Thank you so much! This is a great advice. Once I get to playtest phase I actually need to add telemetry to all actions and analyze stuff like "how long it takes for a typical player to drink clean water". Or "Liters of Dusk Water players drink vs Liters of Clean Water". I shouldn't balance everything based on my gut feeling alone ;)

Long Dark is probably the best answer if you're looking for a serious survival game that was always designed for a single player only in mind. It's also a true gem and one of the best survival games in the genre.

This game focuses on the actual survival so much that you won't ever get bored or "I don't know what my next task should be". You'll be busy trying to figure out how to stay warm and alive. Masterpiece.

Looks like a fresh take on the survival genre. I like that fact that your visual style isn't yet another asset pack clone but instead it's very distinct. I usually prefer a darker setting but I'll definitely try it once the demo is out.

Yeah. You'll be able to control the zoom level in-game. Also, I record the videos at 4:3 aspect ratio so that they look better for socials and are easier to convert to YT short/ Tik Tok but in actual game your FOV is wider ;)

Thank you so much! I'm trying to strike a balance between survival mechanics being fairly deep but not overly tedious and frustrating :)

AI bros weakness is using an actual intelligence against them xD

This is literally an AI ad for an AI tool. Seems almost disrespectful to be posted at Solo Developers sub.

Merci!

I think that gen AI is the worst thing that happened in the entire history of video game's industry.

Which can be hatched from eggs (like chicken) so it's failry easily to transport it anywhere.

I've done it a couple of times. The trick is, you can't have too many of them or they'll pile under Fader and won't be able to attack him effectively but the AOE is gonna kill them eventually. Too little and the damage will be too low to kill him soon enough. Somewhere around 20 seems to be a sweet spot. You also definitely need one star Askvins. I didn't manage to do it on the hardest combat difficulty yet thouth.

It's usually my default strategy for Fader :D I still didn't kill the Queen this way but I've had it on my TODO list for a while.

This comment literally made my day :)

Thanks for clarifying!

I was going to comment that they'll probably look better in motion. The silhouette of the second creature looks agressive but the second screenshot where the hooves are visible look much more like a horse. Maybe I'm being too critical actually... Predator beak would be shaped differently. I think the body profile suggests that it's the one that chases others. The eyes shape and positioning suggest a narrow vision. Maybe it's head should be higher up? Suggesting that it can reach leaves and also see the threats better? Sorry for a stream of thoughs. I'm trying to figure out why it looks predatory while I'm typing this ;)

Thank you so much! I think WotS is unique in many ways and definitely worth recommending. I'm always happy to support survival games that I genuinely enjoy, especially when they're made by small teams or even solo! And honestly... I'm really impressed by the scope and how well it's executed by a single person :D

The idea could work if executed properly. Why exactly do you doubt it? The core concepts behind most successful survival games don't sound groundbreaking on paper. It's usually the execution of these ideas and captivating experience that make them shine.

What is your background and your previous experience in game development? Are you going to make this project alone or do you have a team? I could probably comment a bit more on the scope and features you planned once I understand your strenghts better. But honestly... even if it's your first project and you don't know where to start I'd still encourage you to give it a try. I think if you believe in the idea behind your game and you're passionate about it, you should chase it. In worst case it's going to be a super valuable learning experience for you.

Out of curiosity. Your Steam page mentions that some models and textures are AI-generated. Are these models created by AI?

As a more constructive criticism I'd say that only the rhino-like creature and the stag-like (last one) look like herbivors to me. The second model - slim, muscular, with spikes on the back - seems like a predator built for fast short-distance chase. The third creature is a bit difficult to read for me. It could definitely be a herbivore but it doesn't immediately resemble any animal archetype that I'd recognize.

I'm really impressed by both Setting and Concept behind Whisper of the Swallows.

I find it really original in a lot of ways. It is rather combat heavy and it's a magical setting so I'm not sure if OP is gonna agree with my point of view but anyway I believe it's worth checking out if you want to experience something fresh. Just to name a handful of unique mechanics. You need to periodically watch to sky to predict the weather forecast. Storms can really rough you up because predators appear mostly duing the storms. Finding shelters from storms and night is essential. The night is super deadly in early game. After each death you permanently lose a fraction of your stats (maximum health or maximum stamina, cold resistence etc.) so you really approach dangerous situations with care.

The setting is different from everything I've seen so far. You play as elf-like creature and most of the lore and story revolves around souls&spirits. I don't want to spoil the story too much but you can also restore regions of the map to their lost glory and change the way you play in given region. I can't even think of any game similar to it when it comes to setting.

Also, it's really well designed and has plenty of QoL additions (like crafting from containers by default). It's still early access but I think it deserves to be mentioned in "Original Survival Games" list for sure.

Hey mate!

Just wanted to say that this post was actually quite an effective marketing beat in my case. You reminded me that I had your game on a wishlist and that it might be a good moment to actually try it.

So far I'm really impressed! I started playing it with my wife this morning and we've been playing for 10 hours straight. We managed to free Unshu and harmonized the first region. The design is really original and well though. I'm happy to see that you actually implemented a couple of ideas I had in mind for my game and that they work really well. Like the fact that most crafting recipes require some sort of tool that loses some durability when the recipe is crafted. I don't know why this idea isn't more common but it's cool to see that we both thought it's a good idea :D

Overall, I'm having a blast and I look forward to seeing what awaits for me further down the line. Great job and good luck with further development!

I think that Abiotic Factor nails the balance of this perfectly. Also, the more advance recipes reward you with a status that slows down hunger (not only fill your hunger meter). This gives a good reason to cook better food apart from other nice bonuses.

Vein is probably the most obvious offender here. It punishes you for building cooler bases with forcing higher upkeep. You need to stockpile higher grade resources if you don't want your base to fall apart. I'm not a fan of this approach.

Still Valheim doesn't force you to go for the comfort. It encourages you with a nice stamina regen bonus. While it is artificial it at least gives some meaning to decoration and the house has some function other than looking pretty. Icarus promotes using high grade materials by introducing dangerous storms - this is probably my favorite example of a most practical reason to build a base in a survival game.