Tip of the day
Attributes involving a percent symbol % are multiplicative (For Example: +10% Fine material finding gives 1.1/100).
Devupdates
From Walkscape Walkthrough
DevUpdates are technical communications the game developers communicate more details and information about game updates. DevUpdates have significant overlap with DevBlogs which often serve a similar purpose. They usually are only realeased outside of the normal every-other-week cadence of DevBlogs.
Go to the archives to see the full text of past DevUpdates.
By Year:
- DevUpdates From 2026
- DevUpdates From 2025
- DevUpdates From 2024
- DevUpdates From 2023
- DevUpdates From 2022
DevUpdates From 2026
Posted on August 3, 2026.
- Released update +679, addressing feedback and bugs from the Bank rework while adding new organisation, filtering, statistics, and performance features.
- A separate content update was in its final development stage and expected within the following few days.
Bank improvements
- Added an optional automatic confirmation when leaving the Bank, removing the extra confirmation tap while retaining manual control through Bank settings.
- Introduced Bank statistics showing information such as total wealth, alongside a humorous Credit Rating system.
- Added filters for additional attributes, Travelling, rare Pet Eggs, and highest-quality equipment, together with sorting by level requirement.
- Expanded the default layout with Curiosities and more comprehensive Hunting Products categories.
- Added options to copy categories and lock their contents so auto-organising cannot move selected items.
Interface and usability
- Improved dragging, category highlighting, search behaviour, icon selection, and withdrawal quantity displays.
- Added better Bank scaling for tablets and foldable devices.
- Main views now remembered their scroll positions when switching between Character, Location, Activity, Journal, and Abilities pages.
- Locations with deposit-only services, including Horn of Respite, could once again accept deposits.
Performance and fixes
- Optimised inventory operations, item addition and removal, step-history uploads, local storage access, game-data loading, and the main interface.
- Game-data lookups were changed to use a flat identifier index instead of scanning every data-type group.
- Fixed Bank filtering and layout issues, Gear Set withdrawals, ability timers, crafting counters, collectible and AP displays, and several item and pet-related problems.
- Achievement Point rewards from achievements would now be granted only after the achievement was claimed.
- Several wealth achievements were changed to use total Bank wealth rather than coins held.
Posted on July 31, 2026.
- Released update +676, centred on a complete overhaul of the Bank.
- The initial release contained no new gameplay content, with a separate OTA content update planned for the following days.
- Further polishing and hotfixes were expected before the team's August holiday.
Bank rework
- Added a default layout that automatically organises deposited items into categories and subcategories.
- Players could create and switch between custom layouts, freely move items, disable automatic filtering entirely, or disable it only for selected categories.
- Players who preferred the previous Bank style could approximate it using a blank layout, condensed list mode, and a hidden sidebar.
- The default configuration required no additional setup for players who did not want to customise the Bank.
Withdrawals and performance
- Withdrawals gained a confirmation step so item processing, cloud synchronisation, and layout saving could occur once for the complete transaction instead of after every item.
- This extra confirmation made withdrawals substantially faster, but could not simply be removed because of the associated cloud operations.
- A later update was planned to offer automatic confirmation when leaving the Bank, while preserving the option to review withdrawals.
Follow-up work
- Dedicated Discord channels were opened for Bank bugs and suggestions.
- A help button explaining the reworked Bank flow was planned alongside further usability improvements.
- The update also improved initial loading and OTA update speed and fixed ghost items in WalkPedia.
Posted on July 1, 2026.
- Released update +666, introducing the Mailbox and Lore Items alongside interface improvements, new rewards, balance changes, and bug fixes.
- Included a changelog covering additional items, cosmetics, a pet, an ability, and isometric art for Everhaven.
Mailbox
- Added Mailboxes to locations with unlocked Banks, with access also available through the Inventory.
- The initial system allowed the developers to send mail and test related infrastructure but did not yet support sending items or messages between players.
- Mailbox testing was described as an important step toward Trading, which remained in development.
Lore Items and rewards
- Introduced Lore Items as a separate item type displayed alongside Collectibles.
- Lore Items expand the game's setting and were planned to have uses in some quests.
- Expanded the Achievement Points reward track with new items and cosmetics, although rewards up to 300 AP were not yet complete.
- Adjusted several existing AP reward requirements to later point thresholds.
Interface and quality of life
- Added loading indicators for slow actions, smoother sliders, easier route navigation, and notifications for unlocked PFP options.
- Pets and Pet Eggs could be reordered, while the active pet or egg became easier to inspect.
- Locked items could no longer be sold to the Mysterious Merchant, and selling favourited items produced a warning.
Balance and fixes
- Improved several Hunting, Foraging, and pet rewards, while converting That's A Wrap into a passive ability.
- Fixed Gear Set problems involving item quality, duplicate withdrawals, tool slots, and imported sets.
- Corrected rollback behaviour when leaving the chest-opening screen before processing finished.
- Improved chest results by grouping materials, consumables, and equipment more clearly.
Posted on March 16, 2026.
- Announced a major update introducing Hunting and Tailoring, extensive new content, interface improvements, and upgraded technical infrastructure.
- A six-hour server maintenance was planned for March 18 from 09:00 to approximately 15:00 UTC, with the update launching immediately afterwards.
- The deployment was described as unusually complex, with hotfixes expected after release. Steps taken during maintenance were still expected to count.
Hunting and Tailoring
- Added Hunting and Tailoring as WalkScape's eleventh and twelfth skills, with dedicated leaderboards.
- Introduced 17 activities, 129 items, 67 recipes, five Loom services, new skill chests, pets, achievements, abilities, and Rumours.
- Added activity inputs based on item keywords, temporary effects, and input cooldowns to support Hunting and future mechanics.
- Reclassified Hydrilium Diving Gear as Smithing recipes and Kelp Diving Gear as Tailoring recipes.
Attributes, keywords, and WalkPedia
- Replaced the Gear page's attribute list with a dedicated View All Attributes screen supporting filters for consumables, services, abilities, overlevelling, and other sources.
- Made item keywords tappable and added WalkPedia keyword pages with descriptions.
- Activities could now be opened directly in WalkPedia, while information cards became collapsible.
- Activity inputs and their effects became more visible in item details and the "While Away" summary.
Interface and quality of life
- Reworked the main view to use space more efficiently and moved saved steps and the daily tip below character statistics.
- Added bulk chest opening, lockable chests, improved fine-material selection in crafting, recipe support in Gear Sets, and clearer pet and egg progress.
- Added caching for world map and location artwork, along with ability caching and broader performance improvements.
- Updated the game dependencies and moved the client to the new OTA server.
Balance and fixes
- Rebalanced numerous recipes, activities, shops, loot tables, and item requirements to incorporate the new skills and content.
- Fixed pathfinding incorrectly omitting the cost of the first route segment.
- Corrected activity input counting, item drop counts, interface alignment, and several content-specific errors.
- Trading remained in development, with its release date to be announced closer to completion.
DevUpdates From 2025
In 2025, DevUpdates #17–31 covered the wiki’s move to community-controlled hosting, WalkScape’s first Closed Beta anniversary, and continued preparation for Open Beta. Major releases introduced Trinketry, iOS smart watch support, Travel + 1, Rumours, improved WalkPedia and job tools, and the "Going South" update with Pets, the Mysterious Merchant, Currencies, item-consuming activities, and extensive new content. The updates also documented server and caching failures, step graph and wearable fixes, early-game rebalancing, performance improvements, and the faster content development enabled by reworked internal tools.
Posted on December 19, 2025.
- Released hotfix +596 to address issues introduced by the "Going South" update before the team's holiday break.
- Added ten Rumours, a new item, pet, ability, and additional loot, alongside community translations.
- NPCs in Jarvonia received temporary festive appearances.
Pets and activities
- Corrected pet experience so it is awarded when an action finishes and properly accounts for saved steps.
- Increased pet animation speed and fixed local-time conversion for pet-related timing.
- Adjusted several activities, requirements, and loot tables, including raising the Carpentry requirement for Repair the Bank to match its required saw.
Interface and performance
- Optimised activity listings and rebuilt step bar charts asynchronously to improve performance.
- Increased the minimum interval between processed steps from one to four seconds to reduce performance problems on some devices.
- Fixed issues involving banking quantities, item removal, currencies, activity listings during travel, cooldown charges, and material requirement displays.
Posted on December 16, 2025.
- Released the "Going South" content update, adding major new mechanics and substantially expanding the game's locations, activities, items, recipes, characters, and services.
- High launch demand overloaded the servers for around an hour, with a hotfix released to improve stability.
- Further hotfixes and content-polishing updates were planned before the holiday break beginning December 23.
Major systems
- Added Pets, including Pet Eggs, pet experience, egg hatching, and pet switching through Travel + 1. Pet experience was clarified as separate from skill experience.
- Introduced the Mysterious Merchant mechanic.
- Added activities that consume items through a new input requirement system.
- Introduced Currencies as a separate item type, stored on their own inventory page without using inventory space.
- Added visibility requirements for buildings and displayed location keywords more clearly.
Interface and performance
- Significantly reworked the Inventory interface and improved the presentation of optional crafting inputs.
- Expanded the "While Away" summary to include pet experience and egg-hatching progress.
- Optimised item-stack removal, improving the speed of banking, selling, and dropping items.
- Improved job listings, inventory and Gear Set sorting, World Map route information, and faction reward visibility.
Content
- Added eight locations with isometric maps, 17 activities, 94 items, 39 recipes, seven characters, six buildings, seven services, three shops, ten achievements, and new abilities and cosmetics.
- Added three initial pets, with further pet concepts already being considered.
Posted on August 27, 2025.
- Released an update focused on easier job completion, direct communication with players, and a small amount of new content.
- Included a changelog covering balance adjustments and fixes to travelling, crafting, server connections, and reward calculations.
Job Browser
- Added a Job Browser to the Journal, allowing players to view currently available jobs in one place.
- Shows which jobs can be completed using items stored in the player's bank.
- Required items can be withdrawn directly, reducing the steps needed to prepare job submissions.
In-game announcements
- Added announcements to the hamburger menu, with a red indicator for unread messages.
- The system would be used to notify players about DevBlogs, DevUpdates, and server maintenance.
- Added more detailed loading messages to help identify where connection or startup problems occur.
Content and balance
- Added new localisation, an item, a cosmetic option, loot, and isometric art for Black Eye Peak.
- Adjusted several item requirements and bonuses, including requiring Trinketry for Royal Troubadour gear.
- Reworked Treasure Grabber rewards by increasing its chest-finding rate while limiting its possible chest types.
Posted on July 7, 2025.
- Released update +496, centred on Travel + 1, Rumours, major activity and server reworks, and expanded progress reporting.
- The update was released early in the week to leave time for urgent hotfixes before the team's summer vacation.
- Included a changelog covering new content, interface improvements, localisation, and fixes to step tracking and activity reporting.
Travel + 1
- Added queues for multiple travel actions, gear set changes, and automatically starting an activity after reaching the destination.
- Introduced new travel and activity selection interfaces, including visibility of undiscovered collectibles.
- Crafting queues were planned separately because they required more complex work and could not be completed before the vacation.
Rumours and player activity
- Added Rumours, allowing NPCs to reveal WalkPedia entries and provide gameplay tips, with 51 rumours included initially.
- Locations and activities could now display how many players were present or performing an activity.
- Added daily tips, new profile information, and several related settings.
Progress reporting and interface
- Expanded the "While you were away" summary with completed activities, drop sources, activity and gear changes, item proc information, and consumable use.
- Improved step-loading safeguards and fixed problems involving step graphs and missing return summaries.
- Search now followed the selected language while continuing to recognise English terms.
- Added further content, faction rewards, cosmetics, and groundwork for future isometric location maps.
Posted on June 7, 2025.
- Released update +479 to improve the new-player experience around Disenchanted Forest.
- Included a changelog covering new content and early-game pacing adjustments.
Added
- Added a new location and connecting routes, two activities, a sub-faction, and a job board in Disenchanted Forest.
- Introduced the Rusty chest and new loot, alongside additional character cosmetics.
Changed
- Rebalanced most level 1–10 activities with higher step requirements and lower experience rewards, slowing early progression.
- Removed visibility requirements from several exploration activities.
- Adjusted activity availability, loot tables, and sword and shield crafting requirements and experience rewards.
Posted on June 7, 2025.
- Released update +479 to improve the new-player experience around Disenchanted Forest.
- Included a changelog covering new content and early-game pacing adjustments.
Added
- Added a new location and connecting routes, two activities, a sub-faction, and a job board in Disenchanted Forest.
- Introduced the Rusty chest and new loot, alongside additional character cosmetics.
Changed
- Rebalanced most level 1–10 activities with higher step requirements and lower experience rewards, slowing early progression.
- Removed visibility requirements from several exploration activities.
- Adjusted activity availability, loot tables, and sword and shield crafting requirements and experience rewards.
Posted on June 6, 2025.
- Announced update +478, focusing on critical step-loading issues and smaller interface fixes.
- Improved total statistics displays, including highest 24-hour steps, and allowed crafting materials to be tapped in the crafting view to inspect their details.
- Included a changelog covering cosmetic display corrections, text and layout fixes, improved scrolling on small screens, and updated community translations.
Posted on May 26, 2025.
- Announced version 0.3.0-beta+473, with maintenance planned for May 26 from approximately 15:00 to 16:00 UTC.
- Included a changelog covering smart watch fixes, step tracking improvements, new content, and quality of life changes.
Steps and smart watches
- Repaired step graphs and the 30k step achievement, updating the achievement's wording and adding a highest 24-hour steps statistic to the character page.
- Steps recorded before the engine rework would no longer appear in the updated graphs.
- Fixed fatal iOS errors involving Apple Watch and unintended switching from a watch back to the phone as the step source.
Interface and accessibility
- Added direct WalkPedia access from activities, items, and the current activity's skill button.
- Crafting reward items could be tapped to inspect their details.
- Added a loading overlay to prevent rewards being revealed before the "while you were away" popup.
- Added nine language options, including Thai, Japanese, Russian, and English (US), alongside sprite rendering and interface fixes.
Content
- Expanded the world with a new location, activity, routes, buildings, NPCs, shops, items, and cosmetics.
- Adjusted shop prices and corrected job board, reputation, loot, and recipe issues.
- A submitter comment explained that content descriptions were deliberately kept vague to preserve discovery and community discussion.
Posted on May 2, 2025.
- A server error granted early Closed Beta access to 871 supporters.
- Existing invitations were honoured, and immediate access was extended to anyone who supported before 23:59 UTC on May 2.
- Later supporters would wait for the planned Wave 4 launch on May 15 at 12:00 UTC.
Technical cause
- Wave start and end dates were cached separately to reduce database calls.
- The end date refreshed before the start date, temporarily combining the new end date with the previous start date and making the server treat the wave as already open.
Remaining work
- Limiting early access was intended to preserve development time and avoid delaying Wave 4.
- Step graphs, the 30k step achievement, and iOS smart watch support still needed fixes.
- A hotfix addressing major issues and adding some content was targeted for the same day.
Posted on April 25, 2025.
- Announced iOS smart watch support in update #457, with community testing needed to identify issues before Wave 4.
- Release depended on Apple TestFlight and Google Play approval, followed by an estimated 1–2 hours of maintenance.
- Included a changelog covering new content, localisation improvements, settings changes, and bug fixes.
Wearable support and testing
- Initially allowed all wearables and health-sync apps, with a later whitelist planned because some sources lacked sufficiently detailed data for reliable anti-cheat checks.
- Requested compatibility reports identifying the wearable, syncing apps, reproduction steps, and relevant Apple Health step-data screenshots.
- Opened a wearables forum channel on Discord for testing feedback and device reports.
- Submitter comments clarified that only one step source could be active at a time, avoiding a competitive advantage from combining sources. Players could switch sources through settings at any time.
Settings and localisation
- Reworked in-game settings, resetting existing settings to their defaults.
- Improved language selection and added a preferred grammatical gender option for supported languages.
Wave 4 preparations
- Critical wearable issues were the immediate priority.
- Fixing inconsistencies in the steps graph was the remaining task before Wave 4 once wearable support was stable.
Posted on April 1, 2025.
- An April Fools' post presented a fictional UI redesign built around a single terminal-style menu.
- Login would take place through the terminal, with character creation and customisation displayed using ASCII art.
- The redesign was a joke rather than a confirmed interface change.
Posted on March 25, 2025.
- Released +435 with WalkPedia improvements, quality of life features, and fixes intended to resolve the remaining Trinketry update issues.
- Development focus was shifting from post-update support to smart watch integration.
- Included a changelog covering a new activity, translations, balance adjustments, and interface and rendering fixes.
WalkPedia improvements
- Added skill pages showing progression statistics, unlocks, and short guides explaining how to begin training each skill.
- Skill pages could be opened directly by tapping skills in the Character view.
- Added links within text to supported WalkPedia pages, allowing players to inspect referenced items, activities, skills, and locations directly from requirements and descriptions.
- A submitter comment proposed adding guides for core mechanics before the next beta wave.
Clearer item and service information
- Redesigned service icons with visible tier indicators.
- Displayed item keywords in item views and WalkPedia, making it easier to identify equipment that satisfies requirements such as light sources.
Posted on March 17, 2025.
- Announced Trinketry as WalkScape's tenth skill, with the update planned for March 18 at around 12:00 UTC.
- Players were not expected to lose steps during the update.
- The content was built rapidly using the new development tools, demonstrating faster content creation even before the tools were fully finished.
Trinketry
- Trinketry uses a new service, the Trinketry Bench, which would be scarce in Jarvonia but more common in the Grand Duchy.
- The skill was designed to be demanding to level, requiring substantial material gathering and offering relatively low experience per step.
- Some existing rings, amulets, and other items were converted into new items. Any that were no longer equipment would be unequipped and removed from gear sets.
Posted on January 19, 2025.
- Celebrated the first year of Closed Beta, reviewing major releases, community growth, and lessons from development.
- Closed Beta participation grew from 752 players in Wave 1 to 24,683 in Wave 3.5, with 47,290 registered accounts and over 8.1 billion steps walked.
First-year development
- Reviewed additions including Friends, WalkPedia, the Adventurer's Guild, Achievements, Consumables, Syrenthia, and translations.
- Android pedometer troubleshooting consumed several months before Google's Recording API resolved the main reliability problems.
- Community funding enabled myzozoz to join as a second developer, expanding the team's development capacity.
- WalkScape received the Best Indie Game audience award at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.
Engine and development tools
- Growing content complexity and a larger team exposed limitations in tools originally designed for one developer.
- The nearly finished engine rework reorganised the code, introduced multithreading, and improved server capacity.
- Reworking internal content tools was the next technical priority to make content creation faster and more reliable.
- Wave-based access helped manage customer support and marketing demands, leaving time for development between waves.
Open Beta and funding
- Open Beta was the main goal for 2025, with Trading, Combat, Quests, further quality of life improvements, and better development tools still needed.
- Hiring a third developer was desired but unaffordable. Not a Cult reported first-year revenue of approximately €62,000 and profit of €2,000.
- Submitter comments described a planned free-to-play region with subscriptions for later areas, although the extent of free access remained undecided.
- Discounted subscription pre-orders were being considered to help fund the transition from voluntary support to Open Beta.
- A submitter comment clarified that the Jagex agreement concerned trademark use and did not give Jagex control over WalkScape's business decisions.
Posted on January 7, 2025.
- Announced the migration of WalkScape Wiki from Miraheze hosting to a more powerful server set up with the wiki community.
- The move would give the wiki community full control over customisation.
- Maintenance was expected to last 2–3 hours, but a submitter comment confirmed it finished much sooner than anticipated.
DevUpdates From 2024
In 2024, DevUpdates #12–16 explained the design of saved steps and plans for optional gameplay between walks, while covering Closed Beta Wave 2, content expansion, and major pedometer reliability improvements. They also explored ambient sound and music design, accessibility, and funding constraints. The year’s updates culminated in version 0.2.0, introducing achievements, the Adventurer's Guild, item abilities, character customisation, and an early WalkPedia, alongside equipment changes and quality of life improvements.
Posted on July 9, 2024.
- Announced version 0.2.0, the achievements update, as WalkScape's largest update so far.
- Maintenance was scheduled for July 10 at 16:00 UTC, with an estimated duration of one hour.
- Included a changelog covering major new systems, content rebalancing, performance improvements, and bug fixes.
Major additions
- Achievements introduced Achievement Points (AP), milestone rewards, and AP leaderboards. Collectibles also awarded one AP each.
- Added an Adventurer's Guild outpost requiring 20 AP, where specific items could be exchanged for reward tokens. Its deposit box allowed banking items without withdrawing them.
- Introduced item abilities with cooldowns.
- Added barbers, clothing shops, and wardrobes for character customisation. Purchased clothing remained permanently available, with free outfit changes at wardrobes.
- Introduced an early version of WalkPedia to track discovered content, activity history, personal drop rates, and item sources and quantities.
- Other additions included shop buyback, typo-tolerant searching, a friends leaderboard, and new activities and collectibles.
Equipment changes
- Replaced the arrow slot with a back slot, converted existing primary and secondary items into tools, and moved many capes to the back slot.
- Affected equipment would be unequipped during the update, potentially causing overencumbrance or reduced efficiency.
Known issues and follow-up
- WalkPedia remained incomplete, and missing historical tracking could distort displayed statistics, particularly chest drop rates.
- Some appearance variants could not be selected through wardrobes or barbers.
- Further fixes and WalkPedia improvements were planned before the developer's July 16–22 holiday, during which updates and hotfixes were unlikely.
Posted on March 14, 2024.
- Shared a sound and music demo by PitStop Productions and requested community feedback.
- The intended style was ambient and cosy. Initial feedback to the company asked for lighter, less intrusive UI sounds.
Sound design and controls
- Proposed asking players whether to enable audio on first launch, with separate volume controls for different sound types.
- A gradual fade-in when opening the game was suggested to avoid sudden loud audio and allow time to mute it.
- UI sounds were considered important for accessibility, providing audible feedback for players with vision difficulties.
- Each realm was intended to have several music tracks, helping distinguish places such as Jarvonia and GDTE.
- Sound was also expected to become more useful with future features such as combat.
Funding and implementation
- Audio production costs were significant, so commissioning smaller packs was being considered to spread the expense over time.
- A later submitter comment confirmed that sound and music had not yet been implemented because they remained unaffordable.
Posted on March 13, 2024.
- Announced a patch centred on Android pedometer reliability, alongside loading improvements, quality of life changes, and bug fixes.
- Included a changelog detailing the update.
Pedometer and step handling
- Reworked the Android pedometer to function without Google Fit, prevent it from falling asleep, and preserve tracking through phone restarts.
- Fixed a bug that incorrectly awarded large amounts of steps and added better rollback tools to correct affected characters.
- Improved background step processing and error handling, with additional fixes for iOS step readings and loading delays.
- Testing had shown promising results on the available Android models, although the scale of the changes meant further issues were possible.
Update transition
- Maintenance was planned for March 14, 2024, around 20:00 UTC.
- Changes to local saving and pedometer data made old step records incompatible with the update on both Android and iOS.
- Players were asked to open the game before maintenance to claim outstanding steps. Unclaimed steps and steps taken during maintenance would not carry over.
Quality of life
- Added crafting filters, back buttons throughout menus, location descriptions, and more notification and step-popup options.
- Improved loading times, system font-size support, interface consistency, and localisation preparation.
Posted on February 28, 2024.
- Wave 2 was scheduled to open at 14:00 UTC on February 28, 2024.
- Included a changelog covering a substantial content expansion, performance improvements, and bug fixes.
Wave 2 access
- The supporter cutoff was March 31, 2024, with Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters who began supporting before that date eligible for Wave 2.
- Hundreds of beta applicants had also been invited, with further invitations dependent on server capacity and testing needs.
- Supporters and applicants admitted after the cutoff would enter through Wave 3.
Content and systems
- Added 25 activities, more than doubling the game's activity count, alongside new equipment, collectibles, crafting recipes, and additional world content.
- Character history logging and partial achievement tracking were implemented, providing the groundwork for completing the achievement system.
- Activities involving multiple skills could now award chests for each relevant skill.
- Fixes addressed travel, crafting, saved steps, loot rolls, tutorial rewards, and interface issues.
Step tracking limitations
- WalkScape supported only the phone's internal pedometer, so smartwatch totals could differ from in-game steps.
- Some Android devices stopped recording steps because system or application settings allowed the pedometer to fall asleep.
- A submitter comment clarified that Google Fit was not a step-data source for WalkScape; it could help keep the pedometer awake on affected devices while a proper fix was investigated.
Next priorities
- Immediate work would focus on critical issues, followed by completing achievements and preparing more GDTE content.
- The Portal gained notices for server problems and downtime.
- Stabilisation and server development had taken longer than expected, prompting a more cautious approach to future release estimates.
Posted on February 1, 2024.
- Explained the design of saved steps and plans for optional gameplay between walks in response to community feedback.
Saved steps
- Saved steps preserve excess steps after an activity finishes, reducing the need to check the game at exactly the right moment.
- Consuming saved steps requires further walking to maintain the connection between exercise and character progress, while encouraging players to keep walking.
- Instant spending was rejected because it would shift gameplay toward collecting energy during walks and optimising its use afterwards, weakening progress feedback during exercise.
- The saved steps cap was likely to increase because players were walking more than the pre-release survey had suggested.
Planned active gameplay
- Optional features were planned before or shortly after Open Beta to provide things to do while resting.
- Turn-based PvE and PvP combat would use walking to train combat skills, while combat itself would level classes. Combat Points earned through walking were being considered to limit continuous fighting.
- Quests and random encounters would allow reading and decisions to be handled later, without interrupting walks.
- Player trading, housing, and Farming were planned to offer further activities between walks. Farming would include real-time timers, with a submitter comment explicitly rejecting crop-rotting mechanics that punish missed check-ins.
- Friends, guilds, and an in-game Portal were planned, with sharing photographs from walks also being considered.
Quality of life and Wave 2
- Broad activity queues were considered too complex, but automatically starting an activity after travel was planned, with crafting queues a possible later addition.
- Completion notifications, clearer UI, expanded tutorials, inventory sorting, and a location list were being worked on or planned. Bank sorting and tabs were intended for later.
- Bug fixes and quality of life improvements were the priority before Wave 2, tentatively expected within a couple of weeks.
- Patreon linking on the Portal was fixed, with Buy Me a Coffee migration to the new system planned for the same week.
DevUpdates From 2023
In 2023, DevUpdates #7–11 outlined WalkScape’s development roadmap and preparations for Closed Beta, including tentative testing stages, gradual player access to manage server costs, and supporter funding. They also marked community growth, introduced a newsletter and gameplay overview video, and explored a humorous snail race and friendship concept for April Fools’ Day. The year concluded with Closed Beta applications opening through the Portal, alongside explanations of supporter access and selection based on testing needs.
Posted on December 21, 2023.
- Opened Closed Beta applications through the Portal account page, using the "APPLY FOR BETA ACCESS" button.
- Applications were intended for players who had not already received an invitation through supporter access or other means.
- The first Closed Beta wave was full, with a second wave planned a few weeks after release.
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee supporters were guaranteed access to the next wave and could link their supporter accounts through the same page.
- Application selection would depend on changing testing needs and the types of players required.
Posted on October 11, 2023.
- Released an introduction video featuring the developers, core gameplay mechanics, the motivation behind WalkScape, and gameplay footage.
- Further videos explaining complex mechanics and providing short tutorials were being considered, particularly after Closed Beta launched.
Closed Beta clarifications
- Submitter comments stated that Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee members who supported before November 1, 2023, would receive day-one access when Closed Beta launched.
- A free beta signup form was planned for the Portal shortly before launch, with applicants admitted periodically to increase player numbers gradually.
- Launch notifications were planned through email, the newsletter, Portal, and social channels.
- Development was described as well advanced after more than a year, with a few features, additional content, and polishing remaining.
Posted on April 1, 2023.
- An April Fools' post presented Snails as a playable race and proposed snail friendship and dating mechanics. These were joke announcements rather than confirmed additions.
Playable Snails
- Snails were described as gaining 50% fewer steps, having +100% melee defence, and producing slime in the inventory.
- Character art introduced Snailon Escar-Goon and The Real Slime Shady.
Friendship and dating concept
- Outlined NPC relationships built through gifts and real-life walks, with individual preferences and affection levels.
- Walking would gradually reveal dialogue and backstory, which could also be read afterwards to avoid interrupting exercise.
- Affection milestones could unlock quests, dialogue, items, and faction reputation, with fully befriended snails potentially moving onto the player's farm.
- Despite the humorous presentation, the post invited genuine feedback on whether a friendship mechanic would be appealing.
Posted on February 7, 2023.
- Celebrated reaching over 10,000 followers, with a video previewing NPC portraits in development.
- Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee support was already allowing more time to be spent developing the game.
- Launched a newsletter through the website and Substack for important updates and Closed Beta signup announcements.
- Shared an anonymous survey to better understand the game's audience.
- A submitter comment confirmed that long-time supporters would receive priority for Closed Beta access and could opt to be listed in the game's credits.
- The next DevBlog was scheduled for February 20, 2023, continuing the fortnightly Monday schedule.
Posted on January 16, 2023.
- Celebrated reaching over 1,000 followers and published a development roadmap.
- Opened an official WalkScape Twitter account for development updates.
Roadmap
- Alpha testing was planned for March–April 2023, covering basic gameplay, the main interface, and Android support.
- Closed Beta was targeted for June–August 2023, adding multiplayer features, a tutorial, character customisation, more content, and iOS support.
- Open Beta was targeted for September–November 2023, with all core features implemented, additional content, and support for more languages.
- These dates were tentative, with Closed Beta feedback potentially allowing wider access sooner.
Development and funding
- Closed Beta would limit initial player numbers to keep server costs manageable, with access expanding gradually.
- Donations or monetisation were needed to make full-time development possible and accelerate progress.
DevUpdates From 2022
In 2022, DevUpdates #1–6 covered WalkScape’s early technical development, including the website, Arenum’s interactive world map, step-efficient travel pathfinding, skill experience tracking, local database improvements, and a flexible drop table system. They also outlined plans for testing, Android and iOS support, optional exercise integrations, and subscription-based monetisation without ads or pay-to-win features. The year concluded with maxchill joining as lead artist while inventory, item systems, and worldbuilding continued to develop.
Posted on December 5, 2022.
- maxchill joined WalkScape as lead artist, bringing a background in Visual Communication and a particular interest in pixel art.
- A dedicated artist was needed because creating assets for items, icons, locations, and NPCs alongside programming and game design was becoming too much for one developer.
- Inventory and item systems were partially implemented and remained in development.
- Overall game design and worldbuilding had progressed, with new art assets already being produced.
- More screenshots and development details were expected the following week.
Posted on November 17, 2022.
- Completed a flexible drop table system designed to make adding items and new tables straightforward.
- Activities can use multiple drop tables, allowing a single activity to award multiple items.
Drop selection
- Three table types were supported: tables that always roll, weighted tables where one is selected, and special tables with a chance to roll alongside the others.
- Within a table, probability groups are rolled from most common to rarest. The rarest successful group determines the drop, with one item selected if several share that probability.
- Each table produces at most one item.
Design trade-offs
- Assigning simple probabilities makes tables easy to create, but an item's actual drop chance also depends on other entries in the table.
- Items sharing a probability split that chance, while successful rarer rolls replace more common results.
- Exact effective probabilities could be displayed to players, although designing tables to achieve specific final drop rates required additional calculation.
- Feedback was requested on the system and its mathematics before further development.
Posted on November 4, 2022.
- Previewed animated Agility and Woodcutting skill icons, alongside a new interface for tracking skill experience.
- Completed a major rework of the game's local database.
- Inventory and item systems were the next development priority and were expected to require substantial work.
- DevUpdates were expected to become less frequent while development continued, with occasional progress teasers.
- Longer DevBlogs explaining the game's core features were scheduled to begin on November 28, 2022.
Posted on November 3, 2022.
- The subreddit grew from 11 to over 500 members in one day.
- A Discord server was opened for announcements, discussion, and suggestions, alongside a Buy Me a Coffee page for donations.
Gameplay and exercise
- All skills, activities, and content were intended to be completable through walking, including steps accumulated during everyday activities.
- Cycling and other cardio exercise options were being investigated for later development, once the core game was nearing completion.
- A submitter comment explained the aim of combining meaningful progression, random loot, quests, and an open world with RuneScape-style skilling, without demanding attention during exercise.
Development and platforms
- The base game engine was tentatively estimated to take another 3–5 months, with no firm timeline because development was being balanced with university and part-time work.
- Limited alpha testing was planned after the engine was ready, followed by more content and eventual open early access.
- Android and iOS were planned using Flutter. The developer's lack of a Mac and iPhone could delay iOS availability.
- Testing opportunities would be announced on Reddit and Discord. Offers to help with localisation, writing, and art were welcomed, although paid work was not available.
Monetisation
- An affordable subscription was proposed to cover multiplayer server costs, with no pay-to-win features, microtransactions, or advertising.
- A free-to-play option was planned with limited access to the storyline and continents, following a model similar to RuneScape.
- Donations were preferred over charging a subscription during early access.
Posted on November 2, 2022.
- Revealed the world map of Arenum, WalkScape's in-game world.
- The map was already functional in-game, using clickable location markers to initiate travel in an interface compared to Google Maps.
- All locations shown were intended to be visitable in the completed game.
- Further explanations of the world, lore, and story were planned for future DevBlogs, beginning on November 28, 2022.
Posted on October 31, 2022.
- Introduced irregular DevUpdates to provide more technical explanations and development progress reports.
- The first DevBlog was scheduled for November 28, 2022.
Website
- The WalkScape website was online as a work-in-progress, built using Next.js and React.
- Initially a static page showcasing game features, with design improvements planned and possible future support for DevBlogs and news.
Travelling
- New locations and A* pathfinding were added to the travelling system.
- Locations are connected by routes with varying distances and terrain, which determine the steps required to travel.
- Pathfinding selects the route requiring the fewest steps.
- The travelling interface was nearly complete, with a fuller explanation planned for a future DevBlog.
Development plans and clarifications
- A submitter comment confirmed that the game was not yet available to download. A limited early alpha with basic features and online highscores was being developed, but no Open Beta timing was promised.
- Apple Health and Google Fit integration was being considered to allow progress from walks using only a smart watch. Other sports, particularly cycling, were also planned as possible future sources of progress.
- A later submitter comment explained that the game uses Flutter, with native Swift or Kotlin code able to access operating-system health data.
