Devlog
Every update to VAEL
VAEL changes almost every day. Here's everything that's gone into the game, newest first: 78 updates since 14 October 2026. Follow the feed or get playtest news by email to hear about the next one.
Vid, a film set for recording gameplay
Open the console (` or F1) and type vid. The HUD goes, along with damage numbers and loot labels, and time keeps running. Every vid key sits on a key the...
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October 2026
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Vid, a film set for recording gameplay
Open the console (` or F1) and type vid. The HUD goes, along with damage numbers and loot labels, and time keeps running. Every vid key sits on a key the...
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Eyes in the dark, and a new skills screen
Skill icons, painted. Medallions that show your rank. The skills panel (K), rebuilt. The XP tracker. The level-up banner. Elsewhere.
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Gear keeps pace, Mythics pay off, parties meet more
Gear keeps pace with the depths. The Catacombs hit harder. Mythics make the Catacombs easier, without trivialising them. Party size. Multiplayer (protocol 29).
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Progression: earn your way down
A review of loot, gear and the depth curve, so the game climbs. You gear up over a few runs in the forest, then the Ruins, then the Crypt, before the...
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A proper archer's stance, and a clear first-person view
Side-on to the shot. The drawing arm no longer passes through the neck. First person: the bow no longer blocks the middle of the screen. Screenshots.
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Bows of their own, elemental arrows, and archers who hold them right
Every bow looks like what it is. Three elemental bows. Archers hold the bow properly. Multiplayer (protocol 27). Screenshots.
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Aim at the sky, and the bow's own crosshair
Bows and muskets can be raised high enough to hit a flying drake. The bow's crosshair is its arc again. Screenshots.
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The Drake Matriarch, and lairs that hang together
The breath stays on the jaws. The Drake Matriarch. The nest. The Broodmother's lair, rebuilt. How the silk is drawn. Network protocol 26.
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Dragons take to the sky, and their fire burns
Drakes fly. Realistic wings and flight. Better ground animation. Real fire. Burning ground. Co-op.
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Armour icons face you
Worn armour's icons were shot from behind. Unchanged. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The pouch, gold you can see, and real item icons
The pouch. Gold as coins. Drop any amount. Gold on the ground. Realistic icons. Dragging an item no longer turns it see-through.
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Zombies that move like the dead
A new zombie body. Variants move differently. Smooth skinning. More realistic flesh. Loot models for the v0.58 materials. Daylight.
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Zombies, goblins, wendigos and drakes
Four new enemy families, three variants each, built from the supplied models. Each variant has its own size, colours, stats and attacks.
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Leaving tables, stretching arms, a lighter Sanctuary
Leaving a table no longer loses its prompt. Arms no longer stretch at the pool tables. A lighter Sanctuary.
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Depth portals rebuilt, and the Climb
The portals between depths are rebuilt. The membrane. The building round each portal. The Climb. Fixes. Network protocol 22.
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Planter fix
The oak planters in the Sanctuary yard no longer flicker where the dirt meets the stone. New screenshots: and, in the yard set.
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A bigger Sanctuary, a proper training yard
The courtyard is bigger. The training dummy, rebuilt. The archery butt, rebuilt.
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A new Play Together screen, and a truer main menu clearing
Play Together, rebuilt. The main menu's clearing. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Steam, built in and switched off
Steam integration is in the game, but off. Parties over Steam. Rich presence. 13 achievements and 6 stats. Steam name.
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A stone chessboard in the Sanctuary, and quieter fires
Quieter fires. The stone board. Playing. The rules. Skeletons to play, each with a rating (Elo). Your rating.
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The Ivory Pocket, polished: custom cues, real cue handling, new screens
The rack triangle fits. Holding the cue properly. Custom cues. The cue cabinet. Your cues belong to your character. New pool and snooker screens.
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New screens for blackjack and poker
Drawn cards. Poker screen (The Boneyard Game). Starting poker is explicit. Blackjack screen (The Gravedigger's Table). Blackjack waits for you. Messages.
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The narrator's original recordings, untouched
Original audio back. His pace now comes from ElevenLabs. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The narrator, quicker and never cut off
Slow narrator. Skipped lines. Tutorial test. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The tutorial's new voices
New voices. Checked. Pacing for longer lines. Tutorial test. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Poker in the Gilded Ossuary
The Boneyard Game Where. The table. Who you play. The skeletons. How the skeletons decide. Money.
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The Ivory Pocket no longer vanishes in the doorway
The bug. Why. Fix. Pool test. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Puzzles the whole party sees, better voice chat, talking mouths
Puzzles in co-op The whole party sees every move. Mistakes. Traps and fire runs. Much less delay. Louder and steadier. Closer proximity chat.
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The Ivory Pocket, fixed and better sounding
Visible from the courtyard. Solid tables. Lamps on when you walk in. Ball in hand. Realistic sounds. Pool test.
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Mushrooms (and the console) work for everyone in a party
Mushrooms. The console. Net test. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The host's console sky is the party's
Weather. Lightning. Time of day. Clients. Network protocol. Net test. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The Ivory Pocket, a pool and snooker hall
The hall Where. Inside. Cheap when you're not in it. Real sizes. The cloth and cushions. Markings.
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A spawn plinth, and a contract board you can actually use
The spawn plinth Somewhere to arrive. Clear ground. Cheap. Its own screen. Act from the board. Easier to read.
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The inventory and trader screens, with some depth (and no hitch on every click)
Look Frames. Section headers. Item cards. Inspector and tooltip. Tabs and contracts. Pooled cards.
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Another performance pass (same look, same play)
Found by timing every per-frame function inside the benchmark, then checked against renders of the old build: the spiders and the Sanctuary towers come out...
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The test room
Console: testroom. Everything the game is made of, on one big lit floor, each thing with its name over it and, under the name, its id (what the code calls...
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One benchmark, through everything
One run. Results screen. Saved files. Removed. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The tutorial and benchmarks leave your character alone
Benchmarks. Tutorial. The fix. New test. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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A leaner, faster VAEL (and the tutorial skeleton dies)
Tutorial fix. The training skeleton in the block, parry and riposte lesson couldn't be killed. It sat at 99,999 health until a riposte landed during the...
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The Order of Flames burns in colour again
Once solved, every brazier burns tall in its own colour. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The trials, remade in steel, fire and stone
The pendulum blades are forged steel now. Living fire. Braziers, everywhere. The Crumbling Stones. The Rune Floor. The Watchers' plinths.
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Puzzles and deadly courses
Puzzle rooms and deadly obstacle courses now turn up in Depths II–IV. Puzzles. Deadly courses. New fire jet trap,. The map. Sounds.
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Bad weather you can see in
Rain, Blood Rain and the Blood Moon no longer black the forest out. Tested.
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Rings face the right way
A ring's stone or signet face now sits on the back of the finger, facing out. Two rings, one on each hand.
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Jewellery and materials, remodelled; rings on your fingers
Every necklace, ring, material and supply has a proper 3D model,. Still cheap. Rings show on your character.
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Picking and eating mushrooms
Eating a mushroom is now a full animation. Smooth throughout. Interrupted before your hand reaches it. Party members see you kneel, pick and eat it too. Two...
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The forest's mushrooms
Every glowing mushroom clump on the Cursed Forest's floor can be eaten. Cheap. Console. New screenshot mode trip.
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Weather over the forest and the ruins
Weather. How it stays cheap. Sounds. Console. New screenshot mode weather.
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The admin console, upgraded
Open the console with F1 (or ). help` lists every command. max [skill]. pic: photo mode. fly. time. More commands. The F3 overlay.
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The inspector on screen
Fixed: Inspect opened off the screen. The model on the turntable. New screenshot mode inspect.
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Armour that layers cleanly, Mythic everything, the item menu
Armour no longer clips, on either body, in any combination. Necklaces hang the way a real one does. Every weapon, armour piece, shield and trinket comes in...
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Clothes that fit the bones (fishmonger and casino staff)
Fixed: the fishmonger's and the casino skeletons' clothes clipped through their bones. The fishmonger, refitted. The casino staff, refitted. Screenshot mode.
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The tavern as a building, a working fishing shack
The tavern, rebuilt. The fishing shack, rebuilt. Fish. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Realistic fish, a fish's shadow, the Sanctuary on High
Every fish rebuilt. The fish's shadow is a fish. The Sanctuary on High no longer drowns in haze.
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Musket arms fixed, attacking from a crouch
Fixed: the musket could stretch your arms. Attack with any weapon while crouched, and stay crouched.
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Warming up at the fire, shown on you
No more message spam. Instead, warming up shows on the character. Co-op. Cost.
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Campfire warmth, jump and crouch, one contract at a time
Campfires restore you. New controls. One contract at a time. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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A minimap and a compass; the dead walk about
A minimap. A compass. Layout. Enemies are no longer statues until you come close.
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Traders, contracts and trust; the Sanctuary rebuilt
Three new traders. Contracts. Trust. Materials. The trader panel. The Sanctuary rebuilt.
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Three-shot musket, a crosshair at all times
The musket holds three charges. A crosshair at all times in third person. Fixed. The controls hint lists Reload.
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The musket, and the Shooting skill
A new weapon class: the musket. It can't be sprayed. Animation. The Shooting skill. Items. Elsewhere.
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Hair that moves with the head, and better hairstyles
No more head poking through the hair. Hairlines. Braids, buns, topknots and the ponytail. Fixes to individual styles. Shading. Performance.
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Matching eyes
His eyes are now the same as hers. No holes left around the eyes. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Closed faces, real eyes, new icon
Holes closed. New icon. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Fitted armour
Armour on the player bodies is now grown from the body itself. Plate. Edges. Hanging cloth. Helms. Boots and gloves.
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A female body
Male or female. The female body. How she was made. Clothes. Shared painting. Her hairstyles.
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Stuck interact prompt fix
New (7 checks). What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Realistic hair and beards
Beards: moustache, short (dense close cards), full, and long (with a chin fall). Hairlines melt into the skin instead of showing jagged low-poly edges....
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Character creation and editing
A new character editor for making a character, or reshaping one you already have (the new Edit button on the character list). It has three pages:
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Real trees, real leaves, and no trees in the casino
The casino: Fixed. Pines. Oaks (new). Dead trees. They tumble, spin and rock edge-on as they drift down, lit through from behind. Colours are mixed autumn...
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A proper statue, and real campfires
The mourner statue. Campfires. The Sanctuary's fire. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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Smoother mountains with snow caps
The faceted, noisy mountains are now about 30 big, rounded peaks with smooth slopes, set on gentle foothills with only light roughness.
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Blows that land
Melee hits now land on short enemies, and big bosses no longer swing over your head.
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A moment's quiet
The tutorial's voice now waits 3 seconds after you arrive, so you can take in the room and its title before the crypt-keeper starts. The first step's line...
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A voice for the tutorial, and the revive bar
Voice-over. Revive bar. Tidier tutorial. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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On-screen messages fit
Centre-screen messages. Loot feed. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The Crypt's chasm, brighter depths, admin jumps
The Crypt has a chasm too. Brighter depths. Knights. HUD. Console. What changed in this update to VAEL, the co-op dark fantasy extraction dungeon crawler.
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The blood river runs through the ruins
The river's course: Its route is planned by least cost on a 1 m grid. It has its own names: The Red Hook, The Sanguine Net and others. Its lantern wards the...
No updates about that yet.