Hey Guardians!
Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of questions like, "When’s the next update?" and "What’s next for the project?" In this post, we’ll answer those questions and share our plans for the future.
Ocean Keeper has been in Early Access for quite some time. During this period, we’ve added new content, tested features, and gathered a ton of feedback from Steam and our Discord community. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has shared their thoughts and helped us make the game better.
Now, Ocean Keeper is moving toward its final stage - the full release. Before that, we may release one or two major updates, but the team is now primarily focused on making the full release as polished as possible.
What are we working on right now? We would like to share some WIP materials with you:
We’re aiming to significantly enhance the game’s graphics, including reworked models, textures, lighting, and the overall atmosphere of the underwater world. New biomes, environments, and visual effects will make the game even more immersive.
We’re actively redesigning the user interface, focusing on both aesthetics and usability. The new UI will not only look more polished but also make navigating menus and managing upgrades much more intuitive and seamless.
We’re working to make the underwater world not only dangerous but also filled with mysteries. We’re crafting a thoughtful and engaging storyline for Ocean Keeper. Expect unique characters, deep lore, and immersive storytelling that will add a whole new layer to the underwater adventure.
We’re hard at work revamping the animations for existing bosses and mobs (yes, that includes the crab). The goal is to bring more life and fluidity to their movements, making encounters feel dynamic and immersive. Alongside this, we’re introducing a roster of new enemies, each with unique designs and animations to keep the gameplay fresh and engaging.
In parallel, significant efforts are being poured into balancing these encounters to ensure every fight feels fair yet challenging.
We’re actively improving the design and atmosphere of the game’s caves and special locations. For the standard caves, we’re enhancing the environment by working on lighting effects, adding atmospheric elements like fog, and integrating vibrant underwater decor such as corals. These adjustments aim to make exploration more immersive and visually captivating.
For the unique points of interest, we’re focusing on redesigning puzzles to make them more engaging and rewarding. We’re also refining the visual clarity of interactive elements, such as resource blocks and objects, to ensure they stand out naturally within the environment.
We’re dedicating significant effort to enhancing the audio experience in the game. This includes creating new sound effects for mobs, bosses, and weapons, as well as refining the ambiance to better reflect the underwater setting. Each sound is carefully crafted to immerse you deeper into the mysterious depths of the ocean.
Additionally, our team is working on a revamped musical score, designed to accompany your journey and adapt dynamically to in-game events—whether it’s exploring eerie caves, battling intense waves of enemies, or facing off against formidable bosses.
Our team of developers and artists have been hard at work creating amazing updates. Exciting new story elements, stunning visual enhancements, updated gameplay mechanics and balance tweaks, new enemies and more - there's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming updates.
A lot of attention is also paid to optimization, so closer to release the game will run smoother on all systems.
We hope that this gives you a clearer idea of the direction the project is going in. Thank you for your patience and support - it gives us an incentive to move forward. Look forward to major updates and, of course, a full release.
Don't forget to add Ocean Keeper to your wishlist, buy the game and join our growing community. See you soon!