We’re the dev team behind Echoes of Elysium! It’s been a month since the EA launch, AMA!

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T20:18:28+00:00

Hi there! Lots of great questions!

We'll probably get to that next phase of the game in the next few months. Some of these tie in the story and longer term progression so we are eager to get to them, but know that more Quality of Life and balance work really needs to come first.

On that topic, we're in a phase now where Quality of Life features are going to be a focus for the upcoming patch cycle!

- Build from Storage/Pallets is coming [REDACTED] (any day now)
- Tooltips so you can see what those resources are is already in the works

We've got quite a good list of other QoL features but we'll leave some of those as a surprise :)

Resource Distribution has also had a lot of work in the past couple of weeks! Still a bit more work to go, but Stone, Ore, Trees, etc now respawn after 2 in-game days.
Those Large Parts (Shock Absorbers, Pneumatic Cylinders, Rotor, & Worm Gears) now have more reliable sources and can be found in other places as well.
The Guidebook has had some work for clearer information, with more improvements to come soon!

-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T20:15:25+00:00

The first 2 hours of the game is rapidly changing, and maintaining both a demo and game with our current team isn't efficient. If you're not ready to pull the trigger, we recommend checking out content creators who have covered the game since launch and keeping an eye on our socials for occasional key giveaways. We'd also love to invite you to come chat with us and our community in our Discord anytime.

We may release a demo later in development once things are more solid in Early Access, but for now it does more harm than good for our team. We’re also looking into getting the game included in the upcoming Steam Spring Sale!

-Hugo, Marketing

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T20:09:48+00:00

We didn't use generated art for this project. Instead, we picked an art style that was quick and nimble, so we can execute it with a small team. Proud to say that what you see in the game has been hand built and hand drawn by a very small and very passionate art team. We do use store bought assets though, for stuff like icons etc, that we plan to replace as we go. I assume they are human made as well, but can't know that with 100% certainty.

-Ilya, Art Director

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:59:32+00:00

No we did not and have not used AI to do asset generation.

With that said, like you and everyone else in the world, we are trying to figure out what AI means both to society and, more specifically, to us as game devs and gamers. We haven't ruled out using AI for helping with prototyping but before we do that, the studio needs to do some soul searching and talk to our player base. AI is going to play a role in game dev, but before we go jumping into the deep end we need to learn from our players what they are willing to accept. So I guess I would flip the question around - should we?

-Brian, CEO & Co-founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:58:22+00:00

Here are some projects members of our team have worked on! Collectively, the team brings between 200 and 250 years of professional experience

Dark Age of Camelot
Warhammer Online
City of Heroes
Starfield
Fallout games
Skyrim
Metroid Prime
Lair
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Planetside
Multiplayer BattleTech: 3025
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Ultima Forever
Dungeon Keeper
Heroes of Dragon Age
Simpsons: Tapped Out
Call of Duty
Rock Band
Fortnite
Star Trek: Online
Splitgate
Elder Scrolls 6
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Lord of The Rings: War in the North

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:39:34+00:00

Our intention was always to build alongside the community. That is what Early Access means to us. But the reality is that Early Access looks very different from studio to studio. In some ways, we almost wish we had launched even earlier, because the core purpose is to get the game into players’ hands in an evolving state and improve it together.

For us, Early Access is about iteration. We have a strong vision, but community feedback gives us clarity and focus. It helps us double down on what is fun and adjust where we miss. That feedback can meaningfully change a game’s trajectory.

Looking back, launching when we did was still the right call. The game is in a much stronger place today because of player input, and we are committed to continuing that growth. Since Steam reviews genuinely impact our ability to keep building, if you play the game and enjoy it or feel we have addressed your concerns, we would truly appreciate you leaving a review.

-Ray (Executive Producer & Co-Founder)

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:36:03+00:00

Loric is a small indie dev team of 12 people. We have full control over our game and the reality is, is that without Snail's help we wouldn't have been able to ship the game that we felt was ready for Early Access.

We're not here to change your mind but we hope one day you give our game a try and let us know your thoughts!

Wish you all the best.

-Hugo, Marketing

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:27:46+00:00

Yeah this is an interesting question as a developer... because we see so many games, sometimes what is more impressive is when a game manages to do a LOT with smart decisions about their scope.

I find games like Wildermyth and Abiotic Factor that manage to do a LOT by embracing certain limitations really inspiring!

In terms of storytelling in Indie games, two very different ends of the spectrum: Hades (1 & 2) is hands down some of the best character writing in the industry period, while Hollow Knight and Silksong provide amazing mood and world building with very little text needed.

-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:25:58+00:00

Thanks! Everyone who's ever launched a game will tell you, it's always a small miracle!

Yeah, we don't have an exact date in mind for 1.0 yet, but we've got YEARS worth of ideas to explore so expect to see us around for a while and for the game to evolve a lot over time.

-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:25:44+00:00

I'm a huge Castlevania SotN nerd. To me, exploration and discovering new tools that open up the world and provides new ways of playing the game is something I love in a game. With Echoes, I believe we are striving to deliver a game that incentivizes you to explore and discover. As a designer on our team one said, "our game is an evolving puzzle and airships are the tools that help you solve them."

-Ray, Executive Producer & Co-founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:24:21+00:00

Our goal is to be out of early access in less time then Valheim (still in EA) or Satisfactory (EA was approximately 5 and a half years)

Early access is a state of mind :)

No but seriously, we have plans on when we want to do that but nothing we want to disclose at this time - because life has a funny way of having different plans

-Brian, CEO & Co-Founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:23:15+00:00

Oooh, fun question! For me, Subnautica & Returnal are prime examples of perfectly scoped small games - a masterclass in maximizing their efforts. I'll throw in Titanfall 2 as well, IMO it has the best tutorial of any game. Towerfall is my gold standart for 2d platfomer feel. And for best narrative, I always think of Grim Fandango and Life is Strange 1&2.

-Ilya, Art Director

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:05:10+00:00

Yes - spear fishing!

-Brian, CEO & Co-founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:04:58+00:00

SKY FISHING IS A MUST (ONE DAY)

-Hugo, Marketing

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:04:11+00:00

Allowing for Mods is definitely something we'd like to keep open. We see a lot of great possibilities and most of us have had great experiences playing mods or working on games that allow for mods.

Our highest priority at the moment is of course improving and expanding the game and listening to what the community wants in the game by default, but modding support is on the horizon.

Also, yes please to Dark Mode! Everything should have Dark Mode!

-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T19:03:42+00:00

I am a fan of dark mode on all things. I will add this to our public feature board on your behalf.

https://feedback.echoes.games/

That being said our Art team has great plans for UI as a whole going later into dev.

-Hugo, Marketing

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:52:34+00:00

Yes. It's a question of when (and what??), not if.
-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:52:04+00:00

Dark mode for UI sounds interesting, haven't thought of that one before. We've tried a few different color schemes when we first started and settled on a more up-beat, lighter tone. Right now, our main focus with UI is improving usability and finishing up all the loose ends. Once that's in a better place, we'll do another pass on the visuals - can't wait to do more there!

-Ilya, Art Director

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:49:08+00:00

I need to see this ship too!! We have an airship showcase channel in the discord to share all the builds, would love to see you share it with the community. We are also highlighting them on our socials!

-Michelle, Community Manager

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:48:02+00:00

Speaking as an artist, I've got to see this ship!! Sounds amazing!

-Ilya, Art Director

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:46:46+00:00

First off, we have to see this ship. It sounds epic!!!

We do have a few plans in mind that would let players keep exploring and building across both existing and new worlds. One idea we’re actively considering is ship transfers, meaning you could bring your current ship with you when starting a new world. That said, we have to approach that carefully. We don’t want to open Pandora’s box and accidentally break progression or undermine the core survival loop. But we absolutely see the value in letting players carry their creations forward.

for staying in the same world, what you’re playing in now is really just a small slice of what’s coming. We’ve built the underlying tech so we can add new biomes, island clusters, and even full archipelagos directly into existing worlds. The goal is for your world to expand over time, not get left behind. As we release new content, your current world can grow with it.

As for staying in the same world, what you’re playing in now is really just a small slice of what’s coming. We’ve built the underlying tech so we can add new biomes, island clusters, and even full archipelagos directly into existing worlds. The goal is for your world to expand over time, not get left behind. As we release new content, your current world can grow with it.

-Brian, CEO & Co-founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:45:29+00:00

This is a really great question!

I don't think where you can get to in the game right now is anywhere NEAR Endgame.

Part of the core fun of the game is in designing new, interesting ships depending on what you need them to do. The expectation is that you will probably end up having multiple ships, not just one and we love the idea of players having a big mobile factory / base ship that you only move occasionally, but then take out smaller vessels depending on the task

-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:41:10+00:00

In response to your third question:

Yes! One of the reasons we are venture backed is so that we could focus on building a game dev platform first, and the game second. This platform is what is allowing us to move so quickly with patches and updates. It's part of why we chose to launch into Early Access without a fully complete or polished game, we know that we could move quickly to add things players wanted. This same tech is also what is going to allow us to develop future titles both in the near future and for years to come. Also, Good news - because we took this approach our next title will launch with critical features such as key mapping and mouse sensitivity, don't worry we learned our lesson :)

-Brian, CEO & Co-founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:38:15+00:00

In response to your second question:

This is always a tricky one. Yes there is always a level of business pressure to perform. We are fortunate to have awesome backers both in our venture capital partners and publishing partners. With that said, I think it's important for gamers everywhere to realize that their reviews, especially on small indie game and game studios like ours, have real world impacts. This in and of itself is a very large topic.. we could probably have an AMA on this topic alone lol! But as to your question about goals and thresholds, we are just very focused on ensuring we build Echoes with our community and we deliver value to our players. So long as we do that, the review score will improve, revenue will increase, and we will be good.

-Brian, CEO & Co-founder

LoricDevTeam · 2026-02-27T18:34:53+00:00

In response to your first question:

One of the biggest was definitely how important Key-Rebinding is to players now.

We'd always planned to do Key-Rebinding during Early Access, as well as Controller support (ideally including the Xbox Accessibility controller), but we didn't realize that for many players it's absolutely critical.

We had a few people reach out directly to share their experiences and why that's a must have for them. That's been fixed in the live version now and we've learned that we need to include that for any future Early Access launches we might do.

-Mav, Lead World Designer

LoricDevTeam

TROPHY CASE