[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44120852/d39db436e78b6253ad12e2089cc093658934d1fa.jpg[/img] We just celebrated a huge milestone—[b]Sky’s historic 5th birthday![/b] The game has grown so much since its release, and we’re so excited for what the next five years will bring! Now is the perfect time to share what we have in store for the game, so this post is all about plans for something near and dear to your Sky experience: [b]Daily Quest updates[/b]. Daily Quests do a lot in Sky. For starters, they invite you to explore the world, meet Spirits, team up with others, reflect and share your thoughts, and learn about what the realms can hold for you. If you’ve played for a while, you probably even have stories that begin with something like “Well, it all began when I had to face a Dark Dragon...” Daily Quests have gotten some changes over the years as new events and Spirits were debuted. Still, we’ve seen your feedback asking for more, and we agree—it’s time for updates! But…is it really enough to just toss in some new quests and call it day? We think that Daily Quests can be much more than just a way to get those sweet, sweet Candles. They should make you feel more connected to the world of Sky and the Spirits you meet, like you’re building relationships with them and experiencing bite-sized stories as you play. This means one thing: It’s time for a revamp! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44120852/ff9ccd57a8c24787f6be7a2b30444cb413902697.jpg[/img] Internally, we’re calling this revamp Relationship 2.0 for now. It will be a core project across multiple updates, which we currently expect to come in multiple phases. Our focus will be especially on these: [list] [*] Updating how you get and complete Daily Quests [*] Making under-the-hood improvements for the entire quest system [*] Introduce more quests and activities that make the time you spend with Sky’s Spirits more meaningful [/list] This is a big project, so these phases will each have a gradual roll out. Here’s a general look at what we’re planning. [h2]Updates to Getting and Completing Daily Quests[/h2] [i]Step One: Get the ball rolling with quality of life improvements and first batch of new quests.[/i] Maybe you know (or even remember!) that Sky kids originally got their Daily Quests from Spirits. We’re starting with that idea, and then taking it up a notch. Once the first round of quest updates goes out, if you get your quests in Aviary Village, each day a group of Spirits will wait for you at the archway counter, asking for your help with something that they care about. Simply talk with them to get your quests! If you aren’t sure where to go, the map shrines can point you in the right direction. And, yes, we’ll add in some new quests—some which are even connected to each other, almost like episodes in a sense. Other changes include things like: [list] [*] Sharing the quest list. Forget to stop by the counter before you left for your candle run? Hold hands with a friend who already got the Daily Quest list, and they’ll automatically share any quests they haven’t finished yet so that you can complete them together. [*] Map shrines will show hints for Daily Quest locations. [*] Haven’t met the Spirit who’s offering a quest? They’ll give you a hint so you can go find them and experience their memories out in the realms. [/list] We’ll start bringing these initial improvements to the live game in the weeks to come, so stay tuned for updates! [h2]Under-the-Hood Improvements, You Say?[/h2] Basically, the better our tech and internal tools are for these quests, the more new ideas we can bring to Sky, and the faster you all will see improvements and updates to them. More specifically—looking at all the Daily Quests, Seasonal Quests, and others, some of them are built on tech from the earliest days of Sky, when the game was much smaller and less demanding than it is now. That tech has limits that don't allow for the kind of expansions and improvements we want to do (or that you all have told us you’d love to see in the game). So we’re going back to create a new foundation to make the system for all of our quests better. What will that mean? [list] [*] We’ll be able to add more kinds of quests [*] More variety of quest rewards [*] Shorter development time [*] New quest formats [*] A more consistent experience when you want to play a quest with friends [/list] Our awesome engineering team will be handling this part of the project. It’s mostly internal work, so you may not see many changes right away when this new quest infrastructure is implemented, but this foundation will pave the way for where we really want to go! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44120852/a8132e9ac5ddb22b00fdb346a0688a6e5ab3a961.jpg[/img] [h2]Connecting Through Quests[/h2] Like we said earlier: Quests should mean more within the world of Sky, and the time and effort you put into them can impact parts of the world—for example, the Spirits. If you spend a lot of time with someone, that should affect your relationship with them. Talking with these spirits, helping them out, listening to their suggestions—we think that’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship. So what could that friendship look like? We’re still only in the very early stages of planning this (we have phases 1 and 2 to polish first!), but these are some of the ideas we want to experiment with: Spirits will recognize and befriend you the more time you spend with them in quests and other activities. Becoming best friends with a Spirit unlocks something new. Every Spirit in the game could have a unique set of activities that help you build your friendship with them. A way to show how your friends have also been building relationships with these Spirits. These are just a few of the things that we’ve been brainstorming, and the final version may end up being a bit different once all the pieces for it are in place. Whatever the final form is, the goal is the same: Bring more life to these characters who you get to know, and make the time you spend with them more unique and meaningful. [h2]Building More Possibilities, One Quest at a Time[/h2] —So all of that is to say, there’s going to be a lot to come. We’re all pretty excited about this project, and we hope you’ll like it! It’s a longer-term goal, so some parts of it you’ll see sooner than others. After all, with something this big we want to make sure it gets a lot of attention for development and quality time in beta testing. We can’t wait to start rolling out the first changes for Daily Quests! We’ll share more once these changes make their way to patch updates. In the meantime, keep an eye on our news page and social channels during SkyFest for more big news announcements. We’ll see you in the skies!