Coral Island News

Hello Farmers,

Gear up and get ready to explore Coral Island. The Alpha playtest is coming soon!

[h2]About the Alpha[/h2]

What is Alpha?

The Alpha is an early version of the game available for testing purposes only. The game is NOT ready for public release yet and may contain bugs, errors, and defects. Some of the issues that we can think of are, the save file might get corrupted, and you might have to restart and play the game from the very beginning multiple times. Please keep in mind that the game is still in development.


So bugs, huh? Then why release the Alpha?

The main objective of this Alpha is to playtest the game, and gather feedback to help improve the game. We need your help on this. Feedback, bug reports, suggestions, anything that we can use to improve Coral Island.


How do I report bugs?

There will be two ways for you to report bugs:

Submit the report in-game, by pressing Escape menu → click Feedback
Sending it to our bug report Discord channel. (Alpha Channels → #alpha-bug-report)


Who can play the Alpha?

Alpha playtest is only available for Alpha Farmer Pack ($30) backers and above, as well as some selected registrants in our previous Discord giveaway.

If you backed under $30 and want to play Alpha, please visit our Backerkit store to pre-order! (PC/Steam only)


When will the Alpha keys be sent?

Alpha Steam keys will be sent in batches on the day the Alpha starts, to be exact, on July 31st, 6 PM PDT / August 1st, 8 AM GMT+7.

The process might take time due to the high number of players, so please wait for at least 12 hours. If you still haven’t received your key by then, email us at [email protected].


Where will the Alpha keys be sent?

The keys will be sent to the email address that is linked to your order. The sender’s address will be [email protected] with the email title as “New Digital Content for Coral Island”.

Additionally, you can log in to Backerkit with your Kickstarter account, click on Coral Island, and click on Digital Downloads to view your Steam key code.


How do I use the Alpha keys?

You can activate the Steam key to add Coral Island to your Steam library. From there, you can install the game and start playing.

Additional information that might be helpful: A guide on How to Activate a Product on Steam.

Self-promo! Don’t forget to Wishlist us on Steam too, if you haven’t done so!


How long will the Alpha be?

Alpha will start on July 31st at 6 PM PDT / August 1 at 8 AM GMT+7 and last until around Q4 2021. For the exact date, please wait for our future updates.


[h2]About Non-Disclosure Agreement[/h2]

Before playing the Alpha, please keep in mind that this Alpha playtest will be under Non-Disclosure Agreement. (You can opt-out of the NDA by NOT installing or playing the Alpha.)


What does it mean?

Simple! Under the NDA, you agree not to share, publish, disclose, distribute, transmit, post, or make available, directly or indirectly, Confidential Information about Coral Island Alpha playtest to any third party or public audience until we publicly release the product or content. Confidential Information includes screenshots of the game, video of gameplay from the game, or any other form of information sharing, such as discussing the game or allowing others to watch you play the game or leave the game running unattended. However, you may disclose the existence of the Alpha and that you are a member of the Alpha playtest.


In the case of Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) breach by sharing Alpha content with non-Alpha players, we reserve the right to all actions available to us under the law, such as revoking your Alpha Access key(s), denying your access to the game, and possible legal action.

If you see someone breaking the NDA, kindly contact us at [email protected] with proof of a violation and we will investigate it. We really appreciate your cooperation!

Although you cannot share the initial Alpha release, rest assured you'll be able to stream later at some point during Alpha, closer to Early Access. We will keep you updated with the confirmed time after implementing Alpha feedback to the game.


[h2]Other Information[/h2]
Please note that the rewards below will be available upon the official 1.0 release in 2022.

- Character & Pet Design, Mythical Pet, Premium Clothing, Coral Crown
- Hi-Res Digital Wallpaper Pack, Digital Artbook & OST
- Founder Statue & Name in Credit

Early Access key will be available when it starts around Q4 2021. We will announce the details closer to Early Access!

If you have more questions, kindly direct them to [email protected], or ask away in our Discord channel.


Pack up, Farmers! We’re going to Coral Island soon!

Welcome to the June 2021 Coral Island development update!

For this month’s developer update, we will share more details of the upcoming Alpha.

[h2]Alpha Content[/h2]

To start, we want to be transparent and share with you all that Alpha content for 0.01 will be a bit different from what we originally planned. We are a bit behind in some areas and ahead in others. The worsening pandemic in Indonesia has made it an incredibly challenging time for production. In the past month, several of our team members became infected with Covid; as of this update, a couple more are out sick because of it.


It’s not all bad news, though. Despite all this, Alpha will still release as scheduled on July 31st. Below you will find a revised breakdown of what you can expect from the initial Alpha 0.01 release:




[h2]Recap[/h2]

To summarize the highlights of what you will be able to do during Alpha 0.01:

• Play the game in English (the only available language for now!)
  
• Create your character with basic customization (limited body types, hairstyles, and outfits)
  
• Play through the Spring Season (the season will be looped)
  
• Experience basic weather (Sunny, Rainy, Windy)
  
• Decorate your house with basic furniture
  
• Plant 12 Spring Crops
  
• Enter the Blacksmith, Carpenter, Museum, Lab, & Charles’ House.
  
• Upgrade your tools & seeds
  
• Craft basic items
  
• Increase NPCs’ hearts to 2 (unlock more dialogue)
  
• Dive the North, South, West, and East maps @ 10m depth
  
• Mine 25 levels in the Earth Gate
  
• Obtain Skills (Tier 1 only)
  
• Do basic Quests
  
• Donate basic items to the Museum

Things that didn’t make it for Alpha 0.01:

• Ranching system (no chicken army)
  
• Purchasing farm building
  
• Heart event cutscenes
  
• Some introduction cutscenes
  
• Basic onboarding

In addition, here are ten things that you should do on Alpha 0.01!

• Be mentally and physically prepared to start over your game, many many times.
  
• Stumble upon surprising and unexpected bugs (like noodle hands!)
  
• Report the bugs to us to be fixed
  
• Waiting patiently while we do maintenance for the fixes
  
• Sending us your feedback and suggestions for us to improve
  
• Finding out our hidden Easter Egg!
  
• Explore the beautiful island and meet its wonderful residents
  
• Listening to some beautiful OST music while you’re playing
  
• Share the experience with fellow Alpha players
  
• Last but not least, and most importantly - have fun!

Thanks for reading,

Stairway Team

Welcome to the May 2021 Coral Island development update!


This May, we showcase a WIP of the character customizer, more revamped NPC models, and other exciting news worth sharing. Check it out!

[h2]Character Customization Showcase Part 2[/h2]

Here is what you can expect out of character customization for the upcoming Alpha. Please note that this is a WIP. We'll continue to improve and add more options in time for the Early Access release!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let us know what you think!


[h2]New NPC Models, Shop Keeper Edition[/h2]

Check out the upgraded models for both Sam and Dinda. Sam runs the general store in the heart of Starlet Town. You'll see him frequently as you make supply runs for seeds! Dinda runs a carpenter shop with her husband Joko for all your building needs.










[h2]Epic Megagrant[/h2]

We're happy to announce that Stairway Games has been awarded an Epic MegaGrant!



Everyone on the team is proud to be a part of the Unreal community. Thank you to all the Epic Games team and our beloved players for trusting us.


[h2]Nintendo Switch Devkit[/h2]

For our Switch players - here is the update that you've been waiting for! We have received the Switch Dev Kits that will allow us to start testing the game on Switch hardware.



We hope this can bring us one step closer to having Coral Island on other platforms!


[h2]Eid Al-Fitr[/h2]

Here is the art we’ve made to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr! We hope our Muslim friends all around the world had a happy, joyful, and blessed Eid. Lots of love from all of us at Stairway Games!



[h2]Discord Roles Assignment[/h2]

We have officially sent out the Discord roles assignments for all applicable tiers.


For instructions to claim your role code, please check our announcement here.

You can also check out our Discord > Announcements for more information.

Please contact us if you need any assistance redeeming your role code!

[h2]Bug of the month[/h2]

Extreme sleep is not for the faint of heart.



Thanks for reading,

Stairway Team

Welcome to the April 2021 Coral Island development update!


In April 2021, we worked on many, many things. We’ll focus on character customization, jogging animation 2.0, revamped exterior buildings, and more for this update. Check it out!


[h2]Character Customization Showcase Part 1[/h2]

Here's a sneak peek at the character customization UI in Coral Island. Please note that this is a WIP. We're excited to share that for Alpha, there will be 3 body types available for players.


[3 body types to choose from + plenty of color options]


[there will be many hair options to choose from]


[custom honorifics are working in-game, huzzah!]


For part 2 next month, we will do a deep dive into the character customization system. This will come in the form of a video showcase that will be uploaded to Youtube - stay tuned!



[h2]Jogging Animations Revisited[/h2]

We've received a ton of feedback on our animations. This month, we've tried to improve the jogging animation. We plan to let players choose their animation style eventually.




[4 styles of animation for the early access release!]



For alpha, there will be several more animation types for you to check out. We hope you can help us narrow the 4 to ship Early Access with. Please let us know what you think!


[h2]Revamped Buildings[/h2]

Much like interiors, many buildings in our game are also getting a make-over for better storytelling. This month, we tackled a fair amount of locations already! Please have a look at just one of the buildings being improved: the carpenter shop.




[Carpenter: OLD. This is what the carpenter building originally looked like]




[Carpenter: This is the NEW concept art for the carpenter building]




[Carpenter: NEW in-game. This is what it currently looks like in-game, still a WIP]


Fun fact, the carpenter building is inspired by Indonesia's traditional Joglo architecture, known for its distinct roof work. A very fitting home for our carpenters!


[h2]Earth Day Art[/h2]

Earth day, every day.




[h2]Bug of the month[/h2]

No one wants to admit it, but something tells me this was done on purpose... #sus





Thanks for reading,

Stairway Team

Welcome to the March 2021 Coral Island development update!


In March 2021, we hired more devs, set a new benchmark for NPC 3D models, got the ball rolling on interior improvements, worked on alpha content, and managed the pre-order store!
Let's take a closer look:


[h2]We hired more devs![/h2]




[h2]NPC 3D models, new and improved… Now with fingers![/h2]

We are working on the new benchmark for Coral Island's NPC model. With the current timeline, we expect to have all NPC's in their Spring outfits ready for the early access release. We've updated the scale, body proportion and tweaked lots of details.

During alpha, all NPC's will be released with old models, as the new ones are not yet ready. Check it out!













[Alice and Theo Status: Work-in-progress. 3D modelling, emotional growth and otherwise.]


[h2]Brand new interior designs[/h2]

We are improving the interiors by making them feel lived in. To do this, we look into each NPC’s unique characteristics and fuse them into the design of their bedroom, kitchen, and even the whole house… This means we'll be creating over 1000+ unique props to accommodate this major change (on top of the current available common props!).



[Archie's room concept art. Spot the guling!]




[Archie's room in-game. Status: WIP]


For the Coral Island Alpha Access, most rooms will only have placeholder assets. Each room is a work in progress and we will use common props for a lot of the interiors. Bear in mind that some rooms, and even buildings, will be inaccessible for Players during Alpha.



[Alice's room concept art]


[h2]Public Roadmap[/h2]

The alpha release is delayed to July 2021. We are asking for an extra month to polish the experience. Going into Kickstarter, we did not expect to receive this level of support. There are over 20k alpha farmers! While this is amazing and we are very grateful for it, to be candid, it also feels daunting.

To make the most out of your feedback, we will be releasing content and features in 3 tranches for Alpha. Please take a look at the roadmap below:




[h2]Pre-Order Store[/h2]

The exclusive reward (Premium outfits, Crowns, and Mythical pets) ended at 10 pm EST (GMT-4) on March 31st, 2021.

Starting April 1st, 2021, the Coral Island pre-order store only has:

1. Alpha pack (steam only)
2. Double-double pack (steam only)
3. Coral Island game key (steam only)
4. Digital Art Book + OST
5. Pre-order exclusive Pack (Alpha access + steam game key + artbook + ost)

March pre-order Double-Double, Deluxe Farmers, and Pioneers backers will receive the survey by next week. If you do not receive/ fill in the survey, please do not worry. It does not cancel your order.


[h2]Language[/h2]

Coral Island is adding Dutch and Italian to our list of localization. Here is the list of language that Coral Island will support:



[h2]Bug of the Month[/h2]

Spinning Giants for the win!





Thanks for reading,
Stairway Team