In fact, nearly  anything you do will shape your world in some way. Span regions, even  continents if you desire. Form settlements and build shelters for safer  travel. Map your world, and face its many dangers. Being  procedurally-generated, the world is unique for each individual player  and it literally goes on forever. No two worlds are the same, and your  world permanently forms only as you discover it. Explore, scavenge,  craft, cast (yup, there's magic), and fend off foes in a variety of  ways. Better your world by aiding other survivors and gaining their  help. Or don't, kill everyone in sight and deal with the consequences.

It's all up to you.

While death for your characters is permanent, weapons, loot, levels and  anything else you've earned while playing will always exist. If one  character dies, the player simply assumes a new survivor and the world  continues on from there. Not as if nothing happened, though. Those who  came in contact with the now-deceased will eventually catch word of  their passing, and may share feelings on the departed, for better or  worse. Current characters can even pay their respects by visiting the  player's own personal graveyard which will contain each and every  deceased character played

A Valley Without Wind has reached yet another major milestone as the multiplayer component has entered alpha and for the first time is publicly available for testing. For those interested in opting into co-operative play in the same server/world with up to a few dozen other players (perhaps even more), head over to the AVWW multiplayer wiki and check out the FAQ section along with other related notes, specs, and such. Arcen CEO and head programmer Chris Park chats about what's coming up for all the aforementioned as well in the  latest post on his development blog.

The full version of A Valley Without Wind is available now on PC/Mac for  pre-order at 50% off the launch price during early beta, with customers gaining instant access to the latest available build and all subsequent releases through 1.0 and beyond. The game can be purchased and downloaded directly through the developer as well as on GamersGate, Impulse, and MacGamesStore.