Hey hey, is this thing on? We here at Gears of Eden are happy to announce... the Alpha 2.6 Release! This is the result of a lot of hard work during a troubling time for a lot of people, ourselves included. A major goal for us in 2020 was going to include a Kickstarter campaign in March, but we didn't feel right asking people for money when the world was undergoing so much change. Instead, we decided to dive back into development and start tackling some of the updates for Gears that were meant to be stretch-goals.
With alpha 2.6, you are seeing the first of such updates. In this release, we've added enemy units and combat mechanics to the game for the first time ever! You can fight energy-thirsty space crabs (actually bio-engineered mutants known as M-Zecksis) to the death! Then collect their carcasses to extract oil, or raid their nests to find hidden stashes of pure diamonds! Alpha 2.6 also brings new collectible items, new crafting items, and improved controller support for those of you who prefer playing with a gamepad!
Even better, we are making Alpha 2.6 a free-to-play open release. Future releases will revert to backer-only access, but we felt like this was a good time to give everyone a break and hopefully allow them to have fun in our small little spacebot game. You can see more details in our changelog, and update your client to 2.6 via Steam. Be sure to read the updated Quick Start Tips on our alpha info page for helpful early-game advice!
More Crafting is HERE!
Alpha 2.6 introduces three new materials to the game: M-Zecksis carcasses, diamonds, and oil!
The carcasses are available to collect when you defeat an M-Zecksis soldier - these nasty critters are bio-engineered (by something? someone? somewhere? - find the answers as the story unfolds) to have the ability to survive on pure energy, but they are also sensitive to certain ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum! (Which you can use to your advantage!)
The M-Zecksis also hoard diamonds in their nests! They are persistent little enemies though, so think about upgrading some of your components before venturing off after those riches!
Oil can be found in the environment around areas of industrial remnants, or crafted from those disgusting M-Zecksis carcasses you picked up! All of these new materials are used in current crafting recipes at the Sinter Forge, and will also be used in some new craftable tools coming in 2.7!
Improved Gamepad Support!
In Alpha 2.6, we've improved game-pad controller support. Previously, you were able to control your character with a game-pad, but you couldn't interact with the in-game inventory and crafting menus, or the system menus. All menus systems now work, although you'll still need to use your keyboard for text input fields. Look for additional controller support in future updates!
The Future of Gears of Eden
We are already hard at work on Alpha 2.7, which is going to bring some new mining mechanics to the world of GoE that we're really excited about! We will also continue to gauge the pulse of the community and try to find the right time to launch our delayed Kickstarter. That could even happen within the next few weeks, depending on how things look! But, in the meantime, the true lifeblood of Gears of Eden will always be our terrific, supportive, and incredibly patient community.
If you would like to support us, our creative director, Ben Sledge, has put together a small list of things you can do, most of which don't cost a nickel!
- Join and be active in our Discord. You have no idea how much just showing up and chatting motivates and encourages us.
- Likewise, follow us on Twitch and come chat with us during our live gamedev or gameplay streams. If you have Amazon Prime, you get a free Twitch Prime subscription each month, and you can use that to support us on Twitch.
- Share our social media posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Sharing is caring!
- Help connect us to streamer friends who want might want to play Gears of Eden.
It has never been more exciting to be a part of the Gears of Eden development team. We’d like to thank each and every single one of you for sticking with us through this journey. We’re immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished here and we cannot wait for you to check it out.
Thank you so much, once again!
Until next time, please stay healthy and safe, and please keep in touch!
