As development on Depths of Erendorn advances, each team has continued to contribute vital improvements across multiple areas of the game. From behind-the-scenes engine upgrades to visible character enhancements and immersive audio design, this week’s efforts have touched nearly every corner of the project. The transition to Unreal Engine 5.5.4 remains a major focus, with groundwork being laid to support future development, while other teams concentrated on visual fidelity, sound design, and server stability. Whether refining the eerie vocalisations of spectral creatures, resolving persistent backend issues, or enhancing the camouflage of the Fen Elf Scout, the team has worked across disciplines to enrich both the technical and artistic fabric of Erendorn. As always, join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit for daily updates on Depths of Erendorn. Alternatively, join our Discord for all the latest! - now let’s get into it!
3D Modelling
Shifting their focus to bipedal character refinement, the 3D modelling team spent the week enhancing the visual identity of the Fen Elf Scout with an updated camouflage outfit. This rework introduces a more convincing blend of natural materials, designed to better reflect the character’s affinity with the marshy, overgrown regions they inhabit. The addition of draped foliage textures across the shoulders and back helps reinforce their stealthy role, allowing them to visually blend into Erendorn’s dense environments. This update not only brings the Fen Elf’s appearance in line with current art standards but also adds a greater sense of tactical purpose to their design. An example of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
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Programming
Client
Progress on the transition to Unreal Engine 5.5.4 continued this week, with the Client team focusing on generating a precompiled version of the updated engine. After several trial runs and iterations, the team successfully proved that a migrated version of Depths of Erendorn could run within the new environment. This involved identifying which modules and features could be excluded to reduce overall engine size and enhance performance. With the core functionality now validated, the next phase will involve migrating recent project changes, distributing the new engine build to the wider development team, and addressing any installation issues that arise during rollout.
Server
Building on recent backend improvements, the Server team dedicated this week to a substantial rework of effect blocks and their data access within the game. This overhaul allowed abilities to function independently of the combat context, with both the active combat instance and the overarching game session now accessible to any ability being executed. To support this shift, target selection logic underwent significant adjustments, ensuring compatibility with the new structure. Additionally, projectiles were refactored to operate outside of combat, with the projectile manager now supporting varied handlers for different outcomes upon impact. In parallel, item stat calculations were updated to align with newly introduced items, which included a range of consumables. To test this updated functionality, two new vendors—a potion merchant and a scrolls dealer—were added to the settlement, each stocked with an initial selection of items to validate the new code.
Sound Design
This week, the sound team continued refining the audio experience in Depths of Erendorn by focusing on updating the vocal palette for some of the game’s more monstrous inhabitants. Much of the earlier material, which had relied on dated or less effective source samples, is now being gradually replaced with higher-quality recordings. This process has yielded a broad array of creature vocalisations—ranging from guttural and throaty bellows to wet, gurgling snarls—designed to inject a greater sense of physicality and menace into each monster's presence. In addition, the team has been crafting ethereal audio layers tailored for spectral enemies such as ghouls, revenants, and other ghostly adversaries, enhancing the eerie atmosphere they bring to the game world. The work completed by the team can be seen below.
Visual Effects
With an engine upgrade on the horizon, the VFX team opted to hold off on in-engine implementation this week, ensuring no progress would be lost during the transition. Instead, focus shifted towards developing new flipbook textures using FluidNinja—a powerful tool for creating dynamic visual effects. These textures will later be used to drive more reactive and immersive elements within the game world, from magical auras to environmental phenomena. By investing time in asset creation outside the engine, the team is laying the groundwork for a smoother integration process once the upgrade is complete, all while continuing to expand the visual vocabulary of Depths of Erendorn. Examples of the work completed by the team can be seen below.
That’s it for this week’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of March yet?!
