Welcome to E2V1 Pre-Alpha Chapter 1: Reality Thread 1

July 14, 2025 – Sydney, Australia – We are extremely proud to announce the first playable test release of E2V1 Pre-Alpha: Chapter 1. It all begins with Reality Thread 1 the initial strand of lifeforms in the woven digital fabric of Earth 2. This is a significant moment in the development of E2V1, as it will mark the first time Player interactivity is being introduced into our massive open pristine digital planet Earth.

Chapter 1 is extensive and due to its size, depth and the fact it is our first playable release, it will be rolled out in multiple segments known as Reality Threads. Reality Threads, both throughout Chapter 1 and beyond, are designed to progressively introduce new life, features, experiences or gameplay mechanics in Earth 2 as the platform evolves.

We also want to reaffirm that our long-term vision for Earth 2 as a metaverse platform remains the same. The journey toward that vision requires a phased approach and we chose to begin with one of the most technically ambitious and complex foundations: building a playable 3D, geolocationally accurate digital version of Earth. While this task may not have been the most commercially rewarding starting point, we believed it was critical to demonstrate the most difficult and widely questioned aspect of Earth 2 first – the scale, accuracy and integrity of our virtual planet.

With this first playable Pre-Alpha version of E2V1 now on the doorstep, we want to make clear that the foundational phase is only just beginning. We are entering the very early stages of testing our 3D geolocational world, a monumental technical undertaking that is still far from complete. This Pre-Alpha test marks an important milestone, but there is still a great deal of work ahead to refine, expand and stabilise the core systems before wider features and experiences can be layered on top.

As Earth 2 evolves, our long-term vision continues to include the ability for Players to Discover, Shop, Trade, Build, Play, Battle, Mine, Earn, Socialise, Learn, and more. And broader connective and immersive technologies such as AR and VR remain firmly on our long-term timeline. We plan to introduce these step by step; built on top of the persistent digital world we are just beginning to bring to life.

What Does “Pre-Alpha” Mean?

Pre-Alpha is an early access build which means the game or software is still deep in an early development phase. It is important to remember that E2V1 is currently in this phase and has many upcoming features being introduced for the first time, including systems that are being tested live, and bugs are not only expected but an essential part of the development process. 

Pre-Alpha is often the stage where the foundations are laid, where experimentation is ongoing, and where the feedback from our community can help the platform evolve. Although this version provides a clear confirmation on proof of concept, it is not representative of the final platform we envision and we want that to be clear to everyone, whether an Earth 2 Player, or not.

There will be bugs, unfinished elements and multiple works in progress.

If you are a tester planning to stream or publish footage, it is critical that you clearly disclose in both the title and at the beginning of the video or stream that this is a Pre-Alpha early access build and that it represents an ongoing work in progress. If you are streaming then please also remind your viewers frequently during the stream.

Why Earth 2 Development Is Uniquely Challenging

E2V1 is not a conventional game, nor is it even a conventional platform. It is being developed on a planet-sized scale, with a real-time, dynamic digital world that spans the entire surface of Earth – covering 510,072,000 square kilometers – which will serve as the foundational layer for connecting a multitude of experiences across the Earth 2 platform.

This enormous scope means that many aspects of 3D game development must be reimagined and customised – for example – we cannot rely on pre-baked environments, like other games do, which make it a lot easier for them to implement various aspects and iterate interactive mechanisms such as collision and environmental detection. In our case, all interactions, terrain recognition and environmental responses are dynamically handled by our custom-built Earth 2 Engine in real time, operating across the entire surface of the planet.

Everything from environment simulation to inventory systems must be dynamically adjusted and rendered on-the-fly while also allowing the Player to venture anywhere inside a geologically accurate 510,072,000km2 digital Earth, adding extra layers of complication and resulting in the addition of a feature that might take one month in a typical game development project, take four to six months or longer to be implemented inside E2V1.

This is by no means a complaint – it is a testament to the ambition of Earth 2 and a reality we embrace as we lay the challenging groundwork for a persistent metaverse platform. Every step we take is not just building an open world; it is building the backbone for a globally synchronised, interactive digital Earth for all of the future experiences we plan to introduce at the platform evolves.

Persistent World Infrastructure

The majority of the features we plan to build inside Earth 2, including this Reality Thread, are tied directly into our Persistent World Infrastructure (PWI). These systems are not local, standalone mechanics. They are connected to real-time server logic, APIs and validation points. It would be significantly easier to develop isolated features that run locally on a PC, but that’s not what Earth 2 is, and we feel it is important clarify this important detail. We are building a living world. Persistence, connectivity and real-world synchronisation are at the core of almost every system we develop and executing such complexity in real-time environments is a challenge that takes considerable time and coordination. Put simply, it takes time and cannot be rushed.

This also means that early-stage mechanics like inventory, foraging, character life, death and revival are being tested in their persistent world state on production servers to ensure full functionality and interconnectivity. 

Death is Real – You’ve Been Warned

This Reality Thread will be connected to live production logic, meaning death is real and can result in the loss of E-ther. Implementing a ‘safe mode’ or test sandbox would delay other development pipelines, so for now, we’re testing live. If you’re not comfortable risking E-ther or experiencing the full weight of live testing, you are welcome to skip this phase and we fully understand.

This could certainly be considered as the wild west days of the Earth 2 metaverse. But for those who venture forth: you are pioneers and you will get to keep items you discover via foraging and Characters you synthesise and save successfully across your properties.

It is a Pre-Alpha – There Will Be Bugs

Let’s be clear: there will be bugs and that’s exactly what we need to discover. It is the reason for a Pre-Alpha development phase. This article will provide detailed testing guidelines for each major feature in this release and where to focus testing, but we also encourage testers to explore freely, if they feel comfortable doing so, and find other potential issues. Try strange combinations. Explore edge cases. Push the system. Your feedback will help us refine, polish and improve.

We will also begin rolling out anti-hack systems at this early stage, such as  inventory validation, location tracking, item discovery and more, to lay the foundations for the long term goal of a fair playing ground for all inhabitants.

So far, our systems have been designed to detect a variety of different manipulation attempts and this is a reminder that confirmed hackers run the very real risk of being permanently banned from E2V1 and potentially have their accounts frozen – so do the right thing!

Development Progress Throughout Q2 – 2025

Despite the complexity, Q2 was a highly productive quarter for the Earth 2 dev team. Major advancements include:

• Persistent Inventory System v1.0 allowing default storage space and management for items per character
• Introduction of Foraging v1.0 including the ability to forage hundreds of materials from hundreds of plant types across the entire planet
• Introduction of the Character Synthesis v1.0 including character synthesis, survival, revival, and character management
• Introduction of our first Immersive Audio v1.0 system
• Day Cycles v1.0 – global Time of Day and Night system with accurate real-world local time zones
• Implementation of Seasons v1.0
• Character Vitals v1.0 – a complete overhaul of Character Stats, including Hunger, Thirst, Stamina, Mana and Health
• Implementation of the Action Bar v1.0
• Continued development of our Global Multiplayer System, which will be introduced progressively across Reality Thread releases
• Development and part deployment of the global Quest System
  

All of this has been developed within the Persistent World Infrastructure framework. These are not localised systems. They are living parts of a persistent digital world, dynamically reacting and responding to player input on a planetary scale.

Reality Threads

Reality Threads represent the gradual weaving of Earth 2’s alternate reality. Each thread is a new pulse of reality bringing functionality, interaction, experiences and immersion into existence inside Earth 2. Like code manifesting into form, these threads connect isolated systems into a living, breathing metaverse, where persistence, interaction, and evolution are inevitable.

Chapter 1 is a significantly large milestone in the journey of E2V1. It includes multiple systems, mechanics, and early playable content pieces. To ensure smooth rollout and focused testing, we are launching Chapter 1 in stages. Each stage is called a Reality Thread, named to represent the fabric of Earth 2’s digital reality slowly being woven together one thread at a time.

Reality Thread 1 begins with several core systems. As you explore this article, you will find:

• A detailed breakdown of each major feature in Reality Thread 1;
  The development background explaining how each feature was built and which teams contributed; and
• Guidelines and testing checklists for each feature so you know what to test, what to watch for, and how to report it.
  

Early Access Reminders

• You are welcome to share footage publicly, but please include the following in your title and on-screen:
  “Pre-Alpha Early Access – Work In Progress”
  
• Remind viewers during streams or videos that bugs, unfinished features, and placeholders are expected
  
• All features below are Version 1.0 — the first iterations of many systems we plan to expand upon.

Character Synthesis v1.0

Feature Details

The Character Synthesis system marks a fundamental step forward in the evolution of Earth 2, enabling Players to breathe life into their first controllable avatars within E2V1. Using the Mentar interface on any owned Tier 1 (T1) or Tier 2 (T2) property, Players can summon a Mentar and initiate the synthesis of an Ethereal being, the base, foundational lifeform within Earth 2.

Each Character will require E-ther to synthesise. When a Player chooses to create a Character, the required amount of E-ther is automatically converted to Essence and internally flagged for a 100% token burn, effectively removing it from circulation. This not only anchors Character creation to the platform’s tokenomics structure but contributes directly to deflationary mechanics tied to Essence. With every new Character brought to life in Earth 2, a fragment of the world’s limited Essence supply is sacrificed and permanently erased from existence, forever.

Synthesised Characters are unique, persistent entities that function as sub-sets of a Player’s account. Each Character has its own inventory, implants and a growing set of future capabilities. The number of Characters a property can synthesise is governed by that property’s Tier, Class, and Size, ensuring balanced creation rates across the ecosystem and perks for Players who have higher Tier, Class and Size of properties.

This is the first step in Earth 2’s lifespan system, which introduces mortality, survival mechanics and the groundwork for future gameplay loops, experiences and simple existence inside E2V1. It also marks a key expansion in the Player’s role from observer to participant within Earth 2’s digital ecosystem.

Background Development

The development of the Character Synthesis system required extensive coordination across several of Earth 2’s internal teams, unifying server infrastructure, gameplay logic, user interface, animation, and presentation elements into a cohesive feature:

Backend Development Team

The backend team built the core server-side logic to support persistent Character existence, including:

• Secure E-ther to Essence conversion mechanisms;
• Internal ESS burn flagging and tracking systems;
• Character-Player mapping allowing each Player to manage multiple Characters;
• API endpoints to deliver property data, location context, E-ther balances and synthesis permissions based on Tier, Class, and Size; and
• Synthesis limits enforced globally to maintain consistency. 

Game Development Team
Game devs integrated the client side synthesis interface, connecting it with backend endpoints and:

• Implemented logic for triggering VFX and SFX;
• Hooked into the Character structure system for inventories and saved states; and
• Supported real-time instantiation of Characters within E2V1’s dynamic terrain system including extensive work with dynamic navmesh systems implemented to evolve into multiplayer mode.

VFX & SFX Teams

These teams collaborated to craft the immersive warp-in visual and audio effects that accompany synthesis. This includes:

• Particle effects and energy spirals symbolising life-formation; and
• Ambient and focal sound cues to enhance the moment a Character is born into the world.

Animation Development Team & Animators

• Programmed the execution of synthesis animations; and
• Aligned character entry visuals with terrain and environmental conditions and ensure initial collision with the terrain is successful.

Concept Art Team

• Designed the synthesis UI layout and custom icons; and
• Created the visual language for Ethereal Characters and interface clarity.

Each of these systems had to be tightly woven into Earth 2’s planet-scale infrastructure, where real-time performance, data persistence, and environmental interaction occur dynamically across a truly massive 510,072,000 km² world, without relying on pre-baked or static 3D terrain and environments.

Testing Guidelines

To ensure the robustness of the Character Synthesis system, testers are encouraged to perform the following steps and checks:

1. Synthesis Process

• Visit a T1 or T2 property you own,
• Summon the Mentar,
• Access the Character Synthesis interface,
• Confirm E-ther availability and complete synthesis of a Character,
• Observe UI feedback, transaction success, and E-ther deduction.

You should see a new entry under your Transactions page via the Earth 2 website confirming the synthesis and E-ther deduction.

2. Terrain and Movement Testing

• Once spawned, run around and observe Character-terrain collision,
• Confirm your Character remains above terrain surfaces,
• Interact near foliage,water and other vegetation to test object collision and responsiveness,
• In case of unexpected terrain fall-through, verify if the recovery system properly teleports your Character back to the surface.

3. System Validation

• Attempt to synthesise multiple Characters based on land Tier, Class, and Size to confirm synthesis limits are in place,
• Attempt synthesis from an ineligible property (T3 or unowned land) by trying to summon a Mentar to ensure it does not summon,
• If synthesis fails, ensure errors are clear and descriptive.
  

4. Visual & Audio Review

• Observe the VFX sequence as your Character appears
• Ensure SFX play correctly during synthesis
• Report any missing, delayed, or out-of-sync feedback

Character Save to Mentar, Respawn & Revive

Feature Details

The Character Save to Mentar, Respawn, and Revive system forms a critical part of Earth 2’s early-life cycle mechanics and marks a major step forward in E2V1’s persistent world simulation. Together, they allow Players to preserve, restore, and continue the existence of their synthesised Characters within the live game environment.

When controlling a Character in E2V1, Players can approach a Mentar they own to save their Character at that location. Once saved, that Character becomes bound to that Mentar, allowing the Character to remain there indefinitely for the Player to respawn them either directly from the Mentar (in Free Flight mode) or via the Character Management interface. The Character Management interface panel displays all saved Characters, their current statuses, last known save times, and the local E2V1 time of their save location – reflecting our real-time global system.

In cases of Character death, Players have the option to revive their fallen Character using E-ther. A successful revival will restore all vital stats (Health, Hunger, Stamina, Thirst, Mana) and preserve the Character’s full inventory. However, if a Player chooses not to revive, the Character is permanently lost, and any items it was carrying will be irretrievable and non-lootable during the early Reality Threads.

All E-ther used for revivals is automatically converted into Essence and flagged for a 100% burn, contributing to the platform’s deflationary tokenomics.

These systems serve multiple purposes: 

• Supporting persistent character continuity, 
• Enabling recovery from death, and 
• Forming the early groundwork for more advanced mechanics such as character perma-death, resurrection systems, and death penalties.

Background Development

Development of this multi-feature system required collaborative integration between numerous Earth 2 teams, all working under the constraints of a live, planet-scale simulation architecture:

Backend Development Team

• Built core server logic to enable persistent Character saving, revival tracking, and Mentar-to-Character binding,
• Designed APIs and endpoint connections for:
  
  • Validating property ownership and Mentar access,
  • Saving and retrieving Characters based on Tier, Class, and location data,
  • Monitoring and applying revival logic, including E-ther balance checks and automatic Essence conversion for token burn.
• Implemented a disconnection grace system, allowing Players 24 hours to reconnect and revive their Character before it is lost, protecting against accidental terminations,
• Developed anti-cheat protocols: specific hack triggers result in instant Character death and backend alerts for developer review.
  

Game Development Team

• Integrated backend APIs into the E2V1 game client and enabled real-time interactions between Characters and Mentars,
• Connected the Character Management interface to backend data, enabling visual listing and retrieval of saved Characters,
• Developed the spawn logic that determines whether a Mentar presents a spawn or synthesis option depending on the save state,
• Worked closely with VFX, SFX, and animation teams to trigger appropriate visual and audio feedback for death, revival, and spawn events.

VFX & SFX Teams

• Created the visual and audio assets for:
  • Character death (including E-ther essence floating peacefully around the lifeless body),
  • Revival effects, bringing Characters back to life with visual flair.
• Designed audio cues to reflect the gravity of death and satisfaction of revival
  

Animation Dev & Animator Teams

• Programmed death and revival animations and ensured smooth transitions between states,
• Synced animations with backend and game logic triggers for realism and consistency.
  

Concept Art Team

• Designed the icons and UI for:
  • Mentar interaction prompts
  • The Character Management screen
  • Save and spawn notifications
• Collaborated with game designers to ensure all UI reflected the underlying system logic clearly and intuitively
  

Testing Guidelines

To assist the dev team in validating this feature set, testers are asked to perform the following structured tests:

 1. Save to Mentar

• Approach a Mentar you own in Character mode,
• If not immediately detected, walk away and return to re-trigger detection,
• Press ‘P’ when the prompt appears to save your Character,
• Confirm that saving is successful and verify it appears in the Character Management panel,
• Validate that Character inventory, time, and location are accurately recorded.

2. Respawn from Mentar

• In Free Flight mode, select your property, summon the Mentar and open the UI,
  If a Character is already saved to that Mentar, confirm that the system offers the option to Spawn rather than Synthesise,
• Select the spawn option and verify that the Character spawns correctly, retaining all stats and inventory.

3. Respawn from Character Management

• In Free Flight mode, open the right-side extendable menu,
• Select the “Spawn Character” icon (second last icon),
• Review the list of saved Characters:
  • Confirm their location, last saved time, and local E2V1 time
• Select a Character and press-and-hold to spawn,
• Confirm successful spawn with all expected data and inventory intact.

4. Character Death and Revival

• Trigger a Character death (e.g. falling from height or running out of health),
• Observe the death animation and floating E-ther particles,
• When prompted, choose to revive
  • Confirm all vital stats are restored,
    Confirm inventory is intact,
  • Verify E-ther is deducted.

5. Disconnection Test

• After synthesising or spawning a Character, forcibly disconnect your game,
• Reconnect within 24 hours and attempt a revival using E-ther,
• Confirm Character is recovered correctly,
• Note that we have had some experiences with this not functioning correctly and our developers are still refining the system, so please be aware that there is an extra associated risk with testing this feature.
  

Immersive Audio v1.0

Feature Details

The Immersive Audio v1.0 system introduces the first version of spatially reactive, biome-aware audio inside Earth 2 – designed to elevate the sense of presence and environmental fidelity within E2V1.  To match the immense level of detail literally spread across an entire planet inside E2V1, the audio team has been working hard to provide features such as dynamic positioning of complete immersive spaces, giving early life to each individual biome through its day and night cycles.

Our long term goal is to perfect the audio as Players move through forests, deserts, beaches, or mountainous terrain, by designing it to dynamically transition and match the surrounding ecosystem. Though many of these aspects are still in early development, the system already accounts for day and night cycles, producing a richer sound profile that evolves naturally as time progresses in-game. 

The core objective of Immersive Audio v1.0 is not only to introduce a start on reflected realism, but to begin bringing E2V1 to life and an emotional tone that evolves with the world around the Player without overburdening system resources.

Background Development

Developing audio at a global scale inside Earth 2’s 510,072,000 km² open world required a paradigm shift away from traditional video game audio techniques. The Earth 2 team was challenged with implementing a fully real-time, layer-baked audio system that could synchronise with detected terrain, biomes and time-of-day context across an entire planet by triggering the correct audio layers based on data provided by the Earth 2 Engine.

SFX Team

A majority of audio challenges our SFX Development Team faced circled around planning and executing for a project of this scale, with each mini audio system needing to be recorded and created in layers and then reassembled in real time during gameplay with parametric control. The sonic profile of each SFX is carefully designed to not only feel exciting but also to be adaptable to any range of situations it might be used in game. 

To ensure performance, the team engineered the audio to use nested triggers and lightweight footprint logic, minimising CPU usage while enabling dynamic scaling up or down based on surrounding events or hardware conditions.

Game Dev & Animation Dev Teams

The Game Dev team worked closely with the SFX team to integrate these audio systems into the E2V1 client, implementing trigger zones, environmental recognition systems and biome detection that allowed audio changes to occur as the Character moves around inside E2V1.

This involved writing complex detection code for terrain and elevation shifts, building real-time transitions between biomes and linking time-of-day data to sound triggers. The Animation Dev team also supported audio integration by ensuring player movement, collision, and environmental interactions had appropriately triggered feedback adding life and physicality to every step or environmental touch.

Testing Guidelines

As audio plays a major role in immersion, testers are encouraged to perform detailed auditory checks while exploring various regions in Character mode. While performing these tests, please remember that this is version 1 of our Immersive Audio system and it will evolve over time. Here’s a few things you can test for now:

• Biome Audio Shifts: Move through different terrain types and biomes and note if the ambient sounds are different.
• Day/Night Transitions: Remain in a single biome across a day-to-night cycle and listen for audible changes (e.g., birds fading into crickets). Report any inconsistencies or missing transitions.
• Volume Balance: Ensure that ambient biome audio is not overpowering other sounds like UI feedback, Character interaction sounds, or VFX audio such as water movement or footsteps.
• Water: One of our biggest challenges has been perfecting the edges of water. The system is far from perfect in v1.0 so we would appreciate feedback on personal experiences from testers when moving into and out of areas with water.

Our SFX Development Team has a monumental task ahead, one that spans far beyond traditional sound design. Not only are they responsible for crafting a reactive and immersive open world audio landscape, but they’re also building scalable systems to support audio feedback across multiple layers of gameplay. This includes everything from interactive UI elements, character actions, enemy unit behaviors, ambient environments, and animal encounters, to future systems such as agriculture, building and more.

Getting audio perfect across an entire planet is a very challenging task and v1.0 is still very much a work in progress. It does not always get it right. As Earth 2 continues to grow, so too will its soundscape. We are committed to progressively enhancing the SFX systems over time, ensuring they evolve alongside our platform and contribute meaningfully to the depth, realism and immersion of the Earth 2 experience.

Day Cycles v1.0 

Feature Details

The Day-Night Cycles v1.0 system in Earth 2 is designed to simulate immersive, persistent, and localised time progression across the planet-scale world of E2V1. When a Player enters Character Mode, they become bound to the regional time of their physical location within Earth 2 – including sunlight, moonlight and the local E2V1 time zone.

Time in E2V1 progresses at 4x the speed of real-world time, meaning each real-world 24-hour day contains four complete 6-hour E2V1 cycles (4 hours of day followed by 2 hours of night). As a result, Earth 2 replicates the exact same Earth calendar date four times within a single real-world day. For example, if today’s date was December 8, 2025, then December 8, 2025 will be experienced four times inside E2V1, each cycle reflecting the actual solar and lunar conditions for that date.

This system is far more than cosmetic – it is functionally important. Daylight, darkness, moon phases and time of day will influence gameplay mechanics in future updates, such as time-specific loot drops, rare encounters, special crafting and environmental interactions.

Time is displayed prominently in the UI and all Characters, when spawned or saved, are stamped with the local E2V1 time zone, ensuring a globally synchronised persistent simulation.

Background Development

Delivering a planetary-scale, regionally accurate day-night cycle that functions in real time was a significant cross-team undertaking that required innovation in time simulation, client-server synchronisation and regional logic implementation inside E2V1. Here’s how the various teams contributed:

Backend Development Team

• Implemented a UTC-based timekeeping system to support global synchronisation of the E2V1 day-night cycle system playing through 4 cycles daily at 4x speed.
• Developed API endpoints to broadcast the current E2V1 time, regionally adjusted, to all active clients.
• Ensured the server maintained persistent time tracking for each property, region and Character, forming the foundation for future time-based triggers.
  

Game Development Team

• Retrieved E2V1 time data from the backend and embedded it into live gameplay systems, aligning the in-game sun and moon positions with actual time data.
• Engineered the regional time zone overlays inside E2V1 to display correct local time across all properties, Characters, and UI elements depending on which location and timezone they are in.
• Ensured sunrise/sunset and lunar phases reflect accurate positions relative to the Player’s location in the world – a complex visual mapping challenge on a global scale.
  

Concept Art Team

• Designed a set of visual icons for time of day (e.g., sunrise, day, dusk, night) and moon phases, which are shown in various UI panels including Character Management and main Character interface.
• Collaborated with Game Devs to link these icons to in-game logic, ensuring they accurately represent the passage of time across cycles.
  

Testing Guidelines

Testers are encouraged to validate the accuracy and functionality of the Day-Night Cycles system using the following checklist:

1. Time Display Accuracy

• While in Character Mode, confirm the local E2V1 time is displayed in the top-left corner of the HUD.
• Compare this time to the time shown in the Character Management panel after spawning from that interface.
• Ensure both times match and reflect the correct cycle segment (day or night).
  

2. Sun and Moon Visibility

• Observe the position of the sun or moon during different periods and confirm they align with the time displayed.
• Watch transitions between day and night, and verify that they occur approximately every 4 and 2 hours respectively.
  

3. Time Cycle Charting (Advanced Testing Bonus Quest)

• Track a full 24-hour real-world day and map all four 6-hour E2V1 cycles using UTC as a base reference.
• Validate time accuracy across different property locations to ensure time zones are functioning correctly.
• Check that moon phases correspond to the correct Earth lunar calendar date (e.g., full moon, waning crescent, etc.). Note that sometimes the moon can be difficult to find depending where your Character is located in the world!

4. Time-Based Event Prep

• Take note of any environmental or performance irregularities during day-night transitions (e.g., lighting, VFX, shadow behavior).
• Report any inconsistencies between icon display, sky visuals, and displayed time.

Character Vitals v1.0

Feature Details

The Character Vitals v1.0 system introduces a core survival mechanic for all Characters inside E2V1. Once your Character is synthesised, one of the first things you’ll encounter is the completely overhauled Vitals UI, located in the lower left corner of the screen. This new interface monitors five core statistics critical to your Character’s survival:

• Health
• Thirst
• Hunger
• Stamina
• Mana (upcoming – not yet active)

These vitals dynamically respond to Player actions and environmental factors in real time. Activities like sprinting, foraging or failing to hydrate will cause the relevant vitals to deplete. If left unattended, depleted stats such as Thirst or Hunger will eventually begin to reduce your Health, which may lead to death if not corrected.

This system lays the groundwork for Earth 2’s survival mechanics, linking seamlessly with upcoming systems such as Character body temperature, cooking foraged ingredients and dynamic environmental conditions. It also enables responsive VFX and SFX feedback based on your Character’s current state, helping immerse Players further in the world of E2V1.

Background Development

Delivering a responsive, real-time vital stats system inside a persistent metaverse required close coordination between multiple teams:

Game Development Team

• Engineered the underlying vital stats logic that governs how each stat increases or decreases based on actions, status effects, or item use.
• Implemented conditional thresholds for stat behavior, such as stamina loss during sprinting, health deterioration after dehydration, and restricted movement when vitals are depleted.
• Enabled interactivity between systems, so items from Inventory or Foraging could restore specific vital stats in real time.
• Developed functionality for respawning Characters with fully replenished stats when re-spawned from a Mentar (provided it is not already occupied).
  

 Concept Art Team

• Designed the completely revamped Vitals UI, with clear and intuitive visual indicators for all five tracked stats.
• Delivered visual feedback states (e.g., critical, warning, boosted) for each stat bar to align with Player experience needs.
• Created UI iconography for each vital stat and coordinated with game developers for real-time visual updates.
  

VFX & SFX Teams

• Produced visual effects for each stat-related action or state:
  • Glowing or pulsing VFX when a stat is boosted (e.g., drinking water or consuming food).
  • Red tint and heavy VFX when the Character is low on health.
    
• Developed sound effects to match physical exertion and stat loss:
  • Rapid breathing for low stamina or health.
  • Subtle ambient cues when interacting with items that replenish Thirst, Hunger, or Stamina.
    

Testing Guidelines

Testers are encouraged to thoroughly test the mechanics and feedback of the Character Vitals system by completing the following testing scenarios:

1. Stamina Drain & Recovery

• Hold Shift + W to sprint across terrain. Observe the Stamina bar as it depletes.
• Once Stamina reaches zero, continue sprinting and confirm that Health begins to drop as a result.
• Monitor the rate of Thirst and Hunger depletion during extended sprinting to ensure higher exertion increases depletion speed.
  

2. Item Interaction

• Use the default Water icon from your Inventory to drink from a shallow water source. Ensure Thirst is replenished.
• Confirm that sea water is currently allowed, but make note that in future updates this will change to allow only fresh water providing boosts with salt water eventually draining Thirst instead. We plan to introduce desalination mechanisms to convert sea water into fresh drinking water in the future.
• Forage items such as fruits, cactus pads, flowers, etc., and test that consuming them restores the correct vital stats (e.g., Hunger, Thirst, Health).
• Confirm that SFX and VFX play correctly when using items to restore stats.
  

3. System States & UI Validation

• Observe visual and sound feedback when stats are near depletion. Ensure red VFX and breathing cues trigger appropriately.
• Make note of any inconsistency between UI values and Character behavior, such as movement restrictions or stat drops.
• Use the Mentar system to re-spawn your Character after testing and confirm all vitals are restored to 100.
  

Notes

• The Mana bar is currently non-functional. No testing is required for Mana in this version.
• Body temperature and location environment temperature have not yet been integrated into the vitals system and will be introduced in a future release.

Foraging v1.0

Feature Details

The foundational first release of Foraging v1.0 is an extremely powerful and dynamic system that functions on a global level and allows for an incredible amount of control and customisation from Earth 2 by dynamically setting what Players can discover as items when foraging. 

Foraging v1.0 has been designed to get maximum leverage from E2V1’s already extensive and immersive global vegetation system. Each natural vegetation type found in the wilderness, such as a tree or plant, typically has 4 versions with some even having multiple sub-types. Earth 2 has designed a backend system that accommodates not only every vegetation type, but every variation of vegetation type, turning hundreds of base discoverable outcomes into thousands. And that’s not even taking into account additional variables that Earth 2 has designed to affect discoverability.

In addition to this base discoverable system with Foraging v1.0, we have also designed a backend system that takes time of day, moon phase, altitude, season, location and other factors into account when determining what a Player might find when foraging inside E2V1.

Foraging v1.0 also includes the introduction of the global tile restriction system which restricts the number of times a tile can be foraged within a certain period of time. By default, tiles can be searched once every 365 days and the system is persistent, meaning once a tile is searched by one Character, another Character cannot search or forage on that tile for 365 days. Furthermore, while one tile may have multiple forageable objects on it the Character must choose which object they want to search for, as once one object is searched, all other objects on that specific tile will become undiscoverable.

It is important to note that while testers will be able to keep the items they forage with their Characters (and that most of these items will be craftable or useable for different purposes), during the testing phase only the most basic version of the Foraging system will be online and rarer items, loot, or energy types will not be activated with a drop chance. 

Foraging v1.0, even in its maiden release, will fundamentally provide a system that supports billions of searchable objects on a global scale with dynamic internal systems that provide different results based on a number of open world environment variables. Once past the testing phase, rarer items, loot, and energy types may be discoverable while foraging making it an even more lucrative activity inside E2V1.

Background Development 

The initial release of Foraging v1.0 represents a major technical and gameplay milestone within E2V1. It introduces a globally persistent, environment-driven item discovery system that dynamically determines what Players can forage based on a wide array of conditions. The development of this system required coordination across multiple specialized teams, each contributing to its functionality, visual representation, and in-world immersion.

Backend Development Team

The backend team was responsible for architecting the core design logic and persistence layer behind Foraging v1.0. This includes:

• Designing a global item discovery framework that dynamically controls what items can be discovered across billions of unique tiles.
• Developing a vegetation indexing system capable of tracking not only every unique vegetation type but also multiple versions per type, allowing for thousands of variable outcomes.
• Implementing complex discovery condition checks based on factors such as time of day, moon phase, altitude, season, and geolocation to influence item availability.
• Building the tile restriction system, which enforces cooldowns per tile (e.g. 365 days) and manages persistent, character-specific foraging states across the map.
  

Game Development Team

The game dev team worked closely with backend engineers to integrate the foraging logic into the core E2V1 gameplay loop. Key responsibilities included:

• Implementing in-world object selection and interaction mechanics, allowing Characters to detect and select from multiple forageable objects per tile.
• Enforcing player choice restrictions, ensuring once one object is searched, all others on the tile will return a message notifying the Player that the tile is no longer searchable.
• Managing the inventory linkage and item retention logic, ensuring items discovered during testing are correctly tied to Characters.

Animation Development Team

The animation team built the systems that support character animations related to foraging:

• Creating and integrating the base foraging animation set used when a Character initiates a search.
• Ensuring transitions and blending function correctly across different terrain and vegetation types.

Animation Team

The animation team worked alongside the Animation Developers to produce and polish:

• Custom animations for different types of foliage or terrain, giving a more realistic and immersive experience when Characters interact with nature.
• Timing and motion feedback based on the item or vegetation type being foraged.
  

VFX & SFX Development Teams

The VFX and SFX teams collaborated to enhance player feedback and environmental immersion during the foraging process.

The VFX team developed visual cues that indicate successful or failed foraging attempts, along with environmental effects tied to vegetation interaction. These visuals help communicate gameplay outcomes and reinforce the sense of world interactivity.

The SFX team provided layered audio feedback, including ambient and interaction sounds that vary by vegetation type. They also created audio responses that signal item discovery, helping to convey rarity, outcome, and overall system clarity.

Concept Art Team

The Concept Art team collaborated with UI/UX designers to ensure functional clarity and visual consistency:

• Creating iconography for forageable objects and item discovery states.
• Designing the Foraging UI interface, including selection prompts, item tooltips, cooldown indicators, and rarity markers.

Testing Guidelines

here’s a structured list of key focus areas for your test group to evaluate during the Foraging v1.0 testing phase. These are grouped by system functionality, player experience, and technical edge cases to ensure thorough coverage:

1. Basic Functionality

• Confirm that foraging interactions are available on valid tiles with vegetation.
• Verify that one forageable object per tile can be selected and further foraging attempts fail on that tile.
• Ensure that item discovery is triggered correctly after a successful foraging attempt.
  

2. Tile Restriction System

• Test that a tile becomes foraged and locked after being searched by any Character.
• Attempt to forage the same tile with multiple Characters and confirm that access is correctly blocked.
• Ensure that multiple forageable objects on a tile are visible, but that only one can be interacted with per cooldown period.
  

3. Vegetation Type Variation

• Test foraging on different vegetation types (e.g. tree, bush, plant).
• Report any missing vegetation types or inconsistencies in object availability across tiles.
  

4. UI & UX Feedback

• Confirm that forageable objects are clearly identifiable in-world or via UI prompts.
• Ensure the selection and lockout logic is communicated visually or via tooltip/message.
• Check that discovered items are named correctly and categorized properly in inventory.

5. Animation & VFX

• Observe and report foraging animations — do they play smoothly?
• Test visual indicators of success/failure
  

6. Edge Cases & Bugs

• Try foraging near tile borders or extreme terrain.
• Attempt foraging spam or rapid switching between objects (to test cooldowns or lockouts).
• Validate that non-forageable tiles return the correct error or no action.
  

7. Performance Monitoring

• Report any lag spikes or FPS drops during foraging interactions.
  Monitor server response times between initiating a forage and receiving the result (we are aware that some API response times lag and are looking into improvements).
• Note any delays or errors when accessing already-foraged tiles.
  

Inventory System v1.0 

Feature Details

The Inventory Space system v1.0 is a major feature that sets the foundation for one of the most important and used systems inside E2V1. Every character will get its own inventory space which can be accessed via the hotkey ‘i’ and used to store items that are foraged, crafted, cultivated, traded and so on.

Every new Character will start with one ability item in their inventory that allows the Character to drink water. This item does not take up any space in the inventory and can be used in early gameplay to drink from shallow water locations. Characters may forage objects they come across(as long as the tile they are searching is available to forage) and store discovered items to help them survive or to keep for crafting purposes when the crafting system is released for testing.

Among other things, the Inventory system will be governed by space which will determine how much a Character can carry in its inventory at any given time. The default space capacity for a Character inventory is 100 which will be upgradeable to 500 after  backpack crafting is released.

At times you may end up exceeding your inventory limit but if your Character exceeds the space limit in its inventory it will not be able to move until enough items are discarded. When an item is discarded it is lost forever and cannot be retrieved. Therefore, inventory management and storage, especially before and after foraging or crafting, is very important so that the Character doesn’t get stuck in a sticky situation having to discard important items when out in the wilderness.

The entire Inventory system has been intricately linked via API back to the servers to align with a persistent world concept. With Foraging v1.0 also operating persistently on our servers, it means we are able to monitor the entire lifeline of all items and ensure that Players are acquiring those items honestly with their Characters via legitimate gameplay. It allows us to validate the source of the object being discovered at the various locations inside E2V1 to validate the legitimacy of every search request.

Furthermore, when a Character has a full inventory, our backend API will reject any further attempts to forage inside E2V1 until the inventory is below its full space capacity. This feature ensures a number of other potential hacks will not work.

Most generic items are automatically stacked inside your inventory when they are added. In Version 1 you may open your inventory, discard items, move them to and from the Action Bar for use or interact between the Discovery Box which appears to display discovered items during the foraging process.

You can also press on inventory items to see more details about that item including a larger image, its name, a brief description and any boosts it may provide to the Character when used. Note that some base discoverable items do have various boosts to help keep your Character alive, but you will be able to achieve higher boosts once the cooking feature is released allowing you to prepare food recipes. 

Our server side system has been designed and implemented in a way that we can dynamically control and adjust boosts for all item types inside E2V1 without requiring a new client version release. So if you see a boost figure change, you know it has been adjusted dynamically via our server.

The systems have also been designed in a way that all discovered items from a search while foraging will automatically be added to the Character inventory. This has been done intentionally to not only ensure Characters get the discovered items instantly added and saved to their inventory on the server, but also to prevent certain hacking scenarios. 

Once the items have been automatically added to the Character inventory, a Discovery Box will appear showing the Player what items their Character has most recently discovered. The Player will then have the opportunity to review these items and either choose to discard all of them, keep all of them or discard some and keep some. During this process the Player needs to ensure their Character inventory system is at or below the maximum space allowance before they are able to proceed.

Background Development

The Inventory System v1.0 marks a foundational step in the evolution of E2V1’s core gameplay systems. As one of the most frequently used mechanics by Players, this release introduces persistent, character-based inventory storage tightly integrated with foraging, crafting, survival, and exploration systems. The development of this feature involved a coordinated effort across multiple teams, each contributing their expertise to bring the system online in a secure, scalable, and immersive manner.

Backend Development Team

The Backend team was responsible for the persistent server-side architecture that powers the inventory system. Key contributions include:

• Designing a scalable inventory structure for each Character, synchronised with Player accounts via secure API.
• Implementing inventory space management, with a default capacity of 100 units and server-side logic to support upgrades up to 500 units.
• Enforcing inventory overflow logic, where Characters become immobilised if they exceed their maximum capacity, requiring items to be discarded before movement can resume.
• Creating item discard protocols, ensuring that once items are discarded, they are permanently deleted from the system to prevent system exploitation.
• Developing real-time item validation systems for foraging and crafting, ensuring each item’s source is tracked and verified for authenticity.
• Handling dynamic boost value assignment, allowing item buffs and properties to be adjusted server-side without requiring a client update.
• Integrating inventory capacity checks with Foraging v1.0, blocking any new foraging attempts when a Character’s inventory is full.
  

Game Development Team

The Game Dev team implemented the client-side logic and interactive mechanics for managing inventory in real-time. Their responsibilities included:

• Building the inventory interface logic, allowing Players to open, navigate, and interact with inventory contents via the ‘i’ hotkey.
• Linking item interactions to core gameplay systems such as foraging.
• Implementing space-based inventory rules, restricting character movement based on inventory weight/volume and handling stackable items.
• Managing the Discovery Box integration, displaying newly discovered items post-forage and enabling Player interaction with those items (keep or discard).
• Enabling item actions, such as moving items between the inventory and Action Bar, or discarding directly from the inventory.
• Ensuring context-sensitive item information can be accessed (e.g. name, image, description, effects or boosts).
  

Animation Development Team

The Animation Dev team ensured inventory interactions and item-related actions are smoothly integrated into gameplay, including:

• Hooking up item use and hydration animations (e.g. drinking from a shallow water source).
• Linking animation triggers to UI interactions and status effects based on inventory events (e.g. boost applied, inventory full lock).
  
  

Concept Art & UI Team

The Concept Art and UI team designed the visual identity and usability of the inventory system:

• Creating intuitive UI layouts for the inventory panel, item slots, and the Discovery Box.
• Designing icons and visuals for various item types, boost states, and rarity indicators.
• Ensuring visual consistency across the inventory, Action Bar, and crafting interfaces.
  

Gameplay Mechanics Summary

• Every new Character starts with a hydration skill that allows drinking from shallow water. This item is permanent, does not consume inventory space, and aids early survival.
• Items gathered through foraging are automatically added to the inventory (space permitting) and are visible via the Discovery Box interface.
• Players may interact with discovered items immediately, choosing to keep or discard them before resuming gameplay.
• The system supports stackable items and includes safeguards to prevent exploits by rejecting forage attempts if a Character’s inventory is full.
• Players can press on items to view details, including potential boosts to survival stats. Boost levels are expected to increase significantly once cooking and recipe systems are introduced.
  

Security and Persistence

The system is fully integrated into Earth 2’s persistent world model. Every item gathered, moved, or discarded is tracked at the server level, allowing the platform to:

• Validate all item origins and movement;
• Prevent unauthorized duplication or injection of items; and
• Dynamically adjust gameplay balancing through server-side item property changes.

Inventory System v1.0 sets the stage for a wide range of future features in E2V1, including cooking, crafting, trading, and survival mechanics. Its robust architecture, developed in close collaboration across backend, game dev, animation, and content teams, ensures both functionality and immersion at scale while providing critical protections against exploits in an evolving open-world environment.

Testing Guidelines 

1. Inventory Basics & Access

• Open and close the inventory using the default hotkey ‘i’
• Confirm the Character begins with a hydration item
• Verify the hydration item does not consume inventory space
• Confirm the hydration item functions correctly at shallow water sources

2. Item Acquisition & Display

• Forage on a valid tile and confirm items are automatically added to the inventory
• Check that the Discovery Box displays the correct items after foraging
• Confirm the ability to keep all, discard all, or keep/discard some items from the Discovery Box
• Check that discarded items are permanently lost and do not return after a relog or server sync

3. Inventory Capacity & Stacking

• Confirm the default inventory capacity is 100 units
• Verify that generic items stack correctly when multiple of the same type are discovered
• Test reaching and exceeding inventory capacity:
  • Confirm that the Character becomes immobilized when inventory is full
  • Discard enough items to go below capacity and confirm that movement is restored

4. Action Bar Interaction

• Move items between the inventory and Action Bar

5. Item Details & Tooltips

• Click on various inventory items to view:
  • Item image
  • Name
  • Description
• Boosts or effects (if present)
• Verify that boosts (if present) apply correctly when item is consumed or equipped

6. Server Sync & Persistence

• Log out and log back in to confirm inventory state persists correctly
• Save Character and respawn Character to confirm inventory state persists correctly
• Forage and add items, then relog to verify all changes are saved
• Attempt to bypass inventory checks with repeated forage attempts after reaching full capacity (should fail)

7. Invalid or Edge Case Scenarios

• Attempt to forage with full inventory (should return appropriate rejection)
• Attempt to discard an item and undo the action (should not be possible)
• Rapidly interact with inventory (stress test input handling)
• Interact with inventory while moving, jumping, or during other actions
• Try to open the inventory in restricted scenarios (e.g. while immobilized)

8. Compatibility with Other Systems

• Confirm interaction with Foraging v1.0 is blocked when inventory is full
• Attempt to forage and exceed space intentionally to test API enforcement
• Confirm no duplication or rollback bugs when switching between systems

9. UI & UX Feedback

• Is the inventory easy to navigate?
• Are all items visually distinct and properly labeled?
• Is the Discovery Box clear in its purpose and function?
• Are space limits and overflow consequences well-communicated?

Action Bar v1.0

Feature Details

The Action Bar v1.0 is where items are placed to provide quick access for the Character while exploring E2V1. This system has a simple yet effective layout where the Player can drag items between the inventory and the Action Bar to instantly allocate them for use between predetermined hotkey numbers 1-5.

Once assigned to a number, if that item has any use ability the Player simply needs to tap the number on the keyboard which will automatically highlight and select the relevant item, and press the Left Mouse Button to use or activate it.

The Action Bar can first be tested by opening the inventory, clicking and holding the drinking water icon and dragging it into the Action Bar into slot 1. Then select slot 1 by pressing 1 on the keyboard, locate shallow water and press the Left Mouse Button. This should activate the drinking action and your Character should drink water from the shallows resulting in your Thirst bar being replenished and the relevant Thrist VFX and SFX playing.

When you explore E2V1 you will discover various items when foraging such as flowers, fruit, cactus pads and more. These items will generally help you restore small amounts of your Thirst, Health, Stamina and Hunger and can be equipped into the Action Bar for ready use by selecting the number they are assigned to and pressing the Left Mouse Button.

Some items provide boosts to multiple Character Vital stats and when used will activate multiple boosts, VFX and SFX effects.

When an item is moved from the Inventory to the Action Bar, it still takes up space from your Inventory and is not a valid method to free up space. You can drag and stack items which are the same from your inventory into your Action Bar for each of use, for example, you could drag multiple Apples into one Action Bar slot so you have quick access to the remaining Apples in your inventory after each one is used.

Each time an item is used, it is authenticated with the servers and automatically removed from your Character’s inventory. It is important to note that when saving a Character to a Mentar you must remove all items from your Action Bar to avoid them being accidentally discarded by your inventory system.

The action bar will also be used for equipping weapons and other items discovered by your Character over time.

Background Development

The Action Bar v1.0 introduces a streamlined item access and interaction system within E2V1, designed to give Players fast, intuitive control over consumable and usable items during open-world exploration. Items placed in the Action Bar are mapped to hotkeys 1–5 and can be activated in real time using simple keyboard and mouse inputs. This system lays the groundwork for future equipment, combat, and survival-based interactions.

Backend Development Team

The Backend team played a limited but important role focused on transaction validation and server-side item updates, specifically:

• Authenticating item usage events when a Player consumes or activates an item from the Action Bar.
• Automatically updating the Character’s inventory on the server by removing used items after activation.
  Enforcing rules to prevent inventory exploits, such as using items that were already consumed or removed.
• Supporting inventory sync checks when Action Bar items are moved, stacked, or discarded.

Notably, the core logic of the Action Bar system remains primarily client-side, with the Backend team ensuring data integrity and persistence.

Game Development Team 

The Game Dev team led the core implementation of the Action Bar system. Their responsibilities included:

• Hotkey mapping and input detection, allowing Players to trigger Action Bar slots via keys 1–5 and activate items with the Left Mouse Button.
• Designing and implementing the drag-and-drop functionality between the inventory and the Action Bar.
• Ensuring items equipped in the Action Bar remain linked to inventory slots and continue to consume inventory space.
• Developing real-time item selection and activation logic, including:
  • Highlighting the selected Action Bar slot.
  • Checking for item usability at runtime (e.g. proximity to shallow water).
  • Executing the item’s effect (e.g. drinking water).
• Handling stackable item support, allowing items of the same type to be dragged and consolidated into a single Action Bar slot.
• Creating fallback logic for scenarios where an item is unavailable, has been removed, or is no longer valid for use.
  

Animation Development Team

The Animation Dev team was responsible for integrating Action Bar inputs with the Character’s animation system, ensuring smooth transitions and visual responses when items are activated, including:

• Linking hydration animations (e.g. drinking water) to input triggers.
• Supporting future animations for combat and item usage (e.g. consuming fruit or applying buffs).

VFX Development Team

The VFX team provided visual cues and particle systems tied to Action Bar interactions, such as:

• Triggering thirst-replenishment effects .
• Highlighting multi-boost item usage through multi-effect visual overlays.
• Ensuring visual feedback aligns with each item’s function and impact on Character vitals.
  

SFX Development Team

The SFX team delivered sound cues to enhance player feedback during Action Bar interactions:

• Creating item-specific sound effects (e.g. drinking, eating, buff activation).
• Providing feedback audio for slot selection and successful use.
• Layering multi-boost effects with appropriate audio intensity based on the item’s impact.
  

Concept Art & UI Team

The Concept Art and UI team was responsible for the visual design and user interaction flow of the Action Bar, including:

• Designing the Action Bar layout and icon slots, ensuring clarity and responsiveness.
• Creating drag-and-drop visuals for items being moved between the inventory and the Action Bar.
• Developing item icons, hover states, and selected slot highlights.
• Ensuring consistent UI behavior when items are stacked, consumed, or removed.

Gameplay Integration & Use Cases

• Players begin with a hydration item that can be placed into the Action Bar for drinking from shallow water.
• As Players forage and acquire consumables such as fruit, cactus pads, and flowers, these can be equipped to the Action Bar for instant activation.
• Items provide boosts to Thirst, Health, Stamina, and Hunger, with some affecting multiple stats at once.
• The system supports stacked items, allowing Players to keep using the same Action Bar slot as long as they have more of that item in their inventory.
• Players must manually clear the Action Bar before saving their Character to a Mentar to avoid accidental item loss.
  

The Action Bar v1.0 introduces essential real-time interaction mechanics for survival and utility item usage within E2V1. While primarily developed by the Game Development team, with minimal backend involvement, the system was brought to life through the collaborative efforts of Animation, VFX, SFX, and UI/Concept Art teams. Future versions will build upon this foundation to support combat equipment, tools, and more complex interaction sequences.

Testing Checklist

1. Basic Functionality

• Open the inventory and confirm that the Action Bar is visible and accessible.
• Drag and drop an item (e.g. hydration item) from the inventory into a slot (1–5) on the Action Bar.
• Confirm that pressing the corresponding number key highlights the correct slot.
• Press the Left Mouse Button with the slot selected to activate the item.
• Confirm the item performs its expected function (e.g. hydration restores Thirst).
  

2. Item Usability & Validation

• Test the hydration item in shallow water and confirm that it only works near valid water sources.
• Equip other usable items such as fruit, cactus pads, and flowers into the Action Bar.
• Confirm each item triggers the correct effect (Health, Hunger, Thirst, or Stamina).
• Use multi-boost items and verify that all intended boosts apply correctly.
  

3. Inventory & Stacking Behavior

• Drag multiple of the same item (e.g. Apples) into one Action Bar slot.
• Use one of the items and confirm the remaining stack is still available.
• Ensure items used from the Action Bar are also removed from the inventory.
• Attempt to use an item with an empty stack and confirm the Action Bar handles this gracefully (e.g. grays out, triggers no effect).
  

4. UI & UX Feedback

• Confirm that Action Bar slots highlight visually when selected via keyboard input.
• Hover over Action Bar items and check for tooltip or item name (if enabled).
• Verify drag-and-drop visuals when moving items to or from the Action Bar.
• Confirm visual feedback when an item is activated (e.g. slight flash, animation trigger).
  

5. SFX & VFX Feedback

• Confirm audio cues play correctly when:
  • Selecting an Action Bar slot
  • Using an item
  • Receiving a boost
• Validate that visual effects (VFX) display when an item is used, especially for hydration or multi-boost items.
• Ensure no audio or VFX is triggered when an item fails to activate (e.g. wrong location).
  

6. Edge Case Testing

• Try to drag an invalid item into the Action Bar (e.g. decorative or non-usable item).
• Attempt to activate a slot with no item assigned.
• Try using an item in a non-permitted environment (e.g. drinking water far from water).
• Fill all Action Bar slots and confirm each is independently usable.
• Save a Character to a Mentar with Action Bar items equipped and check if any data is lost or causes errors.
• Test relogging after setting up Action Bar slots — confirm all assigned items persist correctly.
  

7. Server & Sync Checks

• Confirm that each item activation is validated with the server and the inventory updates correctly.
• Attempt rapid item usage and ensure the system does not allow multiple unauthorized triggers.
• Use an item, log out, then log back in and verify the stack has decreased correctly.
  

8. Integration with Other Systems

• Equip a foraged item into the Action Bar and confirm it is usable after discovery.
• Ensure that items recently added from the Discovery Box can be instantly equipped to the Action Bar.
• Confirm inventory space is still accounted for even if an item is moved to the Action Bar.
  

9. Suggestions & UX Feedback

• Is the drag-and-drop experience intuitive?
• Are hotkeys responsive and easy to remember?
• Is the feedback for success, failure, and inventory state clear?
• Is it clear that Action Bar items still consume inventory space?
  

Seasons v1.0 

Feature Details

A living planet with shifting climates.
E2V1’s persistent, global-scale world now includes seasonality, a key milestone in the platform’s long-term vision of environmental realism and survival mechanics.

The Seasons v1.0 system dynamically reflects Earth-like seasonal changes across the entirety of E2V1’s 510,072,000 km² terrain. Though not yet tied to real-world weather APIs, the system applies an internally defined seasonal logic across both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, ensuring players spawning in different parts of the world experience environment-appropriate conditions.

For example, players spawning in New Zealand during its winter months will experience winter visuals – including potential snowfall in historically snowy regions – while players spawning in Europe during summer will encounter greener, warmer biomes. The general seasons inside E2V1 correspond with current seasons in the real world, but there are still edge cases (such as tropical zones intentionally hidden in various locations) where seasonality might feel less apparent. However, the overall seasonal coverage is globally consistent and carefully designed.

While Foraging and Agriculture are not yet affected by seasons in this release, future updates will tie seasonal variation directly into item discovery, growth cycles, and even character survival conditions.

Development Background

Backend Development Team

The backend team laid the groundwork for global seasonal variation by constructing a persistent logic model capable of mapping out hemisphere-specific seasons across a full replica of Earth. This required:

• Accounting for latitude, longitude, and known biome behaviors per region.
• Building a modular logic system that can be updated and expanded over time.
• Creating fallback logic for regions with conflicting data (e.g. tropical micro-biomes in temperate zones).

This system does not rely on real-time meteorological data (yet), but rather on handcrafted, scalable rulesets aligned with Earth’s known seasonal shifts.

Game Development Team

The Game Dev team implemented the visual and gameplay-side manifestation of seasonal logic within the E2V1 client. This included:

• Ensuring seasonal visuals (e.g., snow, foliage tinting, ambient effects) render contextually based on the property’s location and date cycle.
• Handling biome-specific edge cases where certain environmental states (e.g., snow in alpine zones) must be triggered reliably.
• Linking seasonal effects to the E2V1 date system (4x 6-hour day/night cycles per Earth day) to maintain world consistency.
  

Concept Art & VFX Teams

The Concept Art team provided biome-season overlays and visual references to guide the environmental visuals. Meanwhile, the VFX team was responsible for rendering subtle but immersive cues:

• Snow in winter months
• Ground texture alterations
• Foliage transitions over time
  

These elements help ensure Players not only see the season but feel it.

Testing Guidelines

While Season v1.0 is a visual and system-level feature, there are important tests Players can conduct to confirm functionality and report anomalies:

Location-Season Accuracy

• Spawn in various global regions across both hemispheres (e.g. New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Norway).
• Confirm whether the visual season (snowfall, ground state, vegetation) matches the expected season for that hemisphere.
  

Biome Edge Cases

• Seek out areas where seasonal changes may be less apparent due to tropical or desert conditions.
• Any zones where the visual state appears incorrect or out of sync with known climate expectations should be reported, but please note these may be intentional. For example, if you find a tropical biome in Europe in Winter, it will not have snow even though it will reflect the Winter season of a typical tropical biome.
  

Consistency Over Time

• Stay active in the world and note if seasons persist or shift unnaturally.
• Compare seasonal visuals across time of day (does snow remain visible at noon and night?).
  

Date Check

• Use the local time and date references inside the UI to confirm that the season logic aligns with the current date inside E2V1 (remember: each Earth day is played 4x in E2V1 time).
  

Important Notes

• Seasons currently do not impact foraging results, agriculture systems, or character temperature – these connections are planned for a future update.
• Local temperature simulation is not yet active and will be tied into the Vitals and survival mechanics in later versions.
• Feedback from testers in multiple hemispheres will help refine seasonal accuracy and edge case handling.

Seasons v1.0 is a foundational environmental system – not just for aesthetics, but for future gameplay implications including agriculture, crafting, creature behavior and character survival. Earth 2 isn’t just simulating terrain inside E2V1 – it’s simulating time, space and climate at scale.

Navigation UI: Compass, Altitude, and Location Tools

During these early Reality Thread releases, Compass, Altitude, Longitude/Latitude and a Mini Map will be enabled by default for testing purposes while using Characters.

Please note, in future versions of E2V1, access to these navigation details will require crafted items and specialised implants to be equipped on your Character. These tools will become part of a broader gameplay loop involving discovery, crafting, and survival progression – so take this opportunity to familiarise yourself with how they function now, before they become gear-dependent.

Earth 2 Launcher Update

Ahead of the Chapter 1: Reality Thread 1 release, a new update to the Earth 2 Launcher will be rolled out. While the user interface remains largely unchanged in this version, our development team has made substantial structural improvements under the hood, focusing on performance, optimisation and overall security while running E2V1.

This launcher update is a foundational requirement for the upcoming Chapter 1 release, as many core systems have been reworked to ensure compatibility and stability moving forward. The launcher should update seamlessly for most Players when our team activates its release, and it should remain compatible with the current E2V1 test client (version 1.0.2). If you encounter issues with the update process or launching the current client, please contact our support team or report any issues on our Discord. In some cases, if version 1.0.2 no longer launches for you after our team releases the new Earth 2 Launcher and you update, then you may need to wait until the new E2V1 client for Chapter 1: Reality Thread 1 becomes available.

Please also note that with the release of Chapter 1: Reality Thread 1, the E2V1 client versioning will be revised to better reflect its Pre-Alpha state. As such, the version number will transition from 1.0.2 to 0.0.3, providing clearer communication that this is an early-access testing phase in active development.

What’s Next?

As we transition into testing Reality Thread 1, our team’s immediate priority is to successfully stabilise and deploy the extensive updates developed throughout Q2 2025. Over the past three months, our teams have made substantial progress across various core systems within E2V1 and our focus now is to ensure these systems are robust, performant and reliable under live usage. Once this stability is achieved, we will proceed with the next major update: Chapter 1 – Crafting v1.0.

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Chapter 1 – Crafting v1.0

The first iteration of Crafting will introduce basic handcrafting mechanics, allowing Characters to create simple items such as campfires, torches and other fundamental tools directly using their hands and available materials. This marks the beginning of a larger, multi-layered crafting system. Once foundational crafting is confirmed stable, we will expand into more advanced Crafting, which will require Runes and multi-step crafting processes to produce more complex items.

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Quests System (Web Deployment Now Live)

Our community may have noticed that the initial release of the Quests system has already gone live on the Earth 2 website. This was a significant back-end and front-end development effort during Q2, which ran in parallel with the extensive E2V1 platform development throughout the same period. The website component fully integrates with E2V1’s server-side logic, meaning it is not just cosmetic but actively tied into in-game item and crafting logic.

A dedicated article will be released covering the Quest system in detail. In short, it enables Land Owners to issue Quests for specific items or materials they may need or want on their property. The first Player to deliver the required item directly to the designated property using their Character inside E2V1 will instantly earn the designated Quest reward.

Quests can only become active and available for Players to fulfil inside E2V1 when they are powered by either E-ther or Essence or ignited into an Essence quest.

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Completion of Chapter 1 and Land Owner Access Rollout

Once Crafting is fully implemented and stable, it will mark the full deployment of Chapter 1. We will then begin a staggered release of Chapter 1 access to Land Owners, starting with those who actively hold larger tile volumes and gradually expanding access down through all holders. This staggered rollout is designed to ensure the platform scales smoothly and allows us to monitor the system under increasing loads, while rewarding our biggest supporters with early access.

As Chapter 1 rolls out gradually in a staggered release to Land Holders, our team will begin active development and deployment of the next chapters in parallel. Chapters 3 through 6 will be released progressively, followed by Chapter 2 which at this stage will be released at a later stage due to adjusted priorities. Each chapter, along with multiple Reality Thread releases, will introduce new layers of survival, utility and gameplay systems within E2V1.

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Chapter 3 – Agriculture v1.0

Agriculture v1.0 will in fact introduce the first building mechanics, allowing Players to build a single garden bed per tile on their land. Players will need to craft the garden bed, use a shovel to dig it into place and then plant seeds using a watering can to maintain growth.

As with Chapter 1 – and much like the conditions faced during early life on Earth – proximity to a fresh water source will play a vital role in the early stages of gameplay. While future updates will introduce additional methods for transporting, storing, or harvesting water, having direct access to a natural fresh water supply will provide a significant advantage for survival and efficiency during the early period inside E2V1.

Agriculture v1.0 will serve as a critical foundation for the Building System inside E2V1, as garden beds will be implemented as buildable structures using base design and logic we intend to use long term. Chapter 3 will mark an important test and a positive step toward enabling future building capabilities on Player-owned properties.

Additionally, agriculture will enhance Character survival, offering a sustainable centralised food source before venturing into the wilderness. As a teaser, the agriculture system may also play a key role in the future Conquer v1.0 system.

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Chapter 4 – Cooking v1.0

This update will allow Characters to cook recipes using produce harvested from Agriculture v1.0, providing improved stat boosts resulting in extended travel or survival capacity. Cooking will become a valuable tool to support deeper exploration and gameplay.

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Chapter 5 – Quests v1.0

With the web-based component already launched, Chapter 5 will integrate Quests directly inside E2V1. Players will be able to deliver items to Mentars or Storage Units on designated properties to complete active Quests in the live world.

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Chapter 6 – Earth 2 Hordes v1.0

Earth 2 Hordes will mark the first combat-related gameplay loop, allowing Players to summon Horde Units on eligible properties, importantly properties that have successfully claimed their E-ther in the past 24 hours. The number of units summoned will depend on the property’s base E-ther generation rate.

Chapter 6 may be deployed sooner than originally planned as it will provide one of the primary methods to earn Blue Energy, a key resource required for Crafting and other systems.

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Chapter 2 – Teleportation v1.0

Teleportation v1.0 will introduce global movement systems inside E2V1. To learn more, refer to the dedicated article here: https://earth2.io/news/teleportation

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Multiple Reality Thread Updates Anticipated

Beyond the major chapter releases, we will continue introducing incremental feature updates through new Reality Threads. These updates will include:

• Mentar Storage Upgrades
• Base Storage Unit Construction
• Auto-distribution of foraged items to property owners
  • (Note: this will include a global reset of all previously searched tiles effectively resetting every tile already searched back to its original eligible forage state)
• Craftable Mentar Upgrade allowing for a manual reset of forageable tiles per property by the Land Owner
• Land Upgrade Chip discount utility
• Local Temperature and Character Temperature Systems
• Activation of other Item Utility

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Further Ahead

Following these Chapter updates, development will shift toward:

• Threadmaster v1.0 – for customising Earth 2 Skins
• Animals v1.0
• Land Defense Units v1.0 – for protecting your property and limiting unauthorised foraging
• The Earth 2 Egg Hunt mini-game
• Early-stage mini-games

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Multiplayer Progress

During Q2, we also made strong advancements on our global multiplayer networking system, which operates on a server-authoritative architecture and has been successfully tested across global regions. We anticipate releasing testable segments of persistent multiplayer functionality throughout Q3 and Q4, with the goal of deploying live, global multiplayer instances before the end of 2025.

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Join the journey, shape the future. Earth 2, the People’s Metaverse. 

About Earth2

Earth 2® is a futuristic concept for a second earth; a metaverse, between virtual and physical reality in which real-world geolocations correspond to user generated digital virtual environments. These environments can be owned, bought, sold, and in the near future deeply customised.

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