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The hero walks through the snow towards a mine with lanterns and a frozen waterfall
Picture of the day

Together on Veyl: Laying the Foundation for Co-op

Start alone, continue together

There's one question we hear again and again: Can I play Call Me Human with friends? For a long time our honest answer was: we don't know yet. Now we can tell you more.

Our focus stays on the adventure for you alone. You crash on the alien planet Veyl, get to know it bit by bit and build yourself a home there. That doesn't change. But with the release of version 1.0 we're also planning a separate co-op mode: online, with your friends, via Steam.

So nobody gets the wrong idea: these are plans, not promises. None of it is playable today. We're laying the foundation right now, and that's what this post is about.

How we picture an evening with four friends

You call your buddy: "Come online, let's play a round of Call Me Human." A few clicks on Steam, and you're standing on Veyl together, whether on PC or on Steam Deck. Up to four people should be able to explore one world together.

What you do then is up to you. One of you takes care of the fields and waters the crops, another gathers berries and wood, and two head out to explore the frozen lake behind the village. You don't have to stick together all the time. Everyone is free to go to a different area and take their own path. In the evening you meet up again and show each other what you've found.

The hero stands at the frozen lake behind the village
The hero stands at the frozen lake behind the village

We want you to be able to tackle quests together. The story is part of co-op too, but it's less in the spotlight. Co-op is mostly about planning, building and roaming a world together.

Gathering in the snow: an alien berry goes into the backpack
Gathering in the snow: an alien berry goes into the backpack

One thing matters to us: we mean co-op with friends, not an open online game with strangers. And no shared screen either. Everyone plays on their own device, with their own hero. If you're curious what a cooperative video game actually is, Wikipedia has a good overview.

Why we're tackling this now

You could say: just finish the game first and add co-op later. We thought about that too. Then we realized that this is exactly where most of the trouble starts.

Imagine building a house with one floor. A few years later you want to add a second one on top. If the foundation was only made for one floor, you have to tear half the house apart, and in the end it still creaks everywhere. If you plan the second floor from day one, the foundation is strong enough right away. Building on top later is easy.

Houses in the snowy village while a dark creature sneaks in from the left
Houses in the snowy village while a dark creature sneaks in from the left

That's exactly what we're doing with Call Me Human right now. Better to do it right from the ground up than as a half-done patch later.

What we're rebuilding under the hood

Until now our code assumed in many places that there is exactly one hero on Veyl. We're changing that, step by step:

  • Every hero gets their own stuff. Backpack, gear and the bar at the bottom of the screen will belong to each character separately. That way nobody empties your pockets by accident.
  • Buttons become commands. When you press a button, it turns into a clear command like "walk left" or "water the crop". That way the game can later understand your friends' commands too, no matter which device they're on.
  • Pause for each player. When one of you opens the inventory, the world shouldn't freeze for everyone else.
  • The save game in two parts. The world with its fields, houses and chests is saved separately from your heroes. That way a friend can later join your world with their own hero.
The inventory with hero, stats and an own backpack
The inventory with hero, stats and an own backpack

Our game runs on our own Terra Engine, which is built on Godot). Godot already comes with building blocks for networked games, and that's exactly what we're aligning our foundation with.

For you, nothing changes for now. The game looks and feels exactly the same. But under the surface there's now room for more than one hero.

What's next?

First comes the foundation, then the actual online play with friends. There's still a lot to do until then, and we'll keep you posted here in the devlog. Everything we can say about it so far is also in our FAQ.

And now it's your turn: who would you explore Veyl with first? Let us know.

You can read more about the world of Call Me Human™ on our story page. And if you want to be there at launch, join the waitlist on call-me-human.com. That way you'll be the first to know when it starts.

See you soon,

Tini & Marko