0.4.0 Beta — Major Update

A major expansion of Ashen Sky.

This update combines the work completed since 0.3.2 and significantly expands the world, survival systems, structures, atmosphere, combat, audio, and story presentation.

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🌍 World & Structures

The wasteland is no longer made of isolated locations.

• Reworked major story structures with detailed interiors, distinct rooms, environmental storytelling, and hidden loot.
• Added large urban locations, including multi-floor buildings, streets, workshops, schools, pharmacies, post offices, and industrial areas.
• Structures now use multiple layouts and variations instead of repeated copies.
• Added empty copies of major locations alongside their unique story instances.
• Added the Archos Locator to help discover important locations without quest markers.
• Underground structures now generate deterministically and no longer shift across chunk borders.
• Added new meteor craters, survivor camps, landmarks, and environmental details.
• The End now has dedicated Archos-themed structures and locations.

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📖 Story & Worldbuilding

The story is now presented much more through the world itself.

• Reworked the way thoughts, hints, machine records, radio transmissions, and environmental information are shown.
• Long texts are now presented through immersive screens, documents, terminals, and physical objects instead of floating text.
• Expanded the narrative presentation of the prologue and major locations.
• Added environmental reactions that make the world respond to the player's actions.
• Added silent figures, visual anomalies, and other atmospheric encounters.
• Major story locations now contain more clues, details, and environmental storytelling.

The core story remains spoiler-free: discover what happened by exploring the world yourself.

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🧠 Survival & Mental State

Survival systems have been expanded and refined.

• Six custom afflictions with their own HUD icons, visual effects, sounds, and gameplay penalties.
• Radiation now has dedicated visual and gameplay feedback across its severity levels.
• Oxygen starvation causes disorientation, heartbeat effects, and temporary loss of vision.
• Added dehydration, overheating, hypothermia, and despair as distinct survival threats.
• Reworked status overlays with smooth edge effects instead of intrusive full-screen filters.
• Improved survival balance and environmental feedback.

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🏚️ Bunker & Progression

The bunker is becoming a real survival hub.

• Research system with multiple technology branches.
• New crafting progression with intermediate components and approximately 36 recipes.
• Medical station with an interactive treatment system and body scan.
• Improved bunker power, ventilation, and module interactions.
• Added new bunker equipment, components, and progression gates.
• Expanded bunker-related mechanics and preparation for later progression.

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👹 Mobs & Combat

The wasteland is becoming more dangerous.

• Added blind mutant dogs with pack behavior and sound-based hunting.
• Added the Archos Messenger drone with its own model, animations, targeting behavior, and energy beam.
• Added new custom mob models and animations.
• Expanded enemy behavior and environmental reactions.
• Added new loot tied to the survival and crafting progression.
• Combat progression is being expanded around multiple equipment tiers.

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🌧️ Weather & Atmosphere

The world reacts more strongly to its environment.

• Improved ash storms, meteor showers, solar events, and acid rain.
• Added camera shake and environmental impact for major events.
• Improved ash, smoke, fire, crater, and atmospheric effects.
• Reworked environmental audio and spatial sound.
• Structures now have their own ambient soundscapes and mechanical sounds.

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🎵 Audio

The soundscape has been rebuilt.

• Added a complete soundtrack with 12 location and story tracks.
• Reworked most non-music sounds.
• Added multiple variations for important sounds to reduce repetition.
• Added dedicated ambient loops for major locations.
• Improved spatial positioning of environmental and player sounds.
• Rebalanced sound levels across the mod.

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🎨 Models & Visuals

The visual quality of custom content has been significantly expanded.

• Added new 3D models and animations for mobs and custom objects.
• Reworked major structures with a consistent fantasy × steampunk visual identity.
• Added detailed props, furniture, machinery, documents, screens, and environmental objects.
• Replaced many placeholder elements with finished assets.
• Added custom interfaces and visual feedback for new mechanics.

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🐛 Fixes & Improvements

Hundreds of small changes accumulated during development and live testing.

• Fixed structure generation and placement issues.
• Fixed model offsets and visual inconsistencies.
• Fixed progression and quest-state bugs.
• Fixed crashes and server stability issues.
• Fixed interaction, UI, audio, and world-generation problems.
• Improved compatibility with existing worlds where possible.

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📦 Requirements

• Minecraft: 1.21.1
• Loader: NeoForge
• Dependencies: GeckoLib

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🚧 Status: Beta

Ashen Sky is now in Beta.

The main gameplay structure is in place, but development is still ongoing.

Currently available:

• Complete prologue.
• Main survival systems.
• Radio and exploration systems.
• Major story locations.
• Five story arcs.
• Four endings.
• Bunker progression.
• Custom mobs and combat foundations.
• Expanded audio and atmosphere.

Still in development:

• NPC system.
• Full bunker progression and additional modules.
• Expanded combat and ranged weapons.
• Additional Nether content.
• Endgame dungeons and locations.
• Side stories.
• Further polish, balancing, and post-ending world changes.

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📥 Installation

1. Download the .jar file.
2. Place it in the mods folder of your NeoForge 1.21.1 installation.
3. Create a new world for the intended experience.

Older worlds may work, but a new world is recommended for the full experience.