Worlds Adrift Island Creator news & patch notes

https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/921585764_preview_20170508013322_1.jpg Ahh Halloween, that blessed time of year when we have absolute carte blanche to add something decidedly spoopy (and only very loosely lore-tying) to Worlds Adrift. This time round? Thanks our latest update - the Pumpkin Patch - those with a nose for loot will be able to sniff out a pretty darn terrifying satanic goat mask (we, ahem, kid you not!), a Jack-o’-Lantern themed... um, lantern, a few time-limited potions, and last but not least, some black and orange material dyes! But what good is Halloween without at least one shoehorned (or should that be goat horned?) competition, eh?! Using the free Worlds Adrift Island Creator tool (shameless plug: each and every one of the 300 gorgeously intricate islands that make up the world of Foundation was made by a member of the community), we want you to create a Halloween-themed island, based on one of the following (if not all three!) themes… 1. House on the Haunted Hill 2. Purgatory 3. The Abandoned Carnival But sky pirate that you are, what about that glittery prize we hear ye’ ask? Well… all entries will be reviewed by our illustrious production team, who’ll not only be looking for flair and creativity, but something that would thematically fit within Worlds Adrift. As well as being added to the world, the winning island will be lovingly transformed into a wall-worthy watercolour by our eminent in-house artist, Dan Lish, for you to keep! Plus, we’ll also present the winning entry, as well as two runner-ups, with one of the aforementioned (and in very much limited supply!) goat masks. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/worlds-adrift-winning-halloween-entry-1024x576.png To enter, simply jot us a link to your island in the comments below by midnight on the 1st November, and if you’re in need of a little inspiration, then check out ya’ boi Malford’s Island Creator Guide here. Good luck, and Happy Halloween!

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/8e1b7a5a62e66743f1b62556e756f9274cc69bbc.jpg It’s time to raise your glasses, Travellers, and not least of all because alcohol has finally made it into Worlds Adrift (don’t drink and fly!), but because Update 27 - New Foundations - has officially taken flight! Not only does it mark the largest addition of new features (including cooking, expanded customisation and suction boots!) since Worlds Adrift launched into Early Access last May, but also introduces the long-requested PvE server, allowing for a more exploration-based style of play. But the best part of all? You can currently get 25% OFF Worlds Adrift right now! So what’re waiting for? The Marauder Rums are on us... *Hic!*

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/7cabcfb039bfcd2d96380df3dadf0be445b2eb1b.jpg Hey y’all, it’s ya boi Malford. King of islands and God of Hats (Julia: Malford destroyed the hat economy on our last Hunt a Dev stream Recap: CLICKY). We originally built the Island Creator as an internal tool so we could build islands for Worlds Adrift, but after Tom made it excellent we decided to release it to the community. The islands you guys have made are one of the most amazing, impressive and beautiful things about our game and we’re forever grateful to our amazing community for that.   The Island Creator is a great creative tool, and we love people having fun with it and making cool, creative stuff. As we use the community crafted islands to build our world we’ve been asked plenty of times what our criteria for choosing islands are by people keen to increase their chances of getting an island in-game.   The key thing we look for in an island is that it’s believable. This is all a bit vague though, what specifically do you need to do to make a “believable” island?  

Here are some tips:

 

• Our main goal is to preserve a sense of immersion for our players in Worlds Adrift so the first thing we look for is consistency with the world that we’re creating together. Some islands might break immersion because the structures seem like something you might see in real life, but wouldn’t see in Foundation.

 

• Keep it natural! We don’t get a lot of simple, natural islands submitted, but they’re a lot easier to get feeling coherent. When I make a Wilderness island I just try to make somewhere that feels like it would be fun to chill out.

 

• Trees are usually a big factor when considering if an island will successfully be chosen to be in the game so you may want to take into account:

 

• • Tree size: those that are more or less 50% size of the normal default tree size work really well when designing your island. If you go bigger or smaller than that, it can create collision issues or be immersion breaking.
  • Keep it real: trees that are kept at a realistic angle help keep the level of immersion high for players. One way to avoid planting trees at crazy angles is not to use the “surface align” function when you place them, that way they’ll all be basically upright. You can add a bit of variation of angle manually later if it looks a bit unnatural, but it’s usually fine.
  • Tree colour: rather than a range of colours, one or two colours on trees looks great and a little more natural.
  • Attached items: remember that if a player cuts down a tree, any items attached would float in the air as a result. Avoiding attaching items to trees helps our selection.

 

• When using the mass placement tool, take time to visually check that objects haven’t merged into each other.

 

• Water effects are currently hard to recreate with the tool. The paint tool will give you a block of blue colour but probably it doesn’t look quite right, and if a player sees what they think is water and it turns out to be blue sand this will break their immersion.

 

• When you prepare a landing area on your island, keep in mind that currently, shipyards can only be placed on normal terrain. You cannot place a shipyard on stones or on buildings. Planning this area in advance means players can visit your work, and we are more likely to select your island.

 

• If your island has an underground structure and tunnels, you may want to consider having something at the end of it such as lore, a reward, or a nice room to avoid explorers being frustrated or disappointed if they only find a dead end.

  We can’t guarantee that every island submitted will eventually make it into the game, but we hope this gives you an idea of what we look to include. These guidelines will keep evolving over time with each update and addition of extra features of the Island Creator.   You can also find more tips and discussion via the Island Creator forum, where some amazing community guides have already sprung up, and where you can share your own guidelines to help others.   Stay creative and see you in the skies!

https://i.imgur.com/LD9TQzM.gif After four years of development, and a boatload of anticipation, the world’s first Community-Crafted MMO, Worlds Adrift, begins its journey into Early Access today! Created by Bossa Studios, the brains behind the acclaimed Surgeon Simulator and I am Bread, Worlds Adrift is our most ambitious game yet, offering an entirely user-generated environment, with a completely unscripted style of play. Previously in Closed Beta, Worlds Adrift today launches into Early Access and begins a new chapter in its development. To celebrate this milestone Worlds Adrift now includes a new culture - the Kioki Unity - and over 100 new islands from our Island Creator community. For a quick preview of some of the new Kioki islands take a look at the GIF above! Worlds Adrift will continue to evolve throughout Early Access, based on the extensive feedback you, our loyal band of Travellers, continue to provide. To follow progress and receive the latest updates sign up to our newsletter and follow our Roadmap. See you in the Skies! EXPLORE. BUILD. UNITE. Worlds Adrift is launching with the latest build, 0.2.0, updates include:

• Additional servers for both US and EU regions
• The world has been wiped, and will launch with a brand new layout with brand new islands
• The new world is now separated into two diverse cultural regions; Saborian and Kioki, the
• latter bringing with it all-new music and assets
• Numerous new clothing items from Sabor, Bandinia, Ishgiru, Karem, Pin
• A brand new in-game feedback form
• Multiple bug fixes
• Probably new ones...
• VFX and SFX improvements

https://imgur.com/Ctwok5k.gif Join the Worlds Adrift team and a group of brave explorers as we soar up to 150ft in the air for an exciting launch day stream from 12pm - 6pm BST... on the deck of a sky ship brought to life! In a World’s first (the real world that is), Bossa and friends will be celebrating the launch of Worlds Adrift by streaming the game suspended high over the beautiful London skyline. Coming out of Closed Beta, Worlds Adrift launches into Early Access and begins a new chapter in its story. Watch here it LIVE here: Twitch.tv/BossaStudios

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/c8dc5392d9ea8bfed69a93705eff2592d396410b.jpg Worlds Adrift is a Community-Crafted MMO, but what exactly does that mean? Yes, ‘crafting’ plays a key element in the game, whether that’s building a better ship, forging a new alliance, or plotting out your next adventure, but it actually goes a lot deeper than that. In fact, look out to the horizon, and each and every island that scatters the skyline was crafted by a player, such as yourself, using our free Island Creator tool… and we just dropped another 300 of your amazing creations into game, with the recent release of 0.1.9. Today, we’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate that achievement. Correction: your achievement. You see, it wasn’t long into Worlds Adrift’s development when we decided against a procedurally generated environment, despite the fact that then, it was the up and coming thing (good call, right?). We knew that our community would craft a much more engaging and dynamic world. And two years later – and over a 1000 islands in – it turns out we were absolutely bang-on. So, more about those 300 new islands… Last week, Worlds Adrift updated to 0.1.9, which not only brought with it all-new traps, an improved ship dome, enhanced atmospherics, and the usual smorgasbord of bug fixes and tweaks, but also… “A WHOOOLE NEW WOOORLD!” And yes, you were totally meant to sing that in your head (if not out loud from the rooftops). Needless to say, we were literally blown away by the scope of your imaginations, and quality of your designs. We’re talking crumbling ruins, teeming jungles, monolithic cathedrals, long abandoned megacomplexes… In fact, we were so impressed that not only have we started a new Instagram page showcasing your designs (link here), but also put together the short video below to officially applaud your efforts! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o4VLlr_z1g But we’re Bossa, right? Which means we’re always looking above and beyond, so we’re already setting our sights on the next humongous world update. But we won’t do it without your help (Community-Crafted, remember?). So why not download our free island creator tool today, and discover what your world would look like! The sky’s literally the limit, right? *cringe* See you in the skies!

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/c8dc5392d9ea8bfed69a93705eff2592d396410b.jpg Worlds Adrift is a Community-Crafted MMO, but what exactly does that mean? Yes, ‘crafting’ plays a key element in the game, whether that’s building a better ship, forging a new alliance, or plotting out your next adventure, but it actually goes a lot deeper than that. In fact, look out to the horizon, and each and every island that scatters the skyline was crafted by a player, such as yourself, using our free Island Creator tool… and we just dropped another 300 of your amazing creations into game, with the recent release of 0.1.9. Today, we’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate that achievement. Correction: your achievement. You see, it wasn’t long into Worlds Adrift’s development when we decided against a procedurally generated environment, despite the fact that then, it was the up and coming thing (good call, right?). We knew that our community would craft a much more engaging and dynamic world. And two years later – and over a 1000 islands in – it turns out we were absolutely bang-on. So, more about those 300 new islands… Last week, Worlds Adrift updated to 0.1.9, which not only brought with it all-new traps, an improved ship dome, enhanced atmospherics, and the usual smorgasbord of bug fixes and tweaks, but also… “A WHOOOLE NEW WOOORLD!” And yes, you were totally meant to sing that in your head (if not out loud from the rooftops). Needless to say, we were literally blown away by the scope of your imaginations, and quality of your designs. We’re talking crumbling ruins, teeming jungles, monolithic cathedrals, long abandoned megacomplexes… In fact, we were so impressed that not only have we started a new Instagram page showcasing your designs (link here), but also put together the short video below to officially applaud your efforts! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o4VLlr_z1g But we’re Bossa, right? Which means we’re always looking above and beyond, so we’re already setting our sights on the next humongous world update. But we won’t do it without your help (Community-Crafted, remember?). So why not download our free island creator tool today, and discover what your world would look like! The sky’s literally the limit, right? *cringe* See you in the skies!

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/a76d8bfc7872686ea4fcd56bd230fd95f1dfc53b.jpg An ancient civilisation has been unearthed in Worlds Adrift. Known as the Kioki, this diverse and affluent nation prided themselves on the artistry of architecture. It’s now up to you - the Founders - to ensure their ways aren’t forgotten once more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne01Kf2I2DM Kioki marks the second culture to be added to Worlds Adrift, and the differences between them and the Saborians couldn’t be more stark. A prosperous society, they favoured opulent surroundings, including brass domed roofs, intricate embellishments, and brightly coloured textures… not to mention, had a strange obsession with birds (you’ll see what we mean). In order to accommodate these architectural changes, we’ve introduced a few new updates to the Island Creator, such as the ability to snap certain pieces together. This means grand and magnificent dwellings (as the wealthy Kioki naturally favoured), can now be constructed at a much faster rate. What’s more, because of the Kioki’s fondness for colour, their murals are multi-colored wall paintings rather than carvings like those of the Saborians, allowing for even more elaborate arrangements. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/island_gen-Super-Resolution-2017.10.24-15.36.43.52-1024x576.jpg

Kioki In-Game

So, when can we actually start exploring Kioki-styled islands, I hear you ask? Well, the Kioki islands will occupy their own regions in the Worlds Adrift skies, so we’ll need a sufficient number of islands to populate them. The Kioki update is available now, and equates to approximately 450 new pieces to play around with in the updated Island Creator tool: we’re talking new chests, turrets, statues, lights, doorways, wall, windows, and… well, you get the idea. So what’re you waiting for? Create your new island now, and let’s get the Kioki biome populated as quickly as possible. See how the Kioki update was created in our latest "Behind the Scenes" video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOu5hWCJifk We can't wait to see what you Creators come up with!

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/a76d8bfc7872686ea4fcd56bd230fd95f1dfc53b.jpg An ancient civilisation has been unearthed in Worlds Adrift. Known as the Kioki, this diverse and affluent nation prided themselves on the artistry of architecture. It’s now up to you - the Founders - to ensure their ways aren’t forgotten once more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne01Kf2I2DM Kioki marks the second culture to be added to Worlds Adrift, and the differences between them and the Saborians couldn’t be more stark. A prosperous society, they favoured opulent surroundings, including brass domed roofs, intricate embellishments, and brightly coloured textures… not to mention, had a strange obsession with birds (you’ll see what we mean). In order to accommodate these architectural changes, we’ve introduced a few new updates to the Island Creator, such as the ability to snap certain pieces together. This means grand and magnificent dwellings (as the wealthy Kioki naturally favoured), can now be constructed at a much faster rate. What’s more, because of the Kioki’s fondness for colour, their murals are multi-colored wall paintings rather than carvings like those of the Saborians, allowing for even more elaborate arrangements. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/island_gen-Super-Resolution-2017.10.24-15.36.43.52-1024x576.jpg

Kioki In-Game

So, when can we actually start exploring Kioki-styled islands, I hear you ask? Well, the Kioki islands will occupy their own regions in the Worlds Adrift skies, so we’ll need a sufficient number of islands to populate them. The Kioki update is available now, and equates to approximately 450 new pieces to play around with in the updated Island Creator tool: we’re talking new chests, turrets, statues, lights, doorways, wall, windows, and… well, you get the idea. So what’re you waiting for? Create your new island now, and let’s get the Kioki biome populated as quickly as possible. See how the Kioki update was created in our latest "Behind the Scenes" video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOu5hWCJifk We can't wait to see what you Creators come up with!

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/80572c0c9432e73f7b2c017073dafa402c6293be.jpg Un-chomp that apple. Step away from the pumpkin. And unwrap that roll of toilet paper from around your mate’s leg. Cos this Halloween, the competition* on everyone's cornflour and food colouring blood covered lips is our spooky Island Creator contest… and yes, there’s a scarily good prize up-for-grabs! The rules couldn’t be more straightforward. Simply submit a gothic-inspired design by midnight (Mwa-ha-haa!!) on the 5th November, making sure to title it: "Halloween Competition Entry: blah blah blah". And seriously, let your imagination run amok with this one! We’re talking dilapidated castles, balanced on decrepit juts of rock, surrounded by miles of desolate moorland; skeletal ruins, ravaged by the passages of time, that torturously stretch towards the nightsky; skull-shaped caverns that beckon weary travellers with eyes that… Well, you get the idea. Entries will be judged by our panel of designers, who’ll be looking for originality, creativity, and general spine-tinglyness. In other words, would they dare step foot on this island without their merry band of comrades, in the bright light of day, with a sizeable cushion close to hand? Does your island call for... the brown pants?! So… let’s get down to brass tacks. I mean, that’s what you’ve been skim-reading this article for anyway, right? The prize? Well, fear not, cos it’s a good’ un. Basically, the winning island will not only make it into the game itself - *high five* - but will be lovingly sketched by our resident concept artist, Dan Lish, who’lll also sign the piece, before it’s shipped off to your address. The competition starts now. Like, right now! So get on and start building your spook-tacular island poste-haste, and who knows? Perhaps you’ll have something nice to hang on your bathroom wall by the end of it… *T&C’s: All entries must be submitted by midnight 5th November 2017. Entries submitted past this date will not be accepted. The winning island will be selected by the design team, and all decisions are final. The winner will be privately contacted via Steam, at which point it is the winner’s responsibility to claim their prize, by submitting a valid postal address, within 72 subsequent hours. The prize is as stated, and not transferable to another individual and no cash or other alternatives will be offered.

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/24568834/80572c0c9432e73f7b2c017073dafa402c6293be.jpg Un-chomp that apple. Step away from the pumpkin. And unwrap that roll of toilet paper from around your mate’s leg. Cos this Halloween, the competition* on everyone's cornflour and food colouring blood covered lips is our spooky Island Creator contest… and yes, there’s a scarily good prize up-for-grabs! The rules couldn’t be more straightforward. Simply submit a gothic-inspired design by midnight (Mwa-ha-haa!!) on the 5th November, making sure to title it: "Halloween Competition Entry: blah blah blah". And seriously, let your imagination run amok with this one! We’re talking dilapidated castles, balanced on decrepit juts of rock, surrounded by miles of desolate moorland; skeletal ruins, ravaged by the passages of time, that torturously stretch towards the nightsky; skull-shaped caverns that beckon weary travellers with eyes that… Well, you get the idea. Entries will be judged by our panel of designers, who’ll be looking for originality, creativity, and general spine-tinglyness. In other words, would they dare step foot on this island without their merry band of comrades, in the bright light of day, with a sizeable cushion close to hand? Does your island call for... the brown pants?! So… let’s get down to brass tacks. I mean, that’s what you’ve been skim-reading this article for anyway, right? The prize? Well, fear not, cos it’s a good’ un. Basically, the winning island will not only make it into the game itself - *high five* - but will be lovingly sketched by our resident concept artist, Dan Lish, who’lll also sign the piece, before it’s shipped off to your address. The competition starts now. Like, right now! So get on and start building your spook-tacular island poste-haste, and who knows? Perhaps you’ll have something nice to hang on your bathroom wall by the end of it… *T&C’s: All entries must be submitted by midnight 5th November 2017. Entries submitted past this date will not be accepted. The winning island will be selected by the design team, and all decisions are final. The winner will be privately contacted via Steam, at which point it is the winner’s responsibility to claim their prize, by submitting a valid postal address, within 72 subsequent hours. The prize is as stated, and not transferable to another individual and no cash or other alternatives will be offered.

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/67947e56c33ddc0aa02e12267ea22dc483af6141.jpg EDIT **new gameplay features NOW LIVE** Greetings island creators! A couple of months ago, we mentioned that we were working on major updates for the Island Creator - updates that would allow you to act as game designers. Go wild as we're proud to say the update is NOW LIVE! You can add non-climbable materials as well as turrets, spikes and barbed wire to your island designs, creating new platform puzzles and adventures full of dangers, challenges, and surprises for players worldwide to discover and explore. Read on for more detail. We can't wait to see your designs! WELCOME TO YOUR WORLD Turrets https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/80b8fe5786e0a40e140f3dd2361599d07fef1110.jpg There are a trio of different turret types that you can now place on your islands including smaller Light Turrets to bigger Explosive Turrets that'll also target ships. Protecting high value areas that are filled with loot just got tense... https://giant.gfycat.com/IlliterateGratefulCaimanlizard.gif The Tether Turret is a bit different from the others: it uses a similar technology to players' grappling hooks. When it attaches to a player, it reels them in until they're close enough to be shocked and flung away! https://giant.gfycat.com/FeistyShockedKinglet.gif Fighting Back https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/4c37ba77c73f26612cf9ee1c3a6721d1fa8ab7e5.jpg With these added threats, island creators will need to gauge the difficulty of challenge their islands now present. Within the main game there'll be multiple ways to destroy turrets, and teamwork will make the task exponentially easier, so we're adding a tester pistol to the Island Creator. Its power will be adjustable to make the task of disabling the turrets easier or harder. Players will now also have a health bar that uses the same impact resolution / fall damage and turret damage as the game, so you can really fine tune your puzzle designs. But how do you make an area truly inaccessible when everyone has a grappling hook? With non-grappable surfaces of course! Unclimbable Surfaces We've included a range of building blocks that can't be grappled or climbed on, just like a ship during the effects of an atlas pulse. These will allow for more elaborate platforming puzzles. To add a little extra challenge, we've also added spikes and barbed wire to create a sense of danger for any potential explorers. https://giant.gfycat.com/ColorlessLivelyBrant.gif Bringing all of these things together, we have a video that shows how all these mechanics could affect exploring islands in Worlds Adrift in the future: https://youtu.be/aYbgbj2Ovrg Note this gauntlet's super high difficulty - you can thank a certain sadistic island builder for this one! It will ultimately be up to the island builders to decide on the difficulty of their island dungeon. On our side, we'll tweak the looting system to accommodate this new addition to the game: If a container or chest isn't looted for a certain period of time (due to the challenge of the dungeon, the cleverly hidden location of the chest, or the difficulty of reaching its island) the chest will accumulate better rewards, awaiting a plucky adventurer to claim as their own! This Island Creator update is Phase 1 of a trio of updates for the closed beta of Worlds Adrift to be rolled out this year, with a new lost civilization waiting to be discovered, and even more ways for players to test the skill and ingenuity of their peers with tricks being added to the world building tool in phases 2 and 3. We're looking forward to seeing everybody go wild with this whole new aspect of the game!

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/67947e56c33ddc0aa02e12267ea22dc483af6141.jpg EDIT **new gameplay features NOW LIVE** Greetings island creators! A couple of months ago, we mentioned that we were working on major updates for the Island Creator - updates that would allow you to act as game designers. Go wild as we're proud to say the update is NOW LIVE! You can add non-climbable materials as well as turrets, spikes and barbed wire to your island designs, creating new platform puzzles and adventures full of dangers, challenges, and surprises for players worldwide to discover and explore. Read on for more detail. We can't wait to see your designs! WELCOME TO YOUR WORLD Turrets https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/80b8fe5786e0a40e140f3dd2361599d07fef1110.jpg There are a trio of different turret types that you can now place on your islands including smaller Light Turrets to bigger Explosive Turrets that'll also target ships. Protecting high value areas that are filled with loot just got tense... https://giant.gfycat.com/IlliterateGratefulCaimanlizard.gif The Tether Turret is a bit different from the others: it uses a similar technology to players' grappling hooks. When it attaches to a player, it reels them in until they're close enough to be shocked and flung away! https://giant.gfycat.com/FeistyShockedKinglet.gif Fighting Back https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/4c37ba77c73f26612cf9ee1c3a6721d1fa8ab7e5.jpg With these added threats, island creators will need to gauge the difficulty of challenge their islands now present. Within the main game there'll be multiple ways to destroy turrets, and teamwork will make the task exponentially easier, so we're adding a tester pistol to the Island Creator. Its power will be adjustable to make the task of disabling the turrets easier or harder. Players will now also have a health bar that uses the same impact resolution / fall damage and turret damage as the game, so you can really fine tune your puzzle designs. But how do you make an area truly inaccessible when everyone has a grappling hook? With non-grappable surfaces of course! Unclimbable Surfaces We've included a range of building blocks that can't be grappled or climbed on, just like a ship during the effects of an atlas pulse. These will allow for more elaborate platforming puzzles. To add a little extra challenge, we've also added spikes and barbed wire to create a sense of danger for any potential explorers. https://giant.gfycat.com/ColorlessLivelyBrant.gif Bringing all of these things together, we have a video that shows how all these mechanics could affect exploring islands in Worlds Adrift in the future: https://youtu.be/aYbgbj2Ovrg Note this gauntlet's super high difficulty - you can thank a certain sadistic island builder for this one! It will ultimately be up to the island builders to decide on the difficulty of their island dungeon. On our side, we'll tweak the looting system to accommodate this new addition to the game: If a container or chest isn't looted for a certain period of time (due to the challenge of the dungeon, the cleverly hidden location of the chest, or the difficulty of reaching its island) the chest will accumulate better rewards, awaiting a plucky adventurer to claim as their own! This Island Creator update is Phase 1 of a trio of updates for the closed beta of Worlds Adrift to be rolled out this year, with a new lost civilization waiting to be discovered, and even more ways for players to test the skill and ingenuity of their peers with tricks being added to the world building tool in phases 2 and 3. We're looking forward to seeing everybody go wild with this whole new aspect of the game!

The new Island Creator Update is now live, restart Steam to download the update! We invite you to watch the video below for a better overview, but here is the patch notes on the menu this week:

• Custom Groups and Material sets are now shareable via the Steam Workshop!
• Complete overhaul of Steam Workshop Window.
• Materials now feature auto fill options, you can customize fill settings per layer and paint the whole island in a single click. These are also part of the material sharing, so downloading other creators material setups and applying them to your islands is now super simple.
• Dynamic Grass is now an option to generate grass blades procedurally anywhere that layer is painted. Options for thickness, softness and height variation can create long hay fields or lush meadows equally well.
• Spectator camera option for smoother screen recording to show off your creations in style.
• Temperature slider to preview how your island might look in different biomes in the main game.
• Character now selects clothing from the starter items in the main game and randomizes the colours to match.
• New cliff assets.
• Updated grass assets.
• The standard array of bug fixes and optimizations.

https://youtu.be/dEcWic5y9cM The Worlds Adrift Island Creator is available for free (and will always be) on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/271920/Worlds_Adrift_Island_Creator/

The new Island Creator Update is now live, restart Steam to download the update! We invite you to watch the video below for a better overview, but here is the patch notes on the menu this week:

• Custom Groups and Material sets are now shareable via the Steam Workshop!
• Complete overhaul of Steam Workshop Window.
• Materials now feature auto fill options, you can customize fill settings per layer and paint the whole island in a single click. These are also part of the material sharing, so downloading other creators material setups and applying them to your islands is now super simple.
• Dynamic Grass is now an option to generate grass blades procedurally anywhere that layer is painted. Options for thickness, softness and height variation can create long hay fields or lush meadows equally well.
• Spectator camera option for smoother screen recording to show off your creations in style.
• Temperature slider to preview how your island might look in different biomes in the main game.
• Character now selects clothing from the starter items in the main game and randomizes the colours to match.
• New cliff assets.
• Updated grass assets.
• The standard array of bug fixes and optimizations.

https://youtu.be/dEcWic5y9cM The Worlds Adrift Island Creator is available for free (and will always be) on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/271920/Worlds_Adrift_Island_Creator/

Travelers! First of all, thank you for your patience, we are glad to share that 0.0.6 is now live. On the menu, you’ll find that we redesigned the logical game progression. This new approach is closer to what we envisioned for Worlds Adrift. The world is now divided into Biomes. As such, you’ll find the first four Biomes: Wilderness, Expanse, Remnants, Badlands separated by natural weather barrier. Each biome will have its own loot, resources, schematics, rewards & secrets to discover. One of the totally new gameplay features we’ve added is cooking. Forage berries or use a campfire to cook meat, you’ll need to regenerate your health by eating. More changes come under the form of the revamped sky core. You now have one sky core per ship that you can upgrade. Having one sky core per ship will allow you to have more space to customize your ship. You can now climb any surface making it easier to explore islands or simply have a higher point of view from your ship flag pole. You’ll also find the new “Global illumination” lighting change that will make Islands, caves and interiors look better than ever before. http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/d16c4a657e252b06a024d65f8414122348998e34.jpg http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/1ec8377c0cbbb4bc02ee196abe8d18c705498c00.jpg As usual, this is a new patch,with lots of new content and we would truly appreciate your comments & feedbacks below! Full Patch Notes: KNOWN ISSUES & WORKAROUNDS

• Occasionally, after the client has been running for a few hours, approaching a new island will cause a 5-10 second freeze, after which the player will be thrown off the ship. Restart the client to fix.
• Logging in onto a moving ship may result in the ship having moved out from under the character by the time the character loads in.
• Climbing on very bent ship panels will do serious damage to the player: Avoid these for now.
• The client will enter a ‘not responding’ state or crash occasionally: Restart the client to fix.
• When taking control of a helm or cannon, a player will sometimes be seen in an incorrect place.
• WiFi may incur problems: Best played on an ethernet connection for now. NEW FEATURES IN ALPHA 0.0.6
• Biomes have been added to the game, with the first four implemented.
• Biomes determine loot tables, resources, schematics, and rewards.
• Biomes determine creature variants and behaviors.
• Biomes determine surrounding weather barriers.
• Sandstorms have been added to the game.
• The start of the game and key schematics have been revised, along with the Knowledge tree.
• A rehaul to the atlas sky core has been implemented: ships are now restricted to a single core, which is upgradeable through attaching specific addons.
• A completely revamped lighting solution for island caves and interiors has been implemented.
• Creatures’ corpses can now be salvaged for meat, which can be cooked and eaten to regenerate player health. Harvesting trees also gives berries, which also regenerate health.
• Objects abandoned on islands will eventually sink into the ground and decay. You may come across an island with the buried wreckage of another player’s adventures.
• Lightning striking from the death clouds below will hit islands and excite the atlas within, burying some objects forever and bringing others to the surface.
• Ships and ship parts have a new aesthetic; both materials and damage should now show properly.
• Players can now combine the same resource of different qualities. The new quality is a weighted average of the two previous stacks.
• Metal scrap deposits have had their placeholder art replaced with final assets.
• Sails have had their placeholder art updated; animation and audio added.
• Ancient revival chambers have had their placeholder potat - err, art - replaced with final assets.
• Saborian databanks have had their placeholder art replaced with final assets; animation added.
• Characters have gained the ability to climb. Press Q when near a surface or object and your character will grab on; WASD will control your climb.
• Player respawn rules have been updated: timers have been added, random respawn is now limited to two uses per day and keeps you within the current zone, and respawning to any revival chamber now immediately severs your connection to your existing personal reviver. NOTABLE BUGFIXES IN 0.0.6
• Upon logging in following a crash, players will no longer constantly get reset to the pre-crash position and state.
• When approaching a new island, the client should now only rarely freeze for a notable amount of time. There will still be little hiccups that will be optimised away in a future update.
• Players, when ragdolled, will no longer exert extreme forces with their limp body.
• Cannon shells should no longer rubberband, causing havoc on their own ships. Their damage calculations have also had various bugs fixed. Rendering objects on islands has been significantly optimized. Framerates should increase noticeably.
• Ships rubberbanding while flying has been significantly reduced.
• Building parts onto the hull of ships will no longer result in extreme framerate degradation.
• Many situations where ships or ship parts silently stopped functioning (fuel tanks being a common example) have been fixed.
• Sometimes the connection menu would lay over the in-game screen, making it impossible to play. This has been fixed.
• In-game broadcasts have been fixed; messages, including those notifying players of an upcoming maintenance, should be visible again.
• Trees should no longer duplicate when chopped.
• Mysterious clumps of metal or eggs should no longer spawn at specific points in the open air.
• Ships should no longer log out when docked to the shipyard - regardless of the status of players.
• Islands with missing assets now have them showing appropriately. Murals now show their logograms correctly.
• This is pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but large in the minds of shipbuilders everywhere: the Artificial Horizon placement has been fixed!

Travelers! First of all, thank you for your patience, we are glad to share that 0.0.6 is now live. On the menu, you’ll find that we redesigned the logical game progression. This new approach is closer to what we envisioned for Worlds Adrift. The world is now divided into Biomes. As such, you’ll find the first four Biomes: Wilderness, Expanse, Remnants, Badlands separated by natural weather barrier. Each biome will have its own loot, resources, schematics, rewards & secrets to discover. One of the totally new gameplay features we’ve added is cooking. Forage berries or use a campfire to cook meat, you’ll need to regenerate your health by eating. More changes come under the form of the revamped sky core. You now have one sky core per ship that you can upgrade. Having one sky core per ship will allow you to have more space to customize your ship. You can now climb any surface making it easier to explore islands or simply have a higher point of view from your ship flag pole. You’ll also find the new “Global illumination” lighting change that will make Islands, caves and interiors look better than ever before. http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/d16c4a657e252b06a024d65f8414122348998e34.jpg http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/10223679/1ec8377c0cbbb4bc02ee196abe8d18c705498c00.jpg As usual, this is a new patch,with lots of new content and we would truly appreciate your comments & feedbacks below! Full Patch Notes: KNOWN ISSUES & WORKAROUNDS

• Occasionally, after the client has been running for a few hours, approaching a new island will cause a 5-10 second freeze, after which the player will be thrown off the ship. Restart the client to fix.
• Logging in onto a moving ship may result in the ship having moved out from under the character by the time the character loads in.
• Climbing on very bent ship panels will do serious damage to the player: Avoid these for now.
• The client will enter a ‘not responding’ state or crash occasionally: Restart the client to fix.
• When taking control of a helm or cannon, a player will sometimes be seen in an incorrect place.
• WiFi may incur problems: Best played on an ethernet connection for now. NEW FEATURES IN ALPHA 0.0.6
• Biomes have been added to the game, with the first four implemented.
• Biomes determine loot tables, resources, schematics, and rewards.
• Biomes determine creature variants and behaviors.
• Biomes determine surrounding weather barriers.
• Sandstorms have been added to the game.
• The start of the game and key schematics have been revised, along with the Knowledge tree.
• A rehaul to the atlas sky core has been implemented: ships are now restricted to a single core, which is upgradeable through attaching specific addons.
• A completely revamped lighting solution for island caves and interiors has been implemented.
• Creatures’ corpses can now be salvaged for meat, which can be cooked and eaten to regenerate player health. Harvesting trees also gives berries, which also regenerate health.
• Objects abandoned on islands will eventually sink into the ground and decay. You may come across an island with the buried wreckage of another player’s adventures.
• Lightning striking from the death clouds below will hit islands and excite the atlas within, burying some objects forever and bringing others to the surface.
• Ships and ship parts have a new aesthetic; both materials and damage should now show properly.
• Players can now combine the same resource of different qualities. The new quality is a weighted average of the two previous stacks.
• Metal scrap deposits have had their placeholder art replaced with final assets.
• Sails have had their placeholder art updated; animation and audio added.
• Ancient revival chambers have had their placeholder potat - err, art - replaced with final assets.
• Saborian databanks have had their placeholder art replaced with final assets; animation added.
• Characters have gained the ability to climb. Press Q when near a surface or object and your character will grab on; WASD will control your climb.
• Player respawn rules have been updated: timers have been added, random respawn is now limited to two uses per day and keeps you within the current zone, and respawning to any revival chamber now immediately severs your connection to your existing personal reviver. NOTABLE BUGFIXES IN 0.0.6
• Upon logging in following a crash, players will no longer constantly get reset to the pre-crash position and state.
• When approaching a new island, the client should now only rarely freeze for a notable amount of time. There will still be little hiccups that will be optimised away in a future update.
• Players, when ragdolled, will no longer exert extreme forces with their limp body.
• Cannon shells should no longer rubberband, causing havoc on their own ships. Their damage calculations have also had various bugs fixed. Rendering objects on islands has been significantly optimized. Framerates should increase noticeably.
• Ships rubberbanding while flying has been significantly reduced.
• Building parts onto the hull of ships will no longer result in extreme framerate degradation.
• Many situations where ships or ship parts silently stopped functioning (fuel tanks being a common example) have been fixed.
• Sometimes the connection menu would lay over the in-game screen, making it impossible to play. This has been fixed.
• In-game broadcasts have been fixed; messages, including those notifying players of an upcoming maintenance, should be visible again.
• Trees should no longer duplicate when chopped.
• Mysterious clumps of metal or eggs should no longer spawn at specific points in the open air.
• Ships should no longer log out when docked to the shipyard - regardless of the status of players.
• Islands with missing assets now have them showing appropriately. Murals now show their logograms correctly.
• This is pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but large in the minds of shipbuilders everywhere: the Artificial Horizon placement has been fixed!

Ahoy travelers! We’ve got some fantastic news that you’ll want to hear ... Worlds Adrift is about to head into Alpha 6 and we need even more stalwart crew members to sail the skies and find adventure where others dare not tread. Now will be YOUR LAST CHANCE to join an alpha playtest before we start closed beta! To apply, make sure you register on the Worlds Adrift site and once you've activated your account you'll receive an application link. The deadline to sign up is midnight on 1 March, 2017. If you have already applied to a previous playtest and been unsuccessful, don't worry, we have your details already and you don't need to re-apply. If you're already in a playtest, there's also no need to re-apply. To discover all the features that you’ll be able to try out in the next playtest, check out the latest blog post. We look forward to seeing you and your crew in the skies creating your own adventures. See you soon. The Worlds Adrift Team x o x o

Ahoy travelers! We’ve got some fantastic news that you’ll want to hear ... Worlds Adrift is about to head into Alpha 6 and we need even more stalwart crew members to sail the skies and find adventure where others dare not tread. Now will be YOUR LAST CHANCE to join an alpha playtest before we start closed beta! To apply, make sure you register on the Worlds Adrift site and once you've activated your account you'll receive an application link. The deadline to sign up is midnight on 1 March, 2017. If you have already applied to a previous playtest and been unsuccessful, don't worry, we have your details already and you don't need to re-apply. If you're already in a playtest, there's also no need to re-apply. To discover all the features that you’ll be able to try out in the next playtest, check out the latest blog post. We look forward to seeing you and your crew in the skies creating your own adventures. See you soon. The Worlds Adrift Team x o x o

https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_022.jpg Hey there everyone, Many of you may have guessed this already, so it won’t be news to you. We initially listed that our release date would be at the end of 2016. The end of the year is approaching fast, and you haven’t heard anything from us about the when you’ll all be able to play the game. So what’s happening? When can you assemble your crew and start sailing the skies? Bossa, what is going on?! https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screenshot-_0024_Layer-19.png As our Gamer-In-Chief stated in this blog post: “We’ll not launch a game that’s not ready, that is a commitment myself and the team have made to ourselves early on.” It’s definitely worth giving that blog post a re-read (or an initial read if you haven’t checked it out yet), because everything written there still applies to now. We really did hope to release the game in 2016, but we still have a little more work to do to ensure the game is fun, balanced and of course, optimised. It was gratifying to see that you, the community, also stressed the importance of releasing Worlds Adrift when it is in tip-top condition rather than rushing it out half-baked. We really appreciated your candour on this matter and it certainly gave us pause for thought! Therefore, we wanted to confirm to you all that Worlds Adrift will now be launching on Early Access in Q1 2017.  https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_020-1.jpg On the subject of the Alpha playtests, you will be pleased to know the next one is imminent and this will be the biggest one to date yet. We will also be testing out some very significant features in the game that take us much closer to the version we will be releasing. Some of the things we have added to this build are: Knowledge - Islands now have ancient Saborian databanks scattered around. Scan these for Knowledge, which you can use to specialise your character in the Knowledge tree tab of your character sheet. New Shipyard - The new Shipyard makes its debut! Build your custom ship frame exactly how you want: tall and skinny or wide and flat, small and sleek or big and bulky, it’s all up to you Loot - Islands now contain lootable containers, where ancient schematics are now found. Pistols - The crossbow has been replaced by the pistol, which should be easier to aim with. Combat - ranged combat has had a complete overhaul, and rebalance, so ship combat will involve lots of cannons, and big ship fights. Male character - Many of you have been asking for this feature for a long time. Well, it’s finally here. You can now play as a gentleman of the skies. Sails - Sails are now craftable and attachable to decks. A ship now only technically needs a core and a sail to fly, though it’s probably still a good idea to add a reviver. Pay attention to the direction of the wind! https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_014.jpg Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you in the skies in in Alpha 5! Cheers The Worlds Adrift team https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_012.jpg

https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_022.jpg Hey there everyone, Many of you may have guessed this already, so it won’t be news to you. We initially listed that our release date would be at the end of 2016. The end of the year is approaching fast, and you haven’t heard anything from us about the when you’ll all be able to play the game. So what’s happening? When can you assemble your crew and start sailing the skies? Bossa, what is going on?! https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screenshot-_0024_Layer-19.png As our Gamer-In-Chief stated in this blog post: “We’ll not launch a game that’s not ready, that is a commitment myself and the team have made to ourselves early on.” It’s definitely worth giving that blog post a re-read (or an initial read if you haven’t checked it out yet), because everything written there still applies to now. We really did hope to release the game in 2016, but we still have a little more work to do to ensure the game is fun, balanced and of course, optimised. It was gratifying to see that you, the community, also stressed the importance of releasing Worlds Adrift when it is in tip-top condition rather than rushing it out half-baked. We really appreciated your candour on this matter and it certainly gave us pause for thought! Therefore, we wanted to confirm to you all that Worlds Adrift will now be launching on Early Access in Q1 2017.  https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_020-1.jpg On the subject of the Alpha playtests, you will be pleased to know the next one is imminent and this will be the biggest one to date yet. We will also be testing out some very significant features in the game that take us much closer to the version we will be releasing. Some of the things we have added to this build are: Knowledge - Islands now have ancient Saborian databanks scattered around. Scan these for Knowledge, which you can use to specialise your character in the Knowledge tree tab of your character sheet. New Shipyard - The new Shipyard makes its debut! Build your custom ship frame exactly how you want: tall and skinny or wide and flat, small and sleek or big and bulky, it’s all up to you Loot - Islands now contain lootable containers, where ancient schematics are now found. Pistols - The crossbow has been replaced by the pistol, which should be easier to aim with. Combat - ranged combat has had a complete overhaul, and rebalance, so ship combat will involve lots of cannons, and big ship fights. Male character - Many of you have been asking for this feature for a long time. Well, it’s finally here. You can now play as a gentleman of the skies. Sails - Sails are now craftable and attachable to decks. A ship now only technically needs a core and a sail to fly, though it’s probably still a good idea to add a reviver. Pay attention to the direction of the wind! https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_014.jpg Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you in the skies in in Alpha 5! Cheers The Worlds Adrift team https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/November_2016_012.jpg

https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/new_metal_assets.png We are very happy to announce our latest playtest is now open for applicants. This will be the largest playtest yet and adds a myriad of brand-new features, including the Shipyard where players can create unique ship designs of any shape or size, updated UI and controls, improved framerate, new creatures, and plenty more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djl3RzTnMvg To apply you simply need to register here: https://www.worldsadrift.com/register/ If you have already registered on the site check your inbox for an email from us with the link to apply! If you have previously registered for a playtest with us, you don't need to register again. We have your details! Application are open until noon GMT on the 18th November. Not only is there a playtest but we also have a BIG new update for the Island Creator update today! So much Worlds Adrift... This is the list of everything new in the Island Creator, just for you: Gameplay objects - Murals with editable pictograms and glyphs to create your own stories. - Loot ruins and containers to populate your islands with collectibles in the main game. - High value chests to create focal points and reward players for exploring your island. - Databanks which reward knowledge in the main game. New Assets - More Saborian blocks, walls, windows, door frames, broken walls etc. - New set of metal ruins including pipes, platforms and more metal junk. - Decorative statues, lights (working and broken) and more ornamental pieces. - Hanging vines, wall vines and roots foliage. - New surface textures and existing textures have been improved. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/mural.png New Character Controller - New rappelling functionality, new grapple boost move, improved general grappling and falling physics. - Player now slip down unsafe surfaces. - Some clothing variety. - Player's position can now be reset to the initially clicked spot with the 'R' key. General Improvements - Painting tool made more responsive and the fill bucket with min and max angles now has better blending. - Scrolling lists made much more responsive with lots of items. - Fonts in certain UI areas tidied up and made neater. - Auto pressure sensitivity for stylus. - New foliage lighting. - Planar handles added to movement gizmo. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/reward_items.png Love and kisses, The Worlds Adrift Team x o x o

https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/new_metal_assets.png We are very happy to announce our latest playtest is now open for applicants. This will be the largest playtest yet and adds a myriad of brand-new features, including the Shipyard where players can create unique ship designs of any shape or size, updated UI and controls, improved framerate, new creatures, and plenty more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djl3RzTnMvg To apply you simply need to register here: https://www.worldsadrift.com/register/ If you have already registered on the site check your inbox for an email from us with the link to apply! If you have previously registered for a playtest with us, you don't need to register again. We have your details! Application are open until noon GMT on the 18th November. Not only is there a playtest but we also have a BIG new update for the Island Creator update today! So much Worlds Adrift... This is the list of everything new in the Island Creator, just for you: Gameplay objects - Murals with editable pictograms and glyphs to create your own stories. - Loot ruins and containers to populate your islands with collectibles in the main game. - High value chests to create focal points and reward players for exploring your island. - Databanks which reward knowledge in the main game. New Assets - More Saborian blocks, walls, windows, door frames, broken walls etc. - New set of metal ruins including pipes, platforms and more metal junk. - Decorative statues, lights (working and broken) and more ornamental pieces. - Hanging vines, wall vines and roots foliage. - New surface textures and existing textures have been improved. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/mural.png New Character Controller - New rappelling functionality, new grapple boost move, improved general grappling and falling physics. - Player now slip down unsafe surfaces. - Some clothing variety. - Player's position can now be reset to the initially clicked spot with the 'R' key. General Improvements - Painting tool made more responsive and the fill bucket with min and max angles now has better blending. - Scrolling lists made much more responsive with lots of items. - Fonts in certain UI areas tidied up and made neater. - Auto pressure sensitivity for stylus. - New foliage lighting. - Planar handles added to movement gizmo. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/reward_items.png Love and kisses, The Worlds Adrift Team x o x o

Hello, Iain here! We really love what the community has been making with the Island Creator so far, but we’re always looking to flesh out the list of assets people have to play with. When we asked what we should make more of, one thing that came up multiple times was additional mechanical ruins. Up to this point you’ve had only these six unique pieces! https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_01.png These are quite bespoke shapes and you’d have to be pretty creative to incorporate them into other things in your islands (besides isolated ruins or a big junk yard), so as well as adding more to this collection, we decided to give you some more “building block” pieces from which you can build your own industrial ruins on your islands. To start with, Jack made some really LOVELY PIPES (and I mean, seriously lovely). These things can help break up any empty spaces or link from one set piece to another. That way they can act as a kind of path for players to follow. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_02.png Next up are some more unique storytelling items. Aside from the mailbox-type one on the left, these were inspired by the kind of shapes and structures you can find in steel mills. The mailbox was built with more of a loose function in mind. It can be used to connect certain objects or again, just break up any long, empty or monotonous spaces. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/MechJunk.gif.gif Here are the parts that I hope you can really fill out spaces with. Six individual platforms, four girders, and some broken ladder pieces. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PlatJunk.gif https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_03.png And here’s my first punt at putting some of these into use. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_04.png https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_05.png https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_06.png Stay tuned for a Twitch stream soon where I will take you on a guided tour of a new island to demonstrate some potential level design and storytelling uses for these new assets. Cheers! Iain Artist @gillespionage

Hello, Iain here! We really love what the community has been making with the Island Creator so far, but we’re always looking to flesh out the list of assets people have to play with. When we asked what we should make more of, one thing that came up multiple times was additional mechanical ruins. Up to this point you’ve had only these six unique pieces! https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_01.png These are quite bespoke shapes and you’d have to be pretty creative to incorporate them into other things in your islands (besides isolated ruins or a big junk yard), so as well as adding more to this collection, we decided to give you some more “building block” pieces from which you can build your own industrial ruins on your islands. To start with, Jack made some really LOVELY PIPES (and I mean, seriously lovely). These things can help break up any empty spaces or link from one set piece to another. That way they can act as a kind of path for players to follow. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_02.png Next up are some more unique storytelling items. Aside from the mailbox-type one on the left, these were inspired by the kind of shapes and structures you can find in steel mills. The mailbox was built with more of a loose function in mind. It can be used to connect certain objects or again, just break up any long, empty or monotonous spaces. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/MechJunk.gif.gif Here are the parts that I hope you can really fill out spaces with. Six individual platforms, four girders, and some broken ladder pieces. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/PlatJunk.gif https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_03.png And here’s my first punt at putting some of these into use. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_04.png https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_05.png https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Junk_06.png Stay tuned for a Twitch stream soon where I will take you on a guided tour of a new island to demonstrate some potential level design and storytelling uses for these new assets. Cheers! Iain Artist @gillespionage

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/7254877/00e6f456630e7eb41e61143959c6c08c6d087c6b.jpg “So what does a game designer do? Are you an artist? Do you design characters and write the story? Or no, wait, you’re a programmer?” In this video, we discuss Liz England's concept of The Door Problem. It's a great way to explain what all of the different roles in a game studio are, and what each person is responsible for. We'd love to hear any questions you have and if there's anything you're curious about to do with game development. Much love, Oliver Age 24 and Vince Bossa Studios

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/7254877/00e6f456630e7eb41e61143959c6c08c6d087c6b.jpg “So what does a game designer do? Are you an artist? Do you design characters and write the story? Or no, wait, you’re a programmer?” In this video, we discuss Liz England's concept of The Door Problem. It's a great way to explain what all of the different roles in a game studio are, and what each person is responsible for. We'd love to hear any questions you have and if there's anything you're curious about to do with game development. Much love, Oliver Age 24 and Vince Bossa Studios

Hey there, travellers of the skies, You’ve probably seen some of the amazing player-made creations from our Island Creator by now. Many of you have already delved into the sweet art of island-making, and have produced vast, colourful havens amid the clouds. We’re going to be updating this useful tool really soon - including such things as ruins that have a chance of containing loot in the live game, and ancient databanks that contain knowledge of the past. We can’t wait to see what you create with these new features added, but until then, we caught up with a couple of our top island creators, to see how they have found the tool so far, and what they have created. First up, we have Rykaan… https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/makers-sundial-rykaan-1024x576.jpg “I'm Robert Stephenson and I've been using the Island Creator as a means to practice level design work while I try to move towards a games design career. The program stood out to me for the simplicity in it's scope but the width of it's possibilities. A difficult aspect of level design is how to present the player with a consistently interesting space, the limitation of the floating island appealed for this reason. The playable area is entirely determined by the premise of the island itself and the imagination of the designer. Trying to fill an entire horizon of gamespace as someone teaching themselves level design is a daunting task, whereas an idea can quickly be fleshed out in the island creator since the world is only ever as big as is necessary. There is enough complexity available to create something big and elaborate; but a small island with a great idea can be designed, finished and uploaded for people to see in a few hours. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/makers-sundial-2-rykaan-1024x576.jpg The complexity limitation I was took as a challenge. It's very easy to make an island with a forest on it by placing a lot of trees. But trees are very intensive object to put into any game. Learning to use the more interesting assets available, like the trees or larger building structures was a lesson learned while using the program. For a 3D tool it was very simple to use as well. I have a little knowledge of Maya from university and the Island Creator was easy to pick up from that background. Learning the Island Creator itself took very little time, which meant that I could focus more on the level design than the interface itself. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/the-maze-rykaan-1024x576.jpg The Islands I created with the program were each a lesson to teach myself. The inspiration for each being an aspect of gameplay I wanted to explore. 'The Maze' was my first big undertaken build, the enforced structure to focus on exploration within a recognisable space with a clear goal. However this clashed with the idea of the Worlds adrift gameplay in general, with very little verticality to the map. 'The Makers Sundial' was designed specifically as a response to this mistake when it came to creating a new Island. A truly vertical map with a real focal point on the top. It's very satisfying seeing an element or asset within the program and thinking of ways to use it that no one else thought of. This is a key part of the Island creator experience that I really enjoyed. The last big map I created with the program to date is called 'Utopia' and set out to be the culmination of all the lessons learned on the way. The map is maze like yet with large vertical elements, and a focus on grapple points to allow fast movement through a large city. I wanted it to become a showcase of what can be done with the program both from my point of view and from the community as a whole. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/utopia-rykaan-1024x576.jpg The possibilities of the Island creator grow with every update and the new features have made map creation faster and simpler. It's far easier to be imaginative and see ideas through when the tools are a help not a hindrance. It's a great little program to unleash creativity and get designing. And makes me even more determined to get past my QA days and into level/games design work. Next, we have Ritchie J…. “My background's in architecture and I've found the Island Creator to be a great sketching and concept development tool - I just start with an idea and go straight into the app without recourse to pencil and paper. And sometimes with no idea at all - simply doodling away with the components often bears fruit. Generally, I lay out the primary built form first and then sculpt the terrain to suit after creating custom groups for re-insertion. I like to alternate between the 'traditional' ruin + cave environments and something more conceptually playful. I'm bemused that Fast Franky's Fryland is proving to be more popular than Temple to the God of Flight but hopefully there's room for a multitude of approaches in the WA universe. I guess as long the environments are interesting and invite exploration then the aesthetic style is not too critical. 01 - Temple to the God of Flight https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/TempleToGodOfFlight-A-RitchieJ.jpg Initial attempt in WA – playing around with shape and scale. The structure developed first and once the head was added ‘temple’ evolved and the choice of god was a no-brainer. A conventional layout which assumes a fixed spawn point at the start of a processional route – of no consequence at all to visiting ships! 02 - Far Easterly Isle https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FarEasterlyIsle-C-RitchieJ.jpg Another exercise in ‘shape and scale’ inspired by the moai on the real Easter Island. Primary formal elements are Desert Rocks and Metal Wings with terrain downplayed and used as infill. Lots of different levels to explore or colonise. 03 - Mushroom Troopers https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/MushroomTroopers-A-RitchieJ.jpg I wanted to experiment with ‘minimalism’ so limited the architectural components to Metal Screw, Icon Shield and Radiant Fungi. This island is intended more for settlement rather than exploration with the open plan floors lending themselves to colonists adding their own walls and divisions with movable scrap that can be harvested elsewhere. 04 - Saboriana Industrial Spawn Facility https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IndustrialSpawnFacility-B-RitchieJ.jpg I just wondered where all those large-scale components came from - an alternative try at a three-component strategy using Sky Column, Step Pyramid and God Statue with lots of help from Cave Foliage to bring a more human scale to the volumes. Not really an island, more of an exercise in trying to keep it simple. 05 - Saboriana Cargo Ship https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CargoShip-C-RitchieJ.jpg I like the Saborian aesthetic but the sheer size of some of the elements makes customizing buildings a bit of a challenge – so I chickened out and went into the delivery business instead. Spaceframe courtesy of Memorial Pillars, mirroring elements about major axis and rotating groups – can’t wait for the Ship Builder App to launch. 06 - Fast Franky’s Fryland – Oft Visited Isle https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/breakfast-island.jpg For those primarily concerned with attack, defense and social engagement where exploration is secondary to rapidly harvesting critical supplies. Not just for fun – designed to beg the question as to who or what is to be responsible for placing ore and fuel. A discerning human designer or a procedural algorithm? Hopefully the former 07 - From Dust to Dust – Warriors’ Rest https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/WarriorsRest-A-RitchieJ.jpg This started with humble beginnings – I like the progressive decay implicit in the Simple Floor Tiles set and wanted to use them as the generating element. They dictated the way the terrain should be laid out and the warriors’ statues were already in an ‘experimental – WIP’ island of disparate groups. 08 - Island Chain Smoking https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ChainSmoking-B-RitchieJ.jpg To be twinned with Fast Franky’s Fryland for those who can’t do a full meal without a fix or simply need to grab resources on the go. This one has similarities with Mushroom Troopers with many large-scale open-plan levels hopefully inviting colonization by bringing in cast-off items from elsewhere to create shelter at a smaller scale. In conclusion I’m thinking that WA is going to be a fast-evolving, dynamic multiverse not just in game-play but also in the format of the islands themselves. So currently I want to test out a variety of types and not get stuck on one particular formal idea in order to see what appeals to the WA community. The islands should emanate a sense of identity and uniqueness and not just be seen as resource platforms for ship building and storage.” Make sure you head over to Steam Workshop and check out these islands - even if you’re not the most creative person in the world, it’s a lot of fun swinging through clouds, exploring other people’s creations. If you have any questions about the Island Creator and want to prod us for secrets about the update, come and chat to us in the comments. The Worlds Adrift Team x o x o

Hey there, travellers of the skies, You’ve probably seen some of the amazing player-made creations from our Island Creator by now. Many of you have already delved into the sweet art of island-making, and have produced vast, colourful havens amid the clouds. We’re going to be updating this useful tool really soon - including such things as ruins that have a chance of containing loot in the live game, and ancient databanks that contain knowledge of the past. We can’t wait to see what you create with these new features added, but until then, we caught up with a couple of our top island creators, to see how they have found the tool so far, and what they have created. First up, we have Rykaan… https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/makers-sundial-rykaan-1024x576.jpg “I'm Robert Stephenson and I've been using the Island Creator as a means to practice level design work while I try to move towards a games design career. The program stood out to me for the simplicity in it's scope but the width of it's possibilities. A difficult aspect of level design is how to present the player with a consistently interesting space, the limitation of the floating island appealed for this reason. The playable area is entirely determined by the premise of the island itself and the imagination of the designer. Trying to fill an entire horizon of gamespace as someone teaching themselves level design is a daunting task, whereas an idea can quickly be fleshed out in the island creator since the world is only ever as big as is necessary. There is enough complexity available to create something big and elaborate; but a small island with a great idea can be designed, finished and uploaded for people to see in a few hours. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/makers-sundial-2-rykaan-1024x576.jpg The complexity limitation I was took as a challenge. It's very easy to make an island with a forest on it by placing a lot of trees. But trees are very intensive object to put into any game. Learning to use the more interesting assets available, like the trees or larger building structures was a lesson learned while using the program. For a 3D tool it was very simple to use as well. I have a little knowledge of Maya from university and the Island Creator was easy to pick up from that background. Learning the Island Creator itself took very little time, which meant that I could focus more on the level design than the interface itself. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/the-maze-rykaan-1024x576.jpg The Islands I created with the program were each a lesson to teach myself. The inspiration for each being an aspect of gameplay I wanted to explore. 'The Maze' was my first big undertaken build, the enforced structure to focus on exploration within a recognisable space with a clear goal. However this clashed with the idea of the Worlds adrift gameplay in general, with very little verticality to the map. 'The Makers Sundial' was designed specifically as a response to this mistake when it came to creating a new Island. A truly vertical map with a real focal point on the top. It's very satisfying seeing an element or asset within the program and thinking of ways to use it that no one else thought of. This is a key part of the Island creator experience that I really enjoyed. The last big map I created with the program to date is called 'Utopia' and set out to be the culmination of all the lessons learned on the way. The map is maze like yet with large vertical elements, and a focus on grapple points to allow fast movement through a large city. I wanted it to become a showcase of what can be done with the program both from my point of view and from the community as a whole. https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/utopia-rykaan-1024x576.jpg The possibilities of the Island creator grow with every update and the new features have made map creation faster and simpler. It's far easier to be imaginative and see ideas through when the tools are a help not a hindrance. It's a great little program to unleash creativity and get designing. And makes me even more determined to get past my QA days and into level/games design work. Next, we have Ritchie J…. “My background's in architecture and I've found the Island Creator to be a great sketching and concept development tool - I just start with an idea and go straight into the app without recourse to pencil and paper. And sometimes with no idea at all - simply doodling away with the components often bears fruit. Generally, I lay out the primary built form first and then sculpt the terrain to suit after creating custom groups for re-insertion. I like to alternate between the 'traditional' ruin + cave environments and something more conceptually playful. I'm bemused that Fast Franky's Fryland is proving to be more popular than Temple to the God of Flight but hopefully there's room for a multitude of approaches in the WA universe. I guess as long the environments are interesting and invite exploration then the aesthetic style is not too critical. 01 - Temple to the God of Flight https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/TempleToGodOfFlight-A-RitchieJ.jpg Initial attempt in WA – playing around with shape and scale. The structure developed first and once the head was added ‘temple’ evolved and the choice of god was a no-brainer. A conventional layout which assumes a fixed spawn point at the start of a processional route – of no consequence at all to visiting ships! 02 - Far Easterly Isle https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FarEasterlyIsle-C-RitchieJ.jpg Another exercise in ‘shape and scale’ inspired by the moai on the real Easter Island. Primary formal elements are Desert Rocks and Metal Wings with terrain downplayed and used as infill. Lots of different levels to explore or colonise. 03 - Mushroom Troopers https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/MushroomTroopers-A-RitchieJ.jpg I wanted to experiment with ‘minimalism’ so limited the architectural components to Metal Screw, Icon Shield and Radiant Fungi. This island is intended more for settlement rather than exploration with the open plan floors lending themselves to colonists adding their own walls and divisions with movable scrap that can be harvested elsewhere. 04 - Saboriana Industrial Spawn Facility https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/IndustrialSpawnFacility-B-RitchieJ.jpg I just wondered where all those large-scale components came from - an alternative try at a three-component strategy using Sky Column, Step Pyramid and God Statue with lots of help from Cave Foliage to bring a more human scale to the volumes. Not really an island, more of an exercise in trying to keep it simple. 05 - Saboriana Cargo Ship https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CargoShip-C-RitchieJ.jpg I like the Saborian aesthetic but the sheer size of some of the elements makes customizing buildings a bit of a challenge – so I chickened out and went into the delivery business instead. Spaceframe courtesy of Memorial Pillars, mirroring elements about major axis and rotating groups – can’t wait for the Ship Builder App to launch. 06 - Fast Franky’s Fryland – Oft Visited Isle https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/breakfast-island.jpg For those primarily concerned with attack, defense and social engagement where exploration is secondary to rapidly harvesting critical supplies. Not just for fun – designed to beg the question as to who or what is to be responsible for placing ore and fuel. A discerning human designer or a procedural algorithm? Hopefully the former 07 - From Dust to Dust – Warriors’ Rest https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/WarriorsRest-A-RitchieJ.jpg This started with humble beginnings – I like the progressive decay implicit in the Simple Floor Tiles set and wanted to use them as the generating element. They dictated the way the terrain should be laid out and the warriors’ statues were already in an ‘experimental – WIP’ island of disparate groups. 08 - Island Chain Smoking https://www.worldsadrift.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ChainSmoking-B-RitchieJ.jpg To be twinned with Fast Franky’s Fryland for those who can’t do a full meal without a fix or simply need to grab resources on the go. This one has similarities with Mushroom Troopers with many large-scale open-plan levels hopefully inviting colonization by bringing in cast-off items from elsewhere to create shelter at a smaller scale. In conclusion I’m thinking that WA is going to be a fast-evolving, dynamic multiverse not just in game-play but also in the format of the islands themselves. So currently I want to test out a variety of types and not get stuck on one particular formal idea in order to see what appeals to the WA community. The islands should emanate a sense of identity and uniqueness and not just be seen as resource platforms for ship building and storage.” Make sure you head over to Steam Workshop and check out these islands - even if you’re not the most creative person in the world, it’s a lot of fun swinging through clouds, exploring other people’s creations. If you have any questions about the Island Creator and want to prod us for secrets about the update, come and chat to us in the comments. The Worlds Adrift Team x o x o