Hello everyone, this is the 12th devlog for CaveVox! I’m happy to announce that we are now in the 8th month of development and that the game is entering Early Access. There isn’t much content yet, but I plan to add a lot of major updates during Early Access, so please make sure to read the Early Access section and this devlog before purchasing the game.

Seriously, many people who left reviews under the demo version read the description of the main game, not the demo, and didn’t check the devlogs before commenting that something was missing. So please read the Early Access section and the devlogs carefully!

By the way, about the demo — it was tried by around 1,800 people. But since Early Access is significantly different from the demo, I have closed it. I don’t think it will return, as it’s not needed — reading further, you’ll understand why.

Avelir Story

I’m also happy to announce that I’ve created a Steam store bundle called Avelir Story, which connects games set on the same continent with a shared lore. You can purchase them together at a discount — it’s cheaper than buying them individually, and this way you can support the development of these games.

CaveVox is a 3D co-op prequel where you explore a dangerous dungeon with friends, uncovering its secrets and surviving its traps together.

Kingso is a 2D turn-based strategy about the continent as a whole, with events unfolding after CaveVox. It’s a larger-scale game currently in Early Access development.

I also want to note that CaveVox in Early Access will be slightly cheaper than at full release. By purchasing the game now, you’ll be able to follow the development process, give feedback, and get the game for less than you would later. This is a way to support development.

Future Updates

Right now, the game contains only the most basic features — there are no saves, no loot progression, no character development, and no quests.

I see Early Access lasting about one year of development. Each month, I plan to release one major update. Every update will be significant and add substantial content.

Currently planned:

March (Game Progression Update):

• Game saves;

• Player progression tree;

• Trading and NPCs on the dungeon surface (also planned: dialogues, campfire dialogues, quests);

• Inventory items — small bag, stacking items, real-time item exchange with squad members;

• Various weapons and mechanics refinement (weapon length, sounds, attack speed, attack power);

• SFX sounds from different surfaces;

• Many other things — will be detailed in devlogs.

April (Combat System Update):

• Participation in Medieval Fest 2026 from April 20 to 27;

• Damage types: piercing, slashing, blunt;

• Effects: fire, cold, poison (also planned: hunger, sleep);

• Advanced health system with effect indicators;

• Armor and armor display on the character;

• Many other things — will be detailed in devlogs.

The main goal is to bring the game to a stable state within 12 updates. This includes many mechanics, ~101 dungeon levels, different biomes, and a small story component — everything needed to create a varied and interesting adventure!

Online Play

A tremendous amount of work has been done on the network side in such a short time! Even though I haven’t implemented everything yet, I consider this a success for the future of the game.

In the previous devlog, I talked about the Quinn library, but it required manual setup, which might not suit everyone. So I migrated to the Iroh library, and now everything is much easier:

1. The host creates a server;

2. The host gives a “magic code” to their friends;

3. Anyone who enters the code and clicks “Join” will automatically enter the host’s lobby.

You don’t need to do anything else — everything needed to join is already in that line.

You also don’t need to open any ports:

• Local: you will join locally;

• IPv6: you will join automatically;

• IPv4: the server uses this to perform hole punching;

• Relay: I’ve left it for now, but I plan to remove it. This is when your request passes through another server.

In other words, the game automatically handles the connection based on the code in the way that works best.

Important: if you see a long load time (around 7 seconds), a local mode will start, which cannot connect to the network. This is a direct connection mode because it doesn’t know all your global IPs, but it uses local and router information. That means it will either be a direct connection or LAN.

If you find any bugs, please report them in the Discord channel under #bugs, or let me know in any other way.

Joining via Steam Invite (Experimental)

You can join a friend who is playing CaveVox simply by clicking Join in Steam.

This will launch the game for you, and you will automatically receive the same key you would have copied from your friend — Steam passes it to you, and you enter the game immediately.

You can also invite a friend from within the game.

Playing the Game via VPN

If you are using a VPN as the host, in most cases your friends will still be able to join. However, if connection issues occur, you may need to adjust your setup — this is not a problem with CaveVox itself.

Alternatives for players using VPN:

• Temporarily disable your VPN during the session — the simplest and most reliable solution;

• Use a virtual LAN — set up a private network through third-party software so friends can connect as if on the same local network. Works even behind NAT or VPN and usually doesn’t require port forwarding.

Wine/Proton

At the moment, there is no support for Wine/Proton. The problem is simple — iroh has issues opening ports on them. But I talked to the developers, and they seem to have fixed this, so we are waiting for a new version of the library to check it. Overall, the game itself works there, you just won’t be able to do anything network-related. On the other hand, there are native Linux/Windows versions, and that’s enough.

Piracy

I didn’t spend time on obfuscation or protection, although I could have implemented quite a lot of strong mechanisms. Instead, I did it so that you can play without Steam with limitations. But I note that playing the game without purchase is illegal, and the game also requires you to comply with the EULA beforehand.

The game will also explicitly warn you if the client is not working. In this case, your in-game nickname will start with “Nomad.” In this mode, the host will not save the game because it doesn’t have the player’s Steam ID. I think this is enough to limit piracy and still allow test play before deciding to buy. Well, unless you’re the type to play in one go.

So, if you liked the game and want to support me as a developer — buy the game. Besides, there will be lots of updates, they will be global, and it’s simply easier to have the game purchased on Steam. Also, small things like achievements are also worth having the game purchased.

CPU Load

The game has a lot of generation, which requires a CPU of at least 3GHz on a desktop computer. If you have a laptop, there is a high probability that you will encounter problems because on laptops, power saving will reduce CPU performance, which is critical for this game. This was also mentioned in previous devlogs.

In any case — try it, you can always request a refund and report your issues. I will also note that in the future I plan to solve this problem so that the game works well on weaker CPUs too, so you can try it and just wait for updates in this regard. 

Graphics Issues

If you are experiencing problems with graphics in the game, it is most likely an issue with your GPU drivers.

The Godot engine uses Vulkan rendering by default, which is good. On Intel/AMD, there are no problems because they support it well. But for Nvidia, this may not be the case, as they invest little in drivers, even though these GPUs are sold much more widely.

For example, in the Demo version there was a bug that made everything black — this was a driver issue.

Proposed solutions:

1. Update your drivers; usually, this is enough. If you find the correct drivers for your GPU — you can do this on the official manufacturer websites;

2. On Windows, use the launch option flag "--rendering-driver d3d12" — in this case, the game will switch from Vulkan to DirectX rendering

Mobs

I have reintroduced the mob manager, improved it for streaming generation, and added network synchronization mechanisms. Also, these changes were made:

• There are level owners — players who first load the level. They calculate all the mobs on it and send the information to other players. This is good because there are no complex server calculations;

• Mobs spawn during level generation depending on the level and biome;

• Mobs can be static or dynamic;

• Each mob has a home point and will be created by the dungeon when approached;

• Mobs can follow the player.

Planned:

• If a mob or level goes out of sight, it will disappear and return to its home point;

• If a mob is killed, after some time a new random mob will appear at its original home point.

Overall, the dungeon is alive, and it regulates the spawning and types of mobs itself, protecting the secrets within.

Other changes:

• Godot version 4.6.stable, which I can congratulate the developers of this engine for, as a lot of work has been done! No, seriously, they are writing it too fast;

• Many changes to network logic: improvements, bug fixes, optimization. The network is now even more stable and more automated internally;

• Added smooth light transition between entering and exiting the dungeon;

• Auto-detection of network requests — now the network part understands by type when to send Datagrams (fast) and when Uni (stable) requests;

• Network request storage — if something happens far apart on other levels, players will be able to know what happened there even if they didn’t see it, and therefore can reproduce it when entering;

• Boss room — separate generation, but currently no boss there;

• Many small things (menu, lighting, environment, and so on).

Other Projects

I want to highlight an important, separate but related topic — supporting CaveVox will allow me to continue development of:  

1. Other games, including the further development of Avelir Story;

2. In addition, the support provides the opportunity to continue the development of the RTS (Real-Time Script) programming language. Over time, RTS will become a full replacement for Python and enable the creation of new game and technological solutions, fundamentally changing the modern approach to programming. 

Thus, by purchasing CaveVox, you are supporting not only the current game but also the development of modern technologies and future projects.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this devlog! … create fan art, share your feedback on the game and why you think so, suggestions for improvements, and much more.