Black Skylands News

Hey everyone!

Today we have an important announcement to make — we're moving the release window for Black Skylands into 2021. Our motivation behind this is to make improvements and deliver the best game that we can.

We've already made huge progress — even now Black Skylands shapes to be a very dynamic and interesting game. It has a good storyline and lots of islands which would provide many combat encounters and quests for players to find.



We could've released the game as is according to the original plan. However, deep inside we feel like it can be a greater experience given more time. We want to realize many more features and apply a higher level of polish to the experience.

To make the game the most exciting and memorable it can be — we're setting the release for Q2 2021.

Instead of polishing combat mechanics, we're planning to make other elements more engaging — such as settlement development, resource gathering and player interactions with the world. We want to make a game where the players choose what to do next instead of the game pushing you in one direction. Where players define their own goals and how to achieve them. Where the gameplay allows you to immerse yourself in the world of Black Skylands for many hours.



Thank you for your support and patience!

Of course, during this development, we will keep you up to date on new mechanics and gameplay. So stay tuned for the upcoming news!

To be the first one to learn about them — join our Discord server and also follow us on social media:
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Please Wishlist the game on Steam and follow our Steam page so you get updates:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/

Black Skylands: Origins will introduce you to all the basic aspects of the game prior to the main release.

- Prologue quest featuring the intro segment of the Main Story
- Exploring the skies on your own ship
- Ground and aerial combat
- Traversal mechanics
- Weapon modification
- And more!



Pilot your own airship and navigate the waves of stormy clouds. Take care of the Fathership and your community by building various facilities, providing food and resources. And when things come to worse — arm yourself with customizable weapons!

Prove that your spirit is stronger than any wind amidst the hungering Skies!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hello, captains!

In Black Skylands airships are incredibly Important — they serve as means of transportation and communication between the many scattered islands. In some cases, they can even become a floating house. Without a doubt, people of Skylands simply wouldn't survive having no airships.

And as a player, you'll be able to choose and customize your ship to better suit a specific task — all courtesy of the Shipyard and its tools! In today's DevLog we're going to talk exactly about that — ships, shipbuilding and components upgrading.

[h3]The Man-O-War[/h3]

Let’s talk about the ships themselves first. Right now we have 3 classes of ships planned for the game.
Each ship will have base stats, which vary between the models.

Your starting ship is a great all-rounder and from there you can decide what is specifically important to you. Are you an aerial ace who values manoeuvrability? Check out The Needle. Are you always short on cargo hold space for the loot you get? Take the helm of The Elephant and become an ultimate trader. Just remember that you'll have to sacrifice something else in exchange!

Current ship classes. Work in Progress

Of course, components installed on the ship will modify its stats, allowing for even bigger customization. Right now any ship has the next characteristics:

• Maximum speed
  
• Acceleration
  
• Maximum health points
  
• Maximum weight
  
• Turn speed
  
• Hold capacity
  

The most important one for upgrading is the ship’s maximum available weight — this is the characteristic which will determine a ship's capacity for upgrades. Each part has a different weight, which depends on its quality — better parts weight more. This way the player won’t be able to take a juggernaut and max out its speed to create an apex predator of the skies.

[h3]Time To Shiver Some Timbers[/h3]

You’ll be able to found the Shipyard on the Fathership — now the main vessel truly stands up to his name! There you’ll have the next options:

Choose or replace the ship to use — pretty self-explanatory. If you have more than one airship available, you can switch between them, or select a newly crafted one

Craft a new ship or a ship component — Here you can build new vessels from acquired blueprints. You can also create new parts to customize your ship — an engine, thrusters, hull and etc.

Replace components — this one is for upgrading your airship with new modules. Harder. Better. Faster. We have a feeling this section of the Shipyard will be the one players are going to spend the most time with.

A quick side note: if you switch the ship all installed components will be retained. Less menu navigation — more sky sailing!

One of the versions for the Shipyard interface. Subject to change

[h3]Shipshape[/h3]

The ship’s components are crafted from blueprints, which can be acquired as rewards from quests or bought with Oil Capsules from merchants. Building a ship part is the same as crafting weapon mods — it requires a blueprint and resources specified in it.

Right now we design the system around these components:

• Engine — the heart of your aircraft. It determines the maximum speed, fuel consumption and partially for manoeuvrability. If the ship receives too much damage its maximum speed will decrease and the engine has a chance to stop.
  
• Gas tank — determines the maximum amount of fuel you can store. Totally unexpected!
  
• Manoeuvrability components — affect the turn speed and how fast it can slow down.
  
• Hull material — determines the maximum amount of health points of the aircraft.
  
• Propeller — is responsible for the acceleration. When the ship gets heavily damaged, the propeller can halt for a bit.
  
• Cannons — these upgrades will not only affect the damage but can also have different fire modes
  
• Cargo hold — determines the maximum amount of storage cells.
  

Components upgrading tab in the Shipyard. Work in progress.

As we mentioned, the ships are going to have a weight restriction for the components. The weight of a ship’s part is determined by its quality — the better it is, the heavier it will be. As a player, you’ll have to choose which parts you really need to upgrade, but you can also balance things out and possibly create a “Jack of all trades” type of aircraft.

Every upgrade can be used on any ship and even can be installed on multiple vessels at once.
That way you don’t need to worry about crafting a specific upgrade for each ship.

[h3]Final Thoughts[/h3]
The player's ship has a huge role not only in the lore of Black Skylands but also as a gameplay element. Exploration, transportation of resources, aerial combat — these aspects make a big part of the game. And even though some things may change during development — our team is adamant on making airship crafting and upgrading as good as possible.

Thanks for reading and being interested in Black Skylands! See you in the next issue of Developer's Diary.

By the way, our official Discord server has launched a role-playing game in which you can join one of Aspya's unions. Very soon we will announce a themed contest for each faction and three winners o each union will receive a Steam key for Black Skylands!
Join us today!

Also, don't forget to follow us on social media for development progress, media and important announcements.

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Black Skylands: Origins will introduce you to all the basic aspects of the game prior to the main release.




Piloting your own airship navigate the waves of stormy clouds. Take care of the Fathership and your community by building various facilities, providing food and resources. And when things come to worse — arm yourself with customizable weapons!

Prove that your spirit is stronger than any wind amidst the hungering Skies!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hi, everyone!

For some of us, it can be scary to traverse the endless skies and fight the Eternal Storms alone. However, you’re never truly left without the support of others!

Sometimes we gather together with friends or go with fellow sky sailors to chat at the bar. And sometimes we gather on live events to become a part of something bigger!

So join us on our stream right on the steam page of the game and chat with the devs and other gamers about Black Skylands, Steam Summer Festival and all video games related things!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/

Now, let’s sing together:

What will we do with the streaming dev team?
What will we do with the streaming dev team?
What will we do with the streaming dev team?
Early in the morning!

Join them on Steam Game Festival
Join them on Steam Game Festival
Join them on Steam Game Festival
And watch them play Black Skylands!