Vikings! We know you’ve been hotly anticipating our Roadmap and to see the direction of the game and we’re thrilled to share an overview of our first few major updates to ASKA in the months to come. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43222048/e52d2332f0180ded9f11305311bbb1b03b857296.jpg[/img] To be clear, these aren’t the only updates to the game, just the first few ones we want to share with you at this time. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43222048/cbc9e9cb622bd4723d0b3a36ae0229189febfc0a.gif[/img] [b][h3]Shall we dig into the good stuff then?[/h3][/b] Update One is something you shouted from the rooftops and we want to know we heard you! Some time this August, ASKA will receive World Gen Options. You’ll be able to customise many different facets of the game including enemies, gather rates, events, day/night length and more! We hope this will satisfy those of you looking for a peaceful building experience, and also those of you looking for an even harder survival challenge. In this update we will also be including a couple of new buildings, but you’ll have to tune into the patch notes for that 👀 [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43222048/d64e3a05275b96428223e7e120ece5a3cd3c8f22.gif[/img] Updates Two, Three & Four will be spread out throughout the rest of 2024, and will include a variety of buildings, upgrades, system overhauls and new systems. We’re still cooking so we can’t give you an exhaustive list of what will be ready for each update (yet), but you can look forward to things like new enemies, gathering a raiding party & setting sail as well as some more fun additions to make your villages feel more alive. Later in the year we will look to launch what we are dubbing our “multiplayer” update - where we will look to launch dedicated servers for you all. We’re also adding an in game chat system so that you can communicate with other players online & create lobbies. [h3][b]A Note on Villager AI Improvements[/b][/h3] One of the most consistent feedback themes we receive from the community concerns AI, especially Villager AI. We’re constantly working to make Villager behaviour understandable and consistent, and to give you more ways to engage with them. Our long term goal is to reduce micro-management and make Villager behaviour and intent as transparent as possible. Although they sometimes might seem irrational, our Villagers' brains are actually quite complex! And they're doing their best to stay off your back as much as possible and do their jobs as best as they are able. But that’s no easy task with all they have going on: They know when to eat and what to eat; they must sometimes defy their schedule to make sure the job gets done; they must pick out equipment and get dressed; drop off materials; plan their routes when setting off to gather a variety of resources (and try to not get killed in the process!); they must sometimes engage enemies and sometimes not… and so many other such “thoughts”. Our objective is to give you not robots which you have to program yourself, but lively characters that are obviously doing their best to assist you and to see your designs come to completion. ASKA has grown a LOT in the last year and we're in the process of continuing to build on this by reworking key Villager jobs, like the Warehouse and Workshop workers. We're always listening, and continue to appreciate your feedback and we finesse this to final quality. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43222048/c3ded52b4d9e06a6eb31be7f2292a62af3d0974e.gif[/img] [b]To Wrap This Up…[/b] We’d like to advise this also isn’t an exhaustive list and other things might pop up or slip in too as we keep working, but we hope this gives you all the reassurance that we have been and are continuing to work hard on building on the world of ASKA and delivering updates when we feel they are best ready to be released. We can’t wait to hear what you think so please do leave us some feedback in the forums, in Discord, on our social media. We are listening, and we want to ensure we deliver our vision for the game while taking into consideration any major changes our playerbase are advocating for when we feel it's appropriate. Finally, if you’re reading all of this and you haven’t yet had the chance to explore the world of ASKA, we’re thrilled to say you can pick it up right now in the Gamescom sale for 20% off until 3 September. Skal! Sand Sailor Studios.