Hey everyone, we’re back with another developer blog and some exciting news. We’re thrilled to announce that we’re gearing up for an Early Access release of the new gameplay in the near future.

For now, let’s take a look at our progress as we approach this milestone. Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll be going over:

Narrative

• Expanded on the narrative across Tecta.
• Introduced custom and common structures in new areas.
• Shaping of significant events in Caerras’ history.

Art

• Player character models optimized.
• New structures for various areas.
• Landscape mode for the new gameplay.
• Refinements battle UI (2D ability visual effects, buffs, and more).

Design

• Finalized the core combat system.
• Rework of constellations for unique passives.
• Introduced universal abilities.

Engineering

• Focus on implementing battle UI.
• Enhanced visual elements like shadows and shaders.
• Creating an Asset Manager for efficient in-game asset management.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the details of what the team has been up to since our last update.

Narrative: Expanding Tecta's Narrative

By Mr. Stidz

Another chapter unfolds in Caerras, and our hands have been full, hammering out the details. We’ve expanded on the narrative across Tecta, introducing custom and common structures in combination with new areas for Seekers to explore, like the Squalor Grounds and Tecta Horizons. Various new landmarks can be found across these areas, and we’re very excited to polish them up even more before the art team finalizes them.

In combination with new areas emerging in Tecta, we’ve been diving into Caerras’ annals, shaping major events that will impact many Seekers’ journeys. The history of Caerras becomes even more apparent as we refine Venari’s descriptions, ensuring there’s plenty to discover. See also the visual timeline below.

A visual timeline of events on Caerras.

Moreover, we’ve created a pipeline that synergizes seamlessly with other departments to keep the narrative intertwined with the broader game mechanics. This makes sure that the narrative remains consistent and harmonious with the other facets of Caerras.

Art: Designing the New Battle UI

By ArthurRGB [UI], and Lenopix [general art updates]

With the amazing updates from the narrative team in place, the art team has been working on bringing it to life, from player character models to the new areas of Tecta. There’s a lot to cover as we focus on improving the player experience, so we thought a bullet-point overview of what we’ve been up to would be nice:

• We’ve streamlined the art pipeline to be more efficient.
• Our player character models have been optimized, now with fewer polygons to ensure smoother performance and better visuals.

Concept art for optimized Seeker player character outfits.

• Glowing Forest, Squalor Grounds, and Tecta Horizons concept art and models for structures are currently being worked on to ensure we capture the environment’s intended atmosphere.

Concept art for structures in Glowing Forest.

• We’ve updated all screens to embrace the shift to landscape mode on mobile/tablet devices, providing players with a broader field of view to enrich the exploration experience.

Landscape inventory view of a Venari and its combat stats and skills.

Landscape general overview of user interface (UI).

• Battle UI is being refined, with more polishes and adjustments for gameplay changes.

Hit points bar system and various battle additions (buffs/debuffs/etc.).

• Lastly, we’ve started working on 2D visual effects for Venari abilities, with early tests in a prototype aligning with the damage numbers.

Damage numbers and ability visual effects.

Each update aims to enhance the player experience, particularly the combat system UI, which has been tailored to the fantastic work of the game design team. Stay tuned as we continue to refine the visuals. For now, let’s hand it over to design to look at the intricacies behind the combat system.

Design: Finalizing the Combat Prototype

By Ardoyn

This month in Design, the team has completed the combat system design, emphasizing the diverse mechanics of Venari. From Elements to Constellations, each Venari has unique strengths and bonuses for all situations and roster compositions.

First off, we started creating Venari species with a unique ability, passive and swap ability (swap ability that automatically activates each time that Venari is swapped from the idle Bench to an active assisting role).

While we enjoyed the individualism that each species had from each other, we felt that the difference between Venari of the same species fell a bit flat. So, we decided to expand our abilities and swap abilities to now be pool-based, allowing each species to have multiple abilities to roll from. Not only does this make Venari of the same species distinct, but it also ensures combat is unique each time a player encounters a wild Venari.

As a result of the ability expansion, Elements now directly modify the element of the Venari ability, adding in more interactions between elements and more strategy when players build their Venari team compositions. Furthermore, we reworked Constellations from simple stat-based bonuses to unique effects (anyone heard of the rebirth of the phoenix?) that we believe will help ensure that combat is fun and fast-paced.

Since the last Vocari hang and Dev Blog, we’ve taken in quite a bit of community feedback and heard you guys loud and clear. As a result, we have redesigned the Spawning and Taming systems to be more accommodating for a larger player population within the new gameplay and more accessible for all players. Good luck Seekers!

Engineering: Integrating Visuals and Asset Management

By Architect

Coordinating with the game design team, this engineering cycle, a major focus has been implementing the UI for the core combat system. We’ve been integrating the visuals for elemental abilities and improved various combat indicators, such as damage numbers, buffs/debuffs, and health bars, to better present information during battles.

In parallel, we’ve directed our efforts towards incorporating more authentic visuals into the new gameplay, such as shadows, particles, sprite effects, spawn effects, and shaders, all of which contribute to a visually appealing experience that we’re excited to share with the community.

We are also working towards building an Asset Manager system to manage in-game assets, while a new dev environment integrated into our pipeline ensures a smoother transition from the staging environment for Quality Assurance (QA). When combined, these changes help us ensure all gameplay mechanics are well-tested before being brought to the live game.

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With the combat system now shaping up quite well, we’re excited to get this early prototype in the hands of the community to gather feedback and polish our gameplay in preparation for future playtests. Now, our focus is on building out the different in-game locations with the help of our new Asset Manager and more - all of which you can read up on in the next developer blog. So, stay tuned, and until next time!

Stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings in Caerras by exploring our comprehensive Notion introduction, filled with community tutorials and resources.

Additionally, make sure to stay connected with us on our social media channels to keep up with the latest updates.