ASKA News

Hey Vikings

Today’s the day - if you’ve been successful in your application for the Closed Beta you should have now received an email letting you know that you’re in.

Please don’t be discouraged if you weren’t selected - we had an overwhelming amount of applications and if we could have let everyone into this Beta we would have but unfortunately we are unable to stress test with everyone.

To all of our new testers we are so thrilled and grateful to have you. You’ll gain access to the Beta section of the Discord throughout the course of the day & will receive your codes on Monday April 15 for the April Closed Beta launch!

Please remember, this is a Closed Beta & you must not to disclose any information about the game that relates to the Closed Beta - the reason for this is that the game isn’t fully baked yet. Streaming and content creation is also not permitted during the whole event - we want to save this until a bit later.

We can’t wait to share more of this world we’re building with you all and we hope you all build a strong & thriving tribe (or tribes!) of your own.

Please feel free to ask any questions you have, give us as much feedback as you wish & help us make 2024 the year of the Viking!

Hey Vikings

Thor’s been beating his mighty hammer and he’s made Aska THUNDERFUL! ⛈

That’s right - we’ve teamed up with Thunderful Games as our publisher & we’re thrilled to have them on board as we continue to develop the world of Aska.

Our vision of creating an open world survival game focused on building up & leading your tribe through the harsh environment in Aska is coming together, and we are so delighted with everyone’s responses so far. Our community is ever growing & we hope in 2024 even more Vikings will join our tribe!

With that, we have a new Community Manager in the form of the amazing PaigeOnline bringing her passion for games & community to lead you all to glory and she’s going to live and breathe Aska and make sure all your amazing feedback, questions and content are recognised.

Bringing in a publisher allows our small team to focus on the important stuff (making the game as amazing as we can!). We hope you will welcome Paige and the Thunderful team with open arms and make them feel welcome.

There’s so much to be excited about for Aska this year and we’re kicking off 2024 with the dates for our next closed beta which will be 15th-21st April!
You can sign up in our Discord RIGHT NOW - https://discord.gg/WDaAcbxYMm

Don’t forget to Wishlist… oh and check out our shiny new trailer 👇
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Tribe leaders! [/h3]
A new adventure awaits you on Thursday, November 23rd when we’ll run the 2nd Multiplayer Closed Beta! We’re aiming to make this the biggest Beta Test to date and are looking to invite up to 500 Vikings!

Some of the key information that we’ll want you to have:

1. The Closed Beta will run from November 23rd till December 3rd, A whopping 10 days!
   
2. Streaming or recording the game is not allowed (You’ll be required to sign an NDA)
   
3. This is a Beta Build and not the final game, Features will change and you might encounter bugs and/or loss of progress.
   
4. You are able to play alone or with up to 4 friends. Signing up together with friends does increase your chances of being selected.

[h2]How to sign-up and participate in the 2nd Multiplayer Closed Beta?[/h2]
Here is a quick step-by-step guide to sign-up & join the Closed Beta:

1. Join the ASKA Discord to access the Closed Beta Sign-Up form
   
2. Complete the Multiplayer Closed Beta Sign-up form before November 21st (00:00 CET)
   
3. The Selection Process takes place, note not everyone might be selected (See Selection Criteria)
   
4. When selected, you will receive an invitation e-mail and the NDA form
   
5. Complete and sign the NDA and send this to SandSailor Studio
   
6. Receive ASKA Closed Multiplayer Code through e-mail
   
7. Play and enjoy ASKA
   
8. At the end of the multiplayer Closed Beta, we'll share a feedback survey, please complete this, it helps us a lot!

[h2]What is new in the Multiplayer Closed Beta?[/h2]

We’ve been working on many new features and we thought to highlight a few that we’re particularly excited for you to try out during the new Closed Beta:

[h3]Happiness System[/h3]
Building a settlement from scratch is no easy task, especially when your followers each have their own needs and issues. With the new Happiness system, we’ve added depth to our Villagers, and failing to provide them with housing, furniture, amenities and leisure time will eventually take its toll.

[h3]Religion[/h3]
Playing into the Happiness system is Religion, as you can now build Runestones where Villagers will spend their leisure time, pondering the great mysteries of the universe, building up their Happiness. A priest will make sure to burn valuable resources to fuel a Blessing, which will buff attending Villagers.


[h3]User Interface Overhaul[/h3]
We’ve completely reworked the UI, going for a slicker more modern look, which includes taking a few extra steps towards full controller support! A new Villager overview menu has also been added, alongside a variety of added menu functionality.

[h3]World Boss[/h3]
The Stone Jotun has now received his own unique biome and can be now triggered and fought, once you locate him in the world.

The Stone Jotun comes with a complete array of attacks, minions and means of healing himself. He’s designed to be quite the challenge, so make sure you enter the fight fully prepared.


[h3]And much more![/h3]

• A perk system, each villager will come with their own qualities and Quirks.
  
• Fishing boats, adventure out into the ocean and catch fish.
  
• Iron tools, The metal age is upon us.
  
• Reworked mini-map, more in-theme and feature-rich.
  
• Lots of QOL and improvements & bug fixes thanks to your help!
  

[h2]We’re keen to get feedback![/h2]
A lot has changed since the last Closed Beta, and your feedback has been incredibly valuable to us. Since the last Beta, we’ve fixed countless of bugs and multiplayer issues. Overhauled and finetuned existing features.

This Closed Beta is no different and sees a ton of new features and a big user interface overhaul, so make sure to let us know what you think, and share your feedback with us.

—

We’re excited to see you guys in-game on November 23rd and in the meantime, make sure to join the ASKA Discord & Wishlist the game!

~ The Sandsailor Team

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1898300/ASKA/

[h3]Stream Today[/h3]

[h3]Hail Tribe Leaders,[/h3]

Today we’re hosting a Twitch stream to do a bit of catching up. Last weeks have been pretty busy, and ASKA hasn’t been sitting idle. We flew over to Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2023, we finished up our very first multiplayer beta, and we’ve been adding quite a few cool things to the game!
See you today at 7PM CET on our Twitch channel for a chill hangout to kickoff the new week

[h3]Post Beta[/h3]
Our multiplayer closed beta ran August 11-20, a test which has been especially exciting for us because it was the first proper run of our multiplayer game mode.
We’re happy to say that apart from some bugs which we’ve managed to fix post-test, the multiplayer mode seems solid, without any worrying issues.
So from now on we can focus on preparing the Open Beta, by fixing known issues and adding content.

[h3]New Enemy[/h3]

One thing we’ve learned is that our enemies are a bit too hardcore for new players. There’s plenty to kill during medium and late game, but too few weak enemies to help you learn how to fight. This has led us to come up with The Wisp.
This is a weak entry-level enemy that haunts the shores of ASKA. The lost souls of dead mariners who refuse to leave this world form these wandering entities. Their bodies are made of driftwood and are kept alive by the blood of the Primal Jotun, which taints this land.

[h3]New Hat![/h3]

The elements continue to be one of the biggest enemies in ASKA, and so our craftsmen have perfected the newest clothing item in the war against cold: the Thick Linen Hood!
Besides feeding into our hooded hero fantasies, the hood is a sturdier alternative to the Linen Cap.

[h3]New Fortifications[/h3]

As our enemies grow stronger and stronger with each build, so rises the need for stronger defenses. Our old wattle fences were in need of an upgrade and so our carpenters have been hard at work preparing the planks for a fresh new line of defenses: the Plank Wall, Tower and Gate. These will allow you to better fortify your villages and turn that shanty camp into a true fortified medieval village!