[previewyoutube=DMHSyjfVbnw;full][/previewyoutube] Hey everyone! Its been a wild six months since we first announced Forty-Niner, and weve finally got some sneak peaks were excited to sharefrom shiny new graphics to a peek at how NPCs secure and expand their territories in the frontier. Intrigued? Buckle up for a deep dive into the latest highlights and developments on our journey so far.

ENHANCED GRAPHICS

We received tons of feedback on our original low-poly aesthetic, but our true aim is to create a rich, stylized cartoon look with a modern twist. That meant finding the right artist to help realize this visionand yes, its been a lot of work! The hardest part is that we have a ton of items to create from scratch and fit into something new and still, fun to play. We started small by redesigning items like weapons and tools:
Our inspiration comes from cartoons, blending a playful art style with the grittier atmosphere of the Wild West. But items alone arent enough to show the new lookcharacters matter too. Heres our previous character from the reveal trailer:
While we loved the low-poly design, we wanted something more immersive that truly draws you into Forty-Niners world. Weve been exploring different references and iterating on the visual style to find that perfect balance between cartoon fun and frontier realism:
Upgrading to a more detailed art style means factoring in extra texture work, subtle color gradients, and unique forms for everything you see in-game. Our new artists expertise in texturing has been a huge help. Beyond characters, weve also revamped the environmenttrees, flowers, grassgiving everything a fresh coat of stylized paint while still maintaining that frontier vibe. Some experimenting we started with building own trees simulations, such as this:
More enhancing is undergoing for building system and animals looks. But for now... Check out the new character in the new art style:
Dont worry if youre on a lower-end system; weve put just as much effort into optimization as we have into improving fidelity, so you can enjoy Forty-Niner smoothly no matter your setup.

DEDICATED SERVERS

Were not just committed to local co-op and small group sessions anymore. Weve successfully tested dedicated servers, both through Steam and standalone setups, capable of hosting over 200 players. The result? A truly mad frontier where you can stake your claim or form massive alliances without missing a beat.
Whether youre going solo, teaming up with friends, or diving into a huge community server, we want the experience to be just as fun and stable across the board.

NPCS WHO HOLD REGIONS

One of our major new gameplay shifts is giving NPCs real power and agency in the world. Each NPC has a specific rolesome may run entire towns, while others focus on trade networks or securing supply routes. Your job? Not just to survive, but to carve out and defend your own territory. Town-building mechanics, economic growth, and resource transport (like train tracks to move goods and gold) are part of this evolving frontier. Expect a more strategic experience when dealing with rival towns and factions. Well share more details about these NPC-driven systems in our next dev update!

ALPHA BUILD MILESTONE & PLANS

Weve knocked out core features like combat, gold mining, and territory exploration, tested by a select focus group for feedback. Theres still plenty of refinement to come, but were excited about the progress so far. Our next step is a closed playtest, which you can sign up for at forty-niner.net. Were not quite ready to reveal exact dates yet, but stay tuned on Discord and here in the Steam Community for any announcements. Thanks for sticking with us on this adventure. We cant wait to show you even more in future updates. Yours, VowelA Games

[ 2024-12-23 20:23:09 CET ] [ Original post ]