Missives and Musings: Research and Crafting
[h2]What's New?[/h2]
Our team's current development sprint has been nicknamed "wax on, wax off" - an appropriate name considering our sole focus right now is polishing game systems. QA, bug fix, polish, repeat. We're making steady progress on that front and things are feeling better than ever. The most recent systems to receive this treatment have been research and crafting.
[h3]Research and Crafting[/h3]
Players start server wipes with completely fresh research trees. There are some items in each category that require no research before crafting, like very basic clothing, tools, and a few other necessities for early survival, but everything else requires unlocking through research.
The "primitive" section is the first tier within each research tree, and items within this category can be unlocked right from the start without having to build a crafting station first. For this, and any other items beyond these, you'll need a resource called Motes. Motes are the essence of creation and can therefore be acquired by simply playing the game in almost any form; woodcutting, mining, harvesting plants and wildlife, and even from killing unfriendly players.
Items within tiers 1-3 of each category will require you to be nearby an appropriately upgraded, corresponding crafting station before you can unlock them. The workbench, anvil, spinning wheel, and reliquary all start at level 1 and can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 with additional resources.
Research is one of only a few forms of persisting progress in Lost Isle, meaning you won't lose progress in your research tree if/when you die. The only occasions when research trees will be reset are when you join a new server, or when your current server is force wiped (force wipes are always predetermined and publicly scheduled so the timing will never be a surprise).
Once you've unlocked something in research, you can swap over to the crafting tab to make it. If it's a survival or primitive tier item, the item will be displayed with the resource cost only. If the item's background is green that means you have the required resources and you can right click to add it to your crafting queue.
The more advanced items from tiers 1-3 will additionally require that you're in close proximity to an appropriately upgraded, corresponding crafting station before you're able to craft it. If an item does require a crafting station, it will have a tag on the right side that displays which station is required. Once an item has been added to the crafting queue you're free to walk away from the station and it will be automatically added to your inventory when it's complete.
One last thing. In case you were wondering why you get motes from killing unfriendly players, that's because you lose half of your motes when you die... My advice would be to always spend your motes! Remember that progress in your research tree persists through death, so hoarding motes will only benefit the player who kills you and loots your corpse.
[h3]Other Notes[/h3]
[h3]Stay in the Loop[/h3]
Don't miss out on important updates - make sure to wishlist Lost Isle here on Steam, join our Discord community, and follow us on X!
Our team's current development sprint has been nicknamed "wax on, wax off" - an appropriate name considering our sole focus right now is polishing game systems. QA, bug fix, polish, repeat. We're making steady progress on that front and things are feeling better than ever. The most recent systems to receive this treatment have been research and crafting.
[h3]Research and Crafting[/h3]
Players start server wipes with completely fresh research trees. There are some items in each category that require no research before crafting, like very basic clothing, tools, and a few other necessities for early survival, but everything else requires unlocking through research.
The "primitive" section is the first tier within each research tree, and items within this category can be unlocked right from the start without having to build a crafting station first. For this, and any other items beyond these, you'll need a resource called Motes. Motes are the essence of creation and can therefore be acquired by simply playing the game in almost any form; woodcutting, mining, harvesting plants and wildlife, and even from killing unfriendly players.
Items within tiers 1-3 of each category will require you to be nearby an appropriately upgraded, corresponding crafting station before you can unlock them. The workbench, anvil, spinning wheel, and reliquary all start at level 1 and can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 with additional resources.
Research is one of only a few forms of persisting progress in Lost Isle, meaning you won't lose progress in your research tree if/when you die. The only occasions when research trees will be reset are when you join a new server, or when your current server is force wiped (force wipes are always predetermined and publicly scheduled so the timing will never be a surprise).
Once you've unlocked something in research, you can swap over to the crafting tab to make it. If it's a survival or primitive tier item, the item will be displayed with the resource cost only. If the item's background is green that means you have the required resources and you can right click to add it to your crafting queue.
The more advanced items from tiers 1-3 will additionally require that you're in close proximity to an appropriately upgraded, corresponding crafting station before you're able to craft it. If an item does require a crafting station, it will have a tag on the right side that displays which station is required. Once an item has been added to the crafting queue you're free to walk away from the station and it will be automatically added to your inventory when it's complete.
One last thing. In case you were wondering why you get motes from killing unfriendly players, that's because you lose half of your motes when you die... My advice would be to always spend your motes! Remember that progress in your research tree persists through death, so hoarding motes will only benefit the player who kills you and loots your corpse.
[h3]Other Notes[/h3]
- Beta playtesting kicks off in December! If you're interested in participating as a playtester make sure you join our Discord! (link below)
- With Beta coming up soon we're looking to collaborate with content creators of all types and sizes. If that's you, join our Discord and send us a message!
[h3]Stay in the Loop[/h3]
Don't miss out on important updates - make sure to wishlist Lost Isle here on Steam, join our Discord community, and follow us on X!