Hey everybody! Sky Noon is finally out in Steam Early Access! We’re thrilled to see the positive reactions and fun that has come out of it so far. Being able to interact with the community, discussing strategies or playing alongside you, has made it much more fun.

Up next we will be walking you through our plans for the future of Sky Noon and its evolution as an Early Access title. We believe that being as transparent as possible with our ideas and future additions is massively important, giving our great community the chance to offer feedback and suggestions as we go. We want to make sure that there is always something cool to look forward to.

As stated on Steam, we think the Early Access period will last a maximum of 6 to 8 months. All along the way we will be updating with new features and content, as listed below. There may be more updates past 0.8 before full release if required, which we will know more about as it gets closer.

Features

These are new additions to Sky Noon that aren’t currently in the game or are in a very early state.

Duels

A true Western experience – standoffs at Noon. Challenge another player to a 1v1 match. The first to eliminate their opponent scores a point, first to three wins! We want Duels to promote community interaction with the ability to challenge friends and foes to a test of skill.
Duels will take place on specialised small scale maps, designed specifically for compact, competitive 1v1 matches.

Brawls

New unique game-modes that will be available for a limited time. Brawls will be a mixture of polished custom game rules or even completely different from the usual Sky Noon experience.You will be able to play these brawl game-modes on dedicated servers all while earning XP.
Brawls are a great way for us to test out new concepts or share a crazy custom game with the community, potentially paving the way for new permanent game modes.

Progression and Expanded Customisation

Levelling up to unlock customisation is only the beginning of our ideal progression system. In the coming updates we will be adding new ways to earn customisation.
We want to add a currency system alongside a customisation store. You will be able to earn currency through regular play, which you can spend on a selection of cosmetic items. The idea is to give players something to work towards, independent of leveling.
We want to introduce new kinds of customisation, separate from outfits, which can be earned in different ways. We want to allow you to stand out and interact in more ways than before, even show off some of your best achievements in Sky Noon. This could potentially include weapon skins, grapple skins, emotes and elimination effects, however, nothing is yet set in stone. Be sure to let us know what kind of customisation you would like to be added into Sky Noon in our Discord.

Bounties

These are long term, tiered goals or challenges that require you to play in certain ways to achieve them. Completing bounties might reward you with currency, special customisation unlocks or just xp, depending on the tier of bounty that you had completed. You might also see temporary bounties, lasting only for a set time period.

Localisation

We are striving to localise Sky Noon in many languages. Our first task will be to create the systems that will allow us to easily add languages in the future. While you won’t see new languages pop up right away, we will be keeping the community informed as we make progress.

Accessibility

We are keen to add in accessibility options to make Sky Noon enjoyable for as many people as possible. At the moment we don’t have a set list of accessibility options we will add. We are aware of the basics, but, if you have any requests or thoughts on accessibility feel free to drop them in the feedback channels in our Discord.

Parties and Matchmaking

Parties and Matchmaking is not on the Roadmap above because it could slip in anywhere, or nowhere, based on demand. It’s a feature that greatly relies on the number of people using it. Parties and matchmaking are features that we feel are important for ease of use and convenience, and we hope they will make it into the game closer to full release. However, we believe that the higher priorities should be general gameplay features and accessibility.
Parties will allow you to group up with your friends in the lobby. You could then take that party into matchmaking which would ideally put you against opponents of similar skill level with low ping. You could also use matchmaking solo.

The server browser and player hosted custom games will give the players plenty of choice and control in finding games for now, and we’re looking to expand it and make it easier to use, but we do see the value of matchmaking. As development goes on we may re-evaluate the priority of matchmaking, but for now it is low priority.

Content

In addition to the new features, we will be constantly working on additional content for already existing systems

Maps

We will be expanding the selection of maps with new and interesting layouts, using different themes and obstacles to keep gameplay different. While nothing is ready to be confirmed yet, some potential new maps could include:
-Damaged and fractured landmass with little to stand on
-Snowed over environments, perhaps with some slippery iced surfaces
-A Cartel fortress, rough and scrappy yet functional
-And more! Feel free to offer your ideas. Your suggestions could inspire the next map (We are keen on the windmills idea).

Time Trials

New time trials will be coming, being much like the ones you see today at various levels of difficulty and length. You may also see new kinds of trials and challenges that require you to completely change your strategy.
Down the line we hope to reward those of you committed to the trials, granting unique cosmetics that you can use anywhere.

Customisation

With the new progression system will come various new outfits and items for you to dress up and customise your characters. Our goal is to create a nice variety of appealing cosmetics you will want to work for.
In addition, you may eventually see new characters come into play. They will fit in to the list with Jaz and Steve, letting you dress them up separately as well. How these characters will be unlocked is something we are still considering.

Weapons and Abilities

We want to add new weapons and abilities sometime in the future. We will take a look at the sandbox and see what could be added that is unique or worth adding. However, we feel that the balance and diversity of the sandbox is in a good place for now. For the first milestones we will be focusing on new features and general accessibility.

Thanks for Reading!

That is the roadmap for Sky Noon as it currently stands. As we advance and in future blog posts we will continue to discuss and preview what you’ve seen above. A huge thanks to everybody who has purchased and played Sky Noon