Hi Delvers!
It has been a while since our last news post, and we have been busy implementing a bunch of new content and features ahead of an Early Access Release. Please read on for details of these changes as well as other important news!
Latest Development Changes
Development is progressing well and we have implemented a bunch of new content and features for our Early Access Release:
Fishing
You can now catch fish for cooking consumable recipes! Fishing requires player to first craft a fishing pole/rod, collect some bait, then cast their rod into a nearby body of water. The quality of the fishing pole and bait affects the type of catch you may reel in!
Critters
Fishing needs bait, so we have added a few new critter types to find, catch and use for fishing. Note: Critters are cute, so you might prefer to keep them as pets instead of fishing bait :)
Cosmetics
There is now cosmetic armour slots where players can equip armour for visual appearance. Equipment in these slots offer no stat bonuses and override the visuals of items in the main equipment slots. There is also a 'hair clip' you can find and equip to override the helmet visuals
Additional Content
Most importantly, and without spoiling too much, we have added new biomes, enemies, bosses, materials and equipment to find across the world! You will have to wait for the next Playtest or Release to discover the content for yourself ;)
What we are working on
There is still a lot of things we need to finish for release, and we are neck deep in development and working overtime getting these done:
More Bosses/Content
There are more bosses, biomes, materials and content required for release. Having enough content to keep players engaged with discovery and progression for many hours is critical, and this is where most of our remaining development is being spent.
Modding Support
Basic content modding support is already functional in our development build, but requires some additional testing, feedback and improvements. Official modding support might not come until a post-release update, but we will be inviting/accepting requests for modders to check out test builds for early feedback. Please let us know in our discord if you are interested in taking part.
Achievements
Achievements still need to be added before release. They will be balanced in line with the general gameplay philosophy where they are fun and slightly challenging to complete, but not a frustrating experience.
Other News
Release Date
A lot of players have been asking about our Release Date. Unfortunately there is still some more content to add and balancing to do, so we need to push our release date back slightly to Q3. We know this will disappoint some players, but our priority is to ensure the Delverium Early Access release is a solid experience rather than pushing out a release too early. The exact release date is still TBD but will become clear after gathering feedback from our next playtest.
Playtest
We have a new Playtest in the works for early July! This next playtest will include the latest changes we have been working on above and the feedback will be critical to see if players are happy with the direction and content of Delverium. The playtest won't have some of the final content required for release, but will be a great representation of what to expect in the full game. Keep an eye out for news closer to July for the exact Playtest details and dates.
Thank you very much for your continued support. We are both very nervous and excited about our fast approaching release and look forward to sharing the full game with you!
- Skoddle