POLYARIS: July 2025 Development Update

[h2]TL;DR[/h2][p]Core Focus:[/p]

[p]Sleep mechanics[/p]
[p]Clothing wetness system[/p]
[p]Food temperature system[/p]
[p]Custom environment[/p]

[p]Next steps:[/p]

[p]Finishing the MVP features[/p]
[p]Preparing for a closed playtest and a Steam Next Fest[/p]
[p]Gathering live feedback from test sessions [/p]

[h3]Don't forget to join our Discord [/h3][p]Over the past two months of the summer, we have been implementing and finalizing core gameplay mechanics of POLYARIS leading up to the closed playtest in August. Here are some of the highlights of our achievements:[/p][h3]Sleeping Mechanics[/h3][p]Sleep is the only reliable way to restore health and fully heal wounds in the gruelling environment of the Arctic. In POYARIS, you can find beds scattered around in abandoned buildings or craft your own bed. Be mindful of the temperature around you when you go to sleep to not freeze to death in your dreams![/p][p]
[/p][h3]Clothing Wetness[/h3][p]Jumping into an Arctic ocean sounds like a stupid idea to begin with, but if this ever happens to you in POLYARIS, we want to make sure your experience is as authentic as possible in a video game.
[/p][p]Each clothing now has its own ‘dryness’ system and it directly influences how much protection it gives you against the cold and the wind. If you only ‘soak your toes’ in the ocean, your boots will become wet, while your jacket will remain dry.
[/p][p]Got soaked? Too bad, but if you survive and are fast enough to run to the nearest campfire or shelter, you can dry up your clothes to bring the stats back! It does take some time though, depending on the temperature around the clothing, so it is smart to combine sleeping while drying your clothes. Just like in real life, eh?[/p][p][/p][h3]Food Temperature[/h3][p]In a similar fashion to clothing, food items also have their own states depending on the temperature around them. It can range from frozen to hot, and in some cases even burnt, if you leave your meat for too long in the campfire.[/p][p]Frozen items can not be consumed outright, so if you find a hearty can of stewed meat in the frozen field, you’d have to first warm it up near a campfire or in some other warmer environment.[/p][p][/p][h3]Custom-Made Environment[/h3][p]To bring uniqueness to the Arctic world we are building, we made several environment set pieces and buildings to increase immersion of the world in POLYARIS that you’re going to explore. Here are some examples: [/p][p][/p][p]That’s just a small amount of work we’ve done over the past two months, but these are the key details we are ready to share for now. We’ll keep you posted in August![/p][h3]Don't forget to join our Discord [/h3]