Tip of the day
Equipping a gear set while at a bank will automatically withdraw all the items from the bank.
Devblogs
From Walkscape Walkthrough
DevBlogs are the primary way the game developers communicate the state of the game and engage with the community. DevBlogs give information about upcoming features and plans, responses to community feedback and other news about WalkScape and Not a Cult. Below are automatically generated summaries of each DevBlog to assist with searching. For the full context and text please see the Reddit post linked in the header or the post on the Portal.
By Year:
DevBlogs From 2026
DevBlogs for the current development of WalkScape.
Posted on June 11, 2026.
- Covered progress on Trading, an upcoming patch, and planned changes to WalkScape Portal.
- The Mailbox feature for Trading had entered internal testing.
- The team was preparing a patch with Gear Sets fixes and World Map camera control improvements.
- WalkScape Portal was planned to lose posting and commenting functions so support could be directed to more actively monitored channels.
Mailbox for Trading
- Myzozoz had completed work on the Mailbox feature.
- The Mailbox had entered internal testing, with some UI polish still remaining.
- Testing was expected to take one or two weeks.
- The Mailbox was considered likely to be ready for production within a few weeks.
- Completing the Mailbox marked the end of the second phase of Trading development.
- Myzozoz had already started work on the third and final phase of Trading implementation.
- No release estimate was given for the final Trading phase.
- A submitter comment noted that rollback and related safeguards were among the things being worked on and tested for Trading.
Upcoming patch
- A patch was being prepared to fix many issues reported with Gear Sets.
- The patch had taken longer than usual due to personal-life delays for the developer.
- Crushy added tweaks intended to improve World Map camera controls.
- The patch was planned to release as soon as possible.
Changes to Portal
- The team planned to remove the ability to post and comment on WalkScape Portal.
- Portal would instead direct players toward support channels the team could monitor more effectively.
- The support email was described as the best way to resolve account or support issues quickly.
- Discord and the WalkScape subreddit were listed as better places for feedback, bug reports, help, and community discussion.
- A submitter comment clarified that Reddit was monitored daily and could still be used for bug reports and feedback.
- The same comment noted that Discord remained better for bug reports because Reddit posts can become buried quickly, but Reddit reports were still added to the team's internal list.
Other notes
- The team had been interviewed by the Finnish public broadcaster YLE for an article expected to release soon.
- The article was expected to be in Finnish.
Posted on May 28, 2026.
- Announced update +657, planned to release the same day once App Store reviews were completed.
- The update mainly contained QoL improvements, bug fixes, new isometric art, and content adjustments.
- Highlighted the community-run Small Step Big Cape challenge.
- The team continued work on larger upcoming features mentioned in the previous devblog.
Added
- Removed the remaining AI-generated assets from the game, reducing application size by 31 MB.
- Added new isometric art for Halfling Campgrounds, Halfmaw Hideout, Bog Bottom, Bog Top, Old Arena Ruins, Red Coast, and Bilgemont Port.
- Added special styling for collectibles in action completion results.
- Added partial deposit support for selected inventory slots.
- Added a WalkPedia loading spinner and improved page loading speed.
- Added more World Map realms.
- Added new keywords and search keywords, including the "weight medium" keyword.
Changed
- Re-enabled World Map location search and made location icons visible from farther away.
- Double action no longer consumes consumables on the extra action.
- Gear set equipping no longer unequips empty slots, keeping currently equipped items instead.
- Gear set withdrawal now avoids withdrawing items already in inventory or already equipped.
- Import & Equip now closes the gear set page after use.
- Blackspell Port was renamed to Blackspell Harbour.
- Noiseless Pass was changed to be controlled by Trellin for the GDTE.
- "Light" and "Ultra Light" keyword stack sizes were increased.
- Added the "Snowy" location keyword to many Jarvonia and winter locations.
- Birch skis, Pine skis, Oak skis, and Bert's super skis were changed from Jarvonia-based effects to snowy-location effects.
- Camel and reindeer pet requirements were changed to use "desert" and "snowy" location keywords instead of realm-specific requirements.
Fixed
- A full bug fix changelog was included for update +657.
- Fixed several World Map issues, including camera overshooting, realm borders, realm icons, bottom sheet behaviour, and mobile navigation behaviour.
- Fixed bank deposits being possible from non-bank locations.
- Fixed gear set import, withdrawal, ordering, and equipped-item handling issues.
- Fixed several travel, requirement validation, pet summoning, and queued action issues.
- Fixed UI issues involving tag overflow, WalkPedia locale links, player icon centering, location text wrapping, and PFP option purchases.
- Fixed the mummy PFP outfit not hiding headwear.
Small Step Big Cape challenge
- Highlighted the community-run Small Step Big Cape Club challenge on the WalkScape Discord.
- The challenge focused on earning CoHA within 1.1 million steps or CoFA within 4.5 million steps.
- Players reaching the challenge goals could choose a pet to be named in their honour by the community organisers.
- J offered a one-month Cultist subscription for the first player to reach the 4.5 million step CoFA goal.
- The team added one-month Cult Supporter Patreon subscriptions as rewards for the second and third place runners-up.
Posted on May 14, 2026.
- Gave a longer update on the planned route toward Open Beta and the status of major features.
- Explained that the team had become more cautious about publicly announcing release dates too early.
- The refreshed World Map had released the previous week, with further polish planned.
- Showed new isometric art created by maxchill.
Current development
- Trading was described as being developed in three phases, with the first phase, OTA content updates, already completed.
- OTA support had also been expanded to send art assets and other media, though more client-side work was still needed.
- Myzozoz was working on Trading Phase 2, adding the Mailbox service.
- The Mailbox was planned to let players receive items from the server and later support player-to-player trading.
- The current trading plan used the Mailbox as bank-like storage for items players want to trade, allowing trades regardless of character location.
- The Bank rework was being developed to improve bank UI and performance.
- After the Bank rework, work was planned to move to the Quest system, beginning with one quest used as a new tutorial.
- Crushy was continuing post-release work on the World Map, followed by trials for more interactable location maps.
- A submitter comment clarified that interactable location maps were also planned as groundwork for Combat and Farming.
Changes to the Open Beta plan
- The team was considering moving Combat to after the Open Beta launch.
- Quests and Trading were still treated as necessary before Open Beta.
- Trading needed to be released during Closed Beta so the economy could be tested and balanced before the planned server reset.
- Combat was described as a large feature that would take significant development time and many art assets.
- The team was considering other non-walking "couch content" for Open Beta, such as Farming or another more realistic alternative.
- After Open Beta, the current development server was planned to become accessible to more people for testing Combat and other large features before production release.
- Submitter comments noted that guild and party systems were still planned, with some groundwork already done, and could make sense in some form before Open Beta.
- A submitter comment also clarified that most items were planned to be tradeable at first, with limited exceptions such as one-time achievement rewards, though restrictions could be added later based on feedback.
Closed Beta reset and rewards
- The team clarified that the Open Beta server reset was still planned.
- Submitter comments said the reset was needed both to rebalance the economy after Trading and to give everyone an equal fresh start for Open Beta.
- The team planned to copy the entire Closed Beta server before the reset.
- Closed Beta characters were planned to become playable in Offline mode after Offline mode is added.
- Player profiles were planned to show total steps gained across all Closed Beta characters.
- Supporters were planned to receive a title based on their Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee support tier.
- The team was considering publishing a copy of the Closed Beta leaderboard on the website.
- Closed Beta rewards were planned to be cosmetic or otherwise restricted from affecting the Open Beta online server.
- A fuller reward list was planned closer to Open Beta.
Quests
- The first quest was planned to act as a tutorial.
- Submitter comments clarified that later early quests were expected to include story, lore, side quests, and long-term goals for new players.
- Quests were also planned to replace some region unlocks, making new regions quest rewards rather than simple item purchases.
Third-party API
- The Walkscape Data API was opened to community developers.
- The API provides read-only static game data for third-party tools, including items, skills, recipes, locations, achievements, activities, shops, loot tables, pets, and rewards.
- The API was described as useful for planners, calculators, Discord bots, and other tools.
- The API does not expose player data and filters unreleased content.
- Developers were directed to the Walkscape Data API thread on the main WalkScape Discord server for access and instructions.
Posted on April 30, 2026.
- Announced that the reworked World Map update was planned for release on May 6, 2026.
- Showed new Witched Woods isometric location art by maxchill.
- The Not a Cult team had met in person in Helsinki, which reduced development time during the previous two weeks.
- Server issues mentioned in the previous devblog had been resolved.
World Map update
- The update was planned to release without maintenance.
- The update was planned to include the new World Map, light content additions, content fixes, and many bug fixes.
- Some planned World Map functionality was still missing, but the reworked map was expected to be much better than the old version.
- Hotfixes were expected after release if new issues appeared.
World Map features
- Friends can be shown on the map.
- Routes were cleaned up, with routes that do not meet requirements made clearer.
- Performance was expected to be improved.
- Undiscovered and rumoured locations were shown more clearly.
- Arenum regions can be viewed when zoomed out.
- Location search was added.
- Visibility toggles were added for different map elements.
Other notes
- A submitter comment noted that screen and menu switching lag should improve slightly with the update.
- The same comment clarified that further performance improvements would require optimisations across multiple updates rather than a single fix.
- Work had already started on the next major features planned after the World Map update.
Posted on April 16, 2026.
- Covered ongoing server connection issues and progress on the next update.
- Showed new isometric location art by maxchill.
- The next update had been delayed slightly due to server issues, development tool upgrades, and other work during the week.
- The team had started design work for the following content update.
Current server issues
- The team reported issues with their server provider, Hetzner.
- The problems were believed to be related to ongoing Hetzner load balancer maintenance.
- WalkScape's servers were stable, but connecting could sometimes take a long time.
- The affected servers were located in Hetzner's FSN1 region.
- Investigation was slowed because myzozoz, the team's main server developer, was on a short vacation.
Progress on next update
- Work continued on the next update, with the World Map rework as the main feature.
- The World Map rework was mostly finished, but the team wanted to include more bug fixes before release.
- Planned World Map improvements included better performance, cleaner routes, showing friends on the map, and more information for players.
- The update was also planned to include small content additions.
- More World Map information and features were expected to be expanded later.
Art updates
- The next update was planned to remove the remaining AI-generated art from the game.
- Maxchill had been replacing locations with new isometric pixel art.
- Some unfinished locations were planned to use temporary work-in-progress isometric art until proper replacements were complete.
- The remaining unfinished locations were mainly work-intensive city locations in GDTE.
- Proper replacements for the temporary art were expected within one or two months.
Community tools
- Herbert, the WalkScape Discord bot, was highlighted after being omitted from the previous devblog's third-party tools list.
- Herbert handles Discord verification moderation to help block spam bots.
- Herbert supports commands such as `/set_flair` for showing in-game stats on Discord and `/flex` for sharing a WalkScape character.
- Herbert also updates a Discord census channel showing how many players are in each location.
Posted on April 2, 2026.
- Covered post-release updates for Hunting and Tailoring.
- Showed new isometric location art created by maxchill.
- Highlighted several community-created third-party WalkScape tools and materials.
- Asked players to share feedback on the Hunting and Tailoring update.
Hunting & Tailoring post release
- A smaller hotfix and a larger patch had been released since the previous devblog.
- A full changelog for patch 6.3.2 was linked separately.
- The patch fixed many player-reported bugs and added QoL improvements for fine material and gear crafting, Gear Sets, and several UI areas.
- The patch included a small April Fools event.
- Performance was improved, especially for players experiencing ANR issues on Pixel devices.
- The Pixel ANR issue was not fully fixed, but the team believed they had identified its root cause for later updates.
- The patch also included new content and balance changes.
Third-party tools and materials
- The devblog highlighted several community tools, with a warning that they may contain spoilers.
- Mentioned tools included WalkScape DB, WalkScape Optimizer, WalkScape Gear Optimizer, Guide: WalkScape "Collector's" Edition, WalkStats, Arky's Activity Sheet (Bonez565 Version), WalkScape Map, and WalkScape Gear.
- WalkScape DB was described as including searchable game content, content relations, a gear set optimizer, planner, and WalkScape Map.
- WalkStats was described as an alternative leaderboard tool with XP gain tracking and rolling weekly leaderboards.
- A submitter comment clarified that players can use Settings -> Character Export to export data for third-party tools, allowing the tools to read owned items and skill levels.
Next update
- The team was finishing the next update, focused on major improvements to the World Map.
- No exact release timeline was given due to remaining development work and Easter-related national holidays.
- The team was also continuing content-side balance work for Hunting and Tailoring while adding some new content.
- Future content updates were expected to be smaller in scope than Hunting and Tailoring.
Posted on March 19, 2026.
- Announced that the Hunting and Tailoring update had released the previous day.
- The update added two new skills, QoL changes, mechanics, pets, and other content.
- Server maintenance for the update was completed in under three hours, shorter than the six-hour estimate.
- The new OTA update system deployed smoothly.
- A hotfix had already been released, with more hotfixes expected during the following days and weeks.
- A submitter comment noted that there was still update content that players had not yet found.
What's next
- The next update was planned for a few weeks later.
- It was planned to include the reworked World Map and one other secret feature.
- Future content updates were expected to be smaller and more focused after two large content releases.
WalkScape Wiki
- The wiki remained under embargo until the following Thursday to reduce spoilers for the major update.
- The embargo period was also intended to give time for updating the wiki generation code for the new features and two new skills.
- Arky's sheet was also planned to be updated.
- Players were invited to help with wiki translation through the Wiki Translation page.
- Issues with the wiki could be reported to Bonez on Discord or Reddit.
Hotfix changelog
- A hotfix changelog was included.
- Added new Job Board jobs for Kallaheim, Azurazera, Granfiddich, Blackspell Port, Everhaven, Halfling Campgrounds, and Vastalume.
- Added new Tip of the day entries and one new keyword.
- Changed Coral Cape keyword search and chest find skill type requirement to use Gathering instead of individual skills.
- Increased Crafting XP rewards for several Adamant and Violite tool recipes.
- Fixed issues with COHA and COFA unequipping, Finnish translation whitescreens, attribute listings, negative steps required display, recipe skill icons, decimal return items, item option requirement display, gear set sorting, and activity teleporting abilities.
Other notes
- A comment stated that the team had ideas for additional Utility skills.
Posted on March 5, 2026.
- Provided a release schedule for the Hunting and Tailoring update.
- Showed several QoL features planned for the same update.
- Previewed a World Map rework planned to release a few weeks after the content update.
Release schedule
- The Hunting and Tailoring update was planned for March 11, 2026.
- March 18, 2026 was given as a fallback date if more testing or polishing was needed.
- The update was also planned to include a new server for handling over-the-air updates.
- Longer-than-usual maintenance was expected due to the server work.
- More exact maintenance timing was planned for a later DevUpdate.
Quality of Life
- Added an All Attributes page showing all currently active attributes.
- The All Attributes page can be opened from the Gear page and the main activity view.
- Attribute listings were reworked for better readability, contrast, spacing, and nested expandable sections.
- Added a treasury slider to open a chosen number of chests.
- Added a WalkPedia Keywords page, allowing players to view items with keywords such as Light Source.
- Updated the main UI to improve vertical space, clarify buttons, reduce clutter, and move some descriptive text behind question mark buttons.
- Added performance improvements, especially targeting issues reported on Pixel devices.
- Crafting now remembers when fine materials are selected and applies them when choosing recipe inputs.
- Full changelogs were planned for the update release.
Accessibility and UI notes
- A submitter comment clarified that unmet requirements were changed from red to grey, while met requirements remained green.
- The team was considering small icons before requirements to further improve readability for colour blind players.
World Map rework
- Previewed a new World Map system being worked on by Crushy.
- The map was being reworked from scratch to improve performance and support more requested features.
- Planned features included showing friends on the map, smoother performance, cleaner route markers, faction borders when zoomed out, better handling of unexplored or rumoured locations, and support for quest markers.
- Further planned improvements included location search, filtering, and more location information when zoomed in.
- A submitter comment clarified that map movement controls had been fixed for the World Map rework, with similar controls still needing to be re-implemented for local maps.
- The World Map rework was expected to release a few weeks after the Hunting and Tailoring update alongside other new features.
Other notes
- A comment noted that a bank rework was planned for the future.
- The current bank search already supported searching by slot, keyword, and skill.
Posted on February 19, 2026.
- Announced that the next major update would add two new skills: Hunting and Tailoring.
- The skills had been previously teased, but were delayed while design work, mechanics, and content debt were addressed.
- The update was estimated for early March, with a short DevUpdate planned later for the changelog and exact release time.
- Two larger QoL or feature additions were also being worked on for release a few weeks after the Hunting and Tailoring update.
Hunting
- Hunting was introduced as a new Gathering skill used mainly to obtain materials for Tailoring, with additional uses in Cooking.
- Hunting uses Hunting bows as its main tool and generally requires arrows.
- Arrows are crafted with Carpentry using bars, logs, and feathers.
- Higher-level Hunting activities may require better arrows, while better arrows can also improve Work Efficiency.
- Fine arrows were described as providing a significant buff when used for Hunting activities.
Tailoring
- Tailoring was introduced as a new Artisan skill used mainly to craft skilling gear.
- Tailoring recipes use materials from Hunting and often Foraging.
- Tailored gear sets usually cover the Hand, Chest, and Legs slots.
- Tailored gear was designed to reduce reliance on chest RNG by giving players a craftable source of useful skilling gear.
- Tailored gear provides broader bonuses to groups of skills, such as Gathering or Artisan skills, reducing the need to switch gear as often.
- Around 40 Tailoring recipes were planned for the update.
- A new Loom service was introduced for Tailoring.
- A submitter comment clarified that rare drops may still be better in some specific activities, but tailored gear should be broadly useful, especially outside end-game setups.
Designs and mechanics
- Hunting and Tailoring were designed after significant iteration, including new arrow tiers, two new skill chests, and consumables for the new skills.
- Hunting depended on previous activity system changes, including Travel +1 and the ability for activities to use item inputs.
- The update expanded item input mechanics by allowing activities to accept items matching certain keywords.
- Initial Hunting and Tailoring content was planned to cap around level 50+, rather than immediately reaching the newer content ceiling of level 70.
- More recipes, items, and activities for the two skills were planned for later updates.
- Arrows and bows being crafted through Carpentry were intended to make Carpentry more useful.
- Hunting was designed to feel different from other Gathering skills by consuming arrows during activities, creating a material sink.
Other additions, fixes and QoL
- The update was planned to include performance and memory-use improvements.
- A new WalkPedia page for Keywords was planned, allowing players to view items matching keyword categories such as Light Sources.
- Chest locking was shown as a QoL addition to prevent players from opening selected chests by accident.
- Full changelogs were planned for the update release.
- A submitter comment noted that the team was still focused on trading-related online functionality, with more online features expected after trading.
- A submitter comment also teased a small feature planned a few weeks after the update to make playing with friends more fun.
Release timeline
- Hunting and Tailoring were estimated to release in early March 2026.
- The update still required some missing content, balance work, and completion of changes to the OTA update delivery system.
- The OTA system was being moved to a dedicated download server to reduce server strain when updates go live.
Posted on February 5, 2026.
- Announced that the hiring process had been completed and the team had returned to regular development work, alongside onboarding.
- Introduced Crushy as WalkScape's new developer, increasing the in-office development team from two to three people.
- Showed new Vastalume art created by maxchill.
- Reported progress on the next major update, with Weasel and maxchill working on new content.
- More information about the next update was expected in the following devblog on February 19, 2026.
Bad luck mitigation
- The team addressed community discussion about adding more bad luck mitigation to WalkScape.
- No direct changes to RNG were planned at the time.
- Trading was planned to release first, as it was expected to provide another way to obtain many RNG-dependent items.
- The topic was planned to be revisited after trading had been released and its effects could be evaluated.
- Existing chest-related bad luck mitigation was noted, and similar systems could still be considered for specific hard-to-get rewards.
- A single-player version without trading was expected to likely include an option to enable bad luck mitigation.
- Submitter comments clarified that rare grind items were intended to remain optional and mostly obtainable through trading, except for collectibles.
- Submitter comments also noted that Pet Egg drops had often been placed on long grinds to make those activities feel less punishing, with Glacier Foraging given as an exception.
- A submitter comment noted that planned combat would add active gameplay elements during long grinds.
Posted on January 22, 2026.
- Short update on the hiring process for the new game developer position, which had been ongoing since December.
- New isometric art pieces by maxchill were shown as replacements for older AI-generated Syrenthia art.
- maxchill and Weasel were reported to be making progress on game content, with more details expected in a later devblog.
Hiring process
- The team had received 316 applications for the game developer position.
- Interviews were underway, and the hiring process was expected to be completed within the next two weeks.
- After signing a contract, the new developer would still need onboarding and legal setup before joining regular development work.
- The team expected to return to regular development speed before the end of the month.
- The new developer was expected to introduce themself in a future devblog.
- A submitter comment clarified that very few applications came from existing players, as the role required joining on-site and most applicants were already in Finland or willing to relocate.
Posted on January 8, 2026.
- Reviewed WalkScape's second year, noting that Closed Beta began on January 18, 2024.
- Summarised the major 2025 updates, including the Engine Rework, Gear Sets, Devtools 2.0, Trinketry, smart watch support, Bogged Down, Travel +1, faction chest changes, OTA updates, and Going South.
- Stated that 2025 nearly reached one major update per month, alongside minor updates and hotfixes.
- Noted background work such as new servers, server infrastructure improvements, better monitoring, improved anti-cheat, a larger office, and replacement of most AI-generated art with handcrafted isometric art by maxchill.
- Confirmed that hiring for a third developer had started after supporter revenue reached the target needed for another full-time developer.
- Announced that January 2026 likely would not have a major update because of the hiring process.
- Stated that 2026 development would focus on remaining major Open Beta features while continuing frequent content updates.
- Confirmed that prerequisites for trading were being worked on, with the OTA system described as one required step.
- Mentioned that other larger features were also in progress but would be shared closer to completion.
- In a comment, clarified that during Closed Beta, TestFlight and the current setup are the only available iOS access option because of terms-of-service limitations.
DevBlogs From 2025
In 2025, DevBlogs #52–75 covered a major transition period for WalkScape, beginning with the engine rework, post-rework bug fixing, and the move to DevTools 2.0, which helped separate content development from core programming work. The year introduced Trinketry, Wave 4, iOS and Android smart watch support, Travel + 1, Rumours, over-the-air updates, the Ability rework, and many QoL improvements around gear sets, inventory, activities, WalkPedia, and performance. Several updates also expanded content through new items, locations, recipes, faction rewards, job board additions, isometric location art, and preparations for a larger late-year content update featuring Mysterious Merchant and the new Currencies tab. Across the DevBlogs, the team also highlighted the removal of remaining AI-generated art, server and API improvements, supporter pricing changes, team changes, hiring plans, and continued work toward the major systems still needed before Open Beta, especially Trading, Combat, and Quests.
Posted on December 11, 2025.
- The upcoming content update was announced for release the following week.
- The exact release day was not confirmed because testing and polishing were still ongoing.
- The team planned to announce the exact release time in-game roughly one day before launch.
- The update was described as being in the final stretch of polishing and testing.
- A DevUpdate was planned after release to publish full changelogs and explain the update in more detail.
- A developer comment stated that a few more QoL additions were planned.
Content update
- The update was planned to include at least 87 new items, 8 new locations, 39 new recipes, 7 new services, 18 new activities, 6 new buildings, 7 new NPCs, 10 new achievements, 7 new PFP options, and 3 new shops.
- The listed content totals were not final and could still change before release.
Mysterious Merchant
- Mysterious Merchant was announced as a new feature launching with the content update.
- Mysterious Merchant would appear in Arenum.
- The first Mysterious Merchant service allows players to trade chest loot items from the bank or inventory for chest chips.
- Each supported chest has its own chip.
- Chest chips can be spent to buy specific items from the same chest, providing bad luck mitigation for chest drops.
- The service applies only to skilling, faction, and guild chests.
- Chests such as Sunken and Rusty were excluded.
- A developer comment clarified that only gear is included, not materials.
- A developer comment explained that Mysterious Merchant is intended both as bad luck mitigation and as a sink for low-rarity chest items.
- A developer comment stated that chip prices are based on loot chance with an additional rate, so equivalent-rarity trades are not 1:1.
- A developer comment noted that the system could affect future P2P market prices and may be adjusted based on feedback.
Currencies
- A new Currencies tab was added to the inventory.
- Coins were moved from the main inventory bag page to the Currencies tab.
- Adventurers' Guild tokens, chest chips, and future currency-tagged items are shown in the Currencies tab.
- Tools were combined with the gear page to make room for the new Currencies tab.
- Currencies are no longer bankable, no longer take inventory space, and stack infinitely.
- The inventory tab layout was changed, with the main inventory tab placed in the middle to make swiping between gear and currencies easier.
Holiday break
- The team planned a holiday break after the update and its initial hotfixes.
- The break was expected to run from December 23, 2025 to January 1, 2026.
- Support emails and Discord messages were expected to receive slower replies during the break, with normal replies resuming from January 2, 2026.
- No DevBlog was planned for December 25, 2025.
- The next DevBlog was planned for January 8, 2026.
Posted on November 27, 2025.
- A QoL update was released with performance improvements, bug fixes, polish, OTA updates, Ability rework, and skill categorisation.
- Maintenance was scheduled for November 27, 2025 at 13:00 UTC+0, with steps gained during maintenance expected to load normally afterward.
- New items and a new building for the upcoming content update were previewed.
- The upcoming content update was stated not to include new skills because of its already large scope.
- The team aimed to release the upcoming content update before the holidays.
- The post included a full changelog for the QoL update.
Added
- OTA support was added for game data and localisations.
- Skills were categorised into Gathering, Artisan, and Utility in the Character view and WalkPedia.
- Ability charges were added, allowing some abilities such as Axe of Destruction and Shoes of Escape to hold up to three charges.
- Ability UI was reworked to be clearer and more compact.
- Activity abilities are now visible in activity details and the Ability page, and can be started from the Ability page.
- Activity action limits, Gear Set reordering, inventory sorting, deposit all, Gear Set renaming, and Work Efficiency breakdowns were added.
- Gear Set management and selection were combined into one page.
- Gear Sets can now be withdrawn from the bank without equipping them.
- Item abilities can now be used directly from the inventory.
- A world map overlay toggle, Tips of the Day browsing, activity sprites in Activity View, tooltips, and an OTA restart button were added.
- Game version was added to character data exports for third-party developers.
- New community translations were added.
- Flutter was updated to 3.38.3.
- Health Connect client was updated to version 1.1.0.
Changed
- In-game fonts were changed to better support Slavic languages and other scripts.
- AI-generated art assets were removed where isometric art had replaced them, reducing application size.
- Crafting Outcome was renamed to Quality Outcome.
- Basic tools were separated from Copper tools by making Copper tools require level 2.
- "Level up XYZ times" objectives were changed to "Have a total level of XYZ".
- WalkPedia max Work Efficiency display was updated to match the new activity view style.
Fixed
- Bank, Gear Sets, Traveling, and general app performance received optimisations.
- Locations unlocked through rumours now display correctly in WalkPedia before being visited.
- In-game bubble notifications were fixed and improved.
- Development-only content is now removed from production builds, allowing WalkPedia totals to be completed.
- WalkPedia now remembers opened categories and orders lists alphabetically.
- Slider minus buttons now wrap from minimum to maximum.
- Turkish capitalisation, Gear Set page updates, deleting characters, PFP updates, character creation eye accessory toggles, and PFP shop search were fixed.
- Faction reputation counters now round down.
- PFP rendering layer order was fixed for image exports and server-side PFPs.
- A smart watch activity recording crash on iOS and Android was fixed.
- Several UI overflow, spacing, font size, and other small bugs were fixed.
Going forward
- The team expected to release hotfixes for issues found after the update.
- OTA and the Ability rework were noted as likely to need further testing at scale.
- Larger behind-the-scenes work was still ongoing for future updates.
Posted on November 13, 2025.
- New building art by maxchill was previewed.
- The team was still working on larger features and the upcoming content update.
- A smaller update was being prepared for release before the end of November, focused on QoL additions, the OTA system, and bug fixes.
- The OTA system was still being tested before release.
- A developer comment clarified that the OTA system was built in-house.
- More information on the larger content update and gameplay features was planned for later DevBlogs.
Over-The-Air system
- The game gained the ability to download assets over the air.
- OTA updates were planned to allow content updates, new localisations, and later art updates without requiring a full app update.
- Internal admin tools were created so Weasel and maxchill could prepare content updates without direct involvement from schamppu or myzozoz.
- The system also allows the server to run game logic using the same assets as players.
- Server-side game logic support was described as especially important for Trading.
- OTA support would also allow typo fixes and localisation extensions to be published more frequently.
QoL changes
- Gear sets gained drag-and-drop reordering.
- Gear sets can now be renamed from the listing view and more easily from the full edit view.
- Used saved steps are now shown in the While You Were Away screen.
- The WalkPedia quick button now opens the output item page while crafting.
- Locations unlocked through rumours are now displayed correctly in WalkPedia.
- Content available only in development builds is now removed from production builds, helping WalkPedia completion tracking.
- In-game fonts were changed to support more languages, including Cyrillic.
- Tab bars for inventory, crafting, leaderboards, achievements, and profile pages were reworked to look cleaner and perform better.
Fixed
- Health Connect Client was updated to version 1.1.0, fixing Garmin-related issues caused by 0 step entries.
- Gear Sets, Traveling, and active gameplay notification bubbles received optimisations.
- General game performance was improved.
- Several small issues, including overflowing text, were fixed.
Known issues
- Garmin Connect and possibly other apps could create 0 step entries in Health Connect, disrupting WalkScape step tracking.
- Some apps may stop reporting step records correctly if they do not include Health Connect's newer required metadata and device information.
- Using Phone as the step source was recommended until the new version was released.
Going forward
- The short-term goal was to finish testing and polish the smaller QoL, OTA, and bug-fix update.
- Larger content and gameplay feature work was still ongoing.
Posted on October 30, 2025.
- The post previewed a future content update, including new location teasers.
- The team moved into a larger office in the same building, partly to prepare for hiring another developer.
- The team was running Meta ads to help increase Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee income ahead of the planned hire.
- A developer comment described the upcoming content update as massive.
- A developer comment stated that the team intended to add a few more QoL changes before the update went live.
QoL changes
- Inventory sorting and a deposit all button were added.
- Inventory sorting prioritises crafted and looted items by rarity, then consumables, then materials, with alphabetical sorting within matching groups.
- Activities gained an option to complete a chosen number of actions, including when queued after traveling.
- The activity options system was expanded, with "complete until X level" mentioned as a likely future option.
- Work Efficiency and Work Efficiency cap information were added to the activity view, including a breakdown of sources.
- Gear set management was unified into one page, allowing players to edit, equip, and withdraw gear sets from the same menu.
- A setting was added to disable Agility XP while traveling, mainly for challenge characters.
- Gear sets can be withdrawn from the bank without equipping them.
- WalkPedia now remembers opened categories and is ordered alphabetically.
- Item abilities can now be used from the inventory view.
- Crafting Outcome was renamed to Quality Outcome.
- Pressing the minus button at minimum value in shops, crafting, and similar views now sets the value to maximum.
- A world map button was added to hide overlays and show the map art.
- Game version was added to character data exports for third-party tool developers.
- Basic tools were separated from copper tools by making copper tools require level 2.
Going forward
- The content team was working on a large content update, with DevTools allowing content work without blocking feature development.
- Myzozoz was working on one of the three major features still needed before Open Beta.
- The major feature was expected to require several smaller systems, which could be released separately as they became ready.
- Schamppu was working on gameplay features needed for new skills, new content types, and more varied future content.
- The next update was expected to take more time because the whole team was working on larger updates.
- The team was looking to hire a full-time on-site developer in Helsinki.
Posted on October 16, 2025.
- Azurazera isometric location art was finished.
- The team was still working on several large features, so the post focused on upcoming content teasers and survey results instead of detailed feature reveals.
- The upcoming content update was teased as an expansion of the game world.
- Teasers showed greener locations, more autumn-like locations, and map changes.
- The team said it may take a few more weeks before larger upcoming features are ready to show in DevBlogs.
Survey results
- 89.6% of surveyed players reported an increase in daily steps.
- 34.8% of surveyed players used at least some smartwatch functionality.
- Most players felt the game's complexity was about right, with few respondents saying it was too simple or too complex.
- Players especially liked achievements that involve multiple skills or mechanics, including Cooking Shark-like achievements, 30k daily step achievements, and achievements with humorous references.
- Opinions on high-step activities, such as Rescue Team, were mixed.
- Activities with rare drops, unique gear, and collectibles were popular.
- Ring of Homesickness was frequently mentioned as a liked utility item.
- The team was considering adding another useful teleport item before Magic, which was described as the planned teleport-focused skill but still far from implementation.
- Omni Tool, Screwdriver, Treasure Grabber, and items that grow stronger over time were also widely liked.
- Jarvonia was the most liked region, followed by Syrenthia.
- Trellin and Erdwise were average in popularity, while the Swamp was the least liked released region.
- Commonly requested QoL improvements included bank sorting, inventory sorting, and more gear set work.
- A larger UI overhaul was planned closer to the end of Closed Beta, but bank, gear, and inventory management QoL improvements were likely to happen before then.
- RNG was also mentioned as a common frustration.
- The team said the survey would help guide the larger content expansion in development.
Posted on October 2, 2025.
- Winter's End location art by maxchill was previewed.
- The post reviewed Android wearable support after its release.
- Samsung wearables, Google Pixel watches, and Garmin watches had been tested successfully.
- Some Android wearable manufacturers did not report Health Connect data in the expected format, causing compatibility issues.
- Health Sync was highlighted as a community-tested workaround for some unsupported or poorly supported watches.
- Health Sync developers updated their app to support WalkScape, with Coros support reportedly improving.
- The team stated that it is not affiliated with Health Sync.
- Android wearable support increased the minimum Android version requirement from Android 9 to Android 10 because the Samsung Health Data SDK requires Android 10.
- Around 50 Android 9 players were affected; affected Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee supporters could contact support@walkscape.app for refund requests.
- A content design and feedback survey was opened to help guide future content work.
- A developer comment clarified that Health Sync is not free, though it has a trial.
- Developer comments stated that Coros, Polar, and some other watches may report steps as one daily chunk, which is not compatible with WalkScape's step tracking unless corrected by an intermediary app such as Health Sync.
- Developer comments explained that Samsung Health may change its reported step count after syncing and processing watch data, so opening and syncing Samsung Health before opening WalkScape can reduce step count discrepancies.
Going forward
- The team was working on a large new feature made of several smaller parts.
- The first part of the new feature was hoped to be ready within the next few weeks.
- The content team was also working on a larger content update expected to take at least a month.
- The next update was expected more likely in the following month rather than during October.
- One or two future DevBlogs were expected to have limited new information while larger features were still in development.
Posted on September 18, 2025.
- Android Wearable support was completed and planned for release in the next update.
- The update was expected early the following week, likely September 22, 2025, depending on review and internal testing.
- Port Skildar isometric location art by maxchill was previewed.
- Android wearable support uses Health Connect for most supported apps and native Samsung Health support for Samsung wearables.
- Tested supported options included Samsung Health and Samsung wearables, Garmin Connect and Garmin wearables, and the Fitbit app with Google Pixel watches.
- Google Fit was described as unreliable and possibly subject to blacklisting.
- Mi Fitness and Xiaomi wearables were not supported because Mi Fitness did not report steps to Health Connect.
- A developer comment clarified that Xiaomi phones do not prevent supported wearables from working; the issue only applied to Xiaomi's own wearables using Mi Fitness.
- A developer comment stated that Zepp Life might work if it sends step data to Health Connect, but it had not been tested.
- A developer comment explained that direct Samsung Health support was needed because Samsung's Health Connect data did not provide suitable granular step data for WalkScape's hourly step tracking.
- Maxchill described the recent faction chest, faction reward, job, and skill chest work as content debt clean-up.
- The post included a full changelog for the update.
Added
- Android Wearable support through Health Connect was added.
- Native Samsung Health support was added for Samsung wearables.
- Android package handling was added to read package names and icons properly.
- A note was added that 24-hour highest steps may update with a delay.
- Community localisations were added.
- Character image palette swaps now use caching to improve performance.
- The While Away screen was changed into its own page for better performance.
- Support email information was added to temporary ban notifications.
- 14 new items were added to skill chest loot tables.
- Two new attribute loot tables were added.
- Regional keywords and region search keywords were added to applicable items.
- One new Kallaheim job and four new Everhaven jobs were added.
- Two new routes were added.
Changed
- The While you were away animation curve was adjusted.
- Wood carving and Ice sculpting activity icons were updated.
- Ice sculpting became a Carpentry activity with Carpentry tool use, a level 15 requirement, and increased experience.
- Skill chest loot tables were reworked, moving or removing several tools, trinkets, materials, and gear pieces.
- Northern spices were added to sunken chests.
- Several shop inventories were updated, including Kallaheim's Frosty Finds, Northstar Mercantile, and Granfiddich Tool Market Stall.
- Many item attributes and requirements were rebalanced.
- Chisels no longer count as carpentry tools.
- Rope was renamed to Twine, and Kelp rope was renamed to Kelp twine.
- Several job board tasks in Blackspell Port, Granfiddich, and Everhaven were changed or removed.
Fixed
- Item names showing in reward listings were fixed.
- Double notifications when activities start after traveling were fixed.
- Step charts were adjusted to better align hourly.
- More failsafes were added to step loading.
- Failed server time fetching now causes a fatal error instead of continuing loading incorrectly.
- While Away was refactored to reduce expensive UI rebuilds and improve performance.
Posted on September 4, 2025.
- Android wearable support entered testing, with early results described as promising.
- Remaining Android wearable work included UI polish and improving Samsung wearable support.
- The team aimed to release Android wearable support as soon as possible after additional polishing.
- New isometric location art by maxchill was previewed.
- A couple of recent updates had been released in the previous two weeks, adding new content and minor features.
- Larger upcoming work was described as requiring multiple new systems and likely taking at least a few months before release.
- In-game announcements were described as the first step toward this larger work.
- Over-the-air content updates were described as the second phase, with myzozoz working on them.
- Further game feature development was planned to support more varied content designs.
- A developer comment clarified that Android wearable support uses Health Connect.
- Developer comments stated that Pixel Watch, Garmin, and Samsung Watches were in testing.
- A developer comment stated that Samsung watches would be supported from the start, but Samsung syncing behaviour still needed improvement.
- A developer comment stated that Android wearable support should initially work with a wide variety of devices, with poorly working devices potentially blacklisted based on player feedback.
- A developer comment noted that WalkScape would appear in Health Connect once the update enabling support was released.
- The team wanted feedback from players about how different wearable devices work with WalkScape.
Posted on August 21, 2025.
- New location art for Barbantok by maxchill was previewed.
- A sizeable content update was announced, mainly focused on making faction chests more interesting.
- The update also included many balance changes, new job board content, new items, and other minor additions.
- A developer comment confirmed that the update went live earlier than expected after the remaining issues were fixed.
- Android Wearable support had already been developed and was planned for internal testing after the update.
- In-game announcements were mostly complete, allowing DevBlogs and other announcements to be shown inside the game.
- Additional small content features and QoL improvements were also in development.
Added
- Ukrainian language support and new community localisations were added.
- Repeating faction reward mechanics and unclaimed reward text were added.
- New jobs were added to several job boards, including Kallaheim, Azurazera, Vastalume, Granfiddich, Blackspell, Everhaven, and Halfling Campgrounds.
- A new Azurazera basic kitchen service was added with +10% Cooking BXP.
- 57 new items, 1 new recipe, new loot tables, new shop items, and a new 150 AP reward were added.
- Erdwise and Halfling Rebels chest tables were added.
- Repeating faction chest rewards were added.
- Barbantok location map art was added.
Changed
- Memospheres were made droppable.
- Simple ruler was renamed to Flimsy ruler.
- Several item level requirements were reduced, including Tarsilium-toed boots, Candlehat, Hat with a feather, Lava cooking pan, and Der Witt's monocle.
- Several job board rewards and locations were adjusted.
- Trinketry recipe XP was increased, with larger increases for amulets and Amulet of the Animal Kingdom.
- GDTE chests and GDTE map were changed into Trellin chests and Trellin map.
- Several faction-related items gained reputation requirements or had their effects adjusted.
- Faction chest rewards for existing factions were replaced or refreshed, excluding Herbert's and Jarvonia.
- Jarvonia, Syrenthia, and Trellin chest tables were reworked with new items and rarity tiers.
- Jobs giving GDTE Chests were changed to give faction-specific chests for Trellin, Erdwise, and Halfling Rebel areas.
Fixed
- Stop when overencumbered not switching for crafting was fixed.
- Tool data in character exports was fixed to use numbered tool slots.
- Level 99 memosphere display issues were fixed.
- Crafting filters now refresh listings immediately.
- Gear set selection UI was changed to a bottom modal sheet to reduce lag.
- Gear set view and gear set editing issues were fixed.
- Some UI overflows were fixed.
- Wanderlust Walkstick search text was corrected.
- Hydrilium hatchet, pickaxe, sickle, splitter, and magnet now have level 45 requirements for their related skills.
- Unneeded coral chest drop subtables were removed.
- Trinketry XP for Sunstone and Ethernite gold rings was increased further.
Going forward
- Android Wearable support was planned for internal testing after the update.
- In-game announcements were planned for release after finishing touches.
- The team expected to share more about Android Wearables in the next DevBlog.
Posted on August 7, 2025.
- The team returned from summer vacation and released update +506 "Post vacation hotfix".
- The update focused on fixing urgent issues found during the vacation period.
- A developer comment confirmed that the update was released on both Android and iOS.
- The chest roll chance issue was fixed.
- The post included light vacation notes from team members.
- After the hotfix, the team planned to return to larger features and content updates.
- One larger update was already in development during the vacation period.
Added
- New community localisations were added.
- Coin balance was added to character data exports.
Changed
- Character data exports now list gear as `slot: item_id` instead of `item_id: slot`.
- Community tools using character imports would need to update for the new export format.
- Activity information was made more compact and improved for very small screens.
- Settings were updated to use more consistent button styling.
Fixed
- In-game login issues were fixed.
- Buy Me a Coffee supporter syncing issues were fixed.
- Chest table weights were fixed for the main table.
- Welcome back and While Away reward displays were fixed in several cases.
- Step loading received several robustness fixes.
- Consumables now switch properly when using Travel + 1.
- Player data export now shows more than one ring when two of the same ring are equipped.
- Locations unlocked through rumours no longer count for achievements.
- Bottom navigation visibility was fixed on very small screens.
- Crafting activity screen, crafting recipe skill name display, and related UI issues were fixed.
- While Away item rarity outlines, attribute reward outlines, and overflowing text were fixed.
Posted on July 10, 2025.
- Travel + 1 was released earlier in the week, followed by a hotfix for issues found after the update.
- Another small update was announced for release the following day, adding new content, fixes, and the first in-game isometric location maps by maxchill.
- The customer support email changed to support@walkscape.app.
- New admin tools were developed so Weasel and maxchill could handle common support cases during the team's vacation.
- The team confirmed its summer vacation from July 12 to August 3, 2025, with limited customer support and no regular DevBlogs during that period.
- A new community gear tool by fala was announced at gear.walkscape.app, designed for creating, optimising, and exporting gear sets.
- Arth joined Not a Cult as a summer intern for two months, focusing on art and digital art development.
- Pixel art created by Arth with maxchill's guidance was shown.
- A developer comment stated that better inventory organisation and bank tabs were planned, but without a set priority or timing.
Added
- Isometric location maps were added for locations that have them, replacing AI-generated art where available.
- Old parallax art would remain visible in locations without new isometric art.
- Factions, reputation, and reputation reward tracks were added to the Character page.
- Rumors were updated to unlock visibility for locations the player has heard about but not yet visited.
- Four new guide tips were added.
- Two new items were added.
- One new loot table was added.
- Two new normal difficulty achievements were added.
- Three new Profile Picture Options were added.
Changed
- One loot table was added to an existing activity.
- The golden skydisc price was adjusted.
- One new item was added to the Jarvojoy shop.
- The "We need to go deeper" achievement was changed to normal difficulty.
- One new rumor was created from an existing rumor, and the original rumor was reworked.
Fixed
- Overflowing attribute text was fixed.
- Consumable consumed notification bubbles no longer always show fine text.
- Scrolling in gear set selection for the queue was fixed.
- Consumables now switch properly when changing activities.
- Foreground notification bubbles now combine double reward items with proc rewards.
- Mismatches between "Welcome back" activity rewards and inventory were fixed.
- Fine rewards now appear in their own separate message again.
- "While you were away" item rewards now show total quantities more clearly, including Double Rewards.
- Actions completed text was clarified.
- The new activity selection UI now checks visibility requirements.
- Crafting qualities are now tracked for WalkPedia.
- Consumable view now shows the action calculation.
- The Kake's Walking Stick value was reduced.
Going forward
- The update was intended to fix most pressing issues before the team's vacation.
- The team expected limited development-blog output and customer support during the July 12 to August 3 vacation period.
Posted on June 26, 2025.
- New location art for Nomad Woods by maxchill was previewed.
- Two new features were showcased: Travel + 1 and Rumours.
- Travel + 1 required a rework of the activity system, so current activities would be cancelled when the update went live and their committed steps would not be returned as saved steps.
- A developer comment clarified that only steps already committed to an activity would be lost; other steps would still become saved steps.
- A developer comment stated that the team would give at least 24 hours' notice before the update.
- A developer comment stated that Travel + 1 and Rumours were planned for release as early as possible before the team's summer vacation, with time left for hotfixes.
- A developer comment stated that Seth's Swamp Compass would be fixed.
- Step graph issues were identified as a visual issue, with steps still counting correctly in-game.
- Myzozoz was working on server-side improvements.
- A smaller content update, UI improvements, performance improvements, and bug fixes were also in development.
- The team's summer vacation was scheduled from July 12 to August 3, 2025, with no regular customer service during that period except emergencies.
- The July 24 DevBlog was expected to be skipped or replaced with a lighter post, and the August 7 DevBlog could also have limited content.
- Supporter income had increased after pricing changes and always-on supporter access, with the possibility of hiring another developer if the trend continued.
Travel + 1
- Players would be able to queue travel, including multiple travel steps.
- Players would be able to queue an activity after travel.
- Gear set switching could be queued before travel or before a queued activity starts.
- The first version allowed up to three queued actions, such as travel, travel, then start activity.
- Activities could also be selected from the world map, automatically queuing travel and starting the chosen activity.
- The queue UI would warn players when a queued action would not work.
- Future plans included queueing crafting recipes, queueing gear set withdrawals, and depositing unlocked items when a travel route passes through a bank.
Rumours
- Rumours were added as a smaller feature to improve the early-game experience and help players discover hidden content.
- NPCs with rumours would show a Rumours button.
- Rumours could unlock WalkPedia entries.
- WalkPedia entries unlocked only through rumours would be highlighted differently until the player interacted with them.
- WalkPedia pages would permanently show related rumours to provide extra context.
- Rumours were described as a bridge toward the future quest system, which would provide stronger player guidance.
Server and API changes
- A new server was added for Portal, authentication, and third-party bots and applications.
- The change reduced load on the game server by letting it focus only on the game.
- Game server communication between client and server was expanded so all messages are encrypted.
- New endpoints for third-party developers were developed, including a census API.
Going forward
- The short-term goal was to release as much as possible before the summer vacation.
- After the vacation, the team planned to return to larger new features.
Posted on June 12, 2025.
- Update 0.3.0-beta+482 "Adventurers' Guild improvements" was released with new content and fixes.
- New location art by maxchill was previewed.
- Adventurers' Guild shop item prices and rarities were adjusted, especially for Bert's Super-Skis, Seth's Swamp Compass, and Cape of the Trailblazer.
- Adventurers' Guild Chests were updated to reduce frustrating coal or scrap-only rewards while keeping rare and epic gear chances unchanged.
- Skill chests were updated to make memospheres more common and to add trinkets used in Trinketry amulet crafting.
- The first item submitted by a Cult Supporter was added to the game.
- Wave 4 ended on June 8, 2025.
- Supporters now always receive immediate Closed Beta access.
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporter pricing changes took effect after Wave 4.
- Annual support was enabled on Patreon.
Added
- Cult Leader item credit rendering was added.
- A new setting was added to show step counting source selection in the main activity view.
- New community translations were added.
- One new item, one activity loot table item, and several new Profile Picture Options were added.
- One new Profile Picture Option was added to the NaC Shop.
- Nearly all skill chests received one added item.
- Adventurers' Guild Chests received 11 added items in their main loot table.
Changed
- Memosphere chances and quantities were increased in each skill chest.
- Scrap chances were reduced in Adventurers' Guild Chests.
- Bert's Super-Skis and Seth's Swamp Compass were changed to Epic rarity.
- Cape of the Trailblazer was reduced to 2500 Adventurers' Guild tokens.
- Bert's Super-Skis and Seth's Swamp Compass were reduced to 750 Adventurers' Guild tokens each.
Fixed
- Step graphs received server-side fixes to update more frequently and responsively, though they were not fully fixed.
- Several iOS smart watch issues causing the game to change back to phone as the step source were fixed.
- WalkPedia not using text tags was fixed.
- Mud pie causing infinity on actions required was fixed.
- 0 and negative XP values were fixed to display properly.
- Several Profile Picture Options that were incorrectly available during character creation were fixed.
Known issues
- Step graphs could still be incorrect or fail to update immediately after opening the game.
Going forward
- Further step graph fixes were the main short-term priority.
- Myzozoz was working on server-side improvements planned for release in the following weeks.
- Weasel and maxchill were working on new content additions.
- Small QoL additions were planned when development time allowed.
Posted on May 29, 2025.
- Update 0.3.0-beta+473 was released on May 26, 2025, with the full changelog linked separately.
- Kallaheim's isometric location art by maxchill was previewed.
- The WalkScape roadmap was updated to better show recent progress and the remaining core features before Open Beta.
- The team's focus was shifting from smaller features toward the three major remaining systems: Trading, Combat, and Quests.
- A developer comment clarified that smart watch support and the engine rework had shifted earlier roadmap priorities.
- A developer comment stated that Trading, Combat, and Quests were being prioritised to avoid delaying them indefinitely.
- A developer comment also clarified that smaller content can still be developed alongside larger features, especially because DevTools now allows content work without schamppu's direct involvement.
- Public-facing APIs were mentioned as something the team is interested in adding later, with a smaller API availability improvement planned sooner.
Team changes
- Floursifter stepped back from official WalkScape development work after more than one and a half years on the team.
- Floursifter's work included testing, content design, community management, and other behind-the-scenes development support.
- Content design was handed over to maxchill and Weasel.
- Weasel joined the team in a larger role helping implement new content.
- Weasel had previously helped behind the scenes with testing, content design, and the game's development tools.
- Weasel's introduction noted his involvement as a Wave 1 player, Discord community member, leaderboard player, and wiki contributor.
Known issues
- New players and new characters could encounter "failed to initialize" or "failed to load player" errors after reopening the game.
- A hotfix was planned for the new player and new character loading issue.
- Step graphs had improved after a server-side fix, but background-recorded steps could still appear with a delay.
- Reopening the game could force step graphs to refresh.
Going forward
- One more hotfix was planned before the team moved on to new features and content.
- The team intended to continue delivering both smaller and larger content updates.
- Previously teased skills remained on the to-do list and were still planned for future release.
Posted on May 15, 2025.
- Wave 4 began on May 15, 2025 at 12:00 UTC+0.
- Wave 4 was scheduled to close on June 8, 2025 at 23:59 UTC+0.
- Supporters were granted immediate Closed Beta access, while free beta applicants were planned to be accepted gradually during the wave.
- New supporters during or after Wave 4 would always receive immediate game access.
- The post reminded players that supporter pricing and benefit changes would take effect after Wave 4, while existing supporters and Wave 4 supporters would keep existing pricing and benefits.
- The 0.3.0-beta+462 "Bogged Down" update was released alongside Wave 4.
- New location art by maxchill was previewed.
- Player help resources were highlighted, including the official Discord, WalkScape Wiki, WalkScape Map, and support email.
- A developer comment clarified that Android 8 is not compatible because it does not support the required pedometer APIs.
Added
- New community translations were included.
- The "Bogged Down" update added 15 new items, 4 new locations, 1 hard achievement, 6 activities, 6 recipes, 1 faction, 10 loot tables, and 2 Profile Picture Options.
Changed
- The update included activity nerfs, updated activity icons, new attributes on some items, a loot table change, and one removed activity from a location.
- Several minor additions and changes were included but not listed in the changelog.
Fixed
- The Erdwiss level 5 faction reward was corrected by removing the merchant hat.
- The Ruined Trinkery Bench red attribute text was fixed.
- A mistakenly added Profile Picture Option was removed from the NaC shop.
Known issues
- Apple Watch use could crash the game while it was in the background; closing the game entirely was suggested as a workaround.
- Smart watch step sources could switch back from watch to phone, a critical issue that could cause step loss.
- Outlined sprites could render incorrectly; disabling "render using shaders" in settings was suggested as a workaround.
- Step graphs were showing incorrect step counts.
- The 30K step achievement was not registering steps.
- The minimap could fail to update properly or show the character in the ocean; restarting the game or tapping the map was suggested as a workaround.
Going forward
- Fixes for step graphs, the 30K step achievement, and other issues were nearly finished and planned for release as soon as possible.
- During Wave 4, the team expected to focus on customer service, marketing, community management, bug fixes, and iOS smart watch improvements.
- Smaller mechanics and additional content were planned during Wave 4 if possible.
Posted on May 1, 2025.
- Wave 4 was announced to start on May 15, 2025 at 12:00 UTC+0.
- Wave 4 was scheduled to close on June 8, 2025 at 23:59 UTC+0.
- Smart watch testing was underway, with some critical issues and crashes found but testing mostly smoother than expected.
- Remaining work before Wave 4 included smart watch fixes, polishing, and fixes for inaccurate step graphs.
- New supporters during Wave 4 were eligible for immediate Closed Beta access.
- Players who applied through WalkScape Portal were also planned to be accepted throughout the wave.
- New location art by maxchill for Casbrant's Field was previewed.
- A developer comment stated that a fix was being prepared for an Apple Watch-related background crash that was difficult to reproduce.
- A developer comment clarified that players would keep their usernames after the Open Beta reset.
- A developer comment clarified that new players would receive an email with installation instructions, with a guide also planned for the DevBlog.
Supporter changes
- Supporter benefits and pricing were planned to change for new supporters after Wave 4.
- Existing supporters and anyone who started supporting before the end of Wave 4 would keep the existing pricing and benefits.
- All supporter tiers would grant immediate Closed Beta access after Wave 4, without waiting for a future wave.
- Walker pricing was planned to increase from $3 per month to $4.50 per month.
- Serious Walker pricing was planned to increase from $6 per month to $7.50 per month.
- The one-time Buy Me a Coffee purchase was planned to increase from $3 to $4.50.
- The one-time Beer option on Buy Me a Coffee was planned to be removed.
Reasons and goals
- The team explained that Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee prices had not changed since early 2023.
- The price changes were presented as a way to keep the company financially sustainable without investors.
- The team stated that Business Finland grant applications had been denied four times.
- Investment offers had been declined to avoid pressure toward short-term returns or harmful monetisation changes.
- The team said current Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee income covered wages and expenses but left the company around break-even.
- The stated goals were to stabilise income between waves, save for the Open Beta transition, and potentially hire another developer.
- Open Beta was expected to require significant spending for server scaling, the transition from Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee to a subscription model, and marketing.
- A developer comment stated that possible additional fundraising for Open Beta had been considered if needed, but probably not Kickstarter.
- A developer comment stated that the team was looking for an experienced developer rather than programming interns because the work was complex and the development team was small.
Posted on April 17, 2025.
- Wave 4 was confirmed to begin in May.
- The Wave 4 release date announcement was planned for the next DevBlog on May 1, 2025.
- iOS smart watch support was feature-complete, but needed testing by existing Closed Beta players before Wave 4 opened.
- The team planned to release iOS smart watch support to Closed Beta the following week to gather feedback and bug reports.
- Wave 4 was delayed to avoid launching new players at the same time as an unstable smart watch feature.
- Myzozoz marked one year working at Not a Cult.
- Two upcoming art changes were announced, both moving WalkScape away from AI-generated art.
- The current location views were planned to be replaced with interactive isometric pixel art scenes.
- Players would be able to interact with location scenes directly for activities such as Mining and Foraging.
- Isometric location views were also planned to support future features such as combat, Farming, and quests.
- Dynamic character profile backgrounds based on the character's current location were planned to be replaced.
- Two new profile image layers were planned: background and ornament.
- Backgrounds could include simple gradients, unlockable faction banners, country flags, and possibly guild banners in the future.
- Ornaments were planned as optional profile decorations earned mainly from activities and crafting.
- The background and ornament profile picture feature was expected before the location view overhaul.
- A developer comment clarified that tapping interactive locations would open a new activity UI with other improvements.
- A developer comment also clarified that list view would remain available for accessibility reasons.
Posted on April 3, 2025.
- The first draft of the smart watch step source UI was shown, with feedback requested from players.
- iOS smart watch functionality had been built, with further testing focused on improving reliability and explaining platform limitations.
- The step source UI was designed to make clear that WalkScape uses one step source at a time.
- Players could choose Phone, Apple Watch, or other watch options, each with different limitations and permission requirements.
- Apple Watch support uses Apple Health data, but does not provide live step updates directly to WalkScape.
- Apple Watch steps may sync when the phone is unlocked, Apple Health is opened, WalkScape is reopened, or the watch returns to Bluetooth range.
- Other watches on iOS, including Garmin, generally require syncing through their own app before steps appear in Apple Health and count in WalkScape.
- Permission prompts were redesigned after selecting a step source, with no Apple Health connection required when using the phone as the input device.
- Health Connect issues on Android appeared to be fixed, making Android smart watch support possible.
- Android smart watch support was unlikely to be ready for Wave 4 because implementation would take more time.
- Android 16 was noted as a possible risk because of upcoming Health Connect changes around May/June.
- iOS smart watch support had made significant progress and was expected soon.
- After iOS smart watch support and step graph fixes, the team expected to be mostly ready for Wave 4.
- New building art by maxchill was previewed.
- Poll results on smart watch usage were included in the post.
- A developer comment noted that WalkScape's audience had much higher smart watch ownership than general population estimates, likely because players are more interested in step tracking.
- A developer comment clarified that Google Play and TestFlight statistics suggested the player split was closer to 70/30 Android/iPhone, not the poll's 53/47 result.
- A developer comment clarified that Apple Watch steps eventually sync, though not always immediately, and Apple Health can sometimes be opened to force a refresh.
- A developer comment stated that step sources could be switched from in-game settings.
- A developer comment clarified that switching from watch to phone would discard unsynced watch steps to prevent possible double-counting.
- A developer comment stated that Apple Health source filtering was working well and that anti-cheat would still apply to manipulated step data.
- A developer comment said more detailed watch guidance may be added to WalkPedia, with more comprehensive manufacturer tips possibly added to the WalkScape Wiki.
- A developer comment stated that after the current backlog, including Party and QoL features such as Travel + 1 queue, crafting queue, and crafting from bank, the plan was to focus on the remaining major features needed for Open Beta.
Posted on March 20, 2025.
- WalkScape won Best Mobile Game 2024 at the Latvian Game Awards, the game's first award.
- The team also highlighted a GamesRadar+ interview about WalkScape and its development values.
- A developer comment noted that the article strongly covered the game's stance against microtransactions and predatory monetisation.
- Trinketry was released as the first content update after DevTools 2.0 became usable.
- The release went smoothly despite schamppu being absent due to illness, showing improved team release processes.
- New location art from maxchill was previewed.
- A developer comment stated that the engine rework and new DevTools had made development move much faster.
- A developer comment clarified that there were no current awards for players to vote in, but the team would announce any future opportunities.
Added
- Hotfix 0.3.0-beta+431 added the newest translations.
Fixed
- Hotfix 0.3.0-beta+431 fixed issues with Merfolk Dress and other content.
- Character loading issues affecting some players were fixed.
- Updating to Flutter 3.29.2 fixed issues on older Android devices, including Android 9 devices and devices with old GPUs.
Known issues
- Some devices had a mirrored item equip menu.
- At least one further hotfix was planned to address remaining issues.
Going forward
- After post-release fixes, the team planned to start work on the next update.
Posted on March 6, 2025.
- The first new content update after the engine rework was completed and moved into internal testing.
- The update introduced WalkScape's 10th skill, Trinketry.
- Trinketry allows players to craft rings and amulets from trinkets, rough gems, gold bars, silver bars, and other materials.
- Trinketry items use the existing item quality system, up to Eternal quality.
- Trinketry Benches were introduced as a new service, mostly found in GDTE.
- The update began content development for GDTE, including four unique Trinketry Benches.
- A new GDTE faction, Erdwise, was announced with new jobs and rewards.
- More than 70 new items were included in the update.
- New activities and new attributes were added.
- Some existing items, including gems, gold ore, rings, and necklaces, were transformed into new items where possible.
- Items changed away from gear were expected to remove themselves from gear sets on login.
- A developer comment clarified that players who already had the Hard achievement for all skills at level 50 would keep it, while players without it would need to level Trinketry as well.
- A developer comment confirmed that gem drop rates had been adjusted.
- The update was planned for release within two weeks, before the next DevBlog, with a development update planned one day before release.
- A developer comment later clarified that the release date would be announced soon and that the update would not release during that weekend.
DevTools 2.0
- DevTools 2.0 reached a functional state after previously being unusable for content delivery.
- The new tools allowed rapid development and testing of the Trinketry content update.
- DevTools 2.0 gave the team proper version control and a workable content development environment.
- Remaining planned DevTools 2.0 features included cloud sync, content branching, over-the-air updates, development QoL tools, metadata, and automated changelogs.
- Over-the-air updates were planned to let players receive content fixes and updates, including art assets, without updating through the Play Store or App Store.
Plans before Wave 4
- The main requirements before Wave 4 were iOS watch integration, fixed step graphs, and remaining major bug fixes.
- iOS watch support was the priority, with Android viability testing planned during development.
- A developer comment clarified that iOS watch integration was planned before the next Wave.
- Step graphs needed fixes because server-client step syncing changed after the engine rework and would become more complex with smart watch support.
- The team was waiting for a Flutter fix for older GPUs and Android versions so affected older devices could work again.
- Nice-to-have goals before Wave 4 included one smaller content update after Trinketry and additional QoL improvements.
Posted on February 20, 2025.
- The team spent the previous two weeks fixing critical issues introduced by the engine rework while work continued on DevTools 2.0.
- Three hotfixes were released after the engine update: Hotfix +413, Hotfix +418, and Hotfix +419.
- The hotfixes resolved the most apparent critical issues, including the traveling bug, WalkPedia issues, crafting issues, and PowerVR device rendering issues.
- The game was described as stable again, with one or two additional lower-urgency hotfixes still planned.
- The traveling bug was caused by a character PFP update replacing the game state with the state from before loaded steps.
- Older Android 9 and Android 10-era devices continued to experience crashes or major rendering issues due to a Flutter issue.
- The Flutter issue had been reported to the Flutter team and marked as P1 priority.
- Development focus shifted toward DevTools 2.0, while remaining bug fixes continued in parallel.
- DevTools 2.0 was described as an improved internal toolset for content creation and development.
- The first priority for DevTools 2.0 was getting enough tooling ready for the next content update, with more advanced features planned later.
- The next content update did not yet have a release estimate.
- Content updates and feature development were expected to become separate pipelines after DevTools 2.0 was ready.
- A developer comment stated that at least three content updates were planned for Jarvonia and GDTE before Open Beta.
- A developer comment also stated that the team wanted to reach Wallisia before Open Beta.
- DevTools 2.0 was described as a solution to content development bottlenecks that had affected the team since Syrenthia.
Posted on February 6, 2025.
- The team focused on fixing bugs after the engine rework, server rewrite, and related technical changes.
- A separate Reddit post listed known issues from the update.
- The update was described as very large, but the number of issues after release was lower than expected.
- Several small QoL improvements were added in the update, including banking from the inventory bank button, starting activities from the world map, and wardrobes in all settlements.
- A developer comment clarified that new location art is planned as a replacement for current location art and may later be reused for combat and Farming.
- A developer comment clarified that using one device with one account while walking, running, or cycling is allowed, while mechanical step devices and account sharing are considered cheating.
Fixed
- Buy Me a Coffee supporter tier syncing was fixed.
- Buy Me a Coffee account linking to WalkScape should now be faster.
- Post-engine rework bugs were being prioritised for the next week or two.
Changed
- The improved anti-cheat system was released with the engine rework.
- The new anti-cheat system was described as more scalable and easier to improve over time.
- Several players caught cheating were banned after the anti-cheat improvements.
Known issues
- The main unresolved issue was a memory leak in the new server technology.
- The memory leak caused server restarts roughly every five hours, which could temporarily affect connection attempts.
Going forward
- The team planned to continue bug fixing until the game was stable again.
- After stabilisation, work was planned to move to Devtools 2.0.
- Devtools 2.0 was intended to remove content development bottlenecks and support future content updates.
- Art and designs for multiple new content updates were already in progress.
Posted on January 23, 2025.
- The engine rework was announced for release on January 29, 2025 at 14:00 UTC+0, with maintenance expected to last at least 5–6 hours.
- Players were warned that steps taken during maintenance would not be counted because of the local storage rework, and were asked to claim steps and sync before maintenance.
- The update was described as the largest technical change to WalkScape so far, with major refactoring, server migration, and performance work.
- A smart watch integration survey was opened, with a proposal to release iOS smart watch support first and add Android support later.
- Devtools 2.0 was described as the next major priority after post-update fixes, intended to reduce content bottlenecks and allow non-programmer content additions.
- A developer comment clarified that Devtools 2.0 is needed for upcoming skills that already have designs and art.
- A Maxchill art sneak peek was shown; a developer comment clarified that it would be helpful for combat.
- A developer comment stated that the next invite wave was expected in the next couple of months.
Added
- Gear Sets were added to the game.
- In-game notification bubbles for drops and XP were improved, including support for Realm reputation gains.
- The "While you were away..." screen was reworked to better show progress made while the game was closed.
- Unequip all gear and tools buttons were added to the gear view.
- An FPS counter was added to the Settings menu to help with performance reports.
Changed
- The game engine was rewritten and now uses multithreading for processing.
- Server-side code was mostly rewritten, improving authentication and save speed.
- Server-client communication is now mostly encrypted and compressed.
- The anti-cheat system was significantly improved.
- The Android version now uses the newer rendering engine already used on iOS.
- Character saves were rebuilt with a new save system, reducing server-side save file size.
- The engine rework was intended to make future feature development faster, simpler, and less error-prone.
Fixed
- Step loading interruptions should no longer cause steps to be lost.
- WalkPedia should now load much faster through multithreading.
- Battery consumption should be lower.
- Buy Me a Coffee supporter syncing issues were fixed.
- Many previously reported bugs were fixed, though the full list was not included.
Smart watches
- The proposed smart watch plan was to develop iOS support first, test and fix issues with iOS users, then release Android support when ready.
- The initial proposal used a single selected step source, such as phone, Apple Watch, Garmin Watch, or another supported device.
- The team avoided combined step totals from multiple sources because of anti-cheat, clarity, and implementation concerns.
- Apple Watch steps could not be polled in real time during testing, meaning steps would update when opening or foregrounding the game.
- Garmin and similar third-party watch data may require syncing through the watch app before WalkScape can count the steps.
- One possible MVP approach was to use smart watch steps for background progress while using the phone pedometer when the game is open.
- Developer comments clarified that step sources could be switched from settings, with possible future QoL prompts based on testing and feedback.
- Developer comments also stated that offline mode could have relaxed smart watch limitations because anti-cheat would not matter there.
- For Android, the team planned more Health Connect testing; a developer comment also identified Google Fit as a major priority if its data quality is acceptable and not easily abused.
Going forward
- The team planned to spend the first weeks after the update fixing issues caused by the engine rework.
- Devtools 2.0 was planned after that, separating the feature development pipeline from the content development pipeline.
- The first planned content update was expected to need only partial Devtools 2.0 completion, estimated at around three weeks of work.
tr Posted on December 12, 2024.
- The team returned from the holiday break and continued work on the next update, focused on the engine rework and Gear Sets.
- The update was aimed for release later that month, with older Android device issues listed as the main remaining blocker.
- Testing suggested the step-counting issues related to background play and poor connection, especially on Android, had been fixed.
- The engine rework was described as paying off major technical debt and preparing the game for larger scale and future features.
- New development tools were planned after the update and additional QoL work, with the goal of reducing the content-release bottleneck.
- Anti-cheat systems were significantly scaled for the upcoming update and future open beta player numbers.
- The WalkScape Wiki was migrated from Miraheze to WalkScape's own server, improving speed and enabling PWA support.
- The Wiki was prepared for Gear Sets, including activity guides and Gear Loadouts that could later support in-game import codes.
- Community editing was opened for the Guide: and Gear: namespaces, with directory pages and freeform guide or gear set pages supported.
- Weblate, also called WalkScape Translate, was migrated to a stronger server and updated to a newer version.
- Wave 3.5 ended on January 7 and was described as the smoothest wave so far, helped by improved Patreon integration.
- Buy Me a Coffee supporter status updates remained slow because of API rate limits.
- Support email was migrated to a new server; users who had not received replies after the migration were asked to resend messages.
- The next DevBlog was expected to cover the update being ready or close to release.
DevBlogs From 2024
In 2024, DevBlogs #29–51 covered WalkScape's first year of Closed Beta, from the initial release and early access waves through Wave 3.5. The period focused heavily on stabilising the game after launch, especially Android pedometer reliability, step loading, server performance, Portal account linking, and update infrastructure. Major gameplay additions included Achievements, Abilities, Consumables, Job Boards, Faction Reputation, WalkPedia, Friends, clothing and barber services, and the Syrenthia update. The team also expanded with the hiring of myzozoz, improved internal tooling, attended several conventions, and won the Audience Award at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki. By the end of the year, development focus had shifted toward engine optimisation and Quality of Life features such as Gear Sets, improved notifications, Travel + 1 Queue, bank and inventory improvements, Parties, Trading, Combat, and Quests as key steps toward Open Beta.
Posted on December 12, 2024.
- Wave 3.5 was scheduled to begin on December 15th, with Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters receiving immediate Closed Beta access during the wave.
- Gear Sets were previewed as the next Quality of Life feature, planned to launch alongside the engine optimisation update.
- Gear Sets were prioritised after being the most requested feature in a previous QoL poll.
- Core Gear Sets functionality had been completed, with UI polish and finishing touches remaining.
- The engine optimisation had been completed and released to internal testers, though small bugs still needed fixing.
- The development team planned a holiday break from December 23rd to January 1st, with no DevBlog on December 26th and the next DevBlog planned for January 9th.
Added
- Gear Sets for saving and re-equipping full equipment loadouts.
- “Copy currently equipped gear” option for creating a set from the player's current equipment.
- Gear Explorer tool for choosing equipment while creating or editing a set.
- Gear Explorer sorting by attribute, activity-based filtering, item comparison, and search.
- Gear Set sharing and importing between players.
- Gear Set organisation options, including name, icons, colour, skills, and activities.
- Gear Set inventory and bank handling, including automatic withdrawal from the local bank when possible.
Planned
- Gear Sets integration with Travel + 1 Queue.
- Skill filtering in Gear Explorer.
- Aggregate Gear Set stat display while building a set.
- Activity-based comparison for showing a full stat breakdown against specific activities.
- Work efficiency from level display to help choose suitable gear.
- Engine optimisation update for Closed Beta testers, likely sometime in January depending on bug fixing.
- Devtools 2.0 to improve future content development workflow.
- Activity structure expansion needed for upcoming content and queueing features.
- A future major content update, with design and art assets already prepared by Floursifter and maxchill.
- Some form of advanced sawmill-related support was suggested in an OP comment as planned for the update.
Known issues
- Internal testing of the optimised engine found several small bugs.
- The next major content update was bottlenecked by development work, including activity structure expansion and the need for improved development tools.
Posted on November 28, 2024.
- Wave 3.5 was announced as a supporter-only interim wave running from December 15th, 00:00 UTC+0 to January 7th, 00:00 UTC+0.
- New applications were not planned for Wave 3.5, but Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters with linked Portal accounts could gain access.
- The GDTE swamp area visual overhaul and many newly designed items were previewed.
- Engine optimisations were completed, with testing still needed before release.
- The optimised engine was reported to process even 3 million steps in about one second during testing.
- OP comments clarified that the Portal account page provides platform-specific download instructions, including if a player later switches between iOS and Android.
Added
- Reworked in-game notification bubbles.
- New notification bubbles for procs, arrivals, collectibles, achievements, item quality, saved steps, and realm reputation.
- Sticky notification bubbles for achievements and collectibles.
- Rebuilt “While you were away” view.
- World map playback in the “While you were away” view.
- XP bars, level-up feedback, rare event animations, chronological progress playback, and reopening support for the “While you were away” view.
- Patreon membership gifting test, including limited free one-month memberships.
Changed
- In-game notifications were rebuilt to support the new engine optimisations.
- Item notifications were changed to show looted and crafted item quality more clearly.
- “While you were away” was changed to appear after significant walks rather than only after a full restart.
- Core party management functionality had been completed, though the Party system still required more features before release.
Planned
- Release of the optimisation update during Wave 3.5 or shortly after.
- Gear Sets after the new notification systems were finished.
- Party system two-week challenges.
- Ability to see party members on the world map.
- Server-side additions and further testing before releasing the optimised engine.
Posted on November 14, 2024.
- Game engine and load time optimisation continued after DevBlog #48.
- Load time optimisation was completed, with the development version loading faster than the Not a Cult logo fade-in.
- Data compression was added for the heaviest server calls, reducing expected data usage by about 75%.
- The next optimisation target was step loading, especially preventing step loss when connection drops or the game is closed or backgrounded during loading.
- New sprites were shown for two upcoming skills.
- Character Borders were previewed as a planned Party System feature.
- The WalkScape Choose Your Own Adventure series on Discord resumed, with some details from those stories already used in game and as lore testing for future quests.
- maxchill's art streams returned, usually scheduled on Fridays from 17:00 to 19:00 GMT+2.
Changed
- Game startup and server-call performance were improved.
- Heavy server calls were compressed to reduce data transfer.
- Engine and server technology changes were mostly completed before moving to step loading work.
Planned
- Step loading optimisation and fixes before the next DevBlog.
- A system where failed step loading can retry later without losing steps.
- Internal testing for the step loading fixes because of the scope of the engine changes.
- Gear Sets, ideally released alongside the optimisation and step loading fixes.
- Character Borders for the upcoming Party System.
- Possible wider use of unlockable Character Borders in other parts of the game.
Known issues
- Steps could still be lost if internet connection dropped or the game was closed or backgrounded while loading steps.
- Step loading issues had been especially frustrating for some Android players.
Posted on October 31, 2024.
- Work had begun on the engine overhaul needed before larger Quality of Life features, with Gear Sets planned as the first QoL feature afterward.
- Two new skills were teased for a future major content update, with design and art work already underway.
- A recent minor update and hotfixes had fixed many remaining issues, with smaller issues still planned for later updates.
- myzozoz was continuing work on the Party system.
- OP comments indicated that the next beta wave was likely around the holidays.
Changed
- Game loading and processing was being reworked to use Flutter isolates and multi-threading.
- Initial loading optimisation reduced local game loading time from over 5 seconds to around 500 ms, excluding server calls.
- Game logic was being decoupled into a separate package that could be shared between the game, development tools, server, and possible future companion apps.
- Game event processing was being rebuilt around a more stateless Event Queue system.
- Data structures were being optimised, including replacing some ordered lists with key-value maps or more efficient searchable structures.
Planned
- Gear Sets as the first major Quality of Life feature after the engine work.
- Further Quality of Life updates that depend on the engine overhaul.
- Future notifications using background game loop processing.
- Possible future home screen widgets, smartwatch companion apps, and server-side game processing using the decoupled game logic.
- Game state rollback for interrupted step loading.
- Continued Party system development.
- Two new skills in a later major content update.
Known issues
- Loading many steps could cause several seconds of UI freezing because heavy calculations were still processed on the same CPU thread as rendering.
- Steps could be lost if step loading was interrupted by closing the game, backgrounding it, or losing internet connection.
- Server calls still needed separate optimisation after local loading improvements.
Posted on October 17, 2024.
- Two post-Syrenthia hotfixes, versions +332 and +335, had been released during the previous two weeks.
- The patches fixed multiple player-reported issues and improved several confusing UIs.
- Translations were added to the game, with translation infrastructure expanded to support more languages and regional variants such as UK English.
- The next major development focus was announced as a Quality of Life update, aimed at polishing existing systems and improving the core gameplay loop.
- A poll was opened to help prioritise Quality of Life features, with OP comments stating that results would be posted publicly the following week.
- myzozoz was working on multiplayer features, starting with Parties and followed by Player Trading.
Added
- Game translations.
- Translation infrastructure for additional languages and regional variants.
- Quality of Life poll.
Changed
- Several confusing UIs were improved through recent hotfixes.
- Development focus was shifting from post-Syrenthia patching to broader Quality of Life improvements.
- The Quality of Life update was planned to release features gradually rather than all at once.
Planned
- WalkPedia completion, including missing pages, multi-tab navigation, and in-game links to WalkPedia content.
- Travel + 1 Queue, allowing players to travel and then automatically start a selected activity at the destination.
- 1 + Travel, allowing players to finish an activity condition before automatically travelling elsewhere.
- Crafting Queue and Crafting Overhaul, including queued recipes, bank interaction where available, and improved crafting UI.
- Banking and Inventory overhaul, including customisable bank tabs, inventory sorting, drag-and-drop item movement, and item locking.
- Gear Sets, including saved equipment sets and automatic withdrawal from a local bank where possible.
- Tracking and favouriting for achievements, skill levels, leaderboards, recipes, locations, items, and other content.
- Customisable notifications for events such as full inventory, full step bank, or arriving at a destination.
- Game engine improvements to support future Combat, Parties, Trading, and Quests.
- Party system, followed by Player Trading.
Posted on October 3, 2024.
- The post was a short convention and Portal status update.
- The planned game hotfix was delayed because schamppu was ill with seasonal flu.
- WalkScape attended Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki and W Love Games in Helsinki.
- WalkScape won the Audience Award at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.
- myzozoz won 3rd place in the Very Big Indie Pitch.
- OP comments noted that convention feedback included appreciation that WalkScape respects players' time and does not require a large daily time commitment.
Added
- Username + password login, including support in the game.
- Ability to resend email verification messages.
Changed
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee status updates were fixed or improved.
- Portal and server stability, security, and under-the-hood systems were improved.
- Portal error messages were made clearer.
- Email verification was reworked.
Planned
- Delayed game hotfix after returning from conventions.
- Work on the next update after the hotfix.
Posted on September 19, 2024.
- The post was originally numbered as DevBlog #47, but an edit clarified that it should be DevBlog #45.
- Wave 3 was still ongoing, with immediate Closed Beta access available through Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee until October 6th.
- The first year of Not a Cult as a company had ended, alongside a little over two years of WalkScape development.
- The team reviewed the remaining major features needed before Open Beta: Trading, Combat, and Quests.
- The Closed Beta had been running for nine months, with the team expanded and more features added since launch.
- The rough Open Beta target was given as sometime in Q3/Q4 of the following year, assuming the remaining planned work could be completed.
Planned
- Portal fixes for beta access and email verification issues.
- Syrenthia hotfixes.
- Localisation support, including changing translations in game.
- Party system, planned as myzozoz's next feature after Portal and localisation work.
- Quality of Life update, potentially released in multiple parts.
- Combat development to begin before or around the end of the year.
- Trading to reach at least internal testing before or around the end of the year.
- Reworked development tools to support faster content updates and combat-related content work.
- Quests after Combat and Trading.
- Smart watch and wearable support when Google Health Connect becomes suitable.
- Possible Guilds if time allows.
Changed
- Development focus was shifting from recently added systems such as achievements, consumables, jobs, and reputation toward the remaining Open Beta requirements.
- Portal was planned to receive stability work and a broader UI rework.
- Game engine work was planned to improve demanding calculations, step loading time, and step-loss cases.
- Internal development tools were being reworked because the previous tools were less suitable for a multi-person content team.
- Infrastructure and scaling work was planned to reduce server-call delays and prepare for Open Beta.
Known issues
- Health Connect was not yet suitable for wearable support because manually added steps in other health apps were not being filtered out.
- Wearable support was delayed so that iOS and Android support could release together.
- Moderation tools were still limited, with some moderation work requiring direct database changes.
- Trading was expected to need longer testing because of exploit and abuse risks.
- Combat was clarified in OP comments as an active downtime feature using combat points, but not intended to make WalkScape require hours of active play each day.
Posted on September 5, 2024.
- Wave 3 was ongoing, with instant Closed Beta access available through Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee until October 6th.
- The Syrenthia update was described as the end of the team's Syrenthia-focused development period, with the update adding achievements, PFP customisation, consumables, faction reputation, 11 locations, job boards, Friends, and other content.
- The team was generally happy with the Syrenthia release, though several issues remained to be fixed in later patches.
- The next development period was planned to focus on internal tooling, a pedometer rework, broader QoL features, small Syrenthia updates, and a GDTE update.
- Internal content tooling was planned to be redesigned so the larger team could work on art, text, and game content more efficiently.
- OP comments confirmed that travel + 1 queue was planned, while a crafting queue would be explored.
Changed
- The team planned to change how game content is managed and developed internally.
- Future development was planned to better separate long-term feature work from smaller content updates.
- Job Board balance was being adjusted, especially for normal-quality tool tasks and some fine-material quantity breakpoints.
- Faction reputation and region chest rewards were expected to receive further balance changes.
- Syrenthia was expanded during design from 4 locations to 6 locations.
Planned
- Internal tooling rework.
- Pedometer rework to address losing steps when connection is lost or when the game is swiped away too quickly.
- Broader activity rework.
- Travel + 1 queue.
- Gear sets.
- Small Syrenthia content updates.
- GDTE update.
- Tutorial improvements to better explain useful early-game consumables such as cooked shrimp and nettle tea.
- More content and faster progression toward high-level play before Open Beta, though OP comments stated that content to level 99 could not be promised for Open Beta launch.
- More complex future activities and skills based on the planned activity rework.
- Further Open Beta economy balancing once more player data is available.
Known issues
- WalkPedia was not loading on some accounts, especially for early players affected by old activity-cancelling tracking issues.
- Some Android devices were not showing offline reward popups because of device settings.
- Consumables had visual issues when consuming one item at a time and could automatically turn back on after restarting an activity.
- Text search boxes behaved incorrectly, with manual backspacing suggested as a temporary workaround.
- Faction reputation could round strangely when gained as an activity completion reward.
- Some localisation errors remained after the localisation system had to be changed shortly before the Syrenthia release.
Posted on August 22, 2024.
- Wave 3 was ongoing, with instant Closed Beta access available through Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee until October 6th.
- The post was written by maxchill while schamppu and myzozoz were promoting WalkScape at Gamescom 2024.
- The DevBlog presented WalkScape as a walking-focused MMORPG and outlined five reasons to play: improving walking habits, character progression, exploring Arenum, social competition, and non-predatory gameplay.
- A Discord survey found that respondents' average daily steps increased from 6,331 to 11,413 after playing WalkScape, with later invite waves showing larger increases among more casual walkers.
- WalkScape was described as inspired by classic MMORPG skill progression, with nine current skills and more planned later.
- Arenum was described as a faction-divided world with locations, NPCs, buildings, jobs, faction benefits, and unlockable areas.
- Current social features included leaderboards and the Friends system, with future multiplayer features planned.
- The game was reiterated as ad-free, without daily FOMO mechanics or intrusive monetisation.
- OP comments clarified that WalkScape works with only a phone and does not require a smartwatch or extra app.
- OP comments also stated that monetisation was planned to be similar to RuneScape, with a monthly subscription for more content and a one-time purchase option for single-player mode.
- OP comments noted that Open Beta was still some time away because major features such as combat, trading, quests, encounters, group content, and PvP were still missing.
Posted on August 8, 2024.
- WalkScape was accepted for a free business-side booth at Gamescom through the Creative Media Stands EU initiative.
- Wave 3 and the Syrenthia update were planned for release between August 19th and 21st, with the wave ending on September 30th.
- Supporters on Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee before September 30th were planned to receive instant Closed Beta access during the wave.
- The update was expected to include Consumables, Job Boards, Faction Reputation, in-game Friends, privacy settings, and a large amount of new content.
- The short development window before Gamescom meant some features could be delayed or require hotfixes after the convention.
Added
- Consumables, including food and future potion slots.
- Step-based consumable durations.
- Memospheres as instant-effect consumables that grant experience.
- Job Boards with three randomised daily jobs per board.
- Faction Reputation systems for Jarvonia, Syrenthia, Trellin, and Erdwise.
- In-game Friends management through the Social menu.
- Character search, friend adding, and character statistics viewing.
- Privacy settings for step visibility and leaderboard anonymity.
- 100+ new items.
- 10+ new activities.
- 7+ new locations.
- 50+ new crafting recipes.
Changed
- Friends functionality was expanded from Portal into the game.
- Privacy settings were opt-out, with protections enabled by default for both new and existing players.
- Job Boards were designed as repeatable mini-quest content and as an item sink before player trading.
Planned
- Potions to be created through the future Alchemy skill.
- Additional instant-effect consumables, including teleportation scrolls, healing items, and other effects.
- More job types beyond initial gather-item and give-item objectives.
- Future Faction Reputation unlocks such as special shops, services, shop discounts, routes, buildings, and titles.
- Guilds to use the Faction Reputation system in the future.
- Party system development after in-game Friends.
- Hotfixes and any delayed content additions after Gamescom.
- A QoL update after the Syrenthia release.
Known issues
- The release target carried a higher bug risk because of limited testing time before Gamescom.
- Some planned content or features could be cut from the initial Syrenthia release if they were not ready in time.
Posted on July 11, 2024.
- The Achievements Update was released as WalkScape's biggest update so far.
- The release was delayed by a critical bug that required additional maintenance, but the issue was fixed within a few hours.
- A small follow-up patch was planned before schamppu's summer vacation from July 16th to July 23rd.
- No DevBlog was planned for July 25th, with the next DevBlog scheduled for August 8th.
- Work had already started on the next major feature and content update, with design work described as nearly finished.
Added
- Achievements Update.
- Achievements and related reward track.
- WalkPedia, which had originally been planned for after Syrenthia.
Planned
- Account privacy features, including options to hide step sharing, limit account visibility to friends only, or make the account fully private.
- Syrenthia, with an ambitious target of being ready before the end of August.
- Realm Reputation, Job Boards, and Consumables as the remaining major Syrenthia features.
- A small patch to fix issues found after the Achievements Update release.
Known issues
- A critical bug slipped through testing during the Achievements Update release, temporarily delaying the end of maintenance mode.
Posted on June 27, 2024.
- Phase one of the Friends system was released on Portal, allowing players to add friends and use friends-only leaderboards.
- The Achievement Update was planned to release before the next DevBlog, with the update estimated to be around 95% complete.
- Major balancing work was prepared for the Achievement Update, including crafted tool attribute rebalancing, primary and secondary slot changes, Smithing changes, service attributes, and a scrap system pilot.
- The NPC shop system was reworked to support more currencies, item trading options, improved search, better UI, and buyback.
- Progress was shown on WalkPedia, described as an in-game guide and collection log for encountered content.
- The Adventurer's Guild was introduced as the first NPC guild pilot, with Adventurer's Guild Outposts and Adventurer's Guild Tokens.
Added
- Friends list and friend invites on WalkScape Portal.
- Friends-only leaderboards.
- New Users page on Portal for finding players.
- Adventurer's Guild pilot.
- Adventurer's Guild Tokens.
- Special stack sizes, including larger stacks for some currencies and single-stack heavy items.
- Swords and shields as new Smithing outputs.
- Scrap system pilot for Tinkering, Wood carving, Ship repair, and Horseshoe making.
- Service attributes for selected services.
- Non-skill requirements for some tools and gear.
- Improved shop search and shop item categories.
- Shop buyback for reversing mistaken purchases or sales.
Changed
- The arrows slot was changed into a more general back slot.
- Crafted tools were rebalanced using Gear Score Index, with normal-quality tools reduced and higher-quality crafts intended to remain useful longer.
- Tools were shifted toward material gain rather than bonus experience.
- Primary and secondary slot items were moved toward combat use, while existing skilling items were moved into tool-related roles.
- Most skills were given more possible tool loadout choices.
- Smithing bars became faster to create but give less experience.
- Bars can be transformed into corresponding metal swords and shields.
- Some activities now generate metal scrap or wood scrap instead of directly producing transformed materials.
- Agility experience from activities was reduced, especially for major outliers such as glacier foraging.
- Some Agility activities gained new progression mechanics and rewards.
- Shops were reworked to support currencies other than coins.
- Shop UI was made taller, building entry animations were sped up, and shop quantity input was improved.
Planned
- Achievement Update release before the next DevBlog, pending testing and app store approval.
- Friends system phase two in game.
- Friends system phase three with Parties.
- Portal profile and character sharing improvements.
- Ability to view other characters and their stats on Portal.
- Friends leaderboards inside the game with the Achievement Update.
- WalkPedia Lite, possibly in the Achievement Update or otherwise in Syrenthia.
- WalkPedia pages for activities, items, locations, skills, statistics, collection progress, bookmarks, tabs, and global search.
- Syrenthia, with many labour-intensive systems already completed and consumables and job boards remaining.
- Future uses for the scrap system, possibly including scrapping unused crafted items back into usable materials.
Known issues
- The Achievement Update was expected to contain issues because of its engine improvements, reworks, and new systems.
- The update would unequip all character gear on first load because of gear slot reworks, potentially causing overencumbrance or lower activity efficiency.
- Items that no longer meet new wearing requirements would be unequipped into the player's inventory.
Posted on June 13, 2024.
- Wave 2.5 was ending on June 15th, with Wave 3 still planned for around the end of summer.
- The upcoming Achievement Update was previewed, including clothing shops, wardrobe services, barber shops, balancing changes, new items, and the first phase of the Friends system.
- Two clothing shops were planned for the update, one in Jarvonia and one in GDTE.
- Character clothing options would need to be unlocked through achievements and quests, bought from shops, or owned from character creation.
- Myzozoz had fixed most recent Portal issues and improved Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee linking so access would be granted almost instantly in most cases.
Added
- Clothing shops in Jarvonia and GDTE.
- Clothing preview before purchase.
- Wardrobe service in larger cities for switching between owned clothing options.
- Barber shops for changing hair, face, and colour options.
- Dozens of new items.
- Improved Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee linking.
- Work on improved localisation and translation tools.
Changed
- Existing content balance was being revised, especially crafted tool stats.
- Basic tools were made significantly weaker to encourage early progression into copper and higher-tier tools.
- Tool balance was adjusted so higher-quality tools, especially Perfect quality tools, remain useful longer across tiers.
- Attribute distribution was reworked to reduce long-term scaling issues, especially with bonus experience on tools.
- Farganite tools were intended to better compete with current tier 50 looted equipment.
Planned
- Friends system to be released in three phases.
- Phase one of Friends: add and manage friends on WalkScape Portal, search users, set users as private or hidden, and view friend-only leaderboards.
- Phase two of Friends: bring friend management features into the game and add server notifications for friend invites and related features.
- Phase three of Friends: party system for 2–10 players, party members visible on the world map, party leaderboards, and recurring two-week party step challenges.
- Party challenge rewards for groups that meet their step goal, with an extra reward for the top contributor.
Posted on May 30, 2024.
- Wave 2.5 was scheduled to run from June 1st at 00:00 UTC to June 15th at 12:00 UTC for eligible Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters.
- A new Android pedometer update was scheduled for release on the same day as the DevBlog, with players warned to open the game beforehand to avoid losing unclaimed steps.
- The Android pedometer was migrated to Google's new Android Health API, removing the need for Google Fit, extra installed apps, and most specific permissions.
- The upcoming pre-Syrenthia content update was announced, separating Achievements and Abilities from the larger Syrenthia release.
- Two new shirt designs by Sorgo were added to the WalkScape Store.
Added
- Android Health API-based pedometer support.
- 40+ achievements across easy, medium, hard, and extreme difficulties.
- Barber and wardrobe services for changing character appearance after creation.
- 3 new locations.
- Dozens of new items, including items related to achievements.
- A few new activities.
- Abilities with instant effects and time-based or step-based cooldowns.
- Achievement reward track with 22 unlocks based on total achievement points.
- First guild in WalkScape, with more guild features planned later.
Changed
- Android step tracking was changed to use a more privacy-focused local API without Google sign-in.
- Android background step tracking should work on more devices with updated Google Play Services.
- The Android foreground process and sticky notification were no longer needed, reducing expected battery use.
- Part of the Syrenthia feature and content work was split into an earlier interim update because Syrenthia had been delayed.
Planned
- The Achievements and Abilities update was expected within a few weeks.
- A more specific release date for the next update was planned once the team was certain it would be ready.
- Previous background notifications were planned to return in a later update with broader notification improvements.
- More guild features were planned for future releases.
Known issues
- De-googled Android devices may lose background pedometer support because the new system requires Google Play Services, specifically the fitness package.
- Previous notification features were temporarily unavailable because WalkScape was no longer doing background processing.
Posted on May 16, 2024.
- Wave 2.5 was announced for June 1st to June 15th, giving Closed Beta access to supporters before June 15th at 12:00 UTC.
- Wave 2.5 was introduced as an interim supporter wave because Wave 3 features were taking longer than expected, mainly due to prolonged Android pedometer work.
- The redesigned WalkScape website was released with a game-like visual style, live game statistics, recent development posts, wave timing information, a press kit, trailer, and updated roadmap.
- Android pedometer stability improved in version +242, with most serious issues considered resolved.
- Syrenthia feature development resumed, including work on Buffs, Consumables, Abilities, and a new bank.
- Player statistics from the Closed Beta were shared, including more than 1.5 billion total tracked steps.
- Combat design had begun, but combat remained far away because other core mechanics, especially Quests, were higher priority.
Added
- Wave 2.5 supporter access period.
- New WalkScape website.
- New website roadmap.
- Live updating game statistics on the website.
- New Syrenthia bank preview.
- Item keyword icons.
- Buffs and Abilities systems in development.
Changed
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee integration was planned to be reworked before Wave 2.5 to reduce supporter access delays.
- Android pedometer development shifted from major issue fixing toward permission-related edge cases.
- Background Android step counting had been optimised to reduce battery drain while preserving steps through phone restarts.
- Website and Portal visuals were planned to become more unified.
Planned
- Buffs and Consumables for Syrenthia, with one active food and one active potion allowed at the same time.
- Consumables selected during an activity, with unused items preserved if the activity stops.
- Abilities from rare and unique items, with cooldowns based on real-world time, steps, or actions.
- More Syrenthia screenshots once UI work became presentable.
- Further website polishing, especially for mobile.
- Continued gameplay feature work unless critical pedometer issues appeared.
Known issues
- Some Android background step-counting issues still depended on manufacturer, Android version, and permissions.
- Players with Android background step issues were advised to check settings such as Autostart, background usage, notification permission, unrestricted battery optimisation, and related manufacturer-specific options.
- The game did not yet automatically prompt players for all device-specific Android permission requirements.
Posted on May 2, 2024.
- Development progress slowed slightly because schamppu had the flu, but work continued on remaining pedometer issues.
- The recent pedometer update had progressed from build +200 to +206, fixing most issues while leaving some edge cases unresolved.
- Android pedometer issues remained the main priority because of device-specific complications.
- Myzozoz continued work on the WalkScape main website rework, adding new functionality intended to make game information clearer.
- Syrenthia feature work was planned to resume after the remaining pedometer issues were handled.
- Wave 3 timeline information was delayed until after Syrenthia, though partial access for newer supporters was possible if Syrenthia was delayed.
Fixed
- The incorrect weekday issue caused by month-change DateTime logic was fixed for the next version.
- iOS issues with excessive steps were fixed in internal builds.
- iOS issues with unusual step amounts after reinstalling or during network problems were fixed in internal builds.
Planned
- At least one more pedometer patch was planned for the week, with iOS fixes as a minimum target.
- HealthConnect support was planned after the basic pedometer was made fully functional.
- WalkPedia was planned as an important QoL feature for early game guidance and player experience.
- Wave 3 was intended to follow Android pedometer fixes, new content and features, and key QoL improvements.
Known issues
- Android could show a black screen when foregrounding the game, requiring a force stop.
- Some Android users could still receive too many steps, though the issue had decreased compared with earlier builds.
- Android background step counting could fail if required permissions, notifications, unrestricted battery optimisation, or autostart settings were not configured.
- Android pedometer debugging was difficult because behaviour varied by device, manufacturer, and Android version.
Posted on April 18, 2024.
- myzozoz joined Not a Cult as WalkScape's first hired developer.
- The company had finished its short-term scaling work, including renting an office and completing the hiring process.
- myzozoz began onboarding through website and Portal work before moving into direct game development.
- A minor update was planned before Syrenthia, including Android pedometer fixes, Daily Steps Graph improvements, Bank Search QoL, and balance changes.
- A small preview of new Syrenthia locations was shown.
Added
- Hourly and monthly step display options for the Daily Steps Graph.
- Bank search support for item keywords, gear type, and tool type.
Changed
- The Android pedometer update was nearly finished and in final internal testing.
- Android step tracking was being updated to avoid relying on Google Fit or HealthConnect by default.
- WalkScape health data was described as encrypted locally on the device.
- The Daily Steps Graph was changed to better reflect when steps were actually walked rather than when they were loaded into the game.
- Bank search was improved as a temporary aid before larger gear set and bank organisation features.
- Existing content balance changes by Floursifter were planned to go live with the update.
Planned
- Rework of the WalkScape website with clearer game access information and updated visuals.
- Portal improvements for Closed Beta applications, registration, Patreon and BMAC linking, general UX, and community website features.
- Future larger QoL improvements, including bank tabs and saved gear sets.
- The update was estimated for the following week after final internal testing and issue fixing.
Known issues
- Android pedometer reliability remained difficult because of device, manufacturer, and Android version differences.
- Android step data can reset on phone reboot without a background process.
- Background step tracking caused battery drain on some devices, especially Pixel phones.
- The current production Android build used significantly more background battery on affected devices than the internal test build.
- Any unclaimed steps would be lost when the update went live because of pedometer and local save changes, with at least 24 hours notice planned before release.
Posted on April 4, 2024.
- A Q&A stream and community interview with Eric were shared, including discussion of WalkScape's future during Wave 2.
- Syrenthia was revealed as a planned underwater mini-realm update, targeted for release in around two months.
- The update was planned to add multiple new locations, activities, recipes, items, services, and other progression systems.
- Not a Cult rented a small office room to improve work-life balance and support more sustainable development.
- Four candidates were being interviewed for an additional developer role.
- Development estimates were still based on a single developer, but onboarding another developer was expected to speed up future feature work after a few months.
Planned
- Syrenthia, a new underwater mini-realm with multiple locations and new content.
- Barber and wardrobe services for character customisation beyond initial character creation.
- A new bank.
- Achievements.
- Consumables.
- Realm reputation.
- Friends system, if feasible for the Syrenthia update.
- Job boards, if feasible for the Syrenthia update.
- Pedometer fixes and balancing updates before Syrenthia.
- WalkPedia in a later QoL update, including useful information, statistics, and a collection log system.
- A QoL improvement for selecting a number of actions for unlimited gathering activities, similar to crafting, so an activity can stop after a chosen amount of progress.
Current progress
- The Achievements system was nearly complete.
- Around 40 unique achievements had been added.
- Some achievements were planned to give special rewards in addition to achievement point reward track progress.
- Achievement points were likely to receive a new leaderboard.
- Collectibles were planned to give one achievement point each.
- A pedometer fix had entered development and was expected to begin internal testing during the week, with a hoped release alongside a balance update the following week.
Posted on March 21, 2024.
- A community-made WalkScape map tool by falarikae was shared, with hosting provided by the developer and source code made open source.
- The map tool includes filters for in-game services and activities, and supports direct links to specific locations.
- Android pedometer work remained ongoing after the new step-counting method fixed some major issues but introduced new device-specific problems.
- New features became the main development priority after recent work on bug fixes, infrastructure, and QoL.
- The team began looking to hire another developer, with full-time work preferred but part-time also possible.
Added
- WalkScape map tool at map.walkscape.app.
- Map filters for services and activities.
- Shareable map links for specific locations.
Changed
- Android step counting no longer relies on Google Fit or another fitness app on most devices.
- Android step counting no longer resets to zero after device reboot on most devices.
- Development focus shifted toward new features, with smaller QoL improvements and bug fixes still expected in each update.
Planned
- In-game world map filters and search, with in-game visibility limited to locations the player has already visited.
- Achievements, expected within a couple of weeks.
- Consumables and new content connected to the Consumables feature.
- Friends, Parties, and Trading after Achievements and Consumables.
- Trading was expected to need extended internal testing before public release.
- A later QoL update was planned to include bank tabs, saved gear sets, bank and inventory sorting/filtering, crafting with materials from a local bank, and travel+1 queue.
- More banks and services were planned, with many expected to be unlocked through quests or other methods.
- Google Fit and Apple Health integrations were planned after the non-Google Fit step-tracking method was made reliable.
Known issues
- Android 12 devices may need unrestricted battery permission and disabled app-pausing settings.
- Google Pixel devices had notably higher battery usage after the pedometer update, though similar issues could appear on other devices.
- Battery usage varied by manufacturer and model; the developer was testing on a Pixel 7 to reproduce and fix issues.
- The Android pedometer still required further work before being considered complete.
- Removing the Android foreground process and sticky notification remained an unresolved goal.
Posted on March 7, 2024.
- Closed Beta wave two launched, bringing the player count to more than six times wave one.
- Server statistics began being collected after the recent update, with early wave two totals including 129,751,089 steps and 2,608,854 actions.
- Wave two was confirmed to remain open until March 31st.
- Community feedback was being reviewed from Reddit and Portal, especially around early game attention requirements and future active gameplay systems.
- The developer reiterated that Closed Beta allows major issues to be fixed before the Open Beta economy begins.
Changed
- The Android pedometer was reworked from scratch.
- Android step tracking no longer requires Google Fit on devices where the pedometer was disabled without another active app.
- Android steps are no longer wiped by phone restarts or game updates.
- Google Cloud backups were disabled for step-count tracking files after they caused some players to load their full step history.
Fixed
- An upcoming patch was planned to fix the bug that granted extra steps when the game failed to read step-count files correctly.
- Extra steps gained from the step-history bug were planned to be removed from affected players.
- A second patch was planned to improve long launch times and add other fixes before new feature work resumed.
Planned
- Tutorial improvements were planned to address early game confusion and reduce required phone attention during walks.
- A future tutorial quest was planned to offer both lower-interaction and faster, more active onboarding paths.
- The travel+1 queue was planned so players could travel and then automatically begin an activity or crafting task after arriving.
- Optional notifications for arrival and activity completion were being considered.
- A possible 1+travel queue was also being considered, allowing players to finish materials or actions before travelling.
- A poll was opened to ask whether QoL and polish should be prioritised before Achievements and Consumables, or whether features should come first.
- Maxchill and Floursifter continued work on new content updates regardless of the poll result.
- Future active gameplay systems discussed included Friends, parties, world events, Guilds, Trading, Quests, Farming, player housing, Combat, Dungeons, skilling bosses, realm reputation, more skills, magic, and WalkPedia.
- Combat was clarified as a planned turn-based system using combat points gained from walking.
- Combat stats such as strength, dexterity, and defence were planned to level through activities and walking.
- A class system inspired by old school Final Fantasy job systems was planned, with classes switchable on the same character and levelled through combat.
- Smart watch support was confirmed as planned for later.
- Customisable font size was planned for the next update, with a light mode toggle also planned to improve readability in sunlight.
- Faction reputation was confirmed as planned.
Known issues
- Early game could require too much attention because the current tutorial was a placeholder and the game gave little direction.
- Travelling was identified as a major reason players had to check the game soon after starting a walk.
- Some players received extra steps due to a step-count file issue caused by Google Cloud backups changing file decryption keys.
- Long game launch times remained a target for upcoming optimisation.
Posted on February 22, 2024.
- The first smaller DevBlog covered the recent QoL update, lessons from the first game update, and work planned for wave two.
- The QoL update reworked the main UI, made navigation faster, automatically loaded characters, added more visible information, and improved access to common features.
- Player characters are now backed up before updates, with automatic daily backups also added.
- The next update was planned to add the first content update, including around 20 new activities, a new location, a new shop, new items, and additional collectibles.
- Wave two was expected to release within a week of the DevBlog.
- Smart watch, Samsung Health, and Google Fit integration had not started yet, as pedometer reliability issues were still the priority.
Added
- Left-handed mode.
- Ability to equip items while inspecting them.
- Ability to view the bank from any location.
- Option for characters to stop activity when overencumbered.
- Larger step bank.
- Tracker display at the top of the UI.
- Modifier source information.
- Character file backups before updates and automatic daily backups.
- In-depth logging for activity steps, travel, crafting, loot drops, chest openings, and other balance data.
Changed
- Main game UI was reworked to improve navigation speed.
- Characters now load automatically when opening the game.
- Performance was being improved after rendering issues appeared on some devices.
- Some visual elements were simplified to improve main-view performance.
Fixed
- Back buttons were added to the world map and buildings.
- Some heavy calculations and unnecessary rendering from the previous version were fixed.
- A hotfix was deployed after an update bug required maintenance mode.
Planned
- Portal changelogs and important status messages, including server downtime notices.
- First content update for wave two.
- Achievements, with historical character data intended to count toward later achievement progress.
- Additional bug fixes in the next update.
- Further QoL improvements, including a possible larger QoL-focused update later.
Known issues
- Some Android users could have characters fail to appear when opening the game; clearing app data and cache was suggested as a workaround.
- The first update deployment exposed infrastructure and notification gaps.
- Rendering performance worsened on some devices after Flutter-related changes, especially in the main view.
Posted on February 8, 2024.
- Development blogs resumed on a two-week schedule, with one larger post planned each month and a smaller update between them.
- Closed Beta wave one had launched, with early feedback and bug reports being reviewed after the initial release period.
- The Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee integrations were rebuilt to improve supporter linking, eligibility checks, and Closed Beta invite handling.
- Wave two was planned for roughly two weeks later, after important fixes and QoL improvements were completed.
- A new developer was being onboarded to help reduce the single-developer bottleneck.
- Player feedback was described as positive overall, especially around WalkScape encouraging players to walk more.
Added
- Portal now shows the earliest support date, next-wave eligibility, and an estimated invite timing for eligible supporters.
- Server emails were added for Closed Beta eligibility and game download invitations.
- BMAC linking was updated to support one-time support events.
- Localisations were being added to the game, Portal, and website.
Changed
- Patreon and BMAC status checks were changed from hourly to every 20 minutes.
- Patreon and BMAC status checks were no longer limited by runtime, fixing scaling issues with supporter processing.
- Patreon and BMAC email handling was improved to tolerate trailing spaces in supporter email addresses.
- Chest and gear acquisition were identified as future balance targets, since most gear was currently gated behind chests until more loot sources were added.
Planned
- Wave two participants were planned to be invited in February.
- February priorities included bug fixes, QoL improvements, minor content, Friends, Consumables, Achievements, and localisations.
- March was planned to include the first minor update with new features and more content.
- April was planned to include a second minor update and wave three invitations.
- May-June was planned to include the first major update, focused on a significant new feature to improve game longevity, alongside another smaller content update.
- New items, rare drops, and recipes were planned before or around wave two.
- The saved steps limit was planned to increase.
- Portal polls were planned so players could help influence future update priorities.
- Smart watch support was confirmed as desired but described as a larger feature, with current bugs and phone pedometer reliability taking priority first.
- New supporters could still gain access to wave two until the unannounced wave two cutoff date; after that, access would move to wave three.
Known issues
- The “rollback” issue could load an older save after connection loss or rapid reopening, especially on iOS.
- Smaller issues included Miner’s Shirt being treated as pants, incorrect item attributes, broken total level leaderboards after a server update, skiing and frisbee golfing not working, and infinite waiting when a character name was already taken.
- Chest balancing was not yet ideal, especially for players who walk less and for transformation skills such as carpentry, smithing, and cooking.
- GDTE had limited content, though its gated access made this a lower immediate issue.
- Swipe/navigation issues, especially on iOS, were planned to be fixed before wave two.
Posted on January 18, 2024.
- Closed Beta wave one was made available for download through the Portal account page, with the game initially kept in maintenance mode before play opened.
- Closed Beta characters were confirmed to be wiped before Open Beta, with a possibility of additional wipes if major technical issues require them.
- Wave two was planned for after the first update, estimated at around three weeks depending on launch bugs and critical issues.
- A Closed Beta update structure was outlined: OTA content updates and minor patches every 1–3 weeks, minor feature updates every 1–2 months, and major updates roughly once per quarter.
- Farming was named as the first planned major update, with future regions such as Wallisia, Galeforge, and Wrentmark mentioned as possible later additions.
- Players were expected to help influence feature priorities through Portal and in-game polling.
- The Closed Beta version requires an internet connection to open and interact with the online game, while phone pedometer steps still count offline and during maintenance.
- Offline mode was planned for later as a separate way to play without any internet requirement.
- The developer planned to attend Pocket Gamer Connects in London from January 21–26, with the first fixes and polish update expected after returning.
Added
- Closed Beta wave one download access through the Portal account page.
- Temporary tutorial mechanics to introduce some game functions.
- Infrastructure for OTA content updates, online requirements, and game validation.
Planned
- Achievements and Consumables were listed as top post-launch priorities.
- Localisations, settings, and additional QoL features were planned for the following weeks.
- An adventure mode was mentioned as a possible future solution for longer periods without internet access.
Known issues
- Apple review delays affected iOS/TestFlight availability, delaying the lifting of maintenance mode until Apple allowed users to download the game.
- Game validation, OTA updates, and other recently added systems had bugs and confusing error messages; restarting or reinstalling was suggested as a temporary fix.
- Android step counting could fail after restarting the phone because the pedometer resets to 0; players were advised to open the game before and immediately after restarting.
- UI elements and tutorial coverage were incomplete, and some search/settings/QoL functions were not yet working.
- Performance had not yet been fully optimised, with Android expected to lag more than iOS on some devices.
- The Patreon linking system slowed down after a large increase in supporters, causing recently linked Patreons to not be processed correctly.
DevBlogs From 2023
In 2023, DevBlogs #4–28 followed WalkScape from early worldbuilding and system design into a playable closed beta candidate. The year introduced major lore for Arenum and the Western Continent, then detailed core systems including skills, crafting, inventory, tools, treasure chests, character customization, achievements, exploration, NPC shops, saved steps, leaderboards, and the WalkScape Portal. Development expanded from feature planning into closed alpha testing, content creation, platform support for Android and iOS, community events, localization, supporter account linking, and convention appearances. By the end of the year, the team had moved from broad feature showcases to closed beta preparation, announced a 18 January 2024 closed beta release date, and confirmed that remaining work before launch was mainly polishing and additional content.
Posted on December 21, 2023.
- Announced that the WalkScape closed beta would release on 18 January 2024.
- Stated that the initial closed beta was ready for publishing but not yet complete.
- Remaining work before release was described as mainly polishing and adding more content.
- Announced that no further regular DevBlogs would be posted before release.
- Stated that Floursifter would post weekly closed beta feature deep dives and a starter guide before release.
Closed beta
- A more detailed closed beta overview and retrospective was planned to release alongside the closed beta.
- A roadmap for the months after the initial closed beta release was planned.
- New features and content were planned to be added rapidly during the closed beta phase.
- A current closed beta to-do image was included in the post.
Closed beta access
- A closed beta sign-up form was planned to open on the WalkScape Portal.
- Players without supporter access would be able to sign up for future closed beta invitations.
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters would continue to receive guaranteed access in upcoming invite waves.
- The r/WalkScape subreddit was planned to open for public posting.
- A Twitch Q&A session was planned before the closed beta release.
Jagex license agreement
- Announced an official license agreement with Jagex to use the RuneScape trademark in marketing.
- Clarified that Jagex was not connected to WalkScape.
- Clarified that the agreement did not allow use of other RuneScape intellectual property such as Gielinor, characters, or bosses.
- Stated that the agreement included permission to share the news publicly and answer community questions.
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024
- Not a Cult received free tickets to Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024 after winning a prize at a previous Pocket Gamer Connects pitching event.
- Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024 was scheduled for 22–23 January 2024.
- The developer planned to be in London from 21–26 January, shortly after the closed beta release.
- The post warned that responses to early closed beta issues could be delayed during the convention trip.
- A possible London community meetup was mentioned.
Added
- Leaderboards were added to the initial closed beta release.
- Leaderboards had originally been planned for shortly after release, but were moved earlier so the game would feel less single-player.
- The first leaderboard implementation was described as simple, without the planned league system.
- A submitter comment stated that anti-cheat work was ongoing and that the team planned to work with the community to make pedometer abuse harder.
Posted on November 30, 2023.
- Announced that iOS support was complete and that WalkScape was working on iOS as well as Android.
- Stated that the game should be able to release on both iOS and Android on the same day.
- Announced that NPC shops were completed.
- Renamed the steps bank feature to saved steps.
- Confirmed that the closed beta release date would be announced in the next DevBlog on 21 December 2023.
- Stated that the closed beta release was expected in January.
Closed beta progress
- Remaining closed beta work included more content, item attributes, item banking, temporary buffs, polishing, and final testing.
- The Google Play and App Store release pipeline was being prepared.
- Alpha testing was expanded and intensified to find bugs and exploits before closed beta.
- Alpha tester feedback was broadly positive about the game, UI, and overall feel, while noting missing item stats and content.
- The developer noted that the initial beta should still be expected to contain some bugs.
iOS support
- iOS support was built and tested during the previous week.
- Hardware-related issues, especially around pedometer data, were fixed.
- A TestFlight pipeline was prepared for iOS testing.
- A video was shared showing the game running on iOS.
Saved steps
- The steps bank was renamed to saved steps to avoid misunderstandings.
- Saved steps are generated when steps would otherwise be wasted during limited activities, such as crafting after materials run out or travelling after reaching a destination.
- When saved steps are available, each new step counts as two while one saved step is consumed.
- A saved steps UI was shown.
NPC shops
- NPC shops were completed.
- Shops use a trading system where buying and selling can be handled in a single transaction.
- Players can switch between buying and selling by swiping left or right.
- The shop interface includes a trade preview similar to a shopping cart.
- Shops have limited stocks that are personal to each player.
- Shop stocks refresh at 12:00 UTC.
- Future shops may refresh on different schedules, such as weekly.
- New shop and building art was shown, including JarvoJoy, Bilgemont Castle, Bogside Bank of Prosperity, and Bureau of Moss.
Added
- A travelling details page was added, showing activities, services, and buildings in explored locations.
- Dynamic backgrounds were added for character profile pictures, changing based on the character's current location.
- New content was added, with more content planned once the remaining features were complete.
- Sorgo created splash and concept art for a halfling camp in the Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise.
- Portal login in Firefox was fixed.
Closed beta access
- A submitter comment clarified that the second wave of closed beta invitations was planned to start a few weeks after the first wave.
- Supporters and future invite forms were both described as ways to enter later beta waves.
Step tracking
- A submitter comment clarified that running works in the game.
- Running was stated to count slightly more progress because running usually has a higher cadence than walking.
Schedule
- The next DevBlog was delayed by one week to 21 December 2023.
- The release date announcement was moved to allow the team to avoid releasing during the holidays.
- Extra time before release was planned to be used for polishing and final testing.
- A small feature not originally planned for the initial beta was teased for the next DevBlog.
Posted on November 16, 2023.
- Reported major progress toward closed beta, including completed cloud saving, character creation, multiple character support, the main menu, authentication, exploration, and the new game server.
- Stated that content work, NPC shops, item attributes, item banking, temporary buffs, the steps bank, and final polishing still remained before closed beta.
- Planned to begin Google Play and App Store approval work within the next two weeks, with the app downloadable by everyone but closed beta access limited to invited accounts.
- Expected the next DevBlog to include more completed content, item banking, NPC shops, and progress on smaller remaining features.
- Previewed new Jarvonia art and locations, including Azurazera and Frosthook Emporium.
Closed beta progress
- Closed beta content was still in progress, with locations nearly complete and items, item attributes, achievements, activities, and crafting recipes still being added.
- NPC buildings and shops were around 60% complete, with UI and server infrastructure finished and buying/selling in progress.
- Cloud saving, exploration, authentication and login, PFP customization, character creation, the main menu, multiple character support, and the new server were marked complete.
- The skill level-up UI was partly complete, but still needed unlock information.
- Item banking, applying item attributes, temporary consumable buffs, and the steps bank had not yet started.
NPC shops
- Money was added to the game as part of NPC shop development.
- NPC shops were planned to offer different prices for certain item types instead of using only standard rates.
- NPC shop inventories have limited supplies that are specific to each player rather than shared server-wide.
- Shops update at 12:00 UTC, requiring an online connection for online mode but not for offline mode.
- Some shops were planned to offer discounts or special items at certain times, such as seasonal goods in farming shops.
Added
- Improved world map pathing was added, allowing routes to follow more natural roads and paths instead of only straight lines.
- The character follows these routes visually on the world map while travelling.
- Development tools gained sorting, filtering, search, and copying features to speed up content creation and balancing.
- A new server was set up to better support cloud saving, NPC shops, and future server-side features.
- Dozens of new items, crafting recipes, activities, and some new locations were added.
- Cloud saving was implemented.
- Multiple character support was added for the initial closed beta version.
Multiple characters
- Multiple characters were added after cloud saving made the feature easier to support.
- The system was intended to support different play modes, such as ironman, online play, challenge characters, and region-limited characters.
- The post stated that players would not need multiple subscriptions for more than one online character.
Portal
- Polls were planned for the WalkScape Portal and in-game voting.
- Polls were intended to help decide difficult design choices and future development priorities.
- The first planned use of polls was to prioritise features after closed beta release.
Monetisation
- A submitter comment clarified that offline mode was planned as a one-time purchase.
- Online play was planned as an affordable subscription.
- Both online and offline play were planned to have free limited versions with access to Jarvonia and the Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise.
- The subscription model was described as supporting server costs and avoiding microtransactions or predatory monetisation.
Known issues
- Portal login in Firefox had an ongoing issue at the time of the post, with other browsers suggested as a workaround.
Posted on November 2, 2023.
- Updated the closed beta progress and explained the remaining work needed before release.
- Described the closed beta as focused on the core gameplay loop of selecting activities, walking to progress, banking or selling items, crafting upgrades, travelling, exploring, and completing achievements.
- Stated that the team remained optimistic that closed beta would release before the end of 2023.
- Announced Sorgo as a new 2D art intern at Not a Cult Oy.
- Announced the establishment of the WalkScape community team.
Closed beta progress
- Closed beta content work was still incomplete, with locations mostly done but items, item attributes, activities, and crafting recipes still requiring significant work.
- Achievements were mostly complete, while item banking had not yet started.
- NPC buildings and shops were partly complete, with UI finished but buying and selling still missing.
- Applying item attributes in-game had not yet started.
- Cloud saving and the skill level-up UI were partially complete.
- Exploration, authentication and login, and the main menu were complete.
- PFP customization and character creation were close to complete.
- The launch date was planned to be announced once the remaining closed beta features were finished, followed by a short final polishing period.
Team
- Sorgo joined Not a Cult Oy as an art intern for the coming months.
- Sorgo's areas included digital illustration, video editing, animation, publication design, game design studies, and early pixel art work.
- The team expected Sorgo to increase art output and support non-pixel art elements, especially for lore-related content.
- Hexalyse was listed as working on the Portal and backend.
- floursifter was listed as community manager and as helping in several other roles.
- The developer stated that programming remained the main bottleneck, but hiring a full-time programmer before closed beta would likely create further delays.
Content
- More content was described as the largest missing piece before closed beta release.
- Additional content was needed to make the initial version more enjoyable, give the team time to develop later updates, and make the world feel less empty.
- The initial closed beta was still expected to feel somewhat empty due to limited NPCs, quests, activity variety, and online features.
- New content shown included mountain mining activities, mountain foraging, city litter looting, and additional crafting recipes.
- Content work was expected to continue until the next DevBlog.
Portal and supporter access
- The WalkScape Portal received a new feed feature showing new posts and posts with new comments.
- Portal sorting was improved and minor UI fixes were added.
- Immediate closed beta access for supporters was cut off on 1 November 2023 at 00:00 UTC.
- Previous supporters who had not linked their Portal account to Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee were still expected to receive the correct invitation based on their support start date.
- New supporters after the cutoff were planned to receive access in the second wave of beta invites.
World map
- The world map rework was described as "completed" in the sense that basic structures and vegetation had been filled in.
- The world map was planned to remain an ongoing art and content project.
- Future map work included more unique details, polishing specific areas, increasing variety, adding unique locations, adding lore, and eventually adding new continents or islands.
- Community suggestions for unique locations and other map ideas were requested.
Posted on November 2, 2023.
- Introduced the exploration mechanic planned for closed beta.
- Shared world map UI and performance improvements based on feedback from the We Love Games conference livestream.
- Announced regular WalkScape Twitch streams.
- Recapped the main feature set planned for closed beta.
- Confirmed that supporters who joined Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee before 1 November 2023 would receive closed beta access at launch.
Exploration
- Exploration was the most requested feature to add before closed beta release in the closed beta feature survey.
- At the start of the game, only Kallaheim and Disenchanted Forest are visible on the map.
- Nearby unexplored locations appear as question marks.
- Information about hidden locations remains unavailable until the player explores them.
World map
- The world map code was rewritten to improve performance, including smoother operation on older phones.
- Location labels and other visual elements were improved.
- The map can show how locations connect to each other.
- Selecting a travel destination shows the route the character will take.
- The player's character is visible on the map and moves between locations based on real-life steps while travelling.
- UI improvements included location information, route information, filtering, and search.
Live streams
- Maxchill and schamppu tested livestreaming during the We Love Games conference.
- The WalkScape Twitch channel was introduced.
- Maxchill planned weekly art streams on Tuesdays from 12:00 to 16:00 UTC+3.
- Occasional Tuesday evening streams were planned for North American viewers.
- Development streams and possible Q&A sessions were also planned.
We Love Games
- The team attended the We Love Games online conference.
- The Discord side of the event had limited organiser activity, but the team still engaged with the existing community.
- The developer noted that people were interested in WalkScape and how it stands out in the mobile market.
- The event highlighted the value of livestreaming development work and communicating with the community through streams.
Closed beta recap
- Closed beta was planned to include exploration and travelling in Jarvonia and the Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise.
- Travelling uses pathfinding, with the player character physically moving between locations.
- Cancelling travel returns the player to the most recently reached location.
- Closed beta features included nine skills, crafting, gear and items, treasure chests, NPC shops, banks, achievements, and minor community or MMO features.
- Crafted items can have six tiers of outcomes based on rare materials, skill level, and gear.
- Gear and items can reduce step requirements, provide buffs, and later affect combat.
- The initial closed beta was planned to have limited multiplayer features, with WalkScape Portal integration available from the start.
- A new tavern was previewed.
Supporters
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee memberships increased after supporter beta access changes were announced.
- Supporters who were members before 1 November 2023 were guaranteed closed beta access at launch.
- Memberships started after 1 November 2023 were planned to receive access later.
- Free ways to receive closed beta access were still planned to be announced later.
Posted on October 19, 2023.
- Announced new supporter account-linking features through the WalkScape Portal.
- Previewed in-game character creation, NPC shops, and the Character View.
- Stated that the alpha build had become stable after weeks of testing without major issues.
- Noted that engine work was nearly complete, allowing more work on smaller closed beta features.
- Announced that WalkScape would have a virtual booth at W Love Games 2023.
Supporter changes
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters could now link their accounts to their WalkScape Portal accounts.
- Supporters who had held a membership before 1 November 2023 would receive closed beta access when closed beta released.
- Cancelled memberships before the deadline were also included.
- New memberships after 1 November 2023 were planned to receive beta access later.
- A submitter comment clarified that supporter beta access meant an invitation for day-one access when closed beta released, not immediate access at the time of the DevBlog.
- A submitter comment clarified that the date format used was European, meaning the supporter deadline was 1 November 2023.
- Supporter perks included special Portal and in-game icons, nickname colour, and an exclusive "Closed Beta Supporter" title.
- More supporter perks were planned for the future.
Character creation
- In-game character creation was being implemented after the earlier standalone PFP tool.
- Players could choose a home region from Jarvonia, Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise, Wallisia, Galeforge, or Wrentmark.
- Home region choice was planned to affect starting items and possibly special dialogue options.
- Race selection was included, with humans supported first and halflings, elves, dwarves, and other races planned later.
- Background selection was planned to affect starting items, tutorial content, and possibly dialogue options.
- The character creation UI and UX had received multiple refinements.
NPC shops
- NPC shops were moved earlier in development because in-game currency and some achievements needed shop functionality.
- Shop owners were planned to greet the player when visiting shops.
- Banks and other buildings were also planned to use the same shop-style interaction system.
- Bank art was shown as part of the shop and building system.
- Modular shop assets were designed with possible future player housing in mind.
- Player housing was described as a later feature that could increase the usefulness of Carpentry.
Character View
- Introduced Character View as a progress overview screen.
- The view showed a breakdown of skill levels.
- The view was planned to expand with lifetime character statistics and fitness information.
- Daily step statistics had already been included.
- The developer requested suggestions for additional fitness statistics and Character View improvements.
W Love Games 2023
- WalkScape received a virtual booth space for W Love Games 2023.
- The conference was scheduled for 12–13 October 2023.
- The event was free to attend online.
- The virtual booth was planned to run through the conference Discord server, where the team would showcase the game and answer questions.
Development
- The post showed progress on remaining closed beta tasks since the previous task list.
- The developer stated that the alpha build had reached a very stable state.
- No major issues had been encountered during several weeks of internal alpha play.
- The developer said the game was beginning to feel ready for closed beta testers.
Posted on September 21, 2023.
- Reported on WalkScape being demoed at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.
- Announced that WalkScape won third prize at the Very Big Indie Pitch.
- Stated that the team planned to attend PGC London 2024 on 22–23 January 2024.
- Shared positive feedback from convention attendees, judges, publishers, and investors.
- Reiterated that preserving creative freedom remained important, making publisher or investor offers unlikely to be accepted.
- Noted that the list of must-have closed beta features was continuing to shrink.
- Mentioned that the game had passed 100,000 lines of code.
Convention
- The team demoed the alpha version of WalkScape at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.
- The booth included two tables and a "Walkdalf" display to attract attention.
- Feedback praised the focus on mental and physical health, passive progress while walking, lack of ads and predatory monetisation, and polished presentation.
- Multiple publishers showed interest in the project, but the developer stated that independent decision-making remained a priority.
- One criticism from the convention was that the older world map no longer matched the rest of the game's visual style.
World map rework
- The world map was reworked into a pixel art style to better match the overall art direction.
- maxchill created an initial redesigned version of Jarvonia.
- The new map was increased by 25% in size to allow more world detail.
- The pixel art map supports landmarks, clearer location connections, visible travel routes, stronger biome presentation, and easier editing through a tileset.
- Map layers were planned, including a possible mode showing the borders of each in-game realm.
- During closed beta, only Jarvonia and the Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise were planned to be fully completed on the map.
- Most closed beta locations had already been added to the game.
- A submitter comment stated that pixel-art fonts had been tested, but were rejected because of readability concerns.
Main menu and authentication
- The main menu was described as mostly complete in functionality, though its art and appearance could still change.
- Authentication had been implemented for accounts created through either the WalkScape Portal or the game itself.
- Login and loading were made smoother through the completed main menu and authentication flow.
- Logged-in players with an existing character were planned to be taken directly to that character without extra launch steps.
- Small online features were being added for the initial closed beta, with broader online functionality planned during beta testing.
Monetisation and design principles
- The convention response reinforced the value of the game's non-intrusive design and lack of ads or in-app purchases.
- A submitter comment reiterated that the game was designed to add to walking rather than distract from exercise.
- A submitter comment restated the planned monetisation model as a subscription for online play and a one-time purchase for offline mode.
- The developer contrasted this with in-app purchases, which were described as more predatory and risky for pay-to-win design.
Posted on September 7, 2023.
- Announced a rewritten WalkScape Portal, a new merch store, and the end of the Summer Walkdown event.
- Stated that the developer had taken time off from direct game development, while still handling marketing and management work.
- Noted that convention preparation had caused a slight development delay.
- Stated that the next DevBlog was planned for 21 September 2023, with more game-focused news expected.
Portal
- Hexalyse rewrote the Portal frontend after offering to help with development.
- The new Portal replaced the previous Flutter web frontend with a React and Next.js frontend.
- Existing Portal data remained intact, so users did not need to register again.
- New Portal features included improved browser support, accessibility features, avatar uploading, user profiles, faster performance, improved security, and post search.
- Players could upload a custom avatar or a profile picture made with the PFP tool.
- Feedback and bug reports for the new Portal were requested through the Suggestions & Feedback category.
WalkScape Store
- Announced the launch of the WalkScape merch store at store.walkscape.app.
- The store was created partly in response to interest from Summer Walkdown participants.
- Buying store items was described as a way to support development.
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee were noted as giving the team a larger share of support funds than merch sales.
- Product and design requests were requested through comments, Discord, or e-mail.
Summer Walkdown
- Announced that the Summer Walkdown event had ended.
- The event counted 102 million total steps from 500 participants.
- The average participant step count was 7,325 steps per day.
- The final batch of closed beta keys from the event was planned to be distributed on Discord.
- A similar event was planned to be implemented directly into the game.
- The event influenced the decision to let players choose their character's home region during character creation.
- Event statistics showed strong player attachment to the realms of the Western Continent.
Convention
- Not a Cult planned to attend Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki the following week.
- The developer planned to share images and insights from the convention with supporters.
- maxchill worked on banners, business cards, and other marketing materials for the convention.
- A short game demo was being prepared for the event.
- The team's convention goals were to learn how to run a booth, prepare for future consumer conventions, spread awareness, and speak with journalists.
- The developer stated that the team was not planning to sell the game or company despite investor meeting requests.
Development
- Game development focus was planned to return fully after the convention.
- Convention preparation was stated to have caused a slight delay.
- Supporters on Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee were credited with helping fund the convention presence and ongoing business costs.
Posted on September 7, 2023.
- Marked the one-year anniversary of WalkScape, with development beginning from the first git commit on 17 August 2022.
- Reviewed the project's growth from a personal hobby into a full-time project with maxchill.
- Shared a new closed beta teaser video made for the anniversary and upcoming convention use.
- Confirmed that the game would not be finished during summer 2023, with closed beta now expected during fall 2023.
- Stated that most alpha bugs had been fixed, with remaining issues mainly related to saving and step counting.
Development progress
- Alpha testing had been running for a few weeks.
- Saving and step counting issues were described as mostly fixed.
- Technical debt had been reduced while work continued on development tools and engine improvements.
- Most development tools were complete, with only the tool for adding item attributes still missing.
- The main menu artwork was complete, but the full main menu still needed finishing.
Remaining closed beta work
- Remaining tasks included some content, bug fixes, authentication and login, exploration, item banking, cloud saving, and minor features.
- The game still needed a skill level-up UI showing unlocked content.
- PFP customization still needed to be integrated into the game.
- The developer stated that the remaining list should shrink faster now that most technical debt and major bugs had been addressed.
Teaser video
- A closed beta teaser video was created for the one-year anniversary.
- The video was made with no budget and help from friends.
- The teaser was planned to be played on loop at an upcoming convention.
- The video was intended to showcase the game's unique features and overall feel.
General announcements
- DevBlogs were moved from Monday releases to Thursday releases.
- The schedule remained every other week.
- The next DevBlog was planned for 7 September 2023.
- The Summer Walkdown event was still ongoing and players could still join.
- Positive feedback from the event led to plans to include similar events directly in the game during closed beta.
- In-game events were described as a useful multiplayer-style feature while larger multiplayer systems were still early in development.
Posted on August 7, 2023.
- Announced the Summer Walkdown community walking event.
- Shared results and development decisions from the closed beta feature survey.
- Announced that Not a Cult would attend Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.
- Reported ongoing engine, activity, loot table, development tool, and save-system improvements.
- Previewed new profile-picture customization options and item content.
Summer Walkdown
- Summer Walkdown was scheduled to run from 8 August 2023 at 00:00 UTC to 5 September 2023 at 23:59 UTC.
- Participants were randomly assigned to one of five teams: Jarvonia, GDTE, Wallisia, Wrentmark, or Galeforge.
- Each team contributed steps toward shared goals, beginning with 1,000,000 steps per team.
- Event rewards were planned to unlock new in-game content for everyone.
- Every 500,000 steps toward the shared event goal would award a closed beta invite to one random participant, with the threshold subject to adjustment.
- New participants joining during the event would be assigned to the team furthest behind.
- The event used the Outwalk app for step tracking.
- Participants were asked to add maxchill, Necria, and floursifter in Outwalk so community moderators could track event progress.
- Event statistics were planned to be shared publicly, so players were advised to use a username instead of their real name if preferred.
Survey retrospective
- The closed beta feature survey led to a reduced initial feature scope.
- Exploration and a small tutorial were the only new features planned in addition to must-have systems.
- Enough content was planned for at least a couple of months of play, with more content to be added during closed beta.
- Leaderboards were likely moved out of the initial closed beta release and planned for addition during closed beta.
- Development focus shifted from new features to game-engine improvements and stability.
- Remaining must-have systems included in-game character customization, authentication, login, main menu, level-up popups with unlock information, skill level breakdowns, and character statistics.
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
- Not a Cult planned to attend Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki on 12–13 September 2023.
- The team planned to demo WalkScape at the conference and make industry contacts.
- Support from Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee helped fund the booth and company setup.
- Conference updates were planned for public channels, with additional updates for supporters on Discord.
Development
- Activity and loot table systems were improved following closed alpha testing.
- Fishing and foraging issues found during alpha testing required a significant overhaul.
- Development tools were being made more dynamic to support more varied future content.
- The save system required a full rework after moving to a more dynamic and flexible structure.
- The new save system was intended to reduce the chance of unwanted progress resets during beta.
- New content shown included profile-picture customization options, Grippy gloves, and Cargo pants.
- Submitter comments noted that high Portal registration volume caused e-mail delivery issues, which were later addressed by upgrading the mail plan.
Posted on July 24, 2023.
- Announced that the closed alpha version of WalkScape was ready.
- Stated that the alpha was the first playable version, but still needed testing and improvements before closed beta.
- Explained that development tools were almost complete, with only tools for adding PFP options and crafting recipes still missing.
- Noted that the next phase of work was mainly adding content and improving existing systems.
- Mentioned that the next DevBlog was expected to have fewer major feature reveals.
Development tools
- Showed videos demonstrating adding a new fish and adding a new loot table for sea fishing.
- Explained that the tools allow content to be created without coding knowledge.
- The tools were described as rough in UI and not intended for public use yet.
- The developer stated that tool development took longer than expected, but made future content creation easier and less error-prone.
Localization
- Localization was described as more complex than expected.
- The crowd-sourced localization effort involved more than 50 people across over 20 languages.
- Many languages had already been fully translated for the text currently added to the localization tool.
- The localization team and English proofreaders were credited with improving the quality of the game text.
- Most major languages were expected to be fully translated before release.
Changed
- Several existing features were reworked to make the game more scalable and stable for alpha and closed beta.
- Loot tables were reworked because the original design had major oversights.
- The developer increased work time on WalkScape to 56 hours per week, including weekends, to try to reach closed beta.
Closed beta
- Closed beta timing remained uncertain because of the expanded initial feature scope and solo-development workload.
- A community survey was opened to ask which features should be included in the first beta release and which could wait until later.
- The post explained that cutting features would allow a faster beta release, but could slow later development after launch.
- Based on the current plan before survey results, closed beta was expected near the end of summer 2023 or, in a worst-case scenario, during fall.
- If closed beta was delayed into fall, the developer promised to make the remaining development tasks and changelog public for transparency.
Support
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters were credited with helping keep development going before monetisation.
- Supporter funding helped the developer set up a company and spend more time on development.
Posted on July 10, 2023.
- Introduced the achievement system for WalkScape.
- Stated that closed beta would include 50 achievements, all completable within Jarvonia and the initial closed beta content.
- Announced progress on localization and the setup of a crowd-sourced translation platform.
- Shared multiple recent sneak peeks from Discord and Twitter.
- Recommended the unofficial community wiki and thanked contributors.
Achievements
- Achievements were designed to provide unusual challenges, flavourful names, artwork, descriptions, and rewards.
- Closed beta achievements were divided into easy, normal, hard, and extreme categories.
- The first 50 achievements were planned as about 20 easy, 15 normal, 10 hard, and 5 extreme achievements.
- Hard and extreme achievements were expected to take a long time to complete.
- Achievements are shared across all characters on an account, including offline and online characters.
- Achievement rewards can be claimed by all characters on the account.
- Achievements are accessed from the Profile view.
- The Profile view was updated so that the character image replaced the previous large character level display.
- The achievement list can hide completed achievements.
- Sorting options and tracking up to three achievements at a time were planned.
- Tracked achievements were planned to appear in the character section of the main navigation.
Achievement rewards
- Achievements give reward points based on difficulty: 1 for easy, 3 for normal, 5 for hard, and 10 for extreme.
- Every 10 reward points unlocks a special reward.
- Reward point rewards were planned to include mostly cosmetics, with some chests and titles.
- Some achievements, especially hard and extreme achievements, also give direct rewards when completed.
- The Cape of Half-Achiever is unlocked at 50% of total achievement reward points.
- The Cape of Achiever is unlocked by completing every achievement.
- The achievement capes were described as strong items.
- Players may lose achievement capes when new achievements are added if they no longer meet the required point or completion threshold.
Localization
- Localization files were being filled as more content was added to the game.
- A crowd-sourced translation platform was being tested at translate.walkscape.app.
- Players interested in translation were asked to request an invite link.
- A submitter comment clarified that Tolgee invite links appeared to expire after one use, so players should DM the developer if they wanted to help translate.
- Contributors who help significantly with localization were planned to be credited in-game.
- The localization files were noted to contain achievement spoilers.
Sneak peeks
- Previewed the Vegetable soup recipe and Carrot cake.
- Previewed items including Rooted Ring, Warm Jacket, Crafting Guidebook, Pathfinder, Pants of Haste, and Halfling's Feet Slippers.
- Previewed information about Jarvonia.
- Showed that crafting full armour sets can unlock new profile-picture outfit options.
Posted on June 26, 2023.
- Replaced the originally planned achievements topic with a roadmap and leaderboard update due to the developer's health issue.
- Stated that the closed beta was still hoped for summer 2023, but had received a slight delay.
- Explained that the initial closed beta would begin with a small group of players, then invite more players after major issues were fixed.
- Stated that leaderboards were planned to be included from the start of closed beta.
- Mentioned that company founding was nearly complete and that alpha work had progressed significantly before the delay.
Closed beta roadmap
- Missing closed beta work included loot table tools, recipe tools, leaderboards, authentication, login, the initial game starting pipeline, main menu, achievements, polishing, steps bank, banking, and additional content.
- Existing closed beta features included most development tools, items, modifiers, attributes, crafting, recipes, skills, inventory, tools, treasury, world map, travelling, activities, and the location view.
- The closed beta skill list included Crafting, Agility, Fishing, Cooking, Smithing, Mining, Woodcutting, Carpentry, and Foraging.
- Jarvonia was planned as the starting region, with around 30 locations.
- Exploration was planned so that players initially only see locations near the starting location.
- More content was planned to be added during closed beta.
Beta plans
- The first two weeks after closed beta release were expected to focus on fixing major issues.
- Device-specific problems were expected, so the first tester group was planned to include a diverse range of devices.
- More players were planned to be invited periodically after the game became stable.
- Closed beta development was planned to add more content and features while working toward open beta.
- Open beta was planned to add quests, dialogue, random encounters, NPC shops, and combat.
- Online features planned during closed beta included a player-to-player marketplace and a party system.
- Beta sign-ups were planned to open on the WalkScape Portal shortly before closed beta launch.
Future development
- The game was described as something that would continue receiving content after full release rather than becoming complete at launch.
- Long-term plans included one or two larger expansions each year, with multiple smaller updates between them.
- Future updates were planned to add more skills, content, variety, and community-suggested features.
- Systems were being built to be scalable and future-proof, even though this made implementation more complex.
Leaderboards
- Permanent leaderboards were planned to show skill levels, total level, total experience, and possibly step counts.
- Permanent leaderboards were described as highly competitive and more favourable to players who can walk the most.
- Resetting leaderboards were introduced as a more balanced competitive option.
- Resetting leaderboards were planned to count steps only and reset monthly.
- Players would be placed into leagues based on average weekly step count, ranging from low-step leagues to 25,000+ steps per day.
- League competition was intended to match players with similar activity levels.
- Resetting leaderboard rewards were planned to include chests and treasure based on ranking and effort.
- Players could move to higher or lower leagues depending on their activity over time.
- Leaderboards were intended to be optional for players who do not want competitive play.
Posted on June 12, 2023.
- Announced the launch of the WalkScape Portal at portal.walkscape.app.
- Explained that the Portal was created to provide a dedicated platform beyond Reddit and Discord.
- Stated that work on the Portal took priority over game development for the previous two weeks, but also improved the game's backend and server infrastructure.
- Described the Portal as a future companion platform for community features, account management, bug reports, feedback, and game-related tools.
- Stated that the next development focus would return to the alpha and remaining development tools.
Portal reasons
- Reddit had been the main community hub, but recent Reddit changes led the team to want their own platform.
- Discord remained active, but was not considered suitable for every community need.
- The Portal was intended to provide a structured space for bug reports, suggestions, and feedback.
- The Portal was planned as a central platform for MMO-style features and desktop-friendly systems.
- Closed beta player management and sign-ups were planned to be handled through the Portal.
- Sharing characters, progress, and steps through browser links was planned as a Portal feature.
Current features
- Portal account registration and authentication were available.
- Portal accounts were stated to be the same accounts used for the game.
- Posts could be upvoted, edited, and deleted.
- Posts supported categories, including a development category intended for developer posts only.
- Markdown support was included for posts and comments.
- Some account management was available, such as changing username.
- The Portal used the same backend and server as the game.
Planned near-term features
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee account linking was planned for Portal accounts and future in-game use.
- Supporters were planned to receive a visible supporter chip next to their usernames.
- Account deletion, comment upvoting, comment and post filtering, caching improvements, post statuses, flairs, moderators, and custom avatar pictures were planned.
- Bug report statuses such as unresolved and resolved were planned.
- Feedback and idea statuses, such as approved, were also planned.
- A submitter comment noted that the login and registration process still needed polishing and would be improved after major bugs were fixed.
Future features
- Marketplace management was planned, including viewing, browsing, and listing items through the browser.
- Clan management was planned, including member management and clan posts.
- Character, bank, and progress viewing were planned through Portal integration with game data.
- Character sharing by link was planned.
- Subscriptions and offline mode purchases through the Portal were being considered as a way to reduce app-store fees.
- Guide categories were planned as a possible community content area, with potential in-game integration.
- Additional supporter features were planned through Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee account linking.
- Leaderboards were planned for the Portal.
- Open API endpoints were planned as a possibility for the unofficial wiki and third-party companion tools.
Security
- Passwords were stated to be encrypted.
- The Portal was described as not handling other personal data at launch.
- The team stated that any future personal data would be handled with security in mind.
Community
- Feedback, suggestions, ideas, and bug reports for the Portal were requested.
- A submitter comment stated that updates toward closed beta would continue to be posted both on Reddit and on the Portal.
Posted on May 29, 2023.
- Focused on the technical development of WalkScape, the closed beta roadmap, anti-cheat plans, and the release of the standalone character customization tool.
- Showed the evolution of the game from the first Unity prototype through early Flutter versions to the current version.
- Previewed a work-in-progress logo for the company Not a Cult.
- Stated that development had shifted toward tools, content creation, stability, and closed beta preparation.
Development
- The first Unity prototype was abandoned after about a week because Unity was not well suited to the battery, mobile integration, and UI needs of the game.
- Development moved to Flutter, with Dart making up almost all of the codebase.
- Xcode and Kotlin were used for platform-specific mobile functionality.
- The game used a custom-built engine rather than Flutter's Flame engine.
- The codebase was described as nearly 40,000 lines of code.
- Game data was organised through managers for systems such as skills, items, characters, crafting recipes, and locations.
Development tools
- Development tools were being built to allow content to be added and tested dynamically while the game is running.
- Tools were connected to the game's data managers, allowing new locations, activities, items, and other content to be added without writing code or restarting the game.
- Added or modified data could be exported for permanent inclusion in the game.
- The tools could generate local JSON data that overrides regular game files and can be reset easily.
- The developer added nearly all Jarvonia locations in about an hour using the tools.
- The tools also helped with balancing by showing step requirements, skill progression, loot table statistics, and item effects.
- Public access to development tools was mentioned as a possible future offline-mode modding feature.
Closed alpha and closed beta
- A closed alpha was planned as the first fully playable release, with limited content and some features still missing.
- The closed alpha was planned for internal testing with friends and family before closed beta.
- Closed beta was no longer expected to release in June, with July or August described as more likely within the June-August window.
- The first closed beta release was planned to start with a small number of players to manage feedback and bug reports.
- More players were planned to be invited gradually as major issues were resolved.
- Closed beta was expected to continue until open beta.
- A beta sign-up form was planned to open a few weeks before closed beta release.
Character customization tool
- The character customization feature was released as a separate Flutter web application.
- The tool allowed players to plan their character appearance before the game release.
- Characters created with the tool could be exported as PNG images for use as profile pictures.
- The tool was planned to receive new customization options as game assets were added.
- Suggestions for clothing, facial hair, hairstyles, and back accessories were requested.
- The tool was released at pfp.walkscape.app.
- The character customization tool was also released as open source on GitHub.
Anti-cheat
- Anti-cheat development was planned as a key focus during closed beta.
- The game planned to detect suspicious step patterns by checking the realism of walking behaviour.
- A background process could timestamp steps if needed, allowing the system to identify breaks, sleep, or suspicious activity.
- Google and Apple APIs were mentioned as possible future options for detecting spoofed steps.
- As a fallback, the game could calculate steps directly using accelerometer and gyroscope data.
- The developer stated that cheating would be less harmful if it did not affect competition or the in-game economy.
Posted on May 15, 2023.
- Previewed the character customization system.
- Showed work-in-progress customization UI, expression options, character examples, and Earth Day Event profile-picture rewards.
- Introduced titles as an additional way to personalize characters.
- Announced an unofficial fan-made WalkScape wiki created by KasiGen.
- Stated that development tools were being improved to speed up content creation.
Character customization
- Customizable features included background image, body type, clothing, face, nose, expression, hair style, face accessory, and background accessory.
- Hair, skin, and eye colour were planned to use selectable colour options rather than sliders.
- Expressions included neutral, smile, smiling with teeth, laughing, surprised, angry, angry with mouth open, and sad.
- Expressions were planned for both player characters and NPC dialogue.
- Closed beta customization targets included 30 hairstyles, 10 faces, 10 noses, 10 face or back accessories, about 30 outfit options, and location-based backgrounds.
- Humans were planned as the only playable race for closed beta, with elves, dwarves, halflings, and other races intended for later expansion.
Titles and backstories
- Titles were planned to appear with character names when shown to other players.
- Some titles were planned to be difficult to earn.
- Character backstories were being considered as an option for changing the tutorial quest and starting equipment.
- Backstories were not planned to give permanent buffs or affect long-term character builds.
- Other customization ideas, such as player name colour and coats of arms, were mentioned but not expected for closed beta.
Unlockables
- Achievements were planned to unlock some outfits and titles.
- Reaching level 99 in a skill was planned to unlock a unique title and outfit.
- Crafting or looting a full gear set for the first time was planned to unlock that set as a profile-picture outfit.
- Main quests were planned to unlock additional customization options after quests are added during closed beta.
- Players were planned to be able to freely change profile-picture outfits and titles.
- Larger appearance changes may require a special item in the future.
Community wiki
- Announced an unofficial community wiki at wiki.walkscape.app.
- The wiki was created by KasiGen, a Discord community member.
- The development team stated that they would not directly moderate the wiki, but would provide the domain and possibly hosting in the future.
- Community members were invited to contribute articles.
Development
- Development tools were being worked on alongside character customization.
- The game's data structures had been converted into a format that could be dynamically added to the game.
- Tools for locations and activities had been added.
- The location tool allowed almost every Jarvonia location to be added in less than an hour.
- The team was preparing to officially start a company ahead of closed beta.
Posted on May 1, 2023.
- Focused on the art direction and production process for WalkScape.
- Written primarily by maxchill, the artist for WalkScape.
- Thanked players for the Earth Day Event, where almost 20,000 litres of trash were gathered.
- Covered item sprites, location art, UI icons, achievement art, and character profile pictures.
- Stated that development tools and character portrait customization were being worked on next.
Item sprites
- Item and resource sprites were standardised at 32x32 pixels.
- Early log sprites were shown as the first artwork made for WalkScape.
- Different materials were designed to be visually distinct through more than simple recolouring where practical.
- Some lower-level items and resources may still use recolours to balance quality with production speed.
- The game already had more than 300 items and resources, including tools, skilling gear, plants, seeds, weapons, and treasure chests.
- Crafted armour sets were previewed.
Location art
- Location artwork was designed to provide a sense of exploration and discovery when reaching places in the world.
- The game had 30 unique locations, each with its own artwork.
- Location art was made with the help of Midjourney and retouched by maxchill.
- Location images were split into layers so they could be animated with a parallax effect.
- The post explained that AI-assisted location art was used because of time and budget limits for the small development team.
User interface
- The UI layout and UX were credited to schamppu, with pixel art used throughout the interface.
- UI icons were created at 20x20 pixels, smaller than the 32x32 item sprites.
- Some sprites were created in both 32x32 and 20x20 sizes for use in WalkPedia links and other UI elements.
- The default UI colour palette was selected with community feedback through Discord polls.
- The UI was planned to be customizable.
Achievement art
- Achievement artwork used a distinct card-like style inspired by tarot cards.
- Achievement images were created at 48x64 pixels with simpler artwork, thicker lines, and less detail than item sprites.
- Achievements were planned to include reveal animations such as card flips.
- Some achievements were planned to unlock outfits and other cosmetic rewards.
Character profile pictures
- Character profile pictures were designed to make the player character more than just a name and stats.
- The first 48x48 portrait concept was scrapped because it limited detail and background options.
- A new 64x64 portrait style was created using a three-quarter turn.
- Character creation was planned to include hairstyles, facial features, and a few simple starting outfits.
- Additional outfits, hats, eyewear, weapons, and backgrounds were planned as unlockable cosmetics through crafting, achievements, quests, and other gameplay.
- Completing crafted gear sets, such as bronze armour, was planned to unlock matching profile-picture cosmetics.
- Character profile pictures were planned to be exportable for use outside the game.
Posted on April 17, 2023.
- Continued the inventory system overview, focusing on the Treasury, tools, and item comparison.
- Announced an event planned for 22 April 2023.
- Stated that crafting and inventory were now complete, leaving smaller features before closed beta.
- Noted that development tools would be worked on next to help create content more quickly.
Treasury
- Treasure chests can be found while training skills such as Woodcutting, Agility, and Fishing.
- Treasure chests do not use inventory space and are opened from the Treasury when the player has enough free inventory space.
- Opening chests does not require paid keys or real-money payments.
- Chest-opening includes an animation, with items released in rarity order and the best rewards saved for last.
- Players can open all chests of the same type at once.
- Skill-related chests can contain exclusive skilling gear, such as fishing rods, fishing boots, netsuits, and special tools.
- Skilling gear from chests is treated as loot and cannot be crafted.
Tools
- Introduced the toolbelt as the tool-focused inventory view.
- Tools are used for skills such as Woodcutting, Carpentry, Cooking, and Fishing.
- Toolbelt items do not use normal inventory space.
- Only one tool for each skill can be equipped at a time, because all toolbelt buffs are active.
- Players start with three tool slots and can unlock three more at character levels 20, 50, and 80.
- Character level gains one experience point per real-life step and unlocks general features.
- Most skills require the correct tool type to perform related activities.
- The toolbelt allows the game to automatically use the relevant equipped tool without a separate tool-selection UI.
- Miscellaneous toolbelt items, such as fishing lures and bait, were suggested as possible future additions.
Item comparison
- Introduced an item comparison screen for comparing equipped gear with inventory items.
- The comparison screen has two tabs, showing the currently equipped item and the selected replacement.
- Suitable replacement items can be selected from a list at the bottom of the screen.
- Green arrows show stat improvements, red arrows show downgrades, and missing arrows show stats that cannot be directly compared.
- Important stats are highlighted separately, with minor stats listed below.
- The comparison system was designed to support both quick upgrades and detailed min-maxing.
Closed beta development
- Remaining planned features before the first closed beta version included character customization, achievements, leaderboards, skill level breakdowns, profile statistics, development tools, main menu and login screens, and the final location view.
- The developer expected later DevBlogs to possibly become less feature-focused as development moved closer to polishing and closed beta preparation.
- A submitter comment stated that multiplayer features were planned to expand during closed and open beta.
- A submitter comment stated that a global marketplace similar to the Grand Exchange was planned during closed beta, but not for the first closed beta version.
- A submitter comment stated that WalkScape used the same experience curve as RuneScape.
- Submitter comments reiterated that step-based play was preferred over GPS-based play because GPS can restrict walking routes, demand more attention, drain battery faster, and require trust with location data.
- A submitter comment described the planned monetisation as an affordable subscription for full online world access, a limited free-to-play online option, and a one-time purchase offline mode.
Posted on April 3, 2023.
- Introduced the inventory system, described as the final major feature needed before closed beta.
- Explained that the inventory was designed to support distraction-free gameplay and reduce the need for constant item management while walking.
- Stated that the inventory reveal would be split into two parts, with treasury, tools, and more gear planned for the next DevBlog.
- Previewed crystal and diamond combat armour sets and several inventory UI screens.
Inventory limits
- Inventory size was set at 28 slots, following RuneScape inspiration.
- Items stack within inventory slots, with material stacks planned to hold up to 25 items.
- Stack sizes were still subject to closed beta balancing, with gear mentioned as possibly stacking to 5 per slot.
- The inventory uses a soft cap: players can exceed 28 slots, but doing so applies an increasing work efficiency penalty.
- The penalty increases the number of steps needed to complete tasks while over the inventory limit.
- Players were encouraged to use banks when approaching the inventory limit.
Inventory UI
- Inventory was divided into Inventory, Gear, and Tools tabs.
- Additional space-free item views were planned for Treasury, Quest, and Collectibles.
- Quest Items and Collectibles were noted as planned for a later release.
- Tapping an item opens options such as dropping it or viewing its in-game wiki article and stat details.
- Long-press selection allows multiple item stacks to be selected and dropped or moved to a bank if one is available.
- Inventory options include condensed view, filters, search, sorting, and select all.
- The inventory remembers selected display and filtering options.
Gear
- Introduced the Gear page as a dedicated equipment management view.
- Gear slots shown included Head, Neck, Cape, Arrows, Hands, Chest, Primary, Secondary, Legs, Feet, Ring 1, and Ring 2.
- The Gear page shows a breakdown of modifiers from the currently equipped build.
- Gear choices were described as depending on the player's goals, such as skilling or combat.
- Combat items were planned for closed beta, but combat itself was planned for a later update.
- Players cannot equip the same ring in both ring slots.
Development
- maxchill was credited with creating unique art for each of the 330 closed beta items.
- Len was credited with helping design the closed beta item set.
- Closed beta items were planned to include multiple crafted gear quality variations, from normal to eternal, as well as fine material counterparts.
Posted on March 20, 2023.
- Announced that the crafting system was feature complete.
- Shared a short gameplay video showing the crafting UI in action.
- Noted that only minor UI/UX work, such as sorting and filtering, remained for crafting.
- Stated that completing the inventory system next would finish the basic game loop and move the game closer to closed beta.
- Mentioned that the next DevBlog was planned for 3 April 2023.
Crafting
- Introduced the crafting activity screen as the main new addition since the previous crafting DevBlog.
- The crafting activity screen shows quick progress information, including items remaining, steps needed for the next item, total steps remaining, and overall crafting progress.
- The screen also shows remaining materials and rewards earned during the activity.
- Recipe showcases included a fishing rod crafting recipe and a pancake cooking recipe.
Treasure chests
- Treasure chests were shown as rare special rewards obtainable from any activity.
- Chests can contain rewards such as valuable resources and rare items.
- Rare rings were mentioned as a way to slightly increase the chance of finding treasure chests.
- New treasure chest art by maxchill was previewed.
Steps bank
- Introduced the steps bank as a way to prevent excess steps from being wasted.
- Extra steps from activities that do not run indefinitely, such as crafting, are stored in the steps bank after the activity ends.
- Stored steps are later recovered during new activities by making each walked step count as two while deducting one step from the bank.
- The system was described as a way to keep progress moving without requiring constant active play.
Development progress
- The next planned showcase was the inventory system and its features.
- Remaining work before public release included development tools, faster content creation tools, missing UI elements, skill level breakdowns, online leaderboards, more content, polishing, and testing.
- A new unrevealed feature was teased with a small image.
Posted on March 6, 2023.
- Announced that the planned crafting follow-up was delayed, with crafting expected to continue in the next DevBlog.
- Shared results from the Discord "Realm Reveals" event, which previewed realms across WalkScape.
- Showed maps for the Realms of the Western Continent, the Eastern realms of WalkScape, and the wider world map.
- Introduced Len as a new member of the WalkScape development team.
- Stated that Closed Beta was expected in a few months.
Team
- Len joined the team after initially following the project as an observer.
- Len's work areas were listed as Game Design, Content Design, and Writing.
- Game Design included developing planned features and conceptualising new ones.
- Content Design included populating systems with cohesive materials, crafts, and progression content.
- Writing included lore, history, and story for Arenum.
Lore design
- Explained that WalkScape is intended to include MMO-style lore without forcing players through large lore dumps.
- Stated that story content should remain non-intrusive and optional for players focused mainly on walking and progression.
- Described Arenum as a world where each region has its own folklore, culture, economy, political intrigue, religion, and history.
- Mentioned that lore had already been written for events more than 700 years before the player enters Arenum.
- Stated that characters should feel connected either to the region where they are met or to other places the player may later visit.
Deities
- Introduced Deities as divine beings who influence Arenum from their own planes of existence.
- Explained that Deities rarely manifest directly and that the player is unlikely to meet one.
- Noted that some races, regions, or societies may worship one or more Deities, while others may reject or ignore them.
- Stated that good and evil are relative in Arenum, and no Deity has exclusive ownership of either trait.
Nerys
- Introduced Nerys as the Deity of Heaven, Dreams and Creativity.
- Described Nerys as creating Heaven after visiting Arenum and learning about the dreams of its inhabitants.
- Explained that good-natured souls judged by Farodan, but not belonging to another Deity, may be sent to Nerys.
- Noted that Nerys may appear in dreams to give hope to good people or those who have lost hope.
- Mentioned Calantha and Ceressa as Deities commonly worshipped alongside Nerys.
Rasnovaal
- Introduced Rasnovaal as the Deity of Hell, Devils and Demons.
- Described Rasnovaal as a former thrall who used binding contracts to gain power and claim Hell as his own plane.
- Explained that Rasnovaal commands Devils, Demons, and powerful Generals.
- Described Arenum as a plane of conflict for Rasnovaal and other Deities.
- Stated that Devils may offer desperate people contracts in exchange for their souls.
Art
- Included an early example of how NPC portraits were expected to look in-game.
Posted on February 20, 2023.
- Introduced the basics of the WalkScape crafting system.
- Explained that crafting depends on location services such as forges, sawmills, kitchens, and workshops.
- Stated that the crafting UI can be accessed from any location, not only from locations that provide the relevant service.
- Noted that the DevBlog was the first of two crafting posts, with the next post planned to show more UI elements.
Crafting UI
- Crafting can be opened through services or from global navigation.
- Opening a service can preselect the related crafting skill, such as Smithing from a forge.
- The crafting UI allows the player to select a crafting-related skill and view either materials or recipes.
- The material list only shows inventory materials that have recipes for the selected skill.
- Recipe view shows available recipes and can be filtered by selecting a material, such as filtering copper gear recipes by copper bars.
- Sorting, filters, and search functionality were planned to help players find recipes.
Crafting system
- Selecting a recipe shows details such as quantity, required real-life steps, experience gained, and expected skill level progress.
- Players can adjust how many items to craft before starting the activity.
- Some recipes can accept multiple material options, such as different cooked fish for fish soup.
- The game was planned to automatically choose suitable materials for crafting.
- Fine materials are not automatically used when other valid materials are available, allowing players to save them for later.
- Crafting activities can also produce rare special drops, such as crafting chests.
Fine materials and quality
- Fine materials can replace regular materials to improve the chance of producing higher-quality crafted items.
- Fine materials can also affect processing recipes, such as fine copper ore increasing the chance of producing fine bronze bars.
- The chance of obtaining fine materials increases with skill level, gear, and other modifiers.
- Item quality affects crafted item performance.
- Higher-quality items can gain additional bonus modifiers beyond their base stats.
- The chance of crafting higher-quality items can be improved through skill level, gear, buffs, and fine materials.
Step bank
- A submitter comment clarified that excess steps from walking with no active activity were planned to go into a "steps bank".
- Steps from the steps bank would not be spent freely; instead, each future walked step would count as two while also reducing the banked steps.
- This system was presented as an alternative to an activity queue.
Posted on February 6, 2023.
- Previewed the nine skills planned for the closed beta.
- Stated that the closed beta was planned to launch sometime between June and August 2023.
- Explained that the shown skill flowchart was simplified and that each skill was expected to receive more depth later.
- Confirmed that the closed beta was planned to include only the Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise and Jarvonia.
- Noted that the closed beta might run until open beta, with a possible reset before open beta.
- Mentioned that the inventory system was still in development and that crafting mechanics were also being built.
Skills
- Agility was linked to travelling between locations, with higher levels allowing better travel tools such as snow shoes and grappling hooks.
- Agility travel was planned to include random events, small quests, discoveries, and materials found along the way.
- Foraging was described as gathering natural resources such as plants and seeds from forests, hills, and plains.
- Fishing was described as catching fish, with better rods and more exotic fish unlocked at higher levels.
- Mining was described as gathering ores and gems for crafting.
- Woodcutting was described as gathering logs, functioning similarly to Mining.
- Cooking was described as a crafting skill used at cooking activity locations to create meals, unlock recipes, and use better cookware.
- Smithing was described as turning ores into ingots and creating combat gear.
- Carpentry was described as turning logs into planks and later supporting farm building construction.
- Crafting was described as creating tools such as fishing rods, pickaxes, and hatchets.
Future development
- Closed beta skills were not expected to have complete level 1–99 content at launch, because some activities would require locations not yet included.
- New content was planned to be added periodically during closed beta.
- Farming was clarified as a later skill, not one of the closed beta skills.
- Combat was clarified as a later major feature planned to include multiple combat skills.
- Combat was described as planned to be turn-based and inspired by classic JRPGs such as Final Fantasy.
Posted on January 23, 2023.
- Introduced the planned item system for WalkScape.
- Explained that items are intended to support different playstyles, including combat, crafting, gathering, and exploration.
- Showed several item sprite previews by maxchill, including gear, axes, ores, logs, gems, plants, fish, food, and a treasure chest.
- Stated that the item system was intended to make progression feel rewarding and varied.
Item types
- Crafted items are equippable items made by players or bought from other players.
- Loot items are equippable items gained randomly from sources such as chests, enemies, activities, and quests.
- Material items are used to craft other items.
- Usable items include consumables such as potions and food.
- Openable items contain other items, do not use inventory space, and can be opened when convenient.
- Quest items do not use inventory space and are used to progress quests.
- Collectibles were mentioned as items that may be wanted by someone in the world of WalkScape.
Gear
- Gear was divided into crafted gear and loot gear.
- Loot gear rarity tiers were listed as common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and ethereal.
- Loot gear was described as randomly obtained, usually powerful, and often situational.
- Crafted gear also has six rarity-like quality tiers.
- Crafted item quality is determined by factors such as materials, active buffs, and crafting level.
- Higher-quality crafted items gain additional predetermined attributes rather than random attributes.
- The best highest-quality crafted gear was planned to generally be better than the rarest loot gear, but expensive to make.
- Gear crafting was planned to use multiple skills, including Carpentry, Crafting, Smithing, and Fletching.
- Magic-focused crafting was planned for later development.
Materials
- Materials were described as the basic ingredients for crafting gear.
- Fine materials were introduced as special versions of regular materials.
- Fine materials improve the chance of producing higher-quality crafted items.
- Finding fine materials was planned to depend on factors such as appropriate gear and potion use.
Usables
- Usables include potions made through Alchemy and food made through Cooking.
- Potions were planned to provide bonuses such as increased damage or improved chances when crafting.
- Food was planned to range from simple healing items to more complex dishes with stronger bonuses.
- Only one potion buff and one food buff could be active at the same time.
- Reusing the same food was planned to extend the buff rather than stacking many different food effects.
- Foraging was described as closely linked to Alchemy.
- Cooking was described as using Fishing, Foraging, and Farming for more complex dishes.
- Usable buffs were planned to last for a number of steps or combat turns rather than a timed duration.
Openables
- Openables were described as reward items similar to bird nests or clue scrolls.
- Openables were planned to avoid filling the player's inventory with random activity drops.
- Openables were explicitly stated not to be monetised as paid loot boxes or require real-money keys.
- Their purpose was described as both a quality-of-life feature and a source of surprise rewards.
Posted on January 9, 2023.
- Introduced the first lore-focused DevBlog, beginning a planned series on the history and worldbuilding of WalkScape.
- Explained that the game world is called Arenum and that this post focuses on the Western Continent.
- Stated that each region has a main quest with multiple outcomes based on player choices.
- Clarified that quest choices may affect the story, but should not lock players out of meaningful content.
- Mentioned that special quest rewards not obtained through choices may still be obtainable through other, more difficult means.
Regions
- Jarvonia was described as the starting region for the time being, located in the north-west of the map and known for long winters, short summers, isolationism, and religious rule.
- Kallaheim was introduced as Jarvonia's capital, a large stronghold on the Winter Waves with important fish and mineral resources.
- The Norsacks were introduced as Jarvonia's former nomadic inhabitants, who were pushed from their lands as settlement expanded.
- The Grand Duchy of Trellin-Erdwise, or GDTE, was described as a diarchy made from the former duchies of Trellin and Erdwise.
- GDTE was described as a swamp region with hardy inhabitants, a significant halfling population, and tension between poorer Trellin and wealthier Erdwise.
- The Empire of Wallisia was introduced as the dominant power of the Western Continent, with Middlecrest as the continent's capital.
- Wrentmark was described as a desert-like region rich in gold and precious minerals, known for merchants and craftsmanship.
- Galeforge was described as a wealthy former independent city state and archipelago, connected to the Ethereals and the Celestial Rim.
Story
- Jarvonia's main plot was planned to connect to Wallisia's succession crisis and decisions about whether Jarvonia remains isolationist or opens to Wallisian influence.
- GDTE's main plot was planned to focus on economic disparity and rising resentment between Trellin and Erdwise.
- Wallisia's main plot was planned around the ageing Empress and a possible succession crisis involving her three sons.
- Wrentmark's main plot was planned to involve its disagreements with Wallisia and possible independence tensions.
- Galeforge's main plot was planned to explore the Ethereals and events in the Archipelago.
Worldbuilding
- The Arena in Middlecrest was described as a major historical dividing point in Arenum's timeline.
- The Arena was built after Wallisia conquered Wrentmark, Galeforge, and GDTE, and became a way to resolve conflicts without involving the wider population.
- The Western Continent was described as a familiar fantasy setting mainly populated by humans, with other fantasy races becoming important later.
- Ewerethien, the Ethereal and Immortal Circle, and Braemercia were mentioned as likely subjects for future lore posts.
Gameplay connections
- Lore was planned to be discovered through quests, visiting areas, and speaking with inhabitants.
- Collectible tomes were being considered as a way to provide additional story fragments while travelling.
- Middlecrest was described as a major gameplay hub.
- The Arena was planned to be usable for combat, with PvP tournaments suggested as a possible future feature.
DevBlogs From 2022
In 2022, DevBlogs #1–3 introduced WalkScape’s original concept, design goals, and early core systems. The posts outlined the game as a non-intrusive walking-based RPG inspired by classic MMORPGs, where players complete activities through real-life steps while avoiding ads, excessive screen time, and invasive tracking. They also presented early plans for skills, crafting, quests, combat, online and offline play, the Activity view, passive step-counter progress, and the World Map of Arenum, including travelling between locations, Agility experience, discovery events, and location-based gameplay.
Posted on December 26, 2022.
- Introduced the World Map and travelling systems.
- Revealed that the world of WalkScape is called Arenum.
- Explained that the map image acts as a background, with interactive locations placed over it.
- Stated that the World Map is opened through the Travel option in the floating plus-button menu.
- Noted that the next DevBlog was planned for 9 January 2023.
World map
- Locations were planned to have different types, including cities, towns, forests, mines, dungeons, mountains, and beaches, lakes, or rivers.
- Cities and towns were described as places for NPC shops, services, quests, and similar features.
- Forests, mines, mountains, and water locations were described as supporting different activities such as woodcutting, foraging, hunting, mining, agility training, cave fishing, and fishing.
- Locations were intended to feel special and regional rather than repeating the same activities everywhere.
- The World Map view was described as pannable and zoomable.
- Tapping a location was planned to zoom in and show more information.
- Location requirements were being considered, such as quest requirements or progression gates for new regions and continents.
Travelling
- Travelling begins from a location information panel using a travel button.
- The game was planned to create the shortest available path to the selected location.
- Locations are connected to nearby locations with varying distances between them.
- Each trip between two locations was described as being divided into ten waypoints, with the number of steps per waypoint depending on travel distance.
- Multi-location routes were planned to chain automatically, allowing longer trips to continue in the background while walking.
- Cancelling travel would return the player to the last reached location.
- Travelling grants Agility experience, and higher Agility was planned to reduce the steps needed to travel between locations.
- Travelling could be skipped in some cases through costly services such as wagons, or later through teleportation with high Magic level.
Discovery events
- Completing waypoints could trigger a low-chance discovery-style roll for special travel finds.
- Possible discoveries included treasure chests, unrelated skill experience, random encounters, quests, NPC dialogue, and region-specific items such as seeds or flowers.
- The developer liked the suggested term "discovery events" for these finds.
- Similar rare or special events were also being considered for other activities.
Art
- maxchill had worked on location art for the game.
- Location art was planned to use separated depth layers and animation to create a parallax effect.
- The post described the intended travel experience as moving through changing scenery, such as from the cold regions of Jarvonia toward warmer areas.
- The team was working on the Western Continent, described as having a more standard fantasy look with many interesting places.
- Other continents were planned to have a more special look.
Discussion points
- Asked whether all locations should be visible from the start or discovered gradually through exploration.
- Suggested that unvisited nearby locations could appear greyed out until visited.
- Mentioned that NPC dialogue could reveal additional locations on the map.
- Raised the possibility of making exploration visibility an opt-in or opt-out option.
Posted on December 12, 2022.
- Introduced the Activity view, described as the main screen used while walking.
- Explained that the Activity view is designed for quick glances while walking, showing essential progress information such as steps needed for the next level.
- Noted that the view includes animations and a pop-up message for the most recent drop, with an option to disable this planned for the future.
- Announced that maxchill had joined the project as lead artist and had already contributed new item sprites.
- Stated that Activity view variations, such as travelling, would be covered in later DevBlogs.
UI
- Bottom navigation was shown with Profile, Location, Activity, Quests, and Inventory views.
- Navigation could be done by tapping buttons or swiping between views.
- The Inventory view was described as likely being moved elsewhere and replaced with a feed view.
- The skill experience bar shows progress for the skill mainly trained by the current activity.
- A plus-button opens additional navigation options such as World Map, Market, Settings, and Inventory.
- The character main level appears as a large circular progress display and gains experience from every step, even when no activity is selected.
Step counter
- Explained that phone step counter data can allow progress to be gained even if the app was not open during a walk.
- Listed benefits of this approach, including low battery use, distraction-free play, and allowing active gameplay after the walk.
- Noted that step counter data may reset when the phone restarts.
- Raised concerns about players gaining too many stored steps at once after not opening the app for a long time.
- Suggested that limiting the number of steps gained while the app is closed could help preserve progression pacing.
- Requested discussion and suggestions on how best to use step counter information.
Design principles
- Reiterated that WalkScape should not be distracting or require players to stay glued to the screen.
- Emphasised allowing players to enjoy walking, work, or other activities while passively making progress.
- Criticised walking games that maximise screen time for ads and described WalkScape as aiming for a better, less intrusive experience.
Next DevBlog
- The next DevBlog was planned for two weeks later on Monday at 12:00 GMT+0300.
Posted on November 28, 2022.
- Introduced WalkScape as a non-intrusive mobile game inspired by classic MMORPGs and fitness apps.
- Explained the core gameplay loop: players choose activities in their current location, then complete actions by walking real-life steps using the device step counter.
- Gave Nomad Forest woodcutting as an example, where chopping trees requires real-life steps and rewards logs and skill progress.
- Described progression through skills, better gear, crafting, quests, story requirements, dungeons, and eventually combat.
- Stated that development updates and discussed features are subject to change.
- Announced a plan for biweekly DevBlogs, with the next post planned for 12 December 2022 at 12:00 GMT+0300.
Planned features
- At least 20 skills, including Woodcutting, Carpentry, Agility, Mining, Smithing, Foraging, Fishing, Cooking, Fletching, and Alchemy.
- World Map with varied places, adventures, and secrets.
- Questing, achievements, regional tasks, and a main story across different continents.
- Items, loot, materials, and rare special drops from basic activities.
- High scores, leaderboards, global marketplace trading, PvP, and PvE combat.
- Early access was expected to launch with limited features before receiving more content over time.
Development principles
- Promised no ads and no greedy monetisation.
- Planned a free-to-play option with substantial content and a possible affordable subscription for full online content.
- Emphasised transparency, privacy, and zero tracking; GPS was only mentioned as a possible anti-cheat tool, with privacy-sensitive data not being saved.
- Presented non-intrusive design as a core principle, with gameplay intended to run passively while walking and active management handled later.
- Stated that level-up and similar notifications would be opt-in.
- Committed to community feedback, Discord discussion, and strong UI/UX design.
Offline play
- Addressed feedback from players who were not interested in MMO-style online features.
- Planned a completely offline way to play, with optional cloud saving for backups or phone changes.
- Offline play was planned as a single-purchase option, while subscribers would also have access to the full offline version.
- A limited free-to-play offline version was also planned.
