GET HYPED FOR SKYCON 2022!!! 🚀🚀🚀

Steam has recently changed its rules about Next Fest. Developers can only participate once before launch, therefore we decided to opt out of the 2022 event. Instead, players can try the game for free during our self-hosted event on Steam.

We're excited to host SKYCON this year with a 7-day free demo period for anyone on Steam!

In addition to having the free trial period, there will be 7 days of live events as follows:

Day 1

• Alpha gameplay trailer premiere
  <*> Gameplay livestream
  <*> Opening day ceremony

Day 2

<*> Art of SC mini-documentary
<*> Biome preview premiere
<*> Drakonia - premiere

Day 3

• Developer mini-documentary
  <*> Gameplay deep dive
  <*> Steam Deck showcase

Day 4

• Making of the OST mini-documentary
  <*> Live music performance
  <*> Soundtrack announcement

Day 5

• Giveaway announcements
  <*> Community awards showcase
  <*> Gameplay livestream

Day 6

• Live Q and A with the devs
  <*> QA at Paratope deep dive
  <*> Fulfillment behind the scenes

Day 7

• New products announcement
  <*> Backer product update
  <*> Closing day ceremony

We hope to see you at Skycon this December; until then, stay tuned for Alpha patch 1.0.10!

We took this week to overhaul and improve more spawning and world generation rulesets allowing for better performance and scene load time.

Another major update in this patch includes a rock spawn overhaul, with reduced memory usage and upgraded visual detail.

Fixed

• Fixed Yagi bodies not disappearing on death from mage special attack
  
• Fixed Yagi bodies not dropping loot on death from mage special attack
  
• Fixed loot pickups not disappearing after harvest
  
• Fixed felled trees not disappearing after depletion
  
• Fixed ground foliage not disappearing after depletion
  
• Fixed second wave of Yagi spawns not dropping loot
  
• Fixed AMD loading screen issues (black screen, lag)
  
• Fixed vsync default behavior
  

Improved

• Improved large landmark rocks (improved performance and visuals)
  
• Improved Yagi camp biome algorithm logic (simplification for the sake of performance)
  
• Improved biome algorithm compound object spawning performance
  
• Improved Yagi camp reset upon clearing enemy entities (time-based reset cooldown)
  

Thank you for your patience while the team worked through versions 1.0.8 and 1.0.9 in this Alpha update.

• Updates will resume at a normal pace after this patch
  
• The engine has been updated along with major performance components
  
• We took the extra time to move forward in other areas while the overhaul took place
  
• Some features are still experimental and may break during testing
  

You will be greeted by a refreshed menu lobby scene, which serves as a foundation for character creation and Sentipedia interfaces.

Next, a new biome selection menu is available, where we will expand settings for your starting conditions.

• Only the Coastal Meadow biome is available, with the rest to follow soon after.
  
• Multi-biome generation will remain experimental until we can bring it back into the default branch with stable performance and spawn behavior.
  

As a preview of patch 1.0.10, we have included a new set of village assets that will make the foundation of the first Era.

The villages are smaller, and more primitive, but they will be denser and more realistic for the first Era.

Press E next to cooking pots to initiate the cooking sequence.

You can select ingredients you have harvested from the environment or looted from mobs.

Different recipes have different player effects; check the inventory for each blueprint recipe!

As part of the combat update, the mage can now keep moving while targeting an opponent and firing projectiles.

Magmaton AI have also been updated with a charge attack that will knock down the player

Another major feature of this update includes the Yagi camps, which are randomly generated.

• Some camps include explosive barrels that can be shot with projectiles
  
• All camp assets can be destroyed
  
• Yagi groups spawn in different numbers
  
• There are still issues with Yagi spawner, some camps may not spawn Yagi
  

Changelog:

Added

• Added "Coming Soon" to all disabled biome selection buttons
  
• Added "Equip Multi-Tool" task to tasklist
  
• Added "Ether Dimension" to main menu (swapped from Coastal Meadow biome scenery)
  
• Added biome selection touch scrolling for Steam Deck
  
• Added death poof effect SFX
  
• Added destructible behavior to Yagi camp props such as barrels, crates, towers, fences and benches
  
• Added destruction physics
  
• Added Ether music track to main menu
  
• Added explosion SFX for explosive barrels
  
• Added explosive barrels
  
• Added manual loot drop for enemies and Sentius (stops discovery event from obfuscating screen during combat encounters)
  
• Added physics ragdolling for player character (triggered on explosions and fall damage)
  
• Added physics ragdolling for Sentius
  
• Added physics ragdolling for Voidlings (triggered on explosions and on death)
  
• Added physics ragdolling for Yagi AI
  
• Added ranged attack Voidling variant
  
• Added SFX on prop destruction
  
• Added UI hover, click and return SFX to main menu
  
• Added updated biome images for main menu biome selection UI
  
• Added weapon as default equipment/tool hotbar selection
  
• Added ability to attack while moving (primary attacks only, not special)
  
• Added async operations to runtime decimation
  
• Added consumed food abilities (speed boost, attack boost, defense boost, mining yield boost, logging yield boost, gathering yield boost, health restore and stamina restore)
  
• Added cooldown icons for active abilities
  
• Added delay for resource popup SFX
  
• Added discovery events for missing resource drops (plants, meat, etc)
  
• Added distance-based density scaling for grass (pseudo-LOD system for mesh grass)
  
• Added distance-based fading for grass
  
• Added grass length modifier based on terrain heightmap
  
• Added grass texture to footstep SFX array
  
• Added infinite ingredients hotkey for cooking
  
• Added innards resource drop for Yagi
  
• Added item descriptions for cooked dishes
  
• Added item descriptions for depletable resources
  
• Added key hint for mode switcher tasklist entry
  
• Added LODs for ai entities
  
• Added LODs for sentius
  
• Added mage fire projectile splash damage over time PFX on ground collision
  
• Added magmaton spawns to entity spawner
  
• Added meat resource drop for sentius
  
• Added opening inventory/settings menu to tasklist
  
• Added poof PFX on entity death
  
• Added pooling for runtime decimated parts
  
• Added recipes to inventory blueprint tab
  
• Added SFX on discovery UI close
  
• Added SFX on discovery UI popup
  
• Added SFX on food item consumption
  
• Added wild carrot resource drop
  
• Added wind tinting for mesh grass
  
• Added Yagi combat formations
  
• Added Yagi combat queueing
  
• Added Yagi hert alert behavior
  
• Added Yagi strafing
  
• Added Yagi v. Void behavior
  

Fixed

• Fixed "Ether Constellation" effect render overlap with UI objects
  
• Fixed aim reticle behavior when mode switcher is active
  
• Fixed AMD video playback bug (black screen during splash and world intro; issue still exists for Steam Deck)
  
• Fixed audio clip compression issues
  
• Fixed audio source pooling instance bug
  
• Fixed biome selection scroll arrow buttons
  
• Fixed bug where explosive barrels wouldn't propagate damage to entities in radius
  
• Fixed combat music sequence not cueing when player attacks Yagi
  
• Fixed cooking UI "Clear Ingredients" button bug
  
• Fixed cooking UI current ingredient count bug
  
• Fixed cooking UI duplicate ingredient spawn bug
  
• Fixed destroyed prop debris not disappearing after some time
  
• Fixed entity spawning issues based on rest feature (forced time of day changes)
  
• Fixed Ether effects and UI overlap in main menu biome selection
  
• Fixed Ether effects and video overlap during world intro
  
• Fixed explosive barrel audio source falloff issue
  
• Fixed explosive barrel LOD billboard persisting after explosion
  
• Fixed frozen splash transition on exit to menu bug
  
• Fixed level background track playing on exit to menu bug
  
• Fixed Magmaton audio events (footsteps, damage, idle, death)
  
• Fixed Magmaton audio source distortion
  
• Fixed Magmaton death SFX cutting off on despawn
  
• Fixed main menu UI scaling on ultrawide displays
  
• Fixed missing cooking station button SFX
  
• Fixed missing music and SFX on level restart
  
• Fixed no Yagi loot drop on explosion bug
  
• Fixed pause menu music slider scaling bug
  
• Fixed pause menu Music volume slider
  
• Fixed pause menu settings shadow toggle
  
• Fixed pause menu SFX volume slider
  
• Fixed physics timestep bug on exit to menu
  
• Fixed player damage SFX not playing during Magmaton attacks
  
• Fixed player footstep SFX volume scaling when operating SFX slider
  
• Fixed player ragdoll internal collision bug
  
• Fixed player ragdoll not triggering on explosion
  
• Fixed player special attack not triggering
  
• Fixed props not being destroyed on explosion
  
• Fixed Sentius audio source mixer bug
  
• Fixed Steam Deck crashing on video playback (splash screen and world intro)
  
• Fixed Steam Deck white loading screen bug
  
• Fixed stone depletion during free-climb bug
  
• Fixed world intro audio not stopping on video skip
  
• Fixed world intro video loop bug
  
• Fixed Yagi AOE damage receiver bug
  
• Fixed Yagi audio source volume and falloff issues
  
• Fixed Yagi negative health bug
  
• Fixed "wineberry" text bug in cooking UI
  
• Fixed active combat features bug during cooking
  
• Fixed ambient music sequence for coastal meadow biome
  
• Fixed broken vegetation resource discovery events
  
• Fixed cursor disappearing bug when inventory is opened during cooking
  
• Fixed gauntlet aim camera culling bug
  
• Fixed grass not rendering terrain tiles
  
• Fixed hotbar selection white texture overlay bug
  
• Fixed inedible meat skewer bug
  
• Fixed interact UI popup visibility on depletion start
  
• Fixed Kumi moveset inactive during combat (against magmaton & Voidling)
  
• Fixed lag/freeze on cooking ingredient switching
  
• Fixed lag/freeze on cooking initialize
  
• Fixed lingering dead entity bodies
  
• Fixed mage special attack trigger bug
  
• Fixed Magmaton running attack trail effect appearing on idle
  
• Fixed missing base building blueprints in inventory blueprint tab
  
• Fixed missing recipe "blueprints" in inventory blueprint tab
  
• Fixed missing staff aim reticle
  
• Fixed pickaxe collision SFX during stone depletion
  
• Fixed player attack SFX overlap bug
  
• Fixed player eyes not closing during rest sequence
  
• Fixed player not taking any damage from Voidling attacks
  
• Fixed player rotate bug on mouse press when cooking
  
• Fixed primary attack colliding with player when spawned while moving
  
• Fixed resource drop popup amount bug
  
• Fixed resting feature at Yagi campfires
  
• Fixed resting sequence entity spawner bug
  
• Fixed ruin depletion
  
• Fixed rusted weapon colliders
  
• Fixed SFX not playing on resource gathered popup
  
• Fixed spawned rusted weapon colliders
  
• Fixed stackable inventory flag for inventory recipe entries
  
• Fixed stone decimation on depletion complete
  
• Fixed stone pickups not triggering discovery for stone resource
  
• Fixed tasklist inventory (esc) entry trigger bug
  
• Fixed Voidling spawn time
  

Improved

• Improved audio source pooling
  
• Improved Coastal Meadow biome algorithm (increased foliage, resource and road density)
  
• Improved Coastal meadow biome color palette (foliage and terrain)
  
• Improved cooking initialization sequence (active tools/weapons are disabled; cooking spook is enabled)
  
• Improved main menu logo
  
• Improved player inventory item querying
  
• Improved ragdoll physics component pooling
  
• Improved Yagi AI pathfinding
  
• Improved Yagi camp assets
  
• Improved Yagi camp prop durability (bench and fences)
  
• Improved blending between root motion and non root motion animations
  
• Improved Coastal Meadow LOD performance
  
• Improved damage deal by Yagi attacks
  
• Improved Gyser Plains LOD performance
  
• Improved mage projectile ground splash effect
  
• Improved Magma Biome LOD performance
  
• Improved Magmaton running attack vfx
  
• Improved mesh grass lighting
  
• Improved mesh grass performance
  
• Improved mesh grass render distance
  
• Improved nighttime luminance
  
• Improved stone depletion
  
• Improved stone pickup sizes
  
• Improved stone pickup UI interaction
  
• Improved thatch distribution seed
  
• Improved thatch plant spawns
  
• Improved Void behavior profile
  
• Improved Yagi spawn count
  

Once again, thank you to everyone who has supported development and continues to test the Alpha client.

Steam Deck players are getting a dedicated updated very soon! Stay tuned for details.

We're halfway through 2022, here is what to expect for the rest of the year in our most recent blog post.

• Patch 1.0.8 is our biggest update yet, and will release later this month on PC
  
• Skycon will line up with this years October Steam Next Fest
  
• The focus of 2022 will be to polish the single-player experience in the Drakonian Dynasty
  
• Pilot programs for Stadia and console Alphas are planned for later in the year.
  

Patch 1.0.8 is our first major release post Alpha 1.0.0 and will introduce cooking mechanics along with many fundamental performance and quality improvements.

• New resources have been added to each biome, which spawn at different rarity levels
  
• In total over a dozen new resources can be found across the Drakonian continent!
  
• The first iteration of the cooking system allows for simple ingredient recipes
  
• We have laid the foundation for future recipes that have processed ingredient requirements
  

First, our artist Gael began with some basic ingredient and recipe concepts...

Next, our modeler Leo brought each resource and corresponding ingredient to life with a textured 3D asset.

Lastly, each resource was carefully programmed into the world algorithm to match the corresponding biome.

A discovery system prompts the player upon finding a new resource.

Once you have all the proper resources, you can begin using the cooking interface at randomly spawned cooking stations.

To prepare for the next patch 1.0.9 we have also integrated a new set of Yagi camp assets.

For now, you will be able to cook at these locations using the cooking pot, and eventually will be able to encounter groups of the Yagi.

In addition to all of this, we have taken the time to make fundamental performance updates to the world generation which should provide significant frame rate boosts across all hardware profiles.

Our art team was able to overhaul 50 Sentipedia graphic art renders which have been published on our website: https://www.skyclimbers.net/sentipedia

Each graphic art is used as a reference for the 3D modeling/animation of the Sentius as well as marketing material for Steam trading cards.

Our animator Isadora has been hard at work with new Sentius animations:

Art/Design spent some time this sprint preparing for a city generation overhaul.

This also means greater attention to detail for the modeling department to draw from.

The first group of Magma-themed USB drives have finished production and have shipped to the first US backers!

We will begin shipping USBs in groups of 500 after getting initial feedback on the product.

We're also excited to share the first prints of our PC Physical editions that come with a USB drive!

All three Dynasty editions have been designed over the last few months, and are almost ready to ship 😎

Dynasty editions are complete with their own box art, descriptions, and inserts. 💨🔥🪨

US backers can expect their life-size plush to ship very soon!

Our newest trailer premiered in June to showcase the Drakonian Magma biome.

The trailer showcases new Sentius, locations, and class animations / models!

We appreciate your patience as it has been a while since our last patch, and our update schedule will return to a normal cadence after the release of 1.0.8 for PC.

Join us tonight for the live premiere of our biggest trailer yet!

The team has been hard at work implementing new Sentius, Classes, and equipment for the Alpha client.

Stay tuned for Patch 1.0.8 which will introduce cooking mechanics, and much more!

We are excited to announce that Skyclimbers will be featured in the Steam Next Fest in October of 2022. This means anyone on Steam can try the game for free during the event.

This event will also be accompanied by our annual Skycon digital event, where the team at Paratope gets a chance to show off new products, gameplay, and behind the scenes footage.

In addition, there will be many chances to win permanent keys during the event for those interested in the closed Alpha / Beta period.

After releasing our Alpha to thousands of supporters, we have taken a step back to look at our release timelines.

The Skyclimbers Early Access release date will be pushed back to the second half of 2023.

This decision was difficult to make, but has been made in our players' best interest. The additional time will allow us to add more features, Dynasties, and cross platform support.

You can continue to track our progress on the public roadmap:

The team has been hard at work deploying patches to the Alpha branch while actively working on new content, and shipping physical products out to our community of supporters.

Patch 1.0.7 has been released! Introducing custom keybind mapping, and in-depth performance controls.

Changelog:

• Added movement keymapping (forward, backward, left and right)
  
• Added movement speed keymapping (sprint and walk toggle)
  
• Added crouch keymapping
  
• Added jump keymapping
  
• Added roll keymapping
  
• Added mode switcher keymapping
  
• Added pause menu keymapping
  
• Added V-Sync toggle
  
• Added shadow toggle
  
• Added shadow quality settings (resolution and distance)
  
• Added anti-aliasing options
  
• Added render scale slider (to brute-force quality settings and performance)
  
• Added master volume slider
  
• Added SFX volume slider
  
• Added music volume slider
  
• Added HUD toggle
  
• Added "Quit to Menu" button
  
• Fixed mount terrain slope traversal thresholds
  
• Improved and overhauled mount traversal mechanics -- will lead to varying mount locomotion behaviors across different Sentius
  

PC Alpha has been a success with 1000 players on day 1 and an active daily player base.

• We are gaining valuable player data, hardware profiles, and bug reports every day making the game better with each patch.
  
  
• To ensure better cross platform hardware support, we built dedicated testing stations at our office for a wide range of possible profiles.
  
  
• Patches will continue to roll out and address performance, stability, and quality of life. While major updates remain in the pipeline with new content, mechanics, and features.
  
  

Our art team has completed all of the Drakonian class concepts, which are being translated into 3D.

After the models and texture maps are complete, assets are being integrated to the character creation system.

After the models are complete with texture maps, they are loaded into the procedural world algorithm for spawning.

Our character artist has been hard at work finalizing all of the Sentius designs for the Sentipedia, which will also become Steam trading cards!

Our Animator has been hard at work with new Sentius animations, which will soon be added to the Alpha build.

Our web department rolled out a News tab on the main site, giving easy access to our press / creator kit, along with a new dedicated mobile mode.

All 25 cm plush have shipped to backers in the US!

• International backers will receive their plush as we complete the remaining physical products, such as USB sticks, canvas prints, and physical editions.
  
  
• The life-size Akani plush is in full production and will begin shipping in the coming weeks as we get them in stock.
  

We just received another 1000 USB chips for processing, and will begin shipping them in the coming weeks!

• Supply chain issues are finally under control, allowing us to get physical products at reasonable shipping prices.
  
  
• USB drives are also used for the PC physical editions, which will begin shipping soon.
  

We rolled out a blog feature on our Paratope site, and a first post on cross-platform development.

• As part of our 2022 plans, we have given all Stadia backers the option to also redeem Steam keys.
  
  
• We have taken a step back after releasing the PC / Steam Alpha in order to better support all hardware profiles from low end - to high end.
  
  
• Console Alpha tests will tentatively take place this year, and we will have more concrete information in Q3 as Q2 will be largely dedicated to bringing as many features as possible to PC first.
  

This patch introduces save support for base building blueprints, companion Sentius, time of day, and weather systems. Several quality of life improvements have also been implemented.



For example, dismount-related issues since Alpha 1.0 are now resolved.

Changelog:

• Added saving support for base building
  
• Added saving support for Sentius companions
  
• Added saving support for time of day and weather
  
• Added alpha disclaimer in the main menu
  
• Added player blink behavior
  
• Fixed player falling through terrain on save data load
  
• Fixed missing stumps of depleted trees on save data load
  
• Fixed rest music and active biome music overlap
  
• Fixed recursive rest sequence loop on input bug
  
• Fixed combat music loop persistence bug
  
• Fixed base building SFX bug on save data load
  
• Fixed player getting stuck in mount sit or falling pose after dismounting
  
• Fixed dismount pose bug on sloped terrain
  
• Fixed unresponsive player controller bug on dismount
  
• Fixed alpha disclaimer HDR bug (readability issue)
  
• Fixed depletion icon remaining active on save data load
  
• Fixed missing stumps of depleted trees on save data load
  
• Fixed base building save data not being reset on new game start
  
• Improved Coastal Meadow biome spawn rules
  
• Removed intro cutscene when loading saved game
  

Control customization menu is currently in QA and will be rolled out next patch! Stay tuned!

Patch 1.0.5 introduces version 1.0 of our game save system....

Note: this is the first release of the save system. Therefore, some features may break when loading saves.

In addition, this patch introduces gothic-style cathedrals to the coastal meadow biome...

Changelog:

• Added Coastal Meadow biome city generation
  
• Added main menu load game button
  
• Added save system (auto-save, player world position, player inventory and depleted world resources -- SAVE FILES MAY BREAK DURING ALPHA)
  
• Improved Deep Forest biome forest density
  
• Improved Coastal Meadow biome performance
  
• Improved Deep Forest biome performance
  
• Improved source algorithm logic on a per biome basis
  
• Fixed cases of floating rocks in Deep Forest biome
  
• Fixed Yagi campsite mesh not rendering
  
• Removed tree accents from city generation
  

The Gyser Plains biome got a major overhaul in this patch

Changelog

• Fixed Magallop spawn issue when away from player
  
• Fixed Gyser Plains foliage alpha rendering (tree leaves issue)
  
• Fixed story intro cutscene black screen bug
  
• Fixed town audio overlapping bug (town audio played over music sequence in Gyser Plains biome)
  
• Added ability to pickup small stone spawns (pickup animation still missing!)
  
• Added Gyser Plains city generation
  
• Improved Gyser Plains performance
  
• Gyser Plains resource pickup spawn updated
  
• Player can now swing multi-tool at any time (hold left click while the multi-tool is selected)
  
• Sentius spawn rates increased in all biomes
  

Builds will automatically switch graphics APIs based on your GPU. AMD users should now be able to run the default branch. Please let us know if this fix works for those having the [Black Screen] issue.