Worth The Wait? - Cube World Getting New Quests

Cube World still exists! It may have disappeared into the blocky ethers - silent beyond only the faintest whispers - but that's just kind of how (very small) developer Picroma rolls. Or tips over in an inefficient, angular fashion, as blocks are notoriously poor at rolling. So now here we are, finally, on the cusp of another update to the long-running alpha, and this one is set to introduce an intriguingly exploration-focused new quest system. Click [x1] of this post's breaks for a video.

Originally Cube World had a rather bog standard MMO-style quest system - go here, talk to this glowing exclamation point with a person attached, etc - but this wasn't a good fit for its exploration. People felt forced to simply visit quest-givers, the developers claim. So instead, they did this:

"We made the system more exploration-based: we removed quest-givers and also removed all markers from the world map. Quests are just there and players can find them by exploring. E.g. you might find an old crypt and when you enter it, there is a skeleton boss that you have to defeat. Maybe the boss will drop a key or a treasure which is needed for another quest.

"We added a quest journal with quest objectives and previews of creatures and items. The journal is updated automatically by fighting, finding items or talking to NPCs. Some NPCs give hints about quests that haven't been discovered yet. By removing all quest markers from the map, players are forced to study the world around them more actively rather than following an icon on the map. It makes finding the quest target part of the quest itself and leads to a much more immersive gameplay."

Hopefully that all works out, as it could end up confusing or frustrating if not done with utmost care. That said I really like the sound of it, and things look to be progressing solidly too.

For now the new quest system is still very much a work-in-progress, and - predictably - there's no release date. It's getting there, though. Like a tortoise made of blocks on roller skates made of blocks trundling up Block Mountain, but it's getting there. Is anyone itching to jump back into Cube World? Or has the (understandably) slow development process made it hard for you to maintain interest?