Metaverse: Origins

Metaverse: Origins is a pre-alpha early release game.

NOTE: This is PRE ALPHA, as in it's not a fully built game yet. Not even in alpha yet, much less a beta. I'm only launching it because I have had friends and family ask to contribute, and the best way I could think of is to just do early release here on Steam.

If you want to get in on a game where you can literally say, "hey dev, try this," and watch a game get built, then this is for you.

If you're looking to just buy a game and play, I don't recommend buying this one, yet.

What we're building

A more granular, metaverse-style take on the sandbox open-world survival genre. The goal is a game so detailed in its gathering and crafting that it would be nearly impossible for one person to get very far alone. Instead, you create and recruit multiple characters, train them in different crafting skills, and send them off as AI to do the grindy work (farming, wood cutting, hauling) while you direct the growth of your civilization. You shouldn't have to spend 5,000 hours digging dirt to build your castle, but you should still appreciate every step it took to get there.

What's in the game right now

A procedurally generated world you can dig into. Every world is generated from a seed: coastlines, mountain ranges, upland lakes, caves and about a dozen biomes, from temperate forest and locust woodland to rainforest and alpine heath. All of the terrain can be dug and reshaped.
Survival that takes real time. Nothing is instant. Gathering, knapping, crafting and building are all timed actions you can be interrupted out of. Hunger, thirst and fatigue build up over time, and the world keeps running even while you're in a menu.
A body, not a health bar. Wounds bleed, scab and scar. Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen, blood loss, body temperature and blood sugar are all simulated, and there's no health regen. Cold, wet, exhaustion and injury all feed into each other.
Gather and craft from the ground up. Pick up stones, flint and branches, strip bark, gather berries and hazelnuts, and forage or dig the ground. Knap flint into flakes, knives and hand axes, twist plant fibre into cordage, burn charcoal, cook over a campfire. You learn techniques by inspecting materials and practising.
Building. Place a campfire, lean-to or stick-frame structure, bring the materials to the site, and build it over time.
Your own survivor. Start a new game by naming your survivor and choosing their skin tone, hair and eye colour while the world loads around you. More customization is coming.
A colony of people. Recruit survivors you find, switch control to any of them, and give them early jobs like gathering wood, keeping fires fuelled, or digging and hauling earth. Death is permanent; lose your last survivor and you start over as a newcomer some miles away.
Co-op. Host or join friends through Steam. Each player plays their own survivor in the same world, and the character list shows who is playing whom.
Swimming, weather and a day-night cycle. Swim, hold your breath and dive (don't stay under too long).
Saves and an in-game bug report button. Reports go straight to me, so please use it.

What's not there yet

Honestly, a lot. The crafting tree currently stops around the stone age: woodworking, leather, pottery and metalworking exist on paper but aren't reachable in play yet. Drinking from lakes and rivers is next on the list. Many items still use placeholder art, and the AI jobs are early. Expect bugs, rough edges, and things changing from week to week.

Where it's headed

Primitive survival first, then multi-survivor settlements with homes, workplaces and schools, then villages that grow into towns and castles. There's a deep skill tree where survivors teach each other and skills fade if they aren't practised. Further out: later ages (medieval and beyond), deeper co-op, and full mod support.

This mechanic, along with multiplayer, will let you focus on the bigger picture while still having a deep appreciation for every single step taken to get there.