[h2]In three days, the big party starts! [/h2]
We're excited to invite you to craft your own story in the next installment in the My Time series, culminating in our experience from Portia plus more than three years of hard work so far.
Although it is an Early Access version, you can play for around 30 hours to finish the Early access main stories missions, meet about 40 unique NPCs, and experience more than 100 side quests.
Let us look at what you can expect in Sandrock Early Access!
[h3]Standalone Intriguing Story and NPCs[/h3]
The town of Sandrock is set nearby to a desert in a wholesome post-apocalyptic world, over 300 years after the Calamity that destroyed most modern technology and blanketed the world in darkness. Since then, new cultures have risen from the ruins of the old world, with relics from history to be mined underground.
Like other city-states from the Alliance of Free Cities, Sandrock relies on Builders to help craft things and do odd jobs to better its citizens' lives. A detailed story with hundreds of side quests and around 40 brand new characters awaits you as one such Builder. Spend time not just building your workshop and making unique connections but also uncovering things hidden in the world… or sometimes in the rock right below you!
Sandrock has enhanced the combat experience. Among the new features are the Defense Break mechanic, a fluid change of your movements and the ability to switch between your weapons in your toolbar, skilled up with news fight combos, the improved ranged weapons that use third-person shooting mechanics, and randomized equipment abilities! So you can choose your fight strategy widely, but keep the same casual combat feelings!
[h3]Similar Crafting Routine with Scarce Resources[/h3]
Most of Sandrock's environment is a varied desert biome, ranging from sweeping sand dunes to rocky mountains and valleys and more. Natural resources are harder to come by in Sandrock than in Portia, so Builders need to understand resource management and how your machines work.
[h3]More intelligent Machines[/h3]
Players won't need to spend much time searching for craft items in hand manuals since the machines automatically recognize and display the items of their mission.
[h3]Multi-leveled Mining Structure[/h3]
Using a multi-leveled structure is the most significant feature, with some resources only appearing at the deeper levels. Each level consists of several small rooms separated by compacted dirt blocks, and players need to explore the level and find a way to go to the next floor. In this way, the exploration goals are more precise, and those in the mines will be able to get their bearings more easily.
[h3]More advanced workshop customization[/h3]
Now you can customize your roof, add lights to your workshop, and set new windows and doors. Unlike the part of Portia where all you can do is level up your house. We look forward to seeing how you will jazz up your workshop!
[h3]Upgraded Romanceable and NPC AIs[/h3]
Romantic love stories and memorable friendships make a grand reappearance in Sandrock, set to be even better! Our more extensive and more experienced writer team is breathing life into the NPCs with more comprehensive and unique side quests and stories, making getting close to each townsperson feel more rewarding and immersive. At the same time, we have to hold hands features for you!
Many romance stories, marriage, and children have yet to be developed and will be added later on.
[h3]Improved Save and load mechanic [/h3]
Sandrock players can save and load at any time! Both manual and automatic savings are available. Two save slots are reserved for autosaves: an autosave happens after starting a new day and sometimes happens before important plot points begin. Players can manually create saves at any time when there is no cutscene taking place. This improved save system makes it much easier for players to accomplish their goals!
[h3]Art Improvements[/h3]
To portray the beauty and range of the desert environment, we used PBR (physically based rendering) to improve all objects' textures and material properties. For example, metallic surfaces or sandy terrain reflect light based on the camera angle, and scenery lighting is better, resulting in a more immersive and beautiful environment.
We also incorporated some suggestions from our previous game, such as adjusting the head and body sizes to make the characters look more appealing while retaining some of our cartoony, whimsical styles.
[h3]Multiplayer Mode[/h3]
Multiplayer is the feature that My Time fans have asked for the most, and it gets its chance to shine in Sandrock. In multiplayer mode, up to 4 players can play together to build the city!
NOTE: the multiplayer mode will not be available at Early Access lauch, but we plan to beta test the multiplayer once or twice this summer with specific early access players, so please keep your eyes on us, and we'll let you know how to register it later. Once the multiplayer gets stable, we will open a time-limited public test to all early access users. We're currently aiming to add multiplayer to Sandrock around the end of this year.
Above, we have shown only the things we consider most fascinating, but there are many more things worth playing with and exploring, from the workshop to the wild world, from the canyons to the mesa, from the desert plants to the wild creatures...
And that's not all: we will update the game with new stories and NPC dialogues, more voiceovers, new items, etc., until the full release, after which, we'll wait for our console publisher, PM studios, to announce more news about the consoles in the future... Your Early Access game will be updated automatically without any further payments or action needed; buying the game during Early Access means that you own a copy of Sandrock, to boot at a discounted rate!
[h2]In just 72 more hours… your time in Sandrock can begin! ⌛[/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1084600/My_Time_at_Sandrock/
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