It's been over 1 year and 6 months since version 1.0 of the game was released on the various platforms, and the last patch for the game was released in June 2024.
A new patch, 1.0.03, was due to be released at the end of 2024, but some recent improvements to the game engine have delayed and finally cancelled this patch.



In the version currently available, the game uses the Unity 2020.3.47 game engine. At the end of 2024, the Unity 6 game engine became available and a number of improvements to this engine mean that I can now add certain features to the game that had been removed due to performance and capacity problems.

When Reliefs The Time of the Lemures was first imagined, it was intended to be a realistic open world. As game engines changed during development, realism became increasingly important, to the detriment of the open world, which was eventually cancelled altogether in favour of a semi-open world. Large levels cut off with loading times. The engine couldn't handle either an open world that wasn't realistic, or a closed world that was realistic, but not both at the same time.

Today, after extensive testing, Unity 6 allows me to make the game as it was imagined, even more realistic and detailed in a totally open world with the same performance as version 1.0!



Creating a The Time of the Lemures 2 Reliefs was not justified as it was too close to version 1.0. This version 2.0 will be available as a huge update to the game, and will therefore be free for anyone who has already bought the game. The demo will also be updated.

Contents of the new version:

• - A complete overhaul of the horse's physics and AI.
  
• - The horse can move backwards.
  
• - The horse looks at the player as he approaches.
  
• - The horse follows the player at a certain distance.
  
• - Improved player physics and ropes.
  
• - Numerous effects have been added for the player, such as dust and thrown stones.
  
• - The arm animations have been redesigned to adapt to the player's immediate environment. (No more arms or torches running through walls)
  
• - Improved torch fire.
  
• - Improved rate of fire for the player's bow.
  
• - Improved strings.
  
• - Major improvements to lake and ocean water, water effects, caustics and waves.
  
• - Volumetric clouds added.
  
• - Major change to the calculation of indirect light with the abandonment of the use of Lightmaps and the use of the new Adaptive Light Probes.
  
• - Addition of time and day cycle changes. (Light will no longer be fixed)
  
• - Improved interactions with set elements to create puzzles more quickly.
  
• - Significant improvements to vegetation, its density and rendering.
  
• - Significant improvement in the quality of elements visible from a distance, such as cliffs, ruins and trees.
  
• - Addition of numerous elements to help understand the puzzles.
  
• - Extensive use of GPU Instancing to add numerous elements to the scenery without any loss of FPS.
  
• - Corrected a number of materials and shaders in the game.
  
• - Added Tessellation for rocks, cliffs and ruins.
  
• - Creation of tools to facilitate game development.
  
• - Fixed numerous bugs reported in version 1.0.
  
• - Added new achievements and areas to explore.
  
• - Added new small and complex puzzles.
  
• - Added open world.
  
• - Added many new ruins and puzzles.

This list of updates has been simplified because it's too long to enumerate. To keep things simple, only the story, the main puzzles and the interface will be retained for this version 2.0.




This will not be a simple merger of the different levels available in version 1.0. As the game currently stands, that's not possible.

It's a new game that takes up and draws inspiration from certain elements of the previous version.

The saves game will therefore be totally incompatible between versions 1.0 and 2.0. However, your achievements will be preserved, as will your playing time.




Two new games are also in the pipeline, and will be different adventures from Reliefs The Time of the Lemures. They will use the same assets as the base game but will be sold separately at a low price and playable without the base game.

Reliefs The Time of the Walks: A simple walking or riding game in a huge, unique open world inspired by the base game but with new achievements, temples, ruins and realistic landscapes!

Reliefs The Time of the Climbs : A climbing game where you have to climb as high as possible without falling. With different difficulty levels and new achievements, use your bow and ropes to reach the top of a huge rocky spike covered in vegetation and Roman ruins (inspired by Beton Brutal).




For version 2.0 of Reliefs The Time of the Lemures or for the next two little games inspired by it, I wouldn't give a precise date although I'd like to release them before the end of 2025.
In any case, I'll be giving you regular updates on my website, social networks and on Steam, Itch.io or IndieDB.

This corrective patch 1.0.02 is here to fix a few important crashes for the Mac version only.

- Fixed a crash in the Mac version of the game that could freeze after logos in a black screen with music (or not) in the background. This problem was due to the incorrect identification of an important file path.

- Fixed a crash in the Mac version of the game which could automatically close the game after the logos. This problem was due to an important file that was missing on recent Mac versions and processors (M3).

These problems were identified and corrected after a few weeks' work, with the help of Joe M's tests, whom I thank enormously!

The original soundtrack for Reliefs The time of the Lemures is now available!

This soundtrack contains 36 unique musics, including 5 exclusive tunes, not present in the game, but composed for it.

There are around 37 minutes of listening time in total in this soundtrack.

Reliefs The time of the Lemures Soundtrack link

- The German translation version was not translating correctly after restarting the game. This problem has now been solved.

- The horse collision has been revised to prevent the horse from getting stuck in certain rocks.

- Fixed the problem of rocks and grasses appearing too quickly and too closely to the ground, and are now displayed more progressively.

- Cloud shadows added to Minerva and Pluto levels.

- Corrected ambient light in some areas of the Minerva level.

Hello everyone!


It's been a long and complex road, with over 10 years of work on this project and 5 years in early access. But after a lot of perseverance, motivation and passion, this game is now finished!

I hope you enjoy the work, the adventure, the atmosphere and the universe!

____________________________________________________________


To all those who started a game during early access, before version 1.0.00. I recommend starting a new game if you want to get an overall feel for the game. Although your save games may work on this version, many changes to the setting and story elements mean that I can't guarantee that your previous save games will work.




4 versions of the game have been released over the years. And with them, 3 different game engines.

- Version 0.1, developed under Blender Game Engine, was the most advanced version before version 0.4. However, it had to be abandoned after 5 years of work due to an ageing game engine and serious crashes at game launch. This version was the first in early access.

- Version 0.2, developed under UPBGE (Uchronia Project Blender Game Engine), was an updated version of the previous game engine. Unfortunately, after 1 year's work on this engine, further crashes occurred, and the game engine's slow updates meant that problems could not be quickly corrected. This version was therefore abandoned.

- Version 0.3 was developed under a professional game engine, Unity 2019 in HDRP. After 1 year's work and the new possibilities and performance of the next version of the same engine, I decided to change versions.

- Version 0.4 developed under Unity 2020 in HDRP. The change of engine enabled me to offer much larger, more detailed and realistic universes than the previous engines, with far superior performance. After more than 3 years' work, version 1.0 is the result.

It's worth noting that since the first early access version, 36 developer diaries have been created and 15 updates to version 0.4 have followed. Unfortunately, I haven't kept track of the number of updates made to previous versions of the game.

____________________________________________________________


Demo:
- The game's Demo has also been updated to version 1.0.00.

Achievements:
- 13 new achievements added.

Levels:
- Added Minerva level.
- End-of-game levels added.
- Sun position changed in Somnus level.
- Changed light intensity in Tutorial, Neptune, Temple, Somnus and Tellus levels.
- Temple of Pluto level modified, number of portals and their locations changed.

Gameplay :
- Fabric color change for the grappling rope. The fabric changes from red to light blue to help color-blind people visualize this aid element.

Music:
- All music added to the game.

Interface:
- Added the ability to disable scenery aids in the gameplay menu.
- Vertical synchronization added to game options.

Graphics:
- Improved torch and brazier fires for better optimization and rendering.
- Improved player torch fire, more efficient and more realistic rendering.
- Vegetation reacts more strongly to sunlight.

Hello everyone!


So get your bows, torches and strings ready - it'll soon be time to explore Roman ruins!

Hello everyone!

The early access release is just around the corner!
After more than 10 years of work, including 5 years in early access, the game will be available in version 1.0 before the end of the year!

I'm not giving a precise date at the moment, but I think I'll be able to release it by the end of October or November 2023!

In order to have time to prepare this release and to give you a little more content for those who have already bought the game in early access, there will be no update this month.

I'd like to thank everyone who supported this project!
I hope you all enjoy the end result!

Hello everybody !

August update 0.4.14 is now available!
Updated jump system, interface, saves, music and more!


In a nutshell:
A lot of work has gone into the game's save system. Updates to the demo, the player's jump system and the entire interface. Numerous details have been added to all levels, and many corrections have been made to the mirrors and the Somnus level. Also new music in Pluto's temple and tutorial levels. And finally, numerous bug fixes, with the most important ones listed below.





- The demo has been updated to 0.4.14.


- Saving now saves player and horse rotation when loading a game or changing levels.
- Saving now also records whether the player is on the horse or not when saving, so that the player reappears on the horse.
- When the player reappears or after a load or level change, the horse should no longer be levitating above the ground, all the save system has been reviewed and corrected.
- The player's jumping system has been modified: you can now influence the distance and direction of your jump. The player is not a plane, so this influence remains weak, but this new addition makes it possible to correct your jump during this one.


- Mirrors have been reworked to make their light reflection less precise and less difficult to achieve.
- Their rotation has been reviewed and they should no longer rotate alone or very slowly. Also, the rotation pivot has been moved more to the center.
- Numerous details and new paths have been added to simplify navigation.
- Fixed a bug that reduced the intensity of the lights emitted by the mirrors on the first rotation.


- Added numerous details in all levels of the game, statues, distant ruins, writings on temples and for puzzles, ... .


- Added new definitive music for the game in the menu, in the tutorial level, in Pluto's temple and in Pluto's underworld. The music will then be added to subsequent levels in future updates. The music was created by myself, so I own the copyright, which wasn't the case before because the music was purchased. So now the game can be broadcast on video and stream sites without copyright problems.
- Deactivation of all old music to avoid copyright problems.


- The background scene of the main menu has been completely redone to match the new music and additions made over a year ago.
- Modification of the entire interface. Texts are in white and fonts in black.
- New cursor added.
- All loading images and demo updated.


- Improved rendering of some particles, so that they use the surrounding light correctly.


- After a reappearance following a fall, the player could no longer grip a rope, and on the first jump the character performed a wall jump into the void.
- After a reappearance following a fall, the player now automatically unequips the bow or torch. This could cause animation problems.
- When the character is underwater for too long, the black veil is now displayed smoothly and correctly.
- The player can no longer breathe underwater for as long. The black veil lets the player know when to surface.
- The game's overall audio when loading a game could return to 100% at the time of loading.


See you next month for update 0.4.15!

Hello everybody !

July update 0.4.13 is now available!
This new update greatly improves game performance, adds many new features, fixes bugs and adds new details to the game.

The options selected in the options menu are now taken into account. All the game's shaders evolve according to what you've selected, to limit the load on the graphics card. Also, all the game's Post Processes can be activated or deactivated, such as Anti-Aliasing, the display of trees, mountains, effects and even the rendering distance of grass on terrains.
This update also adds a new interface that displays your unlocked achievements for each game, and you can now also modify the shortcuts for the movement keys.




- Cliffs are better covered by vegetation in all levels except Hell levels.
- In the introductory video, the boat's camera now takes into account the FOV selected by the player.
- New details added to cliffs and distant terrain in all levels except Hell.
- Improved brightness in Tellus level for large caverns to facilitate player movement and mirror visibility.


- The game changes the movement keys on first launch. If you're English-speaking the default move keys will be WSAD, if you're French-speaking it will be ZQSD.


- It's now possible to change the player and horse movement keys (ZQSD or WSAD by default). You can now set the keys you want.

- The horse now reacts more quickly when you ask it to go or not to gallop too much, or when you want to stop it.


- In your backup statistics, the time in hours is automatically rounded to the tens. For example, you'll get 2.83 and not 2.8312612.
- A new achievements interface has been added to your savegame statistics. This list shows you all the achievements available in the game, with their descriptions and images. In just a few seconds, you can see which achievements you're missing in the selected game.
- Added to the options the ability to enable or disable the following options: Bloom, motion blur, water reflection, fog, distant trees, distant mountains, depth of field, Decals, effects and ground grass display.
- Au can now disable or enable Anti-aliasing, but also choose between FXAA (Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing) or TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing).


- A subroutine has been added to check the accuracy of translations against a master translation (French). This avoids non-display errors in certain languages.


- Dynamic depth of field added in-game if enabled.
- Updated shaders for mountains in the distance, forests are more detailed and vegetation stops at a certain height to give way to snow for the highest peaks.
- The game takes into account changes in the display of effects, mountains at a distance, trees at a distance and the display of grass on the ground in real time.
- When you change the overall graphic quality of the game (low, high, ultra, ...), it automatically activates or deactivates certain effects. These effects can be reactivated at any time.
- Reworked tree and grass shaders to improve performance and appearance.
- Added new anti-aliasing, which can be deactivated, or used with FXAA or TAA (default).
- New texture compression, which should reduce loading times.
- All the game's shaders have been redesigned to take into account changes in graphics quality in real time.
- Optimization of all textures in the game to optimize performance and final rendering.
- Increased the display of trees in high definition to prevent them from appearing too abruptly, and to provide greater visibility for players who would not display trees from a distance.


- Resolved a bug that blocked the player in the areas after jumping on a wall to hold onto a rope too close to the wall.


See you next month for update 0.4.14!

Hello everybody !

This month's update 0.4.12 is now available a little early!
This update adds a new region to explore, adds a few new features and fixes various bugs.
This new region is the domain of Somnus, the Roman god of sleep and dreams, and guardian of the night. His home is in deep caverns where no light ever penetrates beneath a huge mountain.

The descriptions, images and intro video for the stores and website have also been updated to reflect the changes made to the game over the last few months.

It's been a year since version 0.4 of the game is now available in early access with this update at a rate of one per month.
The game has evolved enormously over the past year, with the addition of new regions to explore, simplified gameplay, the replacement of the grappling spear by the grappling bow, the addition of physical ropes, improved graphics... .
And also thanks to you and your feedback, which I receive every month and which enables me to improve the game experience and resolve bugs.
Thanks a lot! :)




- Added the level of Somnus, god of sleep, dreams and guardian of the night.

- Keyboard players can now use CapLock to run or walk constantly.

- Updated store and website descriptions.
- Updated images in the various stores and on the website.
- Introduction video updated in various stores and website.

- Added new information for game development to check that the game is working properly (Developer only).

- Steam achievements will now activate correctly with the addition of a real-time verification system and modification of player detection settings to no longer generate this problem.
If you've unlocked the achievements in your game and the Steam achievements haven't activated, simply move to the different levels where these achievements haven't activated to unlock them on Steam.
- Removal of a system for checking whether or not Steam was connected, as this could cause reconnection problems after a game crash.
- Level change zones in Hell levels now use the same player restrictions to avoid activating their loads too early.
- Solved a major bug in the previous version that could freeze the loading of different levels.
- When exiting the Tellus level to return to the Pluto temple level, the horse no longer appears in the ground.


See you next month for update 0.4.13!