17 August 2025
Welcome to the official devlog for Age of Mara.
Some of you may have already seen our daily progress series on TikTok and YouTube, where we’ve been sharing bite-sized videos of what we’ve been building. Those videos show the most visual aspects: level design, skills, combat, creatures, and worldbuilding. But here in the devlog, we’ll go deeper: a written diary where we reflect on everything we’re working on, including the less “showable” but equally important systems that make the game possible (like server infrastructure, optimization, or integrations).
This devlog is our way of sharing our journey with you. The progress, the challenges, the breakthroughs, even the setbacks. We’ll be transparent, honest, and open about what it really looks like to build an MMO from scratch using Unreal Engine 5. From designing the Twin Islands to figuring out multiplayer systems, crafting mechanics, or just fixing the kind of bugs that make your character fly into the sky.
This one is a little special, not just a recap, but a look back at everything we’ve built since starting the project. From here on, we’ll be posting a devlog every month, sharing progress both big and small. Every step counts, and keeping this diary helps us (and you) see how far we’ve come.
So, what have we done so far? Quite a lot!
We’ve established the backbone of gameplay: our main character, locomotion and animations, the Gameplay Ability System, skills, stats, inventory, items, trade, pickups, and even mounts. Combat already feels fluid with dodges, replication across multiplayer, and a growing pool of abilities.
The prototype zone, the Twin Islands, is taking shape with a starter village, extended hunting areas, a boss cave, and catacombs. These areas set the stage for the kind of immersive, explorable world we want Age of Mara to become.
Behind the scenes, we’ve built a full development pipeline: SVN, Jenkins, AWS S3, automated builds on Windows/Linux, dedicated servers, Steam integration, Epic Online Services, and continuous integration. This might not be flashy, but it’s what makes large-scale multiplayer possible.
We’re taking full advantage of Unreal Engine 5 with Nanite, Lumen lighting, shader work, and NVIDIA DLSS. We’ve also stayed up to date with every major engine release (5.5 → 5.6). Optimization is an ongoing focus.
From patrols to support and attack behaviors, our AI can already engage in basic combat cycles. NPCs are in place to interact with the player and populate the world.
We now have a functional HUD with HP/SP bars, a skill bar, global chat, performance settings, and resolution/quality controls — making the prototype already feel like a true MMORPG in action.
We’ve set up Discord, social channels, and even ran a closed developer test with 5 players logging in via Steam. It’s still early, but this was a huge milestone for us.
This has been a massive progress for just two people working in their part time, and we’re proud of how much foundation is already in place. From here, monthly devlogs will zoom in on the details.
Thanks for joining us on this journey. The adventure is just getting started!