Equinox: Homecoming News

[p]If you play a lot of horse-focused games, you’ve noticed that many of them are aimed at a much younger audience of children and tweens - or feature ranch revitalization story lines. We’re taking a different approach to our narrative for Equinox: Homecoming. In this dev blog, we sit down with Iryna from the Narrative team to chat about our story inspirations and how finding hope in the dark is the heart of our game.[/p][p][/p][p] “There's a massive craving from the players' side for something more mature, dark, thrilling and meaningful. Something players can relate to.” - Iryna Melnychenko, Narrative Director[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]What would it look like if an independent horse game could focus on mature themes? For us it means telling a story about a supernatural murder mystery, reckoning with the disappearance of a parent you broke off contact with, and being dragged back to a place you swore to leave behind forever…[/p][p][/p][h3]Narrative and Themes[/h3][p]In Equinox: Homecoming, you play as Alex Evans, a young adult returning to their* hometown island years after running away from home and cutting all contact with their mother Kendra. Kendra has vanished without a trace and shortly afterwards Jenny, one of your former classmates, is found dead in the woods.[/p][p]*You can customize your character’s appearance, including Alex’s gender. Our story doesn’t inherently gender the main character, leaving players room to roleplay any gender identity. A masculine voice option was released in our latest patch![/p][p][/p][p]Difficult relationships with parents aren’t an inherently mature subject… but reflecting on those relationships and reevaluating the past with the wisdom only age can grant is something we believe resonates a lot with players.[/p][p][/p][p]In the first chapter of our game, players will get some insight into what circumstances led Alex to suddenly leave Alderwood Island a few years before you start the story. Their mother’s sudden disappearance has reluctantly drawn them back to the one place they promised themselves to never return to.[/p][p][/p][p]“Coming of age is probably the darkest period of a person's life. You're already out of the safety of your parental house, but you're also not mature enough to deal with all the ordeals life can bring you. This is a period when you blindly move forward, trying to figure out who you are, what you are capable of, and what your limits are.” - Iryna
[/p][p]We wanted to tell a story that’s grounded in lived experiences – reckoning with the realities of an extremely controlling parent and reflecting on their actions once we have the maturity and distance to see them for what they are. All while allowing for a plot centered around the kind of mystery and excitement rarely encountered in everyday life. Upon returning to Alderwood, Alex is confronted with strange occurrences and sights that lead them to question what is and isn’t possible. [/p][p][/p][h3]Finding Hope and Friends in the Dark[/h3][p]We aren’t sure what age rating our content will be yet - we think it'll fall somewhere around PEGI 16 or 18 - but we can promise it won’t be explicit or overtly violent. This means we don’t plan on making any compromises to our narrative, cutscenes, or mechanics to make the game for a childish audience. This lets us tackle these darker, more mature subjects with the gravity they deserve instead of conforming to family friendly themes and language.[/p][p][/p][p]It's important for us to mention that mature themes doesn’t mean this is a grim dark game, though! Friendship, community, and finding lights in the darkness are just as essential to our story as the creepier elements. We believe that hope and optimism very much belong in mature stories as well. We don't lean too far into bleakness. [/p][p]“You can be in a nice place and enjoy great weather, but still have something sinister going on around you. It’s a real world thing: we don’t have to make up much… because we all live in this.” - Iryna[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]Our newest patch is now live! This update introduces new cinematics for Chapter 1, a new masculine voice option, and the ability to choose between automatic or manual environmental jumping.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Riding Club Emblems: Club Leaders now have the option of creating and customizing a custom Emblem for their Riding Club![/p][p][/p][p]All Chapter One cinematics have been added! We will continue to add new cutscenes to Chapters 2 and 3 as they are finished.[/p]

• [p]Ch. 1 - Home Sweet Home: Alex and Sarah reminiscence about the past.[/p]
• [p]Ch. 1 - Alex Witnesses Something: Alex’s investigation brings them face to face with an inexplicable scene.[/p]
• [p]Ch. 1 - Enter the Lighthouse: Alex’s search brings them to the Lighthouse.[/p]
• [p]Ch. 1 - Top of the Lighthouse: Alex takes a moment to admire the view of Alderwood Island.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Fall Pumpkin Hunt: For Autumn we’ve scattered pumpkins all across the island. Can you find all 24 pumpkin spots? Join our Discord if you’d like a few hints![/p][p][/p]

• [p]New Masculine Voice: A new masculine voice option - named Type 2 - is now available for players at the Stylist and during Character Creation! [/p]
  • [p]Changing Existing Characters: By speaking to the Stylist downtown, players now have the option to change their Voice Type.[/p]
  • [p]New Characters: New characters can choose between a feminine and masculine voice during character creation when selecting their Voice Type.[/p]

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• [p]Environmental Jumping Updates: This iteration of environmental jumping seeks to give players more control over when they decide to clear obstacles.[/p]
  • [p]Automatic Jumping Toggle: Automatic Jumping can be turned off by heading to your in-game options and toggling the appropriate setting.[/p]
  • [p]Manual Environmental Jumping: After updating their settings, players will be able to jump over specific objects only if they press space bar in time.[/p]

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• [p]Main Menu Server Messages: System messages have been added to the main menu, allowing us to notify players in-game of scheduled maintenance and server outages.[/p]
• [p]Continued to improve art asset optimization and in-game performance.[/p]
• [p]Improved Farrier UI: New UI elements have been added when upgrading items.[/p]

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• [p]Continued to edit text to remove typos and improve overall flow.[/p]

• [p]Nav mesh improvements were made to improve inaccessible areas and objects.[/p]
• [p]Resolved streaming issues for several buildings in Downtown Alderwood.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where select UI prompts displayed the wrong key needed to track Weekly Tasks. [/p]
• [p]Fixed a camera bug that occurred when talking to Sarah during the “What happened to Jack Willow?” side quest.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue that blocked players from finishing “Heather Challenge” if they quit the conversation when speaking to her outside the Equestrian Center.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Enter the dark in Ghosts of Alderwood, our limited-time Halloween event! Alderwood feels a little spookier this month… we’re getting into the holiday spirit with some special community events:[/p]

• [p]Discord Q&A Session: We’ll be hitting the trails and taking questions over in Discord this Friday at 4:15pm CEST. Have a burning question? Just want to join us for a relaxing group ride? Pop on over and hang out with the Community team![/p]

• [p]Community Pumpkin Hunt: We’ve decorated the island with pumpkins far and wide. Can you find all 24 locations? Share your favorite spots with us on social media or on Discord![/p]

• [p]Screenshot Competition: Show us your spookiest or coziest Alderwood Autumn vibes! This competition is taking place over on our Discord server. We’ll be awarding multiple winners (and distributing a small reward to them!), so join now to share your favorite snapshots. [/p]

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[h3]Sneak a peak behind the scenes[/h3][p]Since we launched into Early Access, the entire team has had their heads down working as fast as we can to tackle our roadmaps and act on your suggestions. We’ve also seen how players want a better understanding of our development process. Our new dev blog series will take you behind the scenes to learn a little more about the hard work that goes into developing some of our game’s specific features.
[/p][p]Our first article dives into our Ride Islands: how we make them, what our inspirations are, and the team in charge of bringing them to life. Is there part of the development process you’d like to learn more about in our next dev blog? Let us know! ✨
[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]Take a breathtaking trip to somewhere new[/h3][p]Alderwood Island is just one of many isles nestled into an archipelago full of wondrous sights. What better way to spend the dwindling sunny days than going island hopping with friends? [/p][p][/p][p]Explore beautiful nature, cozy camping spots, and new riding trails! Swing by the downtown docks next to the High Bar to catch a ferry and begin your breathtaking trip to a Ride Island.[/p][p][/p][h3]Explore a paradise that’s all yours [/h3][p]The archipelago is vast and as you hop from island to island, you’ll discover that each isle has its own unique vibe. Drawing inspiration from around the world, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rocky Mountains and beyond, each location offers a completely different experience from Alderwood Island.
[/p][p][/p][p]“Our riding islands are very different from the Main Island. We’re not tied to the same location on Earth, and that means we’ve been able to do more things that were not possible before.” -Michiel Werring, Lead Level Designer[/p][p][/p][p]Want to wind your way down a mountain as you admire the coast with your horse? Or is picking your way through the valley forests and galloping through a mountain pass more your speed? Each island offers a secluded paradise for you and your friends to explore in peace and solitude. Only the people in your group are invited to your trip![/p][p][/p][p]“We try not to force you to do anything other than reach the end so it’s all yours to make your own.” -Michiel Werring, Lead Level Designer[/p][p][/p][p]Each island has a spot for your group to hang out and enjoy: whether it’s a charming teahouse, a cozy ring of cabins, or a shady shelter with a pretty lakeview. Think of these areas as invitations to make your own fun or as tools for roleplaying! [/p][p][/p][h3]Meet the team that builds wonders for you[/h3][p]A small but mighty team is in charge of building these breathtaking vistas and creating cozy corners you can play with...[/p][p][/p][p]Ellie and Michiel are our level designers who focus on making sure every step of the vista and every part of the landscape is filled with wonder and awe.[/p][p][/p][p]Faranak and Evelina are the artists in charge of polishing our “set pieces.” Think of all the comfy locations that you’d want to relax at in our game: the intimate campfires, pretty picnic tables, and idyllic summer cabins… that’s thanks to them![/p][p][/p][p]Lastly and perhaps most essential, our Tech Artist Tobias ensures everything come together. He makes these areas come to life by managing lighting, water simulation, and other overarching systems.[/p][p][/p][p]Together these folks build all of the beautiful levels and locations that y'all discover and explore! [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p][/p][p]Four months ago the first of many ferries to Alderwood Island landed and we welcomed so many new investigators! We are so thankful for everyone who took a chance on us. This is our first game as a new company and a true labor of love: a misunderstood genre that most investors scoff at.[/p][p][/p][p]In the time since launch, we've rolled up our sleeves and released twelve patches. Back in June we published our first roadmap for the year. Since then, we've ticked off nearly everything off that roadmap's to do list... which means it's time for a new roadmap! 🎉 [/p][p][/p][p]Today we're sharing our new development plans; take a look and see what we have in store for you! We had a chat with our studio creative director about what we've been working on and share some sneak peeks our WIP features... 👀[/p][p][/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Our roadmap has two types of updates: patches and content drops. [/p]

• [p]Patches are smaller updates full of improvements like bug fixes, quality of life implementations, and more. Whenever possible we try to include new content in these updates in the form of new races or ride islands.[/p]
• [p]Content Updates focus on adding significant new game content like additional story chapters, weekly quests, races, ride island locations, and new or unique features. [/p]

[p][/p][p]You may see that we don't have bug fixes assigned to our specific updates in our roadmap image. That's because all of our updates include bug fixes, polish, and improvements like optimization and animation refinements. The entire team is always working on improving the game’s experience; it's a key part of our game's development![/p][p][/p][h3]A note on cinematic cutscenes[/h3][p]The team has been hard at work preparing our cinematics and we're excited to share that our remaining chapter one cutscenes are nearly done and ready for implementation. At the end of this month, we're scheduled to begin another round of motion capture production. This shoot is to help us prepare the rest of the cutscenes for chapter two, three, and four! As we inch closer to launch, and as they're completed, we'll be adding those new cutscenes into the game slowly but surely.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]In the coming months, we'll be releasing several patches that introduce new features - including some frequent player requests:[/p]

• [p]New cinematics for Chapter One will be released over time as they are completed.[/p]
  • [p]Yesterday we released two new cutscenes in our latest update![/p]
• [p]Our new Stylist Shop, out now in Patch #12, which will let you edit your player's appearance without a character reset.[/p]
• [p]The ability to customize your horse's appearance at the barn also released yesterday.[/p]
• [p]We'll also be releasing new character creation options like an additional masculine voice and new hairstyles![/p]
• [p]Our first multiplayer event - Crown Chase - will also be released in Autumn.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Our next Content Update is due to be our biggest one and will be releasing in Late Autumn. This patch will include a ton of new content: our next chapter release and our first additional horse breed! (Which one are you hoping we'll add? 👀)[/p]

• [p]Over 20+ new quests across Chapter 4 and new Weeklies additions.[/p]
• [p]User Created Races will let players create their own race courses to share with others![/p]
• [p]Our first new horse breed will be available, letting players own more than one horse... which means we'll also have a new Stable Menu![/p]
• [p]We'll continue to prepare and polish our cinematic cutscenes.[/p]
• [p]A new Ride Island inspired by the Scottish Highlands[/p]
• [p]Two new races to challenge yourself.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Our Winter patches will focus on a lot of different art polish: we'll be improving our horse animations, player PC animations, and a couple of new Quality of Life improvements like UI updates, map polish, and performance updates! [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Our fourth Content Update is scheduled for Late Winter. This patch will introduce our second Horse Breed, plenty of new cosmetic items, and even more cinematic polish.[/p][p][/p][p]We are so grateful to all of you for supporting us. If you believe in the game and have liked what you've seen, please leave us a Steam review! Every bit helps us fully realize the future of Alderwood we want all of you to experience and explore. [/p][p]We're making this game for you - an audience many in the industry are unconvinced even exists. Your reviews and feedback are the backbone of our success. We analyze the entire community's feedback and use it as the foundation for all of our plans and patches. Together, we can make this game the best it can be![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p][/p][p]We’ve been working hard and are excited to announce our next patch! This update includes a few frequently requested features, two new cinematic cutscenes, and several bug fixes.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Change your appearance at the new Stylist! A new character has moved into Alderwood: visit the stylist to change the appearance of your player character.[/p][p][/p][p]To coincide with our new Stylist addition, we have added three new hairstyles to the game: short dreads, long dreads, and an afro. Try them on at the Stylist![/p][p][/p][p]Alter your starter horse’s appearance at your barn! Visit your friend at the barn to change their patterns, markings, and - in the future - their mane and tail styles! [/p]

• [p]Please note that at this time you are unable to change base coats. Regrettably this is due to our database set up.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Notice something new? Here's a sneak peek at one of our upcoming mane styles![/p][p][/p][p]Two new cinematics have been added! We will continue to add new cutscenes as they are finished. [/p]

• [p]Ch. 1 - Careful Meeting: The cutscene where you meet your horse has been added to the game.[/p]
• [p]Ch. 2 - Ben Willis: The interview with Ben Willis has been added to the game alongside a short cinematic.[/p]

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Our newest race, White Rock Ridge Ascent, has been added to the game! This track takes you up a sloping hill and across a scenic ridge with a beautiful panoramic view.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

• [p]Added new environmental set dressing to the Lighthouse.[/p]
• [p]Hair style icons have been added to both the Character Creator and Stylist menus, making it easier to preview your style options.[/p]
• [p]Performance enhancements have been implemented to lower GPU usage significantly.[/p]
• [p]Major improvements have been made to increase FPS performance across all settings.[/p]
• [p]Your reputation level will now appear when inside the Vendor menu.[/p]

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• [p]Fixed a bug that allowed players to gallop across the water. [/p]
• [p]Continued to improve nav mesh and remove problematic jumping locations.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a crash related to changing GFX effects settings.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where the Weekly Goals had missing descriptions & icons.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where the DLSS settings didn’t apply correctly upon startup.[/p]
• [p]Even if they haven’t unlocked their phone, players should no longer be able to get stuck on Ride Islands.[/p]
• [p]Players can now copy their player names from the in-game profile to their computer’s clipboard.[/p]
• [p]A highlight now appears when selecting a Ride Island to travel to, making your destination clearer.[/p]
• [p]Various updates were made to improve our German localization.[/p]
• [p]The nav mesh for the water’s edge at Sunset lake is fixed and now can be traversed.[/p]
• [p]A fix has been pushed for players who were affected by a missing horse name.[/p]