Hey Autonomics!

How are you all doing? We can't believe Kickstarter is wrapping already, feels like we just launched it yesterday! We really want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us, and our next focus will be rolling out closed Alpha for Alpha Kickstarter backers in September.

But before we get there, we've got some of our regularly scheduled news for you! Without further ado, let's check out what's been going on.

UNDER THE SEA

That's right, we've unlocked Underwater Exploration! This means you can take a deep dive into the ocean and explore the sea floor. You'll learn about special places where you can uncover rare props, lost valuables, and unique artifacts. Use them to decorate your home, enhance your buildings, or even gift them to NPCs to unlock special quests or dialogue.

Since we’re going full underwater mode, we couldn’t resist adding a few new tools to match. Underwater Exploration also brings in other new elements.

You’ll get access to submarines for deeper, longer expeditions. You can even invite a friend to tag along and join your dives.

Want to speed across the waves on the surface? You'll also have your very own jetski for swift ocean travel.

And diving suits? Yes, please. Gear up, pack your oxygen tanks, and explore the underwater world freely. More dynamics, more freedom, more beauty.

Your Stuff? Liberated

Thanks to all of you, we've been smashing through our social goals! We just unlocked the Liberate Squirrel, a random squirrel who may occasionally liberate you of a possession or two, though of course you'll be able to get it back - nicely, of course. No animals harmed here! What started as a fun Discord joke is now a reality in the game!

Phantoms and You

Now its time to talk about Phantoms, their origins, nature, and the ways they'll shape your adventure.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Heads up: Phantoms are still in early development, so what you’re seeing here is subject to change. Some terminology, naming, or gameplay details might shift as we continue working on the system.

What Are Phantoms?

Phantoms are anomalies made of unstable energy, created by catastrophic experiments intended to manipulate time. When the Time Rapture Event fractured reality, corrupted temporal energy spilled into the world. From that chaos emerged Phantoms, which feed on biological energy to hold their unstable forms. They mostly appear at night or in dark places.

Some can be found in the present, but many exist in fractured future timelines (in Finite), where Alpha-class Phantoms often trigger large-scale events. The strength of Phantom's presence depends on your world settings. Peaceful Mode disables them entirely in the present. We'll talk more about how they behave in Finite PvPvE modes later.

Design & Inspiration

Phantoms are partly inspired by Japanese horror folklore, especially Yōkai. But instead of directly copying traditional forms, we used them as a conceptual foundation to imagine what ghost-like anomalies might look like if they were born from energy fractures and twisted timelines.

The result: our own unique ecosystem of spectral threats.

The visual design for the Phantoms was developed with the help of character artist Chloe Ezra, whose work helped us bring their eerie charm to life. Our goal with each Phantom is to capture that strange blend of childhood whimsy and unsettling dream logic, like something pulled from the edge of a memory. Take a peek at some of the early doodly concept sketches we’ve been exploring.

Sound Design & Phantom Audio Research

To help us dive deeper into the uncanny, we’ve partnered with legendary theremin composer Carolina Eyck, whose work adds a haunting emotional layer to Autonomica’s world.

The theremin is one of the first electronic instruments ever invented. Played without touch, it produces ghostly tones by sensing hand movements near two antennas. Its sound was so unfamiliar when first performed in the 1920s that some listeners reportedly fainted. Since then, it has become a staple of sci-fi and horror, perfect for the anomalies that haunt Autonomica.

These tracks aren’t just background sound. They are part of the world. Inspired by real Phantom encounters and in-game locations, each composition is meant to make you feel like something is watching, listening, or just out of reach.

The soundtrack is still in development, but today we’re sharing a few early examples. We're calling it The Sounds of Horror of Autonomica. Every tone was crafted to unsettle, distort, and immerse.

Put on your headphones. Play it at night. Tell us what you feel.
Listen carefully. The world is trying to speak. (WIP)

>>>>>>>>>>>>Listen Here<<<<<<<<<<<<

Phantoms Classifications

Phantoms aren’t just visual variations. Each one is built with its behavior, abilities, and traits, grounded in a system of Classes that define their power source and the instability that created them.

These Classes represent the scale of corruption behind their existence:

⚫ Sub-Class: Minor energy anomalies; simple behavior, limited abilities.
🔵 Echo-Class: Medium-tier Phantoms with enhanced perception or sensory mechanics.
🟠 Gamma-Class: Heavy, slow, and powerful, appearing near core rupture sites.
🔴 Alpha-Class: Highly dangerous, powerful abilities, typically boss-level threats.

Threat Levels

Of course, Class alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

Even a low-class Phantom can be lethal under the right conditions. That’s where Threat Level comes in. It determines the practical danger each Phantom presents in the field.

Low: Easily avoidable or defeatable with minimal strategy.
Moderate: Requires timing, mobility, or ability awareness.
High: Demands precise tactics.
Apex: Extremely lethal, boss-tier encounters.

Understanding both Class and Threat Level will be key to survival. You won’t always know what you’re up against until it’s too late.

Let's dive into a few Phantom dossiers to illustrate their personalities and behaviors clearly.

Fingergut

Class: Alpha-13 | Threat: Apex | Zone: Forest Core, Zone Obscura
Special Trait: Sound Suppression Field

Description

Fingergut is among the first and most dangerous Phantoms, created from intense energy overload during the Time Rapture. Like all Phantoms, it is a product of corrupted temporal energy, born from the reckless manipulation of spacetime on the island. Its body is a warped fusion of semi-material energy and residual organic matter, giving it a grotesque form that defies anatomical logic. Four limbs support it unevenly, and a hollow cavity drips condensed energy plasma - its only visible "mouth."

Fingergut is the only known entity to produce a Sound Suppression Field, a terrifying anomaly where all ambient sound is consumed by a vacuum-like distortion. While most Phantoms interfere with energy fields passively, Fingergut actively devours sonic resonance to destabilize prey. In the field, blasters go silent. Even footsteps vanish.

Fingergut feeds not only on physical energy but on panic and disorientation. It’s a living paradox: massive, but silent; slow-moving, yet terrifyingly effective.

It prefers to hunt alone in dense forest where the darkness is thick and light is weak. The deeper you go, the louder the quiet becomes.

Lore Origin

Created during a failed energy sequence in the Rapture Core Chamber, Fingergut was the first Phantom to retain form post-sequence collapse. Temporal engineers theorize it was born from a localized energy overload attempting to cross-reference two divergent time frames simultaneously. The result: a conscious energy knot too dense to dissolve. Now it roams the island, feeding on anything that lives and anything that resists silence.

Encounter Behavior

Sound Suppression Field: Dampens all non-visual player feedback within a 25m radius.
Silent Jump: Closes distances at high speed without any audible cue.
Gel Discharge: Slows players who step in its residue, making them easier to disorient.

Tactics

Visual Tracking: Use tracer rounds, muzzle flashes, and environment lighting to coordinate movement.
Blaster Focus: Target limb joints to stagger movement briefly.
Capture Protocol: Once weakened, deploy the Vacuum Proto-Gun during its brief recoil phase post-charge. Timing is critical. If you fail, it resets its aggression cycle.
Solo Strategy: Best handled alone due to disorienting effects in teams. Team miscoordination under suppression has led to more losses than Phantom damage.

Field Notes

“I thought I was alone until the forest went silent. Not quiet. Silent. No wind, no birds, not even my own breath in the helmet. Just vacuum. Then my HUD died. Everything glitched for half a second and that’s when I saw it. No footsteps. No warning. Just this hulking thing arcing through the trees like gravity was an option it could ignore. I fired. Nothing. No sound, no recoil, just light. Then I felt the air bend like it was inhaling me. I ran. I think it let me. Or maybe it just didn’t need me yet.”

Recovered from helmet logs of Operative Lyra Vex, presumed KIA, Zone Obscura perimeter.

Pooch

Class: Sub-7 | Threat: Low | Zone: Forest Fringe, Midpath Trails
Special Trait: Pulsative Blas

Description

Pooch may be one of the smallest Phantoms created during the Time Rapture Event, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in chaotic energy and unpredictable behavior. With a form resembling a misshapen hound sculpted from liquified neon, Pooch zips and stutters across terrain with cartoonish momentum. It rarely moves in straight lines and often stops abruptly to discharge a destabilizing Pulsative Blast - a volatile shockwave of energy that disrupts all nearby equipment for several seconds.

Created from the byproduct of minor rift-side discharges, Pooch is the result of low-density temporal instability fusing with rogue kinetic fields. Its mindless enthusiasm is a direct echo of the unstable loops it was formed in - caught between reaction and reset.

Despite its comical name, close encounters are dangerous. If you’re nearby during a blast cycle, expect your blaster to overheat, your proto-gun to jam, and your HUD to flicker.

Lore Origin

Pooch-class Phantoms are theorized to be "leak spirits" - entities born at the edges of early temporal test sites. They’re more instinctual than sentient, driven by residual energy loops and rapid consumption bursts. While not aggressive in the traditional sense, they emit disruption pulses to fend off anything that comes too close.

They are among the first Phantoms catalogued post-Rapture and serve as an entry-level threat for energy field containment protocols.

Encounter Behavior

Pulsative Blast: Emits every 20–30 seconds; creates a radial disruption field (~8m radius).
Erratic Movement: Sprints in arcs and zigzags, nearly impossible to predict.
Gear Disruption: Causes overheating of blasters and short-term misfires in capture gear.

Tactics

Maintain Distance: Let it blast, then move in. Never rush during its charge-up cycle.
Staggered Fire: Short, timed blaster bursts reduce gear overheat during pursuit.
Capture Strategy: After two blasts, Pooch shows a temporary energy dip - ideal moment to activate the Vacuum Proto-Gun.

Field Notes

“Imagine a dog made of jelly, hopped up on corrupted sugar, and really mad you stepped near it. That’s Pooch.”
—Dr. Kel Armin, Phantom Behavior Division

Echolurk

Class: Echo-22 | Threat: Moderate | Zone: Northern Wildwood / Rift Perimeter
Special Trait: Sonar Scan

Description

Echolurk is one of the more unnerving mid-tier Phantoms. Towering and stick-limbed, it floats inches above the ground with slow, deliberate movements - its presence announced not by footsteps, but by the eerie, rhythmic pulse of its Sonar Scan.

Fully blind, Echolurk does not rely on sight, but on high-frequency temporal echolocation. Every few seconds, it emits a pulse that maps its environment by bouncing signals off matter, energy, and motion. Players caught moving during these scans are instantly marked and pursued with unwavering precision. This turns any encounter into a deadly ritual of stillness and timing. Think of a game of red light, green light under nightmare conditions.

Its looped neck cavity serves as an amplification organ, shaped to direct its sonar blasts outward like a biological radar dish. Observers believe its upper body is tuned to detect the smallest tremor in reality itself.

Lore Origin

Echolurk originated from an incident at a failed Rift Stability Zone, where a prototype compression chamber backfired, collapsing time layers over a narrow area. The result created a Phantom incapable of interpreting linear time or visual input, but hyper-tuned to vibrational signatures. Unlike its kin, Echolurk is less aggressive and more methodical. It is almost ritualistic in its behavior.

It appears to be one of the few Phantoms capable of “learning” patterns and adapting pulse rhythms based on player behavior.

Encounter Behavior

Sonar Scan Pulse: Releases a wave every 10–12 seconds. Movement during a scan triggers instant aggression.
Heightened Sensory Mapping: Detects nearby players if they make contact with any object or terrain while pulsing.
Pursuit Pattern: Breaks into high-speed chase mode if alerted. Rarely loses line-of-trace once engaged.

Tactics

Freeze Protocol: Stand perfectly still during scan pulses.
Pulse Rhythm Mastery: Count beats between scans to time movement windows.
Capture Window: After 4 scans without a successful detection, Echolurk pauses to recalibrate. This is your chance to strike with a Vacuum Proto-Gun.

Field Notes

"He doesn't see you. He listens for your presence, mapping echoes like thoughts. If you shift while he's listening, you become a mistake he corrects."
—Alya Nirem, Phantom Observer, Class Delta

Scufidon

Class: Gamma-09 | Threat: Moderate | Zone: Southern Sinklands / Rupture Plateaus
Special Trait: Compressed Energy Beam

Description

Scufidon is a large, slow-moving Phantom, identifiable by its elongated silhouette and the distinctive energy cavity embedded in its torso. With heavy, deliberate movement that shifts its body weight from one side to another, Scufidon appears almost ritualistic in how it traverses terrain. Each step calculated, dragging temporal residue across the ground behind it.

Its primary threat lies in its Compressed Energy Beam. This is a devastating attack fired from the concentric cavity at its midsection. The beam is slow to charge but incredibly destructive, capable of depleting shields, disrupting blasters, and overloading nearby proto-guns in a single burst.

Despite its slow pace, Scufidon exhibits one of the most refined forms of energy conversion seen in any Phantom. It doesn’t simply exist within time distortion - it manipulates it internally. Each beam it fires is a focused stream of compressed rift energy stabilized through its body structure. As such, encounters with Scufidon are less about speed and more about timing and cover.

Lore Origin

Scufidon is believed to be a “deep core anomaly” which was created near the geothermal convergence during the height of the Rapture experiments. The heavy concentration of fused energy and molten terrain contributed to its dense form and volatile energy core. Some researchers suggest that Scufidon’s body functions like a pressure valve - releasing bursts of time-warped plasma to prevent its own destabilization.

The Phantom's design resembles ancient glyphs found in early pre-experiment diagrams, suggesting it may be a recursive echo of a failed prototype or defensive concept encoded into the fabric of the rupture.

Encounter Behavior

Compressed Energy Beam: Fires a high-density energy beam after a 3-second charge. Always telegraphed by core glow.
Heavy Movement: Walks with slow, loud footfalls. Cannot chase effectively but will rotate and track targets methodically.
Rift Residue: Leaves behind unstable ground in its path that temporarily slows or distorts gear function.

Tactics

Beam Dodge Timing: Watch for the belly-core to pulse - this is your signal to move.
Use Terrain: Trees, debris, and elevation help break its line of sight.
Flank & Capture: Its weak points are on the back of the legs. Immobilize with stagger shots, then close in with the Vacuum Proto-Gun during post-beam cooldown.
Avoid Long Sightlines: If you can see its belly from far away.. Well it can probably hit you.

Field Notes

“Scufidon doesn’t hunt. It waits. You walk into range, and it makes you stop existing. That core of his? That’s not a weapon. It’s a scar from the first rupture, still screaming.”
- Archivist Yul Traven, Rapture Debrief Logs

We tried to give each of them more personality and a story behind their existence. There are more Phantoms, each with unique behavior and strategy. If you're interested in learning about more of them, let us know and we’ll be happy to share additional details.

They are living mysteries, fragments of broken time. From small, erratic anomalies to towering horrors the size of buildings, each Phantom has unique behaviors, traits, and abilities. You'll need to study them, adapt to them, and eventually capture them using specialized gear like ProtoVac.

HYDROBLASTERS

Hydroblasters were created by Autonomica researchers to disrupt time in unstable Time Frames, like those in Finite mode. These guns are filled with a special liquid that weakens or destabilizes Phantoms and other entities.

Every Phantom must be weakened before it can be captured. If it’s not weak enough, it will escape during the capture attempt, and you’ll lose your Nanotainer. We designed this weapon to look familiar so that you can understand gun behavior from its look. These guns shoot colorful liquids, and each player can choose their color for their charges.

PROTOVAC
ProtoVac is a particle accelerator that slows targets and breaks them into particles small enough to store in Nanotainers. It locks onto the entity, breaks it down into atomic matter, and attempts to contain it. This tool only works if the target is already weakened, so timing matters.

NANOTAINERS

Think of it like catching Pokémon, but with volatile, ghostlike anomalies. Once captured, Phantoms are securely stored in special containment units - Nanotainers.

Nanotainers are secure containment units used to store captured Phantoms and other living organisms. They come in different strengths and rarities, and choosing the right one is important. If the container is too weak, the entity might escape or destroy it during the capture process.

Captured organisms are stored until you choose to release them. Just select the filled Nanotainer and throw it. The contents will reconstruct right in front of you.

Whether you want to display them in your own Phantom museum, or just show off your rarest catches to friends - it’s your call.

Phantoms are located in specific, unstable regions across the world. Whether you choose to venture into these zones or avoid them entirely is up to you. You can live a peaceful, uninterrupted life far from Phantom territory, or take the risk and step into areas where nothing remains alive except what lurks.

Energy Extraction

Phantoms were born from massive energy distortions during the Time Rapture, and as such, they’re extremely potent energy sources. Their raw energy is incompatible with traditional devices, but it’s perfect for powering advanced tech, overclocking machinery or your abilities in PvPvE modes. (we will talk about it later)

But don’t worry about facing phantoms. You don’t have to. Peaceful players can opt out of direct combat entirely. You can buy Phantom energy on the market or trade your own crafted goods.

But for those who do enter Phantom territory please be warned. These zones are high-risk, high-reward. Each encounter is unpredictable. There are no guides, no tutorials, and no one to hold your hand. Just you, your instincts, your tools and whatever knowledge you’ve managed to gather during your previous runs.

What's next?

We're looking at unlocking kids in the game as our next goal, a lot of people want to have their own children with their favorite NPC! With eight days left in Kickstarter, we will see what can be achieved!

Community Corner

Discord user Bananadanis made some incredible fan art!

And that's it for this week's edition of Autonomica! Have a wonderful weekend, Happy Mother's Day if you celebrate, and see you next time! Don't be a stranger, and don't forget to drop a wishlist if you haven't already, it really helps us out!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/895160/Autonomica/

💙❤️💛 Crytivo Team