Blind Descent News

Hello, Descenders! Here’s a rundown of what we’ve added to the game since our last community update.

[h2]Map System Implementation
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While navigating dense jungles and vast cave systems, players often set up campfires, lean-tos, or shelters in the wilderness. Tracking these locations can make re-finding them smooth.



Last month we implemented the first iteration of the Map System that gives players essential tools for survival. For more realism, players will see only locations they've already discovered, with unexplored areas remaining hidden under a fog-of-war effect.

Markers allow quick finding of important spots, and in multiplayer, maps will be shared to make teamwork smoother.

[h2]Early Quests Reworked
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We’ve reworked all early quests in Blind Descent to create a more engaging and story-driven introduction.

Players begin stranded deep beneath Mars’ surface after a disastrous elevator accident. In the first quest, you wake up from the crash to find one of your most crucial tools—the Grappling Hook—and have to escape a narrow tunnel, learning a core mechanic right from the start.



The updated prologue sets a more straightforward base for the story and your purpose in this hostile world. After that, Adaptation Quests, combining tutorials and narrative, will guide you through fundamental survival tips from your AI companion, the Holowatch. From scanning food to boiling water and crafting essential tools, these quests prepare you for the unique challenges of the underground.

Also, all early quests will support multiplayer, so you will be able to tackle these adventures together with your friends.

[h2]Early Work on Boat System
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We've also revamped the Boat System which will allow players to team up and navigate treacherous caves together in a wooden boat. Not only will you be able to row through submerged tunnels, but also to engage in combat by using bows against lurking enemies.



While the feature is still in its early stages of development, we are working hard to create a seamless rafting experience that enhances exploration.

Some of you might recall that a boat was already featured in the first trailer for Blind Descent. However, as development progressed, we realized that achieving a smooth boat-driving experience in a co-op environment required a complete overhaul. This led us to rebuild the system from the ground up.

[h2]New Creatures
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We’ve finalized the 3D models for several new creatures, including deer, crabs, and boars. They’re not quite game-ready yet, but they’re one step closer to adding more life to the underground world of Blind Descent!



As always, we’re grateful for your support and feedback, which drives us to keep improving. Stay tuned, and prepare to uncover even more secrets as Blind Descent continues to take shape!

Hello, Explorers!

It’s been another busy month for the Blind Descent team, and we’re excited to share the latest progress on the game. Let’s dive into the updates for September!

[h2]Mutations System
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One of the biggest features we’ve been developing this month is the Mutations system. Unique mutation items that grant powerful new abilities or stat boosts when consumed will be scattered throughout the Martian underground. Don’t worry, they won’t turn you into a mutant creature! Instead, they unlock tactical bonuses like a brutal hammer attack or an increase to your max health. Be sure to experiment with different combinations to adapt to the challenges ahead!



[h2]New Combat Abilities
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Combat has also gotten a significant upgrade with the introduction of environmental interactions. You can now use the world around to gain the upper hand in fights. For example, throwing barrels at enemies or shoving them into electric walls for instant kills! This new layer of strategy will add depth to your encounters and create dynamic, emergent combat moments.



[h2]Reworked the Map
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We’ve taken a huge step forward by completely reworking the map. While we were happy with how our previous map looked, it didn’t quite hit the mark from a gameplay perspective. So, we’ve overhauled the entire layout to make exploration more engaging and intuitive. One of our main focuses in this new design is Points of Interest — these are unique areas where players can discover curious things to interact with or explore.



We're also ensuring that players feel naturally guided to key locations without it being too linear.
That’s all for now! We’re incredibly grateful for your continued support as we work toward making Blind Descent an unforgettable survival adventure. Keep an eye on our Steam page for more updates, and feel free to join the conversation in our community forums. We can’t wait to share more in the coming months!

Stay sharp, and watch your back underground.
— Blind Descent team

Hello everyone!

It's been a busy two months since our last monthly update. We've been working hard on the technical backend and introducing new combat features as well as new creature designs. Here are some highlights of our progress:

[h2]Multiplayer Improvements[/h2]
In multiplayer games, latency almost always affects the player experience. The farther a player is from the host, the more lag they will experience. If this isn't taken into account, it leads to a poor player experience where actions can't be observed until the information travels through the network.

Imagine you want to shoot someone, but the gun fires 0.2 seconds after you pull the trigger. Even though this delay seems short, it is very noticeable in games where responsiveness is expected.

So, how do some games manage to feel lag-free? This is where "prediction" comes into play. Since information travel is limited by the laws of physics, games often predict the results of actions based on the current local data. This is what we've been implementing in Blind Descent recently.

In Blind Descent, you can now swing your sword and see the animations play out immediately, regardless of the ping. The bow fires an arrow as soon as you release the input, making everything feel very responsive most of the time. Your grenade explodes and you see the enemy receives the damage immediately, despite of the lag. This was a challenging process, but it significantly improved the multiplayer experience.

[h2]New Combat Features[/h2]
Exploration and combat against creatures are core to the Blind Descent experience. We’ve added new features to enhance combat.

You can now find explosives in the game that you can detonate from a distance to harm nearby enemies. We’ve also introduced weak walls that collapse and can kill anything nearby. This allows you to use the environment to your advantage and take down foes strategically.

[h2]New Creature Design[/h2]

Meet one of the new creature designs you'll frequently encounter in the game. It's a great food source if you can catch it!

[h2]Wrapping Up[/h2]
It's been a busy two months, but development is progressing smoothly. We also have some exciting developments that we can't share just yet, but you'll hear about them as soon as we can reveal the details.

Thank you for being a part of the Blind Descent community! Please don’t hesitate to drop a comment and let us know what you think.

—The Pokuch Team

Hello, everyone!

The underground world is packed with creatures: some minding their own business, others guarding their nest, and some looking for an easy prey. As a survivor navigating this dangerous landscape, you're guaranteed to cross paths with these creatures, leading to inevitable confrontations.

This is where improvements in AI were required, which became the main focus of this month's development.

[h2]Better AI Behaviors[/h2]
During the private demo event with our community last year, one thing that kept coming up was how players struggled to predict when a creature would attack. In game development, it's not just about making the AI smart or hard; it's about making it readable for players so they can pick up on patterns and adapt their strategies. When behaviors are unclear, it often leads to frustration and makes players feel like the experience is glitchy and disjointed.

That's exactly what we were dealing with for some of our AI creatures. To fix this, we've completely overhauled how behaviors are handled. We put more emphasis on giving players visual cues to anticipate attacks, which was a significant improvement we recognized based on our recent internal tests.

While we are unable to share footages of these improvements right now, stay tuned for the upcoming updates where we will be able to share more.

[h2]Improvements in Other Areas[/h2]
While our main focus was on fine-tuning the AI, we didn't stop there. We've made some significant improvements in other areas too. Now, when a player joins a multiplayer session later on, they'll still be able to see world changes like collected foliage and built houses. It wasn't the case before – you had to be in the session at the same time to see those changes. This was one of the most important milestones for the multiplayer integration which we recently completed successfully.

Overall, it's been a very busy month. We plan to put more time on the AI to keep improving the combat experience even more, and we'll have more updates to share in the coming months regarding these improvements.

Thanks for being a part of the Blind Descent community! Don't hesitate to drop a comment and let us know what you think!

—Pokuch Team.

Hello, everyone!

This month, we've added plenty of new gameplay mechanics to Blind Descent.

Crafting forms the backbone of many survival games, and it's no different in Blind Descent. As a player, you find yourself stranded deep beneath the surface of Mars in a completely unknown world. With limited gear at your disposal, you will need to take control and craft makeshift equipment to survive, find your team, and get back to the surface.

Given the unfamiliarity of this world to the player, our crafting system aims to mirror this reality. This means that crafting often requires elements that are alien to you, which requires your investigation to be able to make sense of it, and craft new items out of it.

[h2]Scanner System[/h2]
Scanners play a crucial role in uncovering unknown resources. Your scanner helps you understand potential food side effects, provides new crafting recipes, and uncovers story elements as you scan environmental remnants. So, before indulging in what looks like a delicious fruit, it's wise to scan it first to ensure there are no toxic elements that could harm you.

[h2]New Crafting Stations[/h2]
Plenty of new crafting stations have been added to the game. Mud Mixers, Pottery Tables, Carpenter's Benches, and Smithing Stations are all new crafting stations that will directly contribute to the gameplay progression.

[h2]Codex System[/h2]
Codex system is another feature we've added this month. Codex system will provide information about what you've scanned, background events, and more. It's a databank containing many information for players who love digging into the details or need info about certain things.

We're also hard at work on concept art and other aspects of the game's development. In the next monthly update, we will share some of them with you as well.

Thanks for being a part of the Blind Descent community! Don't hesitate to drop a comment and let us know what you think!

—Pokuch Team.