Last week, we announced that Early Access will launch on June 22nd 2023 via a fancy new trailer with never-before-seen footage. ICYMI, here’s the video:
With the latest trailer, we wanted the main focus to be on the “Underdust” biome and show the community a little more of what they can expect when they make the descent themselves in the game.
However, it was also just as important to show more of the game's core mechanics above the dust for players potentially seeing Forever Skies for the first time.
So let's break down some of the mechanics and concepts that we saw…
AIRSHIP BASE BUILDING
Your airship is fully customizable so we need to give you the tools to make your flying base unique to your tastes. The Airship will be at your side for most of your journey, and so we want you to be able to create something you love, for yourself or with friends further down the line when we add co-op.
In the trailer, you see the basics of Airship building. The player places the Engine and then starts to create the shape with the Airship Builder. From here, you can add walls, windows doors, add additional floors and Observation Rooms, paint the walls, floors and ceilings with The Paint Tools and fill your airship with interior decor, scientific equipment and more! We will be showing more of this in our next video!
SURVIVING ON A RAVAGED EARTH
The majority of you will be aware of the survival mechanics demonstrated in the trailer by now, especially if you played the demo.
However what you need to know is that players must maintain their food, water, stamina, health and immunity bars throughout their playthrough. The severity and punishment of these bars will be different depending on whatever difficulty you choose to play!
Among many different survival mechanics, you can see here the player purifying some water and boiling a Dust Moth they caught with their Insect Catcher (tasty right?!)
THE UNDERDUST
The player arrives at an ominous structure, surrounded by overgrown vines reaching into the sky. These large towers are Surface Lifts and are used to go under the dust.
This location will take some preparation from the player and a few Airship upgrades in order to get here and land. But once you do, it’s time to head down…
Aside from a few screenshots we shared in November 2022, this trailer is the first real glimpse the public have had of the Underdust biome.
The world below the toxic dust layer is night and day compared to the world above. The planet's surface has been completely overtaken by new species of flora (and lurking fauna) that now call Earth, home. Remnants of the world we once knew are still present, but have been reclaimed by nature.
Unlike the open sandbox above the dust, the world below is a tighter, more linear experience. Not only will you need to worry about the stats mentioned earlier, in addition, down here you will also need to maintain your oxygen, that is displayed with a blue bar at the bottom centre of your HUD. If it reaches zero it’s game over for you!
One way of replenishing oxygen is using an Oxygen Station. You will find these scattered around the level. Each station requires a specific and rare type of resource to power on, so be sure to look out for that blueprint!
In the trailer, you see the player using their Crossbow to knock down ladders and their knife to cut through vines. These and other tools, will be vital in order to navigate and explore the Underdust. With your oxygen depleting, you will need to use your tools to create shortcuts through the area so you can make it into the next section before the player suffocates!
Some obstacles will require a more scientific approach to pass. In the trailer, the player comes across an aggressive plant blocking their path. After scanning it, the we learn that the plant reacts to heat. Scientific problems require scientific solutions!
The player returns to their Airship base to use a new machine, the Virus Analyzer. The virus sample is reverse-engineered and using the sample, we’re able to create a Hypothermia Booster. When the player uses the booster, it lowers their body temperature meaning the plant no longer detects their presence and the player is able to pass. There will be other boosters and puzzles like this throughout Early Access.
In the closing scene of the trailer, you see a large creature on the floor that appears to be dead and another creature to the right, crying out.
Is it warning you not to get any closer? Is it in pain? I guess we will find out!
These are just a few things our game will offer at the start of Early Access - We hope you found this breakdown useful and interesting. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments, or join our Discord to chat with our devs regularly!
We have teamed up with our friends and fellow Polish developers Creepy Jar, the crew behind the renowned Green Hell.
Green Hell massively inspired the Forever Skies team and we’ve all put in countless hours playing so it’s a real honor for us to work with them.
In the meantime, if you haven’t picked up the game, go check their Steam page. The game has been out since 2019 and the team is still supporting it today with new content. They recently just added a massive building update.
Green Hell is an open-world survival game set in the extreme conditions of the uncharted Amazon jungle. Use real-life survival techniques to craft, hunt, fight, gather resources, set up a makeshift shelter, or raise a fortress. Tend your wounds and maintain mental health - alone or with friends.
Official Launch Date Trailer Has Gone Live - Launch Date Revealed!
Greetings scientists!
Far From Home presents: Forever Skies - Official Launch Date Trailer!
Return to Earth - 22nd June 2023! Survive. Build. Scavenge. Coming to Steam Early Access.
Next week we will be dropping a brand new Steam blog where we break down the latest trailer in more detail! Keep your eyes peeled!
What did you think to the trailer? Are you excited for Early Access? Let us know!
Team Far From Home
STUDIO ANNOUNCEMENT NEXT WEEK
Greetings scientists!
A Quick Update
It's been some time since we last posted on Steam, so we thought we would drop this short note to update you with where we are in development...
The last month+ has been mostly around the closed playtests and balancing of the game. We have received an incredible amount of feedback from our testers which is helping us shape Forever Skies into the fun, survival, base building sim we all want it to be!
Looking Ahead
We have a major announcement coming next week, we hope you're excited!
Thank you for your ongoing support, scientists. For the time being, enjoy the views below.🌄
Speak #soon!
SIGN UP FOR THE NEXT CLOSED BETA!
Greetings scientists!
We're starting a brand new wave of closed playtests for Forever Skies!
We have very limited numbers available for players. Because of this, we're reserving these spaces only for players who haven't already playtested for us.
If you were a part of our previous tests, we kindly ask you not to apply. You won't be selected and so we ask you not to waste your time here.
What do we need from you?
1. You will be required to sign an NDA as what we will be sharing with you cannot be publicly broadcast and shared.
2. You will be asked to play a significant portion of the game with new systems and content not present in the demo. This is around 3 hours of expected content.
3. You will be asked to fill out a feedback form.
If this is something that you’re still interested in, then please fill out this application form.
Forever Skies Demo Available Until April 11th
Dear scientists,
We would like to let you know that the Forever Skies demo has reached its time and we will turn it off on Tuesday, 11th of April.
We’re doing this for three main reasons:
1. The Demo Gameplay Loop is Outdated
Our game loop and mechanics have advanced quite a lot since the demo was made back in September 2022 and so we feel it no longer reflects what players will be getting in Early Access.
2. The Demo is Missing Content
The demo is missing important features and content that we have since added that change a lot about how you play, progress, and explore the world.
3. The Demo Has Some Performance Issues and Bugs
On top of how much new stuff has changed the game (for the better, we promise!), the demo also has some regularly reoccurring bugs and performance issues, many of which we’ve since addressed in our full version.
It’s no secret that updating and improving our demo will require a fair bit of development and testing hours from us. But at this key stage and with only a small team, we feel it’s better for the team to fully focus on the full Early Access build.
We hope you understand our reasoning behind this decision. In the meantime, you can still download and play the demo before we turn it off.
An updated demo might return sometime in the future, but for now, thanks to everyone that downloaded and played it! Your support has been phenomenal and the feedback we have received from you has helped to shape the game so much.
- The Far From Home Team
A Glimpse into New Locations Video + Kickstarter Fully Funded
Hi everyone!
We've got some more news and footage to share, so let's get right into it.
NEW LOCATION FEATURE VIDEO
We have cooked up another video to show you what else the team has been making in the last couple of months. In this video, we're highlighting some of the locations that are 100% confirmed to be part of the game at the start of Early Access.
We’re of course planning to add even more location types throughout as the game grows, but the ones shown in the video are those we can confirm 100% are going to be in the game right at the start of Early Access. And then of course we still have the various Underdust locations which are mostly done, but we will show that closer to the release.
KICKSTARTER FULLY FUNDED
We have touchdown! Thanks to all our backers and supporters, we have successfully funded our campaign by quite a margin!
From the bottom of all our hearts, thank you so much to everyone for putting your trust in us and wanting to support the game. Game development can often leave you in quite a bubble where you are second-guessing yourself, so to have so many people show support and love for something you are creating really makes such a difference.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR BACKERS?
Based on Kickstarter's own suggestions, we need to wait 7 days to allow anyone whose payment may have not gone through a chance to correct it. After that, we can send out our backer surveys. Kickstarter only let us do this once so we need to wait until we are sure everyone who wanted to be a backer is accounted for before we send.
The first batch of rewards we will sort is going to be our Backers Discord roles and channels, followed by our custom thank you note and wallpaper packs.
Once our Discord roles are set up we will talk to you about when and how we will manage the voting for the final designs of the 3 in-game items we made part of this campaign.
We will of course also keep posting all major updates here alongside our social media channels, Discord, etc so rest assured you'll be notified one way or another about every next step or useful bit of info.
Once again, thanks for your support! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
- The Far From Home Team
Only 24 hours left till the end of our Backers Edition Campaign
Hello everyone.
We've reached the almighty "24 hours left mark”!
We're of course so extremely thankful to everyone who has backed us already and helped us smash through the 100% goal so quickly. We owe a big thank you to our existing community who inspired us to do this and showed their support from the start, as well as all the new faces who saw our project here and believed in us.
New feature video for tomorrow
We've got a new feature video all ready and waiting to mark the completion of the campaign set for tomorrow. It focuses on some of the location variety our team have been working on over the last few months and a bit of the lore behind each.
And while you are here, just two important announcements that apply to a handful of people.
Reminder to check your pledge add-ons
We've seen some people have taken add-ons for things they are already getting in their base reward. We messaged every one of you personally yesterday, but this is another reminder. If you don't want to be charged extra for something already included in your tier, you need to adjust your pledge before the campaign ends. A very easy rule to follow - if you pledged on ANY tier above “The Pilot" for 25 EUR, you shouldn't choose any add-ons. There is no combination of add-ons above this tier where you will be getting anything for that price that isn't already included in a standalone tier. If you need to check again, use our guide.
So if you pick any tier that is The Scavenger or above, you'll just be charged extra for something you likely would get anyway.
To anyone supporting a Kickstarter project for the first time
Your connected payment method will only be charged tomorrow after the campaign ends. However, we have observed on other people's projects that some of their community said their bank blocked Kickstarter the first time. So you may need to approve the charge as a trusted source. Every bank is different so how that process may look for you is unknown to us. But if anything, tomorrow once the campaign ends, go check if the payment appears on your side.
If not, Kickstarter gives you 7 days to try correct or verify and complete your payment. After that, the system counts you as an incomplete purchase and you won't be charged but you also won't be given backer access or rewards. That's all for now.
See you again here in 24 hours! - The Far From Home Team
How Science Meets Survival Feature + Backers Edition Fully Funded
Hello Scientists.
We’ve prepared a video to showcase one of the many systems we’ve been finalising over the last few months as we get closer to release of Early Access. We are planning to release a few more of these videos but for now, here is a run down of our Research Station.
Also, for those who haven't seen, our Backers Edition on Kickstarter has reached 100% so if you were one of the supporters who helped us reach this goal,
The campaign is still running for another 24 days so if you are interested in getting the game with a few extra personal bonuses, you still have time. Anyway, onto the Research Station.
THE RESEARCH STATION
The Research Station system plays a key role in the overall gameplay of Forever Skies. It allows players to unlock advanced technologies that will help them overcome the challenges of the game and achieve their objectives.
Watch the full video below:
At its core, the Research Station system is all about collecting blueprints for new tools, devices, airship modules, and more. You will unlock these blueprints by scanning resources you find in the world, such as electrical components, helium canisters, copper, and much more. Each new item that you scan will unlock specific blueprints.
Your PDA keeps track of what materials you need to scan to unlock further blueprints, which materials you’ve already scanned and in what location or biome the items can possibly be found. For example, some materials like glass can be found in multiple locations, but items like helium canisters can only be found at Wind Farms. Consider the Research tab on your PDA as a secondary quest log, to assist you in progressing in the game.
To research the blueprints for advanced technology, you must collect samples of the components needed and place them into the Research Station. Your research progress is shown by the progress bar under each blueprint and the colour of the text.
🔴 Red - You have NONE of the required components. ⚪️ White - You have SOME of the required components 🟢Green - You have ALL the components needed to complete the research.
Once the research is finished, the blueprint is unlocked, and the advanced technology is available to craft.
The Research Station system allows players to craft their own experience in the game. If you wish to focus on exploration, then use the station to research new tools that will help you better navigate and survive in the world. If they want to customise your base, you can research new modules that will help you build and expand their airship. And if you wish to focus on survival, you can research new and better devices for obtaining food and water.
When we announced the changed release window back in November, we mentioned that “The Scientific Approach To Survival” was one of the areas we were expanding for the start of Early Access and The Research Station plays a part in that.
What do you think of the Research Station? Got any questions? Please do keep talking to us, either here or in our Discord which you can join by clicking the button below.
Speak soon. The Far From Home Team
Backers Edition Campaign Is Now Live!
Greetings scientists!
Today is the day, we’re excited to announce that the Backers Edition campaign is now live and available to all!
FRIENDLY REMINDER: FOREVER SKIES EARLY ACCESS IS FULLY FUNDED. THIS CAMPAIGN IS ONLY TO ADD SPECIAL BONUS REWARDS
There are multiple tiers that players can choose from, with various goodies available if you wish to become a backer! We also did our best to ensure no matter what tier you back to get the game, you will always get something special in-game.
Similarly, we decided that all backers who get the game, no matter what tier, will be getting the game a few days early to play once we launch Early Access.
Check out the full details of the campaign here:
We appreciate any bit of sharing among your friends who you think might be keen on our little slice of sci-fi survival.
