After a long delay from Valheim Mistlands, the newest biome for the Norse survival game is here, allowing players to get lost with its dangerous creatures, a new breed of people to befriend or betray, and the potential to employ new magical tools to help build the ultimate base. in the Mistlands. It’s been a long time coming, with the latest major update to Steam Early Access multiplayer game Valheim Hearth & Home coming in September 2021. However, developer Iron gate tells PCGamesN why focus on bug fixes for the main game was his first priority. .
Speaking with PCGamesN during a developer tour of the Mistlands, lead artist Robin Eyre and Iron Gate senior developer Jonathan Smårs talk about how the small development team chooses where to focus their efforts. When asked about how the game’s explosion in popularity after its release on Steam Early Access affected development, Robin tells me that Iron Gate’s core spirit comes from above, courtesy of Valheim CEO and game director Richard. svensson.
“The good thing about Richard is his mentality and how he thinks about things. It was so important to him that we actually fixed all the bugs,” explains Robin. “Coming out in Early Access, just look for the bugs – two or three months, or even four months I think it was – just working to fix all the bugs so as many people as possible can just play the game, instead of make content on top of a broken game.”
It’s certainly an admirable approach, given how often games will spawn shiny new content without addressing core issues that are already present. It can often be easy to get caught up in a roadmap and there is often a lot of pressure put on developers not to delay already announced content. As such, Iron Gate took the dramatic step of abandoning its initial focus of a published long-term roadmap in favor of a more singular approach in the next major update.
Robin says it took her a while to accept the idea. “At first I was like, ‘Just create more content, let’s give people what they want.’ Because she definitely had a feeling that everyone loved the game.” However, he credits Svensson for insisting on making sure the current product available to players was up to the task: “He could take a step back and just look at it, like, ‘No, we need to fix these things so people I can enjoy the game.” game we already have. So I’m very, very grateful that he made that decision. It’s been worth it, I feel.”
If you stopped playing Valheim during the downtime between major updates, Mistlands may well be the time to come back. Robin notes, “This is the first time we’ve progressed through the game [since launch]so I think a lot of people will come back and play. But there are still two more biomes that need to be done before the game fully launches,” referring to the final Ashlands and Deep North areas that still lie ahead. “I’m sure it will work out in the end.”
For those of you wondering how long it will be before we venture into those particular areas, Jonathan has some good news. He adds: “I think one of the lessons we learned on this as well is that players really want the new biomes and the progression of that, and we spent a lot of time on the other updates we did, so it’s most likely not going to be a just as long a wait for Ashlands as it was for Mistlands from the initial release.”
If you’ve yet to get in on it, read our Valheim Mistlands preview to find out what it’s all about and why it could be the most exciting Valheim update yet. Our Valheim progression guide is the perfect way to get you on your way to exploring the new biome, and our Valheim building tips should ensure you know how to get a good spot when you get there. We also have more of the best co-op games on PC, if you’re looking for other great games to play with friends.