Star Stable July Blog: Trailblazer Track

Trailblazer Track

By Em, Zeke & Evelina (Game Designer, UI/UX Designer & Senior 3D Artist)

Hey hey! You may have already seen the post on our SoMe channels teasing an exciting new feature coming later this Summer. As part of the team that worked on this feature, we are here to share some behind the scenes insights and tell you more about what’s around the corner!

We’d like to introduce you to the Trailblazer Track - a system designed to reward you for logging in and playing in whichever way you want, whether that is questing, racing or taking care of your horse. The first trail, The Trail of Dawn, will be here for 3 weeks. Much like the Horse Purchasing Window, show jumping and other features we’ve tested during a limited time, we’re releasing it as a one-off test in order to gather initial feedback and data.

After the release of the Trailblazer Track, the team will be hard at work to analyze the results of the test. We’ll especially be looking at your comments of what was fun and what could be improved, both on social media and the survey available in-game. We already have many ideas in the team on where we wish to take it in the future, such as adding daily, weekly or even Trail-long challenges that would grant you progress in the trail. We’ve been reading your initial reactions to the teaser, and are eagerly looking forward to hearing what you think once you’ve been able to try it!

The discovery for this feature included a lot of discussion about the rewards available in the game. We’re all familiar with Horse Experience Points and Jorvik Shillings, but what other rewards could we offer in the Trailblazer Track that would feel exciting and valuable? A small handful of new consumables will be available in the Trail of Dawn, but this is a discussion that is far from over within the team, and we’re looking forward to seeing what other exclusive rewards we might be able to offer through these types of systems in the future.

When creating the clothes item rewards for the Trailblazer Track, we wanted the outfit to reflect the adventurous feeling of the new experience that the Trailblazer Track offers. We played around with themes such as “dawn” and “new beginnings”, but we also wanted to incorporate the cozy, warm vibes of late summer and early autumn. The sense of adventure, combined with snuggly comfort made it natural to look a bit extra in the bookish direction for inspiration, which led to the decision of incorporating two shiny new decoration meshes - the snazzy reading glasses, and the fantastical sword earrings!

An early draft of the Trail of Dawn player set! Here we explored different combinations of colour palettes and clothes meshes that would fit with the autumnal, cozy theme!

The final Trail of Dawn player set in-game. Different elements from the early drafts have been combined together into one cohesive set!

On the UI side, the Trailblazer Track features a sleek, user-friendly interface highlighting your current milestone progress and rewards. You can easily navigate through rewards, and we’ve added a "Claim All Rewards" button for convenience. Pop-ups keep you updated on new points and milestone achievements, ensuring you stay informed and motivated. The end date is clearly marked, so you know how much time you have to earn your rewards.

Thank you for spending some time with us and learning more about the Trailblazer Track, and we hope you are ready to blaze down the trail along with us when it’s here. We can't wait to hear your thoughts!