Greetings Aeterneans!

We will be holding an AMA at 2 PM EST on June 22, 2024 in our Discord to go over some exciting updates on the progress of Abyss Online and gather community feedback for our roadmap! Over the last three weeks, our team has made significant strides in several key areas:

Character and World Saving Systems: Completely rebuilt and now 100% complete, internal testing for bugs. 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

Server Infrastructure: We now have a sharding system, all servers will be combined into one world. 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

User Interface: Entire UI has been completely revamped, windows can now be opened individually and moved. There is now a fully functioning settings menu and hotkey reassignment. Currently at 90% completion. 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

Animation Systems: Rebuilt from the ground up for multiplayer optimization and now at 80% completion. 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

Auto Attacks: Ranged weapons, magic weapons, and melee weapons now have a more modern attack system for stamina based attcks. The entire system was completely reworked. 80% complete, 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

Character Creator: Nearing completion, currently at 80%. 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

Weapons and Armor Systems: Undergoing a complete rework, currently 50% done. 2-3 weeks until ready for EA.

Skills and Particle Effects: Major overhaul in progress, we have completely revamped the skill system to feel more “snappy” and we have heavily optimized every skill. Undergoing a complete rework, currently 50% done. 2-3 weeks until ready for EA.

World Map: Points of interest are being added in the beginner zone. We’re also working on a proper starter quest for this area. 1-2 weeks until some POIs are ready for EA.

Mobs: Mobs will properly attack and cast spells as intended. 1-2 weeks until ready for EA.

Resources: Resources have been completely overhauled to optimize the game world.

Progression Systems: We are revisiting our progression system based on player feedback. We require more community input on progression.

Points of Interest being populated include:
- Small Starter City
- PvP Arena
- Gryphon's Nest
- Troll Cave
- Improved Orc Pit
- Improved Dragon's Roost
- Bandit's Lair
- Graveyard
- At least two secret locations

Full access to these features will slowly roll out and become available on the main server for all early access over the next week or two. Additionally, open playtests will reopen in mid to late July.

The above is an extensive amount of work, we are converting the majority of our Unreal Engine code from blueprints into C++ to optimize the game.

Please check out our Mind Map [mind42.com] for more ideas behind this year’s roadmap. We will be finalizing the roadmap over the coming weeks.

Thank you all for your unwavering support on this journey!

The Abyss Online Team