Elements

The Path Ahead - August 1st Update!🌿
about 1 year ago – Fri, Aug 01, 2025 at 12:27:17 PM

First off, thank you all so much for your continued patience and support. We know this update took a little longer than expected, and we truly appreciate you sticking with us as we continue building Elements. Game development can be unpredictable at times, but your encouragement and feedback have kept us going. Behind the scenes, we’ve been working hard to refine systems, squash bugs, and prepare for some big changes under the hood. Many of those improvements are finally ready to share.

Successfully updated to Unreal 5.5!
We’ve officially upgraded Elements to Unreal Engine 5.5, and the results have been transformative. This update has unlocked a range of powerful tools and optimizations, including improved performance across the board and more efficient pipelines that speed up development without sacrificing quality. Most excitingly, we now have access to Unreal’s PCG (Procedural Content Generation) framework, allowing us to prototype and populate environments faster than ever before while maintaining handcrafted detail. This upgrade is a major step forward, giving us the tools we need to build a more immersive and dynamic world.

Character Customization
Character customization in Elements gives players the freedom to personalize Nyah and Beckett with a selection of hair styles, skin tones, and clothing options, while still keeping them grounded in the story as defined characters. We want players to feel a sense of ownership over their journey without losing the narrative connection to Nyah and Beckett and the role they play in Elemythia. Are there any clothing options or hair styles you would like to see?

Improved UI
Even though the UI is still a work in progress, we've made some solid improvements in this update. The inventory screen has been updated with a cleaner layout and now includes elemental stats, giving you a better sense of how your gear interacts with your current attunement. We’ve also improved basic tooltips to help clarify item details and effects. While these features still need some visual polish, they're an important step toward a more intuitive and informative interface. Expect continued refinement as we work to make the UI both functional and visually satisfying.

Biome Progression
The new progression screen gives players a clear overview of their journey through Elemythia. You can now see your progress in each biome, including which Elemental Cuffs you’ve discovered. Biome progression is tied directly to your elemental attunement, which influences the strength and effectiveness of your gear. Tracking your attunement not only helps you understand where you’ve been and what you’ve unlocked, but also gives insight into how your connection to each element is evolving. We felt this was a natural way to reflect your growth while making it easier to plan your next steps in the adventure.

Elemental Cuffs
Elemental Cuffs are ancient relics tied to the eight elemental forces of Elemythia. Rather than being equipped like gear, each Cuff passively unlocks new abilities once discovered, granting the player elemental powers that can be used for traversal, puzzle-solving, and unlocking hidden areas. For example, the Nature Cuff might let you access grapple points or grab climbable vines, while the Fire Cuff could burn away obstacles. Some Cuffs are hidden in biomes other than the one they’re tied to, encouraging players to explore beyond their current region to gain powers that open new paths, doors, or secret puzzles. Collecting all the Cuffs is essential to uncovering the world’s deeper layers and fully mastering its elemental challenges. Let us know if you have any other name suggestions instead of “Elemental Cuffs”.

Forgotten Pages
Scattered throughout Elemythia, you'll find lore books that offer insight into the world, its history, and the elemental forces that shape it. These books can be discovered in villages, ruins, caves, and hidden corners of each biome. When you find one, you can choose to read it immediately or store it for later in your collection. Some lore entries may hint at secrets, uncover lost stories, or even tie into quests. Players who take the time to explore and connect the pieces will uncover the deeper mysteries of Elemythia.

Air Weapons
We've been developing a unique set of weapons inspired by the elegance, movement, and energy of the Air Biome. Each weapon is designed to reflect the biome’s themes of clarity, freedom, and harmony with the elements. The Air Katana emphasizes speed and precision, delivering swift, fluid strikes that feel light and controlled. The One-Handed Sword offers a balanced option, blending clean design with responsive handling for versatile combat. The Air Staff brings a sense of quiet power that feels both mystical and refined. 
Initally we had more gold on the Air weapons, but more whites and blues to set them apart from Light weapons which have a lot of gold colors. What Air weapon are you looking forward to most? 

Things we are working on (will share more info next update);
Adding 3D preview to consumables
Companion System
Reputation System
Journal

Additional Rewards
We truly appreciate your patience and support, especially with the recent delays. To show our thanks, we’re working on ways to make things right and give back to this incredible community. One immediate step we’re taking is to give all backers at a game tier access to the Closed Alpha several months before the public demo is ready.

We’re also working on platform-specific demos for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. We’ll share more details as soon as we can.

In addition, we’re excited to include everyone’s name in the game credits, sorted by backer tier. You’ll find a new question in your BackerKit survey asking for the name you’d like listed. If you need your survey reopened, feel free to reach out and we’ll take care of it.

You should be able to access your survey via backerkit in the link below. This is also where you can get your Closed Alpha codes if you are Alpha tier or higher.

https://elements-rpg.backerkit.com/

We know these additions may not feel new for Legend-tier backers and above, so we’re actively brainstorming more exclusive rewards for those tiers. Stay tuned, we haven’t forgotten anyone. All of these updates are designed to enhance your experience and acknowledge your patience and support without affecting our development timeline.

Next Alpha Update 🕹️
We’re working hard on a major update for the Closed Alpha, and we want to thank everyone who has played and provided such valuable feedback so far. The next build will feature a more fully realized version of the Nature Biome, with updated visuals, improved systems, and deeper world interaction. You’ll also get access to the new character customization system, giving you more control over Nyah and Beckett’s appearance while keeping them rooted in the story. Along the way, you’ll discover new traversal abilities tied to Elemental Cuffs, uncover hidden secrets, and piece together the world through Forgotten pages, ancient writings that reveal the deeper lore of Elemythia. This update is a big step forward, and we can’t wait to hear what you think in a few weeks when it is ready.

I want to sincerely thank everyone for their patience and support. I know many of you expected to be playing Elements by now, and I truly appreciate you sticking with us. Moving forward, I plan to share more frequent updates to keep you informed and involved throughout development.

We’ve set out to build something on the scale of what teams of hundreds typically create, and while we underestimated how long that would take, our passion for this project hasn’t wavered. Our development pipeline and tools are improving every day, and we’re making steady progress toward delivering something truly special. We’re confident Elements will be worth the wait.

Having the support of over 5,000 of you in these early days means the world to us. If you ever have questions or concerns, feel free to DM me on Kickstarter or Discord and I’ll do my best to respond and help however I can.

Thank you ❤️

🔧 Alpha Update 0.1.35 is Live!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Apr 05, 2025 at 09:11:07 AM

Hey everyone!

First off—we want to say thank you for your continued patience and support. We know this update took longer than expected, and we're sorry for the delay. Sometimes things take a bit longer behind the scenes than we’d like. We have been squashing unexpected bugs, refining systems, and planning an engine upgrade. Finally, the update is live on Steam for anyone with Alpha tier or higher. If you still haven't got your key please check previous posts on how.

🚀 What’s New in Alpha V0.1.35

This update is packed with quality-of-life improvements, fixes, new features, and polish across the board.

👉 Some of these new additions still need to be tested, so please let us know how they feel in-game. There are a lot of things we wanted to include—like new POIs, enemies, and level design changes—but we decided to hold off on a lot of those until the next update. This time around, we really wanted to focus on some of the major pain points in the core systems. That being said, you may find some new surprises hiding in the world. If there’s anything big we missed or something that still feels off, let us know—we’re listening! 

Here are the highlights:

🎥 Camera
Fixed camera collision when walking up hills—no more awkward views!

🌿 Environment
Shortened grass across the world.
Made adjustments to the Island area.

🔊 Audio
Ambient volume slider now fully functional.
Removed temporary AI voices.

💬 Dialogue
Dialogue can now be navigated using the keyboard.
Vendor names now properly appear in the UI.

🖱️ UI
Cursor icon and size updated.
Keybind labels fixed.
Roll action disabled during the tutorial to avoid confusion.

🛠️ Building
General improvements to the building system.

📋 Menu
FPS Limits can now be set separately for gameplay and pause menu.
Default gameplay FPS set to 120; pause menu set to 60.

✨ Magic
Magic abilities should now remain visible after reloading the game.

🔨 Crafting & Gathering
New crafting materials added!
Continuous mining/chopping now supported—just hold the button.
New minable materials available.
Tree health lowered for a smoother experience:
Small trees = 3 hits (down from 5)
Big trees = 5 hits (down from 8)
Tools now display proper weapon trails.

🧠 NPCs & Vendors
NPCs now notice if you loot their stuff 👀
NPCs follow day/night routines—some even go to bed!
Vendor improvements:
“Hold to buy/sell” added.
Vendors can now be picky—some will only buy specific items.

🎒 Inventory
UI overhauled for a cleaner look.
Empty inventory slots removed.

🐾 Pets
Timed resource gathering added for pets. Once a resource is collected, the timer resets.

🗺️ Map
Pressing M will now close the map if it’s already open.
Map resolution increased (more improvements coming).

⚔️ Combat
Running attacks added! (Activated at movement input > 400)
Parry is back—tap Block to parry, hold for standard block.
Dual weapon attack tweaks.

🛡️ Gear
New weapons and armor added!

🐎 Mounts
Mounts are now allowed in villages.
New tameable creatures!
Fixed sprint camera issue with mounts.

📜 Quests
Quest logic updated to fix bugs.
New quests added!
Quest UI now shows rewards before you accept.

🐉 Enemies & Mini-Bosses
Night-spawned enemies won’t disappear in the day anymore.
Adjusted rabbit and other creature HP.
New mini-bosses + fixes to mini-boss health.

❄️ Elemental System
Elemental resistance now works as intended.
Ice weapons/magic can now freeze enemies.
The player can also be frozen if not properly equipped—gear up!

🏊 Swimming
You should no longer get stuck after drowning.

⚙️ Interactables
Monument reward now only obtainable once.
Static portal at the start optimized for better teleporting.
Chest glow partially fixed for singleplayer (still WIP for multiplayer).

🆕 Unreal Engine 5.5 Migration Incoming 🎮

We're excited to announce that we're upgrading from Unreal Engine 5.1 to 5.5 in the coming weeks!

Because this is a move from 5.1 to 5.5, we don’t anticipate it will take long. We’ve already tested the game in 5.5 and so far have only found a few minimal fixes we’ll need to make.
This upgrade is a game-changer—it will:

Boost performance for builds
Unlock improved procedural generation tools
Give us access to newer, more powerful plugins
Let us optimize and expand the world more efficiently

Overall, this is a change that will allow us to build out the rest of the game at a much quicker pace, and we’re excited for what’s ahead. Once again, thanks for your patience. We’re committed to making this the best game it can be, and your feedback and support means the world. Thank you.

Next Update Pushed to February 28th!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Feb 21, 2025 at 05:47:08 AM

Hey everyone!

We wanted to give you a quick update on the next patch for the Closed Alpha. We need to push the update to Friday, February 28th to allow for more internal testing and to polish up some key areas, including quests, encounters, and progression.

We know many of you are eager to jump in, and we truly appreciate your patience. This extra time will help us ensure a smoother experience while adding more meaningful content.

In the meantime, if you’re already in the Alpha, keep the feedback and bug reports coming! Your input is shaping Elements in a big way, and we’re incredibly grateful for the support.

More details on what’s coming in the update will be shared soon. Stay tuned!

Thank you all! ❤️

Kickstarter Update: Thank You & What’s Next!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Feb 18, 2025 at 06:06:38 AM

Hey everyone!

First and foremost, thank you—for your patience, support, and all the incredible feedback you've shared with us since the Closed Alpha launched. We were very nervous to release this to the community, but seeing your excitement and positivity has been amazing, and we truly appreciate every bug report, every suggestion, and every bit of encouragement.

We know Elements still has a long journey ahead, but we’re more confident than ever that, with your help, we’ll shape it into something truly special. Every bit of feedback you provide helps refine the world, improve systems, and bring the game closer to its full potential.

We’re aiming to release a new update this Friday, bringing important fixes and improvements based on your reports. If you haven’t jumped in yet, this will be a great opportunity to dive in, explore, and help us test!

🚨 Reminder: Please DO NOT stream or share gameplay outside the private Discord channels. We want to keep this early stage within the community while we polish the experience.

This is not the full list of update notes, but here is a short list of changes we have made and things we have fixed so far;

Gameplay Improvements:
New camera system for throwables.
Parry re-enabled for combat.
Tweaks to dual weapons for better handling.
Magic Orbs & Explosive Arrows now deal explosive damage.
Increased Explosive Arrow projectile damage.

Gathering & Crafting Adjustments:
Lowered tree health → Small trees now take 3 hits (was 5), big trees take 5 hits (was 8).
Fern regrowth time increased → Now 30 seconds (was 10).
New mineable materials & crafting materials added.
Holding the chop/mine button now allows continuous actions.

Map updates:
Higher resolution.
Now closes properly with M key.
No longer re-opens when pressing M after closing.
Vendors now display correct names.

Performance & Camera Fixes:
Camera collision adjusted when moving up hills.
Mount sprint camera improvements.
Frame rate limits can now be set separately (Default: 120 FPS, Pause Menu: 60 FPS).
Lowered ambient sound & adjusted volume slider.

Bug Fixes & Other Improvements:
Magic abilities now properly display after reloading.
New armor sets added.
Fixed Magic Orb tutorial prompt.
Fixed player getting stuck after drowning.
Static portal at start is now properly loaded for teleporting.
Building system improvements.
Glider quests added & glider particles fixed.
Monument rewards no longer refresh incorrectly.
Roll is now disabled when a tutorial is displayed.
Tools now correctly display weapon trails.

Again, thank you all for being part of this journey. We’re beyond grateful to have such a supportive and engaged community.

If you don’t have your keys yet, you can grab them here (Alpha-tier backers & higher):
🔗 Backerkit Rewards

See you in Elemythia! 🌿🔥💧❄️

Closed Alpha is Live!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jan 17, 2025 at 06:19:17 PM

Hey everyone!

The Closed Alpha is officially live! 🎉 First off, thank you for your patience and support—it’s been a long road, and we’re thrilled to finally share this milestone with you.

Now, a quick note: this build is not where we want it to be yet. There’s still plenty to do, and things that aren’t working, but we have to start somewhere. We’re super excited and nervous to hear your feedback and bug reports.

Right now, you’re locked into the Nature Biome. Over time, we’ll be filling out this area with more quests, craftable items, vendors, and enemies. This is just the starting point for something much bigger and better.

🚨 Please remember: DO NOT stream or share anything publicly. Content should only be shared in the locked Discord channels. We want to keep this within the community for now.

We want to hear everything: what’s broken, what could be better, and what you’d love to see. Your feedback will help shape the game—from how it looks to how it feels.

Thank you for being on this journey with us and for helping to make Elements as amazing as we think it can be.

If you don't have your keys please check backerkit. As long as your are Alpha tier or higher you should be able to access your rewards here;
https://elements-rpg.backerkit.com/
Please let me know if you have any issues.

Thank you all! ❤️