Hi, everyone. I hope you're having a nice week.

Starting today, I'll be posting more frequent updates on my social media accounts regarding the sequel to Beyond the Mountains. You can view my social media links below. Be sure to give me a follow if you'd like to see frequent updates in your feed!

There will be mild spoilers posted on both accounts as the game gets closer and closer to completion. I'm aiming for a late 2024 beta release.

Instagram Link[instagram.com]

Twitter Link

- Eric

Hi, everyone. I hope you're having a nice week.

Version 1.4 of Beyond the Mountains is LIVE. This version fixes a lot of little errors that were annoying me over the last year. Some of these errors you'll spot immediately, and some of them will be very hard to find. You will have to start a new game in order to see the update.

Some notable errors fixed are:

- The downward sword animation is fixed. The sprite itself is still clipping (this will be fixed in the sequel), but the animation now works, which means that all downward attacks will be valid.

- The Risdo dungeon is cleaned up and should be a much smoother experience.

- Some areas of the game were updated for graphical consistency with the upcoming sequel.

- Some text was updated for consistency with the upcoming sequel.



The sequel is coming along very nicely! It will be a much larger and more difficult experience than the first game. I think you're going to like it a lot. I'm still not ready to spoil too much, so I'll show you some general screenshots.

Ok, that's all for now! Have a nice weekend, and happy adventuring! Please leave a review and tell your friends if you like this game!

- Eric

Hi, all. It's been a minute!

An abridged version of Beyond the Mountains' Soundtrack is now available on all streaming services. I wrote over 50 pieces for the game over the course of three years. Unfortunately, I am limited to only uploading 30 pieces of music per album. I might release a second album in the future if there's demand for it! You can search for "Beyond the Mountains (Original Game Soundtrack)" wherever you listen to music!


The sequel to Beyond the Mountains is chugging along nicely! It's still too early to give an overview of the game. Please note that it is a HARD SEQUEL to the original Beyond the Mountains. You won't be able to understand the sequel's story unless you've played (and beaten) the first one! The gameplay will be similar but more refined.

Below are some screenshots. They're missing some key details that I've erased for the sake of spoilers. I've been spending a lot of time working on the graphics, and I think they're turning out pretty good!

[i.imgur.com][i.imgur.com]That's it for now. I hope to start updating you monthly on the progress for the sequel!

Best,
Eric

Beyond the Mountains will be PERMANENTLY FREE this February.

I spent three hard years working on Beyond the Mountains. The game made its money back, and I'm not greedy. I'm making Beyond the Mountains free forever so everyone can enjoy it.

That's it for now. Happy adventuring! There's a lot to the game that people haven't found yet.

- Eric

Hello! We're running a small promo for the Steam Summer Sale. You can temporarily grab Beyond the Mountains for 20% off during this sale. It's already a cheap game, but hopefully this will incentivize you to give it a shot!

I'm still working on the sequel. More information will be released in the coming months!

-Eric

I hope you're having a nice week! Here is some information about Beyond the Mountains that you might be interested in.


Beyond the Mountains is currently stable! There will be no further work on Beyond the Mountains for the near future. The game is done, and all major bugs have been fixed. I will continue to work on bugs as they are reported, so please post on the Steam forums if you find any!


I am still looking for a steampipe developer to help me compile an installer to make the game natively Steam Deck compatible. This is a paid position. Please contact me if you are able to help me out!


Due to the tremendous feedback and amount of players, I am currently in the process of outlining the sequel to Beyond the Mountains. The game will use the same engine, but will have a different overworld, items, and main character. Without spoiling too much, here are two places you will explore in the upcoming sequel.

Both images are proof of concept and will be used to develop the game further.

The sequel is set to be released late 2024. It will be a hard sequel, which means that you will have to play Beyond the Mountains to understand the story of the sequel. More information regarding the sequel will be revealed in the coming months.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your adventure!

-Eric

I hope you're having a nice week! Beyond the Mountains has a somewhat large optional update today. You can check the notes below to see if this update appeals to you!

YOU MUST START A NEW GAME TO SEE THIS UPDATE. THE CHANGES ARE TOO SIGNIFICANT TO LOAD PROPERLY ON OLD SAVES.


After a lot of bug testing, I have created a mode where you can save anywhere. Without spoiling too much, you can unlock the ability to save anywhere when you obtain the item from the ice volcano.

You can unlock the ability to save anywhere by exploring this area.



A lot of sprites and interiors were created very, very quickly. Most sprites and house interiors have since been updated to better fit the colorful world of Evalon.

Example of an updated sprite and house interior.


I've updated some tiles in the ice volcano to make it prettier.

Example of the updated interior.


A lot of tiny bugs have been fixed. You almost certainly won't notice anything different or notable. These bugs were found only if very specific paths were took.


As more and more players are adventuring through the game, it's important to me that the game maintains its secrecy. However, I understand how frustrating it is when you are truly lost or stuck in-game. To circumvent any frustration, I am slowly uploading video walkthroughs on the Steam Guides section. I will continue to upload walkthroughs every so often until the entire game is posted.


And there you have it! Version 1.2! Once again, this update is completely optional. If you wish to see the changes, you'll have to start a new game.

This game is not my full time job, but it gives me great pleasure to see how many people are enjoying the game. As the game grows more and more stable, I am curious to know if anyone would be interested in physical CD copies of Beyond the Mountains. Let me know in the comments if that's something you're interested in!

Once again, PLEASE contact me on the forums if you're having any issues with the game or would like to provide feedback! You won't hurt my feelings! Enjoy the adventure, and leave a review if you can!

- Eric

Update 1.11 is now LIVE. This is a small (8.5mb) update that fixes a lot of small quirks in-game. Installing the update will create a smoother experience for any new play-through.

Here's a list of the quirks I've fixed (in order of importance):

1. De-buffed Angelo's powers due to insane clipping and game-breaking fun (but added a silly Easter egg for finding him).
   
2. Eliminated a minor soft-lock in the Dummy Ring room (and clarified the Dummy Ring powers).
   
3. By request, added another regen pool in the mountains that is unlocked after finding the first scroll.
   
4. Stairs are more predictable. While working on my game, I enjoyed the unpredictability of what was next to come while taking the stairs. I've since learned that I'm independent in that thought. As a result, I've patched many stairs to have more predictable pathways.
   
5. Initially, the element fork and magnet had a .5 second delay before the effect worked. This delay has been removed, leading to a smoother game experience.
   
6. The coral cave does not require the melodica anymore.
   
7. Some sequences have been polished.
   
8. Collision errors have been fixed (various overworld and shovel collision removals).
   
9. Enemies don't clip through trees anymore.
   
10. Eliminated some sword graphic bleedthrough when walking over holes.
    
11. Many dungeon switches have been modified to ensure consistency.

Special thanks to std::vector for the absolutely insane testing he/she did on the game. You can view some fun glitches std::vector found on the forum.


When I was growing up, I didn't have much spending money. Any game that I could afford would have to last me years. I created Beyond the Mountains with the intention of it never selling above $5.99, because I know what it's like to have little money to dedicate to gaming.

I see a lot of developers create games and abandon them because sales are low. That is not my intention at all. My goal is to create the best $5.99 game I can. I need your help to ensure that Beyond the Mountains is the best game it can be.

Help me out by posting any weird bugs or glitches you have received. You won't hurt my feelings! If you found these glitches, others may have found them, too! This game is only 2 weeks old, but I have created multiple patches to ensure that gameplay is smooth as players adventure their way through the extensive overworld. It would also help to tell me what your computer specs are, if you know them!

Thank you so much! If you're enjoying this game, feel free to write a review or tell a friend! I have a $0 advertising budget, so that would really help out!

-Eric

I have a confession. Although I spent 3 years working on Beyond the Mountains, I only expected 5-10 people to play it. I am shocked and delighted that hundreds have enjoyed the game. As stated before, I wrote all the code by myself. Therefore, it's super important that I receive feedback on any possible suggestions/features/bugs that you encounter in-game. Please use the forums for feedback!

YOU MUST START A NEW GAME TO SEE THIS UPDATE. THE CHANGES ARE TOO SIGNIFICANT TO LOAD PROPERLY ON OLD SAVES.


I have fixed 4 potential soft-locks ingame that would inhibit game progress. Special thanks to Sosich and std::vector for finding 2 of them! I really appreciate it! These bugs are rare but it's good to safe-proof these kinds of things.


Before, some graphics and textures were stretched out. There were also some nonmatching assets, which created a disjointed look. I have manually fixed most of them to be properly aligned. There are still a few of them that I'm working on. You can view an example of a matching asset below.

I've also added significant layout changes to many dungeons and caves, giving them a more natural and lived-in look. You can view some new changes below. These changes won't affect gameplay, but they make the game look less boxy.

This is the 1.0 map

This is the 1.1 map

This is the 1.0 map

This is the 1.1 map


The ugly (in my opinion) HUD has been drastically updated! It can take a beating with different screen sizes, which leads me to my next point.

Updated HUD

You can now resize the game to any way you see fit. I'm not sure how well this will work on Steam, but let's give it a shot! The HUD acts kind of funky when you significantly resize the game, but everything should work! Thank you Lugum for the suggestion!

You can now switch items at the press of a button (Y)! No more ugly pause screens! Thank you std::vector for the suggestion!

Including the ability to toggle the SFX volume is like removing eggs from an already cooked cake. It took me a very long time, but I was able to do it! You can use the pause menu (ESC or Start on a controller) to toggle the SFX volume. You can even mute the SFX to enjoy the music! Thank you Godzilla1 for the suggestion.

Speaking of which, I'm not going to include an option to toggle the music. I worked very hard on the music, and I'm proud of it! I won't be offended if you mute the game!

New 1.1 SFX options

Thank you std::vector for the suggestion!

Now, when you start a new game, you can select your game mode from the start. This helps clarify the different kinds of game modes that were hiding in the Options menu.

This sounds kind of boring, and it is. Basically, I made it so most textures have identical behaviors. For example, if you break a rock, it will always act like the same rock, despite its location. This took forever, but it was worth it for consistency. There's still a bit of consistency I have to fix, although all of it is unnoticeable (unless you really have an ear for these things).


And there you have it! Version 1.1! I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you start a new game to play this definitive version. The game itself is not too long, and I think you'll greatly appreciate these quality of life features.

This game is not my full time job, but it gives me great pleasure to see how many people are enjoying the game. I will continue to work on it until I think it's perfect, so I appreciate your patience!

Once again, PLEASE contact me on the forums if you're having any issues with the game or would like to provide feedback! You won't hurt my feelings! Enjoy the adventure!

- Eric