Hey, everyone. We’re only a couple of weeks away from releasing a big update to CHKN and we’d love to update you on what we’ve been working on, plus get your help in testing new and improved features before release!

What’s New?

There are a few major things we’ve got going on in this build:

• Completely revamped creature animation system: a core part of CHKN! It affects how creatures move, creature building, overall performance, etc.
• Completely new environment: this is the new map that all the buzz has been about! Roman’s still adding things to the map but it’s in for everyone to check out and explore.
• UI/UX changes: things like the all new UI with updated menus and HUD, new creature command system, interacting with creatures while holding items, improved left-hand items, etc.

There are also a few other things in this build you’ll be able to play with ...

• First-person arms!
• Weather!
• Lots of additional optimizations and performance improvements
• And two more pages of stuff that was just too long to list here!

Here are a few shots of some weather and scaling tests, and a tour of two of the more lush biomes on the island.
Giant forest trees? Why not build a tree house?
A foggy night on the beach.
Touring the tropics.
Winding through the forest. These are big system changes that touch a lot of the game, so we’ll need your help to make sure they’re thoroughly tested. If you’d like to help us test this build, you can join us by opting in to the pre-release updates.

What’s Pre-Release?

It’s a separate version of the game with some of the upcoming updates included, but they’re still very much works in progress and aren’t ready for full release. This means they may be super unstable and buggy, you'll encounter a lot of unfinished stuff, and could be updated or break without warning. If you’re okay with that and want to help get things ready for release day, then put your construction hats on and opt in to pre-release! When you’re ready to report bugs or share feedback, you can use the new pre-release board in the forums. If you’re not interested in this sort of thing and just want the main updates, don’t worry. Nothing has changed for you and there’s nothing you need to do. If you like, you can ignore the rest of this post and watch our last Twitch livestream here and here to see some of the updates in action instead. ;)

Getting Access to Pre-Release Builds

If you haven’t done so previously, you’ll need to opt-in to the beta program for CHKN called ‘prerelease’. Note that saved games from the current version of CHKN will not work in the pre-release version! First, go to your Steam library, RIGHT-CLICK/CTRL-CLICK on CHKN, and select “Properties”.
In the pop-up window, click on the “Betas” tab and select the “prerelease” option from the dropdown list.
Now you’re getting the pre-release updates! Anything new is downloaded automatically, just like with the regular version of CHKN. Remember, pre-release updates could include horrible bugs and may sometimes break CHKN. Adventure Mode is still a work-in-progress, so we recommend playing the pre-release in Creative Mode. If you ever want to switch back to the regular CHKN releases, just return to this tab any time and select “NONE - Opt out of all beta programs” instead.

Thank you!

Thanks in advance to everyone helping us test this pre-release, and to everyone for their support so far. We’re lucky to have you guys! If you’re waiting for the release instead but still read this far down, you’re awesome. We’ll have another preview to share with you soon. See you then! - Team CHKN