[h1]Hello Survivors,[/h1] As we step into the new year, the keen-eyed dwarves among you will have noticed, we are in fact in Q1 of 2024, which can only mean one thing. The Early Access Launch is close! We know it can be hard to wait, so to stave off your hunger for gold and minerals, we will share some development insight nuggets with you every week until launch. Let’s dive right into the subject of today’s post: Biomes. [h2]Crystalline Caverns[/h2] The first biome you will explore is the Crystalline Caverns where we want to introduce you to the mechanics of the game. The lack of hazards lets you explore the concept of mining as a means to influence the level and shape it to your advantage while simultaneously exploiting it for its natural resources. Less complex, but full of destructible crystals, giant gaps in the terrain, and rocks that can be mined to create escape routes or choke points. [img]https://i.imgur.com/cyyVVIZ.gif[/img] With the lack of hazards in this biome, we consider it a stepping stone or a greenbeard tutorial if you will. We might explore adding more features to it as the game evolves. [h2]Magma Core[/h2] Keep on drilling and you’ll reach the bubbly and scorching Magma Core biome. Thank god we sent a scout out there first! Magma Core is a total contrast to Crystalline Caverns, presenting a way more aggressive and hazardous environment. Lava can help you by slowing, damaging, and routing bugs, but it can also burn your toes, so choose your battles and choke points wisely! [img]https://i.imgur.com/LDLcsDt.gif[/img] Another element we have lifted from DRG is explosive plants. These herbal fireworks will explode when you get too close to them. Avoid them but exploit them(!) to do some serious AoE damage. [img]https://i.imgur.com/xC1YIYo.gif[/img] [h2]Hollow Bough[/h2] After all that smoke and heat we can finally get some fresh air in the third and final biome: Hollow Bough. Our main goal in translating this biome from DRG to DRG:S is to convey the dense and organic feel of the bough with vines sprawling from all sides, resulting in a cramped and tangled mess. We want the environment to feel restrictive, but to also offer a unique gameplay element by adding destructible vines that grow back shortly after you clear them. This lets you make new and interesting choices in your approach to setting up choke points and eradicating enemies that you don’t get in any other biome. [img]https://i.imgur.com/xQS80Il.gif[/img] This wraps up our sneak peek into the biomes that will be available at the Early Access Launch! We plan on releasing more biomes during Early Access and improving the existing ones based on your feedback. For now, it’s about time to go back to our development mines and dig away at our to-do lists. Stay tuned for the next post where we’ll be sharing some info about the [b]enemies[/b] of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Rock and Stone! The Funday Dwarves