Under a Rock

• A procedurally generated world that measures about 64km2.
• Dynamic AI: AI that remember and respond to your actions and the actions of other AI, compete for territory and resources, even construct new bases and defenses.
• 1-10 player cooperative play. Additionally PvP on/off will be available to the server host.
• There will be a pet system which includes two types of pets (tame and companion) and breeding.
• Melee & ranged combat consisting of heavy/light/charged attacks. Combat is a simple hit and miss system. No hidden rolls. Attributes, skills, abilities, resistances, and gear affects damage done and damage received.
• There will be a light RPG system with attributes, skills and abilities. RPG like systems also apply to things like death penalty and how some of the survival aspects, like food/water, are handled.

Much of Under a Rock resembles a more “survival-adjacent” title like Conan Exiles. According to one of the developers, the game will encompass traditional survival mechanics like temperature impact, inclement weather, and fatigue, along with mechanics that can go both ways, like poison, diseases, and curses. These are standard fare even in games like World of Warcraft. Additionally, there will be attributes, skills, abilities, and resistances alongside stats and tech progression. These skills/abilities and the combat mechanic breakdown posted to their Discord further strengthen that MMO/RPG vibe.

SHRUG EMOTICON.

This is something that needs to be experienced to see how it handles. Right now, it is under the survival umbrella the same way Valheim is- your objective is to not die. As we’ve talked about in the Hashtag Discord or on the podcast, this reliance on ‘loosely avoid death’ brings many games under the umbrella, including World of Warcraft!

I’m interested in seeing how the weather, fatigue, and temperature play a role. In addition, I’m interested in seeing if the repercussions of death/dying (described in their Discord) do provide a ‘reason to strive,’ a reason to survive and avoid death versus just treating it as a lackluster respawn, a “who cares if I afk in the middle of a field and die, doesn’t impact me much anyway” type of deal.

As of mid-October, the developers have been posting more detailed information to their Discord through a forum-styled FAQ. It’s been nice to get concrete details - even if it’s all work in progress - because we mostly had just pure visuals of pictures/videos for a while. Even the first teasers I saw for the game (on Reddit) just generated a lot of questions and provided no detailed information.

Nevertheless, I’m cautiously interested in the game as a potential new “hand occupier” when gaming with folks like my wife and others in the community who either struggle with or aren’t fans of the more traditional survival experience. Previous games under this heading have been like Conan Exiles and Valheim: minimal effort is required for AI combat or relevant survival-themed aspects. They ended up being games that were fun for a bit with friends & a good Netflix show but didn’t require much attention. Hell, levels on Conan are a fraction of the grind of old-school vanilla WoW! *dies inside* I could see my wife enjoying the building a ton since it includes many options!

Website Changelog

• 3/9/23- Changelog added.