October Update - World, Steam Deck Testing and Team Expansion 🎮
22 days ago
– Wed, Oct 09, 2024 at 09:44:07 AM
Hey Everyone! Sorry for not updating earlier, and thank you for your patience.
Elemythia World Update
Below is a screenshot of some of the Nature Biome, a large part of the world we’ve been working on. The Nature Biome is about 1/8 of the map. The map is quite large, but I think the strategic placement of landmarks and points of interest will make navigation easy. We already have options to toggle the minimap and compass on or off, so those who want to rely solely on their sense of direction and clues from NPCs can do so. Those who prefer a little more guidance can use the map, compass, and minimap markers.
Companion Textures
We updated the Companion with some hand-painted textures. The Companion will play a big role in guiding you through the world. We still don’t have a name for this little guy other than "Companion"...
Water Armor
We’ve been working on the Water Armor, which has some Polynesian and Atlantean influences. It’s still a work in progress, but we wanted to share some in-progress screenshots. What do you think so far?
Â
Random Chest Open Animations
We’ve added a system that will randomly choose an animation when you open a chest. We plan to add more animations as we go. What games do you think have the best chest-opening animations?
Â
Runes
We had some custom runes created, and I think they really add to Elemythia’s unique look and feel. These runes will mark points of interest or locations where you need to bring keys to unlock additional areas.
Monument Update
We thought the monuments would fit better into Elemythia if we masked the Stone Keeper names in the Elemythian language. They will be displayed in native Elemyta until you interact with the monument, after which the names in English will be revealed.
We also added some functionality to the monuments. Now, once you find a monument and unlock it, you’ll receive a special reward. One idea we had was to provide a legendary crafting ingredient that, when combined with others found in that biome, would reward the player with a special piece of armor or weapon. Do you have any other ideas?
 Run Animations
We’ve tweaked the running animations for the main characters. These aren’t necessarily final, but they have a lot more bounce and spirit to them. What do you think?
Double Jump
We’ve been working on the double jump, though it still needs some refining. Our aim is for it to be fluid and responsive. We don’t want to gate player movement behind progression, so we’re considering the best timing and reasons for giving players the ability to double jump.
Quick Weapon Swap
We’ve added a simple function to switch weapons on the fly. Currently, it switches between your top weapons in terms of damage output, but we’d like to add a selection system. Possibly a weapon wheel or a system similar to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so the player doesn’t have to jump into the menu to change weapons. If you’ve played Breath of the Wild, do you like that system, or do you think it could be improved?
Throwable Destructibles / Pickups
We added the functionality to pick up most destructible items and even pets. We still need to tweak the pickup positions and hand placements. Right now, you can pick up items and throw them at enemies. This will tie into the investigation system we plan to add later. You can also pick up pets if they get out of their enclosure. The way an item is picked up will depend on its size. Heavier items will be carried in front, while lighter ones can be picked up overhead and thrown.
Choppable Bushes
We added choppable bushes that will grow back over time. These bushes can provide the player with cover and possible resources. The regrow time is currently set low for testing purposes, but we’ll likely extend this.
Cooking
Cooking allows players to create consumables and quest-related items. Each village will specialize in their own dishes, which players can learn and use in other areas of the game. We’ve just added a new cooking pit where players can craft recipes they know or experiment to create their own. What recipe would you like to see in the game, and what would be its benefit?
Quests
We’ve started adding more detailed quests for each village to test the functionality of the quest system and make any necessary tweaks. We want to give players options in how they complete a quest. For example, you could distract guards and steal their keys, or defeat the guards and take the keys—though doing so might alert other enemies in the area.
Alpha Update
We’re excited to share that we’ve made great progress since our last update! Stable builds are up and running, but we weren’t able to hit the September Alpha release as planned. We’ve encountered a few issues that we’re working through, including a bug where quests aren’t completing properly. While we could give you access to the world to run around in, that wouldn’t help us identify the key things that need to be tweaked and adjusted. Our goal is to make this Alpha as close to a playable game as possible, because the better it is, the more meaningful feedback we can get from you, our awesome community.
That being said, we know it’s an Alpha, and some rough edges are to be expected, but we’re focused on getting the foundational elements just right. Your patience has meant the world to us, and we truly appreciate your understanding as we push forward. You may see the Discord Bug Section start to come to life as we are getting closer to pushing the Alpha out to you ;)
In some exciting news, our team is growing! Until now, I’ve been the only full-time developer on Elements, but I’m thrilled to announce that our part-time programmer is now full-time, which means things are moving faster! Additionally, we’ve brought on a part-time level designer to help refine the game’s world and experiences. This marks a huge step forward for us, and we can’t wait to show you the progress we’ve been making. Here are some images from one of the new villages.
Here is some footage from one of our latest builds running on the Steam Deck. We still have some optimization and bugs to work on, but I’m happy to say it is already performing very well—and it will only get better! Next time I get some Steam Deck footage I will try and improve the video quality.
On a personal note, from Devon:
Elements is more than just a game to me. Balancing the expectations of backers and the limitations of the team isn’t always easy. I may have set timelines that were too ambitious, but I am striving to make up for any delays and deliver the game you’ve been waiting for. I’m already considering ways to make up for not hitting the dates I promised.
We’re still committed to delivering the best experience possible, and we’re confident that once we solve these final issues, we’ll have an Alpha that’s not just functional but truly fun and engaging for you to test. Thank you again for your continued support and patience—it means everything to us!
To everyone who took a leap of faith in me and Elements, it means the world to me. I hope one day I get to thank you all in person. ❤️