Ylands News

[h3]Ahoy Ylanders![/h3]

...

BOO!

... did we scare you off? Hopefully not, since we are just about to invite you to our Halloween Discord stream where you can win glowing T-Shirts, new scary pumpkin scarecrow costume, meet us and other Ylanders and enjoy crazy-classy-funky-spooky time!



[h3]When:[/h3]
31. 10. 2023 at 3 PM CET

[h3]Where:[/h3]
Ylands Discord Server - Join the event! 👉 https://discord.gg/ylands?event=1164158412033106040


[h3]What:[/h3]
Chatting about Ylands and various topics, playing scary Ylands minigames together and announcing the winners of contests! Yes, plural.

[h3]Contest n°1:[/h3]
Fancy a Ghost Pirate T-Shirt? Create your own scary minigame which we can play on stream. First 3 contributors will win a glowing Ghost-Pirate T-Shirt! Submit your minigame before 29. 10. into #competitions_entries on our Discord once you are ready.

[h3]Contest n°2:[/h3]
Fancy brand-new Scarecrow costume? Join other Ylanders in playing spooky minigame from player Mello. In case you want to assure your spot in the competition make sure to contact Anna, our community manager, and join the Discord event. Just in case there would be too many of us! 3 players with the highest score on in the minigame on stream will win Scarecrow costume.

It will be a blast! No doubt there, especially if you bring your own camera and join us in dressing up Halloween style.

Stay spooky!

[h3]Ahoy Ylanders![/h3]

Today we want to show you something artistic. Yes, there will be pictures, new pictures and assets that you can look forward to, but that's not all. Today you will find out what were the thoughts of our artists Filip and Kuba while they prepared the new assets. Let's get into it!

[h3]Chalk formations in Arid by Filip[/h3]

"We are always looking for some references. As you can see, the chalk formations on Earth offer some really bizarre constitutions but once you put those into the Arid's orange/red shades it can emit some serious "Mars vibes"."



[h3]Skinwalker by Kuba[/h3]

"Seriously, when I was looking up references for Skinwalker I ended up having nightmares. I guess it makes sense when your main reference is werewolf. I tried to make its face blunt a bit like the kobolds from World of Warcraft, so it wouldn't be that scary and also I aimed for, let's say druid-ish vibe so the Skinwalker fits among our Wendigo and Goatman."



[h3]Takahe bird by Filip[/h3]

"It is quite interesting what you can learn through artistic research! For example, takahe bird lives in swamps, and if they eat some specific leaves then they lay blue or green eggs. Also, their eggs have interesting patterns so if you feed them correctly you don't need to paint any eggs during Easter! Fun fact, you might notice, that all Ylands' eggs are blueish, well, now you know why!"



Thank you, guys, for sharing your thoughts and creating these beautiful assets!



If you are even more interested into how Ylands assets are created, you should check the diary about Jackals right HERE. Let us know what you think about these assets and in the meantime...

Stay Classy!

[h3]Ahoy Ylanders![/h3]

Today we will keep it short and offer you a sneak peek from your favorite section: "You want it, we got it for you!" - this time, featuring new item containers!

It has been a few weeks now, since we talked about our community suggestion list in the Dev Diary #285. That is exactly how these containers came into existence. You suggested them! The Suitcase holds clothes and into the Folder you can hide sheets of paper. So, feel free to start preparing for your Ylands bureaucratic career or just matching all the different outfits that you always want in your inventory.



Let us know what you think about the looks of the new containers and have a great weekend.

Stay classy!

[h3]Ahoy Ylanders,[/h3]

recently you asked us a question on our Discord server, whether we have hidden any easter eggs into the Ylands. Hmm, did we hide something cool into the massive procedurally generated open world game where you can interact with basically everything? To offer you a simple answer let us quote Billie Eilish: "Duh".

Towards the more elaborate answer, let's look at some of those easter eggs. Only 10 though, you wouldn't like us to rob you off the thrill of the exploration, right?

1. Beluga car - Was named after Anna, our community manager and her nickname Beluga. Author: Designer Prokop
2. Winston ball from Cast Away - That is one we simply couldn't let slide. Yet, if you are lonely, we suggest you meet some other players for example on the already mentioned Discord server. Author: Former Designer Khan
3. Pipe from Wolfenstein - Do not attempt to use it for climbing! Author: Senior Artist Kuba
4. Crowbar from Half Life 2 - Who do you think is more famous Gordon Freeman or his Crowbar? We couldn't figure it out here. Author: Senior Artist Kuba
5. DayZ helmet and random encounter - When your pals next door are creating one of the most famous zombie games out there you just can't resist the urge. Author: Cooperation of DayZ and Ylands teams
6. "Minecraft" skull - In game of course called differently Strange Head Block. Author: Senior Animator Matěj
7. The secret behind that underwater eye-encounter - Easter egg which originated in the hearth of our community, the Ylands Discord server, call out Stiegi for more info!
8. Leeeeeeeeeeroy Jeeeenkiiiins! - The legendariest of the legendary legends of war crafts himself. Author: Lost in the history
9. One of the players Azeris wrote on discord: "I was searching a haystack in one of the REs and literally found a needle" - As much as we would love this to be coincidence it is not. Author: Wish to remain unknown
10. Go out there and find your own! There is plenty of these.
    

What easter eggs have you found already? Let us know in the comments and have a great weekend.


Stay Classy!

[h3]Ahoy Ylanders![/h3]

adventurous music, howling wind, waves splashing, boat parts screeching and your footsteps on the deck. Only rarely these sounds will draw your attention, but without them? You would hardly ever feel like you are truly on board. Are you curious about how this extremely important, immersive and beautiful part of our beloved game is made? Meet Jan, our senior sound designer!



Can you introduce yourself to our players?

I've studied sound design at FAMU (Prague film school), and I work at Ylands for exactly 4 years now as this diary is released.


What was your way into the Ylands team?

The usual, I found an open position and we got in touch with the recruiter. Funny enough, I was still finishing my degree during the hiring process and then I started to work at Bohemia Interactive.


Does sound in the Ylands game work the same way as in other games?

There are specifics since Ylands is a procedurally generated game. There are no fixed levels. For example, whenever a biome is generated, specific ambient sounds are generated along with it.


When do you create new sounds into the game?

When a new asset is added like an item or an animal or when a new feature is designed it often requires some sound support or even a whole new set of sounds, like when the underwater world was updated in update 1.9. Of course, there are also trailers and big marketing videos that I work on. Often, I work on redesigning old sounds that feel outdated, I am doing my best so that all Ylands sound are fresh and updated. Definitely let me know in case you think some sound should be better or more real.


What do you think is the main purpose of sound in Ylands?

It definitely brings the procedurally generated world alive, also the support of emotional impact of the game is really important. Just remember the last time you have entered a cave.


Are there any sound-based features that you created from scratch for Ylands?

Editor game logics would be the biggest ones probably as they present the players with an opportunity to add their own midi tracks and a lot of other options to work with sound and music. In adventure the coolest sound feature would probably be the real time sound calculating of effects like reverb and echo, so when you are inside a building or a cave, everything starts to sound very differently than outside.


What you like the most about game sound design in general?

Definitely achieving immersivity and a lively feeling of the world. Just try to play Ylands without sounds once. It's also quite cool to be able to offer information to the players from any possible direction, like from behind, above or even below! Unlike the visuals which can provide information only in a specific angle.

Thank you so much for your answers, Jan.

Do you want to ask Jan anything or are you curious about sound in Ylands? Just ask in the comments or on our Discord and we will let you know his answer.

Stay Classy!