect camera needed a new solution, and some shaders stopped rendering correctly. HUD elements and menu overlays also needed new shader support so they could display properly with the updated rendering setup. These were not small fixes, but they were fixable, and step by step we have been bringing everything back into place. We have also been revisiting cutscenes, zoomed out sequences, UI behavior, and many smaller details affected by the migration. We are much closer now, but until the full game has been thoroughly reviewed across platforms, we know other issues may still surface.

Optimization work

Alongside that work, we have continued improving performance for the new release. One example is the water refraction system. Previously, some areas could have multiple water effect zones active at once, which was more demanding than it needed to be. We have now replaced that with a single water effect area that follows the camera, so the refraction is calculated only for what is actually on screen. Water heavy scenes have been among the most demanding in the game, so this should improve performance across all target systems. We have also been solving older glitches that had been with the project for some time, while continuing to refine the overall v1.0 build. A new visual option for the player To accompany this update, we also wanted to show a new visual option we have been working on for v1.0: a hooded look for the player. If you have a cape equipped, you will be able to toggle a hooded version, regardless of which cape you are wearing. This is something we had wanted to add for a while, and with the project now deeper into porting and technical review, our animators have been able to spend more time on features like this. We are also continuing to expand animation work across existing NPCs, environmental props, and other world details to further enrich the overall presentation. About the release date As for the release date, we want to be careful and transparent. The original September date was easier to plan around because it was a PC release on Steam only, and that setup was already in place. This time, because we are targeting consoles as well, the process is different. Certification is not entirely in our hands, and we do not want to announce a new date until we know everything is in place. For that reason, we will not announce the new release date until we have passed certification on all three console platforms and know with confidence that we can deliver on it. Once we do announce it, the window before launch will be short, while still leaving enough room for the final publishing and rollout steps that come with a simultaneous multiplatform release. Closing words We are closer than ever, and our focus remains on crossing the finish line properly. We expect to share the new release date in an upcoming update, and we will continue to keep you informed as we move through the final steps. As always, thank you for your patience, support, and continued interest in Faeland. We are grateful both to those of you who have been following the game for a long time and to the new players who have been discovering it more recently. Seeing more people find the game has meant a lot to us, and we cannot wait to finally deliver the full v1.0 release. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out here, through social media, on Discord, or by email at info@talegames.com. Thank you for being part of this journey with us, and we are excited for what is ahead!

Talegames Team