Welcome to the first of our new Dev Diaries series! Over the next few weeks, we'll join members of our development team to provide you with an exclusive peek into the world of SAND, delving into its development journey, future plans, world, art and upcoming content as we progress towards future playtests and the game's eventual release! In this initial Q&A, Development Lead Maksym will introduce the fundamentals of SAND and address some of the most pressing questions from our community about the strange and hostile world players will soon find themselves fighting for survival in. So let's get to it...
What Exactly is SAND?
SAND is an open-world multiplayer extraction shooter where players explore the vast, fallen satellite moon named Sophie, with the aid of gigantic walking mechs known as Tramplers.
The game is set during the colonization of space by the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the eve of the First World War. Players will find themselves in the middle of the deserts on an unknown planet, beginning their journey in search of resources and valuables. To aid in their journeys, players can design and modify their personal Trampler – a machine essential for efficiently navigating the vast desert plains and surviving encounters with enemy factions.
Tell me more about the history of this moon “Sophie”?
Sophie is a satellite moon on which the Austro-Hungarian Empire had hoped to build a colony, granting land to Ukrainians and Poles from the Galician region. Initially, the colony thrived, with cities and factories being constructed and a growing population flocking to the moon in hopes of a prosperous future.
However, a mysterious catastrophe occurred, which resulted in an urgent evacuation (the details of which players can uncover) before eventually the Kaiser ordered the moon's complete closure.
Over time, as Sophie began to “heal”, adventurers and scavengers returned, driven by the belief that treasures and valuables left behind during the evacuation could offer them a chance at a luxurious life which the Empire could no longer provide.
What makes the game stand out from other similar titles?
The central feature of SAND is the Tramplers, which allow players to explore the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's luxury in the post-apocalyptic world of Sophie. Not only used for traversal however, equipping your trampler with weapons and fortifications is essential, as players will have to survive encounters with opposing players/their tramplers and an array of creatures that roam the planet that are more than capable of dismantling an ill equipped team.
Additionally, SAND's approach to alternative history is something we haven't seen replicated in any similar titles. The game balances real events with imaginative twists, exploring intriguing historical possibilities that were hindered by events such as the deaths of key historical politicians or scientists.
What kind of challenges and dangers can we expect in this world?
After the mysterious catastrophe, Sophie became an extremely hostile environment. Players will face the challenge of surviving the scorching daytime heat and the bitter cold that sweeps the planet after sunset, endless deserts and sandstorms while battling native inhabitants that somehow survived the ecosystem's collapse. More hazards are planned in the form of additional NPCs, weather events and more, but we’ll talk more about them at a later date.
What is the Goal of the Game?
The primary goal of SAND is to explore the world, survive engagements with competing scavengers, locate valuable items left behind after the disaster, extract them, and sell them to fund future expeditions and improvements for your tramplers and starting equipment.
Make yourself rich, make yourself powerful, make yourself famous
Obviously, everything and everyone in the world will be doing what they can to obstruct you in this mission and achieve their own goals, so keep your wits about you...
Thanks for reading! Let us know which aspects of the game you'd like to hear more about in the comments thread and we'll see if we can wrangle some information out of the devs for a future Dev Diary!
This summer, we invite you all to join us in the first beta for SAND, which you can sign up to participate in now on the Steam page 👇
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1431300/Sand/
Come and join us on on our social media pages to keep yourself up to date with all the news and updates for SAND or join the discussion over on Discord now!
- tinyBuild Games