A storm of new content - Devlog #6

Hello everyone! First of all, let us apologize for the delay since the last devlog. Aloft has reached a turning point in the project and, our solid demo in hand, we are now looking for serious funding to back the production. Fortunately, there are some very interesting grant programs in Canada that we want to use to launch the production in full. We are also in discussion with several publishers that are interested in Aloft as much as we are. In short, we’re in a good place, and it’s going to get better.

That being said, we kept working on Aloft during the last month, and we have a bunch of stuff to show you today. A lot of the things we were discussing and presenting during our firsts devlogs have now come to fruition.

If you want more regular updates, we do encourage you to join our discord, it’s full of good stuff, and we share updates more often and in a more casual way.

[h2]New Trailer[/h2]
You might have noticed our Steam page got a little update with new screenshots and a new trailer, so without further ado, here you go!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Vegetation[/h2]
The first thing you may have noticed is that the trees and foliage have been upgraded from our placeholder trees to much nicer placeholder trees. They’re from a great Unity asset that suited our art direction, and we decided to include them in our game for now. Given the limited time available to us, we decided to put our efforts in all the other great features you can see in the trailer right now, rather than trees. Of course, good-looking trees add a lot of character to our islands, that’s why we went that way.

[h2]Wind walls[/h2]
You also noticed all that nasty weather and the damage it caused, right? Well that’s because our intrepid hero ventured into the very first Wind Wall. They are the primary gating
mechanism in Aloft as they block the three rings and the Hurricane walls block ascension to higher levels of altitude.

When going through a wind wall, the players and their islands will be assaulted with powerful winds, rain, sleet, thunder and more exotic dangers. They must steer the island, repair their sails and protect their buildings all at the same time, to be able to get to the calm zone. Once they are through, they will be able to access the second ring, getting ever closer to the hurricane.


[h2]Tools[/h2]
Last time, we were fighting and gathering resources with puny placeholders, and they weren’t bad, but they were not game-ready. Behold our tools in all their 3D glory!


Now, the tools and weapons in Aloft are something interesting. They’re the same thing! Mostly! Players will be able to build and repair their tools, and they are all used for both resource gathering and combat. The only exceptions to this are the bow and the sword, which are exclusively combat-focused. The first tier is built of stone, wood and rope to tie everything together. The second tier is made of sharpened petrified bones, as seen below.


The third tier isn’t modeled in 3D yet, but it’s made of lightning-smelted glass and malachite fused together to create glass and copper weapons. Does it look absolutely awesome? Yes, yes it does. We cannot WAIT to get them in 3D and in the game!


[h2]Combat[/h2]
We’ve shown you the dynamic movement before in the Devlog #4 and that was pretty cool! How about you pit your movement skills against a real, live* mushroom guard? Well now you can!


Use combos while fighting to optimize your damage output, but watch out for the flanking maneuver of the Guards, they’re not fighting fair! Each creature has its own combat style, but for the guard it’s all about rushing in and going for the kill. Be careful however, because if you aggro too many creatures, you will be swarmed, and that’s never a good thing. For now, players will be able to escape by flying away, but with the different monsters we have planned for you, you may not be able to do it for long…

* Mushroom creatures aren’t real and cannot hurt you

[h2]Corruption[/h2]
You may also have noticed the weird, mushroomy, smoky island full of shroom guards in the trailer, well that’s one of the many corrupted islands you will encounter during your travels in the world of Aloft. The mushroom disease in Aloft eats all the flora and fauna and leaves only empty shells of islands, full of giant parasitic fungus. They look pretty, but they’re not good for you or the ecosystem.


So how do you get rid of those darn fungi? Well, that’s a topic for another devlog, but it involves those big-ass mushroom cores that spew toxic spores all over the place. To get rid of the corruption, you will have to go in, kill the monsters protecting the core and whack it until the core is exposed. Then, use some extra-strength alchemical purifying liquid to clean up the mess. Sounds messy and kind of difficult? It’s on purpose, you didn’t think Aloft was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, right?


[h2]What’s next?[/h2]
For this summer, we will be working at a reduced pace, because summer is nice. This means that we will publish devlogs less often, because we will have less things to share with you on this platform. However, we stay active on our discord, so you should really follow us there.

That being said, we will be working on getting the sails and windmills in 3D, they’re complex pieces of machinery, and we are glad to be able to take the time to render and texture them correctly. Of course, along with windmills come building automation, which we will be overhauling to make it smoother and more coherent with the updated windmills.

Our concept artist will also take the time to craft some delightful key art which will adorn every conceivable surface of our office as soon as possible. She does incredible work, what can we say?

We have also started work on one of the most interesting aspects of Aloft, the Titans! There’s a sneak peek in the trailer, but we won’t say more right now, only that it’s awesome.

If you want more Aloft content or would like to give feedback, be sure to wishlist the game on steam here and join the Discord server using the image below

If you want more Aloft content or would like to give feedback, be sure to wishlist the game on steam here and join the Discord server using the image below