Ascend News

[h3]Welcome fellow climbers! 🏔️[/h3][p][/p][p]It's been just over a week since we launched, we're a small indie dev team working on this game in our spare time, so all reviews and feedback help so much![/p][p][/p][p]Saying that - thank you so much for your support and feedback - we've taken them on board and have just implemented them into a major patch. [/p][p][/p][p]This update brings new art and audio, improved tutorials and puzzle interactions, and a big round of bug fixes and polish.[/p][p][/p][p]✨ Highlights include:[/p]

• [p]New Taurus puzzle assets and lighting improvements[/p]
• [p]Better tutorial interactions and Time Turner feedback[/p]
• [p]Improved cinematic timing[/p]
• [p]Lots of bug fixes across puzzles, UI, and audio[/p]

[p][/p][p]🤯 New Features & Additions[/p]

• [p]Added new art assets to the Taurus puzzle.[/p]
• [p]Added an interact widget to the dusk NPCs[/p]

[p][/p][p]🐞 Bug Fixes & Improvements[/p]

• [p]Tutorial windows now close with a button (no more hold-to-close!).[/p]
• [p]Adjusted reset button to reduce accidental activation.[/p]
• [p]Improved timing of the Libra puzzle ending cinematic.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issue with starting Sagittarius quest without picking up the Sun ball.[/p]
• [p]Shrines & collectibles now display correctly in the journal.[/p]
• [p]Added audio to the opening cinematic.[/p]
• [p]Tarot cards no longer get stuck when rotating.[/p]
• [p]Pressure plates now visibly go down when stepped on.[/p]
• [p]Fixed long book titles overflowing UI.[/p]
• [p]Key item in the journal now greys out when used.[/p]
• [p]Fixed occasional cutscenes not being skippable.[/p]
• [p]Polished ending cinematic.[/p]
• [p]Removed duplicate doors at Capricorn puzzle entrance.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted daylight brightness and shadow behaviour.[/p]
• [p]Lowered harp interaction music.[/p]
• [p]Fixed daylight shadows appearing indoors during the Aquarius puzzle.[/p]
• [p]Prevented Aurora from going under snow in gorge areas.[/p]
• [p]Removed duplicate lavender plants near Gaia statue.[/p]
• [p]Improved messaging and functionality when interacting with Aurora’s scales.[/p]
• [p]Fixed door audio near Starweaver triggering twice.[/p]
• [p]Fixed dialogue occasionally playing twice.[/p]
• [p]Fixed input persistence and looping interactions on mirrors.[/p]
• [p]Fixed bookcases appearing open too early in the air level.[/p][p][/p]

[p]🔊 Audio Improvements[/p]

• [p]Added laser beam detector sound.[/p]
• [p]Added missing audio to opening cinematic.[/p]
• [p]Lowered harp interaction volume.[/p][p][/p]

[p]🔎 Level & Visual Passes[/p]

• [p]Improved visuals and interaction polish on several puzzle areas.
  [/p]

[p]🤔 UX Tweaks[/p]

• [p]Interaction prompts have been improved across multiple puzzles.[/p]
• [p]Improved cinematic transitions and puzzle feedback loops.[/p]
• [p]Tutorial usability improved based on player feedback.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]We're going to constantly be working to improve Ascend with patches, and updates - so please watch this space! 🫡[/h3][p]
Let us know any feedback via the Steam Community Hub, Bluesky, Instagram, X or our Discord server in the feedback channel. [/p]

[p]It's definitely been a climb, but we made it to the top (and soon so will you)! [/p][p][/p][h2]Ascend has officially released 🎉[/h2][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][p]We hope you like it - we're so proud and couldn't be more thankful for your support.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you so much, for your feedback and your words of encouragement 💖[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Now please, play the game and discover the world of Ascend 🌠 [/p][p](and send us pictures throughout your climb!)[/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]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]