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The Wandering Village, a city-builder set on the back of a giant animal is now confirmed to be having Native Linux support at the Early Access release. Created by Stray Fawn Studio, the same team behind Nimbatus - The Space Drone Constructor, Retimed and Niche - a genetics survival game.

"In a world where mysterious plants are spreading all over the earth, emitting toxic spores as they grow, a small group of survivors seeks shelter on the back of a giant, wandering creature they call 'Onbu'. Become their leader, build their settlement and form a symbiotic relationship with the creature to survive together in this hostile, yet beautiful post-apocalyptic world that now surrounds you."

They don't have a really up to date trailer, with their Xbox reveal being their newest:

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I spoke to the developer some time ago and they weren't sure if they were doing Linux support or not. Their plans have changed, with confirmation to me via email that it will have full Linux support including at Early Access. A Linux build is already their for their Closed Beta and they continue improving it.

For players interested on Steam Deck, they do have plans for gamepad / controller support on PC / Linux but that will come later in Early Access.

You can wishlist / follow on Steam.

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11 comments

KROM Jun 15, 2022
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I've played the demo during one of Steams Indie Demo Days and really enjoyed it. It had some fresh gameplay elements, which is kind of rare to see when you've played hundreds of games. Really nice to hear that there will be a native version. Looking forward to it.
Anza Jun 15, 2022
I've played the demo during one of Steams Indie Demo Days and really enjoyed it. It had some fresh gameplay elements, which is kind of rare to see when you've played hundreds of games. Really nice to hear that there will be a native version. Looking forward to it.

Building and caring about your "vehicle" make it feel quite different. Also usually you can't fail in building games, but Wandering Village is not that easy.
Philadelphus Jun 15, 2022
Cool! The demo already worked fine with Proton, but this is still good news. It still needs some polish, but it's a promising seed of a game and the 2D hand-drawn sprites in a 3D world make for a pretty interesting graphical style.

When you open the demo there's also a big splash screen photo of the dev team, and it made me think about how we never really see that in games. Sure, there'll probably be a list of credits when you finish the game somewhere, but seeing that photo reminded that games are made by real people, not just a scrolling list of names on a screen. It really humanized them in my mind. I dunno, it just stood out to me because I can't remember another game that did anything like that.
Anza Jun 15, 2022
When you open the demo there's also a big splash screen photo of the dev team, and it made me think about how we never really see that in games. Sure, there'll probably be a list of credits when you finish the game somewhere, but seeing that photo reminded that games are made by real people, not just a scrolling list of names on a screen. It really humanized them in my mind. I dunno, it just stood out to me because I can't remember another game that did anything like that.

It's not totally unheard of. System Shock 2 did that with the end credits. When going far back enough, even having the credits wasn't sure thing. One of the first easter eggs in a game was developers name.
eldaking Jun 16, 2022
I've played the demo during one of Steams Indie Demo Days and really enjoyed it. It had some fresh gameplay elements, which is kind of rare to see when you've played hundreds of games. Really nice to hear that there will be a native version. Looking forward to it.

Building and caring about your "vehicle" make it feel quite different. Also usually you can't fail in building games, but Wandering Village is not that easy.

Oh, but you can. There are two kinds of building games: those where you are all "oh joy, I got a pumpkin!" and those that are all "the flash freeze killed all our crops and then the werebadgers killed the only villager that could plant more".
Phlebiac Jun 16, 2022
What happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?
Philadelphus Jun 16, 2022
What happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?
Given its biology, I'm not sure it can roll over.

I'm kinda interested in how your villagers get up there in the first place though—the game kinda glosses over it.
Anza Jun 16, 2022
What happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?
Given its biology, I'm not sure it can roll over.

I'm kinda interested in how your villagers get up there in the first place though—the game kinda glosses over it.

Initially they could get up there when creature is sleeping. After that there's gradually more options like making the creature lie down or building some kind of lift system.

I don't remember game explicitly telling those things. Patrols just somehow return and get wood and stone up there.
Eike Jun 16, 2022
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What happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?
Given its biology, I'm not sure it can roll over.

I'm kinda interested in how your villagers get up there in the first place though—the game kinda glosses over it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panspermia ?
Purple Library Guy Jun 16, 2022
What happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?
Given its biology, I'm not sure it can roll over.

I'm kinda interested in how your villagers get up there in the first place though—the game kinda glosses over it.
Yeah, while I was watching I was thinking, OK, if it lets its tail drag sometimes you could probably get on there and walk up to the back . . .
Philadelphus Jun 17, 2022
What happens when the host creature gets an itch, and rolls over to scratch all those pesky parasites on its back?
Given its biology, I'm not sure it can roll over.

I'm kinda interested in how your villagers get up there in the first place though—the game kinda glosses over it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panspermia ?
I can't play the demo again to check, but if I remember correctly, the intro explains that the world has been changing (weird plants growing with clouds of spores, etc.), forcing your band of villagers to move from their original home. In their wandering, then encounter the Onbu, which it sounds like is something rare that they only remember from legend. I believe the intro to the game ends with a static shot of your villagers looking down at the Onbu from a distance (like from on a hill or something), then it fades into the game proper with all your villagers on its back.

Yeah, while I was watching I was thinking, OK, if it lets its tail drag sometimes you could probably get on there and walk up to the back . . .
I don't think we ever see it drag its tail in gameplay. Not that I have a problem with the villagers getting on while it goes to sleep or anything, it's just more how they get up there in a physical sense. Its back is like a plateau, with a flat top and steep sides. Maybe your villagers came from a mountain and are all accomplished mountaineers?

Later in the tech tree you can build watch towers which let you send away parties (even while the Onbu is moving) to investigate places you pass by, and I don't have an issue with those including, I dunno, rope ladders for letting people up and down, I'm just fascinated by how people get up there in the first place. I'm probably definitely way overthinking it though.


Last edited by Philadelphus on 21 June 2022 at 8:20 am UTC
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