Aloft News

[h3]Bug Fixed[/h3]

• Reworked the loading system to prevent the invisible islands/falling through the world issue. There’s now a server rate option that can be lowered by the host to increase the chances of a successful connection for a client if their connection is bad. That setting can be found under Options -> Network -> Server Rate.
• Reworked the positioning system to make movement (especially offset) smoother in multiplayer. This should solve some very specific desync issues when a client controls an island but isn’t driving it.
  
• Fixed a potential issue with trees spreading/planting new trees.
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• Creating a lobby then going back into single-player without launching the game will cause infinite loading. Workaround: restart the game.
  
• There might be a rare occurrence in multiplayer where Corruption Nodes don’t spawn their weak points for everyone. Workaround: have the players that see the weak points kill the node.
  
• There might be a rare occurrence in multiplayer where trees will get eaten up by the void (™) - especially if using cheats like noclip. Workaround: re-plant new trees!
  

[h3]Balancing - Combat difficulties slightly adjusted[/h3]

• Guardian damage is reduced [5 -> 4].
  
• Node core health is reduced [7 -> 5].
  
• Amount of enemies spawned when fighting the node is reduced [4 -> 2].
  
• The Corruption Node's tentacles damage collider has a bigger radius [0.85 -> 1.5]. Their attacks should miss the player less often.
  
• Attacking the Nodes rewards the player with fiber [3 per weak point, 8 for the inner core].
  

[h3]Small Changes[/h3]

• Added Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Russian, Japanese and Simplified Chinese Localization.
  
• Added a new font to allow for Asian characters.
  
• When a player is teleporting to an island, the carried animal will not follow. We force the player to drop what they are carrying before teleporting.
  
• Reassigned the Glider Stand quest trigger to its original path.
  

[h3]Bugs Fixed[/h3]

• The female missing arm texture is fixed. On the leaf outfit, the arms were missing ref to the skin material.
  
• Missing Fresco and unloaded ruins fixed in multiplayer. The Helm Fresco and some ruins were missing if the clients discovered the island before the host.
  
• Fixed issue that caused animals to disappear into the void when saving and moving them across islands.
  
• Cannot Slide and Block at the same time.
  
• Removed the edible property on the Chestnut seed (no more Description with HP gain).
  
• Removed the unlocalized Encyclopedia entry for farming plots.
  
• “Game Saved!” is localized, but “Game Saving” is not.
  
• Many localization bugs fixed.
  
• Many other miscellaneous bugs fixed.
  

[h3]Audio
[/h3]

• Fix for Fresco music cutting abruptly.
  
• Fix for loading screen SFX doubling in multiplayer.
  
• Dirt footsteps replaced.
  
• Jump/land for dirt and stone replaced.
  
• Learn new crafting item replaced.
  
• Craft item replaced with temporary placeholder.
  

[h3]Known Issue[/h3]

• Some players might not be able to connect to a game in multiplayer.
  

[h3]Small changes
[/h3]

• Added a folder button to open the world directory.
  
• Nodes weak points have fewer HP.
  
• Removed the ‘Wet’ screen effect.
  

[h3]Resolved bugs
[/h3]

• Added characters in front of world files named by players, to prevent using a name reserved by the OS folder manager.
  
• Removed plank construction cost for sails, research table, and granary.
  
• Resolved an issue with a tutorial quest not appearing.
  
• Fixed an issue where the animals would teleport back on their home island.
  
• Fixed an issue with the cooking station and pouches in multiplayer.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented some worlds from loading.
  
• Recipe Pages no longer unlock wip meals.
  
• Decomposer aren’t required to heal the symbiosis of islands with no trees.
  
• Previewing the outfits in the clothing bench doesn’t make the arms appear in 1st person.
  
• Alt-Tab out of the game won’t pause Wise, fixes a lot of issues.
  

[h3]Known bug[/h3]

• Fresco and Ruins aren’t initialised correctly when discovered for the first time in multiplayer.
  

[h3]New starting environment
[/h3]

• New starter island and reworked island cluster
  
• New progression of resources, crops, and animals typical of the wanted early game experience
  
• Demo area has been reworked to align with intended player experience and progression
  

[h3]Frescoes
[/h3]

• Repository of ancient knowledge and history that unlocks key technologies
  

[h3]Introduction to the Ecosystem Restoration mechanic
[/h3]

• Field Guide allows the player to evaluate the health of an island
  
• New ways for the player to heal and improve the health of islands: inoculating trees with mushroom (decomposers), planting wildflowers and trees (plant variety), removing hindrances, and adding animals
  
• Resources and areas can be locked if the island is not healthy enough, animals can’t be adopted unless their ecosystem is healthy
  
• Further ways to interact with the island ecosystem will be added later
  

[h3]New wilderness assets
[/h3]

• Wild seeds can be harvested from small plants and used to decorate your home with a variety of flora, as well as adding plant variety to restore island ecosystems
  
• Collect reishi mushrooms to craft bandages, and create inoculants to grow more mushrooms at the base of trees
  
• Elder trees are majestic trees that can’t be cut down - use them to fuel your creativity!
  
• Bugs like ladybugs and beetles can be found and collected - further ways to interact with them will be added later
  

[h3]Introducing rock salt and charcoal
[/h3]

• Rock salt can be found in caves and charcoal on burned tree stumps
  
• Coal was removed from the game as it didn’t support the ecological message of Aloft
  

[h3]New corruption assets
[/h3]

• New enemy: the Coward
  
• New corruption node with tentacles
  
• New "death" animation for the node
  

[h3]Weathered ruins & machines
[/h3]

• Hidden treasures, lost items, and new loot is scattered among those remnants
  
• Tools and cooking recipes can be found in ruins
  

[h3]Wrecks & anchors
[/h3]

• Shipwrecks and debris can be found scattered on islands
  
• Anchors are a new asset and form of discovery that unlock sailing equipment technologies
  

[h3]Sketchbook
[/h3]

• The sketchbook allows for the discovery of blueprints from ruins and wrecks
  
• Gather lost pages in ruins and scan objects with the sketchbook to learn new building blueprints
  

[h3]Improved VFX, SFX, and music[/h3]

• New water shader and waterfall VFX
  
• New wind VFX (on islands)
  
• New SFX: building, farming, gathering resources, movement on different terrain, cave acoustics, pond and waterfall ambience, node, coward, sailing, glider stand, sewing table, sketchbook
  
• New music: loading screen ambience, fresco music/ambience, anchor music/ambience, ecosystem restoration, night time, combat
  

[h3]Glider stand
[/h3]

• Craft, customise, and equip the glider
  
• Further customization options and bonuses are not available yet
  

[h3]Sewing table
[/h3]

• Craft and customise your outfit and its colours
  
• Further customization options and bonuses are not available yet
  

[h3]Combat progression
[/h3]

• Monster variety advances with each node destroyed
  

[h3]Momentum system
[/h3]

• Skillful fighting and gliding is rewarded with momentum points, which gives the capacity to execute powerful manoeuvres
  

[h3]New cooking recipes
[/h3]

• Grind salt in a millstone to explore 4 new cooking recipes
  

[h3]Multiplayer[/h3]

• Up to 8 players
  
• For the duration of Steam Next Fest
  

[h3]General improvements
[/h3]

• Partially updated UI (work in progress)
  
• Multiple quality of life improvements
  
• Multiple performance improvements
  
• Polished walking and running animations
  
• And many other improvements on the overall game, ranging from textures, assets, visuals, balance, gameplay, and user experience
  

[h3]Known issues [/h3]

• Created characters can’t be deleted in the game yet, you need to destroy the file
  
• The game can crash after leaving the game in alt tab for more than one hour
  
• Character's model is misplaced upon interacting very fast with a helm after another user uses it
  
• Field Guide can show animals as being present on Islands which don't have animals
  
• Sometimes, no environmental music is playing in the world
  
• The player is able to override all the key binds with only 1 key
  
• The Research Table can be unlocked but the resources for it are not available in the first island cluster
  
• Food cannot be cooked in a Multiplayer session
  
• It is possible to go out of bounds while travelling with the glider
  
• Corner Roof pieces don't snap properly on Snap Mode - Automatic, use Snap Mode - Manual in the meantime
  
• Island icons are very small when interacting with the Table-Map for the first time
  
• Waypoints aren’t functional on the Table-Map
  
• Momentum bar UI is misplaced in the inventory
  
• The Pause Menu can be accessed while loading into Worlds
  
• The user's character is teleported to a specific spot when interacting with the Glider Bench
  
• FPS drops when a player joins the session
  
• Movement Key Bindings are not translated unless the user switches tabs after changing the Language
  
• Dynamic Resolution isn’t working as intended
  
• The Leaf Chest Piece has the wrong name and description
  
• Equipping new outfits while inside the Sewing Table doubles the player character model in 1st Person Mode
  

As usual for all demo updates, previous saves will not be compatible with the new version of the game. Additionally, players can access older versions of the game by going to Properties -> Betas -> Select the Beta you would like to opt into.

Bear in mind that those versions will no longer be supported and that you might encounter bugs, unbalanced, and missing features as those older versions do not accurately represent the latest progress.

Hello Sky Sailors,

We have been promising big news, and well, tie yourselves to the mast, because the winds of change are here! A brand-new multiplayer demo, a publishing partnership with Funcom, and a Fall 2024 Early Access release date! Join us above the clouds in our new trailer:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]New Multiplayer Demo [/h2]

It’s time to band together, Sky Sailors! Our multiplayer demo is now available to play, with up to 8-player co-op and a deluge of new features. Multiplayer will be available until June 17 as part of Steam Next Fest, after which the demo will remain for solo play.

Here’s the list of changes:

• Multiplayer: Create a veritable sky village with up to 8-player co-op. Why not try out a slightly lopsided flying V formation?
  
• Frescoes: Find repositories of ancient knowledge to discover new technologies.
  
• Ecosystem Restoration: Heal and fortify islands’ ecosystems with the help of the new Field Guide.
  
• New Resources: Rock salt, and charcoal.
  
• New monster: The Coward. He lives up to his name and will catch you by surprise.
  
• Sketchbook: Find ruins and wrecks to discover new decorative building pieces with the aid of your Sketchbook.
  
• Momentum System: Skillful fighting and gliding accumulate momentum, which allows you to execute powerful maneuvers. Destroy corrupted nodes to unlock new combat moves.
  
• New Starting Island: Begin your adventure on an updated sky island, which is far bigger and with something new to discover at every turn.
  
• Glider Stand: Use it to craft, equip, and customize your glider.
  
• Sewing Table: This new crafting station lets you craft and customize your outfits.
  
• Updated UI: Additional polish and streamlining.
  
• Improved VFX, SFX, and Music: In short, things look and sound better!
  
• Multiple QoL Improvements
• Several tweaks and improvements to progression.
  

Read the full Changelog.

[h2]Astrolabe + Funcom = 🌞 [/h2]

We’re excited to announce that we have joined forces with Funcom, who will support us in marketing (such as with the shiny new key art sketch we showed off), PR, localization, and quality assurance testing - essentially, to recruit as many Sky Sailors as possible! This gives the dev team more time to add new features and polish the game.

Funcom has a lot of experience both developing and publishing open world survival crafting games (Conan Exiles, Dune: Awakening), so they are a perfect fit for us. It’s fantastic to partner with a team that’s this passionate about the game, and it’s clear to us that Funcom are as committed as we are to ensuring Aloft soars.

[h2]Fall 2024? More like Fly 2024! [/h2]

Aloft will soar into Early Access in Fall 2024, meaning you will be able to play the game with your friends in its most up to date state starting from then onwards.

When we launch in Early Access, we will be listening closely to all your feedback as we update the game regularly. We can’t wait to embark on this collaborative journey with all of you.

If you have any questions for us, please join us for a Q&A session on our official discord on June 10th, where we can expand on anything we’ve mentioned here and beyond.