2025 Recap: A Hard Year, A Stronger Game, A Better Road Ahead

[p]Let’s not sugarcoat it. 2025 was a rough one for Escape the Pacific. We released fewer updates than we should have. We disappeared into the engine room for far too long. Life got busy, free time shrank, and development slowed down. The community expected more from us… and you were right to.[/p][p][/p][p]But here’s the part that matters:
Despite the quiet months, a massive amount of foundational work happened behind the scenes, and EtP is now in a far better place than it was a year ago.[/p][p]This recap is about being transparent with you, showing what we actually built, and giving you a clear view of what’s coming next.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]What We Actually Achieved (Even If It Didn’t Look Like Much from the Outside)[/h2][p][/p][h3]1. Two of the Biggest Fixes in EtP’s History[/h3][p]Early this year, we shipped the Raft Physics Fixes (P1 & P2).
These weren’t “patches”, they were surgical reconstruction of deep, ancient code that caused flying rafts, submarine rafts, drifting bases, missing anchors, and a dozen other gremlins.[/p][p]It took months. It was brutal. But the foundation is now solid. This stability work is exactly what enabled everything else listed below.[/p][p][/p][h3]2. The Sanity System (Nearly Finished)[/h3][p]A full new survival layer that interacts with:[/p]

• [p]Environment[/p]
• [p]Isolation[/p]
• [p]Book reading[/p]
• [p]“Signs of civilization”[/p]
• [p]Sleep, stress, and events[/p]
• [p]And eventually: your perception of reality
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[p]Low sanity won’t just be a number dropping, it will bend the world around you.[/p][p]Expect things like:[/p]

• [p]Shaking, fading islands in the distance[/p]
• [p]Ghostly animals[/p]
• [p]Confusion effects[/p]
• [p]Visual and auditory distortions
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[p]The system is deep, interconnected, and fully designed to merge with the Illness & Cure system coming next.[/p][p][/p][h3]3. The Illness & Cure System (Also Almost Done)[/h3][p]This is tightly woven into the Sanity mechanic.[/p][p]We built:[/p]

• [p]A flexible illness framework[/p]
• [p]Cure ingredients[/p]
• [p]New stat interactions[/p]
• [p]A full negative/positive status pipeline [/p]

[p]Once both systems go live, EtP will finally feel like the survival game it was always meant to be.[/p][p][/p][h3]4. New Universal Build Modules[/h3][p]The goal: more creativity, fewer restrictions.[/p][p]You’ll be able to combine:[/p]

• [p]Various leaf types[/p]
• [p]Various stick types[/p]
• [p]Planks[/p]
• [p]And future new ingredients
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[p]This unlocks the ingredient flexibility required for:[/p]

• [p]New recipes[/p]
• [p]New structures
  [/p]

[p]This was a lot of deep code cleanup, but it opens huge doors.[/p][p][/p][h3]5. Migration to Unity 6[/h3][p]Yes. We upgraded the entire project. What it means:[/p]

• [p]Stability[/p]
• [p]Faster code execution[/p]
• [p]Ability to use new, more modern assets
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[p][/p][p][/p][h2]And Then There Were the Public Updates…[/h2][p]Even though most of our time vanished into refactoring, two major updates did release:[/p][h3]New Debuffs, Skills & Roles – 0.66[/h3]

• [p]True passive debuffs fully visible to the player[/p]
• [p]Three new skills: Triangulate, Sextant, Looter[/p]
• [p]Four new roles: Survivor, Builder, Explorer, Looter
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[p]These features reshaped how players start, progress, and specialize.[/p][h3]New Island Clusters & Distribution – 0.67[/h3]

• [p]Specialized biome clusters[/p]
• [p]New island distribution profiles[/p]
• [p]Customizable starting clusters[/p]
• [p]New Farmer role
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[p]For the first time ever, EtP worlds actually feel different.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Where We Failed, And What We’re Fixing in 2026[/h2][p]We didn’t deliver the number of updates we intended. The communication gaps were too large. The development pace wasn’t where it needed to be.[/p][p]But we’re not closing the year in disappointment, we’re closing it in momentum.[/p][p]Because for the first time since EtP began, the foundation is clean, stable, and modern.[/p][p]2026 won’t be a year of fixing old systems. It’ll be a year of building new ones.[/p][p][/p][h2]What’s Coming in 2026 and beyond[/h2][p]A short, transparent list:[/p]

• [p]Sanity System release[/p]
• [p]Illness & Cure System release[/p]
• [p]Creative Mode[/p]
• [p]Role expansions (Hunter etc.)[/p]
• [p]New Island Type with more challenging scenarios[/p]
• [p]First prescripted Challenges[/p]
• [p]Bamboo content[/p]
• [p]Creative Mode [/p]

[p]This is the first time in years where the roadmap is NOT blocked by legacy tech.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]A Christmas Message From Us to You[/h2][p]Whether you played, reported bugs, argued with us, encouraged us, or simply waited patiently: Thank you! This community is the reason EtP is still alive.[/p][p]We know we didn't deliver as much as we should have this year, but we’re ending 2025 stronger than we’ve ever been as a team and as a project.[/p][p]From the G4G Team, and everyone quietly helping behind the scenes: Merry Christmas, Survivors![/p][p] May your rafts stay afloat, your coconuts stay fresh, and your map never lie to you. We’ll see you in 2026, and this time, we’re coming in strong.[/p][p][/p][p]- Peter & the Gamers for Gamers Team[/p][p]
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