Ascend News

[p]Hi everyone!

Today we wanted to show you behind the scenes of how we implemented the sounds for inspecting items in Ascend.

Ashley takes us through the setup process and how implementation was done in Unreal Engine 5.5! Take a look![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]- Miami Avalon Team[/p]

[p]Hi stargazing climbers! (we'll workshop that name)[/p][p] [/p][h2]Get ready for Demo Update 2.0 🌠[/h2][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][h3]We're adding a bunch of new features, here's what you can expect;[/h3]

• [p]It's now the start of the game up until the end of the Leo puzzle (no more Sagittarius section!)[/p]
• [p]An update of introducing the Time Turner[/p]
• [p]Time Turner is now called Starweaver 💫[/p]
• [p]NPC's take on a greater role during Dusk[/p]
• [p]You can now try out the new Quest book[/p]
• [p]Aries puzzle is now an introduction on using Twilight[/p]
• [p]Climbing is now in the game[/p]
• [p]You can now collect shrines, tarot cards and objects within the world.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]There's now more of the Ascend world to explore! ⛰️[/h3][p][/p][p]We're approaching our release date so any and all feedback is appreciated, we want to make sure we're making a game that we can all be proud of! [/p][p][/p][p]Let us know any feedback via the Steam Community Hub, Bluesky, Instagram, X or our Discord server in the feedback channel. [/p]

[p]Last month, we had the chance to showcase Ascend at MegaCon, which was a great experience![/p][p]MegaCon was such a blast! We brought along some of Ascend’s new levels and updated demo, and seeing people dive into the puzzles (and seeing those younger than 12 always beat the puzzles!!) was amazing. The feedback we got is going to help us make the game even better, and honestly, just watching people play reminded us why we’re making this in the first place.[/p][p]
New Faces[/p][p]We also met a ton of new faces who haven't played Ascend before, so playtesters, fellow developers in the area, and players who really connected with Zodiac and Celestial themes. It gave us so much energy for our own climb ahead.[/p][p][/p][p]There were a fair few issues we ran into with our newly updated build, and it was great getting some feedback on learning how to use the Starweaver (previously Timeturner). We've made a few changes since then, introducing it more slowly and giving Dusk more direction and usefulness on advance forward in and out of puzzles.[/p][carousel][/carousel][carousel]aw Blade![/carousel][p]We took to the stage to talk about Ascend and game development, and how we got into the games industry. It was a great talk to go over why we made Miami Avalon and why Ascend is so special to us, too![/p][p]We also talked about Aurora and her anxiety, and bringing life into the character by our own experiences and what we've all felt when having an anxiety attack.[/p][p][/p][p]If you want to see more of what’s coming (and maybe even break things before anyone else does 👀), hop into our Discord. We share behind-the-scenes builds, run playtests, and hang out with the community as the mountain grows.[/p][p]👉 https://discord.gg/2TMBC5d9[/p][p][/p][p]A Big Thanks to Game Republic[/p][p]We also want to give a huge shoutout to Game Republic for having us as part of their stand. Their support means a lot, and it was awesome being there alongside so many other indie games from the community. 🙌[/p]

[p]Hi everyone,[/p][p]We wanted to share a quick update with you all. The release date for Ascend has been moved to 30th September. The decision wasn’t easy, but with us working on the game part time, the timeline slipped a little underneath us. We want to make sure every puzzle is thoroughly tested and the most annoying of bugs are squished before you set foot on the mountain.[/p][p][/p][h3]✨ What's Next?[/h3][p]The good news is we’ll be putting out another demo update in early September! This will include a brand new area and puzzle for you to explore and help us test. Your feedback has been invaluable so far, and we’re really excited to give you something new to dive into before launch.[/p][p][/p][h3]✨ What Else?[/h3][p]While we’re here, here's a sneak peek at a few things we’ve been working on:
[/p][p]Gemini Puzzle[/p][p]Aurora enters an iced chamber where she must push ice blocks and statues into place. Each move has to be carefully thought out, as the chamber itself reflects her actions, capturing the balance and duality of the twins. Yes, it's a push block puzzle, but who doesn't love these, and it's with a twist![/p][p][/p][p]Virgo Puzzle[/p][p]A meditative star path woven into the earth itself. Players must recall constellations and step carefully on musical platforms. It’s a slower, reflective challenge, inviting patience and precision and memory![/p][p][/p][p]Shrines[/p][p]The shrines scattered across the mountain continue to evolve, guiding Aurora’s journey. The water level in particular has been a big focus; its tides rise and fall depending on time of day, leading to puzzles full of hidden paths, shifting bridges, and a stormy intensity.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We’re truly sorry to delay things a little, but we hope you’ll understand why we chose to delay. Ascend is a special project for us, and we want to make sure it feels just as magical for you when you play it.[/p][p]Thank you for your patience and continued support, it really means the world. 💜[/p][p][/p][p]Nareice[/p]

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]It's Nareice here from the Miami Avalon team!

First off, a massive thank you to everyone who played Ascend during Steam Next Fest. Your support, kind words, and feedback meant the world to us. We’ve been going through all your comments and bugs you've been posting, suggestions, and we're doing our best to prioritise what we can fix while continuing to work on the full game coming this August!![/p][p]As a fully unfunded, micro indie studio working on Ascend in our spare time, your encouragement is what keeps us going. We can’t patch everything all at once (though we wish we could, honestly!), but with each update, we’re aiming to make the game more polished and the experience we set out for Ascend to be.[/p][p]Update 1.4 includes improvements to the Leo and Sagittarius puzzles, controller fixes (though we're working towards full controller support), and a whole bunch of animation and sound design polish that makes the mountain feel more alive than ever.

[/p][p]Here’s what’s new:[/p][p][/p][h3]Leo[/h3]

• [p]You couldn’t move the camera when holding the Leo mirror. This is now fixed.[/p]
• [p]Spark didn’t appear anymore on the telescope, indicating it’s broken.[/p]
• [p]The Twilight interaction cutscene was adjusted slightly.[/p]
• [p]Updated the Twilight setting to UP on the controller.[/p]
• [p]The telescope had no interaction.[/p]
• [p]Mirror rotation continued to play if left and right are spammed. This should now be fixed.[/p]
• [p]Implemented the Leo puzzle, and all sounds are now completed.[/p]
• [p]Shortened the time between mirror hit sounds.
  [/p]

[h3]Sagittarius[/h3]

• [p]Candle lamps in the library posed an immersion issue. The candles have been moved away from the books![/p]
• [p]You drift left when using the controller on the blue bookcase. This shouldn’t happen anymore.
  Interacting with the Sagittarius Bow has been corrected.[/p]

• [p]Added floating dialogue when near Sagittarius bookcase, which are riddles connecting to the books you should place.
  [/p]

[h3]General[/h3]

• [p]End-of-demo menu was broken.[/p]
• [p]On the demo end screen, none of the options on the UI could be pressed.[/p]
• [p]Added an interaction on the crystal for the Leo puzzle hint.[/p]
• [p]Added player footsteps to animations.[/p]
• [p]You couldn’t move the tarot cards with the left analogue stick.[/p]
• [p]Aurora's eyes needed some adjusting. Our girl was looking at the sky all the time!
  Cleaned up the level so the mountain came back into view in the background.[/p]
• [p]Switched the close button to the B button on the controller.[/p]
• [p]You can't rotate objects with the controller's left analogue stick.[/p]
• [p]The controller is uneasy to control when moving the mirrors[/p]
• [p]No controller support for NPC interaction. Now fixed.[/p]
• [p]You have to press the left face button to interact with the NPCs.[/p]
• [p]The icon for top face changed to Xbox controller.[/p]
• [p]Quest UI now doesn’t show up in the cutscenes[/p]
• [p]Updated footstep system.[/p]
• [p]Added cloth foley sounds to animations[/p]
• [p]Added hover/unhover to inventory UI.[/p]
• [p]Stopped Tarot Card Hint sound being triggered.[/p]
• [p]Quest bar and book updates.[/p]
• [p]An update to the final animations.[/p]
• [p]Jump is less floaty.[/p]
• [p]Idle adjusted on animations.[/p]
• [p]We've added Credits! Thank you to everyone who worked on Ascend so far!

[p][/p][p][/p][p]That’s everything for this update! We'll land one more big demo update before the full release or any hotfixes as needed. Thank you again for climbing with us and being part of this journey!!
It means more than we can say. [/p][p]If you come across any issues, feel free to reach out via the Steam boards. We're working on having Discord up and running soon. We're always listening. [/p]