This month we are deep diving into some performance optimizations, application load times, and other low hanging fruit. Characters were copied from live as of July 8th, 2025 2pm Central.

July 9th

• Fixed character creation / edit from not functioning.

• Fixed an issue with macOS performance when "None" was selected for the framerate limiter.

• Added new tech to optimize terrain chunk LODs in overland zones.

• Adjusted nav mesh links near the lake in Ibaxus to limit mobs from climbing up rocks.

July 8th

Improvements

• Set animators to cull completely when not on screen. This should yield some minor performance benefits - but please let us know if you notice any funny business when animated things (creatures + players) come into view.

• Revamped the entrance to Freehold as a solo area. A wall was added to more clearly separate the solo area from the group area.

• Improved wording on the error shown when you cannot connect to Steam.

• Corrected material category on Mangrove logs.

• Ability UI elements now properly use Alchemy execution and targeting parameters when selected.

• Auctions that have bids can no longer be cancelled.

• We are sprucing up our loading screens by including various renders of our custom creatures & props that correspond to the region you are currently loading.

Application Startup Optimizations

The last few patches have ballooned our application load times to an unacceptable level. On application start we are pre-loading a lot of data all at once which can cause the client to show as "not responding". To mitigate this issue we have deferred some loading until the first loading screen is shown. This means that your first "zone in" may take slightly longer than it did previously, but subsequent loads will return to normal.

Please let us know if you see a considerable improvement here when compared with Live.

UI Performance Optimizations

As mentioned in the opener, I have done a deep dive into what can be done to improve performance of the game. One area we identified was how our UI windows interact with Unity's backend UGUI system.

Currently, all hidden windows have an alpha value of 0 and are not raycasted against, which means that they cannot be seen or interacted with. When a window is shown, we transition the alpha from 0->1 for a fade in, and enable racyasting for interactions. As it turns out, even though a UI element is not being rendered or raycasted against we were still paying a performance overhead in UGUI to keep them registered and available.

This patch adjusts how we handle hidden windows within our UI system. Once hidden, a window's game object is now completely disabled which removes them from the UIGUI system entirely. The downside to this, is that there is a slight performance hit for disabling and enabling objects like this (which is why we did not do it previously). However, this performance hit only lasts a single frame on open/close rather than us paying for having it registered with UGUI on every frame.

We have done a fair bit of internal testing and everything appears to work as usual. In theory this change should not even be noticed - outside of the performance boost. On average I was saving upwards of 4ms per frame which isn't a giant leap forward, but it just may be enough to make a difference.

Please let us know how this QA build's performance compares to the current Live build, or if you notice any oddities with UI windows.

Future Experiments

To further improve performance we will be looking into moving client builds to IL2CPP. This would allow our code run as "native code" on your device, which in theory should yield even more performance benefits. Once we get these builds going we will need a heavy bit of testing from you all, so please stay tuned!

[ 2025-07-08 21:07:48 CET ] [ Original post ]

Improvements:

• Added internal logging to the ability execution pipeline.

• Added protections against a rare exception in the ability execution pipeline that could cause a zone to crash.

• Adjusted leash distances Highland Hills Ember Vein spawns between the 1^ and 3^ areas.

[ 2025-07-08 16:26:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixes

• Fixed container slot (inventory / bags / etc) highlights not always disabling when the mouse leaves the slot.

• Fixed reset distances not being respected on some mobs.

• Fixed some exceptions involving grabbing the most recent chat input.

• Fixed an issue that allowed some instant executions to work while swimming.

• Fixed Deer Bulletin Task in Newhaven Valley to count all deer types.

• Fixed an issue where players were not properly being removed from raid chats after leaving a raid.

• Ibaxus:

  • Fixed some issues with potential failures on the completion of the Forged in Time quest.

  • Fixed some floating props.

  • Fixed terrain pixel error values. This was causing some visual shifting of the terrain while moving around.

  • Fixed some stuck spots.

  • Fixed target reticles not rendering on some buildings.

  • Fixed incorrect stats and damage values for some mobs. Wildfire Wolf in particular got a significant boost in HP.

  • Fixed some issues with Overprovision not triggering from some DOTs.

  • Fixed Daze VFX not appearing on certain abilities.

  • Fixed missing level requirement on Gate of Sages quest. For those of you who snuck in previous to level 50: congratulations!

Improvements

• Some minor UI performance optimizations.

• Added "shift+r+s" as a keyboard shortcut on the login screen to reset the skybox.

• Reduced kills required for Toad/Emberfly Grimstone Canyon Bulletin Board task to 8.

• Login clarifications:

  • Changed "Steam Login" to just "Login".

  • Changed "Legacy Login" to "Legacy Account".

  • Legacy login screen wording now says it is for non-Steam purchases.

• Ibaxus:

  • Shards of Creation no longer stack for loot rolls.

  • Adjusted VFX for NPC ability Blazing Light to display on all sides.

  • Adjusted VFX for Ibaxus sentry.

  • Adjusted Spider and Slagjack movement speeds.

Gate of Sages Quest Adjustment

The Gate of Sages quest no longer requires you to kill the three raid bosses in Grizzled Peaks. While this made sense on paper, it was not going to work out in the long run from the player's perspective. If your schedule did not align with the community raids then you would forever be locked out of Ibaxus unable to participate.

To remedy this, the quest now requires you to kill a new unique mob in Grizzled Peaks that will be up far more frequently. This mob has no loot because their sole purpose for existing is this quest. They are however, no slouch, so you will still want to bring friends.

[ 2025-07-01 16:26:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

This is our largest patch yet, introducing a brand-new level 50 group and raid zone: The Lost City of Ibaxus. We've taken everything we've learned up to this pointlessons from past zones, systems, and player feedbackand poured it into the design of Ibaxus. With many new features built specifically for this zone and a wealth of content to explore, this update delivers hundreds of hours of additional gameplay for max level players.

Fixes

• Fixed nameplate height inconsistencies for Stonecoats and Nocturnes.

• Fixed a rare issue with loot rolls not triggering in a raid.

• Fixed "()" being shown on Need/Greed/Pass button tooltips if the action is not bound to a key.

• Fixed a floating brick in Meadowlands.

• Fixed missing portrait on Ageta.

• Fixed a display issue with remaining sub time for new purchases who have also purchased subscription time.

Improvements

• Adjusted 3^ spawns near the Highland Hills Ember Vein solo loop.

• Ember Essence can now be tracked on your action bar in place of experience. Right clicking the bubble has a new option "Ember Essence" if you have an Ember Stone.

• Added a new tell audio clip selectable in the options called "Notification".

• Minor shadow optimizations in some dungeon rooms.

• Decreased the transparency of loot rolls.

• Include "Stronghold" or "Drybone" in the names of lockbox keys to more easily differentiate the two.

• Revamped the player stat panel:

  • Improved visuals with better titles and spacing.

  • Improved tooltips.

  • Negative haste is now calculated and displayed correctly

  • Weapon augments are now included on your stat sheet (main hand only).

  • Holding ALT will break stats into Equipped / Augments / Effects in the tooltip.

The Lost City of Ibaxus

The lost city of Ibaxus has been discoveredcarefully guarded by a faction of Others calling themselves Sages, who command their Corduun puppets. To gain entry to these hallowed grounds, you must find a way to attune yourself to the Gate of Sages, a powerful ward that repels all unworthy "Ibaxi'duun".

Ibaxus lies in the highest reaches of the Grizzled Peaksa breathtaking but treacherous ruin. Though it was their second home, it was the first city built entirely through the use of Alchemy by the Vehueramen people of old. It is said that the earliest whispers of their destruction were heard here, in the very city where Ibax himself once lived and breathed.

Ibaxus is the most perilous region ever discovered by Drifters. Those who dare to explore its sacred grounds in search of lost knowledge and forgotten treasures should proceed with cautionand never drift alone.

[img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/45320885/6d33c6fe26d4a136e15ff7c5fb4ab31e77d3a0e1.jpg"][/img]

To preserve the thrill of discovery, we wont reveal too muchbut here are some highlights of what you can expect from Ibaxus:

• Must complete the new quest Gate of Sages to gain entry (requires a level 50 adventurer that has also completed the The Cor'duun Heresy quest).

• New challenging group and raid content with overlapping progression paths. Whether you're a dedicated group or part of a guild logging in just for the big encounters, both play styles can progress their characters in meaningful ways.

  • Multiple tiers of progression.

  • Two distinct areas containing multiple bosses and mini-bosses.

  • Custom Hunting Logs that apply to entire groups of creatures from the different areas rather than being specific that a single creature type. NPC titles are used to indicate which region the creature comes from, and hence which Hunting Log entry they progress.

  • New equipment progression paths (see Artificing below)

• Inhabitants of Ibaxus spawn at levels greater than 50 and use a new stat rating system to increase their power against players.

  • The previously imposed resistances to yellow & red mobs are not active for creatures 51+.

  • Your effectiveness against these creatures can be viewed in your stat window: either in each stat's tooltip or by changing the value of the +0/+1/+2/+3 dropdown that becomes visible in the stats UI once your character hits max level.

  • A new Threat Modifier stat which allows for Defenders to generate more threat while allowing Supporters to generate less.

• New Ember Essence reward tech allow for certain mobs to grant Ember Essence to raids. All Ashen within Ibaxus use this tech as well as our old friend Todee.

• New Ibaxian crafting profession Artificing made available upon the completion of a new quest Forged in Time.

  • Does not count against a character's profession count. This means it is available to ALL players who complete the quest. No previous crafting experience is required.

  • Provides a new level of freedom regarding stat selection for your equipment.

• New crafting recipes to supplement Artificing for Outfitter, Tinkerer, Weaponsmith, Woodworker, Armorsmith, and Provisioner upon the completion of a new quest Reclaiming Forgotten Crafts (requires a crafting profession to level 50).

• New weapon visuals with unique colors for each specialization.

• New equipment layering system that allows the player to layer items on top of their existing equipment in the form of Adornments.

  • Adornments have no armor weight and grant stats like typical equipment. However, their stats are only granted within specific zones (i.e. Ibaxian Adornments are only active within Ibaxus).

  • Adornments can also have set bonuses associated with them (which are also only in effect within their specific zones).

  • A good chunk of the equipment progression in Ibaxus focuses on these Adornments, which means that all of your efforts toward gaining the best items has not gone to waste and getting base upgrades will continue to play an important role.

  • Adornment visuals override your base equipment visuals, even when outside of the specific zone they are active in. The only exception to this is the cosmetic slot, which will always take precedence.

• New deadly foes!

[img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/45320885/f2cd2ca1940b1b64055a82d8f98feeccdca54810.png"][/img]

It is also worth noting that we aren't done yet; additional regions will be added to Ibaxus in the future!

[ 2025-06-24 16:59:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Greetings Drifters,

Stormhaven Studios has completed the migration of Embers Adrift to the Steam platform which will fully launch on June 24th, 2025. We are happy to announce that we will be launching a new level 50 zone alongside our Steam launch, and running a 50% off sale on the game purchase and the wonderful game soundtrack from June 24th throughout the Steam Summer Sale ending July 10th. You can find our store page here:

[dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/3336530/Embers_Adrift/"][/dynamiclink]

If you are a returning player please follow these instructions to connect your current Embers Adrift account to your Steam account in order to download and play the game via Steam:

https://forums.embersadrift.com/index.php?threads/steam-keys-and-account-linking.5981/

As many of you may know, weve had a rough past year that saw our team shrink or dev hours reduced and where we chose to offer Embers Adrift and its subscriber perks for free up until May 2025 due to the Digital River debacle (read our press release here: https://forums.embersadrift.com/index.php?threads/stormhaven-studios-press-release-10-29-24.4710/). During that time we received zero revenue, but were helped by generous donations from the community which allowed us to keep the lights on. We are extremely grateful for their support and are humbled at having made it through this difficult time with our community. During that time we did not sit idle, but worked diligently to improve the game and add many exciting new features. Now that the hurdle is jumped and behind us we are excited to move forward on the Steam platform. Here is a brief list of what was done in roughly the last year while we battled through. For a more detailed look at each individual item and at the plethora of things that didnt make the list you can go to our patch notes (https://forums.embersadrift.com/index.php?forums/patch-notes.105/) and for specific items that interest you, match the date of the patch notes with the date that matches any of the items listed below:

New Features and Improvements list:

Zones

[olist]

Dryfoot Fortress zone added May 2024

Osrics Rest soloable dungeon added May 2024

Ibaxus - Ancient lost city of the Vehueramen. Supports large groups as well as being a level 50 raid zone. This is the most challenging content we have designed yet - good luck. June 2025

[/olist]

New Features

[olist]

Raids added May 2024

Academys Ley Pylon (New Fast Travel system accessible from within Newhaven City) June 2024

New Bloops currency added and are rewarded from GM events to spend at a special merchant July 2024

Item Sets and Set Bonuses Aug. 2024

New Ground gizmos for ability indicators Sept. 2024

Moveable UI Elements (hotkey u by default) Sept. 2024

9 character slots for subscribers Sept. 2024

Locked Chests and Key system Oct. 2024

Group fast travel called Ley Linking gets players to groups faster Nov. 2024

UI Compass Jan. 2025

/follow command Jan. 2025

Macros and Macro UI bar Jan. 2025

Auction House Feb. 2025

Non-subscribers get 2 character slots now Apr. 2025

Subscriptions converted to Time Blocks instead of monthly subscriptions you can now buy blocks of game time to enjoy our formerly named subscriber perks. These can be purchased in blocks of 1, 3, 6, and 12 months in order to unlock perks. May 2025

New gear progression system June 2025

New Equipment layering system June 2025

New Threat Modifier stat June 2025

New Other Creature June 2025

New level 50 Crafting profession Artificer that does not count toward your professions cap. June 2025

New level 50 crafting recipes that add to current professions via quest. June 2025

[/olist]

Improvements

[olist]

Health and Stamina regen revamp June 2024

Crafting improvements June 2024

Chat Window/Tab improvements July 2024

New and Improved Tree billboards July 2024

Reduced Loading times June 2024

Resource Node nameplates (togglable) Apr. 2025

Unity 2022 July 2024

Redshore Forest Zone Revamp Sept. 2024

Reduced Alchemy execution times to 1 second Nov. 2024

Adventuring level caps removed from crafting system Dec. 2024

Well Travelled Roads speed buff increased to 20% movement speed Dec. 2024

Increased Bag Space Dec. 2024

Total EXP requirements reduced Jan. 2025

Crafting System total revamp for higher quality gear Jan. 2025

UNITY 6 upgrade = increased performance, engine bug fixes, and new tech tools. We now offer STP and FSR2 frame-gen solutions along with DLSS. May 2025

New VFX have been added across the game giving clearer cues to players so they can better avoid or interrupt special attacks. May 2025

[/olist]

New Raid Bosses

[olist]

Verdigrax - Dryfoot Fortress May 2024

Stryga - Meadowlands Dec. 2024

Todee - Flooded Ruins Dec. 2024

Capavlik - Dryfoot Fallows Feb. 2025

6 New Raid Bosses and New Raid Tech June 2025

[/olist]

Quests

[olist]

Dark Heart of the Depths July 2024

Salvaging the Salvage Operation July 2024

Lost Legacy May 2024

Wishing for a Well May 2024

A Veins Odyssey June 2024

Infiltrate the Fortress

The Enemy of my Enemy

Of Monsters and Mayhem June 2024

At the Vagabonds Behest Sept. 2024

The Corduun Heresy June 2025

Through the Gate of Sages June 2025

Forged in Time June 2025

Reclaiming Forgotten Crafts June 2025

[/olist]

We look forward to rekindling your adventures in Embers Adrift and welcoming new players into a world filled with adventure and a great community where you can make new friends and memories.

Cheers,

Stormhaven Studios' Indie Dev Team

[ 2025-06-23 18:42:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

We will complete our full launch of Embers Adrift on Steam on June 24th. This will coincide with the launch of our new zone: Ibaxus - legendary lost city of the Vehueramen.

As many of you know we have not received any revenue for Embers Adrift since June 2024. We are happy to announce that that will be changing as of the end of this month - we should be receiving our first revenue payment in a year! We are extremely humbled by the initial response to our soft launch as we worked out subscriptions vs time blocks and the support you all have given us has been overwhelming. As a thank you and a celebration we will be holding a 50% game sale starting with our full-fledged launch on June 24th, it will continue throughout the Steam Summer Sale event ending on July 10th (this will apply to the game purchase and the soundtrack purchase).

We have worked diligently throughout this difficult time and have brought many improvements and new features to the game (auction house, group summons, crafting overhaul, item set bonuses, new raid bosses and rare loot, the highly requested compass, and more) all culminating in the launch of this legendary zone - Ibaxus. With it comes several level 50+ raid encounters and small-large group content, continued lore, a new level 50 crafting profession that doesn't count towards your total professions cap, new quests, new level 50+ item progression that allows for customization, and much more. Please check out this trailer we've made to mark the occasion and share it with friends and players new and old. [dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/PpQkbXCGR4E"][/dynamiclink]

[img src="https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/45320885/d78b3de9ddfbfe62818da34aa5336df21a1058fe.jpg"][/img]

[ 2025-06-22 03:16:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

June 16th, 2025

This month's QA cycle is a bit shorter since most of the new content and features are focused on the upcoming new zone. However, there are a few improvements that need some testing! (Note that characters have not been copied over from live recently)

• Added portrait to Ageta

• Improvements to the 3^ spawns near the Highland Hills Ember Vein solo loop.

• Revamped mastery tab selection on the skills + crafting UI.

  • Adventuring & Gathering/Crafting tabs are now slightly separated on the Crafting UI.

  • Gathering tabs always come before Crafting tabs on the Crafting UI.

• Ember Essence can now be tracked on your action bar: right clicking the bubble has a new option called "Ember Essence" if you have an Ember Stone.

• Added a new tell audio clip called "Notification"

• Revamped player stat panel.

  • Weapon augments are now included on your stat sheet (main hand only).

  • Improved visuals with better titles/spacing

  • Improved tooltips for stats.

  • Negative haste now accurately reflects based on the server calc.

  • Holding alt will break stats out into Equipped / Augments / Effects

• Updated UI list pooling back end. This could impact anything with a list including: merchant item lists, social lists (friends, guilds), chat windows, auction house, hunting log, quest log, etc. If you notice anything weird with lists in a UI element please report your findings.

• Minor shadow optimization to some dungeon rooms.

Grizzled Peaks 2 Update

Grizzled Peaks 2 (not the final name) is on track for going live next week and is chalked full of exciting new content. This dev update includes a number of behind the scenes technical upgrades that are required for this zone to function so please be on the look out for any oddities. Some teases:

• New level 50 raid zone.

• New creature.

• New stat system for GP2 mobs

• New "Threat Modifier" stat

• New equipment layering system

• Supports small/medium/large groups & raids.

• Multiple progression paths exclusive to this zone including:

  • custom hunting logs

  • a new gear progression system

Don't be fooled by the niceties however as this zone is the most challenging content we have designed to date. There are no outposts, no conveniences; you are going to have to work for it.

[ 2025-06-18 19:51:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the "Add Time" button was not functional after returning to selection.
• Fixed an issue where the "Time Remaining" data was missing after returning to selection.
• Fixed "Add Time" button was not showing for new purchases

[ 2025-06-05 14:29:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixes

• Fixed Wicked Jack's portrait for real this time.
• Fixed NPC VFX issues (purple stuffs).
• Fixed a stuck spot in Dryfoot.

Improvements

• Reduced culling range in Newhaven City to reduce the number of NPCs loaded at any given time. This should make the city less crash prone.
• Self-Effect panel can now only be moved while holding the "Move UI" keybind.
• Added a "refresh" button to the Self-Effect panel (while Move UI is held) which will force a refresh of the layout group: this may or may not help with the panel not collapsing.

Minor Engine Update

Updated the engine to the latest minor revision. This brings the following updates:

• Upgrades DLSS version from v3.1.10 to v3.7.20, fixing some ghosting artifacts and improving image stability.
• Fixed a crash occurring with FSR2.

Subscription Time Blocks

As mentioned in a previous post, we encountered issues with Steam's subscription payment system - most notably, a number of users experienced double charges. We reached out to Steam immediately for support, but it took nearly two weeks for them to acknowledge the issue and inform us that they are working on what they "believe" is a fix. With Steam's subscription system failing to meet our needs, we are shifting to a model where players can purchase fixed "blocks" of subscription time. This data will be managed locally, giving us full control over account status and significantly reducing our reliance on Steam's backend. Their role will be limited to processing payments. Effective immediately, you can purchase subscription time in the following blocks:

• $11.99 for 30 days
• $29.99 for 90 days (17% discount)
• $54.99 for 180 days (24% discount)
• $99.99 for 365 days (31% discount)

These options can be accessed via the "Activate Subscription", "Add Time", or subscription button in the in-game control panel (top right). For those who were double charged, we have credited your account with the appropriate amount of game time where refunds were not possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us on Discord or via email at support@stormhavenstudios.com. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

[ 2025-06-03 17:00:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

This months update introduces a range of improvements, bug fixes, and technical enhancements. NPC abilities have been upgraded with new visual effects, giving players clearer cues to interrupt or evade attacks during encounters. Additionally, the game engine has been updated to Unity 6, which has allowed us to enhance performance and expand dynamic resolution options, ensuring smoother visuals and better optimization across various systems. It should also be noted that with this patch we are officially deprecating the legacy launcher. Thank you legacy launcher. You served us well; may you rest in peace.

Fixes

• Fixed a potential exception when sorting the guild list.
• Fixed a potential exception when retrieving the most recent chat tab.
• Fixed auction house level slider not working correctly for recipes.
• Fixed portrait context menu not being available while missing your bag.
• Fixed missing portrait for Verika NPC.
• Fixed missing portrait for Wicked Jack NPC.
• Fixed timeout at character select taking you back to legacy login.
• Fixed Hallows from floating apart in some zones.
• Fixed framerate limiter not being respected after changing quality settings.
• Fixed dropped Radiant Fluxes not stacking with crafted ones.
• Fixed zoom in/out keybinds working while chatting.
• Fixed stairs in Forgotten Depths from not receiving target reticle decals.
• Fixed AC value on some low level gloves.
• Fixed the reset button position for the control panel (upper right).
• Fixed typo on Flasks of Viscous Tar.
• Fixed issues with mismatched time remaining for subscription tooltips and UI elements.
• Fixed crafted crab meat missing the "seasoned" prefix

Improvements

• Resource nodes now have abbreviated overhead names.
• Ability line-of-sight checks are now cached to avoid multiple identical raycasts per frame.
• Added the "/discord" chat command to open our Discord invite link.
• Added basic armor and weapons to Newhaven Valley merchants.
• Added a search field to the crafting window.
• Added loading screen tip "If you are having trouble with ranged NPCs try breaking line of sight".
• Wolves may now howl.
• Increased Flatworm collider radius by 70%. This "should" make them a bit easier to catch. If they continue to be a problem however, let us know and we will re-work the detection methods in a future patch.
• Warden ability Venom Shock: updated the alchemy tooltip text description to be named "Ember Shock" and that it deals Ember damage specifically with alchemy.

NPC Execution Visibility Improvements

To improve the visibility of NPC ability executions we have started to add corresponding visual effects. This first pass touches all control-based effects (Confuse, Root, Snare, Stun, Daze) which should make it easier to interrupt pesky NPCs with a non-resisted Stun, Daze, or Fear. A number of these abilities will also use new unique animations.





We will continue to add NPC VFX where appropriate in future patches. In the mean time, feedback on the current implementations is welcome!

Engine Upgrade to Unity 6

Both the game client and server are now running on Unity 6. This update brings performance improvements, bug fixes, and makes a number of new tech tools available. The first new tech we are utilizing is a revamp of the dynamic resolution options available in our graphics settings. Previously, we offered a "Resolution Scale" slider (which was AMD's-FSR1), and DLSS for those with supported Nvidia cards. We are now able to offer the following three options:

• STP (Spatial-Temporal Post-Processing): this is Unity's platform agnostic frame-gen solution that works on Windows, MacOS, and Linux with any current hardware.
• FSR2 (AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2): this is AMD's frame-gen solution that works on Windows and does NOT require an AMD graphics card.
• DLSS (Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling): this is Nvidia's frame-gen solution that works on Windows with compatible Nvidia hardware.

Each has a quality dropdown which allows you adjust the upscaling towards higher image quality or faster performance. Each technique offers something a little different and performance benefits will vary from machine to machine. We encourage you to tinker with these settings to find what best works for you. In addition to the above changes, Unity 6 should yield slightly better performance all around. More new tools we will be investigating in the coming weeks to further improve performance.

Payment Issues Update

As mentioned in this post, we are continuing to work with Steam to resolve back-end issues related to subscription payments. However, due to the ongoing delays, weve decided to transition away from monthly subscriptions and instead offer blocks of perk time for purchase. This change will give us greater control and allow us to address any future issues more quickly and efficiently. When this new system goes live, any un-refunded subscription payments will be converted into equivalent game time. This change requires some development work. In the meantime, we will continue to provide free subscription perks to all users who log in through Steam.

[ 2025-05-27 16:22:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Due to a recent issue with Steams payment processing system, some users have experienced account-related disruptions and unexpected transaction activity. A support ticket has been opened with Steam, and we are actively working with their team to better understand and resolve the situation. To ensure no one is negatively impacted during this time, we have issued full refunds for all eligible subscriptions made during the affected period. Unfortunately, some transactions were initiated with an order number of 0 (mainly duplicated ones initiated by Steam, not us); for these we have no way to issue a refund from our end. For any transactions not refunded we will make sure that your accounts are properly credited with sub time once the free weekend has concluded. Finally, we believe that all subscriptions should be cancelled at this point, but we recommend double checking your Steam account page to ensure that no active subscriptions to Embers Adrift remain. In addition, as a gesture of goodwill and appreciation for our communitys patience, we will be making all subscription perks free to access for everyone throughout the upcoming holiday weekend. If you use "Login with Steam" your account will be granted all subscriber perks. To help prevent similar issues in the future, we are actively working on adding alternate payment options to give our users more flexibility and reliability when purchasing subscriber perks. We encourage any users still experiencing issues to contact our support team on Discord or at support@stormhavenstudios.com. Updates will continue to be shared via our official channels. Thank you for your continued support!

[ 2025-05-23 04:29:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

May 14th, 2025

Fixes

• Rotating bits on Hallows in Grizzled Peaks (and elsewhere) should no longer drift away.
• Fixed issues with mismatched time remaining for subscription tooltips and UI elements.
• Fixed some issues with AC on some level 1 gloves.
• Toned down VFX for Basilisks.
• Reverted input package to fix issues with keybinds with the alt modifier on windows.

Improvements

• Added shortened overhead nameplates to gathering nodes.
• Added basic armor & weapons to Newhaven Valley merchants.
• Added VFX for Grubs, Fireflies, and Gaunts.
• Added VFX and new animations for Vengeful Mangrove.
• Adjusted STP step counts to allow for a greater range of resolution scaling.

May 13th, 2025

Fixes

• Fixed a potential exception in guid roster sorting.
• Fixed a potential exception when retrieving the most recent active chat tab.
• Fixed missing portrait for Wicked Jack
• Fixed typo on flasks of viscous tar
• Being timed out from character select/creation now takes you back to the start screen rather than the legacy login screen.
• Reset button for the control panel (upper right) is now in the correct spot.

Improvements

• Ability line of sight check results are now cached to avoid multiple identical raycasts per frame.
• Added loading screen tip "If you are having trouble with ranged NPCs try breaking line of sight."
• Added "/discord" chat command to open the discord invite.
• Added tech to allow for abbreviated overhead names for resource nodes. These will trickle in and be updated as the data gets added.
• Warden Ability Venom Shock: updated the alchemy text description to be named Ember Shock, and that will be dealing Ember damage specifically with alchemy. This a text update only for Alchemy I/II Venom Shock.

NPC Execution Visibility Improvements

To improve the visibility of NPC ability executions we have started to add corresponding visual effects. This first pass touches all control-based effects (Confuse, Root, Snare, Stun, Daze). These should make it easier to interrupt pesky NPCs with a non-resisted Stun or Daze. We are currently working our way through the NPCs and hope to have them all wrapped up by the end of the month. Some are partially done, while others we consider fully complete are:

• Ants
• Basilisks
• Bears
• Bats
• Beetles
• Boars
• Boars
• Crabs
• Crocodiles
• Cragscales & Snatchscales
• Stags & Does

Notable locations that require some attention:

• Newhaven Valley: all creatures that live here have been updated.
• Basilisk's Run EV: Basilisks have a very unique VFX that we would like some feedback on.
• Redshore Beach: requesting feedback on Crocs and Crabs

[ 2025-05-13 15:39:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

After hours of reimporting textures, compiling shaders, and working through errors we finally have Unity 6 clients ready for testing! Engine upgrades are always a pain in the neck and typically introduce random bugs; that is where you come in! First you will need to switch Embers Adrift on steam to the "development" branch. This can be done by right clicking on Embers Adrift in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas -> Beta Participation dropdown select "development". Note that this will patch your game to the latest QA client - and in this particular case download is a decent size due to the engine upgrade (many files have changed). Once live and dev are on the same engine version then this difference will typically be much smaller. To swap back to live you follow the same procedure outlined above but select "None" in the betas dropdown.

Changes

This is primarily a technical update and requires testing of all gameplay elements to validate that everything works as it did previously. However, this upgrade provides us with a few new tools that we have started to experiment with. The first change we are testing is a revamp of the dynamic resolution options available in graphics settings. Previously, we offered a "Resolution Scale" slider (which was AMD's-FSR1), and DLSS for those with supported Nvidia cards. We are now able to offer the following three options:

• STP (Spatial-Temporal Post-Processing): this is Unity's platform agnostic frame-gen solution that works on Windows, MacOS, and Linux with any current hardware.
• FSR2 (AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2): this is AMD's frame-gen solution that works on Windows and does NOT require an AMD graphics card.
• DLSS (Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling): this is Nvidia's frame-gen solution that works on Windows with compatible Nvidia hardware.

Each has a quality dropdown which allows you adjust the upscaling towards higher image quality or faster performance. We are considering enabling STP by default for new players to smooth things out and make a better first impression - but we need to hear from you all first! How does STP run on your machine? How does STP compare to FSR2 and DLSS? Do you think that we should enable STP by default for new players? Please join the discord and drop us a line in the #qa channel with your thoughts and experience! In addition to the above changes Unity 6 should yield slightly better performance all around. There are some additional new tools in Unity 6 that we will be investigating in the coming weeks to improve performance further. We have some fun content and features planned for this month so stay tuned for further updates! And no, it's not GP2 yet (although we are getting much closer!). NOTE that Unity 6 builds currently only exist for Windows & MacOS. Linux is running a little behind but hopefully will be ready soon.

[ 2025-05-12 03:58:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fixes

• Fixed spelling error in Daeric dialogue.
• Fixed spelling error in Daeric's title.
• Fixed typo in Flasks of Viscous Tar

Improvements

• Steam Login button is no longer disabled when Steam fails to initialize. Instead, the button is disabled (grayed out) with a tooltip indicating that the client must be started through steam to use this feature.
• Added text to the legacy login screen as a reminder that the embersadrift.com account credentials are used.
• "Subscription: New Purchase" changed to "Optional Sub: New Purchase" to drive home the fact that the included subscription with a new purchase is optional.
• Adjusted the corpse + loot roll timeouts on the server for named and boss mobs. This should reduce the chances of th body expiring before loot rolls have concluded.
• Default graphics quality changed to "Performant"
• Default humanoid resolution changed to "Medium"
• Default cloud quality changed to "Medium"
• Default Nvidia DLSS to enabled when supported.
• Added optional subscription cost & perk details to the Steam page.
• Added instructions on linking legacy accounts to Steam to our Steam news page.

[ 2025-05-06 16:21:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

For those of you who have previously purchased the game on EmbersAdrift.com we have reserved a Steam key just for you! Following these instructions will allow you to access your characters with your Steam credentials. Please follow steps 1, 2, 3, and 4. If you had been playing for free before our transition to Steam but have never purchased the game, you will first need to purchase the game here on Steam before following the instructions below to access your current characters. Once purchased please follow steps 1, 2, and 4. If you run into any issues during this process please reach out to us on Discord in the #embers-help channel!

Step 1: Link your forum account to your steam account

(you may have already performed this step as it has been available for a few months now) Open up your EmbersAdrift.com account page. Here you should see a new option called "Link My Steam Account"
This will show a modal popup with a button to "Link My Forum Account"
Clicking this button will take you to your forum account preferences "Connected Accounts" option.
Click the "Associate with Steam" button which will take you to the following Steam webpage
Sign in here to associate your Steam ID to your forum account. Our back-end needs this information for the next step.

Step 2: Permanently link your EmbersAdrift account to your Steam Account

Return to your account page and once again click the "Link My Forum Account" button mentioned above. You should be shown the new modal:
Clicking the "Link My Embers Account" will establish a permanent link for the associated Steam ID to your EmbersAdrift forum account. This step allows you to access your forum-account characters with your Steam credentials.

Step 3: Redeem your Steam key (if you have previously purchased the game on EmbersAdrift.com)

If you have previously purchased the game your account should now show the following
Clicking "Redeem Steam Key" you should get a new modal
Which has a "Redeem on Steam" button to add Embers Adrift to your Steam Library.

Step 4: Launch the game and login with Steam

When launching the game through steam you will be presented with two login options: Steam Login, and Legacy Login

• Steam Login: logs in with your Steam credentials and allows you to purchase a subscription.
• Legacy Login: allows you to continue to use your forum username & password. Using this method will not provide any subscriber perks and has been left in place to allow those with multiple accounts to access those characters. Keep in mind that non-subscriber accounts only allow for two active characters. To gain subscriber perks on a secondary account you will need a second Steam account to purchase a subscription.

Logging in via Steam will bypass the need for any username/password and instead will use your SteamID to validate ownership and subscription status:

[ 2025-05-06 16:20:36 CET ] [ Original post ]