Voxel Valley is now in beta 0.1.0. When we invited you to the first tests on 24 September, you could already build a home, photograph animals and play with friends. In the 26 days since that article, we have added kayaking on the Barycz, excavations, your own museum, animal tracks and a world that changes with the seasons.
This article brings those additions together with a new trailer and 18 images from the game. You can see your character, what to pack, where to live and what to do outside the house. If your last visit was in September, there is plenty to come back for.
See what you can do in the Valley
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What has arrived since the previous article?
26 September to 13 October, alpha 0.3: a separate installable game, digging, ores, excavations, fossils and a museum. This period also brought the Barycz river, kayaking, a calendar, seasons and freezing ponds.
15 October, alphas 0.4 and 0.5: more varied forests and more detailed birds and other animals, making differences in their shapes and plumage easier to see.
16 October, alpha 0.6: 30 additional bird species, seasonal appearances, nesting, wintering and the autumn deer rut.
16 October, alpha 0.7 and 0.7.1 updates: tracks in mud and snow, photographing footprints and a track atlas. Character movement became smoother, and you can slide on winter ice.
17 October, further alpha 0.7 development: new tasks, three camouflage outfits, marked Barycz Valley trails and blackthorn, blackberry, wild rose and hawthorn that change through the year.
17 October, alpha 0.8: nocturnal owls and bats, resting daytime birds, duck and swan pairs, crane formations, winter flocks and large groups of starlings.
17 October, alphas 0.9, 0.10 and 0.10.1: choosing a season for a new game, keeping the five latest saves, deleting saves with a backup, and map and ice improvements.
19 October, beta 0.1.0: refined movement, a clearer view of the landscape, feeders with seed supplies, tree-mounted nest boxes and species photographs in the atlas.
Your character and preparing for a trip
You explore as your own character. Choose their appearance and clothes in the wardrobe and check what you are carrying in your backpack. A camera, binoculars or a spotting scope help with wildlife watching; food is useful for a longer walk.
Characters and equipment were already part of the September game. Later versions added three increasingly effective camouflage outfits. Move carefully, crouch or crawl to disturb animals less. Camouflage helps you observe; it does not make you invisible.
The character watching wildlife through binoculars.
Choose your character’s appearance and clothes in the wardrobe.
A backpack containing items for building, furnishing and exploring.
A home to return to
Building and furnishing a house were also in the first announcement. Here is a closer look at that part of everyday life: put up walls, fit doors and windows, then choose a bed, table, chairs or cooker. Move items around and arrange your base as you like.
A meal and some rest help you prepare for the next journey. Lamps and electrical appliances need power; a solar panel, wind turbine and energy storage can supply your home. The beta also improves the lighting indoors.
Your own house beside the water.
An interior with furniture, a cooker and lighting.
Kayak the Barycz and follow marked trails
One of the biggest additions since September is travelling by river. Get into a kayak and paddle through the Valley, watching the banks and birds from a different perspective. A river trip is also one of the subjects of the new tasks.
On land, marked trails are inspired by real routes in the Barycz Valley. The map helps you plan a journey through forests and ponds. The bicycle and scooter described in September are still available for faster travel.
The character kayaking on the Barycz.
Use the map to plan a route through the Valley.
Digging, discoveries and your own museum
There is another reason to explore beneath the ground. Dig for ores and discover fossils and objects from the past. Finds do not have to stay in your backpack: create your own museum and put them on display in a place you build.
For players who like investigating what lies below the surface, this connects exploration with building. After a trip, you can plan a room for your collection. The images show both a character searching for finds and displays with collected exhibits.
Searching for discoveries beneath the ground.
Your own museum with space for discovered exhibits.
Following animal tracks
Looking ahead is not the only way to find wildlife. Animals leave tracks in mud and snow. Photograph them, identify them and record them in a separate atlas. New tasks encourage you to learn different species’ tracks and photograph animal behaviour.
Thirty bird species have been added since September. There is more of their daily life to watch too: ducks and swans pair up on the water, cranes fly over the Valley and starlings gather in large groups. Available real species photographs from our gallery appear in the atlas, so you can compare an animal in the game with its real appearance.
An identified footprint is added to the track atlas.
The atlas combines species information with a real photograph.
Different journeys in spring, winter and after dark
Choose the season when starting a new game. The Valley is green in spring and summer, changes colour in autumn and becomes snowy in winter, when ponds freeze. Slide on the ice or look for tracks in the snow. More than the trees change: seasons affect which animals you meet, when young appear and which species spend the winter here.
It is worth leaving home after sunset too. Some daytime birds rest in shelters while tawny owls, long-eared owls and bats become active. They have their own calls and night-hunting behaviour. A familiar place at a different hour can offer a new encounter.
Spring scenery beside the river.
In summer, take a look among the reeds.
Autumn colours give familiar places a different appearance.
Snow covers the Valley in winter.
Tawny owls and long-eared owls are among the Valley’s nocturnal residents.
What can you do between trips?
Tasks include lighting a campfire and cooking, building a reserve, photographing behaviour, identifying tracks and kayaking the Barycz. Campfires and cooking already existed; they now also feature in further challenges. Follow these goals or decide for yourself how to spend your time.
Place a feeder near your home, buy seeds, refill it and watch small visiting birds. Nest boxes attach to tree trunks. We also show an evening beside the campfire, taking a break after a journey.
An evening break beside a campfire.
A nest box attached to a tree trunk.
What does moving into beta mean?
Beta 0.1.0 refines the adventure built up through the alpha releases. We improved jumping, crawling, sleeping and getting up, holding paddles and binoculars, and viewing the landscape from a distance. Existing worlds, homes, equipment and progress are preserved. Development continues, and the game can still need fixes. Use “Report a bug / idea” in the menu to tell us what gets in the way or what is missing.
How to play
You can start in your browser. Since the September announcement, separate downloads have also become available for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. The links are below. Whether you already have a home in the Valley or are visiting for the first time, you are welcome to join us.