Dev Blog #23 - Photo Contest Winners & NextFest Takeaways

[p]Hello Voyagers! Michael / Spacenorth here with photo contest results, playtest updates, and NextFest insights![/p][p][/p][h2]📸 "P is for Photo" Contest Winners![/h2][p]Congratulations to our three amazing winners who captured the magic of Nera perfectly:[/p][p]First Place - Aittsel - Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay [/p][p][/p][p]Second Place (a tie!!!) NexusCupcake - Skimmer Buddy[/p][p][/p][p] ItsNikkiNii - Sometimes the Where is Close By...[/p][p][/p][p]Third Place - ItsTheDanger - Taking my Bestie to Seaworld[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you to everyone who participated - the creativity in our community continues to amaze us![/p][p][/p][h2]🧪 New Internal Playtest[/h2][p]Our Discord test group just started diving into our latest internal build with some exciting updates! [/p][p]Check out the full details in our patch notes here.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]📊 Steam NextFest Takeaways[/h2][p]We're still processing all the incredible feedback from NextFest, but some clear themes have emerged (as you can watch from the montage above!): [/p][p][/p][h3]What You Loved:[/h3]

[p]The atmosphere and art style of Nera[/p]
[p]The exploration loop and sense of discovery[/p]
[p]Water traversal - sailing and skimming especially![/p]
[p]Spirit system and the magic it brings to the world[/p][p][/p]

[h3]What You Want More Of:[/h3]

[p]More content (makes extra sense since the demo is just biome 1 and there’s still a ton to add!)[/p]
[p]Boat customization options[/p]
[p]Deeper spirit interactions[/p]
[p]Combat polish and refinement[/p]
[p]Did we mention more content? 😉[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]🔮 What's Coming[/h2][p]Your feedback is directly shaping our development priorities. Just to tease a few things in the works:[/p]

[p]In-game chat system[/p]
[p]Expanded graphics settings[/p]
[p]Dedicated server support[/p]
[p]Multiple save file support[/p]
[p]New biome with fresh armor, enemies, spirit abilities, and resources![/p][p][/p]

[h2]❤️ Thank You![/h2][p]Your enthusiasm and feedback continue to fuel our development every day. We can't wait to share what we're building with you at the next playtest! [/p][p]- Michael and the Treehouse Team[/p]

Also, Happy Canada Day to our fellow Canadians! 🇨🇦