Hello Survivors,
It has been a busy few months, mostly behind the scenes. We wanted to give an update on what has been happening and our plans moving forward.
As XERA: Survival continues to grow we would like to share a few of our milestones that have occurred since the release of the closed alpha. In August, we reached a milestone of over 970 unique closed alpha players! Our social media presence has also expanded including achieving a new record of 1500 likes on Facebook and expanding our Discord community to 1750 members! Without the great community behind the game, we could not have achieved these milestones.
We are extremely excited for the future and hope that you are too! Below are some key points about what has been happening and the plans moving forward.
Upcoming Features
Based off July’s monthly survey we have selected what features to focus on next. Alongside the map extension we are looking at implementing the following:
- Missions
- Dynamic Events
- Weapon and Armour Tiers (Durability)
Map Extension
The map extension is well underway. Joshua has been focusing on the shape of the landscape and also the surrounding area of the map to make it feel more realistic and make it look better in general. This includes putting decorative mountains in the distance, which really helps break up the horizon and gives a really nice feel to the map. We will be focusing on new points of interest to add around the map and balancing it in a way that it will feel more dynamic and bring new elements to the gameplay.
Content Creator Partnership Program
Internally we have been discussing ways of working with content creators directly via a partnership program. As part of the program content creators will gain access to a partners only section on discord and the forums, which has direct access to staff and moderators. Partners will also receive monthly keys to give away to their community. Requirements to become a partner are still being worked on and we are looking forward to announcing all of the details soon.
Server Issues
During the last month Joshua has been investigating a crucial issue with the game servers. This issue occurs when the server process has been running for an extended period of time and stops allowing new connections into the game. After weeks of investigating and debugging it appears that this issue lies deep in Unreal Engine’s core net code. Due to the fact Unreal Engine has been built from the ground up with session based gameplay in mind, persistent long-running servers isn’t well supported. We are currently working on ways around this issue. A possible work around would be to carry out weekly reboots of all the game servers.
New Zealand Game Developers Conference
Joshua attended the NZGDC earlier this month which was a great learning experience. It was also a great opportunity to network with other game developers, artists and studios from around the Oceanic region. There was a lot of discussion regarding the China games market and the cultural differences to keep in mind when expanding to the region. There were many things to take away from the event which will impact XERA: Survival in many aspects, including the way we market the game, the technology we use, and creating a more enjoyable experience for you - the players.
Korean BIC Game Expo
Thanks to our partner Xsolla, attendees of the BIC Game Expo will be able to have a hands on experience with XERA: Survival at the Xsolla booth. We will be providing Xsolla with a bunch of keys which will be up for grabs at the event, so if you are attending look out for the booth!
The Future
There has been a lot of planning and discussion happening internally in regards to the game and what direction we want to take. This includes working on various strategic partnerships, future content updates and analysing the community feedback we have received during the closed alpha. We are working on a public roadmap which will detail what we have planned and when we expect it to be implemented. This provides development transparency which we believe is important as this assists with the alignment of expectations between us and the community.
We are truly grateful for your support and are excited for the future.
Regards,
Spotted Kiwi Interactive