Aloft · published
Ahoy, Sky Sailors,
The final Early Access content update for Aloft has arrived! Discovery & Ancestry is now live, and introduces the enchanting Wind Spirit to meet, a brand-new world to explore, character upgrades to earn, survival conditions to manage, and much more.
Meet the Wind Spirit: a mysterious companion you'll come across during your journey among the clouds. While its origins are yet to be unveiled, this windy fellow will be eager to join you on your airborne adventures, once you've earned its trust!Â
With the new Wind Spirit and Wind Vane by your side, you can harness and control the winds as you journey through Aloft’s vast network of floating islands. Whether you’re venturing into unknown territory, seeking out the next fresco, or backtracking for that alpaca you left behind, your friendly companion can shift the wind in any direction of your choosing. Players can call or dismiss the Wind Spirit, pet it, and offer it Arcadium Essence to earn Insight.
Arcadium Essence is a new resource in Aloft. Discover it while restoring islands as the Life Wind, or by harvesting Arcadium Flowers found throughout the world. You can also grow your own supply by combining Arcadium Dust and Compost into Arcadium Soil, then planting it to cultivate Arcadium Flowers.
The world of Aloft is returning to its sandbox roots but with a reimagined open-world approach. We’ve struck a balance between player freedom and structure, allowing you to navigate the clouds in whichever direction you choose rather than follow a predetermined route. The Table-Map no longer has individual sectors or linear paths, giving every sailor a unique and personal journey through the skies.Â
Discover new sub-biomes across the skies, including lush jungles, snowy regions, prairie fields, and dense woods. You may also encounter dynamic cluster events as you travel, from heavy fog banks to ferocious tornadoes and hazardous asteroid fields. Keep your bearings with reimagined exploration tools, such as the Spyglass and Table-Map.
Sewing Kits and Trinket Rings found in chests across the world expand your carrying capacity and unlock tool upgrade options. Sewing Kits add an extra inventory slot to the tab of your choice, while Trinket Rings allow you to equip your weapons with even more powerful abilities.
The past has much to teach those willing to seek it out. Ancestral Memories is a new feature that lets you connect with your predecessors and carry their hard-earned skills forward. Enter a mysterious dreamscape, where a campfire burns above an endless sea. Written among the stars, each memory holds a trace of ancient wisdom, waiting for you to choose.Â
These character upgrades give you more ways to prepare for the conditions ahead and navigate the skies with confidence – including additional food and tool slots, momentum and health regenerators, the glider compass, and various other buffs and enhancements.Â
We’ve also added some new building pieces and stockpiles to support your survival and creativity in the clouds. Among them are new farmable plants, Linen & Wool Floaters, Meditation Pads for fast-travel, the Dew Catcher, the highly-requested Water Well, and more.Â
Survival now demands more than staying airborne. New conditions encourage you to eat, drink, and rest – or risk feeling the effects of: hunger reducing your maximum health, thirst preventing weapon combos and charged attacks, and exhaustion cuts your damage output. Running out of health also leaves you Wounded, adding an extra challenge to consider before returning to combat.Â
With this update, we want to put exploration and discovery at the heart of the player experience – and that means making some changes to how you deploy your glider. The glider has long been an essential tool for traversing Aloft’s islands, whether you’re surveying the land from above or making a quick escape from a dicey combat encounter. In Discovery & Ancestry, you’ll need enough open space beneath you to deploy your glider, such as a cliff or ledge.
While this may seem like a small change, it has a significant positive impact on the overall experience, encouraging players to explore on foot and approach exploration, discovery, combat, and more in new ways. For more details about these changes, check out our latest Devlog.Â
If you prefer a more relaxed journey, both the survival conditions and glider function can be adjusted or disabled in the options menu.
Discovery & Ancestry is one of Aloft’s biggest updates yet. Alongside its new content, the update also brings an engine upgrade from Unity 2021 to Unity 6, setting up the technical side for optimisation and visual improvements. Additionally, the game’s heads-up display (HUD) and dozens of menus including inventory, crafting, and cooking, have all received major visual and functional improvements. We’ve also introduced a brand-new Quest Tracking menu, allowing you to easily keep track of your active quests and objectives as you explore.Â
Save big on Aloft - now available at 30% off until September 7. This is the biggest discount Aloft has received so far, making it the perfect time to take to the skies.
Since entering Early Access, Aloft has received five major updates that have continually reshaped the way you explore, build, and survive among the clouds. Across these updates, you’ve encountered collectible wildlife, explored Wonder Islands, restored ecosystems, built custom puzzles, discovered new technology, confronted various corruption strains, crafted high-tier weapons, and mastered new ways to navigate across the clouds.Â
With Discovery & Ancestry now live, the team will spend some time making sure everything is running smoothly before turning its full attention to the upcoming 1.0 launch. More details are to come, and we can’t wait to share where the winds will take us next.Â
Thank you for joining us on this odyssey through the clouds, Sky Sailors! Your continuous support and love of the game keeps us afloat. ⛵⛅