Version History

First prototyping cycle: the adventure half

Between cycles: gamepad and stabilisation

Second prototyping cycle: the action half

Release Notes

FIRST PROTOTYPING CYCLE: THE ADVENTURE HALF

November 2025 to February 2026

0.1.0-prototype · Milestone 1: The Inner Monologue

18 November 2025 · Unreal Engine 5.4 · Demo ~17% Devlog · Video

Added

• Inner Monologue System. Thoughts, memories and emotional cues the player moves through rather than reads. Fully scripted and voice acted.
• Unified first and third person camera, switchable in play
• The High Road, the demo’s opening, a road cutting through a forest
• The protagonist, the Doomer Man

Known issues

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering

The first milestone of a planned six, each two weeks long and each ending with a public video.

0.2.0-prototype · Milestone 2: The World Answers Back

24 November 2025 · Unreal Engine 5.4 · Demo ~33% Devlog · Video

Added

• Dialogue System. Characters respond to context, timing and narrative flow.
• Vehicle Traffic Simulation, building on the initial system by volunteer contributor Mohamed Rooby
• Interaction System for examining, using and activating the world
• Inventory System, tied to puzzles and story progression
• The Psychic, the second character

Changed

• Inner Monologue extended to real-time thought
• More accurate vehicle steering
• Faster walk and sprint

Known issues

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering

Finished in one week instead of two.

0.3.0-prototype · Milestone 3: Cinematics, Driving & the Half-Demo Mark

19 December 2025 · Unreal Engine 5.4 · Demo 50% Devlog . Video

Added

• Vehicle Driving System. The camper van, drivable.
• Van Dialogue System. Conversation inside the moving van.
• New cinematic sequences
• The Driver, the third character
• Expanded story chapter

Fixed

• Full bug pass across the first half, tested end to end

Known issues

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering

The point where separate systems became one connected experience. The first half of the demo is grounded in the physical world. Everything after it moves off the grid.

0.4.0-prototype · Half Chapter Demo Release

3 January 2026 · Unreal Engine 5.7 · Demo 50% Submission announcement . Video

Added

• Health System, with a pulse graph in the UI
• Main menu, on a C++ front-end framework built by Sayan Nandi
• The first half of Chapter One, complete and self-contained

Changed

• Engine upgraded from Unreal Engine 5.4 to 5.7

Known issues

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering

The first build to leave the studio, and the one submitted to the PlayStation MENA Hero Project on 31 January 2026.

0.5.0-prototype · Milestone 4: Possession, the Shadow & the Palace Room Escape

22 February 2026 · Unreal Engine 5.7 · Demo 66% Devlog · Video

Added

• The Off The Grid dreamscape, the second half of the chapter begins
• The Palace Room of the Pantheon Off The Grid
• Soul & Body Possession system
• The Shadow, a new character with its own systems
• Palace room escape puzzle
• New story extending Chapter One

Known issues

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering

Closes the first prototyping cycle.

BETWEEN CYCLES: GAMEPAD AND STABILISATION

February to September 2026. Continuous work on controller support, stability and fixes.

0.6.0-prototype · Full Gamepad Support & Project-Wide Stabilisation

12 August 2026 · Unreal Engine 5.8 · Demo 66% Announced 15 July 2026 · Article . Video

Added

• Full gamepad support across virtually every system, with PlayStation controller icons
• Quick Menu, fast access to actions within a controller’s smaller button count
• Contextual hints for actions, controls and interactions
• Skip cinematics, and skippable intros for levels 1 and 3
• Adaptive driving camera that eases back to its resting position
• Think button cue when a new idea is available

Changed

• Input rebuilt from the ground up across every mechanic
• Engine upgraded from Unreal Engine 5.7 to 5.8
• Fewer traffic vehicles, for performance and a more believable road
• Quieter car engine
• Dialogue system enhanced
• Stability improvements across possession, the Shadow, interaction and items, driving, dialogue and inner monologue

Fixed

• Delay before the opening cinematic
• Blurry beards in the opening cinematic
• UI blur caused by the upscaler
• Lighting during the car conversation
• Hair ignoring fog in cinematics
• A robotic-sounding dialogue line
• Gamepad menu breaking when opened and closed quickly
• Hints reappearing after a level restart
• Game menu not closing cleanly, or breaking a cinematic if opened just before one
• Car speed display staying on screen after leaving the car
• A Shadow line playing out of place when the room key is used immediately
• Model issues in the room level
• Music not keeping up with fast changes
• A character’s light flickering while she speaks
• Level 2: the final line occasionally playing the wrong voice line

Known issues

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering

0.6.1-prototype · Fixes, Engine Update & PS5 Package

1 September 2026 · Unreal Engine 5.8.2 · Demo 66%

Added

• Animation and locomotion groundwork for the second cycle, not yet active in play
• PS5 package, not yet tested on PS5 hardware

Changed

• Engine upgraded from Unreal Engine 5.8 to 5.8.2
• Inner Monologue now stops when a conversation begins

Fixed

• MetaHuman hair lag and stuttering, present since the first build
• Player colliding with the vehicle when getting in and out
• Think and Forget action controls
• Level 3: first inner idea not unlocking after skipping the intro
• Level 3: phone ring not triggering if the door was tried before the Shadow conversation ended
• Level 3: talk action not appearing at the phone

Known issues

• PS5 package untested on hardware

SECOND PROTOTYPING CYCLE: THE ACTION HALF

Announced 14 August 2026. Not yet started.

0.7.0-prototype · Milestone 5: Action-Combat Prototype

Weapons from flintlock pistol to two-handed melee. Bullet-time. A Crystal system that purifies or harnesses. Vessel enemies that fight back. The goal is proof, not polish: the first half proved the dream could be explored, the second must prove it can be fought through.

0.8.0-prototype · Milestone 6: The Complete Demo Prototype

The adventure half and the action half, joined into one complete, playable demo.