Hey Smallfolk!

We've dived into our 'ask your questions' channel on the Smalland Discord and pulled out some great questions to answer!

How many players can play at the same time in one world, is the game lobby-oriented, or server-oriented? Will I be able to build a common town with my entire group of friends?
Currently, we are looking at both options and weighing them up. The aim is approximately ten players in a game at once for now. We’re making it as flexible as possible for everyone to play solo, with friends or strangers, to play as a group, or just be in the same world occupied by other people that you can bump into occasionally. Everything has been designed around these principles and we’re aiming for as many players as possible per game.

Are there going to be different animals and insects during the day and the night in the game?
Yes, Day and Night will affect things, as well as the weather and the seasons, some of these effects will be very minor, others more important to strategy



How will the weather system work in smalland?

The weather changes per season as does the temperature which also fluctuates. So the chances of rain, snow are all more likely to be heavier and lower or raise the temperature making it too cold or hot. This is set up to be organic and less scripted, so we create the feeling of a living breathing world, rather than being a repeating and totally reliable process.

As always, thanks for the questions!

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Hey Smallfolk!

It's time for another dev diary! Lead Designer Kev is back and this time he's here to introduce you to one of our NPC's.

The NPC's of Smalland have a range of different perspectives on the world above and its creature inhabitants. The Engineer comes from a place of science and approaches her work with a sense of discovery and love for nature.

Please like the video & share with your friends!

Without further ado, here's more from Kev... Enjoy!



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Hey Smallfolk!

We have uncovered another of the pathfinders' journals detailing their findings of the various creatures that inhabit the land above.

Here is a journal entry for the industrious brown ant.

Watching from afar, the Brown Ants are fantastically efficient workers which ensure their survival within the Land of the Small.

There are a few types of ants and each type works together in unison, attack one and they will all retaliate, or befriend one and others will also help.

There is much to be learned from studying these patient, unified creatures, working together as one to survive.



We'll continue to explore the pathfinders' journals for their findings on what you may encounter when you traverse the Land of the Small.

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Hey Smallfolk!

Back at it with some more answers to community questions! There are lots of new people finding the community so we love the questions and the opportunity to provide some new or expanded information for you!

What other sorts of travel options are you guys working on? I saw this and in the other channel some talk about the wings on the armour. I mean, I may be late to the party and missed it, but I'd think the game looks like it should lend itself to some sort of grapple hook or stamina based climbing. Although I figure both of those have likely been answered already.

Each mount for travel behaves differently and feels different to control with positives and negatives based on its size and its hierarchy within the food chain. These are very powerful and provide a huge amount of freedom in-game, allowing you to venture and explore areas that you may not be prepared for yet.

Armour also comes with various abilities, mimicking the traits of the Creature or faction it is based on. Some of these are traversal based so there is more planned than just insect wings for gliding. It's up to you to select the right combination of armour and mount which complement one another for the task at hand.

There are also some other elements that can be used for Travel, so watch this space.



How complex will the crafting/building system be? Is it a big part of the game or is it more like a side thing?

It’s a big part of the game, building makes your chances of survival stronger. Not only do you need shelter from the elements, but putting time into construction will provide various benefits. It is also your main goal, your role as a Vanguard is to secure a safe place for your people so they can begin to leave the undercity and settle in the Land of the Small where they truly belong.

Will all materials in the world be collectable/useable? (i.e. will grass be collectable and actually have a use? or rocks or even, say, metals from the items found around the big world)?

Yes and no, there is a wide range of natural resources as you’d expect in a survival game. But the trees are huge and you can't just start cutting down trees, they are too thick. Instead, you harvest bark and twigs rather than the main bulk of the tree. Various plants have properties that can be put to good use such as bindings and oils. There are also special items that can be discovered via Quests too which make more unique crafting opportunities.

Will you have to pay to get multiplayer?

Nope, Smalland is designed to be a PVE game, you can play solo or with friends, or just bump into strangers, joining them or ignoring them in your shared world, its entirely up to you. There is a better chance of survival in larger numbers, and more opportunities for rewards, but how you play is up to you; solo, team, looking for a team, and there is no additional cost.

Keep those questions coming, we're around on the Steam forum and of course in our official Discord server!

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Hey Smallfolk!

We've been so humbled by the response to our first official gameplay trailer, and it's been wonderful to welcome many new people to the Smalland community who discovered us through E3.

For new members, we have an FAQ of some common questions that may help you get acquainted.

Here are some great community questions and answers!

Will the player character be voiced acted or silent?

Currently silent. We’ve decided on this course because of a couple of things; Budget is one of them, and the other is flexibility as with v/o you need to have everything locked down and ready very early. Now, this could definitely be an option during Early Access, so we’ll see what happens as there are NPCs and they are important to the game as they help explain the lore as well as your goals. They all have very distinct personalities and backstory too, which will be revealed as you ally yourself with a faction over time and trust.

Will there be an arachnophobia mode?

This has definitely come up previously on the Smalland Discord Channel. Since Smalland is jam-packed with creepy crawly creatures, it's kind of pointless to have an arachnophobia mode when there are so many other potentially scary things in the game. You would have to turn off a lot of content and it would be a very different experience. So while it's great in theory, we have decided against it since it’s such a Creature focused game.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I remember an old Smalland trailer with a train...What happened to it?

You're not wrong, there was a train in the original trailer. This is not something that's been ignored, and we have a train ready to be implemented, the thing that's stopping it is why is there a train on a branch in the middle of a forest?

We’ve spent a lot of time trying to justify this, and it doesn't make sense. We’ve worked very hard to create a sense of fantasy but also plausible belief, and getting a working train on a branch doesn't make sense. What is powering it? What is its purpose?

Every idea we have is better when we use a creature instead, it's more fun and suits the game so much better. Also riding on a toy train is kind of just like riding on a train since you’re small. So elements, where you take advantage of the environment because of the height and perspective, work really well. Such as sneaking through gaps feels far better than it should, seeing something we as humans class as normal but experiencing it as Smallfolk is fun and memorable. But a tiny train to a tiny person is just a train.

So the train is there, rebuilt so it’s ready to work properly in-game and not a cutscene. But how to effectively use it so it makes sense or in a way that’s more fun than riding a Lizard, Hornet, or Grasshopper…. Feel free to jump into Discord and make some suggestions.

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Hey everyone!

It's finally here!! We have been itching to share this with you for weeks, it's been hard to keep quiet!

We've enjoyed sharing a range of updates on the game with you over the last few months, but we have something quite special for you today as part of the E3 2021 showcases.

We are ecstatic to be able to share with you the first official Smalland trailer from Merge Games. We hope this gives you a sense of the game that we want to deliver to you later this year.

Discover what became of the surface world as you and your comrades explore this vast open world. climb skyscraper-sized trees, build rudimentary shelters (at the start), craft powerful armour with unique abilities, complete quests to aid your people and discover seemingly abandoned locations now reclaimed by nature.

Key Features

• A huge open, sandbox-world to explore from a tiny perspective
  
• Build bases and shelters with a host of upgrades and customisations
  
• Discover the lore behind SMALLAND through quests and the hidden NPCs scattered throughout the world
  
• Dynamic weather and random events organically create hazardous situations or fortunate events
  
• Player upgrades and customisation, craft powerful armour to earn and unlock new abilities
  
• Creature factions: Work alongside creatures, gain their trust, earn allies and mounts

The love the community has shown us as we've been building the world of Smalland and sharing progress with you has been wonderful, and we appreciate the community so much. Please share the trailer far and wide as we'd love to bring Smalland to as many people as possible.

We always love to hear your feedback so be sure to let us know what you think. We're coming to early access this year so be sure to follow us for updates!

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Hey everyone!

We're back with another FAQ Friday to give a bit of a deeper dive into some of the excellent questions raised by the community.

Let's get into it!

Could we get an idea of how big the map is? Maybe compared to other survival games?

It's big, it's huge, compared to other games is kind of hard as some games have detailed areas with lots to do and others are much bigger by comparison but have lots of less detailed areas to travel across. So a straight comparison isn't fair, but we could make a massive desert which would be hugely optimal but it wouldn't be fun, or a very small but detailed complex area that's great for gameplay.



However, we can confidently say it is very big, not just from your special perspective, but because exploration is a big focus, the map and areas to explore and discover has been a focus, and the feedback on how big the map is during our behind the scenes tests have come back really positive.

Will there be some easter eggs regarding media, old and new, regarding the game subject matter to find and linked to achievements? IE: 1: Honey I Shrunk The Kids. 2: Fantastic Voyage 3: Any B-rated cheezy black and white "Sci-Fi" with giant bugs.

Yeah hopefully, we looked at a lot of B-Movies as references such as Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Them, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and how they emphasise and build up certain elements. Easter Eggs and things to find that are just fun is something we think is important. Kev is a massive fan of B-Movies and Cult Movies, so it's been fun "educating" the rest of the team!



When you're playing multiplayer can you see the other players from a far distance, like their name above them?

Yes, but we go one step further. One of the unique things about Smalland, especially if you're in first person, is because everything is giant your brain is used to seeing things a certain way so it's sometimes harder to appreciate the depth of what you're looking at. So an object looks like it's 10 meters away, but really it's a 500 meters (as a very rough example).



Seeing players in the distance as tiny specs is important as you can help one another, and it gives you the reality of just how far away everything is and makes you feel tiny, so we need to push this more, and names above heads are great up close but not that kind of distance.

So, the characters of Smalland have evolved with Bat-like ears and insect-like antenna which have helped them survive. These antennae give off a glow at a distance so they make players and NPCs alike identifiable from very far away.

This is also one of the reasons they have been mistaken as faerie folk, as they look like Will-o'-the-Wisps from a distance. A Will-o'-the-Wisp is a name for a ghostly light that legend has it is seen in fields and forests and often lures travellers off their path, or, helpfully getting them back on their path. There are legends of these sprites, orbs, or ghostly flames in Asia, South America, the Netherlands, Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland (and probably more).... so there has to be some truth to that, right?

Thanks again for some great questions and as always we're always on the lookout for some more to deep dive into!

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Hey Smallfolk!

We've shared a lot about the world of Smalland lately, so today we want to give you a special look at a hugely important part of Smalland, you, the player.

Lead Designer Kev is here to talk you through the character design in Smalland, enjoy!



Join us on Discord and tell us what you think!

Hey everyone!

We're back to dig a little deeper into some more of your community questions. Thanks so much for the questions and do keep them coming.

Without further ado, here are some questions and answers for you!

Is there going to be buying and selling like an in-game store? Is it going to be player-driven or all set up prior to launch?

Buying and Selling between players isn't planned for Early Access but could be something we look into in the future. We will have contextual rewards and ideally resource sharing, as there are benefits to working with one another.


Anymore news on the pvp aspects?

Not yet, we have a big scope and are trying to get it into Early Access, so we’re currently looking at a simplified system and then a more dedicated PVP system that really suits Smalland. This is especially because of the way Smalland is designed to be PVE, meaning you can play solo or alongside friends and strangers.

Because of the scope and all the work related to PVP, we’re not sure if it will be for, or during, Early Access, but we’ll update you with details as soon as we can.


Will there be the possibility of raiding different servers?

Not at the minute, with the focus on PVE and setting everything up we have lots of systems and content that we’re planning for Early Access. But, this is what Early Access is for, to see what players like the most and we’ll do what we can to make everyone happy.


We'll keep an eye out for more of your great questions and be back for more with #4!

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The pathfinders in Smalland were tasked with going out into the wide world above ground and cataloguing the wildlife that they found. They needed to study the creatures that inhabited the land to help their people navigate this enormous world.

The pathfinders have succesfully found a variety of weird and wonderful creatures never before seen or heard of, so we are going to share some of the expedition notes that the Pathfinders wrote down on their travels.

Here is the first journal entry on the grasshopper.

Today I have studied the Grass-Hopper (or Grasshopper?) They are docile and inquisitive, and seem reluctant to attack. We need not fear the grasshopper.

Some of the Sentinel Guards have attempted to tame a grasshopper as once tamed, the simple insect would transforms into a mighty steed. Sailing through the air, propelled by the grasshoppers powerful hind legs, we could cover much more ground and avoid the various perils of the land of the small.




We'll have more of the Pathfinders notes to share over the coming weeks! Let us know what creatures you want to hear about!

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