A Valley Without Wind

Overview

In A Valley Without Wind (AVWW), the player controls a character eking out an existence in the unwelcoming wilderness of the post-apocalypse. This time-fractured world is populated by aggressive monsters and machines, and direct confrontation with the enemy will lead to exhaustion and eventually death. Setting traps or avoiding combat altogether are the ideal methods for dealing with enemies.

To survive, resources need to be gathered below and above ground, in the wilderness and in the crumbling ruins of destroyed civilization. Individual humans possess a limited set of skills and can only craft particular items, so to gain access to items beyond the player's specialization, friendly NPCs must be found to provide additional services.

As the player gains rapport with fellow survivors, what was once a camp for one can grow into an outpost for many. These outposts become safe havens for the player, providing the services necessary to journey farther into the world.

Should the player die, that character dies permanently. The world lives on, however, and players assume control of a former NPC within the same world, gaining the skills of the NPC. The ghost of the dead character may be found and their equipment salvaged; however, their skills cannot be saved.

Development

On 21 June 2011, Arcen Games announced AVWW had left pre-alpha and entered the alpha stage of development. One major change to the game that accompanied this announcement was a transition from a top-down perspective to a side view. The primary reason for this change given by the developers was to better present the game's art and combat.

An open beta was released on 26 September 2011 with the full version following on 23 April 2012.

System Requirements

PC

• OS: Windows XP SP2 or later
• Processor: 1.6Ghz CPU (more is recommended for multiplayer servers)
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 2 GB RAM
• Video Card: 800x600 or greater desktop screen resolution (1024x768 recommended) Graphics card must support 1024x1024 textures (most 32MB and up graphics cards do).

Mac

• OS: OS X version Leopard 10.5.8, or later.
• Processor: 1.6Ghz CPU (more is recommended for multiplayer servers)
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 2 GB RAM
• Video Card: 800x600 or greater desktop screen resolution (1024x768 recommended) Graphics card must support 1024x1024 textures (most 32MB and up graphics cards do).