Game Update Highlights: Performance Boosts, New Skip Card, and More!
Hello everyone! We're back with another update. Thank you for your valuable feedback; it's been incredibly helpful. We apologise for the delay in getting this update out to you; with our limited resources, progress has been slower than we initially planned.
Performance
One of the most significant improvements in recent weeks has been focused on performance fixes. We still have plenty of room for improvement, but we've managed to address some issues, particularly noticeable on the larger islands. However, you will likely experience improvements on smaller islands with lower-end configurations as well.
Skip Card & Skip Card Plus
Based on your feedback, we've made changes to the operation of the Skip card. Starting now, when you use this card, you won't receive an extra step at the end of the season in place of the skipped tile. Instead, we've introduced a new card called Skip Plus, which works just like the old Skip, skipping the next tile and granting you an extra step.
Ships and Orcas
The number of ships and orcas has been limited to a maximum of 6 on the map. This change is part of an ongoing development where active ships and orcas on the map will disappear if they couldn't move anywhere during the current season.
Mixed Tiles
We've removed mixed tiles from the "Eternal Autumn" mode as they were causing severe imbalances in gameplay. This change will affect existing maps with mixed tiles since they will no longer load.
Others
Furthermore, we've addressed a few minor bugs in the user interface, fixed some localization issues and made some game balances.
We wish everyone a fantastic gaming experience and appreciate your support in shaping our work!
Message of Thanks and Game Updates from Glasscannon Team
Hey Island Architects!
First of all, we would like to express our immense gratitude to all of you for supporting our small team and trying out our game. A special round of applause to everyone who provided feedback and bug reports. These things help us refine the game further.
We were delighted to see that the game ran smoothly for most of you, with relatively few reported bugs. Among these, we have addressed the most critical ones in the first round.
Bug Fixes
Free Spot bug: In certain cases, free spots did not appear in specific positions even though they should have. Fixed.
Incorrect tile height display: After extended gameplay, there were instances where the displayed tile heights deviated from their actual values. Fixed.
Camera error: The camera did not track changes in sea level height, causing it to look underwater if the sea level rose significantly from its original position. Fixed.
AMD setups: Some players experienced game freezes at startup with AMD setups. Fixed.
Balance & Game Changes:
Ships and whales now provide only 1 point per move instead of 3.
Free spots will now be visible in positions where the current tile cannot be placed due to neighboring tiles. In such cases, an X will be visible on these free spots.
In the coming period, we will continue to work on fixing smaller bugs and balancing the game. Additionally, we are actively developing controller support. Good news for Steam Deck owners: our team will receive a Steam Deck in October, and we will immediately start working on Steam Deck support.
Cheers! Glasscannon Team
Land Above Sea Below OUT NOW!
Greetings Everyone!
It's time to enter Eternal Autumn!
Thanks for all your support and feedback over the last few months as we’ve been hard at work on Land Above Sea Below.
As you can tell…we are now 1.0!!!
Full release is a huge milestone for us and we look forward to working with everyone in the community with their continued feedback.
For Content Creators: If you're interested in a review key for LASB, please reach out to info@glasscannonstudio.com with your channel(s) and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!
Prepare to Dive In Sept 13th! Overview Trailer Revealed
Ahoy, Land Above Sea Below Adventurers! 🌊
The moment you've all been waiting for is nearly here! We've just unleashed our epic overview trailer, and it's set to blow your sails off!
But that's not all - mark your calendars for September 13th, because that's when the full game sets sail!
Stay tuned, because the grand adventure begins on September 13th. The Land Above and Sea Below are calling your name! 🌟🌊
The FREE Prologue Version of Land Above Sea Below Released!
We're thrilled to announce that the Land Above Sea Below FREE Prologue version is finally out! One of the most important things is that with this step, we've completed the game's demo. Huge thanks to everyone who tried it out and provided us with feedback. We warmly welcome your thoughts about the game (or anything else, of course :) ).
In the prologue version, we've made some major changes to the gameplay to make it more balanced and, of course, fixed a bunch of bugs.
Tree of Falls
One of the most significant changes involved the Tree of Fall mechanism. So far, there was one type of ToF in the game that could synergize with all basic types. That has changed now. Each basic type has its own ToF, which can only synergize with the corresponding biomes. We've created separate action cards for each ToF. But getting extra ToFs isn't just limited to cards. From now on, you can also find ToFs on bonus islands, so by unlocking them, you not only gain a bunch of extra points but also access to extra seasons.
Tutorial
We've made some adjustments to the tutorial to make the game clearer for you. We still don't want a long, boring, and hand-holding tutorial, so we'll only show you the basics. For everything else, there's the lexicon, which we continuously expand and improve based on your feedback.
Stat View
We've added extra stats that the game tracks, which you can see not only at the end of the game but also during gameplay if you open the lexicon in the pause menu. Here, the game displays your highest scores achieved so far and other data, such as the number of unlocked bonus islands, completed mini-objectives, placed tiles, the height of the tallest tile, and the number of seasons.
Game End
Furthermore, at the end of the game, by clicking on the "Show Island" option, you'll have the chance to revisit your islands and move the camera around to find the best composition or even create a video of it. The statistics are also shown here.
Achievements
Achievements have been added, at least the first set. You won't be able to complete these in the prologue version, but you can check out the challenges we have in store for the full version.
The 1.0 version arrives soon! We're incredibly excited about all of this, so once again, a massive thank you for all the positive and constructive feedback you've given us so far!
(Stream!) Play Land Above Sea Below during SNF!
Grab the demo now to see how far you can get!
Make sure to tune in @ 7 PM CST (GMt-6) to watch the devs play!
Calling All Adventurers: Share Your Epic Journey with Us!
Hey Island Architects!
Wow, it looks like a ton of you awesome folks have already jumped into the demo, and we're absolutely thrilled about it! Seriously, you rock! 🤘
But hey, we're not just here to cheer you on (although we totally will). We want to hear all about your thoughts, ideas, and wild adventures in the game! So grab a virtual megaphone and join us on our Discord server. We've got this wicked #ideas channel where you can unleash your creativity and share any brainwaves that strike you. And guess what? We've also got a jaw-dropping #share-your-island channel where you can flaunt the epic island you've built and show off how far you've come. Trust us, we can't wait to see your mind-blowing creations, impressive stats, and everything in between!
Remember, we're crafting this game especially for you, which means your opinion holds the key to our heart. So don't hold back, let your voice be heard, and let's make this gaming experience one for the books! Game on! 🎮
Steam Next Fest is back and we're here with a brand new demo
Hey Island Architects!
Steam Next Fest is back, and we're here with a brand new demo and some other fantastic news! The new build has many new features and updates, and we are sure you will love it!
Our small team of 4 people at Glasscannon Studio have been working hard over the last few months to bring you Land Above Sea Below as quickly and as fun as possible. It's been a very exciting time for us, and it's only going to get more exciting as we get closer to the release later this summer!
Watch the new game trailer to get hooked!
Here are the new features in the demo
brand new, simple, and quick to complete tutorial to help you learn the basics
new tile types
more sophisticated scoring system
skill cards that give you more options for keeping your Tree of Fall above water, so you can build bigger and more diverse islands
you can now see in the UI how many moves you have left in the season and what type of tile you will receive
improved graphics
unique weather system
new music and sound effects
lexicon/help menu where you can find rules and unlocked tiles
new end screen where you can see some useful statistics (this will be expanded in the future)
random reefs to diversify the gameplay and the island you build
updated and balanced synergy system
mini-objectives - simple tasks that can be completed to get extra steps in the season
performance improvements, balance and lots of bugfixes
Added to the full version in the meantime
sandbox mode - build islands without restrictions, only your imagination will be the limit
save/load system - start a new island at any time or reload an existing one and continue. And you can load failed games into sandbox mode at any time to enjoy or even modify them.
achievements - challenges that you can complete to refine your strategy
no season cap so it's up to you how big your island is and how long the game lasts
Of course, we don't want to stop here, and we have a lot of ideas and content to implement, but we will need you to help us do this in the future. We couldn't have made it this far without you and all the ideas, advice, and feedback we've received from you!
And here's another great piece of news!
Somewhere around the beginning of the year, we were found by Skystone Games, who saw the potential in our game and took us on! This great team is helping us to do what they are really good at, to bring Land Above Sea Below to as large an audience as possible.
We are also very honoured to have David Brevik, President of Skystone Games (the father of the Diablo franchise), to help us polish the gameplay and provide us with his professional advice!
If you want to be part of the development and help us or just chat with us, join our Discord server! Have a great week, and try out as many awesome demos as you can during Steam Next Fest!
