February 2022 Dev Update
Welcome to the February 2022 Coral Island development update!
Please check out our Steam page to wishlist the game and find out more: swg.gg/corstm
This month, we'll go over the museum, mastery, strafing, and more!
Alpha v0.07 will launch on March 7 @ 11:59PM PDT.
[h2]Happy Valentines[/h2]
Happy Valentine's from the Stairway team! More importantly, who would be your Coral Island valentine?

[Rafael playing 4d chess]
[h2]Renovated Museum[/h2]
A full-fledged museum can be completed in Starlet Town. It features a section for artifacts, gems, insects, fish, and fossils. Without spoiling too much, here's a glimpse of several areas inside the museum:

[artifacts are grouped and displayed based on where you find them]

[donations to the museum will increase the towns rank!]
[h2]Player Strafing Unlocked[/h2]
One recurring feedback we've received during Alpha is improving the farming controls. We're excited for you to try out the strafing mechanic in-game. To strafe, hold "ctrl" while the hotbar is actively selecting a tool - it's that simple.

[movement speed is reduced while strafing for finer control]

[aiming for tiles definitely feels more precise while strafing]

[plus, we unlocked an unintended feature, the moonwalk!]
We realize a good portion of Alpha players want mouse-based controls. Although we don't have anything to share on that today, please know we'll try our best to implement it into the game.
[h2]Mastery Skills Revamped[/h2]
We've revamped a significant portion of the mastery skills. Now there are a total of 15 levels and skills you can acquire for each mastery. We'll look forward to hearing feedback from Alpha players on this!

[please excuse the placeholder UI]

[The Rock Domino's skill is a popular choice internally]
[h2]Revamped Interiors & Exteriors[/h2]
This month, we're teasing Jim's house and just a couple of the many new shortcuts that have been added to the map.

[Jim's house is now accessible to Alpha players]

[a shortcut has been added connecting the Observatory and Woodlands]

[a shortcut has been added connecting the mid forest and rice paddy terrace]
[h2]Mount Riding Teaser[/h2]
A look at what developing new features looks like.

[if one must fall through the ground, it should be done in style]
[h2]Fanart Contest Winners[/h2]
Congratulations to all winners:
@greifate (Twitter)
Tylendiel#5875 (Discord)
goompher#9124 (Discord)
@syphos.art (IG)
@pinkielartsy (IG)
Last image credit: SDAX!

[goompher#9124 (Discord)]

[syphos.art (IG)]

[Tylendiel#5875 (Discord)]

[greifate (Twitter)]

[pinkielartsy (IG)]

[Honorable mention for making us laugh, SDAX!]
[h2]Development Timeline Update[/h2]
We really appreciate your patience in waiting for Coral Island. Development is making a good pace towards the Early Access release. Below you'll find the high-level features we want to knock out before we do a polish pass and eventually release the game.

[h2]What's next?[/h2]
Next month, we'll provide updates on the following:
- Heritage overview
- Player clothing overview
- Updates to character customization
- Refreshed 10m diving map
- And more
Thanks for reading,
Stairway Team
Please check out our Steam page to wishlist the game and find out more: swg.gg/corstm
This month, we'll go over the museum, mastery, strafing, and more!
Alpha v0.07 will launch on March 7 @ 11:59PM PDT.
[h2]Happy Valentines[/h2]
Happy Valentine's from the Stairway team! More importantly, who would be your Coral Island valentine?

[Rafael playing 4d chess]
[h2]Renovated Museum[/h2]
A full-fledged museum can be completed in Starlet Town. It features a section for artifacts, gems, insects, fish, and fossils. Without spoiling too much, here's a glimpse of several areas inside the museum:

[artifacts are grouped and displayed based on where you find them]

[donations to the museum will increase the towns rank!]
[h2]Player Strafing Unlocked[/h2]
One recurring feedback we've received during Alpha is improving the farming controls. We're excited for you to try out the strafing mechanic in-game. To strafe, hold "ctrl" while the hotbar is actively selecting a tool - it's that simple.

[movement speed is reduced while strafing for finer control]

[aiming for tiles definitely feels more precise while strafing]

[plus, we unlocked an unintended feature, the moonwalk!]
We realize a good portion of Alpha players want mouse-based controls. Although we don't have anything to share on that today, please know we'll try our best to implement it into the game.
[h2]Mastery Skills Revamped[/h2]
We've revamped a significant portion of the mastery skills. Now there are a total of 15 levels and skills you can acquire for each mastery. We'll look forward to hearing feedback from Alpha players on this!

[please excuse the placeholder UI]

[The Rock Domino's skill is a popular choice internally]
[h2]Revamped Interiors & Exteriors[/h2]
This month, we're teasing Jim's house and just a couple of the many new shortcuts that have been added to the map.

[Jim's house is now accessible to Alpha players]

[a shortcut has been added connecting the Observatory and Woodlands]

[a shortcut has been added connecting the mid forest and rice paddy terrace]
[h2]Mount Riding Teaser[/h2]
A look at what developing new features looks like.

[if one must fall through the ground, it should be done in style]
[h2]Fanart Contest Winners[/h2]
Congratulations to all winners:
@greifate (Twitter)
Tylendiel#5875 (Discord)
goompher#9124 (Discord)
@syphos.art (IG)
@pinkielartsy (IG)
Last image credit: SDAX!

[goompher#9124 (Discord)]

[syphos.art (IG)]

[Tylendiel#5875 (Discord)]

[greifate (Twitter)]

[pinkielartsy (IG)]

[Honorable mention for making us laugh, SDAX!]
[h2]Development Timeline Update[/h2]
We really appreciate your patience in waiting for Coral Island. Development is making a good pace towards the Early Access release. Below you'll find the high-level features we want to knock out before we do a polish pass and eventually release the game.

[h2]What's next?[/h2]
Next month, we'll provide updates on the following:
- Heritage overview
- Player clothing overview
- Updates to character customization
- Refreshed 10m diving map
- And more
Thanks for reading,
Stairway Team