Hey everyone ! Last week I teased a major feature I was rethinking from the ground up. It's here, and honestly, it changes how Iskarn feels to play.

The goal with all of this : give the player real impact, pull you into the world, deepen the immersion. Stop being a god moving pieces on a board, become one of the people fighting to keep the colony alive.

You're not just the architect floating above the colony anymore. You have a Hero, the main character of your clan, and you can step into him whenever you want. One key, and the camera locks in behind him. You move him, aim with the mouse, swing. Step out, and he goes back to living his life among the others, chopping wood, building, sleeping.

He's not a side hero. He's the central figure of your clan. Down the line, the Hero is what's going to let you lead squads, take a handful of citizens with you to scout, fight or raid a POI, and hold special roles inside the clan beyond simple professions. This week is the foundation: a real body in the world, fully playable.

If he falls in battle, it's not game over. He comes back at the menhir after a delay, time for the colony to catch its breath.

Movement got a real overhaul. The Hero accelerates, decelerates, coasts after you release the controls. There's a sprint with a stamina bar, enough to escape a bad fight but not enough to kite forever. Walk speed is now the same as a zombie's, so every step backwards costs you a hit. That single line of code made combat far more tense.

I went back into the combat system this week and it finally feels right. Hitstop on impact, zombie knockback, camera shake on heavy hits. You attack, you guard if you have a shield, you hold the input for a heavy swing. Reactive, weighty, and I'm proud of where it landed.

- Wind gusts ripple across grass and trees, and now carry seasonal flying leaves (autumn especially)
- Build fixes : decorations now place on the floor you're aiming at (works at any level of a multi-story building), roofs auto-hide while building, clear feedback when placement fails

Next week I'm diving into the first POIs, the abandoned places you'll explore with your Hero and a few companions. The reason this whole system exists.

That's it for devlog #6! See you out there.


If you're interested in following development more closely :
Discord: https://discord.gg/MEBzGzRz5Q
Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBPSXqBWwaU
Steam : https://psteamproxy.yuanyoumao.com/app/4586360/Iskarn/

https://psteamproxy.yuanyoumao.com/app/4586360/Iskarn/

And if you haven't already, wishlist Iskarn on Steam, it really helps !

Hey everyone! Last week brought horde leaders and gate assaults. This week was all about polish: making every single sword swing actually feel like it lands.

Every connecting blow now has layered punch:
- A bright white flash on impact, then the red damage flash settles in
- Heavy hits trigger a short camera shake, only for fights happening near you so distant skirmishes don't shake your view
- Blood bursts double in intensity on heavy hits
- Sword strikes leave a curved arc trail at the strike point that fades quickly

The result: a goblin getting tickled and a Revenant landing a crusher now look completely different at a glance.

Horde leaders now wear a 3D blood-red crown floating above their head, slowly rotating. The old flat ring at their feet was hard to spot from a top-down angle. The crown stands out instantly across a battlefield.

Every fighting stance now ships with two attack variations that alternate from one swing to the next: vertical chops and diagonal cross-slashes for swords, forward thrusts and rising uppercuts for spears, crouch chops and quick counters for defensive stances. Soldiers also return to guard faster after each hit, so chained attacks feel sharper instead of dragging.

Even idle poses adapt to the weapon held: a sword tip drifts lazily forward and down, a bow rests at the hip with a slower sway. Subtle, but it sells the moment.

- Soldiers trembling in place when a zombie sat exactly at melee range
- Tightly packed groups sliding outward like bowling pins after a fight ended
- Armor pieces flickering through the body underneath at neck, shoulder, and knee seams
- Doors landing one tile off their intended spot in certain wall orientations

Next week I'm starting on roads and points of interest. Ancient roads will weave across the map, connecting ruins, camps, and shrines scattered in the wilds. Send a group of soldiers, clear the zombies guarding the place, crack open the loot chests, and bring back any captives you find. The map finally gets a reason to leave the colony.

That's it for devlog #5!


If you're interested in following development more closely :
Discord: https://discord.gg/MEBzGzRz5Q
Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBPSXqBWwaU
Steam : https://psteamproxy.yuanyoumao.com/app/4586360/Iskarn/

https://psteamproxy.yuanyoumao.com/app/4586360/Iskarn/

And if you haven't already, wishlist Iskarn on Steam, it really helps !