Ascend News

We're back with another exciting update! Our demo is now not only looking better but also sounding delightful too (new Yak sounds anyone??) 🦬

Go try out the improvements to our puzzles and explore the library! 🌠



[h2]General[/h2]

• Performance increase and memory leaks update. Now less memory leaks overall.
  
• New Timer turner UI added, now pulses and gives a visual indicator that time has passed.
  
• Added a new dialogue box.
  
• Updated run and jumping animations. Less float, more joy!
  
• Quest UI uses controller to move between tabs now.
  

[h2]Leo Puzzle[/h2]

• Hints are added when the Twilight crystal is not touched.
  
• Dusk tutorial hint added to encourage players to enter dusk.
  
• Twilight crystal has new VFX to entice the player to interact with it.
  
• Updated working on the notifications for the Twilight crystal and Sagittarius book puzzle.
  
• Updated the scrolls and book to give better hints for the puzzles.
  
• Fixed light source messaging not triggering when Solariseye is added.
  

[h2]Sagittarius Puzzle[/h2]

• Interaction on object improvements for the library puzzle.
  
• Lighting pass indoors (Castle).
  
• New name for the library.
  
• New object names.
  
• New Atherbolt Library assets placed.
  
• No more placeholder assets, all removed.
  
• Sagittarius castle cinematic adjusted to include more hints for the puzzle.
  
• New Sagittarius castle hidden room added.
  
• Sagittarius Bow puzzle hint in the hidden room of the Atherbolt Library.
  
• Fixed the empty book not getting replaced in the Sagittarius puzzle.
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]

• Implemented Book Place + Pickup, and Bow Place.
  
• Implemented sound for bookcase movement.
  
• Added sound when glass is added to a light source.
  
• Leo puzzle: completed laser and mirror hit implementation.
  
• Tarot Aura card now makes a mystical sound effect ✨
  
• Castle reverb added.
  
• New Yak sounds!!!
  
• New Fox Monkey Sounds.
  
• Updated Aurora footsteps.
  
• Various Audio bugfixes.
  

We're so excited for you to see what we've got planned - onwards adventurers!

Let us know any feedback via the Steam Community Hub, Bluesky, Instagram, X or our Discord server (currently under renovations)

We’re thrilled to announce that Ascend will be featured in the Women-Led Games Showcase - Summer Game Fest Edition!

This showcase is a celebration of games led by women across the industry, and we’re honoured to be part of it. Tune in on June 7th at 10AM PT to catch an exclusive look at Ascend alongside a stunning line-up of games from women-led teams.

💫 Watch the full showcase here:
https://www.youtube.com/@Women-LedGames

Being a part of this community means so much to us. Ascend is a deeply personal project, and to share space with other women-led studios doing meaningful, emotional, and powerful work is honestly amazing.

We hope you’ll join us for the showcase, discover new favourites, and celebrate the incredible women shaping the future of games. Your support means the world 💜

Showcase Date: June 7th, 10AM PT / 1PM ET / UTC -7
Where to watch:

• WLGTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/womenledgames
  
• WLG Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Women-LedGames
  

You will also find our showcases on The Game Awards, IGN, and GameSpot YouTube channels

See you in the showcase!
- Nareice

We've got some incredibly exciting things brewing over at Team Miami Avalon which we can't wait to share with you! But in the meantime, we've added some magical touches to our demo - check them out ✨

Your quest is as follows... Try out our new and improved demo, give us feedback and continue being lovely humans! 🌠



[h2]Fixes and changes[/h2]

• Performance update in the castle.
  The castle should now not cause framerate drops within the castle. We moved overlapping lights and adjusted postprocessing effects.
  
• New lighting in the castle during the evening and daytime.
  
• The Sagittarius puzzle is now complete! You can finally complete the Sagittarius puzzle with quest objectives and a true ending to the demo.
  
• Updated cutscenes within the castle.
  
• New dialogue added within the castle. Now you’ll be as confused as Aurora about what’s going on!
  
• The time turner number bug during the tutorial. This is now corrected, so you’ll know what to press now.
  
• New Night Sky - Now with an update on the Aurora, and at nighttime it now rains. We did this to help make big variations between the time of day, so it’s more visual.
  
• Crystals now have a better visual representation of what they mean.
  
• UI has now been updated for the Main menu and Pause Menu.
  
• Time turner has better notifications when using it.
  

Now go on, explore!

Let us know any feedback via the Steam Community Hub, Bluesky, Instagram, X or our Discord server (currently under renovations)

Good news everyone! We've been loving your response to our demo so far, and so... it's being extended until the end of April✨

Our team has been hard at work after receiving your feedback, here's what we'll be implementing in this patch!

Thank you for all your support, and please continue giving us any feedback - it helps a lot 💗



[h2]Fixes and changes[/h2]

• Main Menu added before game start.
  
• Quit game added to the settings menu.
  
• Pause menu added.
  
• Fixing the mirror swap crystal dialogue to play the correct version.
  
• Tutorial updates will now pop up after the first tutorial has popped.
  
• Missions now pop in right after the cinematic ends, even when skipping it.
  (This used to cause issues with the missions if you skipped the cutscene)
  
• Updated quest Goddess statue logic so that the mission & quest items are added correctly to Aurora when skipping the cinematic.
  
• Removed the time turner from Aurora once picking up Sun Planet as more bugs were starting to be introduced!
  
• Fixed an issue with the mirror swap cinematic continually playing after first interacting with it.
  
• Fixed an issue with missions not triggering correctly from skipping cutscenes.
  
• Fixed an issue with the 'Power The Telescope' mission triggering after interacting with the Gaia statue.
  

Have fun!

Please let us know any feedback via the Steam Community Hub, Bluesky, Instagram, X or our Discord server (currently under renovations)

We're over the moon to announce that we've just released a demo so you can experience a taste of Ascend 🎇

Our demo will be playable from today, 2pm on 27 February until 20 March 2025!



Here's what you can expect;

• 15 - 20 minutes of gameplay
  
• Featuring the starsign puzzle for Leo and Sagittarius - feedback wanted!
  
• Players will learn how to use the time turner (beneficial for all puzzles in Ascend)
  

We can't wait to hear your experience playing with Aurora, this has been such a journey - thank you so much for your support.

Please let us know any feedback via the Steam Community Hub, Bluesky, Instagram, X or our Discord server (currently under renovations)