2.8 Patch Notes
Re-write of gravity scripts to improve drivability (especially up slopes)
Restored missing custom keybind menu
Complete overhaul of NPC bugs (M-Zecksis) behavior with visual fx added to spawn and despawn - these aren't perfect yet, the bugs still have... well... bugs, but they are in a much better state with better swarming logic, fixes to frozen bugs, and more sophisticated attack patterns
Fixes to the Recylotron so they properly consume objects and provide resources in return
Fixes to the Quest system so goals complete correctly
Re-write of camera system to better avoid clipping (still some work to do on this)
Fixes to spectrometer tier system
Improved UI indicators pointing toward interactable items
Restored and modernized the Twitch integration
New Twitch command: !glitch
Other minor bug fixes and improvements
Extensive code refactoring to increase performance and stability
Project Update
Hello, Rovers! I wanted to take this opportunity to give an update here on Steam. For more up-to-date information, and to directly interact with me, you can always join our Discord. I admittedly don't do a great job of keeping up with things here on Steam, but you can always get a hold of me on our Discord channel.
Previously on Gears of Eden...
Now, as you may know, this project has been in a bit of a limbo since our attemped Kickstarter failed to raise funds. Yet, Alpha 2.8 marks the second update in 2025 - with a larger update already in the works for a future release. So - what is going on?
GoE has never had a large team - this project is mostly a solo developer effort on my part. But, I have in the past been able to hire small teams of 2-3 developers and artists with the goal of getting the project to the KickStarter phase. During this time, I have sold a few early access keys to the full game, but we have largely just given away the alpha for free in aims of building an audience for the KS. While the alpha has been free for players, development costs have been expensive. Without a successful funding strategy, I was facing a big challenge: how do I continue working on a project that has signficant costs, but isn't generating any revenue to come anywhere close to even just offsetting some of the costs? There's only so much money I can just throw away before, y'know, family gets very concerned.
There was also a further challenge created by my pre-KS strategy - because I wasn't able to keep a roster of 2-3 developers working full-time, that meant I had a revolving door of developers coming in to assist in the project on a feature by feature basis as part-time contractors. This resulted in a very fractured code-base with different standards and managers and methods throughout. Though things worked well enough from the player side, upkeep on the backend became increasingly challenging.
The failed Kickstarter was a tough blow to absorb practically and emotionally - and meant I needed to step back from the project for a bit to gain some perspective. I wasn't really sure if there would be a way to keep it going. How do you continue work on a project that only loses money? But I also knew that I still really loved the story I want to tell in this game, as well as the setting and potential it possessed. So, I let it simmer in the background for a while as these thoughts and feelings stirred within.
A Stirring in the Background
Slowly, I started to open the project form time to time and just look at what some next steps might be if I wanted to continue the project on a smaller scale. What if I continued GoE as a completely solo developer working on a passion project? Before long, I realized the whole project would need to be refactored before more work could even be considered. Not only to be more performant, but to reorganize the project into a more modern architecture and with stricter consistency and documentation, so that future work could be implemented in a way that was clear and concise.
Eventually, I began that work quietely in the background and proceeded slowly. I also started exploring what some more modern versions of Unity offered and built some prototype versions of the game that explored different strategies - some reverted to a flat terrain system, others explored new splat painting techniques in unity, while others examined new shader and rendering pipelines.
Recently, all this refactoring and research work has culminated in a complete update of the underlying codebase and asset organization - going a long ways to make future feature updates on the game easier to conduct. In the process, I've also found my passion again for this project, and I do want to see it continue - even if at a less ambitious scale than originally envisioned.
Signs of Life
Earlier this year, I released a build to make the game functional without needing any sort of key or email login. I used these systems in the past as part of a traditional alpha marketing funnel approach - i.e., players could sign up for the GoE newsletter and get access to the game. I understand why there was some aversion to this approach - we all get sick of marketing tactics, but my intentions were never nefarious and were pretty straightforward. The mailing list was a way to stay in touch with the player base, provide updates, encourage players to share the game with others, and hopefully funnel people who were interested toward a KS pledge. The mailing list was operated through MailChimp, and no efforts have ever been made to sell anyone's data. But, yet, I get the concern - and with the KS efforts behind us, it made sense to remove the signup requirement and open the alpha demo up to everyone (as a few of you had requested). I've since let my MS subscription lapse, as with the website, to save on costs. There might be a time to have a mailing list again in the future, but for now it is dormant.
That said, there is, and always will be, a specific struggle with passion projects like GoE: cost vs funding. Currently, I am planning that the next immediate updates for GoE will be free. I hope to perhaps find and build a base of players that wants to see continued development that might be willing to support the project via contributions. I still have to think through what this would look like and how I would set up that kind of support system. I am certainly open to your suggestions.
The Future, Conan?
So, what is next? I've already started work on the next build, which will be labeled either 2.9 or 3.0. There is a lot of boring stuff in this build that won't matter so much to players, but which continues to make the backend side of things a lot easier. Today's release, 2.8.4, is the last build based on the Untiy 2019 engine (unless a minor emergency patch is needed). The current project I am working in is Unity 6. That means the current project is using a new rendering pipeline (URP), and has access to a lot of new features. In moving to Unity 6, I've also continued my refactoring work, and much of the codebase has been re-written to be a lot more performant with a more unified and modern architecture.
I'm still determining the scope of what the next release will involve. It's quite possible I will ship a 2.9 with just the new engine and underlying code updates and some minor bug fixes, and save 3.0 for the implementation of new features. Or I might roll them together. It really depends on the feature set. I'm doing some experimenting now with the first iterations of base-building and power management - which could be the next feature I tackle. I'm also looking at visual Rover upgrades for customization and upgrades - currently when you upgrade a part, like solar panels, it gives you stat changes but no visual differences, and I'd like to see the rover model update as you upgrade or customize parts. I have a few other ideas I'm considering for the next update, but these are two that are top of mind - and I'd love to hear your requests as well!
So, that's where things are at. After failing our KickStarter and taking a long break from the game, I've been back at it the last 18 months or so. Working on it solo. Doing the boring work of refactoring and updating the codebase. Fixing bugs. And now in a place where it can be a little bit easier to start tackling new features.
Last, I do want to shout out the other founding members of GoE. Nick, Eric and Michael are all still active in the Discord (usually moreso than me) - and we are all still friends. I've reached a point where, though I am willing to continue to work for free, I can't really ask others to do the same. To be clear, Nick, Eric and Michael were never backend developers doing any work on the coding side, but all have made great contributions to the project and story over the years that I am extremely proud of and thankful for. Nick and Eric continue to interact with our community a ton, and I really appreciate the home they have created with folks in our Discord despite the lack of GoE updates.
What You Can Do
What can you do? Namely - PLAY the demo and give feedback! I also need folks who are interested in playing preview test builds. The reason this initial 2.8 release is 2.8.4 instead of 2.8.0 is because I had 4 other test builds go out for private testing - and we caught some bad bugs that had to be fixed before this went out on Steam. BUT, I only had a couple people testing those preview builds. Right now, the best way to be involved in early testing and feedback is by getting involved in our Discord, where we have the proper channels set up for testing and feedback. And, hey, if you have feedback or ideas on the whole funding side of things, I really am all ears!
Sorry for the long post - but, it has been a while since the last update! I hope you are all well. Thanks for taking the time (especially if you read ALL this). Take care and hope to be back soon with more update news!
-Sledge