[p]Ahoy, Sky Sailors!Ā [/p][p]Weāre delighted to announce that the Puzzles & Pyrologics update is now live!Ā [/p][p]At the heart of this update lies the new puzzle system, which lets you take your endless creativity to new heights. Thereās a new resource, logic system, building pieces, upgrades, combat improvements, animations, and much more.Ā Ā [/p][p]Several of these new features and improvements are based on your feedback, and we thank you all for making your voices heard!Ā [/p][p]As the Steam Summer Sale goes live later today, Aloft will be 20% off until July 10, so tell your friends and grow your own dream sky-village.Ā [/p][p]Watch the Launch Trailer and soar smoothly into the new update:Ā [/p][p]Get an overview of the new features below. Our team is already getting a head start on the next update, so keep on reading until the end to find out what's on the horizon!Ā Ā [/p]
[p]Using the new Emberstone resource, you can now build and power your own trapdoors, rotating walls, pressure plates, levers, timed triggers, and all sorts of clever contraptions. Mining Emberstone is a bit more involved than simply bashing it with a pickaxe. Youāll first need to break the exterior shell to uncover its red-hot core, then cool it with water to further mine and gather it.Ā [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/c4e95ba99a57de926a5eaf5a48c09af60e9e60aa.jpg"][/p][p]This new resource can be used to power the Pyrologics system, which is how you design your own puzzles. Connect a resonator to a windmill to generate a field in which the new pieces can be placed, such as a pressure plate. The specific interactions and results you want can easily be tailored on the Pyrologic board (think of it like a circuit board).Ā [/p][p]Ā [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/87cbf48adc6030d238cd78272b50b79e00fd4053.jpg"][/p][p]Ready-made puzzles can now also be found out in the world. Solve these ancient riddles to earn various rewards. Perhaps theyāll even serve as inspiration for your own puzzles!Ā Ā Ā [/p]
āļø ļøNew Wonder Islands āļøĀ
[p]Uncover lost secrets on new Wonder Islands filled with puzzles to solve. Unlike the one-off puzzles youāll find scattered across the skies, these are larger hand-crafted islands containing interlocking challenges, a story to tell, and Pyrologic pieces to sketch.Ā [/p][p]Ā [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/e0ce0c69d426d92ba03c494ff26b9375f3a0b665.jpg"]Ā [/p]
āļø Combat Improvements āļøĀ
[p]Difficulty scaling is now based on the area of the map, rather than on how many islands youāve cleansed, which should provide a smoother experience. Weāve also made improvements to balancing, visual feedback, and animations, both for enemies and for players (leap, block). And if youād like a more peaceful experience, or a harsher challenge, check out our new difficulty settings, now found in the options menu. (Yes, peaceful mode is now truly peaceful!)Ā [/p][p]Ā [/p]
š ļø Building Pieces & Decorations š ļøĀ
[p]In addition to the Pyrologic building pieces, weāve added Emberstone lamps to brighten up your contraptions! This update also brings a variety of other new building pieces and upgrades, such as the new vertical windmill, designed to catch wind from any direction! Thereās also the much-requested custom stretchable rope and various equilateral triangle building pieces. Ā Ā Ā [/p]
š¤ Player Contest Islands š¤Ā
[p]The results of the Island Creator Contest we held on Discord were incredible, and weāre including some of the best ones in this update! These islands will appear seamlessly in the sky like any other. Explore them to uncover their unique stories and reap hidden rewards waiting to be discovered.Ā Ā Ā [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/fc9e07024ac05d07c182d6bcd329f19fe3a0ab74.jpg"][/p][p]Check out the full Changelog for a more detailed list of changes.Ā [/p][p]Ā [/p]
š Whatās on the Horizon šĀ
[p]Peek through the spyglass for a glimpse at what weāre working on:Ā Ā [/p]
[p]New world generation, an improved system that will set the foundation for future updatesĀ [/p]
[p]Sailing upgrades and wind lanesĀ [/p]
[p]Progression system revampĀ [/p]
[p]Life trees tied to ecosystem restorationĀ [/p]
[p]New enemy and corruption tiersĀ [/p]
[p]New tools and weaponsĀ [/p]
[p]New decoration optionsĀ [/p]
[p]Reward system and character customisationĀ [/p]
[p]We canāt wait to share more about these features soon!Ā Ā [/p][p]Aloft will be 20% off as part of the Steam Summer Sale, going live later today and ending on July 10. Soar the skies with your friends this summer.Ā Ā [/p][p]See you in the clouds! š„ļøĀ [/p][p][/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/954b2f796ab6f3c15a94ea17327770cd4f1f896b.png"][/p]
š PUZZLES & PYROLOGICS CHANGELOG - 0.3.3.18
NEW CONTENT (REQUIRES A NEW WORLD)
[p]Puzzles and Pyrologics[/p]
[p]New resource: Emberstone[/p]
[p]The player needs to break all 4 shells surrounding the core[/p]
[p]The core needs to be cooled off before being mined and gathered[/p]
[p]Rotating Wall (wooden for now, will add others in a patch)[/p]
[p]Trap Floor (wooden for now, will add others in a patch)[/p]
[p]Lights & Decorations[/p]
[p]Only found on vestige islands:[/p]
[p]Moving Stone (1x per biome) & Vestige Walls[/p]
[p]Vestige Orb & Receiver[/p]
[p]Vestige Door[/p]
[p]Vestige Reward Sphere[/p]
[p]Resonator (small & large)[/p]
[p]The resonator is a new emberstone-powered machine that must be connected to a windmill in order to power nearby pyrologic pieces[/p]
[p]The large resonator has a bigger range, but requires more windmill energy, and has a higher building cost[/p]
[p]Pyrologic pieces can be connected to each other in their environment or using the pyrologic board[/p]
[p]Interacting with pyrologic pieces will warn the players if they are not inside the radius of a powered resonator and a temporary icon will be displayed[/p]
[p]The wave shader is grey when the resonator is not powered enough, or red when it is powered[/p]
[p]New Islands[/p]
[p]2 Puzzle-focused Wonder Islands[/p]
[p]Pyrologics can be learned by sketching one pyrologic piece per each Wonder Island (half of the recipes are unlocked on the first Wonder Island, and the other half are unlocked on the second Wonder Island)[/p]
[p]A Knowledge Stone that unlocks all Pyrologic pieces has also been added to Red Cliffs[/p]
[p]91 Puzzle POIs[/p]
[p]5 Puzzle islands[/p]
[p]71 Regular POIs[/p]
[p]7 Regular islands[/p]
[p]3 Contest winner islands (modified by level designers)[/p]
[p]Fallenās Rest by Drasticbubble12[/p]
[p]Forgotten Past by Orchideefan944[/p]
[p]Skymapperās Astrolab by SuperDooM's Armada[/p]
[p]New Building Pieces + Decor[/p]
[p]15 Equilateral triangle building pieces of various materials[/p]
[p]Vertical Windmills (leaf, wool, linen)[/p]
[p]Can catch wind from any direction[/p]
[p]Will provide less energy than the regular windmills[/p]
[p]Custom stretchable rope[/p][p][/p]
COMBAT BALANCING + IMPROVEMENTS
[p]Node[/p]
[p]Increased Nodeās core Hit Points[/p]
[p]Increased the speed at which the Nodes ascend, descend, open and close[/p]
[p]The Node's core is now vulnerable sooner after being revealed[/p]
[p]Reduced Weakpoints Hit Points[/p]
[p]Guard[/p]
[p]Reduced attack speed[/p]
[p]Their attacks now are more telegraphed (wind up animation)[/p]
[p]Coward[/p]
[p]Reduced attack speed[/p]
[p]Their attacks are now more telegraphed (wind up animation)[/p]
[p]Increased cooldown between attacks[/p]
[p]Increased gather duration[/p]
[p]They now āreloadā more slowly[/p]
[p]Reduced projectile speed[/p]
[p]They should now be easier to dodge[/p]
[p]Increase projectile size[/p]
[p]They should now be easier to spot[/p]
[p]Shrieker[/p]
[p]Significantly reduced their grab chance[/p]
[p]Player[/p]
[p]Reduced blocking angle from 360 to 260 degrees[/p]
[p]Enemies are able to land hits when attacking players from behind[/p]
[p]Increased grace period after taking a hit[/p]
[p]Should prevent monsters from āstackingā damage on the player[/p]
[p]Tools[/p]
[p]Increase base attack speed for every tools[/p]
[p]Base attack speed should feel better, less sluggish[/p]
[p]Conditions[/p]
[p]Reduced the "Hydrated" attack speed[/p]
[p]Despite this nerf, the āHydratedā attack speed of all tools should feel the same as before, because of their increased base attack speed[/p][p][/p]
COMBAT TWEAKS + COMBAT DIFFICULTYĀ
[p]Monster spawning pool is now per sector, not per individual progress[/p]
[p]Harder group of enemy will spawn on harder sectors[/p]
[p]Player Blocking[/p]
[p]Players can interrupt their attack animation by blocking[/p]
[p]Different HUD visual feedback when blocking vs when being hurt[/p]
[p]Reduced the player push force[/p]
[p]Increased the enemy push force[/p]
[p]Can leap on Nodeās Weakpoints[/p]
[p]Difficulty settings can now be chosen in the Options menu, under Gameplay[/p]
[p]Default, Low Threat, High Threat, Peaceful modes are available[/p]
[p]All damage received is altered[/p]
[p]In multiplayer, each player can choose their own difficulty setting[/p]
[p]Peaceful modeĀ [/p]
[p]Does not aggro monsters[/p]
[p]Does not spawn monsters in singleplayer games[/p]
[p]Does not trigger mushroom bombs[/p]
[p]Does not aggro corruption nodes[/p]
[p]Does not receive monster conditions[/p]
[p]Receives no damage[/p][p][/p]
BUG FIXES
[p]Fixed an issue where the save system could prevent the despawning of a private island[/p]
[p]Fixed an issue that caused nodes to appear without weakpoints after its first phase[/p]
[p]Fixed a crash when trying to place down beacon[/p]
[p]Fixed building preview placement for: insect trellis, flower, rocky, pond, burrow, and perched habitats, as well as vivariums[/p]
[p]Fixed a performance issue on title screenĀ [/p]
[p]Fixed vertical alignment of smallest wooden floor piece[/p]
[p]Fixed a texture on the Pond Habitat's lily pads[/p]
[p]Added missing Simplified Chinese characters[/p]
[p]POI platforms now properly spawn randomly from the list of POI platforms[/p]
[p]Hurricane shadow casting has now been optimised[/p]
[p]Trendsetter achievement is now hidden on Steam (like the others)[/p]
[p]Critter trellises hang better now[/p]
[p]Curved stone floor piece now aligns properly[/p]
[p]The moon bloom must be examined to show its message[/p]
[p]Many assetsā material can be corruptable[/p]
[p]Wooden cogs can now be placed in the wood stockpile[/p]
[p]Red bats can now be placed in every perched biome[/p]
[p]The term āDarkwoodā is now spelled correctly throughout the game[/p]
[p][/p]
SMALL CHANGES
[p]New sandpile asset in Red Cliffs[/p]
[p]New + optimised vestige pieces[/p]
[p]Equilateral triangle pieces can be found in some ruins in the world[/p]
[p]Island reworks:[/p]
[p]LOOM fresco: new interior for optimisation[/p]
[p]WINDMILL fresco: added new vestige pieces and Glider challenge[/p]
[p]SAWMILL fresco: added new vestige pieces and Glider challenge[/p]
[p]Combat areas reworked on various islands[/p]
[p]Many other island minor island reworks: asset/reward/knowledge/node placement, clipping, and terrain collision fixes[/p]
[p]Added a limit on the critters spawn rate to limit extreme scenariosĀ [/p]
[p]Each critter can spawn a maximum of 5 times per island[/p]
[p]A global limit of 40 critters is set per island[/p]
[p]Reduced the point light render distance of many assets (emberstone, lamps, moonblooms, etc) for optimisation[/p]
[p]Adjusted the order of items in the build menu to include equilateral building pieces[/p]
[p][/p]
AUDIO
[p]Windchime SFX[/p]
[p]Table-Map SFX[/p]
[p]Pigment pool SFX[/p]
[p]Pottery wheel SFX[/p]
[p]Walking on and gathering leaf piles with dorkip SFX[/p]
[p]All puzzle, pyrologics, and emberstone SFX[/p]
[p]Turning on/off SFX as well as ambience for lamps and candles[/p]
[p]Equipping and sampling with hammer SFX for building/decor pieces[/p]
[p]Dismantle SFX for: Home Kite, doors, windows, workbench, and sails[/p][p][/p]
VISUAL EFFECTS
[p]Puzzle and Pyrologics VFX[/p]
[p]Updraft VFX has been added back[/p]
[p]Sandfall VFX has been added to Red Cliffs[/p]
[p]Leafpile VFX when gathered[/p]
[p]Water in bucket VFX[/p]
[p]New combat VFX: node hit, and node + enemy death[/p][p][/p]
USER INTERFACE AND EXPERIENCE
[p]New cursor[/p]
[p]Improved UI for the World Creation menu[/p]
[p]Notification overlap fixed[/p]
[p]Added a brightness slider in the Options menu[/p]
[p]Added the Software category in the credits[/p]
[p]Building menu: Windmills, Production Machines and Pyrologics are now subtabs of the Production tab[/p]
[p]Construction titles in the building menu will automatically re-scale if they are too long[/p]
ANIMATIONS
[p]New critter idle and idle break animations[/p]
[p]Changed critter orientation in 3rd person[/p]
[p]Added button to display the critter in your hands[/p]
We just wrapped up our Island Creator Contest on Discord, and the results were outstanding! The level of creativity, detail, and talent on display absolutely blew us away.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the Official Selection Winners below:[/p][p][/p][p]š Skymapper's Astrolab bySuperDooM's Armada!
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/b38927c13f8706ce0227dc5dc99b60e949bd2844.png"]Workshop Link[/p][p][/p][p]š Forgotten Past by OrchideeFan944! [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/5b4d835c659234eb11928b63a5f3567cebdbb638.png"]Workshop Link [/p][p][/p][p]š Fallen's Rest by Drasticbubble12!
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/41880788/76bcb1923a314b7805e856bf69c002555a674352.png"]Workshop Link[/p][p][/p][p]Congratulations to our winners! All of their contest islands can be found and added to your Aloft worlds via the Steam Workshop links above. And donāt forget: the three Official Selection Winner islands will soon become part of Aloft itself, fully explorable in the upcoming update![/p][p][/p][p]Thank you to all of the participants, it was a real joy to watch your submissions roll in and explore your custom islands. We look forward to hosting more contests in the future! š[/p][p][/p][p]See you in the clouds. ā
š„ Puzzles & Pyrologics Update Announced at the Best Indie Games Showcase!
Hey there, Sky Sailors!
Weāve just revealed our next major update Puzzles & Pyrologics at the Best Indie Games Summer Showcase, and itās coming to Aloft on June 26!
This update introduces an all-new puzzle system that lets you connect interactive building pieces to power up your creations. Think rotating walls, trapdoors, and more, all linked together by clever circuitry design.
At the heart of this system is a brand-new resource: Emberstone, which harnesses the power of heat-based energy to bring your contraptions to life.
Thanks to these new features, you will now come across puzzles on different islands, such as small trials on points of interest, and bigger, more complex challenges on new Wonder Islands!
Weāre also making some improvements to combat by refining the experience to better match the evolving world of Aloft.
š¤ļøSteering Aloft Together: Tell Us What You Love!
Ahoy, Sky Sailors! āļø
To celebrate our incredible community and keep our skies filled with good vibes, weāre launching a brand new event: Steering Aloft Together - and we want you to be a part of it!
We want to know:
š¬ Whatās your favourite thing about Aloft?
Whether itās gliding through the clouds, discovering floating islands, building your dream sky-base, or surviving the elements with your crew, let us know what you love most about your time in the skies!
š Comment on the post telling us your favourite thing about Aloft
Thatās it! Youāll be entered for a chance to win a $100 Steam Gift Card š
This is our way of saying thank you for being part of the journey and helping Aloft grow, while also growing our community in new horizons. Your support propels our ship forward, and we canāt wait to hear what aspects of Aloft you love the most.
šļø The giveaway ends on June 16th, so donāt miss your chance to float away with a prize. We will announce the winners on June 20th!
Fair winds!
By participating you acknowledge the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed, administrated or associated with Instagram and release Instagram from all liabilities.
The sponsor is: Funcom Oslo AS Kirkegata 15, Oslo, Norway N0153
ļø Aloft is Part of the Cozy & Family Friendly Games Celebration ā Now 20% Off!
Hey Sky Sailors! šŖ
Weāre excited to share that Aloft is taking part in the Cozy & Family Friendly Games Celebration on Steam! From now until June 12th you can grab Aloft at 20% off and soar into the skies for a more relaxing (yet still adventurous!) journey with your floating island.
If youāve been waiting to explore, build, and chill with friends among the clouds - now is the perfect time.
šBut thatās not all...
Weāve got something very exciting to share at the Best Indie Games Summer Showcase on June 3rd at 5PM CEST / 11AM ET / 8AM PT . Trust us, you wonāt want to miss it!
Wishlist, grab the game while itās on sale, and weāll see you in the skies.
Stay cozy, stay curious, and keep your sails high! āµ
Island Creator Contest šļøšļø
Ahoy, Sky Sailors!
Weāre beyond excited to launch our first official Island Creator Contest and give you the chance to shape the Aloft skies!
Our Creative Level Designers have put together an awesome Island Creator Guide ā and what better way to celebrate than with a friendly competition?
Head over to our Community Discord for more information!
Good luck, sailors, and let your imagination soar to new heights! We cannot wait to see your custom islands! šØš
Aloft Wins Seven Categories in the 2025 NYX Awards! š
Ahoy, Sky Sailors!
Weāre extremely proud to announce that Aloft has soared to victory in the 2025 NYX Awards, winning in seven categories!
Hereās a closer look at Aloftās winning categories:
Grand Winner
PC Game ā Indie
PC Game ā Survival
PC Game ā Casual
PC Game ā Best Experience
Gold Winner
PC Game ā Multiplayer
PC Game ā Best Music
PC Game ā Best Game Direction
The NYX Game Awards judging panel is made up of industry experts including both developers and critics, and weāre so honoured that Aloft stood out to them in these categories.
As usual, your support has been amazing; itās the wind beneath our wings as we glide towards the next big milestone in the Early Access period. We canāt wait to share more of whatās in store.
See you in the clouds! ā
Aloft celebrates Earth Day and reaches 200,000 Sky Sailors! š
Ahoy Sky Sailors,
Today we celebrate something close to the hearts of everyone at Astrolabe ā Earth Day!
As we shared earlier, we have partnered with Cool Earth to support indigenous communities and protect rainforests. That means that today, by playing the game and watching Aloft streams, you're helping make a difference ā in the skies and on the ground.
We are contributing on our side as well! We recently participated in the Earth Appreciation Steam Festival and we decided to donate 5% of our net revenue of that Festival to Cool Earth!
Last but not least, weāve recently hit a milestone: 200,000 Sky Sailors now soar the skies, making countless worlds better in Aloft! Weāre so thankful to have the Aloft community by our side throughout this journey; whether youāve just joined the adventure or have been soaring the skies with us since the demo days.
Happy Earth Day, Sky Sailors. š
Join the celebration by tuning in to the Cool Earth streams and showing your support. Let's lift each other ā and the Earth ā up!
