Nested Lands News

Another month of dedicated effort has advanced us on the development path of Nested Lands. Here's a glimpse of what our team accomplished throughout April:

• Finalized worldbuilding texts, including a total of 80 immersive notes scattered across all corners of Norovellir.
  
• Curated detailed descriptions for the relics awaiting discovery throughout the game, enriching your village's Museum with tales of ancient wonders.
  
• Created another set of costumes for the diverse array of village residents, attending to the smallest details to bring their professions to life.
  
  
  
  
• Produced 37 concept arts, each showcasing unique designs for equipment that will aid you on your journey.
  
• Designed new Tier 2 buildings and Points of Interest.
  
• Crafted farming elements, such as garden beds and plants.
  
• Formulated various random events to enrich the gaming experience.
  
• Worked on a comprehensive Tutorial for the release version, including engaging world introduction dialogues.
  

With each milestone achieved, Nested Lands edges closer to its ultimate vision. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to pour our hearts and souls into crafting the ultimate gaming experience for you.

In Nested Lands, trying to survive alone is a fool’s errand. If you truly hope to stay alive in the plague-ridden hellscape of Norovellir, you will need to go far beyond simply meeting basic needs such as hunger, thirst, and warmth. To survive, you will need to create a functioning village out of the remains of the old world. As we’ve said before:
“You must survive to grow your village, and you must grow your village to survive”.



[h2]The Village
[/h2]

In many ways, developing your village is one of the main goals of Nested Lands. Everything, including quests, exploration, and even your own survival, are all linked to how well you manage your settlement.

Your village is a place to rest and prepare for your next run, creating a loop of exploration and management which, if done successfully, will eventually allow you to shift your priorities from basic day-to-day survival to thriving and discovering the dark secrets of this corrupted new world.

That means that aspects such as the following will have all become both positive and, more importantly, stable:

• Protection, which measures how well your settlement is equipped to deal with threats on its own
  
• Decoration, which makes your villagers happier and therefore less likely to cause problems
  
• Warmth, which measures how prepared your villagers are for cold nights
  

[h2]Ordinances[/h2]

While stability and abundance are the end goals for any new settlement in Norovellir, the process of achieving such a desirable outcome can be extremely challenging. To make things easier during these difficult times, players can choose to enforce certain rules and laws called Ordinances.

Ordinances change the functionality of the village itself, setting extended work hours, food rationing, order maintenance, and much more. These laws give the player a breather in times of need, and in certain cases they can be a way for players to engage in their own forms of rulership, choosing whether to focus on one aspect of their society or another.



Still, no matter how large the village becomes, it is important to always remember that the Plague and the various enemy factions around Norovellir will never cease to be a threat. In fact, the longer you go and the bigger your village becomes, the more these enemies will take notice of you.

[h2]Raids[/h2]

Raids are special randomized events that may happen while you are in the village, as well as when you are away. During raids, enemies will organize a strike force against your settlement, seeking to destroy your buildings, steal your supplies, and kill your people. If you’re in the village at the time, you can fight to repel these invaders, but if you’re away, the outcome will be entirely up to the defenses you built beforehand, as well as the villagers assigned to be guards.



Still, if you’re close enough, an alarm will sound indicating that a raid is in progress so you could rush to the rescue.

[h2]Villager NPCs
[/h2]

There are lots of different valuable resources a village needs to be able to grow. Access to clean water and basic resources like wood and stone are a must, but you’ll also need seeds to grow food, metal ore to turn into weapons and tools, and, of course, a variety of medicinal ingredients to treat those affected by the Death Plague. Still, there is no greater need than the simplest one of all: people.



Villagers are the heart and soul of any settlement. They keep the wheels of progress turning, and the more of these allies there are, the more the player will be free to focus on other, more pressing matters.


There are dozens of jobs and occupations for NPCs, ranging from basic ones like gatherers, hunters, cooks, blacksmiths, guards and farmers, to complex ones such as nurses, brewers, miners, herbalists, priests, and even tavern keepers, all with related buildings and workplaces. Needless to say, it’s up to you where to assign each person, but wise leaders are always aware of their people’s strengths and weaknesses, which in this game are characterized by both skills and traits, some positive and some negative.



We’ll tell you more about these villager stats later, as well as how recruitment works. For now, we’ll just say that each recruitable NPC has a total of three survivor traits that define not only which occupations they are good or bad at, but also their reaction to other gameplay features such as raids, the plague, the story, and even their own goals and objectives. While some traits are revealed as soon as you meet a particular NPC, there are others, rarer and more impactful ones that are not revealed until you earn that person’s trust - or, if you’d prefer a more ruthless approach, you can extract them via intimidation. It is then up to you to decide if this person will continue living in the village, or if it’s safer to be rid of them.


Managing the village will require careful planning and execution, as well as a heavy dose of decision-making. The game’s official reveal is coming soon and, as we’ve said before, it won’t be long before we dive more deeply into the ins and outs of how villagers work in the game.

To stay up to date on all things Nested Lands, remember to join our Discord server, wishlist the game on Steam, and, of course, subscribe to our newsletter.

Our team is working hard to prepare the Alpha version of Nested Lands so you can soon immerse yourself in the harsh world of Norovellir! Here are just a few of the most exciting things we did in March:

• Refined the appearance and movements of both players and NPCs, enhancing poses and clothing details to make them more realistic.
  
• Created screen tips, trait descriptions, and lore notes scattered throughout various locations in Nested Lands, allowing you to uncover the secrets of Norovellir.
  
• Added icons for the majority of in-game items, making it easier to identify and manage your inventory.
  
• Crafted captivating Points of Interest, ensuring that each corner of Nested Lands is authentic.
  
• Worked on quests: their names, descriptions, types, tasks, requirements, and rewards to ensure an engaging gameplay experience.
  
• Created brand new shields and swords for thrilling battles with enemies.
  
• Introduced rain animations to our dynamic weather system.
  
• Implemented stealth mechanics, allowing you to approach challenges with guile and precision.
  

There's still more work ahead - for instance, in April we’ll start implementing bigger buildings. Stay tuned for more news about the game and the start of the alpha test!

Many are the threats that await you in the desolate and corrupted world of Nested Lands. Hunger and cold, bandits and maniacs: all are perils you must face in the vastness of Norovellir. Yet, not a single one of them is as dangerous or ever-present as the worst of all: the Death Plague.



[h2]Plague Stages[/h2]

In the game, all characters are susceptible to contracting the plague. That means you, as well as your villagers and even the enemy NPCs can become infected. Because of that, players need to take a variety of precautions to avoid raising their contamination chance and, when all else fails, must search for possible solutions as quickly as possible.

There are three stages to infection: “Spreading”, “Advanced” and “Dying”, with each succeeding stage causing increasingly heavier debuffs to that character, as well as developing additional symptoms, such as violent coughing, skin blisters and marks, and even necrosis in the body. Not to mention, of course, exponentially raising the contamination chance of any other people around that one infected person. If nothing is done, the character will eventually die, leaving behind a plagued corpse, which, while no longer alive, may still spread the disease to any living person that gets too close to it unprotected. To stop a full-blown epidemic in the village, players will have to build one or more Burning Pits, where corpses can be cremated into nothingness.



[h2]Treating the Disease[/h2]

Luckily, treatment of the Death Plague is indeed possible. Through the years of torment and misery, some survivors have learned of a few different options for dealing with such ailment, though some of these means can be exceedingly rare:

• Building Infirmaries and, later, Plague Hospitals, allows for the containment of infected NPCs, as well as slowing down the spread of the plague among other individuals. In addition to that, through the work of appointed Nurses, infected people left there may have a slow chance to recover, gradually lowering the level of their stage infection.
  
• Another building that can help, but this time through prevention rather than treatment, is the Bath House. Hygiene is, after all, one of the best ways to stay healthy.
  
• Plague Masks can be crafted in the Tannery, increasing a character’s overall resistance to being infected by the Plague for as long as the mask is worn.
  
• Plague Medicine is an item crafted in the Apothecary’s Hut, which decreases one level of infection to anyone who takes it. Still, its ingredients are rare, and depending on how many people are infected, a decision must be made: Do you save the ones closest to death, or do you prioritize those that can be fully healed and will then be able to return to their regular duties?
  
• While not certain, there are also legends and rumors of a true cure, hidden somewhere in Norovellir. Some kind of all-powerful medicine which could completely heal anyone infected, no matter how close
  to death that person is. Still, such tales must surely be nothing more than the rambles of the desperate and the mad. Best not to rely on them.
  
• Finally, one could always imprison, banish, or even execute contaminated villagers. The needs of the many, after all.
  

[h2]Plagued Enemies
[/h2]

Still, you are not the only one battling against the Death Plague. All around Norovellir, the factions of enemies which you yourself will be facing are also in constant engagement with the disease. After all, no matter how powerful or influential, no single person is free from the looming threat of corruption. And remember, when facing infected enemies, not only are they physical threats, but simply being near them is enough to raise your contamination chance, forcing you to carefully consider whether to even engage in the first place.

Still, not all enemies will give you the chance for consideration. While no one knows the exact origin of the Infected Savages, these poor and accursed souls were clearly once people. Whether they remain so, however, is a different question entirely. Their minds are gone, and their bodies now follow only the commandments of the Plague: to spread and to kill.



The Death Plague is, without doubt, the greatest and most unrelenting foe that players will encounter while playing Nested Lands. It is unyielding, uncompromising and, most importantly, unending. It will be there from the beginning, but, as we have shown today, shrewd survivors have a multitude of options when dealing with this deadly disease.

If you want to know more about the game, including a few other secrets that may still pertain to the plague, be sure to join our discord server, wishlist the game on steam, and also subscribe to our newsletter, so as to stay up-to-date with all things Nested Lands!

As the alpha test release of the harrowing survival RPG, Nested Lands, looms on the horizon, we ventured into uncharted territory, capturing the essence of this grim universe through a captivating live action teaser. The filming journey was anything but straightforward, presenting us with unexpected challenges and exhilarating moments that pushed our creative boundaries. In this Dev Diary, we'll peel back the layers and reveal the challenges faced during the shoot.



[h2]Crafting a realistic world
[/h2]
In our live-action teaser, we strived to authentically portray the medieval ambiance of Norovellir's brutal post-plague world. To achieve this, we enlisted a team of skilled actors, makeup artists, and costume designers who helped us recreate the brutal medieval atmosphere:

• Our actors are great enthusiasts of medieval aesthetics and history. For the trailer shooting, each of them was wearing meticulously crafted handmade costumes, complemented by authentic props, including real museum exhibits such as pots and helmets. No mass market or factory sewing, only handmade for advanced authenticity!
  
• The blacksmith, a genuine professional, operated in an authentic medieval forge, able to craft real weapons.
  
• Severed limbs, so common in the harsh medieval world, were made by a prop artist who worked on Stranger Things — that's why they look so realistic!
  
• The setting goes beyond mere decoration – we received a special permission to shoot our video in a genuine medieval village in Lithuania, which is under UNESCO's protection for its authenticity.
  
  
  
  

[h2]Unexpected challenges
[/h2]
No filming can go without incident, especially while shooting such an epic video as the Nested Lands teaser. Several extraordinary situations almost derailed the filming process - but we overcame all the difficulties and made a captivating video you will see soon.



For example, during our shoot at the first location, the Bandits' camp, the director of photography decided to bring their car closer to the setting by crossing a small stream. However, he underestimated the softness of the soil, the car became stuck, and the crew had to get it out of there themselves, resulting in the loss of the car's bumper.

Another last-minute setback happened when a café we booked to serve as our base rejected us. Swiftly adapting, we secured the cooperation of a local church and its rector, gaining access to their premises. Our makeshift dressing room ended up being situated in a space originally designated for funeral services. The challenges of filming add a unique twist to the behind-the-scenes tales of Nested Lands!



Despite all the challenges that stood in our way, we shot as much as 500 gigabytes of high-quality footage, and we're currently piecing together a spectacular teaser, conveying the brutal atmosphere of Nested Lands.

Soon you will see it with your own eyes! In the meantime, follow our announcements on the Nested Lands Discord server — don’t miss the release of our epic video and other interesting news about your next favorite game.