Helheim
"Helheim is the Norse underworld, a realm of shadow and mystery where the souls of the departed dwell. It is a place of transition and transformation. This initial phase represents ideas in their early, formative state, as the developers explore various possibilities and lay the foundational groundwork for the project."
From the start of development in June 2021 to our closed Pre-Alpha launch on 24th February 2023 and beyond, this main development phase built the foundations of the game and saw significant updates to a wide range of features, led by the feedback and support of our Æsir donators.
Whilst we are unable to post the details of every change, largely due to the lack of documentation during our early stages and the limitations of character count, we wanted to share just a little preview of the work we have done behind the scenes.
0.1.0
Jun 2021 - Feb 2023
Introduced advanced AI, dynamic NPCs, enhanced environmental elements, refined audio and graphics, and enriched gameplay mechanics, including new crafting options, settlement features, and quest systems.
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AI and NPCs- Added horses to fast travel points.
- Added NPCs and merchants to settlements.
- Added Vendors to levels.
- Added 80 new NPCs to Portree.
- Added NPC dialogue and interaction.
- NPCs no longer use random spawns and take damage.
- Replaced all NPCs with new villager code.
- Randomised horse appearance.
- Added crowd system with NPC jobs and home return.
- Horses now contain transform save data.
- Increased walk angle for horses and players to 45 degrees.
- Added move objects between locations.
- Added interaction points and idle areas.
- Added community events and forbidden areas.
- Added NPC reactions, enemy classes, and detour AI controller.
- Added base action services, behaviour trees, and visual perception for enemies.
- Added tasks for new animals and optimised animation blueprints.
- Added animal AI, dialogue, and new animals.
- Added new FP animations and updated AI features.
- Updated move tasks and relationship data.
- Added tanner vendor and faction clothing.
- Added static navigation meshes and crowd spawn systems.
- Added sound and particle effects for building.
- Added new audio attenuators, ambient audio volumes, and sound volumes.
- Completed new open-world audio system and swapped spline audio to C++.
- Split audio into base volumes and added footstep structures.
- Added sound indicators for collectables and doppler effects.
- Added atmospheric audio volumes and sailing music.
- Updated footstep logic and atmospheric effects.
- Added light-based stealth mechanics and smooth camera zoom.
- Updated weather effects, lighting, and landscape shadowing.
- Added 16 items and building objects.
- Added structure for socket transforms and snap settings.
- Added building menu logic, water storage, chicken coop, and more.
- Added creative mode and updated building type enumeration.
- Updated locks, character blueprints, and animations.
- Added character actions, orders logic, and starting items.
- Added option to not clear items on death and customisation functions.
- Added new stat, interaction logic, and visual/physical state control.
- Updated perception and target detection logic.
- Updated animations and initialisation.
- Added player classes with unique characteristics and items.
- Added new paths, rivers, lakes, and lochs.
- Added new POIs, settlements, camps, and loot chests.
- Added ring forts, brochs, shipwrecks, and hideouts.
- Added new biomes, spawners, and detailing.
- Re-added underwater biome, mineable locations, and more.
- Updated environmental effects, materials, and lighting.
- Added interactable notice boards, ranged weapons, and cultural architecture.
- Added tutorial level, fast travel docks, and boats.
- Updated landscapes, physics, and lighting.
- Added procedural graveyards and distinct cultural architecture.
- Added weight functions, shield equip, and fishing gear.
- Added new harvestable, craftable tools, and item switches.
- Updated item materials, storage containers, and crafting system.
- Players can drink from water sources.
- Added achievements, crafting recipes, and player actions.
- Added stealth, combat, and traversal mechanics.
- Added naval combat, notoriety system, and survival mode.
- Updated looting, sailing, and input systems.
- Added DLSS check, performance improvements, and rebuilt binaries.
- Re-enabled missing level code and optimised textures.
- Updated landscapes, streaming, and LODs.
- Added new culling techniques and optimisation methods.
- Updated procedural assets, lighting, and map generation.
- Added new starting quests and collectables.
- Updated tutorial system and player start.
- Improved camera performance and animation speed.
- Added achievement system, player emotes, and hotbar improvements.
- Added Discord integration, autosave indicator, and new compass/map system.
- Updated main menu, HUD, and loading screens.
0.1.1
Feb 2023
Focused on balancing settlements, fixing structural issues, and addressing NPC spawning problems, resulting in smoother gameplay and improved settlement dynamics.
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Balancing- Added houses to Kyleakin and Broadford Area.
- Filled in the missing barn at the starting area.
- Adjusted building placements in Portree.
- Improved building placements across various settlements.
- Removed duplicate landmarks of Dun Ringill.
- Resolved ring fort landscape issues.
- Fixed ring fort spawning issues by implementing custom spawn locations.
- NPCs now correctly appear in Kinloch Village.
0.1.2
Feb 2023
Introduced dynamic dream sequence loading, refined mechanics, enhanced balancing, and resolved various bugs for a more immersive and polished gameplay experience.
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Mechanics- Updated main menu to include dream sequence on first load, with new audio.
- First load dream sequence now functions as a dynamic loading screen.
- Temporarily removed DLSS due to UE-5.1 and DLSS-2.0 incompatibility.
- Hardcore and creative modes temporarily disabled due to saving and loading issues.
- Foliage decals enabled for in-game foliage.
- Emote screen removed due to non-functionality during Pre-Alpha.
- Developer chests removed from Norway and Skye.
- Added new collectable sound indicator, now audible within 5 metres instead of 16 metres.
- Aiming reticule now permanently displayed on screen, with a future toggle option planned.
- Players can now swim in lochs.
- Rivers updated to be drinkable, with higher recovery at higher altitudes.
- Added slots below hotbar.
- Compass bar turns yellow to indicate proximity of hidden collectables.
- Added small narrative popup on starting in Norway.
- Added new location marker in Norway.
- Adjusted Einar’s axe position in hand.
- Increased Einar’s axe durability, weight, base damage, woodcutting damage, and attack range.
- Updated trader interaction names for clarity.
- Ferns no longer obstruct player camera.
- Fixed player and horse collisions with bushes in Norway biome.
- Fixed large rocky areas and coastal rock formations on Skye.
- Fixed floating rocks at entrance to ice cave.
- Fixed ground seams at ice cave entrance.
- Fixed staircase issue in forge building in Ravndal.
- Fixed duplicate boats in Ravndal harbour.
- Fixed floating houses in Norway.
- Torch intensity increased for better visibility in dark areas.
- Corrected spelling of "borderless windowed mode" in graphics settings.
- Back button now visible in pause and controls screen.
- Pause menu can be closed with the same key used to open it.
- Primitive club correctly labelled in player blueprints menu.
- Player remains crouched when mounting a horse.
- Detection indicator no longer remains on screen after killing an enemy.
- Pagan skull in Ravndal now collectable.
- Collectable sound indicator now plays twice when nearby and resets if player leaves the area.
- Pause menu, journal, and inventory now accessible when riding.
- No longer project onto player mesh.
- Fixed glowing bar on chicken coops.
- Prevented spamming war drums while sailing to avoid audio glitches.
- Fixed grass issues along riverbank at Lealt Falls.
- Corrected bridge size for crossing Lealt Falls.
- Resolved landscape shadowing issues on Norway level.
- Fixed trees spawning in lochs.
- Fixed coral spawning on land near Loch an lasgaich.
- Improved code optimisation for main menu to dream sequence.
0.1.3
Feb 2023
Implemented performance optimisations, reworked quest and user interface systems, enhanced boat mechanics, and addressed various bugs for improved stability and gameplay fluidity.
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Levels and Environment- Skye: Updated level code to reduce hitching.
- Skye: Changed Skye trees to non-Nanite to test performance improvements.
- Skye: Set large rocky areas to basic collision to decrease load times.
- Skye: Updated spawning for ferns, nettles, and mushrooms.
- Skye: Reduced waypoint grids.
- Skye: Rebuilt landscape with extremely low HLODs.
- Skye: Set maximum draw distance for the landscape.
- Skye: Resimulated all foliage.
- Norway: Minor adjustment to the player starting location at the hunting outpost.
- Reworked journal and quest system.
- Only basic quest types visible, but core system is in place for stability checks.
- Updated text explanation upon arrival on Skye.
- Console is now accessible using the "INS" key.
- Boats now save location data, allowing players to return to them.
- Temporarily removed river drinking functionality.
- Increased claim totem distance from 16 metres to 50 metres.
- Reduced XP gained from interacting with bushes.
- Sped up interaction timer on bushes.
- Fixed landscape scatter detaching at high FOV in Photomode.
- Corrected missing texture on claim totem.
- Fixed players unable to collect gems from roadside altars.
- Ensured archer class starts with pelts in new games.
- Quiver now correctly shows the number of arrows.
- Fixed quiver casting delayed shadows on the ground.
- Resolved issue with players unable to cycle game hints on loading screens.
- Weather effects now respond to audio settings.
- Removed old boat travel location in Ravndal that returned players to the main menu.
- Added missing UI sounds for game and graphic settings.
- Corrected spelling on the sailing helper.
- Removed rogue height sphere on the Norway level.
- Corrected swim volume sizing on the Skye level.
- Removed developer functions for speeding up and slowing down time.
- Lochs now display correctly on the Skye level.
0.1.4
Mar 2023
Added new mechanics for crafting storage crates, adjusted simulation speed, and addressed various bugs, including inventory issues and landscape optimisations.
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Mechanics- Players can now craft storage crates directly from the player inventory crafting screen.
- Simulation speed slowed down - 1 in-game day is 96 minutes (48 minutes per day and night).
- Added code to strip player inventory in Shipwreck Level to prevent inventory clearing on load.
- Updated streaming source code on horses to prevent disappearing when far from player origin.
- Fixed issue where player inventory was cleared every time the Skye level was loaded.
- Fixed detail and collision issues on 'near' terrain caused by HLOD setup.
- Fixed low landscape detail causing floating houses at the start of the Skye level.
- Fixed wait function.
- Fixed player being unable to cross the bridge near Broadford.
- Corrected instances where animals showed incorrect species names.
- Removed reference asset from Cill Chriosd church.
- Fixed ocean mesh issue near Dunscaith ring fort.
- Increased collision complexity for Skye scatter.
- Fixed various collision issues, including Kyleakin skull and Rubh an Dùnain skull.
- Fixed floating young oak trees giving gems as collectables.
- Fixed elixir field farms clipping into the ground.
- Fixed exploit where players could farm XP from the 100km achievement.
- Fixed issues with active quests screen being cut off.
- Correct player class mesh is now shown when sailing.
- Updated text on pig coop from "open/close" to "allow/stop breeding."
- Fixed knife usability for removing gems from altars (either in inventory or hotbar).
- Prevented players from spamming dodge or roll.
- Ensured collectables no longer spawn duplicates on the Norway level.
- Fixed issue preventing players from closing the opening text after arriving on Skye.
0.1.5
Mar 2023
Enhanced environmental effects, introduced new crafting options, revamped the user interface, and fixed several bugs, resulting in a more immersive and user-friendly experience.
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Levels and Environment- Updated procedural snow code to fix clipping issues with snow assets.
- Players can now directly turn leaves into plant fibres through the player crafting screen.
- Torches can be crafted directly from the player crafting screen.
- Planks are now craftable in the primitive work area until the new woodworking area is available.
- Bushes in Norway now yield 2-4 plant fibres.
- Nettles and ferns in Skye now yield 2-4 plant fibres.
- Completely reworked and updated the main menu code.
- Added code to randomise character creation in preparation for the upcoming character creator.
- Fixed save games not showing in the load menu on the main menu.
- Fixed music having the correct audio class, allowing adjustment in settings.
- Fixed sound effects having the correct audio class, allowing adjustment in settings.
- Fixed collision issues around bridges and rivers that were blocking players.
- Fixed missing interaction text at level travel docks.
- Fixed player crosshair getting stuck on the interact symbol after interacting.
0.1.6
Mar 2023
Introduced asynchronous loading, refined environmental elements, expanded gameplay mechanics, and addressed numerous bugs to enhance overall gameplay quality and performance.
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Engine- Added asynchronous loading to a different thread than the game thread, fixing loading artefacts.
- Testing switching from TSR to TAA.
- Implemented a basic system to mask snow from appearing inside buildings.
- Wooden circles now have an offering function that gives a temporary buff to the player.
- Stone circles now have an offering function that gives a temporary buff to the player.
- Skye: Players can now swim in lochs.
- Skye: Slightly reduced grass draw distance.
- Norway: Added atmospherics controller for auroras, shooting stars, etc.
- Norway: Added a river to the Norway level for river drinking.
- Dream: More story-focused rather than loading-focused, with further expansions planned.
- Activated hunger and thirst mechanics.
- Bed interact text now states "set respawn" instead of "take."
- Updated the save game menu.
- Fixed level not re-initializing on player death.
- Fixed player unable to swim in lochs.
- Fixed player able to drink from rivers.
- Intro text video now closes correctly at the end of the video.
- Fixed landscape missing on the north end of the Isle of Raasay.
- Fixed floating houses near Elixir Arms.
- Elixir farm effects now only show when in the flower field.
- Fixed wave direction issue in Norway.
- Fixed snow collecting on horses under shelter.
- Fixed save name text not wrapping in the menu.
- Pine trees on Skye are now harvestable.
- Fixed missing land tile on Soay Island.
- Fixed various locations where the underwater biome was visible on land.
- Corrected health buff names on mushrooms.
- Fixed floating barrels in Broadford.
- Fixed underwater sound when the camera clips into rivers.
- Fixed decals bleeding onto NPC characters.
- Fixed longboats in Ravndal not simulating physics.
- Fixed player sliding from crouching.
- Fixed player unable to crouch and uncrouch while holding a weapon.
- Fixed building and rock scatter issues in Ravndal.
- Horses no longer despawn when riding due to waypoint issues.
- Updated mount and dismount code on horses to fix input mapping switching errors.
- Non-player longboats in Ravndal can no longer be taken.
0.1.7
Mar 2023
Implemented IK rigging, updated environmental elements, refined mechanics such as hunting and crafting, and balanced gameplay elements for a more engaging and immersive experience.
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Engine- Added IK rig for player and rideable horses.
- Introduced new speed effect when galloping on a horse.
- Landscapes use non-destructive edit layers, preparing for updates and new biome systems.
- Pine biomes updated to include bush scatter and mushrooms.
- New landscape grass effect when snowing.
- Lochan Dubha updated to use individual loch assets.
- Updated boat wave physics to use vertex positioning rather than object.
- Ocean physics are set to non-spatially loaded to prevent issues with streaming and boat loading.
- Boats now only simulate physics when in use.
- Added a new dock in Ravndal.
- Added new hunting spot landmarks with corresponding UI.
- Added new mining location landmarks with corresponding UI in preparation for mining fixes.
- New predators: Boar, wolf, fox.
- New prey: Stag, doe, rabbit.
- New domesticated: Hen, rooster, chick, cow, goat, goose, pig, piglet, swine, sheep.
- New collectables: Crab, frog, rat, snail, snake.
- New food types: Chicken, beef, goat, goose, pork, lamb, venison, rat flesh, frog flesh, crab flesh, snail flesh, snake flesh, fox flesh, rabbit flesh, boar flesh, wolf flesh.
- New loot: Pelt, bone, fat, sinew, guts.
- Primitive bow can now be crafted at the primitive workbench from wood and cloth.
- Cloth can be crafted at the primitive workbench from plant fibre.
- Added hunting mechanics with 21 hunting locations on Skye and 3 on Norway.
- Introduced animal mechanics, eating, drinking, sleeping, breeding, group behaviour, and ageing.
- Procedural food locations based on foliage types.
- Added two new starting quests: hunting and leaving Ravndal as basic starting pointers.
- Added belief bar to the player character sheet in preparation for religion and territory gameplay.
- Updated the save game menu.
- Raw food decay time increased to 30 minutes from 5 minutes.
- Cooked or burned food decay time increased to 60 minutes from 5 minutes.
- Spear durability increased for three types, with stone being the most durable.
- Sailing speed increased.
- Fixed scrolling issues in save and load menus.
- Fixed player inability to swim in oceans or lakes after dying and respawning.
- Fixed NPCs stuck in run state and NPC collision physics issues.
- Corrected clustering NPC issue on the outskirts of Ravndal.
- Ensured NPCs say lines of dialogue and look at the player when interacting.
- Fixed rocks spawning inside the longhouse in Ravndal
- Fixed floating collectable at Dunscaith ring fort
- Fixed underwater audio playing on land due to audio layer positioning.
- Fixed issues with crosshair, NPC interaction, and broken class preventing mushroom eating.
- Fixed dismounting horse while moving, set horses to non-spatially load.
- Increased horse slope angle from 40 degrees.
- Fixed incorrect binding on unlock camera and NPC rotation causing lean.
- Corrected compass always displaying N.
- Adjusted fog cards to inherit colour from the atmosphere.
- Fixed node error on grass master material.
- Updated boat camera to not inherit movement from the boat.
- Removed inverted mouse due to incompatibility with new UE-5.1 enhanced input mapping.
- Fixed starting boat simulating gravity before physics, causing sinking.
- Fixed animals clipping through the landscape on death.
- Fixed animal loot spawning on the ground outside of the mesh.
- Corrected venison and lamb no longer being labelled as pork.
0.1.8
Mar 2023
Reintroduced Nanite grass, overhauled landscape materials, refined gameplay mechanics, updated user interface elements, and fixed various bugs, resulting in improved performance and gameplay depth.
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Levels and Environment- Reintroduced Nanite grass.
- Implemented HISM (Hierarchical Instanced Static Mesh) on all levels.
- Skye: Added a bridge to the gorge near Dun Beag Broch.
- Dream: completely reworked the dream sequence opening level.
- Introduced the Nordic biome and updated the pine forest environment.
- Added collectable resources: blueberry bushes, Norwegian ferns, and 20 harvestable trees.
- Increased tree types in the broadleaf biome from 2 to 5, with new sub-biome assets.
- Added: 18 mining locations to Skye and updated existing Norway mining locations.
- Mining overhaul includes mines with ores: stone, coal, copper, gold, iron, and silver.
- Skye: Overhauled biome generation.
- Norway: Reworked biomes to be more realistic.
- Entirely reworked first-person gameplay.
- Added first-person horse riding.
- Players can now craft a waterskin at the primitive workbench.
- Added a new quiver mesh.
- Available skill points now display above HUD status bars.
- Added visual representation of hits to the player HUD.
- Added new character customization camera and the ability to rotate the player in the viewport.
- Added images to asynchronous loading screens.
- Code optimisation for the main menu, menu HUD, and UI menu.
- Updated HUD layout and reduced the size and visuals of player stat bars.
- Moved the light metre to the player stats UI.
- Reduced hotbar slot bar size and made inventory and container slots easier to use and read.
- Reduced performance drain of the player HUD.
- Updated Engine.ini and DeviceProfiles.ini to increase performance.
- Removed animal names showing on proximity dev function.
- Added a trace-based interact system for foliage.
- Added a player specialist component for tracking exposure to temperatures and weather states.
- Slightly adjusted the player character position and default camera distance.
- Increased rat movement speed.
- Decay timers on tooltips now show in minutes instead of seconds.
- Campfires now generate charcoal when wood is burned and depleted.
- Behaviours updated: deer flee, wolves attack, rabbits hide, and domesticated animals ignore.
- Updated cascaded shadow maps to increase performance.
- Fixed blurry star textures in Norway and Skye rendering.
- Marked poisonous mushrooms in item descriptions.
- Introduced a new item rarity class, "negative," for items with harmful effects.
- Reduced rock density in the broadleaf biome.
- Third-person pickup animations now only affect the upper body mesh.
- Swimming on the Shipwreck level now works correctly.
- Moved the light metre to a timer for increased optimisation.
- Updated landscape material to prevent snow from settling underwater.
- Reduced the number of mushrooms in Norway.
- Hunger and thirst now reduce to 0 in 2 hours instead of 30 minutes.
- All raw meat spoils in 30 minutes instead of 5 minutes.
- All burned meat spoils in 4 hours instead of 30 minutes.
- Burned meat no longer damages health.
- Eating raw meat now reduces health by 25%.
- Eating cooked meat now increases health by 25%, hunger by 100%, and thirst by 15%.
- Reduced the number of spawned NPCs in Ravndal.
- Reduced XP boost from basic environmental collectables.
- Improved loading times for Skye.
- Fixed snow settling correctly on build parts.
- Enabled cooking for all meat types in campfires.
- Fixed foliage positioning above Lost Lake.
- Updated throwing mechanics and fixed related issues.
- Ensured fauna spawn correctly even when the player is on a horse.
- Fixed infinite XP and spawn-to-death issues with fauna.
- Updated boat physics to reduce rolling behaviour.
- Corrected player stats display for seasons.
- Fixed texture and collision issues with various assets.
- Corrected issues with NPC interactions and animations.
- Fixed various environmental and UI bugs.
- Improved performance and optimised several game elements.
- Ensured swimming and other mechanics function correctly after respawning.
- Resolved multiple minor bugs and visual glitches.
0.1.9
Apr 2023
Implemented further environmental updates, refined gameplay mechanics, revamped user interface elements, and fixed numerous bugs to enhance overall stability and gameplay immersion.
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Levels and Environment- Reintroduced Nanite grass.
- Updated landscape material, ensuring snow settles based on height and out of water.
- Fixed clipping and collision issues with Norway trees.
- Dead trees in the Broadleaf biome now have collision.
- Sticks and stones now spawn in Norway and Skye biomes.
- Broadleaf biome rocks converted to Nanite.
- Skye: Added a bridge to the gorge near Dun Beag Broch.
- Skye: Reduced rock density in the broadleaf biome.
- Skye: Fixed low texture resolution on Skye mesh during Shipwreck sequence.
- Norway: Snowy rocks no longer spawn beneath water level.
- Norway: Fixed landscape deformed to road spline height near Dun Beag Broch.
- Norway: Snow-covered deer moved from dirt area.
- Norway: Corrected missing Lost Lake location.
- Norway: Adjusted Pagan Skull collectable at The Woodsman location to avoid collision issues.
- Dream: Entirely reworked dream sequence opening level to set story and tone.
- Shipwreck: Made visual updates to the cinematic sequence.
- Shipwreck: Arrows no longer fire or get stuck on the water surface.
- Completely reworked first-person gameplay.
- Added first-person horse riding.
- Players can now craft waterskins at the primitive workbench.
- Marked poisonous mushrooms in item descriptions.
- Introduced a new quiver mesh.
- Added a new rarity class, "negative," to items that have negative effects if used or consumed.
- Fixed furnaces giving correct ingot types based on ores used.
- Fixed primitive club, axe, and sickle subheadings being the same.
- Fixed primitive knife damage.
- Moved the light metre to a timer for increased optimisation.
- Ensured the player makes correct footstep sounds on different materials.
- Waterskins can now be correctly filled from wells.
- Ensured location transform to player loot container no longer spawns under player dead bodies.
- Available skill points now display above HUD status bars.
- Added visual representation of hits to the player HUD.
- Added new character customisation camera and the ability to rotate the player in the viewport.
- Removed secondary music from the pause menu due to conflicts with procedural audio.
- Added images to asynchronous loading screens.
- Conducted code optimisation for the main menu, menu HUD, and UI menu.
- First-person camera moved back slightly to align with the third-person camera.
- Fixed missing player interact text.
- Fixed first-person hands and items rendering under the landscape layer.
- Fixed sitting NPC hands and feet clipping issues.
- Removed small boats' old sailing code.
- Fixed Shipwreck arrows no longer firing when first loading the level.
- Fixed Async loading screen skulls matching transition loading screen.
- Removed incorrect hardcore and creative mode code.
- Fixed Hotbar warnings due to incorrect Hotbar index in the component.
- Removed game ticking and casting from game mode.
- Fixed broken is first-person variables.
- Fixed incorrect pickup code in item master.
- Ensured third-person pickup animations no longer disable movement.
- Fixed swimming on the Shipwreck level.
Stay tuned for more updates and patch notes soon!
Skål,
The Aurora Team 🌙