Epos of Ashes

Game Documentation

If you want to follow the progress and roadmap, head over to Epos of Ashes.

🌲

1. Explore & Gather

Roam the biomes, collect resources like wood, stone, ores, and rare materials. Discover points of interest, ruins, and hidden treasures.

⚒️

2. Craft & Build

Process resources at workbenches into weapons, tools, and armor. Build bases with defensive structures to protect against hostile creatures.

⚔️

3. Fight & Survive

Face hostile monsters and powerful bosses. Manage your survival stats and adapt to the environmental conditions of each biome.

Primary Objectives

  • ▸Survive in a hostile world through smart resource management
  • ▸Unlock all four biomes through level-ups, quest completions, or boss victories
  • ▸Defeat the biome bosses and earn legendary rewards
  • ▸Discover the story behind the world's downfall through quests and hidden lore

Secondary Objectives

  • ▸Build the ultimate base with all available building parts and upgrades
  • ▸Collect all crafting recipes and create the most powerful items
  • ▸Complete all side quests and build reputation with NPCs
  • ▸Master the event zones and earn rare achievements

Character Progression

● Level System

Earn experience points through combat, crafting, building, and quest completions. With each level-up, receive attribute points to improve health, stamina, or carrying capacity.

● Skill Trees

Specialize your character in three main branches: Combat (Damage, Critical Hits),Survival (Resource Efficiency, Environmental Resistance), and Crafting (Recipe Bonuses, Speed).

● Equipment Tiers

Armor and weapons come in five quality tiers: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary.

● Biome Mastery

Each biome has its own progression levels. The more time you spend in a biome, the more bonuses you receive (better loot, environmental resistance, exclusive recipes).

Cooperative Elements

Shared World

All players share the same world instance. Gathered resources spawn individually for each player, while built structures are visible to all.

Team Combat

Bosses and difficult encounters are designed for multiplayer. Coordination and different roles (Tank, DPS, Support) significantly increase success chances.

Shared Progression

Quest progress is synchronized for all group members. Boss kills and important story events are experienced together.

Resource Sharing

Share items, resources, and tools through the inventory system. Shared storage chests enable efficient material exchange.

Key Features

Comprehensive features for an immersive survival experience

Cooperative Multiplayer

1-4 Players

Play solo or with up to 3 friends. Photon PUN 2 networking enables seamless multiplayer gameplay with stable synchronization.

Four Unique Biomes

4 Biomes

Summer (lush forest), Winter (icy wilderness), Desert (barren wasteland), Valley (mystical vale) - each with unique resources, enemies, and secrets.

Survival Mechanics

Realistic Stats

Manage hunger, thirst, health, and stamina. Adapt to temperature and weather. Survive through smart resource management.

Extensive Building System

Modular Building

Build bases with foundations, walls, roofs, and doors. Snap-grid system for precise building. Upgrade from wood to stone for better protection.

Deep Crafting System

100+ Recipes

Over 100 recipes for weapons, tools, armor, food, and building elements. Tier-based progression with advanced workbenches.

Dynamic Combat System

Melee & Ranged

Melee combat with swords, axes, and spears plus ranged combat with bows. Combo system, dodging, blocking. Tactical boss fights.

Comprehensive Inventory

Smart Management

Slot-based system with stacking, sorting, and quick-slots. Various storage options: chests, cabinets, personal inventory.

Quest & Story System

Story-driven

Main quest line with story elements plus dynamic side quests. Interactive NPCs with dialogue systems and merchant functionality.

Intelligent Enemy AI

Smart AI

Various monster types with unique attack patterns. NavMesh-based pathfinding. Patrol, chase, attack, and retreat states.

Boss Encounters

4 Epic Bosses

Four epic bosses, one per biome. Multi-phase fights with special mechanics. Legendary rewards and biome unlocking.

Dynamic Weather System

Day & Night

COZY Weather 3 integration for realistic weather effects. Day/night cycle with dynamic lighting. Weather influences gameplay.

Event Zones

Live Events

Dynamic world events: boss spawns, monster waves, treasure hunts. Time-based and trigger-based events with special rewards.

Progression System

RPG Elements

Level system with skill trees for combat, survival, and crafting. Attribute points, perks, and achievements. Biome mastery system.

Seamless Multiplayer Sync

20+ Sync Scripts

All gameplay elements synchronized: combat, building, crafting, quests. Master-client architecture for stable multiplayer performance.

Polished UI/UX

Modern Design

Modern, responsive interface with survival theme. HUD with minimaps, quest tracker, hotbar. Mobile-optimized for touch controls.

Equipment System

5 Tiers

Five quality tiers from common to legendary. Armor with stats and visual representation. Weapons with individual properties.

4
Unique Biomes
100+
Crafting Recipes
1-4
Player Co-op
20+
Sync Systems

Game Modes & Options

Flexible gameplay options for different playstyles and preferences

Singleplayer

Experience the complete story and all features in solo mode. Perfect for players who prefer their own pace or want to explore the world in peace.

  • ✓Complete story campaign
  • ✓Pausable at any time
  • ✓Adjusted AI difficulty
  • ✓Local save files

Multiplayer (Co-op)

Teamwork is the key to success. Play with up to 3 friends and master the challenges of the biomes together.

  • ✓2-4 players cooperative
  • ✓Photon PUN 2 servers
  • ✓Shared world & progression
  • ✓Drop-in/drop-out support

Difficulty Levels

Standard Mode

Balanced gameplay as intended by the developer. The recommended experience for most players.

  • • 100% base settings
  • • 100% enemy damage
  • • 100% stat degeneration

Hardcore Mode

Maximum challenge for experienced survival veterans. Permadeath option available.

  • • 75% resource spawns
  • • 150% enemy damage
  • • 150% stat degeneration

Customizable Settings

  • ▸
    Resource Rate: Adjust spawn frequency of resources (50%-200%)
  • ▸
    Enemy Strength: Individual tuning of health and damage
  • ▸
    Survival Intensity: How quickly hunger/thirst/stamina decrease
  • ▸
    Day/Night Length: Adjustable cycle duration (5-60 minutes)
  • ▸
    Friendly Fire: On/off for multiplayer

Planned Modes (Post-Launch)

  • ○
    Permadeath Mode: Only one life - save is lost upon death
  • ○
    Speedrun Mode: Timer-based challenges with leaderboards
  • ○
    Creative Mode: Unlimited resources, no combat, pure building
  • ○
    Horde Mode: Wave-based survival mode with increasing difficulty
  • ○
    Seasonal Events: Time-limited events with exclusive rewards

Image & Insight

Development Experience

Insights, challenges, and successes during the development of Epos of Ashes

Developing Epos of Ashesas been an intensive learning journey that gave me valuable insights into modern game development workflows, multiplayer architecture, and performance optimization. As a solo developer working with Unity and Game Creator 2, I learned to build complex systems modularly while always maintaining the balance between features and performance.

Technical Insights

  • Multiplayer is complex: Integrating Photon PUN 2 was challenging. Synchronizing 20+ different game states required thoughtful architecture with master-client patterns and optimized RPCs.
  • ScriptableObjects are powerful: Using ScriptableObjects for biome configurations, items, and recipes enabled flexible, designer-friendly workflows without code changes.
  • Performance from the start: GPU instancing, LOD systems, and draw call optimization shouldn't be retrofitted. Early performance testing saves work later.
  • Game Creator 2 patterns: The framework requires specific approaches - Traits instead of RuntimeData, correct MonoBehaviourPunCallbacks inheritance, and careful execution order for NPCs.

Design Principles

  • Modularity is essential: Every system (Combat, Building, Crafting) was developed as a standalone module that can be tested and extended independently.
  • Iteration over perfection: Quick prototypes and iterative improvements led to better results than trying to get everything perfect the first time.
  • User experience first: Features are only valuable if they're intuitive. Many systems were reworked based on playtesting feedback.
  • Scope management: A structured 13-phase roadmap helped immensely with prioritizing features and avoiding feature creep.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge: Multiplayer Synchronization

Synchronizing complex game states between multiple clients was the biggest technical challenge. Items disappeared, animations didn't sync, and combat events weren't transmitted correctly.

Solution: Implementation of a centralized sync manager system with 20 specialized scripts (PlayerSync, ItemSync, CombatSync, etc.). Master-client authority for critical decisions and optimized RPC calls.

Challenge: Performance with Dense Vegetation

The Summer biome with thousands of grass, tree, and rock instances led to FPS drops below 30 FPS on mid-range hardware.

Solution: GPU instancing for all vegetation prefabs, LOD system with 3 detail levels, occlusion culling for large objects, and draw call batching. Result: Stable 60 FPS even with maximum vegetation density.

Challenge: NPC AI with Game Creator 2

NPCs showed faulty behavior on death - navigation continued running, actions weren't cancelled, and the perception system stayed active.

Solution: Implemented correct execution order: 1. Disable Perception, 2. Cancel Actions, 3. Stop Navigation, 4. Animate Death. Understanding Game Creator 2's action pipeline was key.

Challenge: River Colliders

Spline-based rivers with concave meshes required concave mesh colliders, which Unity doesn't support for non-static objects.

Solution: Development of a system for box collider chains along the spline path. Automatic generation in editor, better performance and reliable collision.

Tools & Assets Used

EngineUnity 2022
FrameworkGame Creator 2
MultiplayerPhoton PUN 2
CharactersSidekick (Synty)
EnvironmentMeadow Pack
WeatherCOZY Weather 3

Outlook & Goals

Short-term (Phase 2-5)

  • • Fully integrate COZY weather system
  • • Polish combat system (combo system, feedback)
  • • Complete building system with all features
  • • UI/UX overhaul for modern user experience
  • • Performance goal: Achieve stable 60 FPS

Long-term (Phase 6-13)

  • • All four biomes with unique features
  • • Complete story campaign implementation
  • • Boss encounters for each biome
  • • Community beta testing
  • • Early access release on Steam

"The journey is just as important as the destination. Every challenge has helped me grow as a developer, and I'm excited to share Epos of Ashes with the community."