- Devblog #9 - Feedback and Changes - 29 August 2026
Devblog #9 – Feedback and ChangesHello adventurers and welcome to the ninth Devblog for Distant Isles!We've been receiving some really helpful feedback on the Playtest so far, and today I wanted to talk through some of the changes we're making in response.As always, we're really keen to receive more feedback, so please jump into the Playtest and give it a shot!Game SpeedSome clear feedback we've been receiving during the playtest is that the game felt slow. While that can mean a few different things, we tend to agree - it currently takes too long for the player to move to their destination, and combat takes a long time (particularly for an auto-battle).We've rapidly increased movement and turn speeds to account for this (across sailing, islands and combat) and the game feels much more responsive.Using a powder keg to blast away rocks and treesExplorationA key design principle for Distan…
- Dev Blog #8 - Major Playtest Update and Naval Combat - 19 July 2026
Devblog #8 – Major Playtest Update and Naval CombatHello adventurers and welcome to the eighth Devblog for Distant Isles!We recently released a major update for the Playtest on Itch, adding a whole lot of new content, quality of life upgrades, balancing and bug fixes.We’ve had great engagement recently on the Playtest, but please make sure you check‑in and give it a shot if you haven’t already, or want to see what’s new.The Playtest is crucial to making Distant Isles a better game, and is your opportunity to influence its direction.This week, I’m going to continue the theme talking about Combat – but I wanted to showcase the recent work I’ve been doing on naval combat.Naval CombatThere are two main types of naval combat – ship‑to‑ship combat (i.e. firing cannons and unleashing broadsides), and boarding combat.I have recently been working on ship‑to‑ship combat and implementing cannon fi…
- Dev Blog #7 - Combat Continued - 21 June 2026
Devblog #7 – Combat ContinuedHello adventurers and welcome to our seventh Devblog!The year is flying by and we’re continuing to work on the next big update for the Playtest that is currently available.As always, we’d love any feedback you have on the playtest. And keep an eye out on Itch.io for the update – we’re just ironing out a few bugs and quality of life features (hooray, we now have a Main Menu, with art from the great Raden Saleh!).This week, I’m going to continue talking about Combat – particularly the field of battle, the types of combat, and injuries.Field of BattleThe field of battle (as with the rest of the game) is procedurally generated, so each encounter is different.Each terrain type will also have a different field of battle, with different starting positions (and tactics) so that you have to make interesting decisions about where your party members start and who they…
- Dev Blog #6 - Introduction to Combat - 17 May 2026
Devblog #6 – Introduction to CombatHello adventurers, welcome back to our sixth Devblog!I can’t believe we’re halfway through May now. We’re continuing to work on the next big update for the Playtest that is currently available.As always, we’d love any feedback you have on the playtest, as it helps us to make it a better game.Entering CombatWith the preamble aside, this week I want to give you a brief introduction to combat.As you visit and explore the various different islands, you’ll come across a range of enemies. This includes dangerous wildlife such as Borgs, Monkeys, Spindles and Cassowaries. It also includes other adventurers, such as cut-throat Pirates and other crews.Engaging in combat with enemies is a key way to:hunt for food and restore your resilience; andfind valuable equipment and treasure.You will enter combat from the island map, and enemies on each island will chase yo…
- Dev Blog #5 - Your Party - 19 April 2026
Devblog #5 – Your PartyHello adventurers, welcome back for our fifth Devblog!We’re halfway through April, and we’ve been busy focusing on our next content update for the free Playtest that is currently available.We’ve made a number of balancing changes in line with feedback, and are hoping that a content drop and update will bring some more players to the playtest. The playtest is absolutely crucial to us ensuring Distant Isles can be the best game that it can – so if you’re reading this, please jump in and give us some feedback!Party MembersThis week I wanted to give you an insight into your party, which is a key part of gameplay.As you visit and explore the Distant Isles, you’ll pick up party members along the way – hiring them from towns; finding them in the wilderness; or rescuing them from captivity.You can have up to four members in your party, including your party leader that you…
- Dev Blog #4 - More Sailing and Ship Equipment - 15 March 2026
Devblog #4 – Sailing and Ship EquipmentHello adventurers, welcome back for our fourth Devblog!It’s now halfway through March and 2026 is off to a cracking start. We gave you a bit of a taste of sailing last month, but we wanted to show it off in more depth now.Just a reminder that the free Playtest that is still available over on Itch.io. Feel free to check it out if you want to give us some super helpful feedback.We’re planning on doing an update in the coming month with more content and balancing based on feedback to date.SailingAs we highlighted last time, Sailing is fundamental to Distant Isles. You’ll have access to a range of ships, that you can use to sail the seas, engage with traders, or fight pirates and enemy crews.Fundamental to sailing is the ‘Wind’ mechanic, represented by the wind vane in the top right of the screen.Sailing with the wind means you will move more quickly,…
- Dev Blog #3 - Sailing, Update on Playtest - 8 February 2026
Devblog #3 – Sailing, Update on PlaytestHello again adventurers and Huzzah!Welcome back to another Distant Isles Devblog.Today I wanted to focus on two things – I wanted to introduce Sailing, which I’ve been hard at work implementing over the past few months. I also wanted to provide an update on our free Playtest available now over on Itch.io.SailingThis is the first footage we’ve released of our sailing mechanic in Distant Isles!Sailing is fundamental to Distant Isles (it wouldn’t be loosely based on the Age of Discovery if there wasn’t sailing…)Using a range of ships, you’ll be able to sail from island to island, searching for adventure and treasure, and encountering dangerous scenarios.Sailing takes place on the ‘overworld’ map. While it looks bare currently, we’re planning on having Ports, Pirates, Privateers and Traders, and all manner of encounters to bring the sea to life.As on…
- Dev Blog #2 - Playtest, Resilience and Roadmap - 8 January 2026
Devblog #2 – Playtest, Resilience and RoadmapHello adventurers, happy new year and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2026!This is the second monthly Dev Blog for Distant Isles, and I wanted to focus on two things – firstly, the free Playtest that is now available over on Itch.io, and a core mechanic in Distant Isles, Resilience.PlaytestWe’ve released a Playtest for Distant Isles over on Itch.io, check out the link above! This will give you a good understanding of how the game works and its core mechanics.We wanted to release a playtest early in development to gather player feedback and ensure the game is enjoyable and engaging.Please remember that it’s early in development, it’s lacking content, and there will be bugs. However, any feedback would be very greatly appreciated, we need your help to make Distant Isles a better game!ResilienceWith that aside, I wanted to introduce the core…
- Dev Blog #1 - Gameplay - 7 December 2025
Devblog #1 - GameplayIntro to WorldformHello pioneers and welcome to the first Devblog for Distant Isles (huzzah!). My name is Elliot, and I started Worldform in 2021 to create awesome and atmospheric games that take you to other worlds.I’m a hobbyist gamedev, looking to create worlds full‑time. I’ve been making games and prototypes for over 10 years now. With one commercial release under my belt, I’m looking for Distant Isles to be my most fleshed out and fun game yet.Introducing Distant IslesDistant Isles is a party‑based, turn‑based strategy role‑playing and roguelike game. Building a party, you will explore procedurally‑generated islands, seeking out adventure and treasure and trying to survive.It is heavily‑inspired by Curious Expedition, and influenced by other popular games such as Caves of Qud, For the King and Stoneshard. It’s also inspired by a little game called Pioneers (whi…
