Aaaalright, Vagabonds! The big day is finally upon us all!
This dev blog is going to be a tad bit different from the blogs we typically post, as this will contain some more information on the Early Access release, together with some details on how the studio is planning to work during this period. By the end of this blog, you’ll find some general information on the game itself, or as we like to call it: The Complete Guide to Surviving Planet Tycos.
ATMOSFAR is releasing into Early Access at 17:00 CET on the 29th of October 2026. While in Early Access, ATMOSFAR will cost $24.99 (£22.49, €25.49). The price will be slightly increased once the game hits 1.0, but player’s who get it during EA will of course own it forever. During the first two weeks of EA, ATMOSFAR will be sold with a 10% discount, up until November 12th.
At day one of Early Access, ATMOSFAR will feature two of the three major regions of the game. This means that all major challenges and story line beats taking place on those islands will be available right from the start. All islands and islets on the two regions will also be ready to be explored. The planned major updates for EA will be about continuing the storyline and overall progress, as well as expanding existing gameplay systems with new functionality and new things to explore, build and do. To put it short: You won’t be need to backtrack, but you might want to do it!
Even though we’re trying our hardest to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience, ATMOSFAR is an Early Access experience, meaning that we’ll have some things to smooth out as we go live. You might run into bugs and things that will be further polished. ATMOSFAR will feature an in-game bug reporting tool that will be available to all players. Reporting bugs or other issues that you encounter is a great help to us here at the studio, and helps us to stabilize and improve ATMOSFAR!
Once ATMOSFAR goes live, we are planning to be working with different types of release versions for the game, including both content updates as well as patches. A lot of these releases will be based on the feedback and bug reports we receive from you, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! Information on each release will be posted on Steam and in our Discord server.
As of right now, ATMOSFAR is planned to be in Early Access for about 9 to 12 months. If we get the opportunity, we might prolong this period slightly as it allows us to add more features to the game, but for the time being, 9 to 12 months is our estimate.
During this period, the final, major progression and story line beats will be added to the game, like we’ve already touched upon. Alongside this, the game will of course be further polished, with new features, more things to do, and deeper gameplay. We’ve also made sure to leave some room in production for Community ideas for the game. Besides all the content additions, we will of course also be working thoroughly with bug fixing throughout the EA period, as explained above. We are planning on releasing an experimental branch on Steam where we push updates early, to allow Vagabonds an even earlier look of what we’re working on. The experimental branch will be available to everyone who owns the game, but due to its nature, we can’t always guarantee that the experience on the experimental branch will be smooth.
We are planning on updating the roadmap as we go, with more detailed information on each update in question as its getting closer.
The Vagabond Update carries a significant amount of quality of life improvements as well as new items and functionality centered around you, the Vagabond, based on the initial reception from early access players.
The Rime Update adds the Scout Wasp and the third and last region of ATMOSFAR, including multiple new islands across a brand new alien biome where the story of ATMOSFAR is concluded. The Blue Side Update returns focus to the core systems of ATMOSFAR, including new features for the camp, Wasp and Cloud Cruiser.
The Singularity Update concludes the development of ATMOSFAR with focus on expanding and deepening gameplay systems based on community feedback.
ATMOSFAR 1.0: Transitions the game out of Early Access and into 1.0.
… Well then! We’re not going to keep you any longer. As the studio is in the middle of making its final, gigantic push before Early Access, we are happy to let you know that there is someone who would like to meet you again. Seems like your Vagabond mentor is back!
Oh, Vagabond! How wonderful to see you again! We were starting to get a bit worried about you, but I’m very glad to see that you made it in one piece. A prison, you say? Lightnings? Really, a Mawk, all this time..? Well, I must say that I am impressed. You’ve proven that you know your way around a Wasp, that’s for sure, and that you have the creative and resourceful mindset of a true Vagabond.
I sure would love to hear more about that storm you mentioned but… All in due time. What you’ve experienced this far is only but a fragment of the vast islands floating in the skies of Tycos. Each island holds its own riddles and challenges, often unpredictable and even dangerous. It is incredibly important that you stay alert and attentive on your journeys, and above all, that you remember your training!
Tycos consists of islands floating at different altitudes in the sky. While we don’t have a consensual thesis to this phenomenon yet, it’s agreed upon that it is somehow linked to to the excessive amounts of hydrogen levels in the soil, a process known as Hydrogenogenesis. If you’re interested, I found some PACE research articles in one of the abandoned facilities.
Regardless of which thesis is closest to the truth, what we see is what we know: Even though all islands are floating at different altitudes, it is possible to divide all islands into three major regions. We are right now at Caligo Cays, the lowest of the three regions. As you’ve probably noticed, most islands here are lush and rich in vegetation. This is mostly due to the level of rain and moisture that this region generally is exposed to.
Different altitudes yield different environments, plants and animals. If you go higher up in the skies, the climate will change drastically, but you will of course need to do something about that clunky Utility Wasp of yours before you can even think about getting there… But more of that later!
You’ve already proven yourself to be a pretty good pilot, so we won’t go into too much detail here. There is a range of different Wasp classes, that all come with their own, unique abilities and mechanics.
What you’ve been flying this far, is the Utility Wasp, and I reckon you know it like the back of your hand right now. The Utility Wasp is very much thought to be something of a “grab-n'-go” Wasp, meaning that it offers high flexibility on shorter routes and excavations. Having a buildable camp, accessible via the Camp Hub that’s strapped to the back of the Wasp, this Wasp is great to use on expeditions into the unknown. If you need to refill any resources, craft a specific item, cook food or rest, just land your Wasp and set up camp!
Should you find anything useful on your excavations that you’d like to bring to your home base, make sure to use the Hauler Wasp. This little number is equipped with a reelable magnet that lets you pick up and retrieve even the heaviest pieces of scrap. It also have multiple inventory slots where you can manually place all items and artifacts that you may find.
Once you’ve gotten real serious with your piloting skills, I hope you manage to get your hands on a Striker Wasp. This Wasp class has the fastest acceleration speed on Tycos, which makes it incredibly powerful to fly. Besides being extremely agile and flexible, it is also equipped with turrets that allow you to shoot a range of different projectiles.
Lastly, there is the legendary Scout Wasp. As these little buggers are incredibly fragile, there are not many of them left. I’ve actually never flown one myself, but I do know that they were nimble and fast. In fact, they were the fastest Wasp class here on Tycos. The Scouts were used when exploring new islands and terrain, as they could scan the environment for different resources and potential dangers. I’m not sure if there are any left in the world, the last one I knew about was sent out to the top layer of islands high up in the sky. It never made it back. Maybe it’s still up there? First we just need to figure out how to get to that top layer ourselves… Might take some time.
Wasps aren’t the only thing you’re going to be flying on Tycos: You will also get access to the giant Cloud Cruiser, as long as you can get it up and running. These ships are huge, and can be built to both house your entire crew as well as your fleet of Wasps.
Think of it as a main base that makes room for extracting scrap, generating fuel and power, growing plants and researching objects, all the while traveling through the skies to your deployment target. PACE made a pretty long infomercial when they finally released these beasts into the skies. Even though it’s kinda corny, you should be able to gather some general information from it.
Well then, dear Vagabond, that was about all that you need to know to success on Tycos! Good luck out there!
Hmm? You still have more questions? Well, I’m only joking with you. Tycos is an incredibly large world, with multiple islands, biomes, animals, challenges and dangers. Going through it all in detail would probably take us a couple of days. No, I am counting on that you’ve done your training before coming here today. If you’ve forgotten something, don’t worry, I’ve written down all our sessions for you to for through, should you need it. You’ll find deep dives into the Wasps, life as a Vagabond, the animals, the islands and of course the Cloud Cruiser. It should get you a head start on your journey through Tycos.
And on that note, I’d better take off again. I’ve found a facility over at one of the islands to the North, and I better check it out before then sun sets. I’m very glad to see that you made it out from Pearl Island in one piece. I hope that our paths will cross again. If you ever have a question, you know where to find me. Good luck!
What a dear reunion to meet your Vagabond mentor once more! We hope they could send you off with some words of wisdom now that you’re standing on the edge of your alien odyssey. With a bit of luck, you might be able to see them on Tycos again… Keep your eyes peeled! You’ll find a lot of content on our social media channels, and of course our dev blogs, like your mentor suggested to you.
The big day is finally before us all. We hope to see you at October 29th, and we hope that you enjoy the world, story and challenges we’ve built for you to explore and experience. Thank you for joining us on this incredible adventure.
You’re all set, Vagabond! Good luck!
// Apog Labs & your Vagabond mentor
