Lost Isle News

Lost Isle's first round of public playtesting is only one day away! The primary focus of tomorrow's test is to assess network and server performance with 20+ players in a single server simultaneously harvesting resources and building individual bases. Participants who are approved as playtesters will receive an access key to the Steam build that will be available to download and join on Friday, May 3rd, 7-9 pm ET.

If you're interested in participating in this round of playtesting, or any future testing, all you have to do is follow the simple sign-up steps below - this process should take

1. Join our Discord community
   
2. Navigate to the "playtest-sign-up" channel in the General Hub. Review the requirements, fill out the fields, and submit this form for admin review
   
3. When approved, you'll receive a message with instructions to navigate to the "playtest-embargo-agreement" form. Review the terms and, if you agree with them, complete and submit for admin review
   
4. After your embargo agreement form has been reviewed and approved, you will automatically be given the role of "Playtester" and have access to the "playtesters" chat channel which will serve as the hub for all playtesting participation
   

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out in the Discord and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your willingness to participate in playtesting - this is an extremely important part of the process of making our game the very best it can be.

We look forward to surviving together with you, and against you, very soon.


-The Lost Isle Team

[h2]What's New?[/h2]

As the date approaches for our first round of public playtesting (ALPHA STARTS NEXT WEEK!!) a main focus for our team has been bringing the open world to life. Let's jump right in!

[h3]Wildlife[/h3]

Our animal AI systems have been completely overhauled from the ground up. Between having new models, animations, sound design and custom AI behaviors, the final result is a truly immersive interaction with wildlife. Whether you're doing the hunting, or being hunted, we hope you'll appreciate the attention to detail each animal has received.


Animal types can be broken down into three base categories: critter, prey, and predator. Each have unique behaviors and detection settings, including a different detection radius based on whether the player is standing or crouched, and increased detection in front of animals vs behind them.


What does this mean? This means that even if a player is starting out fresh with only a primitive dagger as a weapon, it's still possible to stalk your target - crouched and very carefully - and get within close enough proximity to deliver a surprise attack before it flees (if it's a critter or prey animal) or tries to kill you (if it's a predator animal).


If you're up to speed on the lore behind Lost Isle, you'll know what lies beneath the surface of the island - a fallen, imprisoned celestial god named Mauroth whose cosmic energies seep through the earth - and you may be asking yourself: Why are the animals normal? Where's the fantasy? Without spoiling too much... you'll just have to wait until the sun goes down to see how Mauroth's influence changes the wildlife.

[h3]Open World[/h3]

To help players more easily understand where areas with higher concentrations of loot are located, we've added procedural roads that lead to and connect major world monuments that are bordered with fences, lamps, walls, small structures and more. In combination with roads, there is also a trail system that connects to smaller points of interest.


Another addition to the open world is the implementation of a procedural river system that connects major waterways like lakes and ponds to the oceans.



[h3]Other Notable Changes[/h3]

• Improvements to deployable machine functionality and crafting
  
• UI and HUD updates
  
• Bird AI flock behaviors and perch points added to points of interest
  
• Player controller updates including many new animations
  
• Optimizations for materials, textures, audio and more
  

[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!

Rejoice! The day is fast approaching when players can start exploring Lost Isle!

We'll post details regarding exact times and how to participate a few days ahead of it going live, but for now just set a reminder for May 1st and join our Discord community to make sure you don't miss out on all the fun!

We look forward to surviving together with you, and against you, very soon.

-The Lost Isle Team

[h2]What's New?[/h2]

[h3]Magic[/h3]

This month we've put lots of focus on the fantasy side of our medieval fantasy game by adding magic spells of many different varieties, ranging from destructive combat to strict utility. Players joining a fresh server will need to meet a few requirements before becoming a full-fledged spell-slinger.

First, you'll need to learn them individually by interacting with a Magic Table. Each spell will have a different cost in the form of magic infused crystal shards that you'll be able to find as unique mining nodes or rarely in loot chests across the island.

Second, you'll need to find yourself a staff. Staffs can be found in weapon loot chests and will also be craftable. With spells learned and a staff equipped, you'll be ready to fulfill your wildest witch and wizard survival fantasies.

We'll leave most spells to be discovered by players in game, but here's a small taste to get you hungry for more:

Master the powerful elements of fire and ice with Fireball and Ice Knife



Channel your inner Zeus with Chain Lightning and Thunder Storm



Conjure a Glowing Orb to light up your path in the dark


[h3]Other Notable Changes[/h3]

• Desert biome added to the open world
  
• Landmarks with icons added to map
  
• Dig for treasure with a shovel - may find different items digging in different terrain types
  
• Detail map upgrades increasing material texture quality
  
• Added many micro landmarks to open world for more environment variety
  

[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!

[h2]What's New?[/h2]

[h3]Factions[/h3]

The survivors found on the Lost Isle are truly a hardy folk. Regardless of their occupation or station in life, they've endured countless trials of devastating loss and have come out the other side stronger for it. These people are the faction NPCs you'll encounter during your adventures.

Gaining reputation with factions is not necessarily a groundbreaking mechanic, but how exactly this system will work in an open world multiplayer survival game like Lost Isle is worth diving into.

NPCs will spawn all throughout the world - some will spawn statically in certain locations and others will travel along the roads - but their functionality will more or less be the same. Each NPC will belong to a faction. Completing quests offered by the NPC and/or gifting them appropriate resources will increase your reputation with their respective faction and unlock increasingly useful tiered perks.

An important note is that all interactions with NPCs are completely optional. Lost Isle is designed to be played pretty much any way you like, ignoring them altogether if that's your preference. You will as a baseline be able to craft the survival necessities, and maybe you'll get lucky and find powerful items in loot containers scattered all over the island. However, some of the perks might be too enticing to pass up...

For example, below is a screenshot of the Forge Masters Guild who's specialty is blacksmithing. Increasing your reputation with that specific faction will unlock the ability to craft advanced tools, weapons and armor. If the idea of making your own top tier weapons and armor sounds appealing to you as a player, then interacting with NPCs of that faction will be well worth your while.



If you're playing solo you might become a jack-of-all-trades master of all.

Or if you're playing together with trusted player allies you might go with a divide and conquer strategy - each raising reputations with different factions and coming together to collectively share the unique unlocked perks.

The 8 existing factions of Lost Isle are:

• Forge Masters Guild - Blacksmithing
  
• Epicurean League - Cooking
  
• Builders Alliance - Construction
  
• Earthen Core - Mining
  
• Stitchers Union - Cosmetics
  
• Nomadic Circle - Mounts and Relics
  
• Order of the Watchmen - Combat
  
• Arcane Assembly - Magic Spells and Enchantments
  

The details for the specific tiered perks of each faction are forthcoming, but in the meantime here's a short clip of a miner NPC greeting the weary traveler:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
"A good day is it?"

A good day indeed!

[h3]Other Notable Changes[/h3]

• Open world procedurally placed major and minor landmarks (monuments)
  
• Magic combat system rework
  
• Rain and snow weather manager
  
• Factions, research, and general UI reworks
  

[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!