Devlog #1

At the start of the launch, I wanted to get into the habit of writing a monthly sneak peak to the community. However, I haven't been true to that in fear of giving false expectations and under-delivering content. Over the past few months, I have seen how that has had an effect on the community, and therefore I want to try again. Starting today with devlog #1.

It's been a few months since the previous patch, and I wanted to focus this one on making the game more immersive.

I always felt like the game lacked some sort of spirit, and it always pointed back towards the animations and interactions (and the animal behaviors, but I'll mention that in a moment). Therefore, for this patch, I have spent time turning the game from a "first person" game, to a "true first person" game.

This might not seem like a big deal to some, and some of you may ask "did the developer just spent all this time on that?". Partially. Yes I did.

True first person opens up different posibilities. I added this feature for two main reasons: 1. You can finally see the character's lower body, which makes you no longer a strange soaring entity with just hands and a weapon.

(This is not the final product. Changes can occur)

1. Animations feel less stiff, as the camera is attached to the actual character. This makes the camera movement follow head animations. An example is if the character crouches down, the camera will move down with the body whereas previously it would stay still during the whole animation.

This feature could in some cases, increase the risk of motion sickness, as walking, jumping, running, etc. would make the camera shaking. However, I have recreated a lot (almost all) of the animations to prevent that, and so if you wish for the extra camera shake, you can still toggle it on and off in the settings.

AI Update

As mentioned above, I also found the animal behaviors to lack some life. It has been intentional to have the animals act different than they do in real life, but as of now, they either flee, attack or walk around in circles.

Therefore, this update includes a slight behavior patch. Tamed animals that are set to "stay" will now interact with foodbowls and beds that the player builds. If this feature goes well, I also have a few other additions in mind, so I can't wait to hear your feedback!

I also have an addition for the people who would like to play the Foe path. Aside from getting new harvesting animations, you can also expect to see new decorations such as fur decorations, wall thropies, fences (or barricades if you would prefer that word) and a new "crafting" method for treating fur.

Friendly and Foe players will both be able to decorate their homes with new furniture, a new fireplace, a new resource addition and other wall decorations.

(This is not the final product. Changes can occur)

While this update was supposed to come out sooner, I did feel like it wasn't ready for release. Since the new patch will include fur and head thropies, I figured I would redo the design for the animals now so that I don't have to redo them (and the fur and thropies) as well at a later time. Below is a progress shot of the new deer:

(This is not the final product. Changes can occur)