Work is in full swing, and we’re close to completing the global island overhaul. The old version of the island has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. The new island version will feature: 

• Fully reworked land and seafloor terrain – created using real topobathymetric LiDAR data (USACE). 

• Expanded game world size – the island now covers 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²), with the overall terrain measuring 3 x 3 km (1.86 x 1.86 mi). 

• New, realistic ocean powered by Crest Water 5 with underwater vision, water-object-player interaction (currently limited to visible surface effects). 

• Realistic tides system with natural ebb and flow. 

• Dynamic ocean wind simulation with gusts – wind strength and direction directly affect wave height and current direction. 

• A wide range of new high-quality surface textures, including 4K textures – featuring five 4K coastal sand variations! 

• Completely redesigned inland lake and the addition of a brand new one. 

• Improved mini-biome system – including underwater seafloor biomes, wet sand, shell zones, beach-to-forest transition zones, and more. 

• Many new environmental objects – trees, rocks, driftwood, grass, flowers, and more – with improved biome-based spawning logic so, for example, flowers no longer spawn too close to the beach. 

Most of the above is already complete. Remaining tasks include finalizing the textures (currently only sand textures are placed) and populating the environment objects. This is not done manually – we’re using MapMagic 2 for procedural placement. We expect to finish the island update within the next couple of weeks.