After just over a month of closed playtests, we’re super hyped to answer the oldest and most important question asked by our community: “Co-op when?” The answer is NOW!
We've named this update the “World Evolved & Co-op Update” because, while we're thrilled about the addition of the co-op mode, calling it just the “Co-op Update” wouldn't do justice to the amount of new content introduced in EA.1.7.0. Check out our latest trailer below:
Coop Launch Bundles
Since coop is all about friends, we’ve teamed up with a few pals of our own from around the industry to create some notable bundles. So if you or your friends already own Planet Crafter, Medival Dynasty, or Pacific Drive you can get an additional 10% off Forever Skies or vice versa.
We also wanted to memorialize this special moment in our game’s history with our friends, so we created a series of themed items inspired by Frost Punk 2, Planet Crafter, Medieval Dynasty, and Pacific Drive which have been added to the game for free. These posters and artifacts are scattered around the world for you to find and adorn your airship with. Happy hunting!
Welcome to Co-op Mode
Forever Skies can now be fully played in traditional Single-Player or our brand-new Co-op Mode. The co-op will only become available once you have completed the game's tutorial and have taken flight for the first time. A notification will appear when it becomes available.
The co-op gameplay loop is structured around one host and up to three friends (or volunteers). Volunteers join the host world and will become the crew of the host’s Airship base, in order to build, scavenge, research and survive together.
When starting a new Co-op game, on the main menu players will have a couple of options available to them when hosting a world:
Single-Player - Offline mode. Players can pause their game in this mode, no players can join your world.
Co-op Mode - The new mode where you will get a few different types of co-op modes to choose from. All of these modes require you to be online, which means no pause is available. Here are the different versions of Co-op you can play:
- Friends-Only - Your game is visible and accessible only to friends on Steam. - Public - This mode is visible to everyone, whether from the in-game Sessions menu or from within Steam.
After you have chosen between single-player or co-op, you can then choose your difficulty level of Easy, Medium or Hard. You also get the option of what Airship Building ruleset you wish to use:
Normal - The new ruleset that's been added as part of the World Evolved & Co-op update, that places tighter restrictions on shipbuilding at the start but more in-depth freedom with airship upgrades as you progress.
Legacy - The previous ruleset you already know that gives players more freedom on where they could place Airship components
Please note: This Legacy building mode is a temporary solution for players who prefer the old building system. Eventually, this will be replaced with a full Creative Mode.
It's only possible to join another player's Co-op session once you have completed the tutorial yourself. When joining a session, you join the world of the host with no resources of your own, only your trusty Extractor. You will have to rely on the resources of your host before gathering them yourself. You can’t bring resources over into the host's world either.
Once a save has been created past the tutorial, the save can then be played in either Single-Player or Co-op mode depending on how you want to play that day.
New Gameplay Loop
The most important thing before playing is to forget everything you thought you knew about Forever Skies. If you try to play through the game and its objectives while holding onto previous knowledge and expecting the game to work the same as before, it could leave you at a disadvantage. The core game loop and progression has been reworked. This was done for a few reasons, but it mainly stems from player feedback about the previous loop and to make the game translate better to a co-op experience, while maintaining a fun single-player experience. Here are some of the changes and additions made to the game in EA.1.7.0:
Handcrafting, allows you to craft certain items and components via a built-in Suit Printer, enabling crafting while exploring instead of being tied to an on-board Fabricator.
A complete overhaul of the hand Extractor's design and accessibility. The tool will now be part of your suit near the start, with a self-recharge function in emergencies. We’ve also adapted our level design to provide more resources in the world for extraction, puzzles to solve with the Extractor, and a range of upgrades for players to discover, research and attach.
The Ship Workstation, now known as the Decoration Fabricator will also be made available just after the tutorial. We want players to start customizing their airships closer to the start of the game.
Objectives have been re-worked from the start of the game. This includes a more in-depth tutorial so new players learn how to manage their stats correctly, more focus on vertical gameplay and improvements to make objectives more understandable where needed.
Additional New Content
Capsule Drops sent from the Ark. These capsule drops will occur every so often when flying above the dust layer and will be worth scavenging. You can expect to find all kinds of useful resources inside, including upgrades for your tools!
Introducing the Metal Collector. This new handy bit of kit can be crafted and placed on catwalks along your airship exterior and will collect metal scraps from underneath the dust layer. Yes, we’re moving away slightly from floating metal in the sky, this still happens, but will only occur rarely. Your main source of metal now comes from the Metal Collector or extracting it from buildings and ruins.
A brand new intro cutscene. While we like our current opening cinematic, we believe it doesn't give the player much information to begin their journey on ruined Earth. The new cutscene gives players more context to how the player got back to Earth, and why. The cutscene also includes a picture of your crew aboard the Ark before the virus took its toll on everyone aboard. We also made this photo an item in-game that you can place on your Airship and take with you throughout your entire journey.
Improvements to Radio Tower locations. Radio Towers are now typically much larger than before. With multiple levels and buildings to explore and scavenge. You will also find more stories and secrets from the previous inhabitants here.
Scrapwing Hatchery - a new threat has appeared in the skies! As you explore above the dust, keep your eyes and ears out for this parasite. The Hatchery will attach itself to the side of your Airship and feast on the metal Catwalks. If this goes unchecked, after some time, it will tear off the Airship Catwalk along with whatever precious equipment you had on it! So be on alert unless you want to say bye bye to your Water Condensers.
You can read about every addition, change and fix to the game below in our changelog. Our team are also in the process of working on additional features and QoL which are planned for the upcoming EA.1.7.1 patch. More news to follow on that at a later date.
The Legacy Branch
As most of you know by now, your existing saves will be reset & will not be compatible with The World Evolved + Co-op Update. ICYMI, you can read the full details of that announcement by clicking here..
If you wish to retain your existing EA.1.6.0 saves, you can transfer your save file over to our new Legacy Branch.. This branch will receive no further updates, remaining as EA.1.6.0. You can then install this branch if you wish to visit your OG Airship builds or explore the world in its current state before EA.1.7.0
Ping system – players can press V to ping items and places in the world to other players
New Intro cutscene
New settings - Building Mode - Normal (new rules apply) - Legacy mode (locked on Combat update 1.6.0 version - from all the rework and building restrictions; this mode won’t be supported going forward)
New settings - Arachnophobia Mode - changes some enemy models into non-arachnid-looking ones
Enemies:
Scrapwing Hatchery
Tools & Devices
Suit Printer
Metal Collector
Metal Collector Head
Extractor Upgrade - Capacity
Extractor Upgrade - Reload
Extractor VFX - rods represent energy level
World:
Basic Radio Tower locations diversified with living quarters
A height barrier surrounds the starting area of the map
Solar Towers as source of Silicon for starting height
Single Wind Farm towers with Copper accessible after the first height upgrade
Solar Panels added as floating debris, a source of Silicon
Drop Capsules with loot
New lore texts added
New resources:
Copper Elements
Silicon extracted from Solar Panels
Synthetic Conglomerate
Energy Container
Upgrade Parts (needed for upgraded tools and devices)
Player:
Suit Printer menu allows crafting directly from inventory
Dedicated slot for Extractor Upgrade under inventory
Death Screen lists all items lost due to player death
Additional HUD info notifications according devices and items placement
Animation for the first Extractor equip action
New first-person animations for climbing ladders and using Helm
TPP player animations and VFXs
Database updated for the current content additions and changes
Ability to Wake up players who ran out of energy
Airship:
Airship Catwalks can be destroyed along with everything that was placed on them by Scrapwing Hatchery.
New artifact - Family Photo
Posters for Medieval Dynasty collaboration (x3)
Posters for Planet Crafter collaboration (x2)
Posters for Pacific Drive collaboration (x2)
Artifact for Pacific Drive collaboration
Posters for Frostpunk 2 collaboration (x2)
Artifact for Frostpunk 2 collaboration
Metal Half-Wall
Bloom Half-Wall
Sprinkler area coverage visuals
CHANGED:
Tutorial progression and mechanics reworked
Starting location adjusted to the new Tutorial
Extractor available from the tutorial
Extractor as a default tool when joining co-op session
Extractor has a limit of charges before its energy depletes
Extractor has an option to be recharged manually
Lander visuals adjusted to the intro cutscene
Printing timers added to printer devices
Deck Extractor is available to unlock on the first Lift to Underdust location
Solid State Batteries are now craftable from Suit Printer Menu
Research Station and Helm devices can be printed from Device Fabricator
Transformers are no longer craftable and can be only found on locations
Changed logic for spawning Data Cards - There can no longer be multiple Data Cards on one location - Data Cards with items for specific tools/devices should be spawning only if the player obtained this tool/device first
Play menu name changed to Single Player
Rudder Controller name changed to Helm
Basic Fabricator name changed to Device Fabricator
Ship Workstation name changed to Furniture Fabricator
Water Tank’s name changed to Large Water Tank
Plastic Scrap name changed to Synthetic Compound
Device Fabricator can be crafted from Suit Printer
Basic Turbines and Engines can no longer be placed on Room frames [“Normal” building mode]
Some items like posters, cabinets, and some hanging devices can no longer be placed on Room frames [“Normal” building mode]
Basic and Upgraded Turbines height additions and limits changed
Every player needs a separate Bed for sleeping
Falling out of the ship does not kill the player but teleports them back
The percentage of items dropped due to death was increased: - To 50% on Normal difficulty level - To 60% on Hard difficulty level
Players now spawn not directly in front of the Helm, but on one of the floors closest to it
Player stats are rebalanced in the tutorial. The player now won’t die from Hunger/Thirst until they finish the food and water tutorial quests (or skip them by leaving the location before finishing them)
Increased regeneration of Hunger and Thirst from boiled food and clean water
Parameters should drop slightly slower while the player is sleeping
Seed container models changed from pouches to containers
Garden Pots crafting costs and mechanics changed - Dirty Water container capped at 1 unit
Garden Pots and their icons visuals changed - water tanks removed from the back of them
Plants growing times rebalanced
Wind Farm and Greenhouse Tower locations now have their lower and upper parts related to the changes in height progression
Small Cockpit is available in the Airship Builder from the beginning
Automatic Deck Extractors are now printable in the Upgrade Station
Wrecked Radar moved from Wind Farm to Radio Tower location
Wrecked Basic Turbine moved from Radio Tower to Wind Farm location
Tool Charger’s recipe moved from a Radio Tower (Electric Elements) to a Wind Farm (Circuit Board)
Small Water Tank capacity reduced to 50 units
Epoxy removed completely from Garden locations
Epoxy icon changed
Boiled Dust Lettuce icon changed
Boiled Sunmelon icon changed
Boiled Chili Pepper icon changed
Aircutter icon changed
Copper icon changed
Amber Bed icon changed
Evolved Flora Hologram icon changed
Size of Inventory slots changed by ~10%
Language settings moved from Audio to Gameplay Settings
Underdust Suburbs enemy spawners reworked
Permadeath removed
Sticky Note temporarily removed from the game (it needs more work)
Overall rebalance of resources spawn and crafting costs
Many text changes to quests and lore tablets
Many level design and level art adjustments to existing locations
Location Radar now shows the closest quest location instead of multiple, marked with “!”
The number of Broken Crates spawned in the world increased
Loot rarity in Broken Crates raised (better items to be found inside)
Cost for repairing Broken Crates raised from 2 to 3 Repair Patches
Wrecked Automatic Deck Extractor moved to Infected Garden location
Wrecked Filtering Deck Extractor moved to Rooftops location
Filtering Deck Extractor can now extract Silicon
Metal Collector Heads and all Lures are now stackable (10 items)
Changed nutrition values of Dust Moth (from 15 to 10), Fat Dust Moth (from 15 to 20) and Glowing Dust Moth (from 15 to 25)
Changed nutrition values of Boiled Dust Moth (from 30 to 40), Boiled Fat Dust Moth (from 40 to 55) and Boiled Glowing Dust Moth (from 50 to 75)
Plants growth times are updated globally
Dust Fertilizer is no longer needed to grow some plants, right now it speeds all plants growth three times faster
Organic Fertilizer speeds all plants growth two times faster
Players can obtain Metal Collector study recipe even if they don’t scan Wrecked Metal Collector during the relevant quest (temporary solution)
All players within one session have to run the same build version
More optimization works
FIXED:
Blood Coagulator Booster no longer causes the player to become immortal after applying
Boiled fruits and plants which looked like Boiled Chili Pepper now have their proper Boiled version meshes
Bloom Walls no longer show yellow makeshift tape from default Room
Wrecked Flashlight model changed to the proper Wrecked item
Noah’s graffiti is scannable again
Fixed bugs where the wrong objects were visible in the Studies menu
KNOWN ISSUES:
Some missing translations for languages other than English
Random disconnecting from sessions - we’re investigating tons of logs now and trying to fix the most common problems
After rejoining a session quest-related parts of some locations may not be visible for joining players (clients)
Paint Tool shows wrong info “Not Enough Resources” when players joining session.
Friendly Insect is duplicated for clients in the Underdust: Tunnels
Friendly Insect may behave oddly once in a while
Clients may have better visibility on Underdust locations - the dust isn’t distributed properly
Ladder Room ladder mesh will be replaced, right now animations don’t match
Every player hears other player characters coughing (from the lack of oxygen) as loud as they would hear themselves
Upgraded Engines and Turbines tend to rotate oddly for clients
When two or more clients extract a resource at the same time, and one of them stops it, it won’t get extracted. The players then have to stop extracting and only one of them should start extracting again.
Oil Barrels don’t show the correct state when the clients exit and join the game again. They appear full, but they aren’t.
When a player is left on a location and the rest of the crew fly away a certain distance, if the stranded player uses the UNSTUCK button, the world may not load properly for them when they return to the airship
Building Mode: Legacy doesn’t allow for placing the engines on room frames
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thats all for today! Have an awesome time in the skies with your friends! Team Far From Home.
Play Forever Skies Co-Op Update this weekend for Free
Hello everyone!
So we’ve had a few requests from people saying they’d really like to test out the game with friends ahead of the coop update to decide if the game is for them.
So we’re very excited to invite you to a limited open beta of the long-awaited and highly requested Co-op Update, now known as “World Evolved + Co-op Update”
This will allow you a chance to try the game solo or with friends even if you don’t own the game. The tests will also give us the opportunity to test a few final things ahead of our update on December 9th.
However, the number of places is limited so if you are interested - please register now to secure your access. Please note if you want to play with friends - they need to sign up too.
We will start letting players in from Saturday morning CET and will run for 48 hours.
Reminder, you dont need to own Forever Skies to take part in this beta.
See you in the skies Scientists!
- Team Far From Home
Legacy Branch Launch: Archive Your Old Saves and Airships
Hello, scientists!
Today we are launching the Legacy Branch for Forever Skies, a direct response to our community's amazing feedback and requests to help archive their old saves ahead of the reset from our next major update.
As many of you know we've been hard at work preparing a massive update for Forever Skies that includes a full gameplay overhaul and the inclusion of the much awaitedco-op mode. This update, launching on December 9th, will change the game in so many ways for the better. However one drawback as mentioned a few weeks back is that old saves will no longer be compatible and so everyone will need to restart their progress.
But thanks to our community feedback we have one bit of silver lining - The Legacy Branch.
What is the Legacy Branch?
The Legacy Branch is a special branch of the game that you will be able to switch to in Steam to return to your old saves on the side. It’s essentially a "time capsule" for your past adventures, archiving the progress you’ve made until now.
We saw a massive outpouring of support and understanding when we announced why old saves would no longer be compatible. However many of you all expressed interest in having a way to memorialize your old progress before the big changes come, and we thought it was a fantastic idea. So you can now return to your old airships and play down memory lane.
Important Things to Note:
The Legacy Branch will not receive any updates or fixes. It is and will stay as a preserved version of the game that everyone could have experienced up to November 2024.
The Legacy Branch is for those who want to preserve their old saves and airships. To access it you will need to switch from the main branch and also copy your saves into the correct location (exact details on how to are further below)
We want to be clear that the Legacy Branch is not a new or alternate version of the game — it’s just a way to ensure you can keep your older content archived and playable while you move forward with the new changes and gameplay overhaul.
How To Access The Legacy Branch
To Switch to the Legacy Branch you need to do the following:
Located Forever Skies in your Steam Library
Right click - Properties - Betas
Select the drop-down arrow and choose “Legacy Branch”
Allow the game to update
Press Play
When you want to return to the current, updated version of Forever Skies, do all of the above steps, and in the drop-down arrow select “NONE” and allow the game to update
How To Import Saves to The Legacy Branch
Your existing saves for the main game are stored in a different folder compared to your saves for the legacy branch. To place and preserve your saves in the legacy branch you’ll need to do the following:
Locate your save files on your PC. By default they should be stored in the following file path: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\ProjectZeppelin\Saved\SaveGames\
Select the save file/s that you want to preserve, right-click, copy.
Located your Legacy Branch save folder. By default they should be stored in the following file path: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\ProjectZeppelin\Saved_legacy\SaveGames\
Paste your copied save file/s into this location
As a precaution make a 2nd copy of your save file and paste it somewhere on your desktop or in a safe folder. This way you can ensure you have a clean, backup save/s just in case.
If you have done all the above correctly and switched to the Legacy Branch, you should be able to see your old save in the menu once you start the game.
Thank You for Your Feedback!
As mentioned, the idea for the Legacy Branch is one of the many examples of feedback that came straight from the community, and we can’t thank you enough for your ongoing feedback and support. Your ideas have shaped the development of Forever Skies in more ways than we can count and will do so as we fly closer and closer to our full release in early 2025.
So keep soaring and we’ll see you real soon with the next update on December 9th!
- Team Forever Skies
Beta Hotfix #2 | EA.1.7.0 #34862
Greetings beta scientists,
Here is your next hotfix for EA.1.7.0:
ADDED:
Upgrade Parts as a new resource needed for upgraded tools and devices
New animation for low-stamina Knife attack
New TPP animation for default box item being equipped, e.g. Repair Patch
Posters for Medieval Dynasty collaboration (x3)
Posters for Planet Crafter collaboration (x2)
Posters for Pacific Drive collaboration (x2)
Artifact for Pacific Drive collaboration
Posters for Frostpunk 2 collaboration (x2)
Artifact for Pacific Drive collaboration
CHANGED:
Location Radar now shows the closest quest location instead of multiple, marked with “!”
The number of Broken Crates spawned in the world increased
Loot rarity in Broken Crates raised (better items to be found inside)
Cost for repairing Broken Crates raised from 2 to 3 Repair Patches
Wrecked Automatic Deck Extractor moved to Infected Garden location
Wrecked Filtering Deck Extractor moved to Rooftops location
Filtering Deck Extractor can now extract Silicon
Metal Collector can’t catch Machine Elements anymore
Metal Collector Heads and all Lures are now stackable (10 items)
Changed nutrition values of Dust Moth (from 15 to 10), Fat Dust Moth (from 15 to 20) and Glowing Dust Moth (from 15 to 25)
Changed nutrition values of Boiled Dust Moth (from 30 to 40), Boiled Fat Dust Moth (from 40 to 55) and Boiled Glowing Dust Moth (from 50 to 75)
Plants growth times are updated globally
Dust Fertilizer is no longer needed to grow some plants, right now it speeds all plants growth three times faster
Organic Fertilizer speeds all plants growth two times faster
Players can obtain Metal Collector study recipe even if they don’t scan Wrecked Metal Collector during the relevant quest (temporary solution)
Players default pose for interacting with devices changed from A-pose to idle pose
If a player falls from the airship they’re now teleported to a safe place close to the Helm
General research and crafting costs balance
Small improvement to Extractor recharge animations
All players within one session have to run the same build version
FIXED:
Fixed rare bug where quest icon (“!” mark) on Location Radar was invisible
Fixed bug where players didn’t see Wind Farm location marked with “!” on a Radar if they were farther than 1 km
Fixed bug where players joining session stopped seeing all locations after flying far away from the starting location (more than 16km)
Fixed bug where players joining session weren’t able to see paints from Paint Tool
Fixed rare bug where after leaving Wild Habitat or New Nature Territory locations dust was disappearing for players
Fixed bug where some Radio Towers, Wind Farms and Greenhouse Tower locations were spawning in plants and ruins
Fixed bug where players weren’t able to place anything on a freshly built wall
Fixed bug crashing the game after Eelair plant finished its growth cycle
Fixed bug where expandable ladders weren’t saving their states properly and after load they weren’t expanded or expandable anymore
Fixed bug where Drop Capsules weren’t spawning farther than 2km from starting location
Fixed bug where players joining session couldn’t use Water Tanks, Water Pipe Generator, Sprinklers, Distiller and Recycler or had some visual inconsistencies with player hosting session
Fixed a bug where players joining a session couldn’t neutralize an Infected Garden even when removing Gnarls.
Fixed a bug where the airship wasn’t damaged from any source
Fixed a bug where Automated and Filtering Deck Extractors were extracting Energy Containers
Fixed bugs where the wrong object was visible in the Studies menu
Fixed a bug where the old Plant Oil crafting recipe was found in Suit Printer
Fixed bug where players joining session still saw location lights after Solid State Battery was removed from Fuse Box
Fixed rare bug with Artifact Trade Station collisions teleporting player into a wall
Fixed bug with Artifact Trade Station not refreshing properly its menu for players joining session
Fixed speed of TPP Crossbow reload animation
More optimization works
KNOWN ISSUES:
Since the build is still a work in progress, it still has some problems you may experience, like:
Still incomplete localization for languages other than English
Random disconnecting from sessions - we’re investigating tons of logs now and trying to fix the most common problems
New floor built under objects standing on it before, may make those objects to detach from an airship completely
Object, e.g Storage Boxes or artifacts, placed on any Storage Rack may detach from it when players move away from an airship
After rejoining a session quest-related parts of some locations may not be visible for joining players (clients)
Some things don’t work for clients yet, e.g. Pipes, Cross Pipes and Pipe Sockets
The Infected Garden location is not working properly for clients - Preternatual Seed may spawn in a water tank in the middle of this location
Friendly Insect is duplicated for clients in the Underdust: Tunnels
Friendly Insect may behave oddly once in a while
Clients may have a better visibility on under dust locations - the dust isn’t distributed properly
Ladder Room ladder mesh will be replaced, right now animations don’t match
Every player hears other player characters coughing (from the lack of oxygen) as loud as they would hear themselves.
Upgraded Engines and Turbines tend to rotate oddly for clients
Sometimes hitboxes for Inkbulbs in pots make it very tricky to harvest those flowers.
When two or more clients extract a resource at the same time, it won’t get extracted. The players then have to stop extracting and only one of them should start extracting again.
Oil Barrels don’t show the correct state when the clients exit and join the game again. They appear full, but they aren’t.
When a player is left on a location and the rest of the crew fly away a certain distance, when the stranded player uses the UNSTUCK button, the world may not load properly for them when they return to the airship
Thats all for now, speak soon!
Beta Hotfix #1 | EA.1.7.0 #34627
Greetings beta scientists,
Here's the first round of fixes for the World Evolved & Co-op Update beta...
ADDED:
Additional translations for non-English languages added
FIXED:
Fixed bug where players couldn’t read some lore scene tablets
Fixed bug when clients couldn’t progress quests which required checking the Studies or Database tabs.
Scrapwing Hatchery alerts are being shown to all players
Fixed bug where Crystal batteries couldn’t be handcrafted
Most critical issues of Infected Garden location fixed - clients can cut down Preternatual Seeds, Gnarls dim out after cutting Preternatural Seeds, the path to upper floors should be accessible by clients
KNOWN ISSUES:
Since the build is still a work in progress, it still has some problems you may experience, like:
Still incomplete localization for languages other than English
Random disconnecting from sessions - we’re investigating tons of logs now and trying to fix the most common problems
After rejoining a session quest-related parts of some locations may not be visible for joining players (clients)
Some things don’t work for clients yet (although everything should work for a host), e.g. - Water tanks show no water - Sprinklers show no water, - Paints won’t be seen etc.
The Infected Garden location is not working properly for clients - Preternatual Seed may spawn in a water tank in the middle of this location
Some locations may be spawned inside / on the verge of mountains or the organic wall - just look for a different one in such case
Friendly Insect is duplicated for clients in the Underdust: Tunnels
Friendly Insect may behave oddly once in a while
Clients may have a better visibility on under dust locations - the dust isn’t distributed properly
Ladder Room ladder mesh will be replaced, right now animations don’t match
Every player hears other player characters coughing (from the lack of oxygen) as loud as they would hear themselves.
Upgraded Engines and Turbines tend to rotate oddly for clients
Sometimes hitboxes for Inkbulbs in pots make it very tricky to harvest those flowers.
When two or more clients extract a resource at the same time, it won’t get extracted. The players then have to stop extracting and only one of them should start extracting again.
Paint Tool is not working for clients yet
Oil Barrels don’t show the correct state when the clients exit and join the game again. They appear full, but they aren’t.
When a player is left on a location and the rest of the crew fly away a certain distance, when the stranded player uses the UNSTUCK button, the world may not load properly for them when they return to the airship
Thats all for now...more fixes coming soon!
All Things Co-op! | Beta Launches Today | Release Date | Dev AMA
Greetings scientists…
This will be a big one, so let's get started!
Co-op Release Date & Beta Announcement
We’re excited to reveal that the long-awaited and highly requested Co-op Update, now known as “World Evolved + Co-op Update” will go live for everyone in just a few weeks. EA.1.7.0 will launch for all Steam Early Access players on
December 9th 2024!
But that's not all…
After just over a month of closed playtests, we’re excited to announce that the Forever Skies World Evolved + Co-op Update is live on our Beta Test branch (beta_flight) RIGHT NOW!
We’re grateful to the 800+ players who have been testing and breaking the closed builds for the last month to get us to this point, we couldn’t have done it without you. Details on how to join our beta branch will be shared below. And speaking of branches, a new Forever Skies Steam branch will be accessible to players when we launch EA.1.7.0.
The Legacy Branch
As most of you know by now, your existing saves will not be compatible with The World Evolved + Co-op Update. ICYMI, you can read the full details of that announcement by clicking here.
In the comments of that post, FS Community member “Mickjay” suggested that the game in its current EA.1.6.0 form could be kept separate in a new branch so players could still access their OG Airship builds even after the change and reset with EA.1.7.0. A few other community members got behind this and quite frankly, we also thought this was an AWESOME idea, and so we have done just that.
The new legacy branch will be available in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes out for more information if you wish to preserve your current game saves/fancy blimps. Please keep in mind that this legacy branch will receive no further updates. It will remain as EA.1.6.0.
Co-op Mode Information
The game can now be fully played in traditional single-player or our brand-new Co-op Mode. Co-op will only become available once you have completed the game's tutorial and have taken flight for the first time. A notification will appear when it becomes available.
The co-op gameplay loop is structured around one host and up to three friends (or volunteers). Volunteers join the host world and will become the crew of the host’s Airship base, in order to build, scavenge, research and survive together.
When starting a new Co-op game, on the main menu players will have a couple of options available to them when hosting a world:
Single-Player - Offline mode. Players can pause their game, no players can join your world.
Co-op Mode - The new mode where you will get a few different types of co-op modes to choose from. All of these modes require you to be online, which means no pause is available. Here are the different versions of Co-op you can play:
Friends-Only - Your game is visible and accessible only to friends on Steam.
Public - This mode is visible to everyone, whether from the in-game Sessions menu or from within Steam.
Private - Here, players can join your game via Steam invite only.
After you have chosen between single-player or co-op, you can then choose your difficulty level of Easy, Medium or Hard. You also get the option of what Airship Building ruleset you wish to use.
Normal - The new ruleset that's been added as part of the World Evolved & Co-op update, that places tighter restrictions on shipbuilding at the start but more in-depth freedom with airship upgrades as you progress.
Legacy - The previous ruleset you already know that gives players more freedom on where they could place Airship components
It's only possible to join another player's Co-op session once you have completed the tutorial yourself. When joining a session, you join the world of the host with no resources of your own, only your trusty Extractor. You will have to rely on the resources of your host before gathering them yourself. You can’t bring resources over into the host's world either.
Once a save has been created past the tutorial, the save can then be played in either Single-Player or Co-op mode depending on how you want to play that day.
New Gameplay Loop
The most important thing before playing is to forget everything you thought you knew about Forever Skies. If you try to play through the game and its objectives while holding onto previous knowledge and expecting the game to work the same as before, it could leave you at a disadvantage. The core game loop and progression has been reworked. This was done for a few reasons, but it mainly stems from player feedback about the previous loop and to make the game translate better to a co-op experience, while maintaining a fun single-player experience. Here are some of the changes and additions made to the game in EA.1.7.0:
Handcrafting, allows you to craft certain items and components via a built-in Suit Printer, enabling crafting while exploring instead of being tied to an on-board Fabricator.
A complete overhaul of the hand Extractor's design and accessibility. The tool will now be part of your suit near the start, with a self-recharge function in emergencies. We’ve also adapted our level design to provide more resources in the world for extraction, puzzles to solve with the Extractor, and a range of upgrades for players to discover, research and attach.
The Ship Workstation, now known as the Decoration Fabricator will also be made available just after the tutorial. We want players to start customizing their airships closer to the start of the game.
Objectives have been re-worked from the start of the game, right up to the first Underdust descent. This includes a more in-depth tutorial so new players learn how to manage their stats correctly, more focus on vertical gameplay and introduces players to new tech items.
Additional New Content
Capsule Drops sent from the Ark. These capsule drops will occur every so often when flying above the dust layer and will be worth scavenging. You can expect to find all kinds of useful resources inside, including upgrades for your tools!
Metal Collector! This new handy bit of kit can be crafted and placed on catwalks along your airship exterior and will collect metal scraps from underneath the dust layer. Yes, we’re moving away slightly from floating metal in the sky, this still happens, but will only occur rarely. Your main source of metal now comes from the Metal Collector or extracting it from buildings and ruins.
Improvements to Radio Tower locations. Radio Towers are now typically much larger than before. With multiple levels and buildings to explore and scavenge. You will also find more stories and secrets from the previous inhabitants here.
A brand new intro cutscene. While we like our current opening cinematic, we believe it doesn't give the player much information to begin their journey on ruined Earth. The new cutscene gives players more context to how the player got back to Earth, and why. The cutscene also includes a picture of your crew aboard the Ark before the virus took its toll on everyone aboard. We also made this photo an item in-game that you can place on your Airship and take with you throughout your entire journey.
Scrapwing Hatchery - a new threat has appeared in the skies! As you explore above the dust, keep your eyes and ears out for this parasite. The Hatchery will attach itself to the side of your Airship and feast on the metal Catwalks. If this goes unchecked, after some time, it will tear off the Airship Catwalk along with whatever precious equipment you had on it! So be on alert unless you want to say bye bye to your Water Condensers.
Design changes made to Radio Towers. They're now typically a larger location than before.
Dev AMA
A few weeks ago, we sent out a social media post asking players for their questions following a series of announcements from us, we have selected a few of them and answered below…
jeffie_pie5340 - YouTube
Q. How many players are planned for the coop?
A. Four players. One player will host, and up to three friends can join the host's world.
Jack Skett - Twitter
Q. When playing co-op will it progress both players’ games or just the host?
A. Playing will only progress the host's world/game.
Dude_72 - YouTube
Q. Will PS5 and Steam be able to play multiplayer together when it comes out?
A. We currently have no plans for cross-play.
Zenoe-strict7295 - YouTube
Q. I'm wondering if steam deck support is being worked?
A. Right now, our team is mostly focused on the co-op update and the full release on PC & PS5 in early 2025. But we would love to bring Forever Skies to the Steam Deck in the future.
Nick Rhodes - Facebook
Q. How early into 2025 can we expect [full release] dropping?
A. Early. We’re looking at Q1.
Valtristk - Reddit
Q. Can you drop off a friend at one tower and head to another tower yourself?
A. In theory, yes, provided the next tower is close enough. We are still thinking about how to solve the problem that one player can fly away and leave the others. For now, the Unstuck button can freely teleport one player to the airship, but we are considering more in-game solutions.If you fly too far from your friends, the world around them WILL unload. So don’t go too far.
Valtristk - Reddit
Q. Can one friend enter the underdust while others go and do other things above the dust?
A. No, all players need to head to the Underdust together and vice versa.
The_Ham_of_Rum - Reddit
Q. At what point in the game's progress can I start playing coop?
A. Co-op becomes available for hosts and clients after completing the game's tutorial in the opening area.
uncle_smule - YouTube
Q. What are those colossal lifeforms you talked about?
A. They’re coming along nicely in production. We really pushed for one of the encounters to be in this latest update, but it wasn’t quite ready in time. You will see them soon enough.
pannedartist - YouTube
Q. Will we be seeing more pets within the future of the game? And how much customization will be available?
A. We have no plans for additional pets but we are thinking about increasing the role of the pet itself. Additional outfits and attachments for the existing pet are still likely too.
JOHN HATTAM - Twitter
Q. Can [you] build elevators for your ship in the full game?
A. No current plans in production for elevators on your airship but its a super cool idea. Feel free to suggest it on our Feature Upvote site.
The Danecdote - Reddit
Q. When will 2K [and higher] resolutions be playable?
A. Its already possible to play in 2K resolution or higher but we dont recommend it fully as it can have some performance issues. Our production plans have mostly been focused on completing features and mechanics for Forever Skies. But with Co-op releasing in a few weeks , we will turn our focus to improving the games overall perfomance in the coming months.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Access the Test Branch
Open the Steam application on your PC and locate Forever Skies in your games library
Right click - PROPERTIES- BETAS
Put in the password: BlimpWorkshop
From the dropdown menu select the beta branch tilted: beta_flight
Press the blue “Opt into beta_flight…” button
In your Games Library click on Forever Skies [beta_flight]
Install the Test Branch
Start a New Save - Existing Won’t Work on the Test Branch
Remember that importing your old saves won’t work as they are no longer compatible.
So to start a new save, play through the opening location, and once you are airborne, you can get your friends to join your game.
The progress you make on the Test Branch will not carry over once the update goes live on December 9th.
Where to Submit Bugs
All bugs or issues that you encounter while playing should be submitted via the FEEDBACK TOOL that you can find in-game when pausing the game.
You can also access it here - https://forever-skies.featureupvote.com/
Ping system – players can press V to ping items and places in the world to other players
New Intro cutscene
New settings - Building Mode - Normal (new rules apply) - Legacy mode (locked on Combat update 1.6.0 version - from all the rework and building restrictions; this mode won’t be supported going forward)
New settings - Arachnophobia Mode - changes some enemies models into non-arachnid looking ones
Enemies:
Scrapwing Hatchery
Tools & Devices:
Suit Printer
Metal Collector
Metal Collector Head
Extractor Upgrade - Capacity
Extractor Upgrade - Reload
Extractor VFX - rods represent energy level
World:
Basic Radio Tower locations diversified with living quarters
A height barrier surrounds the starting area of the map
Solar Towers as source of Solar Panels for starting height
Single Wind Farm towers with Copper accessible after first height upgrade
Solar Panel as floating debris
Drop Capsules with loot
New lore texts added
New resources:
Copper Elements
Silicon extracted from Solar Panels
Synthetic Conglomerate
Energy Container
Player:
Suit Printer menu allows crafting directly from inventory
Dedicated slot for Extractor Upgrade under inventory
Death Screen lists all items lost due to player death
Additional HUD info notifications according devices and items placement
TPP player animations and VFXs
Animation for the first Extractor equip action
New first-person animations for climbing ladders and using Helm
Database updated for the current content additions and changes
Ability to Wake up players who ran out of energy
Airship:
Airship Catwalks can be destroyed along with everything that was placed on them by Scrapwing Hatchery.
New artifact - Family Photo
New artifact - Glass City
New poster - Dark Wishes
New poster - New London
Metal Half-Wall
Bloom Half-Wall
Sprinkler area coverage visuals
CHANGED:
Printing timers added to printer devices
Tutorial progression and mechanics reworked
Lander visuals adjusted to the intro cutscene
Starting location adjusted to the new Tutorial
Extractor available from the tutorial
Extractor as a default tool when joining co-op session
Extractor has a limit of charges before its energy depletes
Extractor has an option to be recharged manually
Deck Extractor is available to unlock on the first Lift to Underdust location
Solid State Batteries are now craftable from Suit Printer Menu
Transformers are no longer craftable and can be only found on locations
Changed logic for spawning Data Cards - There can no longer be multiple Data Cards on one location - Data Cards with items for specific tools/devices should be spawning only if the player obtained this tool/device first
Play menu name changed to Single Player
Rudder Controller name changed to Helm
Basic Fabricator name changed to Device Fabricator
Ship Workstation name changed to Furniture Fabricator
Water Tank’s name changed to Large Water Tank
Plastic Scrap name changed to Synthetic Compound
Device Fabricator can be crafted from Suit Printer
Research Station and Helm devices can be printed from Device Fabricator
Basic Turbines and Engines can no longer be placed on Room frames [“Normal” building mode]
Some items like posters, cabinets, and some hanging devices can no longer be placed on Room frames [“Normal” building mode [*] Basic and Upgraded Turbines height additions and limits changed
Every player needs a separate Bed for sleeping
Falling out of the ship does not kill the player but teleports them back
The percentage of items dropped due to death was increased: - To 50% on Normal difficulty level - To 60% on Hard difficulty level
Players now spawn not directly in front of the Helm, but on one of the floors closest to it
Player stats are rebalanced in the tutorial. The player now won’t die from Hunger/Thirst until they finish the food and water tutorial quests (or skip them by leaving the location before finishing them)
Increased regeneration of Hunger and Thirst from boiled food and clean water
Parameters should drop slightly slower while the player is sleeping
Seed container models changed from pouches to containers
Garden Pots crafting costs and mechanics changed - Dirty Water container capped at 1 unit
Garden Pots and their icons visuals changed - water tanks removed from the back of them
Plants growing times rebalanced
Wind Farm and Greenhouse Tower locations now have their lower and upper parts related to the changes in height progression
Small Cockpit is available in the Airship Builder from the beginning
Automatic Deck Extractors are now printable in the Upgrade Station
Wrecked Radar moved from Wind Farm to Radio Tower location
Wrecked Basic Turbine moved from Radio Tower to Wind Farm location
Tool Charger’s recipe moved from a Radio Tower (Electric Elements) to a Wind Farm (Circuit Board)
Small Water Tank capacity reduced to 50 units
Insect Catcher now limited to starting and 1st height biome only (210 - 250 masl)
Epoxy removed completely from Garden locations
Epoxy icon changed
Boiled Dust Lettuce icon changed
Boiled Sunmelon icon changed
Boiled Chili Pepper icon changed
Aircutter icon changed
Copper icon changed
Amber Bed icon changed
Evolved Flora Hologram icon changed
Size of Inventory slots changed by ~10%
Language settings moved from Audio to Gameplay Settings
Underdust Suburbs enemy spawners reworked
Permadeath removed
Sticky Note temporarily removed from the game (it needs more work)
Overall rebalance of resources spawn and crafting costs
Many text changes to quests and lore tablets
Many level design and level art adjustments to existing locations
FIXED:
Blood Coagulator Booster no longer causes the player to become immortal after applying
Boiled fruits and plants which looked like Boiled Chili Pepper now have their proper Boiled version meshes
Bloom Walls no longer show yellow makeshift tape from default Room
Wrecked Flashlight model changed to the proper Wrecked item
Noah’s graffiti is scannable again
KNOWN ISSUES:
Since the build is still a work in progress, it still has some problems you may experience, like:
Incomplete localization for languages other than English
Random disconnecting from sessions - we’re investigating tons of logs now and trying to fix the most common problems
After rejoining a session quest-related parts of some locations may not be visible for joining players (clients)
Some things don’t work for clients yet (although everything should work for a host), e.g. - Water tanks show no water - Sprinklers show no water, - Paints won’t be seen etc.
Infected Garden location is not working properly for clients - Preternatual Seeds cannot be cut down, Gnarls do not dim out after cutting Preternatural Seeds by a host, path to upper floors may be blocked by some roots
Scrapwing Hatchery alerts are being shown to host only
Some tablets cannot be read by players
Data Cards spawning rates are influenced by other loot, making them harder to find
Clients cannot progress quests which need checking Studies or Database
Some locations may be spawned inside/on the verge of mountains or the organic wall - just look for a different one in such case
Friendly Insect is duplicated for clients in the Underdust: Tunnels
Friendly Insect may behave oddly once in a while
Clients may have better visibility on Underdust locations - the dust isn’t distributed properly
Ladder Room ladder mesh will be replaced, right now animations don’t match
Every player hears other player characters coughing (from the lack of oxygen) as loud as they would hear themselves
Upgraded Engines and Turbines tend to rotate oddly for clients
Sometimes hitboxes for Inkbulbs in pots make it very tricky to harvest those flowers
When two or more clients extract a resource at the same time, it won’t get extracted. The players then have to stop extracting and only one of them should start extracting again.
Paint Tool is not working for clients yet
Crystal battery can’t be hand-crafted
Oil Barrels don’t show the correct state when the clients exit and join the game again. They appear full, but they aren’t.
When a player is left on a location and the rest of the crew fly away a certain distance, if the stranded player uses the UNSTUCK button, the world may not load properly for them when they return to the airship
This was a long one, if you're still reading then we're impressed! Have fun with the beta...
Team Far From Home
Important News Regarding Save Compatibility with the Upcoming Co-op Update
Hi everyone. I’m Wojtek Liwanowski, and I’m a Producer here on Forever Skies.
As we are deep into our current beta tests, I want to address an important change regarding the compatibility of your current Early Access saves with our upcoming update, which will, among many other things, add co-op. We know this news might come as a disappointment, but we want to be transparent and honest with you as soon as possible.
OLD SAVES WILL BECOME INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE NEXT 1.7.0 UPDATE
Up until now, we’ve worked extremely hard to ensure that each update we released kept your save games compatible. Each time, it’s been a challenge, but we’ve managed to make it work. We’ve always prioritized this, knowing just how much time and effort many of you have invested in your airship builds. We approached this new update with the same intention - to preserve your saves. However, after months of testing, redesigning, and QA, we’ve come to the glaring conclusion that, no matter how hard we try, the next update has evolved the game so much - both in terms of new features and changes to core systems - that old saves will no longer be compatible. So, with the next 1.7.0 update coming in a few weeks, we will have to ask everyone to start the game from a fresh save.
EXISTING SAVES ARE CREATING TOO MANY CONFLICTS
While it’s easy for us to simply say this is how things are, we think, if you ask any of our current beta testers, they’ll likely tell you the same thing: the way you progress now is vastly different from how it was before. Tools that you previously had to find in the world are now given to you at the start. Key airship expansion moments tied to the story progress have been reshuffled. Several mechanics have been tweaked, removed, or replaced with new ones.
The list goes on. Each of these changes creates its own set of logical conflicts between how the game is now and the near-infinite possibilities of where your old save might have been, dating all the way back to June 2023. Essentially, it has become nearly impossible for us to account for every "before and after" state a save could be in to ensure compatibility once the new gameloop is added.
COULD WE HAVE DONE THINGS DIFFERENTLY?
Could we have handled this differently? Yes, of course. One option would have been to leave the game as it is. If we had decided that continuing to support existing saves was the top priority, we would have ultimately concluded that we couldn’t move forward with many of these exciting and much-needed changes. But these changes were directly driven by feedback from you, our community, and have been made with the sole purpose of improving the overall gameplay experience - for both single-player and co-op play.
Maybe if we were a team in the 100’s we could have brute-forced these issues and fixed the slew of problems that would have cropped up after the update went live. But we are 20 developers on this game, the idea of releasing an update that we know would cause both you and us more frustration than enjoyment is just an awful idea.
PART OF WHAT EARLY ACCESS IS FOR
Why we opted for Early Access in the first place was always so that the game could evolve with the help of you, our players. But with that development choice came the risk that a hard reset might be necessary. We understand that this is far from ideal, and we’re extremely sorry that it has come to this. Please believe me when I say that everyone on our team did everything possible to avoid this situation for as long as we could while still improving the game. We explored fixes and workarounds right up until this week, before finally deciding that we had no other option but to accept the situation. So, we wanted to inform you as soon as we knew with 100% certainty that this is now our only choice. We also wanted to share this information with any new players who might be picking up the game now or during the upcoming Steam Autumn Sale.
A SMALL TOKEN OF THANKS
As a gesture of thanks for your understanding and to properly honor the airships you’ve built in Early Access, we will be creating a special poster and in-game artifact to commemorate your past journeys. These will be added in a future update after co-op, and we hope they will serve as a special reminder of your past adventures and contributions to the game’s development as you dive back in to experience the next - and final - evolution of the game.
Since we only agreed this week for certain that you'll need to start fresh saves, these items are still just ideas on paper so we don't have anything to show. But rest assured we'll be making this something special for all of you.
THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU
We deeply appreciate all the support we’ve received as we continue to refine and evolve Forever Skies. The feedback we’ve gotten from the beta has been extremely positive, and when we asked many of you if you’re okay with needing to restart your progress, there was a near-unanimous consensus that you understand why and are happy to do so, given how much has changed. Feedback like this is invaluable to us, as it shows that our community understands the complexities of game development and are behind us. We know we're not the first game ever to hit this speed bump and we know others in the future will have the same. But what was important to us was hearing your thoughts and reassurance on this.
We can’t wait to share this new update with you in the next few weeks. We’re still doing tests, but as mentioned previously, we plan to have this update in your hands by the end of the year.
Thank you again, and we’ll see you in our reimagined skies soon.
- Wojtek
Next Phase of Co-op Playtesting Starting Soon!
Greetings scientists
ICYMI, we’re currently running co-op playtests and are keen to start gathering people for the next phases.
We are looking to let more people in on the following dates:
November 12th
November 19th
November 26th (Potential depending on prior sessions feedback)
We are also opening the next phases to people who don’t own the game.
If selected and you haven’t purchased the game already, you will be given a Steam beta testing code which will give you access to the game to play co-op.
AFTER THE BETA IS OVER, THESE CODES WILL BE REVOKED AND THE GAME WILL BE REMOVED FROM YOUR LIBRARY. THIS ONLY APPLIES TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T BOUGHT THE GAME ALREADY
If you are interested in playtesting then this is your chance! We are looking for players that will:
Have PC hardware that meets or exceeds our current minimum requirements
Have free time throughout the rest of November to play as much Forever Skies as possible
Don’t mind playing an unfinished game with WIP mechanics or placeholder assets
Willing to share your feedback on a post-test survey
If this sounds feasible to you then please apply by filling out the survey below!
Those selected will be contacted with next steps. If you or your friends have already filled out this form in the past, you don’t need to fill it out again. We are looking over previous applicants and contacting them too if they meet the hardware criteria we have.
No NDA is required to take part, but we ask that you don’t make any footage from these builds public.
We appreciate everyone who has played and provided feedback to us so far during our Early Access journey. Now, we can continue on this flight path with our friends (finally!)
Don’t forget to apply here
- https://forms.gle/FWWD28EQktzHqfv78
Forever Skies Will Finish Early Access in Early 2025. Here’s Why...
Hello everyone.
As the title says, we’ve opted to extend our Early Access by a few months, so our planned window for launching 1.0 will now be in the first few months of 2025. The short answer as to why is that we are expanding and changing the game extensively. Two important notes right away:
We are still launching co-op on PC in 2024. The exact date will be decided based on the beta tests.
We are still aiming to release 1.0 on PC and PS5 simultaneously.
Since the start of Early Access, we’ve been listening to community feedback and shaping the game accordingly. Many of the changes and evolutions we’re adding are a direct result of this feedback.
Here is an overview of what to expect:
Major Progress Overhaul
First and foremost, we’re changing how players progress through the game. As it stands, there is a certain path players naturally follow to unlock specific technologies and upgrades. The shift we’re making will allow players to become much more self-sufficient, especially in the opening hours, while putting more focus on surviving aboard their airship instead of hopping from location to location. We want to ease some of the regular resource bottlenecks and provide more options for players. Some key examples of these changes include:
Handcrafting, allows you to craft certain items and components via a built-in Suit Fabricator, enabling crafting while exploring instead of being tied to a fabricator.
A complete overhaul of the hand extractor's design and accessibility. The tool will now be part of your suit from the start, with a self-recharge function in emergencies. We’ve also adapted our level design to provide more resources in the air for extraction, puzzles to solve with the extractor, and a range of modules players can research and attach.
Ensuring players always have access to basic resources and the ability to harvest them, designed to alleviate bottlenecks and give players the ability to recover even in dire moments.
Quicker access to tools such as the build tool, allowing airship expansion earlier in the game loop.
The Ship Workstation’s name changed to Decoration Fabricator and will be made available just after the tutorial. We want players to start customizing their ships and relying on expansion for survival closer to the start of the game.
These changes and many others we have ideas for will also have a knock-on effect, wherein much of our mid and end-game progress will now be reordered or redesigned.
Our World Will Be Divided into Biomes
We’re moving away from relying entirely on procedural generation to place locations across the map. Instead, we’re creating groups of biomes that will only spawn certain locations within them. While procedural generation offers variety and unpredictability, it can sometimes lead to disjointed or chaotic landscapes and progression.
By designing biomes with specific rules and defining what locations can spawn within them, we can create a more cohesive and believable world while still allowing some procedural variety. This enables us to craft environments that tell a collective story, guiding players through more thoughtfully organized and interconnected areas.
In essence, we’ll have greater control over the atmosphere, pacing, and progression of the world, allowing us to build a more structured and meaningful story and exploration path.
On top of the new biome system, we are also creating and adding new locations that expand on the variety of places you will explore and scavenge.
Altitude - Restoring the Importance of Height
In addition to biomes, we want altitude to play a more significant role in exploration, resource locations, and the overall narrative. While we’ve established a distinction between the world above and below the dust, we feel there’s more potential to encourage players to fly higher or lower for different reasons.
We’re currently prototyping systems where different altitudes will present varying threats, unique resources, and specific locations. While we already have an upgrade loop encouraging players to ascend, there’s little motivation to return to lower altitudes, aside from landing at specific locations. We’re aiming to change that.
The Need to Take Care of Your Airship
We’re introducing a more advanced and overhauled damage system for your airship, making it more meaningful than the current version. We want to give players a compelling reason to maintain and repair their airship, as neglect will now have greater consequences—such as reduced performance, increased vulnerability, or even a total loss of equipment. This adds depth to the gameplay, moving beyond the current system, which many players feel is just a visual nuisance without real consequences.
Rest assured this will all be thoroughly tested and balanced so that upkeep feels fair and meaningful vs tedious and constant. We’ll also be introducing more tools and solutions to avoid or minimize the level of damage your airship takes, thus adding a new layer of progress or upgrades that you can push toward.
Basically, we want you to become more attached to your airship and feel motivated to maintain and upgrade it to the point where it feels like you can conquer all the threats our world throws at you.
Dynamic Random Encounters
To add variety to the world, we’re introducing random encounters while exploring above the dust. These events will add spontaneity and unpredictability to the game, making each session feel fresh and exciting—especially in co-op. Instead of following a predictable path, players will face sudden challenges or rewards at any moment, including:
Hostile creatures attacking your airship, forcing you to defend it, repair damage, and safeguard against future attacks.
Supply drop capsules sent from the Ark Space Station, which land unpredictably and must be retrieved quickly before they disappear into the dust.
Colossal lifeforms at the apex of the evolved food chain. These rare creatures are far beyond your means to fight, but getting close enough might reward you with rare loot or new areas to explore.
The Addition of Co-op To All of This
Everything we mentioned here along with other smaller changes we have planned all need to take into account that the game will be played not only in single-player but also in co-op.
We are going to start our first beta tests for co-op soon which is a big moment for us, so you’ll be able to see how some of these changes actually play together. From there the team will need to take on feedback, do tweaks and then run more tests on top of adding in more and more of these mentioned features. All that takes time and effort which our team will need to do this right.
Remember, you can still sign up to our co-op beta tests using this link:
All these changes we've outlined as well as the final story chapters will be added sometime between now and the final release of the game. To ensure these changes are properly prototyped and tested, we're not committing to an exact timeline for each.
However expect many of these to be introduced with the release of co-op mode still in 2024, while anything else we still need time on will be rolled out during the final early access update, if not before that.
So that’s it from our end on this. We hope you understand our decision to use this precious time in Early Access just a little longer. We’ve always said from the start, we’re doing our best to create the game that our community wants and with these changes, we’re aiming to get even closer to that promise.
In case you haven't seen, our friends over at Survival Fountain of Youth have just launched a big update that comes with free DLC along with the full game is now 40% off.
We currently have a bundle going with them, so for all Forever Skies owners, you can get an extra 10% off.
In Survival: Fountain of Youth, you're transported to the beautiful yet treacherous Caribbean islands as a 16th-century shipwrecked explorer. This single-player, open-world survival game challenges you to adapt, survive, and thrive. Craft tools, build shelter, and unravel the mysteries of an ancient civilization and your own mysterious fate on these sun-soaked shores.
Their discount runs until October 14th, 2024 so grab it while you can along with the free Echoes of the Isles DLC pack.
