Echoes of Elysium News

[p][/p][h3]Hey everyone! 🩵[/h3][p][/p][p]During our latest Discord Team Stream, the Art Team took the community on a journey through the creative process behind Echoes of Elysium, diving deep into character design and animation. These Team Streams are part of our ongoing effort to share development insights directly with the community, helping bridge the gap between players and our dev team.[/p][p][/p][p]Today, we’ll introduce some of the key creatives behind the game’s visuals and highlight key moments from the stream. These talented artists help shape the world, characters, and overall style you will experience in-game, and their creativity plays a huge role in bringing everything to life.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Ilya - Art Director & Concept Artist[/h3][p]Formerly Lead Concept Artist at Bethesda, Ilya has worked on major titles such as Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls, with additional credits including Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong, and Shadow of Mordor.
[/p][h3]Roger - Lead Character Artist[/h3][p]With over twenty years in the gaming industry, Roger has contributed to projects such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and Call of Duty, and even MCU marketing and character design. He specializes in 3D art and animation.[/p][p][/p][h3]Karim - Technical Artist & Animator[/h3][p]Bringing twenty-five years of industry experience to the team, Karim’s credits include Fable, Black & White 2, Shadow of Mordor, and Firewall Ultra. Fun fact: He wrote the book on The Art of Rigging.[/p][p]
[/p][h3]Visual Cohesion & World Building[/h3][p][/p][p]Ilya kicked off the stream by diving into character design and how early concepts shaped the world of Elysium. The first piece of concept art was a total game-changer, offering a glimpse of all the different elements in the game coming together in a cohesive style from the architecture to the landscapes to the enemies. What’s amazing is how close this initial vision aligns with what the game looks like today, highlighting the importance of visual cohesion in creating an immersive world and experience.[/p][p][/p][h3]Character Development[/h3][p][/p][p]Defining key classes like Warrior, Pilot, and Builder helped capture the spirit of the game laying a foundation to build off of. It gives a fresh avenue to flesh out tier levels for the character. Although it took numerous iterations and a vast amount of characters to reach this point, establishing the archetypes provided a clear creative direction.[/p][p][/p][h3]Character Creation[/h3][p][/p][p]Roger walked the community through the process of turning 2D concepts to 3D models, emphasizing how crucial it is to work alongside the concept artist in realizing the vision. Using tools like ZBrush, Maya, and Substance Painter, Roger ensures every character is vibrant and polished, looking the best way possible in 3D. The cel-shading rendering style gives way for a painterly 2D vibe, making characters pop against the world and environment, enhancing the overall depth, contrast, and animation fluidity, as well as making production speeds faster and efficient.[/p][p][/p][h3]Animation & Movement[/h3][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Karim then showcased some animated sequences, including combat and crafting table interactions with a focus on natural movement, realistic physics, and fluidity throughout these sequences. By ensuring animated sequences never feel like an obvious loop, Karim’s attention to detail makes the world feel so much more alive and immersive.[/p][p][/p][h3]Team Insights & Tips[/h3][p]The stream wraps up with the team sharing their design philosophy, favorite development moments, and tips for aspiring artists.[/p][p]
Interested in seeing more? The full stream is ready to watch on our YouTube channel:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Upcoming Team Stream[/h2][p]Our Team Streams are a chance for the community to hang out, ask questions, and share feedback directly to the team! Our next stream will be this Thursday, January 29th at 8 PM ET hosted on our Discord server. Join the community to stay up to date with all Echoes of Elysium news and tune in live. Trust us, you don’t want to miss it! https://discord.gg/loricgames 🩵[/p][p][/p][h2]Early Access Launch[/h2][p]Echoes of Elysium launches in Early Access this Tuesday, January 27th! Wishlist it, grab your copy at launch, and share with all your friends! Plus, enjoy a 10% launch week discount![/p][p][/p][p]As always, we are so grateful for all the support and love from the community, we wouldn’t be here without you guys! Thank you so much for being part of the Echoes of Elysium journey![/p][p]The adventure starts soon, and we can’t wait to have you along![/p][p]🧡Team Loric[/p][p]
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[p]Hi everyone 💙[/p][p]
We’re excited (and honestly relieved) to finally share this with you:[/p][p][/p][p]Echoes of Elysium will launch into Early Access on January 27, available for $19.99 USD (Plus a 10% discount during launch week!) [/p][p][/p][p]We know delays are never easy, but we want to take a moment to explain why this time mattered - and what it unlocked for the game.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Why the Extra Time Was Worth It[/h2][p]Over the past stretch of development, the team has been deeply focused on improving stability and overall game feel. The additional time wasn’t about polishing for polish’s sake, or adding new content. It was about addressing real issues and making sure that when you jump in, the experience is solid, reliable, and ready to grow alongside the community.[/p][p][/p][p]During this period, we resolved a number of crashes, closed off edge-case bugs, and smoothed out several rough systems that were impacting moment-to-moment play. Much of this work happened behind the scenes, but it meaningfully improved performance, consistency, and reliability across the game. We even ported to an entirely new version of Unity. As a result, the current build is significantly more stable and in a far better position to support ongoing updates and player feedback.[/p][p][/p][h2]Early Access Pricing[/h2][p]Echoes of Elysium launches in Early Access at $19.99, reflecting the game’s current scope and our commitment to building it alongside the community.[/p][p][/p][p]As we reach major milestones and move toward full release, the price will increase so Early Access represents the best value for players who want to be part of the journey early.[/p][p][/p][p]Week 1 only: enjoy a 10% launch discount 🎉[/p][p][/p][p]A small thank-you to the early believers helping shape the game from day one.[/p][p][/p][h2]Building Starts January 27[/h2][p]Early Access is just the beginning of our long Airship journey. From day one, we’ll be listening, iterating, and building Echoes of Elysium alongside the community through Discord feedback, voice chats, streams, and live Q&As with the dev team.[/p][p][/p][p]January 27 is when it all truly begins, and we couldn’t be more excited to take that first step with you.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for your patience, your excitement, and your trust.[/p][p][/p][p]We can’t wait to welcome you into the skies.[/p][p]- Team Loric[/p]

[p][/p][p]Hi there![/p][p][/p][p]If we haven’t met yet, I’m Michelle and I help manage the community side of Echoes of Elysium. I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that’s becoming one of my favorite parts of this project: our Discord.[/p][h3]
A Community That’s Growing Every Day[/h3][p]Our Discord community has been steadily growing over the past few months, not just in numbers, but in energy. Every day, new faces join to ask questions, share ideas, give feedback, or simply hang out and chat about survival games, airships, and the worlds we all love. [/p][p][/p][p]What’s been especially cool to see is how welcoming the community is. New members aren't just joining and lurking, they're jumping into conversations, and longtime members are quick to pull them in. It genuinely feels like a place people want to be, not just a server you join and forget about.[/p][h3]
If You Haven’t Joined Yet, This Is Your Sign[/h3][p]If you’ve been following Echoes of Elysium but haven’t joined the Discord yet, I can honestly say: you’re missing a big part of the experience.[/p][p]
On our Discord, you’ll find: [/p]

• [p]Development conversations happening in real time[/p]
• [p]Updates and ideas are shared (and debated!) openly[/p]
• [p]Feedback that actually reaches our team[/p]
• [p]Direct interaction with both the devs and players[/p]
• [p]Exclusive Q&A-style gameplay team streams[/p]

[p]It’s casual, it’s collaborative, and it’s very much shaped by the people in it. Our priority is to maintain an engaging and safe space where gamers can hang out, talk freely about anything and everything, and help shape the future of the game.
[/p][h3]Why Early Access Exists for Echoes of Elysium[/h3][p]Early Access isn’t just a launch strategy for us, it’s a philosophy.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re putting Echoes of Elysium into Early Access because we want to build it with players, not just for them. Survival games thrive when they’re shaped by real player experiences, and we believe the best version of this game comes from listening early, often, and openly.[/p][p][/p][p]That means systems will evolve. Features will change. Some ideas will get better because of community feedback, and some will exist only because players asked for them.[/p][p][/p][h3]Building the Game Together - On Discord[/h3][p]This collaboration doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens on Discord, side-by-side with the dev team.
[/p][p]You’ll see developers chatting, joining voice discussions, hosting streams to show progress and features, and answering questions openly where nothing feels “off limits”. It’s not a one-way announcement channel, it’s a shared space where ideas flow both ways between the dev team and players.
[/p][p]As someone who spends a lot of time in the server, I can confidently say: the devs care deeply about what players think, and they’re excited to build this world alongside you.
[/p][h3]A First Look at What We’ve Been Working On[/h3][p]All of this collaboration has a direct impact on the game itself. To give you a glimpse of the updates and previews we share on Discord, here’s a sneak peek at some recent work from our technical artist, Karim.[/p][p]
These improvements focus on significant enhancements to several animation and combat features. Animations have been smoothed out, with physics now integrated across all player outfits, constructs, and flying constructs allowing details like skirts and capes to trail naturally. The result is a more fluid and dynamic movement for both players and enemies.[/p][p][/p][p]We’ve also added new wrench attack animations thanks to an animation import tool. Overall, everything feels smoother, more dynamic, and full of life. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]And this is just a peek at what our Discord community gets to see and chat about firsthand from the new animations to behind-the-scenes updates. Want to join? Here’s your chance! [/p][p][/p][h3]Come Be Part of It[/h3][p]If the idea of helping shape a survival RPG from the inside sounds exciting, whether by giving feedback, asking questions, or just being part of the conversation, we’d love for you to join and get to know you better!

💬 Join us on Discord, say hi, and start building with us.[/p][p]https://discord.gg/SrGuzgx46y [/p][p][/p][p]I’ll be there to welcome you.[/p][p]♥️Michelle[/p][p]
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[p]Hey everyone, we’ve got an important update to share.[/p][p]After a lot of deliberation, late nights, and going through all the playtest feedback you’ve sent in these past couple weeks, we’ve made the tough call to delay our launch into January 2026.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]The big takeaway here is simple:[/p][h3]This delay gives us the time we need to ship a better, more polished, more stable version of Echoes of Elysium, the version we all want and deserve.[/h3][p][/p][p]With the extra time, we’re focusing on:[/p]

• [p]Improving world-generation load times[/p]
• [p]Fixing tech issues that cause crashes[/p]
• [p]Tightening a handful of key systems[/p]
• [p]Smoothing out smaller but meaningful quality-of-life improvements[/p]

[p]These changes collectively make a huge impact. They’re the difference between “good” and “something we’re proud to put in your hands on day one.”[/p][p][/p][p]We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created so far, and even more excited to keep building on it WITH this community. A massive thank-you to the entire Loric team for the insane amount of hard work, and to all of you: our players, creators, press, and testers. You’ve been a real part of shaping this game.[/p][p][/p][h3]AMA This Thursday @ 1PM ET[/h3][p]We know delays come with questions, so we’ll be hosting an AMA this Thursday at 1pm ET. Come hang out, ask us anything, and we’ll talk openly about the decision, what’s improving, and what’s next.[/p][p]Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/V8BuCxuYuU[/p][p][/p][h3]More Playtests to Come![/h3][p]Keep an eye out in our discord and make sure you’re following our Steam page for more opportunities to jump in and test out Echoes of Elysium ahead of Early Access Launch.[/p][p][/p][h3]Airship Giveaway Extension[/h3][p]And yes,  because of the delay, we’re extending the Airship PC Giveaway, so you’ll all have more time to jump in.
[/p][p]Thank you again for the honesty, patience, and support. As bummed as we are to delay, we know this is the right move for the long-term, and we’re confident it'll be an extra month’s wait.[/p][p]We’ll keep sharing updates as we make progress. In the meantime, the playtest will stay open, keep sending us your thoughts.

💙 The Loric Team[/p][p]
P.S. If you missed the video above, make sure to check it out for a fun bonus blooper reel![/p][p]
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[p]In this Dev Vlog, we sit down with Andrea, our game designer, to break down how Echoes of Elysium was built from the ground up as a true co-op survival RPG experience. [/p][p][/p][p]From designing evolving airships, to creating a sky world full of dynamic encounters, to making sure every player’s role feels meaningful in co-op - this video explores the systems, the philosophy, and the stories behind building a survival game where you and your crew write the adventure together. [/p][p][/p][p]If you’re into survival, building / crafting , exploration, or unique co-op gameplay loops, this one’s for you.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p] Wishlist Echoes of Elysium on Steam: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Enter the Custom Airship PC Giveaway:[/p][p]https://www.echoes.games/pc-giveaway#gleam-widget[/p][p][/p][p]
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