Welcome to the February 2022 Coral Island development update! Please check out our Steam page to wishlist the game and find out more: swg.gg/corstm This month, we'll go over the museum, mastery, strafing, and more! [b]Alpha v0.07 will launch on March 7 @ 11:59PM PDT.[/b] [h2][u]Happy Valentines[/u][/h2] Happy Valentine's from the Stairway team! More importantly, who would be your Coral Island valentine? [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_061be43362314f54b44d70260f14d488~mv2.jpg[/img] [Rafael playing 4d chess] [h2][u]Renovated Museum[/u][/h2] A full-fledged museum can be completed in Starlet Town. It features a section for artifacts, gems, insects, fish, and fossils. Without spoiling too much, here's a glimpse of several areas inside the museum: [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_1535198267ee4f9f86cffc42cc66b120~mv2.gif[/img] [artifacts are grouped and displayed based on where you find them] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_a44cb1f2b41240d5a4aa667534900406~mv2.gif[/img] [donations to the museum will increase the towns rank!] [h2][u]Player Strafing Unlocked[/u][/h2] One recurring feedback we've received during Alpha is improving the farming controls. We're excited for you to try out the strafing mechanic in-game. To strafe, hold "ctrl" while the hotbar is actively selecting a tool - it's that simple. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_fc16b288fb014d7ebbc73f2e67091a6e~mv2.gif[/img] [movement speed is reduced while strafing for finer control] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_77354a2e73e64dd8a7229714135ad4e1~mv2.gif[/img] [aiming for tiles definitely feels more precise while strafing] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_f704d8c5dee24cc9aac286e2208d0e6a~mv2.gif[/img] [plus, we unlocked an unintended feature, the moonwalk!] We realize a good portion of Alpha players want mouse-based controls. Although we don't have anything to share on that today, please know we'll try our best to implement it into the game. [h2][u]Mastery Skills Revamped[/u][/h2] We've revamped a significant portion of the mastery skills. Now there are a total of 15 levels and skills you can acquire for each mastery. We'll look forward to hearing feedback from Alpha players on this! [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_d0a66be7e0044eeda63a2d704c4c2b2d~mv2.gif[/img] [please excuse the placeholder UI] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_10bfb4a7622c427f9b45e2d422711a42~mv2.gif[/img] [The Rock Domino's skill is a popular choice internally] [h2][u]Revamped Interiors & Exteriors[/u][/h2] This month, we're teasing Jim's house and just a couple of the many new shortcuts that have been added to the map. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_ec97048bad4549c2adb8237c7f9ec001~mv2.png[/img] [Jim's house is now accessible to Alpha players] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_00d075d401e74e3cba3d1f249192b05d~mv2.png[/img] [a shortcut has been added connecting the Observatory and Woodlands] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_bcb5be0a67524cb3b2ff3f0f4fc8dd07~mv2.png[/img] [a shortcut has been added connecting the mid forest and rice paddy terrace] [h2][u]Mount Riding Teaser[/u][/h2] A look at what developing new features looks like. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_bc622a5633b4470f94307117eb4ad360~mv2.gif[/img] [if one must fall through the ground, it should be done in style] [h2][u]Fanart Contest Winners[/u][/h2] Congratulations to all winners: @greifate (Twitter) Tylendiel#5875 (Discord) goompher#9124 (Discord) @syphos.art (IG) @pinkielartsy (IG) Last image credit: SDAX! [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_9f84e777068647e9ac522fb75144a4eb~mv2.png[/img] [goompher#9124 (Discord)] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_7d0b2fc8f3f446cf803b6bef6c514e44~mv2.jpg[/img] [syphos.art (IG)] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_3e0bf46e51f346e6bf70c0b8e680853c~mv2.jpg[/img] [Tylendiel#5875 (Discord)] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_4c65f3a27f3c4f91a82b9f164227893d~mv2.jpg[/img] [greifate (Twitter)] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_692713d7d9964948bc8171591be55649~mv2.jpg[/img] [pinkielartsy (IG)] [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_88bbc1e048154624a29543252c1cf058~mv2.jpg[/img] [Honorable mention for making us laugh, SDAX!] [h2][u]Development Timeline Update[/u][/h2] We really appreciate your patience in waiting for Coral Island. Development is making a good pace towards the Early Access release. Below you'll find the high-level features we want to knock out before we do a polish pass and eventually release the game. [img]https://static.wixstatic.com/media/491ae5_f1e6563eabb04058894243232afca234~mv2.png[/img] [h2][u]What's next?[/u][/h2] Next month, we'll provide updates on the following: - Heritage overview - Player clothing overview - Updates to character customization - Refreshed 10m diving map - And more [b]Thanks for reading,[/b] Stairway Team