Hello, everyone! [url=https://discord.gg/dgv7HJ2hnV]Over on Discord[/url] we’ve been making small little development updates, which while they don’t need their own blog post, are still interesting little sneak peeks into the development of Ardem. We wanted to share a roundup of some of the more recent ones we have posted there and share them with you! [hr][/hr] [h3]#1 Character Model Updates[/h3] [i]Text from the original post…[/i] “We're making our own character models! This is the first of a few that will be added to Ardem! We're very excited to be adding the customisation many of you asked for in Open Alpha Test 3, so hopefully by the next Open Alpha (spoilers, there will be another), you'll be able to create your own survivor and roam Ardem meeting more unique people! “ [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44384659/c7cfb8b96a509a096e5fc82dbe06e8b4f90e7dc0.png[/img] [h3]#2 The Process of Making Sound [/h3] [i]Text from the original post…[/i] Ever wondered what adding and testing sound in a game looks like? In our team meeting this morning, René showed us some of the work he has been doing and I was fascinated by the test world they had to see how it all works! Maybe we should take a look at more elements of building the game like this in future dev diaries? Let us know what kind of stuff you'd like to see more of! Side note, the Boars are no longer ninja boars, they have a range of sounds! No more sneak attacks! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44384659/1e2d824dc4098328fe1a0fafbc687f6afb2de39f.png[/img] [h3]#3 Character Customization[/h3] [i]Text from the original post… [/i] "When will we get to customise our character?" Well, I can tell you, we're working on it! Our first character model, which you can see here, is fully tested and other than a few animation issues we're pretty close to it being ready to go. This also means we can test out and start implementing the clothing system, which you can also see on the character model. Before we began this process, we had an artist make some explorations of what characters in Ardem could look like, which you can see in the second image. We hope to get this system out to our Closed Alpha Testers as soon as we can! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44384659/46c36f16ce9d1e76342251df6ee79c9f9ea2b829.png[/img] [h3]#4 A New Area of the Map[/h3] [i]Text from the original post…[/i] We hitched a ride with a UFO for this Sneak Peek! This area outlined in yellow is a whole new area the team have been working on since the last Open Alpha. It has a lot more of a rural, farmland vibe with a couple of farms inside. It's also a bit swampy as it's partly flooded. There is some urban life in there though, with a shopping mall, a vehicle dealership and an airstrip (Planes, in Ardem?!) so there will be a ton to explore and loot to gather. It may be a little while until we roll this area out to our @Alphatester gang but they will be the first to check it out! [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44384659/52dcacf6b0cf90f549720a709781e8aa62a7e21f.png[/img] [hr][/hr] And that’s just the four most recent sneak peeks! We’ve been adding these for a good few months now so it’s worth [url=https://discord.gg/dgv7HJ2hnV]heading to our Discord[/url] to see some more as well as get the latest updates as they come out. Discord is also a great place to chat with the team and learn about future Alpha Tests early! Until next time, - Techtive Games