Hiraeth News

[p]I had planned a longer announcement to celebrate the launch, but the truth is: I’m still deep in development and simply don’t have the time. I hope you’ll agree that steady progress and a stable Early Access build are more important than a fancy post.[/p][p]Just yesterday, on launch day, I released the first patch — and another one might drop tomorrow. Right now, my main focus is tackling a new issue: FPS drops.[/p][h2]🎯 Performance Improvements[/h2][p]Over the past few months, performance was looking great. Unfortunately, the final builds leading up to Early Access introduced some issues. I went a bit overboard with settings — and with so many interdependent systems, it’s not a simple fix. But I’m already working on it, and performance will soon return to previous levels.[/p][p]On my RTX 2060, the game ran smoothly, and on stronger cards, even better. That’s the experience I’m aiming to restore.[/p][p]Hiraeth uses cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5.5 features: Ray Tracing, Nanite, World Partition, Lumen. It’s unlikely to run well on older GPUs. I may consider a version optimized for lower-end hardware in the future, but that’s not part of the current roadmap — and it might not be necessary at all.[/p][h2]🗺️ Roadmap for 2025[/h2][p]The current version includes many features added just recently — which is impressive, considering the project has been in development for 3 years. Here are a few highlights:[/p]

• [p]Skill leveling and progression (added this summer)[/p]
• [p]Inventory with drag & drop (since May)[/p]
• [p]Mini-games: hacking, lockpicking, repair (coming this summer)[/p]
• [p]Steam achievements — implemented during the demo phase, less than a month ago[/p]

[p]Updates are released regularly, and most issues with these features are nearly resolved. Soon, they’ll be running smoothly.[/p][h3]🔫 What’s Next in 2025?[/h3]

• [p]Weapons will be refined — both in terms of handling and overall mechanics. Melee weapons will be added shortly after (or possibly even before).[/p]
• [p]The design of Nesoi Island will be finalized — including surface and underwater areas. New caves will be added, and previously inaccessible buildings will be opened.[/p]
• [p]This year, I plan to introduce the first vehicle and a brand-new region: Ahra Prime — with a different environment and unique biomes.[/p]
• [p]New gameplay elements are also on the horizon: the first quests and mission systems will be introduced, along with interactive tasks and objectives. I’m also exploring the addition of player-controlled farming and building power systems — features that could open up entirely new layers of immersion and strategy.[/p]

[h3]🤝 True Early Access — Solo Developer[/h3][p]Hiraeth is a genuine Early Access title developed by a solo dev. If more players join the journey, I’ll be able to bring others on board to help — which would ease the workload and speed up development.[/p][p]Today’s post is just a brief look at what’s ahead. For more details, join the Discord event this Sunday — I’ll be sharing updates and answering questions live. Check the event link for your local time.
[/p][p]Thanks for being here and supporting the project.
Warm regards,
Paweł — creator of Hiraeth[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[h3]Unlock the signal. Step into ☵ Hiraeth — a space where memory meets momentum. The signal is live. Early Access began 3 September.

Offer ends 10 September – Don’t miss your chance to join the transmission![/h3][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]📡 Signal check: heartfelt thanks from the dev[/h2][h3] Thanks so much to everyone who’s already jumped into Hiraeth Early Access, joined the playtest, or simply shared kind words about the game. As a solo developer, your support means the world — this project is made for you, and it wouldn’t exist without you.[/h3][p]A bigger announcement is coming soon to mark the Early Access launch (which kicked off yesterday, 3 September), but for now just a heads-up: there’s a limited-time launch discount running until 10 September.
[/p][p]Stay tuned,
Paweł – developer of Hiraeth[/p]

• [p] Addressed an issue that often prevented players from standing up after crouching after loading a saved game — effectiveness of the fix still needs confirmation.
  [/p]
• [p] Sleeping no longer triggers an automatic save. You can now manually save the game at any time using F6. For more details, please check the in-game help section.[/p]

[p]This is a quick hotfix — a larger update is coming soon! Feel free to join our Discord community, where I try to be available whenever I can.

Thanks for your support 💙
Developer[/p]

• [p]I added and enabled Steam achievements;[/p]
• [p]Now, when starting a new game, your Steam name is automatically added - you can change this;[/p]
• [p]The previous test achievements are outdated;[/p]
• [p]You can now also see the weather on the terminals - in the full version it will be expanded with many other functions, including a weather forecast, although a rather simplified one will be available in a demo in the next improvements.[/p]

[p]There will be another patch with fixes coming soon, but at the request of a few people, for now I've focused only on adding Steam achievements.[/p]

• [p]There will be many more and different ones in the full version;[/p]
• [p]Trading cards will be added to the full version – Steam prevents them from being added in the demo;[/p]
• [p]Statistics and leaderboards will be added to the demo soon;[/p]

[p][/p][p]Best regards, author[/p]

[h2]Hello – New Demo update v 0.91 is live on Steam: [/h2]