July proved to be a highly productive month for the Depths of Erendorn team, with progress made across every area of development as new content, system improvements, and visual refinements came together. From the complete visual overhaul of the Boar enemy and the creation of fresh environmental assets to performance-focused VFX optimisation and immersive audio updates, each discipline contributed to strengthening the game’s world and gameplay experience. Core systems such as quest tracking and the dynamic event framework received substantial upgrades, while animation work brought both player characters and creatures closer to final implementation. These combined efforts are steadily shaping a richer, more responsive, and visually cohesive version of Erendorn in preparation for future milestones. 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
Throughout July, the 3D Modelling team dedicated their efforts to the complete visual overhaul of the Boar enemy, taking it from early sculpting stages through to final texturing. Work began with a full redesign aimed at strengthening the creature’s silhouette, anatomy, and detail to better align with Erendorn’s creature design language. Following the completed sculpt, the team progressed through retopology and UV unwrapping, preparing the model for in-game optimisation. Texturing then became the focus, with an emphasis on achieving a high-quality fur treatment. After initial tests proved unsuitable, the team developed bespoke fur materials that delivered the natural look and grounded feel they were aiming for. This approach was applied not only to the standard variant but also to the Glacial Boar, which received a distinctive frost-adapted appearance. By month’s end, both variants were fully textured and ready for integration, marking the conclusion of the Boar’s transformation and adding a visually refined asset to Erendorn’s bestiary.
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Set Piece Design
Throughout July, the Set Piece Design team expanded Erendorn’s environmental asset library with two major additions aimed at enriching worldbuilding and gameplay variety. The month began with the completion of a diverse set of watercraft, ranging from small boats to medium-sized ships, designed to enhance the visual storytelling of the game’s coastal and riverside regions. These assets will help bring ports, docks, and waterfront settlements to life, adding depth and authenticity to exploration areas. Attention then shifted inland, where the team developed and finalised a new collection of tent structures. Crafted to align with Erendorn’s established architectural style, these versatile tents are suited for a range of contexts, from bustling market spaces and roadside encampments to temporary quest hubs in remote areas. Together, these additions broaden the scope of the game’s environmental design, offering new opportunities to create more immersive and varied locations across the world.
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Programming
Client
Over the course of July, the Client team made steady progress on key gameplay systems, with a particular focus on optimising character creation and advancing quest-related features. Early in the month, work centred on improving the efficiency of the character creation process by shifting more tasks to client-side handling, reducing server message sizes, and clarifying the distinction between class-specific and shared abilities. With these optimisations in place, attention turned to enhancing the questing experience through the introduction of Points of Interest (POIs), designed to guide players towards quest objectives via scalable map markers. Much of the month was spent refining the quest UI, identifying and resolving issues that affected both information display and user interaction. Close collaboration with the Server team helped address data parsing problems, enabling brief but successful tests of the new map marker system before further bugs emerged. Alongside this, fixes were implemented for quest abandonment behaviour and UI inconsistencies, laying the groundwork for a more responsive, reliable, and intuitive questing interface in future builds.
Server
Throughout July, the Server team made significant strides in enhancing Erendorn’s dynamic event systems, combining targeted bug fixes with the introduction of new features to support richer quest and gameplay experiences. Major developments included the addition of ActivityPOIs—map markers that visually guide players to active events and quest objectives—alongside expanded functionality for event spawning, location tracking, and map marker behaviour. The integration between the Dialogue Editor and event logic was also advanced, enabling conversations to trigger or respond to in-game actions for more reactive storytelling. Backend improvements ranged from refining event block ordering and input handling to adding blocks for managing entity group assignments, allowing for more complex and varied scenarios. Multiple system-level bugs were resolved, covering areas such as reward distribution, loot handling, and quest progression, while performance was optimised through caching improvements and streamlined data handling. These updates not only improve the reliability of the current systems but also lay the groundwork for more adaptive, content-rich events in the months ahead.
Sound Design
Across July, the Sound team delivered a range of updates aimed at enriching Erendorn’s atmosphere and improving the integration of audio with gameplay. Settlement environments received new layers of ambience, including the gentle movement of water, insect activity, and distant frog calls around ponds, complemented by the addition of vendor chatter in market spaces and a fresh fire effect for the Blacksmith’s forge. Character animation audio was enhanced through the introduction of new notifiers, ensuring effects synchronise more accurately with updated movement cycles. Work also advanced on refining the dynamic wind system to achieve a more natural presence in the soundscape, alongside initial rebalancing of weather audio to better suit environmental conditions. These improvements strengthen the connection between the game’s visual and auditory elements, helping to create a more immersive and responsive world for players to explore.
Animation
Throughout July, the Animation team made significant strides in expanding and refining Erendorn’s animated roster, delivering key updates to both player characters and enemies. The month began with the finalisation and integration of the Necromancer’s complete animation set, including polished movement cycles, ability poses, and idle states, ensuring the character feels cohesive and expressive in motion. Attention then shifted to the Boar enemy overhaul, where the rig was updated with additional bones for improved articulation, followed by the careful transfer and refinement of its existing animations alongside the creation of new variations, such as a distinctive head shake idle. The process concluded with the Boar transitioning to its own dedicated rig, streamlining future adjustments and enabling more focused animation work. These combined efforts have strengthened the visual personality and responsiveness of both characters, bringing them closer to full implementation in the game.
Visual Effects
Over the course of July, the VFX team concentrated on performance optimisation, working to refine Erendorn’s visual effects without sacrificing their impact. A key achievement was the creation of a new single-material fire effect, designed to retain its visual quality while significantly reducing rendering overhead. Alongside this, considerable attention was given to lowering draw calls across particle systems, with a particular focus on those using transparency—often among the most resource-intensive in the engine. While transparent particles inherently carry a performance cost, targeted adjustments are being made to minimise their impact and maintain clarity. These improvements contribute to a more efficient effects library, helping ensure Erendorn’s visual spectacle is delivered with both fidelity and smooth performance.
That’s it for this month’s devlog, but have you seen our monthly roundup of June yet?!
