On July 1st, indie studio Nordic Trolls released the latest trailer for the multiplayer-compatible survival craft game Under a Rock . The trailer is a spotlight on a building that can be built in the early days.

UNDER A ROCK is his open world survival game that incorporates elements such as architecture, exploration, craft, breeding, and hunting. The protagonist of the explorer, a player, is involved in a mysterious storm that connects multiple different worlds, and is impaired on a mysterious island. On this mysterious island, wildlife has evolved, and Neanderthals live without extinction. Players will solve the mystery of the curse rooted on the island while protecting threats such as wildlife and Neanderthals. The player also finds hidden treasures, following the trajectory of previously unprecedented explorers, and seems to be to return to the real world again through the mysterious storm.

It is said that the architectural element of this work has low restrictions and has a higher degree of freedom. It seems that it can be built on both aqueous land, and it will be possible to build it on a tree.

It is said that the open world of this work uses procedural generation (automatic generation). The same world does not exist. The world area is 64 square kilometers. From the trailer, you can also see the existence of forests and desert areas. The playable area includes water sources such as the sea, but the water source is generated naturally while considering the height difference. There seems to be an underground area, etc., and it seems that it can be searched by entering from the ground.

In addition, the seed value that contains world information at the time of production can be shared. When an unusual world is generated, it is one of the attractions that it can be shared with other players using the numbers. It has the same mechanism as Minecraft.

UNDER A ROCK supports solo play or up to 10 people. According to the development studio, more than 10 multiplayers will be tested in the future. It seems that a PVP element is also installed, and it seems that it can be switched by the server setting by the host. It is also possible to participate in other worlds while keeping the equipment and status values of their own characters.

NPCs are not only huge wild creatures, but also Neanderthals who should have been extinct in reality. The Neanderthals are equipped with dynamic AI, and their actions change dramatically. Therefore, if the players expand the area of the base or ensure a wealth of resources, they will be hostile. It is said that there will be actions such as the construction of a new base and strengthening defense equipment as a countermeasure against players. Neanderthals are also divided into tribes, and the relationship between tribes seems to change dynamically every moment. The player’s behavior has a major impact on the world.

Nordic Trolls, a development studio, is operated by five members. In the past, the VR action game KARNAGE CHRONICLES has been released. In Steam user reviews, 87 % of 1019 were well received and very popular status. UNDER A ROCK has started full-scale production on October 8, 2021. At this stage, procedural generation and multiplayer elements are almost completed, and in the future, it will be promoted based on visuals, gameplay, stability, etc. Although the alpha release time is undecided, Nordic Trolls commented, I would like to invite as many players as possible when the alpha version is distributed.

This work has been developed in Unreal Engine 5. The latest geometry system nanite and the lighting system LUMEN are fully utilized. You can also check the state of the graceful natural world from the trailer. I want to look forward to a mysterious open world, which is drawn beautifully with the latest game engine.

UNDER A ROCK will be released on PC (Steam). It is currently the pre-alpha stage.