Black Skylands Origins 
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Black Skylands is now available in Early Access!Jul 9, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/pNwCv8O.gif ⚓Greetings, captains! ☁️⚙️ Black Skylands is now available for purchase! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ 🎞️ Watch the launch trailer: We’re excited about the fact that this day is finally here! Our first ship has sailed on a challenging but exciting journey full of adventures. There’s still a lot of work ahead of us: we want to make the game even better—and we’ll do so with your help, friends! We did our best to enter the early access phase with the most high-quality product possible. The build that’s currently out is drastically different from the version of the game you played this spring during our open playtesting, and even more different from last year’s demo version. Let’s talk about the major additions and changes we've made to the game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/270cf1d8a5d3755f9c1f26f66735b2c475020fb7.gif 1. Plot changes and little Eva We decided to redo the prologue so that the player would get a better sense of the events that start off Eva’s adventures. In the prologue, the player takes on a role of an 11-year-old Eva, and gets to know the cast of characters. https://i.imgur.com/6DDSZVg.gif 2. Slow down time You can now build a laboratory and use it to invent a way to slow down time. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/e2cc50fd1cba30c1dcbb2e38ce80d3b489449244.png 3. Mod boxes Mod boxes can only be opened at a special station on the Fathership. This is one of the things that motivates the player to keep coming coming back to their home base. That’s where you can gather resources you’ve grown, plant seeds, process ore, and open boxes with cool rewards inside. 4. Upgrades for saving population We wanted to give you an interesting reward for saving islands. Freeing an island from invaders now increases the saved population stat. Upon saving populations, players earn useful upgrades for their ship and character. 5. Recurring island invasions We wanted to add a mechanic that would occasionally bring the player back to islands they had already conquered. This brought us to the idea of repeating invasions on liberated locations. To keep it from being annoying, this won’t happen often, but it does flesh out the gameplay with additional objectives. 6. Herbs for medkits You can now gather herbs for medkits. Spawn points are placed manually and have a certain chance of appearing when an island loads (for example, 30%). Herbs are gathered when you interact with them. Interacting takes the same amount of time as using a medkit. The herb disappears once it is gathered, and the player gains a medkit. 7. Limited character respawns We got a lot of feedback about the player being essentially immortal, since Luma the moth just brings the player back to the ship when they die. We decided to add Luma energy which is used up when the player dies or the player’s ship is destroyed. To refill the energy gauge, the player has to sleep in a bed. Saving populations can increase your maximum energy. {STEAM_CLAN_...1 day until the release!Jul 8, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/DYczcua.gif One more sleep, captains! 🕙 Release time: 10 am PT / 7 pm CET; 💸 Price: $19.99.2 days until the release!Jul 7, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/0adf4d294a0abb8a1c265fa7ba387e809fb17ec2.gif 2 days until we set sail! Are you ready, captains?New Release Date RevealedJun 11, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/Vf2iKWh.gif ⚓ Hello again, captains! We promised to announce a new release date soon and here we are! Black Skylands is coming to Early Access on 📅 July 9! 🎞️ Watch the new animated trailer: • • • 🛒 Add Black Skylands to your wishlist and follow the game for further details on the Early Access launch: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ Join the community: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook Instagram • • • Yours truly, Folks at {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/7314db1bca546d0399eba16e47ece88b7e4cdc20.pngNews about the launch of Black SkylandsJun 3, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/0bf9446a744e659d6dbe5812602d2e5dfe5db215.png Hello, captains! As recently as last week, we announced that Black Skylands was going to be released on June 11. This news was met with excitement and approval by our community. Today we at Hungry Couch Games would like to share with you an update regarding the launch of our project. After officially announcing the day on which the early access phase would start, we faced a number of unexpected challenges which made us reconsider our plans of shipping the game on the aforementioned date. A decision has been made to slightly delay the release of Black Skylands. This decision, of course, wasn’t an easy one to make, especially considering the fact that the delay would be announced at such short notice. However, we believe this is an absolutely necessary measure for two major reasons: We want you to experience the best possible version of Black Skylands when it enters early access. We need to address a couple of issues in order to achieve that; Our team wants to be satisfied with the product we are offering to our player base. Unless we are, it means that all the work we have done has been in vain. Whether your reaction to this announcement is frustration or approval, we fully understand it. We promise you that the delay is going to be very brief and a new release date will be announced soon. Until then, we will be doing our absolute best to improve the game as much as possible. Yours truly, Folks at {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/7314db1bca546d0399eba16e47ece88b7e4cdc20.png P.S. We promise not to crunch! • • • Join the community: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook InstagramBlack Skylands gets an Early Access release date!May 26, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/qlFeBbI.gif ⚓ Anchors aweigh, captains! Black Skylands is launching into Steam Early Access on 📅June 11 "Hello, community! We at Hungry Couch Games are thrilled to bring you the release date for Black Skylands. We still have two and a half weeks before the Early Access launch and we're going to use this time to polish the game to an extent where both our team and our player base are satisfied with the result. Once the game enters the EA stage, we're going to start adding content, revise design decisions and, of course, fix pesky bugs based on your feedback. We are extremely excited to set out on this journey with all of you, guys!" {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/e10f70d54c5491d1fa51f8e799ac12fe64ef10e8.png 🎞️ Until then, check out the new trailer: 🛒 Add Black Skylands to your wishlist and follow the game for further details on the Early Access launch: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ 👥 Also, join our community to give us feedback and communicate with other skyship captains: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook Instagram • • • May you have fair winds!☁️ Yours truly, {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/7314db1bca546d0399eba16e47ece88b7e4cdc20.pngBest Feedback: First 5 Winners Selected & RewardedMar 25, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37605166/e091766a2da83f59310d6f1ed733fad594d39729.png ⚓Ahoy, skyship captains! Over the past two weeks, we've received tons of absolutely amazing feedback from all of you. As we promised, we will be rewarding those who provide the most useful, constructive and extensive feedback with Steam copies of Black Skylands. The first 5 winners have been selected! Keys have been sent to them along with our gratitude for their time and for participating in the open playtest. Keep your feedback coming, captains! The release is close and we need your support! Be sure to sign up while the playtest lasts: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ Yours truly, {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/7314db1bca546d0399eba16e47ece88b7e4cdc20.png • • • Join our community and give us feedback and chat with other captains: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook InstagramDemo - Open Playtest UpdateMar 18, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37605166/ac944eb4fb26bdf64095947bb6bf0d62b77542bd.png The newest version of the demo has been added! The most recent open playtest build has just docked in the main branch of Black Skylands: Origins! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37605166/7e033c38e4814c12932655aef28f7e1bed47fd0c.gif The old demo has been replaced with the newest version of the project. However, last year's demonstration is still available. Here is how to access it: Right-click Black Skylands: Origins in your Steam library, select Properties…; At the left side of the pop-up window, select BETAS; In the drop-down menu, select "may_2020_demo - Old demo branch"; Update your game and play. ⚠️ IMPORTANT ⚠️ Both new and old versions of the demo use the same game save file. Beware that if you save your game in one version and then attempt loading your save in the other, your save will be overwritten and your progress—lost. Make sure to always start a new campaign when switching between versions. The same applies to the open playtest which is also the new version. A reminder: it is accessible from the main Black Skylands Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ • • • Join our community: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook Instagram The Black Skylands Open Playtest is Live!Mar 11, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/vn0qNeq.gif ⚓Anchors aweigh, captains! The Black Skylands Open Playtest is live! Over a limited period of time, you can get a sneak peek at the open-world skypunk sandbox before the release. Check the trailer out: We have significantly improved the game since the launch of the Origins demo back in 2020. Here is a short list of brand new features: 🎌Capturing territories https://i.imgur.com/cWYcto1.gif ⚔️New weapons & skyships https://i.imgur.com/d6dwcOO.gif 🪑Furnishing! You can have your own cozy bed now https://i.imgur.com/22bRuXt.gif Other improvements: Skyship ammo & repair kits Updated map and a fresh approach to level design Updated user interface Updated player/skyship death mechanic Lots and lots of gameplay polishing & balancing Be sure to sign up while the playtest lasts: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ Also, join our community and give us feedback and chat with other captains: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook Instagram • • • May you have fair winds!☁️ Yours truly, {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35733426/7314db1bca546d0399eba16e47ece88b7e4cdc20.pngOpen Playtest Begins March 11!Mar 9, 2021 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/b84H0Xw.gif Greetings, captain! Don your goggles and prepare to set sail - the Black Skylands open playtest begins March 11! For the past few months, our team has been working on a variety of new content and features. Now, we are almost ready to invite you to try out what is shaping up to be the final version of Black Skylands. Our goal is to gather as much feedback from our community as possible to polish the game before the Q2 2021 launch. https://i.imgur.com/pVvEw22.gif The open playtest will begin on March 11 at 10 am PST / 1 pm EST / 7 pm CET. Don't miss the announcement! Make sure to wishlist & follow Black Skylands to be in the loop: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/ Until then, join our community—it's where we will be engaging with playtesters directly: Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook Instagram • • • May you have fair winds! Yours truly, {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37605166/7314db1bca546d0399eba16e47ece88b7e4cdc20.pngThe New Key ArtFeb 6, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/37605166/f49009084ee86270b7a657b0e4d346ac3f80b373.png Hello! Our artist has finished drawing a new key art. It depicts our protagonist Eva on her trusty airship, well-armed and ready to set out on a long journey full of challenges. Let us know what you think! --------------------- Join us: Twitter Facebook Instagram Discord Reddit Black Skylands DevLog — Airships and the ShipyardJul 5, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsHello, captains! In Black Skylands airships are incredibly Important — they serve as means of transportation and communication between the many scattered islands. In some cases, they can even become a floating house. Without a doubt, people of Skylands simply wouldn't survive having no airships. And as a player, you'll be able to choose and customize your ship to better suit a specific task — all courtesy of the Shipyard and its tools! In today's DevLog we're going to talk exactly about that — ships, shipbuilding and components upgrading. The Man-O-War Let’s talk about the ships themselves first. Right now we have 3 classes of ships planned for the game. Each ship will have base stats, which vary between the models. Your starting ship is a great all-rounder and from there you can decide what is specifically important to you. Are you an aerial ace who values manoeuvrability? Check out The Needle. Are you always short on cargo hold space for the loot you get? Take the helm of The Elephant and become an ultimate trader. Just remember that you'll have to sacrifice something else in exchange! https://i.imgur.com/r7tYATW.png Current ship classes. Work in Progress Of course, components installed on the ship will modify its stats, allowing for even bigger customization. Right now any ship has the next characteristics: Maximum speed Acceleration Maximum health points Maximum weight Turn speed Hold capacity The most important one for upgrading is the ship’s maximum available weight — this is the characteristic which will determine a ship's capacity for upgrades. Each part has a different weight, which depends on its quality — better parts weight more. This way the player won’t be able to take a juggernaut and max out its speed to create an apex predator of the skies. Time To Shiver Some Timbers You’ll be able to found the Shipyard on the Fathership — now the main vessel truly stands up to his name! There you’ll have the next options: Choose or replace the ship to use — pretty self-explanatory. If you have more than one airship available, you can switch between them, or select a newly crafted one Craft a new ship or a ship component — Here you can build new vessels from acquired blueprints. You can also create new parts to customize your ship — an engine, thrusters, hull and etc. Replace components — this one is for upgrading your airship with new modules. Harder. Better. Faster. We have a feeling this section of the Shipyard will be the one players are going to spend the most time with. A quick side note: if you switch the ship all installed components will be retained. Less menu navigation — more sky sailing! https://i.imgur.com/mPPMBIT.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/CwSkDes.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/CwSkDes.png One of the versions for the Shipyard interface. Subject to change Shipshape The ship’s components are crafted from blueprints, which can be acquired as rewards from quests or bought with Oil Capsules from merchants. Building a ship part is the same as crafti...DevLog — Origins launch and importance of player feedbackJun 10, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsHello, sky sailors! During the release of Black Skylands: Origins we couldn’t help but worry about the game’s reception. We were also very curious about whether or not the players will like the feel of the game and its mechanics. Everybody knows how important feedback is in creating something truly great. In the case of a videogame, player feedback allows for looking at certain aspects from a different perspective. Even better — it presents a whole prism of different views! Today we’ve wanted to share how this feedback helped us and changed our development plans. Some changes were already implemented into Black Skylands: Origins — while others will be waiting for you in the final game. Camera controls Camera behavior was the first thing the players encountered. The camera was focused on the space between the player and the crosshairs — creating a sort of a dead zone above the player's sprite. In theory, this provided more precision for shooting from afar while giving easier, tighter controls when shooting at a closer range. https://i.imgur.com/nfLXNYY.gif After taking another look, we put the focus on the main character — also lowering the minimum distance the camera can reach towards the centre of the player's sprite. This made controls much more responsive without sacrificing player's visibility. Ship controls This was one of the elements for which we really wanted to receive feedback. Originally we wanted to convey the feeling of piloting a ship amidst strong winds of endless sky. The ship turned slowly, with a noticeable weight to it and the cruising speed was definitely lower than the most conventional aircrafts. https://i.imgur.com/pFhNWMb.gif However, after receiving the feedback, we’ve agreed with the players that things like these can quickly become annoying and negatively impact the gameplay flow. We didn’t shy away from making ship controls more “arcade-like” — now you can turn the vessel with relative ease and it also has a much higher max speed. And, most importantly, we’ve added a HUD which not only tells the speed but also shows the amount of gas left and HP of your ship. Ground combat Some players noted that ground combat can use a bit more action to make them more dynamic. We agree that, maybe, firefights could feel not distinct enough from aerial combat. The idea behind this iteration of ground combat was to create a baseline to serve as a starting point for feedback. https://i.imgur.com/ZIcc1H1.gif Now, after receiving feedback, we’ve made the player moves quicker, the enemies quicker and more aggressive, and projectiles fly faster. Feels like acting in the hong kong action movies! Game balance In the ideal scenario, when the balance is done perfectly, the player won’t focus on it. Yet, there is probably not such a thing as “ideal balance” since everyone has his own idea of an interesting game. Some players noted that Pistol was rather strong for a secondary weapon with unlimited ammo. While others would disagree with this ...Thank you for participating in the survey!May 25, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsHey everyone! Two weeks ago we posted a survey, and the results blew us away - we've received over a thousand responses! Thank you so much, we really appreciate it. After processing and organizing all this data, we will use it to perfect the final product. The winners will get an email notification in the next few days - it'll take us some time to select the most helpful entries. If you haven't had a chance to fill in the survey, don't worry! Let us know what you think on the Steam forums or on our Discord - we read all of your feedback obsessively. Once again, thank you so much - we're happy to have you all as the foundation of Black Skylands community! Follow us on social media for more updates: Discord Twitter FacebookBlack Skylands: Origins UpdateMay 23, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsSmooth sky sailing, Captains! You know that sometimes a ship needs maintenance. So, inspired by the amazing feedback you gave us, we flew the Eternal Storm and brought you back important bugfixes and juicy improvements! Now your ship has improved controls, the camera handling has been reworked and the fuel prices have been cut in half! https://i.imgur.com/CHzeh58.gif Ships The ship's controls were reworked. The ship's maximum speed was increased. The ship's start speed was increased. The ship's turning speed was increased. The ship now sails backwards only when the backward button is pressed again after a complete stop. The ship is slowing down faster Now the ship has a HUD with speed, fuel and HP Player The player's camera has been redesigned The player's speed has been increased The player can now use a hook on the ship's components to get on the ship Animation of getting a medkit in HUD Medkits in HUD are green now The player's cursor is now better visible on a light background Adding the medkit if a player has Complete the demo survey & enter the full game giveaway!May 11, 2020 - Community AnnouncementsHey everyone! Thank you so much for playing the demo and for sending us all your feedback. We read all of your messages, and we truly appreciate them! We wanted to give your feedback a bit of a structure, which is why we're asking you to fill out the survey. And to spice things up, we're throwing some Black Skylands game keys in the pot! Here's how it's going to work: After playing the demo, please fill in this survey. It should take around 5-10 minutes to complete. Submit your survey results before May 25th if you'd like to participate in the giveaway Please fill in the email field at the end of the survey if you'd like to win a key - otherwise we won't be able to contact you On May 25th, three random winners will be selected among those who have submitted the results Additionally, we'll award three most helpful surveys submitted before the same deadline The winners will be notified by email on May 25th and will receive their game keys within a week from the game's release. And here's the survey link once more: https://forms.gle/H18eZmwVGi76xRzW9 Thank you for playing, and good luck! Follow us on social media for more updates: Discord Twitter Facebook
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