After a longer break, The Ahra Prime Times dev log returns — and I hope we’ll get back to regular editions from now on.
Today’s issue covers several important topics: the biggest discount in Hiraeth’s history, details about the upcoming major Weapons System Update, plans for completing The Nesoi Island — Chapter One, language versions, Linux support, other platforms, and of course — the question many of you keep asking: when is the demo update coming? Let’s begin.
The promotion is still ongoing. For a game without a publisher, without a marketing budget, and developed by one person, this is a rare chance to warm up the title a bit — and it’s slowly working. New players are arriving, new discussions appear, and I’m receiving more direct feedback, which is always motivating.
Financially, the sale also helps me continue working on Hiraeth in the near future.
Since the Early Access launch in September, I’ve released dozens of updates and continue working steadily — despite limited resources, no marketing, and modest sales.
If you want to meaningfully support the development, Steam reviews matter more than anything else. They directly increase the game’s visibility, which means more time and stability for future updates — essentially giving you more and faster progress for the money you’ve already spent.
A small example: update announcements often receive 20+ likes, which is already more than the total number of Steam reviews for Hiraeth. The community is active — but the game’s visibility doesn’t reflect that yet.
If you enjoy the direction of development or want to see Hiraeth continue, even a short review makes a real difference.
With the ZED Mode update, I announced a full overhaul of the weapon system — and that work is now underway.
The current system is over a year old, dating back to pre-EA playtests. It served its purpose, but it lacks finesse and the sci‑fi character the game aims for. New enemies introduced in ZED Mode pushed the need for improvement even further. And closing the Nesoi Island chapter involves events where proper weapon handling will matter.
The update will not only refresh the system but also fix several long-standing issues — including camera behavior, which often caused problems.
Not everything will appear immediately, but the foundation will be ready for fast expansion. Some weapons require careful tweaking and will arrive later, but the first wave will already be a significant step forward.
Below is a more detailed look at what’s coming.
The new weapon system is built as a modular tool framework. Weapons, scanners, drills, cameras, torches, and other survival tools will all operate under the same structure. This makes future additions faster, more stable, and more consistent — and opens the door for many new items later in development.
The update introduces a rebuilt animation layer:
smoother ADS transitions
new draw and release animations
improved melee swing animations
better blending with camera movement
more responsive weapon handling overall
This should make every weapon feel more grounded and satisfying.
Camera behavior has been rebuilt to eliminate several long-standing issues:
jitter
incorrect offsets
desync during movement or ADS
inconsistent FOV transitions
This alone should significantly improve both exploration and combat.
Not all advanced features will arrive immediately, but the system is now prepared for them:
prone shooting
advanced recoil patterns
fatigue
ricochets
proper zeroing
improved hit detection for melee
These will be added gradually as the system matures.
Melee combat is now part of the weapon system rather than a separate mechanic. Crowbars, knives, and future melee tools will benefit from:
unified hit detection
stamina interaction
proper animations
consistent upgrades and stats
This is a big step toward making melee feel intentional rather than improvised.
Some advanced weapons intended for later stages of the game will be temporarily accessible earlier for testing. This will help gather feedback and fine‑tune balance before they become part of the full progression.
Work is advanced, and I hope the first part of the update will arrive within two weeks.
All current work is aimed at completing Nesoi Island — Chapter One and introducing the next location. The demo will be updated after the weapon system reaches a stable state, so it can properly represent the new mechanics and overall direction of the game.
New quests are being developed in parallel, but the priority remains polishing the core systems — especially weapons.
If the game holds on, I’m aiming to finish Nesoi Island around summer. The next location will be completely different from what you know now.
More and more of you are playing Hiraeth on Linux — which makes me genuinely happy. I plan to release a dedicated Linux version and add translations into other languages.
When? After Chapter One is complete. Mac and consoles remain a distant possibility for now.
Hiraeth is an exploration-focused game. The world will eventually be much larger than Nesoi Island, so building a permanent base in a place you’ll soon leave doesn’t fit the core design.
However: elements of base building will appear.
Chapter One will include a story segment that requires building
shelters and installations will receive improvements
a more classic base-building option may appear in sandbox mode
Technically, it’s not a problem — it’s all about the game’s direction and priorities.
I’m working as much as I can. Every review, every opinion, every bit of support — it all makes a real difference.
Thank you for being here.
Paweł