Dawn Of Defiance FAQ

[Monday]

We will intend to keep this FAQ sheet pretty up-to-date for you guys. Keep in mind our game is headed to early access, so some information may change as things develop! Please continue asking us great (or terrible) questions, and consider visiting the Discord if you want a quicker reply.

For our early access roadmap, please see our website: Dawn of Defiance Roadmap[dawnofdefiance.com].

[Monday]

BASICS

What is Dawn Of Defiance?

Dawn Of Defiance is a new open world survival craft inspired by Greek mythology. You will play as a fallen soldier, starting from nothing on a mythic coast where you must survive and grow in power to prove yourself and discover why you were brought to the isles. Read the DoD’s steam page and visit the website [dawnofdefiance.com] for the full official description.

How much will it cost?

At launch, base price is $20. We hope the lower initial price rewards early-adopters for supporting our game! As we roll-out significant updates in early access, please anticipate scaled pricing. We'll notify you in advance of these price changes!

On what platforms can I play DoD?

We will enter Early Access on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. I cannot provide information about the possibility of a console port at this time. We will revisit the conversation in the future, and we will notify the community if a decision has been made. We have no current plans for VR.

What are the hardware requirements?

Please see the hardware requirements listed on our store pages!

Is there controller support?

We will support Xbox and Playstation controllers. Currently, our Steam page lists us as “partial controller support,” as opposed to “full controller support.” This is because we currently do not offer a virtual keyboard which is required for the “full support” label. We will not be adding the virtual keyboard in time for early access launch.

Can you have dedicated servers?

Players are be able host listen servers, and we hope to extend the option to set up dedicated servers later in early access.
Player-hosted/listen server means to specify that the servers require the host to be an active player. For private/unlisted servers, you can join by share-code and hopefully a couple other methods that we're still testing implementation. Public servers will show up on the join server list. You can password protect your server in either configuration.

What server settings/modes are available?

You can play single or multiplayer, and we currently have a toggleable (v0.1) Creative Mode. You can adjust various gameplay settings to customize the experience for yourself. You do this by clicking "Start Game," selecting or create a world, then tabbing to "Ruleset" in the top panel. In these setting, you should see options to adjust durability, stamina, health, drop-on-death, and others.

Is multiplayer hard-capped at 4 players?

We're testing and optimizing our game for up to 4 players, so this is the number we recommend. You can technically push the number higher in the settings, but mileage may vary, and players should expect unexpected problems.

What languages are supported?

Interface and subtitles are currently in English. There is currently one voiced NPC to help guide the player character. We will be revisiting localization options in the future, but we do not have updates at this time.

What are the accessibility options?

We have basic, toggleable color-blind filters provided through UE, and the ability to remap key bindings. HUD elements can be moved and resized as needed. Other accessibility features will likely only be implemented based on community-requested priority.

[Monday]

DESIGN, ART, & MECHANICS

What will be included at early access launch?

The Early Access version will feature the following content which aims to provide a well-rounded experience offering many hours of replayability:

• A major biome across two islands, excluding a section that will be locked at launch.
  
• Multiple sub-biomes, each with different resources, enemy variants, and potentially environmental hazards
  
• 8 of 12 Deity shrines and their associated "Labors," with the remaining 4 to come in early access.
  
• Up to 9 enemy types, including golems, gorgons, soldiers, cultists, captains, and their variants. This does not include aggressive fauna like wolves and boar.
  
• Enhanced movement modes and various melee weapons and bows with select elemental weapon enhancements
  
• The first tiers of armor, tools, and structures
  
• Most crafting facilities, although they won’t be fully upgradable until later updates
  
• Inventory system, including backpack, gear slots, equip hot bar, and chests.
  
• Progression guideposts with minimal narrative
  
• Minor challenges and puzzles to earn recipes & upgrades

What survival elements should we expect?

You will need to hunt and collect resources to advance in Dawn Of Defiance. This will involve a need to eat, but players will not die of starvation; consumable recipes serve as means to heal and buff your player to take on tough challenges. Similarly, environmental effects like wetness and heat may slow your advancement, but never kill you. Your tools, armor, and structures are subject to damage.

Will there be NPCs?

As our game is not narratively-focused, there will only be one player guide with minimal dialogue for the purposes of guiding the player character and supplying new objectives.

Are the Gods in the Game?

The Olympic Pantheon is not slated to be physically present in the game as interactable NPCs or enemies. I’m afraid you will not be able to fist fight Zeus, no matter how much he deserves it. Their influence will be seen on the isles, referenced by player objectives and POIs.

Is there character customization?

Releasing into Early Access, we will not have any character customization. It is high on our priority list for game updates, namely the female player model, but it is a time-consuming, multi-level addition that will take longer to implement than others. It is on our roadmap, and you can learn more about the progress and challenges in this Dev Talk episode.

Will mythologic creatures be in-game?

The gorgons and golems, as revealed in our trailers, will be present at our early access release. Beyond that, we want to do justice to the enemies we add into the game, so we will spread out updates for additional, polished mythic monsters during early access, rather than front load a bunch half-baked at launch. We recognize the importance of mythic monsters to immerse players in the landscape they’re expecting and excited for, so consider it high on our priority list to continue adding them. Our upcoming content update Sisters of the Deep will begin to address this with additional mythic monsters.

Is the map procedurally generated?

Our map is not procedurally generated. We want locations to be memorable, so we’re building islands with unique points of interest and landmarks. At early access launch, we’ll have two islands to explore, and we hope to deliver map expansions in our roadmap to the 1.0 final release.

What kind of abilities will the player have?

At present, our player abilities are enhanced movement modes, gained separately, including:

• Glide – Hover, elevate, and gently drift to the ground from any height
  
• Dash – A boost of speed, can be used in the air
  
• Hardfall – Withstand falls from a great distance and damage opponents on impact.

While our players earn their abilities through supernatural means, they are still mortal heroes grounded by stamina and gravity. The player character cannot fly indefinitely, but they can use their abilities as traversal tools. Besides the movement modes, players may encounter weapon enhancements like elemental and poison arrows.

How does gameplay address multiplayer?

Chest Rewards and quest objectives will be server-side, meaning discovering and unlocking a sword recipe will unlock it for your full server party. Likewise, the main “golden path” objectives will be treated communally, so players will want to work together to progress. The key here is that rewards are shared and never blocked by a single player, so you won’t fall behind or miss out. The spawn system will also account for multiple players to address respawn rates, and general game difficulty can be adjusted in the server settings.

[Monday]

COMMUNITY

Why Early Access?

Early access is a good fit for us and Dawn Of Defiance for two reasons: on one hand, we see this genre being largely popular for its ability to cater to different players and playstyles, and early access allows us to improve and iterate on the game to make it adaptable to the larger community. On the other hand, we are small team with big dreams and little time, and early access helps support us while we continue development and achieving our long-term vision.

Where will we submit bugs, suggestions, or general feedback?

The official method to submit bugs and suggestions will filter through our feature up-vote[dawnofdefiance.featureupvote.com] page. There will also be spaces to discuss feedback in the Discord, but to be certain it is weighed for consideration by the dev team, it will need to be processed through feature vote-up. Keep in mind, with our roadmap now officially revised, we will be less open to feature requests, as we have a schedule to maintain to address the content of the game already outlined.

Is there a roadmap?

Yes, as of December 4, 2024, we have revised a roadmap using player feedback with a list of currently 33 planned features we plan to address in early access. These will be implemented over the course of five updates, themed around the biomes in-game. For more information, visit the Dawn of Defiance Roadmap[www.dawnofdefiance.com] which includes an introductory video from our game director.

Can I get a game key?

If you’re a content creator looking for a game key or other collaborative opportunities, please submit a request here: Request Form [dawnofdefiance.com]

Where can I find tips and guides?

You should try out our Fandom Wiki [dawn-of-defiance.fandom.com] which we hope to see grow with more information soon. If not there, visit our Discord to ask community members for help! Follow us on social media as well to be notified if we have formally posted a guide or tip.