This page lists updates to Aground, in chronological order. The changelogs are taken from the official devlog.
The oldest currently existing version is the prototype, which came before even version 1.0
Version 1.0[]
Update 1.0.3[]
The first update is live!
It contains a lot of improvements to the existing content of the first island, and includes a few new items. The full changelog is as follows:
- Added auto-consume for health restoring items before death.
- Changed surface structures to be accessible with UP key.
- Added a workbench item for crafting of some items anywhere - and made it available before steel items.
- Added a chest item that can be placed anywhere and operated like a storehouse.
- Allowed quests and crafting to take items from storehouse as well as your inventory.
- Added a few Halloween-special items/graphics.
- Added a French fan translation (set in options -> language).
- Added a notification when NPCs add items to your storehouse.
- Set escape key to unequip item quickly (if equipped).
- Increased wyrm spawning rate a tad.
- Increased wyrm and golem health.
- Changed feed window to show what they eat. Changed wyrm food from steak to live pigs.
- Added overall mute button (M).
- Allow players to remove farm upgrades.
- Allowed changing direction without moving a tile.
- A bunch of other minor updates/tweaks and bugfixes.
Update 1.0.4[]
We released another update for Aground! This one mainly focuses on improving the farm and pen systems, but has a bunch of other improvements and fixes.
The full changelog is as follows:
- The pig pen is now like the wyrm pen, you can manage the animals and you even now have a cow and chicken option for better milk and egg production. Pigs still produce milk and eggs, though, as it's simpler that way, and if you need a better reason: Wollmilchsau.
- The farm has also been improved for managing crops and additional fields. It also now groups all farm items by type, so you don't have tons of entries of the same farm item. I also added a harvest all option.
- Added cotton (for cloth), sugar and pumpkin crops. Pumpkin crops you'll only get if you saved around halloween and the Farmer gave the jack o' lanterns to you. Change your system clock to halloween to get them in future saves, and they can be carved into jack o' lanterns.
- Spanish, German and Russian fan translations added.
- Sign posts were added, so you can add messages and label tunnels.
- You can now get the market after building the dock if you turn the thief away.
- A BIGGER backpack was added to the market after getting the boat.
- You can now turn potions back into dragonblood, and it wont let you drink more than the maximum.
- XP added to crafting, smelting, cooking and capturing enemies.
- Some treasure chests are buried underground if you start a new game.
- A bunch of improvements and bug fixes.
The next update will include a bunch more improvements and features (like fishing, familiar/pet system, building placement and a day/night cycle), finishing up the improvements we wanted to make for the starting island. We'll begin work on additional content (quests/dungeons/bosses for the starting island, and future islands) after that update!
I hope you enjoy!
Update 1.0.5[]
I had hoped to get fishing into the Previous Update, and as that didn't happen and there were some minor changes/bug-fixes I wanted to post, I decided to do a minor update. 1.0.5 includes fishing, fertilizer (increases the speed of crop growth), 4 hotkeys, sticky items (they don't move into your storehouse when you hit move all) and a bunch of more minor improvements.
I still plan to post a bigger update with the pet/dragon system and day/night cycle next week!
I hope you enjoy!
Update 1.0.6[]
1.0.6 is another mini-update like the Previous Update leading up to a bigger update that we hope to release next week. This update includes per-pixel movement (you can now stop between tiles) and a bunch of improvements to combat. Already, there is now weapon range (thanks to the per pixel movement) and some cool tricks you can do with that, and weapon attack speed could also become a factor in the future. I also changed how equipment works so it doesn't confuse people, and added a dedicated attack key (set to C for now, but you can change it in the controls if you like). As always, there were a bunch of other minor improvements and bugfixes, and potions now have an effect over time instead of per hit.
This makes the gameplay a lot smoother, and is a big step towards the next update which will include new content and bosses (which will be bigger than a single tile, making the per pixel movement more valuable).
I hope you enjoy, and are looking forward to the next update!
Update 1.0.7[]
It's finally here! Update 1.0.7 is the first semi-major content update to Aground, and while it's a little late, I hope it was worth the wait!
The big new feature here is the Mountain, which will appear now on the right side of the island. It's all stone, so you won't be able to enter it with starting equipment, and it's a good thing too, because there are much tougher enemies and new loot here.
Note, it may take a few hours for the update to appear, but Shift+Refresh to do a hard reload of the page often helps.
The quests have not been updated yet, so exploring the mountain is just for fun for now (and to have more to mine), but it's eventually going to expand the storyline with the Alchemist and the history of the island. And there will be something special deep in the mountain eventually - those ranged enemies guarding that space aren't there for nothing!
The Fire Gem is intentionally unusable, un-trashable and un-sellable. This is so you don't get rid of it, as it'll be very important in the next update. While it'll take some time to get all the quest changes and new features in, I'm really excited about where this is going!
Of course, there were other improvements and bugfixes (including that annoying invincible wyrm bug that took forever to find), but they weren't too major.
The next major update will focus on raising your baby dragons into ones as large as the boss in the mountain - and yes, you'll be able to fly on it off to new islands (although, when I first add this update, it will just show an animation and roll credits like sailing). Going off left for science and right for magic is definitely a thing we're going to continue with in this game. I might include a smaller update before that with general improvements and bugfixes.
I hope you enjoy!
Update 1.0.8[]
This is another small-ish update that's setting up systems that will be needed for the next major update. The main changes are the equipment system/window, item durability, and shields. Shields don't have infinite durability, and you can't attack or mine while they are held, but they block all damage until they run out of durability (excluding critical hits). It adds a lot of new interesting combat options versus all enemies.
The full changelog is as follows:
- The Equipment Window including characters stats (and revising how equipment works)
- Items can now have durability and be destroyed. Repairing them will come later :P.
- Shields!
- You can sell items from your storehouse directly in the market.
- You can specify how many items you want to craft at once.
- Alchemist now adds dragonblood from the wyrm pen to the storehouse periodically.
- Coin limit shown on coin purse, and you can't sell items when you've hit it.
- No more instant-collection of animals from pens.
- Tweaked dragon, yeti and fire chicken enemies.
- Other minor tweaks/improvements/bugfixes.
The equipment system was needed for the pets/familiars, so you have a way to select who you want following you. That'll be the next update unless there are high priority bugs that need fixing, along with growing (and flying on) your dragon!
I hope you enjoy!
Update 1.0.9[]
You can now raise your baby dragons and have them follow you around, grow, burn things, and eventually even fly off on them! This update focuses on the familiar system, and you may notice a few other familiars you can have follow you other than the dragons (with various effects).
The full changelog is as follows:
- You can now have familiars! Use the equipment window to set them, and don't forget to feed them on occasion or they won't be able to attack.
- New quests involving dragons and them growing bigger.
- You can now fly off to the right (towards the magic islands), but it just goes to credits with an animation for now.
- Other minor tweaks/improvements/bugfixes.
I also set up a Newsletter for Aground if you want to subscribe and get future update notifications via e-mail.
I hope you enjoy!
Update 1.0.10[]
Explore dangerous caves, find new secrets, and meet a mysterious new NPC in this update!
The full changelog is as follows:
- Added caves and dungeons to the map.
- Added 1 new enemy type.
- Added 1 new NPC and quests for him.
- Added enchanted axe quest.
- Added underground music track.
- Added enemy health bars.
- Added burn flame effect.
- You can now rename familiars.
- Improved mod support.
- Miner gets coal automatically if there is no coal left.
- Added feed amount to feed info window so you know the effectiveness of different foods.
- Fixed memory leak - may improve performance.
- Stopped page from scrolling in HTML5 when using mouse wheel on a scroll window in game.
- Various bugfixes and improvements/balance changes.
There will be one more major update including new islands (and perhaps a few minor updates) for the free version of the game. After that, we are now planning to run a Kickstarter at the end of this month and fund development for an Early Access version of the game - we hope you'll support us when it is live!
If you haven't yet, also sign up to our Newsletter to get update notifications via e-mail!
I hope you enjoy!
Update 1.0.11[]
Here's a minor update to tide you over until the big 1.1.0 update! The cloud saves are finally in!
The full changelog is as follows:
- Cloud Saves - Login to Aground Cloud and all your saves and settings will be automatically synced across browsers, websites, and even with the exe version of the game. No more losing saves because of clearing your browser history!
- Developer Console - This is mainly for developers and modders to view details and run scripts in game, but it also comes with a built in debugger that will show an error should the game crash and allow you to send that error directly to me for faster debugging. Can be opened with Ctrl+Shift+D, and special commands are: clear (clears the console), watch variable (shows that variable wherever you are), unwatch variable removes from watch list, and debug [hide] to display debug info and watch variables.
- Added chinese fan translation - this required some improved font support in game.
- Fullscreen HTML5 - You can now go fullscreen in the HTML5 version (depending on the browser)!
- Other minor adjustments and bugfixes (including the dragon fight crash).
In other news, we're preparing for our Kickstarter, which you can read about (and other plans) here: https://www.reddit.com/r/aground/comments/7qmbry/aground_kickstarter_plans/. This will probably be the last update until we launch the Kickstarter on January 31st - which will include at least one of the next islands!
I hope you enjoy!Version 1.1[]
This is quite the major update - we're so excited to share it with you! We've added a entire new island with over two hours of additional content, launched the Kickstarter campaign for the early access version, and made a new trailer!
Unlike on the starting island, you will be an outsider in this new town, and you'll get a lot less help and supplies for free. Make sure to stock up on food before you sail away from home, or you might find yourself having to buy from the market extravagantly just to have enough food to eat!
The full changelog is as follows:
- Sail to a new Island! Includes the sailboat functionality, and many new structures, items, NPCs, quests and enemies! I won't spoil much, but the majority of the changes to the game are on this island.
- Power System. Along with the new island, there is a new gameplay mechanic - power. Keep your batteries charged if you want to use the new power tools!
- Improved Fishing! The Fisherman NPC will now explain how to fish, and the system will be a little more challenging for fish that are tough for your fishing rod level.
- Boss Music track! Chase added a new music track that will play during the dragon fight… and also at one other point in this version!
- Various other bugfixes and improvements.
We still plan to add the first magic island to the east, but this update is getting close to the end of the planned content for the free version. After that, we'll be working hard on new content for the early access version!
I hope you'll check out the Kickstarter and share or back it! We really need your help to take this game as far as we can!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Update 1.1.1[]
This is a minor update with some fixes, improvements and Minecarts added.
The full changelog is as follows:
- Minecarts You can now craft minecarts and rails (even on island one) and place them. Minecarts are like mobile chests, they let you move large amounts of ore horizontally without needing power as long as you have rails placed. They also work great in combination with the elevator. You are unable to remove rails once placed (that would be a LOT of "Collect Rail" tooltips), so keep that in mind.
- Rest in Boat You can now save in your boat. It won't restore health or stamina, but at least you can save and take a break. I also lowered the Inn cost to 50 coins.
- Boat Inventory Management You can now choose to take items from the boat into your inventory or straight into the warehouse like before. This is less confusing, and gives a lot more flexibility transferring items quickly. The elevator can also transfer to warehouse if it's at the surface now.
- Cloud Saves will now ask you which save you want to choose if the newer save has less playtime than the older save. You can close this window, and it will ask again next time (giving you time to export the save if you want to keep both). I also added a manual Sync * Save option on the title page if your saves are out of date.
- Treasure chests can be used as well as normal chests when crafting the elevator.
You can now set hotkeys and sticky items when transferring items (not just in the inventory).
- Entrance to Mirrows is more obvious.
- Various other bugfixes and improvements.
We're almost 30% funded on Kickstarter, and I hope you'll check it out if you haven't yet!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Update 1.1.2[]
Another small-ish update before I move on to the Magic Island major update, but this one has some cool new items and features!
The full changelog is as follows:
- New Items Added Land Mines (powerful traps), Great Armor (higher defense), Map (buy in the Sunset Haven market, it'll show you your surroundings), Shovel (fills the tile below you to remove holes) and the Crowbar (pries up minecart rails).
- NPC Auto-Collection NPCs will now collect items for you even when you are away from the starting island (slower than normal, but they don't stop). Enemies will also spawn in locations when you're away.
- Added Town and Desert BG The science island town now looks a little less like a ghost town.
- Improved Smelter UI Smelter items are now grouped, and it looks a lot cleaner for smelting (or cooking) tons of items at once.
- You can now use an Adult Dragon to power the power plant once it's repaired. It looks cool, and can turn Steaks into power!
- You now get a 33% stamina restore when resting in the boat, and you need 400 rations to make the first trip to the science island (enough for a round trip of sailing). This will keep players from getting stuck on the science island before they find the titanium. I also made titanium (and iron) a little more common, so that first quest isn't too difficult if you go unprepared.
- A bunch of minor improvements, like changing enemy speed to make melee combat more feasible, minecart rails were made cheaper and batteries draining one at a time.
- Fixed some bugs, including the looping sound bug (drill, elevator).
The Kickstarter just reached 50% funded! Keep sharing the project, and I have some good stretch goals planned if we reach 100% funded early!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Version 1.2[]
The Magic Island is finally available! This is a major update about as big as the Sunset Haven (the science island), with many new features and ways to use magic!
In other news, our Kickstarter is now over 100% funded! Thank you to everyone who backed! We're still hoping for some stretch goals (especially the multiplayer one which will add co-op multiplayer support), so check out the Kickstarter page, and if you don't have a credit card, you can now back via PayPal on our website and that will count towards the stretch goals too!
The full changelog is as follows:
- Fly a Dragon! You can now fly your dragon (if you have one) to the eastern magic island that includes many new structures, items, quests and enemies! The majority of the changes this update are on this island.
- New Magic Systems! Including more enchantment options and goggles that let you see hidden magic!
- Armor Sprites - Armor will now appear on your player sprite when you equip it!
- Updated cloud saves, they now work on older browsers that don't support CORS or have cookies disabled (should fix the problem where it always said Sync Failed for some players).
- Various bugfixes and improvements, including shrinking item name size so it never overlaps the count.
- For Modders and Translators:
- Added [item=id default=default name]. If set, and the item doesn't have a name (like a renamed familiar), it will show default name instead of the item name (useful for conjugations or declensions).
- NPCs now have operate, over, out, enter, exit blocks like structures. You'll now need to put the NPC actions in an <operate></operate> block.
- Equipment behindPlayer parameter now defaults to true (add behindPlayer="false" to put the equipment on top of the player).
- Item icons are now defined with icon="...", not tile="...".
- Added extends parameter to many xml tags, that let you quickly make a slightly modified item or structure.
Now that the Kickstarter has reached 100%, we'll be working on finishing the entire first planet for release on Steam Early Access (and other platforms). We'll also continue to update the free version with bugfixes and improvements as we go. And from there - we'll be launching into space!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Update 1.2.1[]
This update is the first of two general improvement updates. They might not add much new content (nor the boss fights everyone's waiting for), but they do add a lot of minor features. While I consider this a minor update, it does have a LOT of new changes, as you can see from the changelog below.
For those who haven't heard, our Kickstarter completed successfully, and we're moving forward with the full first planet to post on Steam Early Access (and other platforms like Itch.io). You can read more about that and our plans here: Kickstarter Success! What's Next?. If you want to see Aground on GOG as well, you'll have to convince them that it's worth adding by voting here.
The full changelog is as follows:
- Elemental strengths and weaknesses. All elements resist themselves, and follow this type table. We'll definitely be expanding on this system in later updates.
- Added more enchantments to the Forge (Magic Island - including enchanting items from science island).
- Dragons can now live in the dragon lair. This also makes it easier to fly between islands, and you don't auto collect the dragon when returning.
- Net capturing is no longer always successful - it has to do with the health of the enemy and the difficulty of the enemy, and makes the system more interesting. Eventually, this will lead to better nets and capturing more powerful familiars.
- Improved item descriptions - they now show a lot more details.
- Added a Furnace, Campfire and Tent which are craft-able and very useful.
- You can also now place the anvil and workbench, setting up a pretty functional home away from home.
- Fire weapons now deal damage over time.
- Enemies can now drop multiple types of loot (and the Dragon drops Dragonblood).
- Backgrounds now cap so if you travel far enough out to sea, there is only open ocean. The sailboat also now has the full player sprite layers too. This will help for the upcoming seafaring update.
- The Wyrm Queen now respawns. This will let you get more Spirit Gems (and Dragonblood) if you need them.
- If your flying armor breaks, or you remove it, you now fall instead of getting stuck. This is also a way down from the floating islands. You will take falling damage though, and be warned, if you fall into the ocean before the seafaring update, it's instant death!
- You can now rename the starting island. Talk to the farmer once you've completed all his quests. This is for fun, and it also lets you name your save file.
- Dragon-equipment has been balanced and improved, and you can now auto-feed and equip when it breaks (assuming you have food and an alter gem handy).
- You can now set which projectile to use by default for ranged weapons.
- Optimized island generation - it now doesn't stall for a while to load the new islands the first time on older computers.
- Other minor improvements and bugfixes.
The next update will be another one like this, and will include a day/night cycle, lighting, and possibly character customization and sailing/flying between islands (along with several other improvements from player suggestions). After that, we'll finish up the Science island, followed by the Magic island!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!Update 1.2.2[]
This update focuses mainly on adding a day/night cycle, but it also adds a bunch of other improvements, including new achievements, new items, and character customization.
For the character customization, we originally considered letting you choose your appearance, but then we realized how very unrealistic that would be. So instead, your character is “born” with randomly assigned colors, and until you get higher tech or magic to change your appearance (like hair dyes and color contacts), you will be stuck with those colors. I hope you'll be able to accept - and even grow to love - your character, even if he ends up with bright purple skin or neon green hair. We'll be adding more hair styles and a gender option in a later update, but once again, these will be assigned randomly (with the ability to change them via upgrades). All of your past saves have been randomly assigned appearances. Feel free to share screenshots to show off how beautiful your unique characters now are!
The full changelog is as follows:
- Day/Night Cycle. The world now slowly changes between night and day. You can rest in your hut to switch between day and night. This includes a lighting system which adds a lot of ambience to night and deep underground. Light-producing items (like torches) are now more valuable.
- New night-only enemies. They are more dangerous than daytime enemies - so you might want to sleep at night if you aren't prepared for them.
- Custom character appearance. You can now have different color skin, eyes, hair, and clothing. We'll eventually add additional hair styles and a gender option. We also updated all of the equipment for this new system.
- New achievements have been added.
- Night time music.
- New items and enchantments, including backpacks (and a new equipment slot for them), light producing items, and the upgraded workbench.
- Wyrms can now be familiars, and they increase your mining speed.
- Coins are now stored in the coin purses, and you can obtain more than one coin purse to increase your coin limit.
- Equipment is now shown on screen so you can quickly see what is about to break. For mouse-using players, you can click it to perform equipment actions.
- Flight no longer takes stamina - instead it takes power or enchantment power. There is also now a flight weight limit (to keep you from flying infinite weight).
- A bunch of other minor improvements and bugfixes.
This was the second and final general improvements update. We will now begin working on content updates for the science island (and after that, content updates for the magic island).
Also, happy April Fools day everyone!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Update 1.2.3[]
The Mirrows boss fight is finally here! This update includes a lot of improvements and upgrades to the science island.
I don't want to spoil too much, but you can now confront the Mirrows (and complete the innkeeper's quest for an amazing reward), and there's also a way to negotiate with the Mirrows without fighting them. It's a tough fight - so be prepared with a shotgun, chainsaw, and titanium armor (or better).
The full changelog is as follows:
- Confront the Mirrows! Can you beat them? Can you negotiate with them? What awesome rewards will you get for defeating them?
- New Caves There are now 4 new areas you can visit on the science island. They contain a variety of rewards and challenges like the caves on the starting island. One cave doesn't appear to have much, but it will be a pretty important place in the future.
- Cyborgification. You can now be turned into a cyborg. Cyborg enhancements are powerful, but they also restrict what equipment you can use until you have them surgically removed, so you lose flexibility.
- Computers added with story snippets that you can read if you want to learn more about the backstory.
- Science island music.
- There are now several townfolk who populate the science island so it doesn't feel like a ghost town.
- Water now exists in game with a (very) simple simulation. You can't yet mine the sand to release it and flood your world, but soon you will be able to (and this will also include some underwater mechanisms - right now if you cheat and flood your world, you'll instantly drown and die).
- Familiars now have two commands you can access in the equipment panel: Enable/disable attacks and Summon. Disabling attacks is useful if you want them to save their feed in an area where they aren't effective against enemies, and Summoning them will instantly bring them to you if they get too far behind (assuming there is space).
- To avoid stun locks (especially when being ganged up on by night time creatures), I added a few frames of stun invulnerability after being hit. While being attacked from both sides is still dangerous, you are now able to run and escape (and you will never literally be stuck).
- In an unannounced mini-update (1.2.2_1), I added functionality to the golem statues. For those who were curious what would happen when they were activated, you can try them out now.
- A bunch of other minor improvements and bugfixes.
While we'll probably do a few more minor edits and improvements to the science island, this update represents the end of the major content updates along the science path for the free version. In our next update, we'll finish up the magic island (and the boss fight there), and then move on to the next islands for the paid only releases.
Finally, for those of you who didn't figure it out, in the last update the random character customization was an april fools joke. If you load a game now, you'll be able to customize your character's appearance.
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Update 1.2.4[]
The Old One boss fight is here! This update includes a lot of improvements and upgrades to the magic island.
The Old One might not be as strong as his "brethren," but he's still the most powerful boss so far. Luckily, you won't have to fight him alone (or at all).
Screenshots
The full changelog is as follows:
- The Old One. Facing the old one ends the game on the magic path for the demo/free version (it is quite an epic ending). It will save after you defeat it, and you can load that save to continue playing other areas, but you won't be able to progress further on the magic path in the demo.
- New Caves. There are now 2 new areas you can visit on the magic island. This includes the ice caves, and a new area which is quite large and easy to get lost in. Wyrm Queens no longer re-spawn, but you can find them in the second cave.
- Ice Structure. The ice structure can now be activated. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. This means all elemental structures are functional except Plant.
- Skill Points. You now get skill points every level instead of health and stamina. These points can be used for a variety of upgrades.
- The Plant Spirit was added, allowing you to get all 5 elemental gems.
- You can now only auto-eat one health-healing item when taking damage. This is a good balance between letting players survive, but not letting players soak up infinite damage with enough dragonblood.
- Languages that are not up to date (all but English and German) are now marked red in the options menu.
- New Achievements.
- A bunch of other minor improvements and bugfixes.
We'll probably have one more free update that finishes off the Science path (it doesn't really have an ending right now) and adds Blueprints (a feature we've been wanting to add for a while). After that, we'll start work on the rest of the islands on the first planet - we have a lot of work to do if we want to finish the first planet on time for backers! The free version will still get updated with improvements and bugfixes, but it will no longer get content updates after the next one.
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Version 1.3[]
All of the loose ends for the free version have been tied up, the science path now has an ending, and we added many new features too!
While a smaller update than the last two, this one includes some new things I've been wanting to add for a while!
Screenshots
The full changelog is as follows:
- Science Path End. There is now a definitive end to the science path (where you'll be able to continue from in the early access release). Check out the Mirrow's Lab to see it!
- Blueprints. You can now use blueprints to build and dismantle structures! You can play the game without ever finding or using blueprints, but they can give you flexibility over building placement and allow you to build a kitchen if you don't have the builder.
- Seeds. You can now plant crops, bushes and trees with seeds. Seeds allow for flexibility of crop placement (similar to blueprints), and they are now an integrated part of the farm (plant instead of upgrade). Plant where you want - even on new islands!
- Hair Styles. There are now 7 hair styles to choose from (8 if you count bald)! When first loading an old save, you'll be able to customize appearance again to select your hair style.
- Resting/saving no longer skips to night from the morning. This was causing new players to encounter night too early, and made night too easy to get to. You can still skip night by resting though. There may also be a few new night-only things added.
- Added 2 bird familiars. There are no enemies to trap to get birds from yet, but you can buy them.
- A bunch of other minor improvements and bugfixes.
We'll also be presenting the game at Phoenix Comic Fest, May 24-27! If you're nearby, come say hi - we'll be in Hall 1 with the Southwest Videogame Showcase. There may even be some exclusive giveaways!
From now until June/July, we'll be working on finishing the first planet for the Early Access release! We have some pretty exciting things planned, and if you want to see where we go with the game, you can pre-order the full version here: http://fancyfishgames.com/Aground/ (it will include all future updates)! We'll also continue to post bugfixes and non-content updates to the free version (you won't get new islands, but you will see some new features, including some relatively large ones like seafaring).
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Update 1.3.1[]
We've been hard at work on the Early Access version of the game, but we decided to do another small free update with improvements and vehicles!
We also now have a Steam Coming Soon Page! Feel free to wishlist Aground there, or you can pre-order the game here and get a steam key when the game goes live!
Speaking of pre-ordering, we are now only a little over $500 away from the Co-op Multiplayer stretch goal (you can see our continued funding progress here)! Can we make it before the early access launch when pre-orders close?!? Be sure to spread the word, and pre-order/back the game above if you want to help us reach that goal!
At the end of May, we had a blast showcasing Aground at Phoenix Comic Fest! Over the 4-day weekend, our stations were almost never empty. We received amazing enthusiasm for the game, met a few fans who had already played on Kongregate, and got a lot of helpful feedback and ideas for making the game even better (many of the improvements were from this feedback). It was an excellent experience overall, and while we were exhausted by Sunday evening, we were so pleased to have been at the event! We uploaded some photos of the event here: https://imgur.com/a/ohAsyhp!
The full changelog for this update is as follows:
- Vehicles! While most vehicles are for the early access version only, you can now sail your boat and fly your dragon using the vehicle system! The dragon is quite awesome to fly - it can even breathe fire - just beware of skyfish!
- Intro Video - It's deliberately left vague, but the start of the game has been changed and a short cutscene added to give you a little context for what's going on at the very beginning!
- Chase - our composer - added a new track for the Magic island!
- The combat system has been tweaked and improved. It is now possible (although difficult) to defeat melee enemies one-on-one without taking any damage!
- Stamina has been doubled, and you now auto-eat stamina restoring foods (useful especially for new players and to make the game less about focusing on your stamina bar).
- If you select a quest in the quest log, it will now show an indicator for locating the quest giver. No more getting lost trying to find the NPC needed to complete your quest!
- The farmer now explains how to use seeds better when you complete the orchard quest, and is now always capable of crafting seeds for you (just keep talking to him until it pops up).
- A bunch of other minor improvements and bugfixes.
The early access version of the game is still on track to launch in July, but we'll keep you updated on our progress towards that goal. The vehicle system is already quite fun to play around with!
Enjoy, and as always, let us know if you have any feedback!
Version 1.4[]
The early access version of Aground is now available here and on Steam! Join us on Discord, Reddit, Facebook or Twitter today for some launch day festivities!
It has been a wild ride getting to this point - from the initial prototype over a year ago, an underwhelming reception to the early versions, to an incredibly enthusiastic response to the browser version, an amazing crowdfunding campaign, and update after update of new content and improvements.
And - hopefully - this is just the beginning of Aground's story!
The early access version includes new quests, vehicles, enemies and areas not in the demo version. And we still have a ton of exciting content left to add before the game is complete.
As we mentioned before, Aground now also has support for mods with the help of mod.io! While we haven't written a guide yet, there are already a few mods uploaded, so feel free to subscribe to them or join the #modding channel on Discord for help making your own!
We are also pleased to share that a new member has been added to the Aground team! Megan has joined us to help out with social media and marketing. Together we're working hard to spread the word about the game!
Update 1.4.0 is now Live!
This update includes lots of new content for the early access version (see above), but we also included an update to the free version too! This update includes swimming and many small improvements and tweaks to the game. As a big thank you to Armor Games, Kongregate and Newgrounds who helped us get to this point, we also added a few secrets and specials on those sites - can you find them all?
I hope you enjoy the early access version and demo updates! And if you played the game, help show your support by writing a review or posting a screenshot! I hope you're looking forward to the magic path update, which will include the magic path between the demo and outer space!
Update 1.4.2[]
When we released the early access version with update 1.4.0, you could go all the way to building a spaceship like we promised, but many things we wanted to add before you left the planet (higher tech upgrades, power cores) didn't make it in. So, for our first update in Early Access, we added a new quest on the Science Path (talk to the Fisherman), with new enemies, equipment, upgrades and more!
If you haven't seen it yet, we've also added a roadmap which details all our plans for Early Access Updates up through the full release. We will be working on the magic path to space next. You can expect it to be complete by the end of September. But first, we'll be heading off to PAX West in Seattle to show off the game! If you're going to be there, be sure to stop by at booth 663 (with the Indie Megabooth)! There will be goodies to be had! And Aground cosplay!
I don't want to spoil everything this update adds, but there are many new items including power cables (for connecting generators to buildings), new blueprints, higher tech upgrades, a new skill, a new vehicle, craftable robot NPCs and many tweaks and minor improvements (including the ability to change your appearance at the surgery lab). As mentioned above, be sure to talk to the Fisherman, and check out the factory for new stuff!
There are still more things we wanted to add for the science path (like starting island upgrades, which you can see in the above gif), but we needed to prepare for PAX. We might post it with a bugfix update after PAX, but we also want to get cracking on the magic path update!
Wish us luck at PAX - we'll be sure to take lots of pics for those who can't make it.
Version 1.5[]
Update 1.5.1 is here, and it's a big one!! You can now follow the magic path all the way through many new quests and areas, right up to launching into space! This means that the entire starting planet is now complete, besides a few side quests and optional features we still want to add.
Alongside this major update to the game, we have a very exciting new trailer to share with you! Made by the talented M. Joshua and scored by our very own Chase Bethea, we are thrilled with how it came out!
What do you think? We hope you love it as much as we do!
In other news, back in late August/early September we showcased Aground at PAX West, which was an amazing experience. We were a part of the Indie Megabooth, and had a very steady crowd of gamers, press, and industry professionals stopping by to chat and try out the game. Pictures from the event are here (featuring our Miner and Alchemist cosplays!): https://www.flickr.com/photos/166774367@N06/sets/72157695274883630/.
A huge thank you to everyone who came by at PAX, especially the awesome streamers and Youtubers we met, who have released so many great videos which have helped to spread the word about the game - including SplatterCatGaming, Wanderbots, RufioGuy, and many others!
The full changelog for this update is as follows:
- Added a new magic island with new bosses, enemies, NPCs, sub-areas and structures. Rest in the purple hut after defeating the Old One to start these quests (and check out the place the Old One was defeated).
- Added many new familiars and new types of nets to catch them.
- Added spellbooks and a spellcasting skill.
- Added a magic spaceship equivalent, and the quests to get it.
- You can now mine the second layer of magic island (although we are still planning on adding caves there later).
The following changes affect the demo as well:
- Added an indicator when the smelter/kitchen/pen/farm have items ready.
- Allowed some weapons/items to work underwater.
- Added spider familiar.
- Some magic structures can now be uprooted and moved.
- You can now collect items while riding the dragon (like helium sacs)
- You can now aim dragonfire manually while riding a dragon by using up/down while holding attack.
- Many smaller fixes and improvements, including color changes to the background art.
For Modders:
- Added <loadAfter> tag to the mod metadata. This works just like <requires> (forcing the labelled mod to load first), but won't cause the mod to fail to load if the labelled mod is missing.
- Added the evalXml function. This parses the passed argument string as xml and then runs it after the current action block completes. Useful for dynamic xml generation.
- Added setGlobal and getGlobal, to manage global variables that can be used between saves and in different scopes. These are not saved, and clear when the game is restarted (or you set them to null).
- Added setPlayer and changePlayer functions. setPlayer changes the player to an already created player object, and changePlayer changes the player to a new object with the passed id. These are dangerous functions.
Enjoy, and as always, don't be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don't forget to join the social channels below if you haven't already:
Facebook
Update 1.5.5[]
Update 1.5.5 brings a lot of new features, and some new content (including a small dwarf planet), and I'm very excited for it as it's the backbone for what will be the final stage of the game - travelling between planets! Spacefaring has always been one of my goals in Aground - I wanted you to be able to eventually build up to travelling between planets, but start the game having no idea that was even possible.
I also set up a Patreon if you want to support my work! It might not seem like much, but every dollar counts!
The full changelog for this update is as follows:
- Added Orbit and the ability to travel between planets.
- Added a new planet.
- You can now build space stations in orbit.
- Added underground structures (and an event that will make them very useful).
- Added ladders and walkways for stacking surface structures.
- Added several new songs! Here's a preview of Chase composing one of them:
The following changes affect the demo as well:
- Cables and rails can now be placed vertically.
- Structures now operate even when away from the island.
- Blueprint error guides (they visually show you what is blocking the structure from being built).
- Combat update! I tweaked how combat works yet again - it is now easier to defeat enemies without taking any damage (by dodging), but also more dangerous to blindly mash the attack key as they will knock you back out of range.
- 4 more hotkeys have been added by popular demand.
- Miner now gives a quest about minecarts.
- Builder will explain sticky items when you build the storehouse, and sticky items now are placed above others in the inventory.
Enjoy, and as always, don't be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don't forget to join the social channels below if you haven't already:
Facebook
Version 1.6[]
Update 1.6.0[]
The first new major planet is in, and it's an exciting one! We think you'll be very curious to see what happened to this familiar planet - along with new NPCs, quests, and features. This planet focuses entirely on the science path - but don't worry, we have plans for the magic path too! This planet took a little longer than we would have liked, so we adjusted the roadmap, but I think you'll agree it was worth it. We're getting closer to the end of the game in terms of content, but we have lots of additional updates planned before we leave Early Access (including the highly requested multiplayer update).
The full changelog for this update is as follows:
- Added a new star system + major planet to the game! This also includes a new music track!
- Added drones, a new kind of vehicle that can be piloted remotely.
- Added a whole new spaceship… and it's a big one (no spoilers, it should be obvious if you do all the new quests).
- Added new quests, NPCs, items, crafting, structures and a research lab. No spoilers, but… I will tell you a com device helps.
- Teleportals can now be renamed, and are sorted by name. You can organize them by using special characters/numbers before the name, and use this to make a note about important parts of islands. Teleportals are now also locked to the star system they were built in, so the list will only show teleportals in that star system.
- Added an FTL jump animation for vehicles.
- Placing items in vehicle interiors (workbenches, furnaces, etc) can now take items directly from the vehicle's storage.
The following changes affect the demo as well:
- When you discover an item for the first time, the game now tells you! It doesn't know about items you already discovered in old saves that aren't in your storehouse or inventory, so it might come up a lot when you first continue an old save, but eventually it will work as intended.
- Crops and pens can now function without a barn (and be placed without a barn). The barn structure is now just a convenience, where you can harvest them all at once.
- Added many new sound effects, both to the demo and the full version. We'll be adding more in the next few updates, fleshing out the sounds for all the attacks, enemies and items.
- Added a gameplay option to make steel walkways un-mineable (so you don't mine them by accident). Just toggle the option to make them mineable again when you want to change/move/collect them.
- Added a gameplay option to hide blueprints from the “All” tab in your inventory. A lot of people complained that blueprints cluttered the inventory and could not be removed - well now they can be hidden, unless you intentionally go to the blueprints tab.
For people playing on the keyboard, shift+Z now moves the current object/vehicle to the back. This is useful if you have two large vehicles on top of each other.
- Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!
Enjoy, and as always, don't be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don't forget to join the social channels below if you haven't already:
Facebook
Update 1.6.1[]
The main purpose of this update is to fix some major bugs/memory leaks that made the game unstable and crash more often. This version should be a lot more stable and even a little faster, but I also added the following extras:
- You can now board enemy spaceships and defeat them from the inside! This gives you extra loot now... and will have more purposes later...
- Added vanity slots to equipment - you can now change your appearance without changing your actual equipment.
- Added new hairstyles and character customization options. You can select one from an existing save at the surgery lab.
- Added a few new familiar modifiers to the vine copse.
Update 1.6.2[]
If you've been following the Early Access Roadmap, then you're probably aware that we were planning on posting an update with the second to last planet around now. However, The last two planets are strongly linked, so we decided to do both planets in one BIG update at the end of this month, as the current planet felt incomplete alone.
So, what's this update?
This update is mainly small improvements and bugfixes - as making players wait for some of the bugs in 1.6.1 until the end of May seemed too long (the biggest bug being that if you invited an NPC aboard the mobile lab in person instead of via com device - including the professor when the lab is first created, they end up in a weird place and not on the mobile lab). The professor should automatically be aboard the lab the next time you enter it, and for the other NPCs, simply call them with the com device to get them to transfer on board.
There is also one new quest, on the mobile lab, from the professor. This ends pretty quickly, giving you just a hint of the new planet before going to credits. There's a lot of new items/assets for the new planet in this build, but you cannot get there without cheats (and I recommend you don't mess with it unless you're using a cheat/backed up save). I hope you enjoy, and are looking forward to the end of this month!Version 1.7[]
Update 1.7.0 is now live!! It includes the Science Path to the end of the game, which involves several new planets, many new quests, NPCs, enemies, and much more!
We're also very excited to announce that we have partnered with Whitethorn Digital to bring Aground to the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and XBox One! The console ports will release alongside the full launch in early 2020.
Our console port announcement was included in this year's Kinda Funny Showcase at E3, which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Ayw3J7sxEkQ.
Finally, Aground will be at the MIX at E3 this Wednesday June 12th, at 7PM - if you're going to be there, please look for us and say hello!
The full changelog for this update is as follows:
- Added a new star system and planet on the Science Path where you can meet other human survivors.
- Added the Enemy Headquarters, where you can fight the final boss!
- Added many new enemies to go with the new planets.
- Added fleet battles - where NPC spaceships can fight alongside you!
- Added endgame science path equipment - both cyborg and regular.
- Added new spaceships and vehicles.
- Many new cutscenes and the story up to (but not including) the science path ending.
- Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!
I hope you're as excited as we are - this is quite the milestone update (science path to end), but there's still a lot to go (magic path, backer planets, co-op multiplayer)! Thank you for following and supporting us on this ambitious journey to the stars and beyond.
Enjoy, and as always, don't be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don't forget to join the social channels below if you haven't already:
Update 1.7.1[]
Update 1.7.1 is now live! In this update, we finished the incomplete areas on the colony ship and did some overall improvements and bugfixes for the science path to end update!
The biggest additions are the cafeteria (pictured above) and the museum. These are fun optional areas that flesh out the colony ship and give you a few more options for the tough fights at the end of the game. Speaking of tough fights, a lot of people thought the final boss was too easy... so we made it harder!
We're a little behind now, so we updated the Early Access Roadmap, but we are still confident we'll make the March 2020 full release date.
In other news, we're also on sale for 10% off in the Summer Sale! If you haven't gotten the game yet, or have a friend who wants it, now is a great time to get it!
We're back to working on the Magic Path to End update, which we hope to release by the end of July, so I hope you're looking forward to that!
Enjoy, and as always, don't be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don't forget to join the social channels below if you haven't already:
Version 1.8[]
Update 1.8.0[]
It’s been a year since we launched Aground in Early Access, and we’ve come a long way. A year ago, the science path ended when you crafted your first fighter escort, and the magic path ended after the fight with the Old One.
Since then, we’ve added spacefaring and end game science path quests and items. And with the update we released today - 1.8.0 - we’ve finally finished end tier magic path quests and items. The journey isn't over yet, but we’ve come a long way and the end is in sight.
The Full Launch is still on schedule for early next year alongside the console ports. Between now and then we’ll be working on:
- Endings - Right now, you beat the final boss and it rolls to credits, and if you continue your game nothing changes. This update will have the aftermath, conclusion, resolution and some post game content (along with editing all the NPC dialogue).
- Backer Planets & Characters - There are 2 side-quest planets and some NPCs designed by kickstarter backers that will be added to the game. These planets will be available to all players.
- Quality of Life Update - There’s a growing list of suggested improvements, tweaks and minor changes that we want to do before the full launch.
- Co-op Multiplayer - Play with your friends & work together to complete quests (no PvP by default, but if you’re okay with cheating and broken mods, you can enable it)!
- Console Ports - Aground will be released on the Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and XBox One.
- Translations - We will be translating Aground to several languages for the full launch, once the dialogue/text is more or less finalized.
And of course, the full launch isn’t necessarily the end! We have many ideas for post-launch updates, including the Hybrid/Combined Path!
Update 1.8.0 Includes the Following:
- Added New NPCs - And the quests necessary for you to reach the final boss on the magic path.
- Added Spirit World - A strange new place where the elemental spirits come from.
- Added Mars - Why is Mars a new planet for the magic path? Only one way to find out!
- Book of Translation - A new spellbook that lets you talk with dragon ships, steal their secrets (and ships) to use against them!
- Tier 3 Spellbooks - You can now cast meteors like shown in the sneak peek gif.
- Added new enemies.
- Added endgame magic path equipment.
- Added new spaceships and vehicles.
- Many new cutscenes and the story up to (but not including) the magic path ending.
- Living vehicles can now have their modifier changed at the vine copse.
- There is now a coral farm that you get at the same place as the coral pen that can harvest all wyrm pens and coral pens.
- Added new SFX.
- Familiar efficiency now boosts the farming speed of that familiar when in pens.
- The book of shielding now costs less stamina the higher your spellcasting stat, and blocks all attacks (including spirit attacks).
- Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!
Thank you for supporting us throughout this year in Early Access, and I hope you’re looking forward to all the future updates, the full launch, and beyond!
Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Update 1.8.2[]
What happens after you beat the final boss? What’s the resolution to the story? This update answers those questions, along with some post game content and areas!
I don’t want to spoil much - but after beating the final boss, try talking to all the NPCs - almost all of them have dialogue changes. You can also choose a homeworld if you talk to the CaptAIn.
At this point, the questlines for magic and science path is more or less how it will be at the final launch, but we have the two backer planets, some additional post game content, the quality of life update (general improvements) and multiplayer still to come!
If you haven’t heard, Aground is now on the Discord Store as well! Definitely drop by our discord, we’re very active there if you want to chat - and you can now see announcements and buy the game directly from our discord server!
Update 1.8.2 Includes the Following:
- Endgame dialogue/cutscenes for all NPCs.
- You can now choose a homeworld.
- Added a third tier hut upgrade for post-game science.
- Added more destroyed versions of structures for bombardment.
- Added one of the two post-game secret areas (the key to unlock it was added to the golemech factory, if you know where that is).
- Added 4 new bosses to the arena.
- The Exo Mech can now have a shield or light installed.
- Changed collision detection - it should now lag less with large moving objects (like in fleet battles).
- The equipment window now shows all status bars as numbers (scaling them down if necessary).
- Added new SFX.
- Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!
Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Update 1.8.6[]
The new planet is called Unnature Sanctuary, and is now reachable in the star navigator. It’s an optional side-quest planet, but check it out!
In other news, we recently added Minigames to the research lab, and Chase (our composer) released the official Aground Soundtrack! We also added Steam Leaderboards so you can see global high scores for the minigames… and also who has mined the most tiles!
For Mac Players: You may have heard about the new app requirements for Catalina. The good news is that Aground is already 64-bit, so the game will run. The bad news is that it is not notarized, and I will not notarize it given the complexity of the process for every update and requirement of an apple developer ID which has a yearly fee. From what I have heard, this means that you may have to go through an additional step to bypass gatekeeper. Hopefully this doesn’t cause too much trouble, and I’ll continue to update the game on Mac as usual.
In addition to the new planet, the following changes affect the full version:
- Some vehicles can now move and attack at the same time.
- Drone control can now be used while riding the mobile lab.
- Talon Copse can now modify most equipment.
- Cables and rails can now be placed on the same tile.
- Added a mini planet - Mercury. This is the last solar system planet that I plan to add before the full launch (gas giants have nowhere to land, and Venus is very dangerous).
These changes affect the demo as well:
- The starting quests now let you place the structures where you want to, and give you a blueprint for them when complete so you can re-arrange your base.
- Most vehicles and bots can now be packed up and deployed.
- Docks can now summon nearby boats.
- Trader will ship items from one island to another for a fee (pre bombardment/endings).
Dragons can now land on water and never die by running out of fuel now.
- Mouse buttons can now be set in controls - this allows you to attack by clicking (but clicking on a GUI element will interact with it as normal).
- Surgery lab can now install vanity equipment.
- Crops can now be re-arranged in farms.Chests can be given labels.
- Hotkeys are now sensitive to parameters/modifiers.
This is about half of the quality of life updates planned for the game, and half of the backer planets - so look forward to the other half by the end of November!
Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Update 1.8.9[]
The second (and final) backer planet is out, along with a second batch of “quality of life” improvements to the game. The new planet is called the Depths (for reasons that will quickly become clear), and once again anyone can travel to it by going to the new star system (it’s at the bottom right of the star map).
This planet is mostly about exploration - the quests don’t guide you as closely as the science path. There’s a lot hidden, and it’s better to go into it blind, but if you get stuck don’t forget to try fighting some of the new enemies.
We also added Difficulty Modes this update. Unlike in most games, you are not asked to set a Difficulty Mode when you start a new game, instead you can change it in the settings at any time. We’ve had people complain that the game is too easy, and others that it is too hard, so we decided to give players the flexibility to adjust the game difficulty up or down as they play. Is one planet or boss too difficult? Move the difficulty down. Too easy? Move it up. Since you can change it whenever you want, you never have to worry about choosing the wrong mode. Just be careful with the Permadeath mode - it will delete your save slot if you die - only the most hardcore players should attempt it!
In addition to the new planet, the following changes affect the full version:
- Added three new bosses to the arena.
- Added the ability to repair colony ships postgame (after the ending).
These changes affect the demo as well:
- Added difficulty settings to the options menu.
- Can export and delete saves right from the saves menu.
- Added a hammer item that builds blueprints.
- Added sound effects to familiars so they will occasionally make noise when idling (i.e., a cat will meow).
- Holding the shift key now reduces your speed to the starting value (walking). This is useful if you’re zipping by with too many upgrades and need some precision, and can also be used with flying equipment.
- Many other minor improvements and bugfixes.
This more or less completes the single player experience of the game. There are a few loose ends we’ll continue to add - like being able to build the science ship and entering the last incomplete postgame secret area, but these are not major game changers and may not be added until after the full launch. Our main goal from now until March 2020 is adding co-op multiplayer (and we’ll have a few betas along the way). The full launch will come soon after multiplayer is added.
Multiplayer in Aground will be the ability to invite other players into your game. It’s completely optional and server-less, and will not affect the single player experience at all. When you invite people, they can help you fight enemies, gather resources and complete quests - the storyline will be the same, you will just be able to work together.
I hope everyone is looking forward to multiplayer as much as I am! We’re getting close to the full launch, but we will definitely continue to be active in the discord and post updates to the game even after launch! Thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey and trusted us in Early Access!
P.S. Don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Version 2.0[]
Version 2.0.4[]
Aground has finally reached update 2.0 - and it’s a big one - it adds co-op multiplayer! You might have seen the multiplayer beta announcement:
More big news: we now have an official launch date - we will leave Early Access on April 17th! To celebrate, we created a revised, launch-ready trailer with the help of friend @MJoshua and score remix by Chase. Watch it here:
To play a game in Multiplayer, one player must host a save slot (it can be a new game), and then others can join that save.
To host a save, select Multiplayer, enter a name for yourself and select Host Game, then select a slot to host.
To join a game, select Multiplayer, then enter a name for yourself and select Join. It will show a list of everyone publicly hosting the game and you can select one to join, or you can manually input their IP address to join their game.
We also added a chat feature for Multiplayer - in game, hit Tab to chat, and type /help in chat for a list of useful commands!
We also added our first official translations: by popular demand, Russian and Brazilian Portuguese! We are still planning on adding more, but these translations were included in the big 2.0 update!
I hope you enjoy being able to play with friends, and let me know if you come across any issues! With only a few days until our full launch date, we’re hoping to fix any last minute bugs and maybe add a few more last minute quality of life updates!
Going out is dangerous! Stay in and play Aground!
P.S. Don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Version 2.0.5 - Full Release[]
Today is the day! Aground has left early access and is now fully released for PC, Mac and Linux! The launch build includes Co-op multiplayer (up to 4 players), two official translations (more to come), modding support, two backer planets, the complete science and magic paths, and much, much more.
It’s been a very full 2.5 ish years - but we didn’t do it alone. A huge thank you to:
- Our awesome crowdfunding backers - your support kept us going.
- Our Beta testers, Discord and Reddit communities - you found many bugs and shared much enthusiasm!
- All the streamers and Let’s Plays that have shared the fun of Aground with their watchers - your impact is amazing.
- Our families and friends - for putting up with us being in this wild, creative, unpredictable field of work!!
Now’s the time to jump in and share the game far and wide! Tell your friends, stream your gameplay, get on social media, join a Multiplayer game online… going out is dangerous, right? Might as well stay in and play / share Aground.
It was so much fun hanging with the community and streaming today - we chatted with fans about the development process and all hit the launch button together! What an exciting moment!
Aground will also be coming to Switch, PS4 and Xbox later this year - keep an eye out for more announcements as that gets closer.
Stay safe everyone, and Enjoy!
-The Fancy Fish Games Team
Version 2.0.6[]
Our first post-launch update is live! 2.0.6 is a small update, but it adds a few neat features and finishes the last incomplete area. It also has a lot of bugfixes and minor quality of live improvements.
The following changes affect the full version:
- The final "incomplete" area is now complete. If you know what I'm talking about, try entering that portal now!
- Multiplayer will now check that the game version and mods match when joining a game.
- Various multiplayer bugfixes - including issues joining by IP address.
These changes affect the demo as well:
- Water now has a more natural flow and is easier to drain and plug leaks. Before, a single water tile would spread infinitely to any tiles left, right or below. Now, water will move and evaporate, so one water tile will never spread to more than one tile (and often less).
- Game difficulty is now set per save, not globally. You can have a hardest difficulty save and a normal difficulty save without having to manually switch difficulty modes each time you load. New saves will be set to the last difficulty mode you used.
- The Shift key is now an official, assignable "walk" key and has controller support. It also allows you to slow down blueprint placement for pixel-perfect placements.
- Controls have been changed to a keyboard+mouse layout where you attack/defend with left/right clicks. C and Space still work as alternates, and you can change the controls in the options menu.
- Adjusted the default controls for QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboards (windows only for now).
The game's FPS can be adjusted with the command line argument -fps x, and vsync can be turned off with -vsync false.
- The auto-collect gameplay option now lets you change it to always auto-collect, never auto-collect, or set to default (auto collect unless overweight).
- Other bugfixes and minor tweaks/improvements.
Going forward, I have some final backer rewards to deliver, and I am considering options for the hybrid path. I have also finalized the design document for my next planned game, which I plan to start once things slow down a bit with Aground!
Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Version 2.0.7[]
2.0.7 is now live! Like 2.0.6, it’s another small update with some neat additions, bug fixes and quality of life improvements.
The following changes affect the full version:
- Added a Backer NPC and cameo. All players can find and talk to these NPCs, and there’s even a new quest. Hint for finding them: check divider island and CaptAIn’s colony.
- Thanks to the generosity of our Backers, some of the Backer exclusive weapons are now available for everyone (Boomerang, Laser Sword and Leech). Backer weapons also work now in Multiplayer even if some players are Backers and others are not.
- Fin modifiers now lower the use cost of all Equipment (stamina, power, etc).
- When you enter a Colosseum Arena, the difficulty is set to Normal while you are in that Arena (it will return to normal when you leave). This is because the Arenas were balanced with Normal difficulty in mind, and some of them are impossible in 1hko. You can still change difficulty while inside the Arena if you want an extra (perhaps impossible) challenge.
- PvP combat is now possible in multiplayer with a dev console command. Because the game is not cheat proof and is not balanced for PvP, I am not making this a publicly available option, but I added it for modders to play with, and for adventurous non-modders. Join our Discord if you want to learn more!
These changes affect the demo as well:
- The Owl familiar, when equipped, now zooms out the game (like when you are riding a spaceship). This lets you see further, and gives you the option to always be zoomed out if the normal zoom level is too pixelated for your tastes.
- Hotkeys will no longer unequip equipment. Some players like hitting an equipment hotkey multiple times to make sure it’s set, and before this would unequip what they wanted to equip. Equipment will still swap back and forth unless you uncheck “Switch Equipment Hotkeys” in gameplay options.
- Other bugfixes and minor tweaks/improvements.
In other news, we have started work on a Hybrid Path, which will be the first major post-launch update. It will combine the magic and science path and add a new ending, new equipment, spaceships and more! The Hybrid Path should be available by the end of the summer.
Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Version 2.1[]
Version 2.1.0[]
One of the most asked-for post launch updates, the Hybrid Path is finally here! This update adds a lot more combinations of magic and science, along with a new ending to the game (and some new post-game content). We wanted to make a path that combined the strengths of both magic and science, but was the most difficult to obtain, requiring progress along both the current magic and science questlines.
To progress on the Hybrid Path, you’ll want to talk to the Professor, the Mirrows, and the Alchemist. The questline definitely plays better in a new or early save, but you can do an abbreviated version after the end of the game (on any path) to get all of the new items, vehicles and areas.
The following changes affect the full version:
- Added new items and vehicles for the hybrid path.
- Added new quests and a new NPC.
- Added a new area to explore.
- Added a new ending to the game, that does not require defeating the final boss.
- Added the Bombardment Shield, for players that hate the bombardment. You can even set it up after the Bombardment starts, and the NPCs will leave their bunkers before the end of the game!
- Added a new official translation - German!
This is our last planned major update for Aground, at least for now. Let us know what you think!
To celebrate this milestone update, Aground is on sale this week for 34% off - our largest discount yet.
Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already: