Hi everyone, Koi here! I just want to make a general post about the state of Elyxium and our future plans/changes moving forward into this new year. It may be a long post, so apologies in advance. 

General

Aphex, the first Elyxium species, was created all the way back around 2016! Crazy to think how much time has passed since their initial conception, and in that time, many species have been added alongside Aphex. I was 16 at that time, and my ability for storytelling and worldbuilding was still rather unrefined, and as more species were added, the lore of the world became complicated and messy. Come 2024, I had a hard look at Elyxium as a whole and finally accepted I no longer felt connected to the world I created 8 years prior. My key beliefs, themes, and aesthetics had been refined after so long, and I wanted Elyxium to reflect that. I wanted to make something that reflected myself, with a world that felt unique, and where the species all belonged in unity instead of trying to force puzzle pieces where they just didn't fit.

While we started off as a closed species and grew in that space, a closed species is no longer what I want Elyxium's experience to feel like. We want to inspire creativity, world-building, and roleplaying, not exclusivity. Strictly limiting permissions with characters, trading, and creating (in my experience) can be demotivating, especially to new members. We have made many changes in an effort to diverge from this label while keeping the core fundamentals to ensure playability as a game, but I thought I would bring it up just to clarify the direction we are heading for those in the dark. Creating characters, ideas, lore etc even if not canon, is perfectly fine and welcomed, however only official characters will be able to participate in Elyxium's future mechanics. We want to create a world that players can build upon and expand past the foundations we create. For now, this simply means art with unofficial characters do not earn full earnings, but once more updates are pushed through, characters not approved and on the masterlist can not participate in the website activities. We do not police "unofficial" designs, and request that users be inclusive of members who want to be involved in Elyxium, even if they do not wish to play directly on the website. Unofficial designs can always be made official with MYO licenses and appropriate traits etc. We have been using these terms for a few years now, but I just wanted to clarify my stance on unofficial designs. This also means if you have any official designs, you are completely free to create background characters for story purposes as well, it is your choice to have them officially listed or not. 

Art Submissions

As more activities are added to the website to earn currency, we will eventually phase out art submissions as the main way to earn game currency. There are many factors when it comes to grading art, and it's very difficult to assess every unique art style and skill level fairly. We absolutely love seeing art submissions and will look for ways to show off your art in-game, but in terms of balancing and rewards, we will be steering away from this method for the future. We also want to give non-artists and those who do not have time to draw, activities that feel engaging and rewarding. While we don't have a date when art submissions will eventually close, we will give due notice so artworks can be submitted!

Lore Reworks

As mentioned before, Elyxuim (and the species within) will be going through reworks to ensure they are in line with the reworked lore of the world. Luckily (For me at least), a lot of the fundamental lore that is being changed has been kept secret and only alluded to in partial context. I have spent the last two years reworking the world-building for Elyxuim, and I finally reached a point where I am confident in the direction I want to go. What does this mean for the species and characters within? Honestly, this shouldn't affect much at all. The primary lore that is being changed is context I have never fully written out. Human lore IS being reworked drastically, but the foundations of the soul lore introduced in 2020 is still somewhat accurate, even if infantile in conception. This rework will slowly also introduce a new map, lore-accurate currency, and clearer reincarnation rules etc. As much as I want to write all my concepts down in a neat little bow, I will be keeping the juicy stuff for users to discover and piece together as they explore and interact within Elyxium. 

Specie Updates

A major element I want to focus on is sorting out species traits, lore and categories, main species, compainions etc. Many species and subtypes are HEAVILY outdated in terms of anatomy and sometimes lore. We will be going through these species and updating them, as well as sorting out class stats and abilities in the backend, however this will be implemented last. Unfortunately, when planning the future of Elyxium I must make some hard decisions to ensure the lore and mechanics feel appropriate to the world. This means some species may lose their label as a "Main Species" while others will be fleshed out and pushed to this level. My main consideration is Lockeys & Cyphons, which feel like the biggest underliers in the collection of main species, both for various reasons. More info about this change will come at a later date, but we will try to keep masterlists in-tact for characters falling in this category (But base lore may be revised to function). 

Upcoming

In terms of website updates, there are a lot of management systems we intend to put in place that may not be all too exciting, such as bug reports, blocking, forums and messaging systems. Systems already included in the game are on our priority list, such as leveling, foraging, the wishing tree etc. We are also sorting out mechanics for fun side activities such as fishing and/or gardening as another methods of earning currency. We will keep you posted about what to expect next!

Wow that was a lot! I tried to keep it brief, but I want to be transparent about our next steps for Elyxium's future. This is a world that is 10 years in the making, and those who have stuck by our development, we thank you. I went through a phase where I wanted to create as much content as I could, and now we have 800+ items, 600+ pets, 2400+ listed characters, 24 species and at least 2 subtypes for each main species ohmygosh// So we are slowing down new content to refine and give TLC to our existing species. 

2024 - Now that the new year is here, we plan to continue our training, and focus our efforts on improving our game to the vision we have of a collaborative world of lore-building, character creation, and fantasy. Mechanics, lore, species, and much more will undergo drastic updates and changes to fit our vision, but we will do our best to keep user's characters, traits, and items as true to their old mechanics as possible. In the next week, we plan to release a content schedule for our Kofi supporters about content deadlines to keep us on track and keep users informed of our progress! Once again, we thank everyone for their patience! We are a two-man team trying to create our passion project, any and all support means the absolute world to us, we are reminded every day of what a wonderful community we have built over these years. 
~ Koi

Artfight 2023 is here! 

In conjunction with 2023's Artfight, Elyxium is hosting its annual gift art rewards based on this year's teams- Vampires and Werewolves!
Net yourself some sweet rewards by submitting your Elyxium art from Artfight to progress along the rewards ladder. Click the image above for more info! 

Welcome to the mini Easter Event 2023!

We have a bunch of exciting news! So read below to find out everything coming this April! 

Easter Mini Event

A new prompt is open "Easter Event 2023" until 23rd April.
Submissions for this Prompt will enter you into the below raffle designs, you may specify which designs you'd like to apply for, or apply for all for a higher chance! Rules below


Easter Prompt Guide: April, the Month of Navian
Easter, or the beginning of April is an important time for many Elyxians. Some still keep alive the memory of the old faith, and celebrate this time in a more traditional way, while others spend the two weeks creating and gifting to the seasonal god. April is a special month where beings celebrate the fascination and beauty of new life. Seeds are planted and any new hatchlings are treated with special attention during this month. Aside from the more spiritual celebrations, human traditions are still conducted during this month, allowing for a large range of activities to bring Elyxians together in celebration! Navian is the named god of creation, or more humbly, a diety that has been seen nurturing and protecting the lost, delivering them to safety during the night. It is told that leaving a painted egg filled with sand outside overnight during April will ensure Navian brings good health and prosperity upon your household.

Below are just an example of events you can include your character doing to celebrate:
Easter Egg Hunting.
Egg collecting.
Festive Baking.
Decorating.
Easter Clothing/Costumes.
Looking after young/hatchlings.
Celebrating the above with Hatchlings.
Offering to Navian, the deity of creation.
and much more!

Rules
Two Entries max per person. This is two tickets! Leave a specification if you'd like to enter for a certain design. 
Max of 3 characters per submission. At least half body, flat colour needed, picturing an activity above. 

Prizes
Each submission (x2) will earn 1.5x Ac! 
A ticket into the following designs. Numbered 1-6

Other Content

The Easter store is now open until the 23rd!
Now is your chance to grab some exclusive Navian items!

The Gemini Fields have been added to the foraging activity! This means new items and a full set of Glass Sirens to collect!

Ethrens have new lore and anatomy added to suite the world of Elyxuim! As per usual rules, any MYOs bought before this reveal can be used as old Ethrens, or new-gen Ethrens. Tarot lore is no longer canon but can be referred to as afflictions if used in Elyxium. You can swap to a new gen Ethren at any time, but you can not switch back! 

Traits can be swapped within rarities!

Morning everyone!
Two semi-important updates for this post.

Adoption Center
Welcome back to the adoption center! We have added an extension that allows our adopts to be purchased straight from the website with in-game currency instead of making claims. Since these are live sales (FCFS), we will try our best to keep it stocked as much as we can! Any characters in Shards can also be bought or partially paid for in USD through me (Unless stated otherwise). For now I have stocked it with designs I have held onto for awhile, but I am planning to make a larger batch of chibis soon! https://theaphexcollective.com/adoptions

Changes to Affliction Items
We are pushing a new mechanic of adding afflictions to characters. To make it easier for the user, you now can add your afflictions straight away to your desired character through the inventory menu on their Masterlist page. This will show your items in the affliction section. Stat buffs will only apply when you make artworks that require them (just mentioning the buffs if needed) since adding items does not update your stats live. More info here https://theaphexcollective.com/info/afflictions If you'd like to transition to this new system, make a claim! Be aware if you have items attached in the text section with stat buffs, stats will be removed from the character's main stat list upon conversion. You do not need to update to the new system to use your afflictions, and can still apply items from now on as the affliction text area is still valid for custom afflictions. This update not only makes it easier to add items whenever you'd like, but means we can update their description and attributes in real-time!

Welcome to our New Year update blog!
This is meant to be informative and transparent with our future implementations and changes for Aphex Collective! I have separated the sections below for quick reading depending on what interests you the most. 

New and Upcoming Content

We have quite a few different projects in the work for new content, such as many species sheets 50% complete, lore re-written ready to be pushed, and our interactive stories in the middle of being finished off and polished. We also have 3 site extensions that we are ironing out the bugs, which will be hopefully accessible in the future (more below). 
We have just pushed our newest species visual update, which is Dephx! This is visual, and the info will be refined in the coming days. 
The extensions we are applying to the website are as follows 
Forums
Crafting
Purchasable characters with AC through the website
+More

We are in the process of hiring a new coder to implement these changes! More about these updates will be announced once pushed. We may need to close our submissions to allow these pushes, so downtimes will be announced. 

QoL Updates

Our main focus along with updated visuals will be QoL updates! I would like to eliminate the amount of claims users must make to manage their own characters and inventory, so these mechanics will be at the top of our list to improve your experience on our website. Once these updates are pushed, it allows us more time to work on the content that matters, These are not limited to; attaching pets to your characters, adding afflictions, adding relations, and adding companions. 

These features are our main focus going into 2023, but we have much more planned for the game! 
If you have any questions, feel free to ask on our Discord, or Da. 

Afternoon Everyone, we hope you are doing well! 

We have some updates involving how companions will work in the game, please read below the specific changes we have made. 

Companion Tab and Card

The companion tab now functions and your companions can now be linked and tracked on your Elyxian character. To link, you can either use a Moonflower, or draw an artwork of the two. More info here. Users who have a companion linked with the old system can keep the old mechanics, but this means it will not be compatible with the new features. Stats will be a permanent buff for old links, but with the new system, the two characters must be drawn together for buffs. 

Bond Points

Bond points have been reworked. They can be passively gained with XP when the two characters are drawn together. This is with the intention to grow their relationship through progression, rather than an alternative XP ladder. 

Tack

Tack and gear will soon be introduced to allow specific buffs for your companion and/or linked Elyxian. More info coming soon. 

Breeds

Some may notice two new categories, Unique and Purebred. Uniques are myos that exist currently and are not affected by any changes.  Purebreds will be soon introduced into the game as game assets, or easier methods to gain mounts that are not individually unique (you will be able to customize their designs once purchased). Purebreds will be accessible with in-game currency (Blessed Coins and Art Coins). You may also be able to obtain these designs through quests and other activities. The cost will vary on their canon rarity. More coming soon! 

The companion training page will now be your new landing page for everything in involving companions! It will be updated as new mechanics are revealed. 

Goth's Haunted House is Now Open !

Click the image above or the image on the homepage to locate this side event.
You will still earn candies, as well as other bonuses by taking part!
Our first reward is a new pet collar. You can view the new plush pets below or on the catalog page.

Welcome one and all to our annual Haunted Eve Event!
We have a bunch of new items this year, as well as some secrets for the month of October, so keep tuned for extra content! In the meantime we have some new items you can earn right away, along with a bunch of new spooky versions of existing pets to collect. Click the banner above to read more about the event. 

Pet Update Part 1/2 : Beta 1.1

Morning everyone (from Australia!). I am excited to finally announce the pet update I have been working on and planning for a few months now. This is part 1 of 2 as the second half revolves around collecting+badges for pets, so that may be slowly added instead of one big content push. In the last year or so since pets were added, we have received a lot of feedback from our community about pets; what new ones people would love to see, players' favourites from each set and which species their character is drawn to. We honestly didn't expect pet's to be as beloved as they are, so now we are focusing on exploring more detailed ways to collect, draw, create and find pets. With this update comes more interaction with pets, customizability, a higher focus on new pet sets and much more! So lets get into the changes - 

Pets on Profile

Pets are now added to your character's profile for all to see! You can set their name, a background of your choice (base card for each species when added), a temperament, a place for your badges, and much more coming! This will allow each pet to truly be unique, and to show off your achievements. This section is maxed at 15 pets per character (for now). You can obtain temperament influencer and cards in the Pet Store to customize your pets. Your badges and more are explained here https://theaphexcollective.com/info/Pet_Catalogue 

Self Discovery Quest

A new quest is available on the self-discovery page for your character's pets! You can read more about it here - https://theaphexcollective.com/info/discovery 

AC/XP Buffs and Art Changes

Pets now have a buff for Ac/Xp gain, found on the calculator. This varies on the complexity and distance the pet is from the FOV. Detailed AC tier is usually given for pets in artworks solely focused on them. This means you can now submit artworks of your pet without needing a main species in the image! 

New Pets

Observant players and Patreon supporters may have noticed a few new pets slip into the catalog during this update! We now have a few "complete" sets in preparation for collection badges.  Complete sets at least need 3C 3UC 2R 1UR 1E. More will be on their way! Patreon supporters have first glance and influence on possible pet additions and colours. 

And of course, I want to thank you all for supporting Elyxium. We hope this update inspires you to explore relationships between your characters and their pets,  to find a set you'd like to complete for pet badges or even a themed pet collection for your character! The way you choose to interact with this update is up to you!