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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game

@lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social

1.6K followers 1.3K following 180 posts

We're Lindwyrm Studios, the indie team behind The Last Sanctum, an upcoming dragon survival game! See our pinned posts for links. Send a DM for inquiries :)

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Nov 21

Welcome, current and prospective followers! #TheLastSanctum is an upcoming survival game where you play as dragons. Our current goal is to complete a free demo. When the demo is done, we'll release a #Kickstarter campaign! We're all volunteers working in our free time, so no estimate at the moment.

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · 5d

Biweekly Newsletter October 03/2025 (2 images, 3 links)

Climbing Clip: imgur.com/a/6HqeOFE
Seaglow Skin: bsky.app/profile/lind...
Wiki: thelastsanctum.wiki.gg

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #ue5 #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #Blender #3dart #drake

Models

Continued work on foot twist fixes.
Finished 3D painting the Seaglow skin! It was mostly painted by our new skin artist @BlizzzardWolf! It was posted on Bluesky last week, but we'll post it again here since it's so pretty: bafkreies7x5ttvbit4z3uxzyudgafriapzcx3ixcq2iznsolyjjbewqx3e40jpeg.png
bafkreib3vrd3ly4unzrkrsgrjdyzzopuubp7mdefhr3zhe5qy7acgrk2si40jpeg.png
Made fixes to a couple of Levin's animations and weight painting, improving on some issues around the neck, arms and hips.
Cleaned up and prepped Iceclaw, Scoria, and Levin skin painting files. Stray marks were removed, regions were defined and filled in more cleanly, masks were included and labelled, file size was reduced, and toggleable underlying textures were added for clarity. This will help streamline the painting process going forward.

Coding
Fixed various bugs in flight as we continue to work on the new system.
Briefly pivoted to implementing a very rough draft of the climbing system, which includes:
Basic wall detection (breaks on corners currently).
Basic movement around the wall.
Climbing off and jumping off walls (still clunky).
We'd like to show you the first draft! Of course, most aspects of this are very clunky and WIP. The video is also using the old version of the Iceclaw model and animations. Some climbing animations haven't been implemented yet. Hope you enjoy seeing the first iteration!

Community
https://thelastsanctum.wiki.gg/
TLS now has a Wiki! It doesn't really contain new info for those of you who monitor news, but would appreciate a click on the link to improve our SEO!
Thank you to a couple community members for helping, and big appreciation for @Djinnet for helping set up a lot of the templates and CSS related things! Note that the wiki is set up, but missing a lot of information. The Skins page is still pending some formatting decisions. The wiki is intended to be mostly community run, so feel free to think of ways to improve it! Here are some things that come to mind:
Add descriptions in the Appearance section of wyrm pages.
In the Gallery section of wyrm and NPC pages, add alternate images that have been posted before, with captions. Make sure to use the <gallery> tag!
Add a Trivia section to wyrm and NPC pages and add a couple points for each one.
Help us keep information up to date as things are revealed!

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · 11d

Thank you so much!

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · 11d

That sounds like a good goal! ✨

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · 11d

Our new skin painter has finished painting Levin's Seaglow skin! What do you think?
#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #dragon #survival #dragongame #UE5 #unrealengine #wyvern #3dmodel #Blender #substancepainter #3dart #dragonartists

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · 19d

Biweekly Newsletter September 19/2025 (2 images, 2 links)

Flight Clip: imgur.com/a/mQwEA8o
Lichen Skins + Iceclaw Turn: imgur.com/a/V1WIt0B

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #ue5 #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart #drake

Coding

Implemented flight design changes:
Iterated several times on initial feedback (which was positive even with the first rough draft!)
Technical details of flight update:
Implemented pitch and roll bounds to replace force-based lift/drag acceleration.
Implemented momentum preservation for speed and "by mode" to permit acceleration mechanics, such as lift from flapping and tap-flapping.
Implemented player controls (and limits on player controls) to smooth rotations while still feeling "snappy".
Implemented speed-based smoothing of flight rotations (e.g. flying faster makes it harder to quickly turn).
While we still have to work on a lot more polish for a proper showcase, we'd like to show you a brief clip of our new flight design! You can note how it's much easier now for a wyrm to be nimble (of course, not all wyrms will have this level of maneuverability). The video demonstrates that we can control rotations per submode (ex. turning faster while flapping vs gliding), how pitch/rotation scales according to speed, and the overall improved interpolation and dive transition. Overall, this flight change gives us more control over in-game maneuverability, and the number values behind it!
Updated Scoria and Iceclaw to be playable with general physics updates (pending number-tweaking to make them feel right).
Iceclaw demonstrates a working proof-of-concept of general software engineering updates done previously. Because of a lot of work we put in before, adding new wyrms to the game is trivial!

Models & Animations

Created transition animations from parachute fall brake to flight state for all flying wyrms.
Added turning animations for new/adjusted flight/flap animations.
Cleaned, separated, organized, and charted all existing skins into colour regions, in preparation for the skin system. Also set up some additional colour palettes for the Lichen skin; here it is with its four presets!
New_Project41.png
Currently in the process of fixing foot twisting on turning animations for all wyrms (Scoria and Iceclaw done, WIP on the rest).
Polished various animations, including adding stronger wind effects to T3/T4 Wyvern and Scoria's flying animations, and reanimated Iceclaw's turn in place.
Here's Iceclaw's very energetic turn in place animation!

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · 26d

Iceclaw has been released and is having a fun time frolicking in the placeholder map!
(Note this is an outdated model and outdated animations, will replace with the new ones soon!)
#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #dragon #survival #dragongame #UE5 #unrealengine #drake

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Sep 8

Biweekly Newsletter September 05/2025 (1 image, 1 link)

Levin Call: youtu.be/CkwHv9Y7-YU

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #ue5 #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart #roar #dragonroar

Coding

Wrote a design summary outlining extensive flight physics updates based on tester feedback.
Focused on player controllability of flight.
We aim to reduce physics simulation complexity to help with networking.
Documented existing physically-driven flight system in sufficient detail to allow future code work, and possible alternate approach to flight physics.
(Don't worry, none of this means our flight system won't be interesting! These changes are specifically to get us the flight system we want, which we think will be very enjoyable once we tweak)

Models & Misc

Finished the Broadcast call audio for the T3 Dragon.
Improved Levin's Flap and Flight animations.
Slightly adjusted Levin's Broadcast and Threaten animations to better match the new calls.
Now we'd like to show you Levin's new calls! We know some of you might be attached to the old ones, and we are as well, but the new ones are overall a much better audio quality and fit the creature.

Here are the new calls! https://youtu.be/CkwHv9Y7-YU

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 30

Showing off our new sand asset! If you look closely, you can see sparkles in the sand and wind moving over the surface.

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #dragonartists #dragon #dragonart #survival #dragongame #tls #cozy #desert #UE5 #unrealengine #Blender #Blenderart

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 23

Biweekly Newsletter August 22/2025 (2 images, 2 links)

Trello: trello.com/b/4TRPdZUY/t...
Scoria Call: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dcc...

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #ue5 #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart #roar #dragonroar

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 17

❤️

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 15

Thank you! Yes, we also enjoy unique monster sounds :)

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 15

We've added a new sound designer to the team! They've been remaking our current wyrm calls. It still needs a polish pass, but here's Levin's new Broadcast call! What do you think?
#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #dragonartists #dragon #dragonart #survival #dragongame #tls #wyvern

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 9

Biweekly Newsletter August 08/2025 (4 images, 1 in replies)

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #dragonartists #ue5 #unrealengine #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart

Models & Animations

Finished cleaning and re-baking Iceclaw animations.
Cleaned up Iceclaw's UVs (something we're going through and doing for all wyrms).
Added a couple Iceclaw Climb animations, Climb Down Left and Right for diagonal movement.
Cleaned up Levin's default skin.
Prepared T2/T3 Dragon's Ossified/Mottled skins, T2/T3 Wyvern's Meso skin, and Levin's Default skin for use with the planned skin system.
Began 2D concepting a Kickstarter skin.
Started 3D painting one of Levin's skins, the blue and yellow one you've seen before. Called "Seaglow" for now.
3D painted a new skin for T2/T3 Dragon, called "Mottled".
Here's what the Mottled skin looks like, as well as a couple colour modifications that players could make! It isn't only limited to these options either - there are more colours to choose from, and individual colours can be swapped.

Map

Purchased some new environment assets that will help us out a lot! This includes some interesting rocks, more trees/grass, and a collection of snow and desert assets.
Started painting some biomes with autotextures.
Experimented with assets for a swamp biome.
Found a new cliff texture, which we think makes cliffs look a lot better!

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 2

The ones pictured are the older juveniles, but the younger juveniles have some of the features you mentioned!

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Aug 1

We spent a little time adjusting the faces of the juvenile Dragons and Wyverns, mostly by narrowing them. Do you think it's an improvement?
#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #wyvern #dragonartists #unrealengine #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #Blender #3dart

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 26

Biweekly Newsletter July 25/2025 (1 image, 1 video link)

Video: imgur.com/a/fFj41FC

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #flight #cool #dragonartists #ue5 #unrealengine #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart #animation

Map & Art

Finished the largescale rock work for the big mesas. You saw a preview of them on Bluesky last week!,
Altered the base procedural grass to add more detail.,
Added more textures and corresponding procedural "grass" (it doesn't have to be grass, mud is rocks and sticks for example).,
Started working with foliage and texture painting around the big mesas.,
Concepted some potential NPC creatures for the demo and beyond.,

Coding

Updated and improved Fall Brake.
Fixed up acceleration/drag model of fall-brake.,
Set up transitions to flight from falling and fall-brake.,
,
Did significant exploratory work on flight mechanics based on testing feedback after extensive QA testing. We want to stress again how helpful our flight values dashboard is! You might remember from the coding stream, but we have a dashboard of important number values related to flight, which is very helpful for tweaking feel since it can be easily changed even by non-programmers.
Added in a system for tighter control over rotations. You might have noticed in our flight video from a couple weeks ago that turns felt very "banking" and not very tight. We've introduced a "fudge factor" that gives us the ability to turn much quicker. We also lowered gravity overall, which makes feel jumping less floaty, and makes the wyrm feel more weighty when falling. In this new video, the first half demonstrates the new gravity (with Fall Brake) and the second half demonstrates the new turning. Of course, not every wyrm will turn this quickly. We just want to have the option to do it that way!,
,

Worked on solutions for better control over wyrm pitch and overall movement flow.

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 18

Thank you so much! It's very nice seeing the map shape up :)

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 18

Here's a sneak peek of how the mesa area is looking! This is still extremely WIP and many aspects either haven't been touched yet or will change. Hope you enjoy!
#TheLastSanctum #gamedev #indiedev #dragon #dragons #indiegamedev #dragongame #terrain #nature #wyvern #UE5 #unrealengine #3dart

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 16

We're proud of our flight system progress so far!
youtu.be/vQtySfNK4sw

#dragon #dragons #TheLastSanctum #tls #gamedev #indiedev #indiegamedev #dragongame #survival #survivalgame #stylized #UE5 #unrealengine #Blender #3dart #animation #dragonartists

Manual Flapping Test (Dragon Game Development)

YouTube video by Lindwyrm Studios

youtu.be

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 11

Biweekly Newsletter July 11/2025 (2 images, 1 video link)
Video: imgur.com/a/Q3t67fk

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #flight #cool #dragonartists #ue5 #unrealengine #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart #animation

Models & Map

Finally figured out a way to fix twisted feet during turning animations in Blender. This had no impact on the animations in Unreal, but the problem made it difficult to preview how animations would actually look. Fixing it is very helpful for future animations and makes accurate foot-planting much easier in Unreal!
Updated the T2 Dragon and T3 Fire Dragon turning animations.
Improved the T2 Dragon and T3 Fire Dragon Trot and Bite animations.
Created a test animation for a singular flap for T2-T3 dragons. More on this in the code section, but we thought our manual flap system might look better with a separate animation for singular powerful tap flaps!
Created sound effects for singular tap flaps.
Continued work on sculpting the mesas area, including hiding a couple small rock caves in the cliffsides!

Coding

Continued work on hooking up the final HUD to actually reflect values (ie. be functional).
Implemented and tested flapping as a distinct physical mechanic. As you may remember, we wanted to have a manual flapping mechanic where you can tap to flap a single time, which gives you more precise control and improves immersion. You can tap to flap or hold down to sprint flap.
There was significant back-and-forth on feel, which required a few iterations of code.
Synced up with animations, with the caveat that making the animation "feel" match the physics will require continued testing.
Softened flapping curve to help avoid problems with force impulse interacting with framerate (though significant testing with networking is still needed).
Implemented control distinction between a single "tap-flap" and a longer sprint.
Tap flaps give more control to the player, allowing for stronger movement at the cost of more stamina.
Requires timing individual flaps to (approximately) match the movement of the wyrm for optimal motion.
Includes interaction with turning and other high-agility movement.
Implemented fall-braking, to give winged wyrms some control in a fall…

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 4

We really enjoy the colours!

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jul 4

This is what the moon phases look like in-game right now!

#TheLastSanctum #dragon #dragons #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #Blender #BlenderArt #dragonartists #ue5 #unrealengine #fantasy #night #stylized

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The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jun 28

Thank you so much!

The Last Sanctum - Dragon Survival Game @lindwyrmstudios.bsky.social · Jun 28

Biweekly Newsletter June 27/2025 (1 image, 1 video link)

Videos: imgur.com/a/jiBLs3g

#TheLastSanctum #indiedev #gamedev #indiegamedev #dragonartists #ue5 #unrealengine #dragon #dragonart #survival #survivalgame #dragongame #tls #drake #Blender #BlenderArt #3dart

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