We're excited to announce that the next Gateworlds public playtest will begin on July 15!
Since our last playtest, we've been hard at work expanding the game and tackling one of the most ambitious features we've planned so far for Gateworlds: persistent world exploration through the new gate navigation system.
We're looking forward to seeing what stories you create!
One common piece of feedback from our previous playtest was that players wanted more agency to explore the strange frontier of the Gateworlds.
In the July playtest, you'll be able to travel between multiple worlds and, for the first time, return to worlds you've previously explored.
Gateworlds is all about exploration and adventure. With the new gate navigation system, you can now establish a thriving settlement in one world, venture into another in search of resources, treasures, or danger, and then return home to find your settlement (buildings, resources, etc.) exactly as you left it.
Essentially, moving all of your characters off a world no longer deletes or resets that world - everything is remembered.
See the map below to get a sense of the types of worlds you might explore:
As you explore, you'll discover and claim new worlds through their Pinnacles, gradually revealing more of the Gateworlds beyond.
Each world occupies its own place within a larger network of connected worlds. Some may contain valuable resources. Others may hold ancient ruins, strange creatures, or opportunities to earn the favour of the gods.
The Gateworlds are vast, mysterious, and often unforgiving to the unprepared. This also means we'll be relying heavily on your feedback to help us balance things, in case it turns out to be too unforgiving!
(poor Lucy!)
Exploring a new world is only worthwhile if there's something worth finding.
This playtest will introduce some exciting new content, including:
New points of interest to discover and additional world variety
A balance pass on the resource and gear progression through the first few biomes
A new deity boons system: prove devotion to your god to unlock abilities and bonuses
More events that shake up the moment to moment gameplay (e.g. the divine intervention of a deity)
Whether you're hunting powerful monsters, searching for rare resources, or simply trying to see what lies beyond the next world, there will be far more to uncover than before. See below the "fairy ring" that you might stumble across in your adventures:
As always, the goal of this playtest is to learn about our recent changes to encourage exploration.
We're particularly interested in feedback on:
The new gate navigation system
Exploration, progression and difficulty
World variety
Performance and stability
Overall player experience
Your feedback from previous tests has already shaped Gateworlds in meaningful ways, and we're excited to continue building the game alongside all of you.
The next Gateworlds public playtest begins July 15.
If you haven't already, make sure to wishlist the game and request access to the playtest so you're ready when the gates open.
We'll have more details to share as we get closer to launch.
Until then, try not to anger the gods.
All the best,
Hydrarch.