Digital Extremes held another live broadcast of Envoy Hour #3, dedicated to the upcoming third-person action game Soulframe. During the stream, senior community manager Sarah and lead designer Scott McGregor continued to play through the pre-alpha version of the game. The episode was dedicated to showcasing the new mechanics coming soon in the Preludes 11 update, identifying new key NPCs, and discussing the future direction of the game.
During this broadcast, the team shared details about upcoming systems such as Runes and Totems, new Be-Stitching customization, and significant gameplay improvements. We have prepared a detailed summary with all the important information announced by the developers:
- The Preludes 11: The Waste Bearer update is actively being developed and is in its final stages, although an exact release date has not been announced (it is hoped to release it before Friday’s stream). Significant quality of life improvements and bug fixes are expected in this patch. The developers note that the difference between the current public build and Preludes 11 is “shocking” in terms of improvements.
- The Preludes 11 update will introduce a new Be-Stitching transmog system through the character Verminia. The “Runes and Totems” system, which was previously called the Mot system, will also be introduced. Runes and Totems are equippable items that serve as the first step towards a deeper building system, similar to the early mod system in Warframe, that will evolve over time.
- The gameplay session was dedicated to finding and unlocking a new NPC – the blacksmith Tuvain Kane, who is the “Singer of Steel”. This character suffers from impostor syndrome and, after completing a special quest, joins the Vault, where he is responsible for the forge and crafting equipment.
- During the stream, the developers unblocked and actively showed the gameplay. In particular, one could see Pak Osel’s third arcanic skill – Elder Bloom, which restores health, and the Bone skill, which allows one to temporarily turn enemies to stone. Plans have been announced for a complete rework and rebalancing of all Packs, likely in the next major Preludes 12 update, to unify their progression and deepen their buildability.
- Enemy AI has been significantly improved in the Preludes 11 update. Archers will be more accurate and enemy team composition has been updated to be more effective. Changes have also been made to the enemy spawn system and movement bugs such as sliding on map corners have been fixed.
- It has been noted that in Preludes 11, rescuing creatures from cages takes on added importance as it is one of the ways to obtain Totems, new items needed for strengthening and building. The developers have confirmed that the released animals are not the same ones and they are being “sent to a farm.”
- Support for controllers on PC has been confirmed (the developers used an Xbox controller, although PS5 is also supported). The team is committed to avoiding progress being reset before the official launch, and is planning a release on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles after the release on PC. The possibility of introducing skins for the guide bird and the new Flop It bird in Preludes 11 is also being discussed, but this information requires final confirmation.
In the next episode of Envoy Hour, narrative designer Sydney Hills will join the team to discuss the update and finally clarify the correct pronunciation of NPC names like Boozled Can.
