PETRA TAKES SHAPE.

Petra became more focused, combat joined the scenery, and the buggy picked up another round of work. Here is what changed across the latest development and review builds.

This first journal covers 30 October–5 November 2026. It brings together the week's work across separate development branches; everything shown is work in progress.

A smaller Petra. A stronger direction.

The biggest change this week was deciding what Petra should actually be. The earlier version had grown into a sprawling network of halls and side routes. The compact redesign pulled the focus back towards the approach, the Treasury and a central Basin where exploration and combat can share the same space.

The exterior received its own pass: canyon bends, the first reveal of the facade, cliff transitions and the ground immediately around the entrance. Inside, the work moved through layout and roof studies into a more developed environment. Heavy vaults, small openings to the sky, deep shadows and warm pools of light are now part of that direction.

The latest review build brings completed environment art into the playable route, including stonework around the Sanctuary and more coherent connected passages. There is still rough geometry to refine, but the space is starting to feel like a place rather than a collection of test rooms.

The Basin is becoming a fight.

Petra also moved beyond a sightseeing build. The current review route includes three combat waves, with melee enemies and rifle-wielding opponents putting pressure on the player from different positions.

Sir Alaric received a dedicated combat revision: more persistent pursuit, more health, shorter recovery windows and phase-specific attack timing. The encounter mixes sword attacks, committed dashes and a slam with a shockwave the player can jump over. The aim is to make movement and reading an attack matter alongside damage.

These systems are working in the review build. That does not mean the fight is finished: balance, navigation under pressure and animation contact still need hands-on playtesting.

Pause animation

The buggy gets another pass.

The open-frame buggy had a separate revision this week. Work covered steering-wheel hand placement using the existing FPS arms, entering and leaving the vehicle, suspension poses, dust and the phone interaction.

The prototype was checked at both 60 Hz and 120 Hz, including jumps, braking and repeated entry/exit cycles. Those checks are useful groundwork, but they do not settle how satisfying it feels to drive. The standalone vehicle work is still a review prototype; not every feature shown there is integrated into the latest Petra build.

Keeping the arsenal intact.

The Petra work has also meant bringing the existing arsenal along without losing earlier fixes. The current review build exposes 17 weapons in the selector, with the TAN P320 kept as a separate gadget.

The KS-23 received a targeted pass on its pump travel, reload binding and last-round reload timing. The previously approved M2 mounted ammunition and final Calico fixes were preserved through the integration. This week was about keeping that work intact while the level and combat came together, rather than pretending the whole arsenal was built from scratch.

The reload loop below is an older KS-23 capture from 26 October. It is included as an animation showcase, not as footage proving the newest pump or timing fixes.

Pause animation

Putting the pieces together.

The latest isolated Petra review build completed all 31 checks in its scripted route through the level and all 28 checks in the arsenal regression suite. That covers a lot of integration ground, but it is not a substitute for an unassisted human playthrough, and it is not a public release.

There are still things to work on: intermittent floor shimmer, an unexplained startup delay, performance variation between runs, and the feel of combat and navigation. Some enemy rigs and voice work are also temporary.

For now, the important step is that the environment, weapons and encounters are being tested together. The next job is to play it, find the awkward parts and keep refining them. The rest of Petra can stay a surprise.