Wildborne June/July Newsletter

Welcome back to the Wildborne Newsletter! Grab a cozy spot beneath the Mother Tree and catch up on everything we've been building. From new features and world updates, to community creations and behind the scenes progress, here's what we've been up to over the past couple of months.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to our June/July development newsletter!

The past couple of months have been some of the busiest we've had since Wildborne began. Much of our focus has been on strengthening the foundation of the game, refining existing systems, improving performance, expanding our environments, and preparing for the Public Alpha Demo. While not every update is flashy, these are the kinds of improvements that help build a stronger experience for everyone in the long run.

One of our biggest priorities has been getting our upcoming alpha demo into the best state possible. As we've continued testing internally, we've found areas that deserved additional polish before putting them into more players' hands. Although this has meant adjusting a few timelines, we're confident the extra time will result in a smoother and more enjoyable experience to come, it isn't much longer now as we finish up some bug fixes!

Over the last two months we've continued refining our internal structure, expanding documentation, improving moderation training, introducing our Creator Program, and strengthening the legal foundations that help protect both our contributors and the future of the game. While these aren't always the most visible changes, nor are they exciting to the community, they're an important part of building a healthy and sustainable project for years to come.

Our community has continued to grow, and seeing so many familiar faces alongside new ones joining us each week has been incredibly encouraging. Every piece of feedback, bug report, suggestion, screenshot, and kind word from our testers and community genuinely helps shape Wildborne into something better.

As always, thank you for your continued patience and support. Whether you've been with us since the beginning or have only recently discovered Wildborne, we're grateful you're here with us. We have plenty to share in this newsletter, including development progress, new showcases, community highlights, and a look at what we're working toward next.

We hope you enjoy the update, and we can't wait to share more with you soon.

Hey ya'll! I'm really excited to show some more progress on the development side. These past two months I've gotten to work on implementing some very fun and interesting mechanics. And overall, just doing more polish and bug fixes to the game while we play Wildborne with our alpha testers and team. It's been a blast as a developer to be able to just boot up, sit back and play Wildborne like any other game. We still have a lot to go, but here's some things I'd like to share...

Movable Foliage

Lately I've been working on small features to make the world feel more grounded. One thing I was happy to get working is foliage that gets pushed around as you go through it. This is a simple material shader that can be applied to any plants in the game.

This effect also works on complex models like trees. When you jump through them, you can see the branches and leaves rustle as you pass through them.

Big Cat Implementation & Favoriting Markings

A new quality of life feature for our character creator is the ability to save markings as favorites, which then show up in their own section to quickly use.

I've also been hard at work on getting the Big Cat species type fully implemented. You can already use sliders, add markings and change the base coat for your Big Cat.

Critter/NPC AI and Pathfinding

Using the placeholder rabbit model done by ZIO, I got started on some basic AI functionality for critters. You can see my developer testing map filled with rabbits running around while I test their pathfinding and avoidance with other critters.

Ambient Sound Design

I've added ambient SFX to most of the maps, like the rumbling inside caves with water dripping, the sound of a water stream passing by, a cool breeze in an open field and the rustling of trees next to you as some examples.

Login Rewards & Daily/Weekly Tasks

I really wanted a reason for players to keep coming back and logging into the game. So I've added login rewards as a start. Logging into the game each day has a chance to give you Shiny Feathers (the game's main currency), or rare items. I'm also working on Dailies and Weeklies, a mechanic you'll find in many other MMOs. These are tasks that give you a goal to work towards each day and each week, if you ever feel lost in terms of what to do.

More on daily and weekly tasks in the future!

World Map & Kuwahara Filter

The world map for the game has also been getting some polish! I wasn't quite happy with how the visuals looked for the world map, but I recently stumbled upon the Kuwahara Filter, which gives the world map rendering this kind of "painterly" look. Here's some examples of it with Asil Badlands and the Mother Tree.

You'll also be able to leave custom markers using the world map!

Prototype Corruption Mechanic

There was a very unique idea from Auccultist to have a corruption mechanic, where the player can start to grow lichen, ferrofluid and other materials on them if they encounter things that cause corruption. Which can be healed over time through various means.

I got to work on a character component and shader to see how this would look and function in-game. And it turned out pretty neat! We can cover characters completely with different kinds of flowers and plants, which start from the paws and it eventually covers the entire body. This is still a work in progress concept, so expect more about it in the future!

Prototype Media Streaming

A very work-in-progress mechanic that I've been working on for fun is being able to stream Youtube links in-game. Here's a little youtube video of me having fun in a movie theater testing this out with CaseOh playing Minecraft. I think this could be a lot of fun for group watch parties in the game. I hope to share more progress about this too as I get further with the concept!

Closing Information

Outside of all of these fun things, it's been a lot of work lately focusing on the more technical systems for the game, especially as we get closer to a public demo and something everyone can play. I've been making sure accounts work how they're supposed to on game servers, how data is saved/loaded (lots of data management with this game), and how I can better streamline my systems. I am happy to say that we already have about 40 players that have made accounts for Wildborne. And we've had tests here and there with groups of people. The game gets closer to being reality as we get further!

As always, thank you all for supporting us!

One of the areas you will steadily see grow throughout development is character customization, and this month we have expanded the canine marking library even further.

The goal isn't simply to add more markings, it's to give you more ways to create a character that truly feels like your own. New patterns are being designed with layering, variety, and future customization in mind, allowing for a wider range of realistic and stylized looks while keeping everything cohesive with Wildborne's art direction.

Many of these additions also help build a stronger foundation for species creativity. By refining how markings are created and applied, we're making it easier to continue expanding customization options as development moves forward.

Character creation has always been one of the core aspects of games like Feralheart, and now it's successor Wildborne. Every new marking brings us another step closer to giving you the freedom to create a character that feels uniquely yours. Along with these updates Auccultist has finished the preset design for our Tundra Landscape NPC, and boy are they gorgeous!

There are still plenty more ideas to bring to life, and we are excited to continue growing the customization system within the game. We can't wait to see the characters you create once you finally get your hands on Wildborne.

As development continues, you've probably noticed small previews of our character models popping up from time to time. Behind those previews, there's been a lot of work happening to make sure the final experience feels as polished as possible.

One of the biggest improvements recently has been a complete refinement of the canine jaw. The underlying geometry has been reworked resulting in a more realistic look, smoother animations, and a stronger foundation for future features like expressions and lip syncing. It's one of those changes you may not immediately notice on its own, but it makes a significant difference in how the model performs overall.

A large part of game development happens through countless small improvements that build on one another. Every adjustment brings the models closer to the quality and flexibility we want you to experience when you finally jump into Wildborne.

There's still plenty more to come, and I'm excited to keep sharing the journey with you as these characters continue to evolve.

As you venture through Asil Badlands in this upcoming Demo, you'll find a few new sights waiting for you. Zepharen has been adding waterfalls and other sights throughout the region to give the landscape more life, creating memorable landmarks, and making exploration feel even more rewarding.

It's one of many small touches that helps shape the world you'll be exploring, and we are excited for you to see how Asil Badlands continues to grow as development moves forward.

The atmosphere in the swamps of Darkwoods, an influential piece of Wildborne's lore, is taking shape, with different lighting and dense foliage covering the landscape! Sito has been focused on expanding the region with new environmental details, helping it feel denser, more immersive, and full of places that invite exploration.

Every bit of detail is being designed to make the map feel like a place with its own identity, somewhere you'll want to wander through, discover, and maybe even get a little lost in.

The Mother Tree is taking shape as Zio continues work on the environment by expanding and updating the roots, rock formations, crystals, and surrounding landscape to make the area feel more alive and welcoming. Zio is also designing critter ideas for the world they are creating and also toying with a simple rabbit model to assist Roesilej in the beginning of some new mechanics within the genre.

The Mother Tree is meant to be more than just a starting point, it's the heart of Wildborne's world, and Zio has done phenomenal work at bringing the vision to life.

Wildborne's big cat customization is in the works, Astralskye is creating a growing collection of markings starting with this Leopard Design. The detail Astral puts into the markings they create will be such a fun addition within the Big Cat library.

You'll have even more ways to make your character your own thanks to one of Wildborne's newest core contributors!

Exuvia joined the team and has been creating a brand new collection of ears for character customization. These new options are designed to give you more variety, more personality, and even more freedom when bringing your characters to life.

One of Wildborne's first impressions is officially taking shape! Sorrel has been hard at work creating our very first loading screen, featuring our beloved mascot flying ahead of the mother tree. Blending the heart of Wildborne with the wonder of its world, this artwork will be one of the first things players see as they begin their journey. It's an exciting milestone, and we can't wait to share the finished piece with everyone.

You'll be seeing more personality brought to Wildborne's world thanks to one of our newest team members!

Kristen was brought on and has been working on NPC character designs and reference sheets. The focus is on helping shape the look, personality, and visual identity of the characters you'll encounter throughout your adventures.

Every reference helps establish a consistent vision for our NPCs, ensuring each one feels like they belong in Wildborne's world while giving the rest of the team a strong foundation to build from.

Community Contributors Spotlight

A big thank you to Levine for the time, talent, and dedication they've shared with our community. Levine has been hard at work creating a variety of handmade items that help support our mission and bring joy to others.

Check out the sunhat and stud collar which will be implemented into the game!

If you see Levine, be sure to thank them for all they do. We couldn’t do this without our Contributors!

As always, thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Every model, texture, line of code, bug report, suggestion, and encouraging message helps Wildborne grow into something we're incredibly proud of.

The past couple of months have been busy, and while we've had a few delays, they've all been in service of delivering the strongest experience we can. Your patience, excitement, and support mean more than you know.

We're getting closer to sharing even more with you, and we can't wait to welcome everyone into Wildborne's world. Until then, keep an eye on our socials, hop into Discord, and let us know what you'd like to see next.

From all of us on the Team, thank you for believing in Wildborne.

See you in the wild.