The Dark Is Sleepless
Developed with Unreal Engine 5 — an immersive survival horror game where darkness reigns supreme.
How Far Along Is It
“The Dark is Sleepless” is set in a mysterious and sinister world where darkness reigns supreme. Players must navigate treacherous environments while evading terrifying creatures and uncovering the secrets hidden within the shadows. The numbers below are deliberately honest — this is where the game actually stands.
Alpha 0.1.2 → 0.1.3
60%Alpha 0.1.2 has been on the launcher since 19 September 2026. Most of the fixes for 0.1.3 are already in the project: no firing from inside cover, your own name instead of “Merritt”, named clothing pickups, the right menu button, and smoother footwork. It gets packaged once other players stop ice-skating in co-op, with a target of Q4 2026. Work on it slowed down for a week while the studio built the first playable of our new game, Undercarrier. That playable is done, and work here is picking back up, starting with a move to a dark Nordic soundtrack and voices. Read the 0.1.2 release notes →
Road to 0.1.3 updated 29 September 2026
- DoneAlpha 0.1.2 out to supportersReleased through the launcher on 19 September. First launch picks a graphics quality level for you and repairs installs stuck on the lowest settings, movement settles more smoothly, and the country and dam roads follow the terrain.
- DoneFeet that plant as they walkThe character keeps a foot on the ground instead of skating, and stride length follows walking speed. The MetaHuman body also no longer runs a frame behind its animation, which halves how far a planted foot slides.
- DoneAlpha rough edgesNo firing or aiming from inside cover unless you lean out, and the server checks it too. Clothing pickups show their names. The main menu makes Continue the main button when you have a save. Blank hair thumbnails in the character menu are still to fix.
- DoneYour own nameNobody starts out as "Merritt" any more. Your name comes from Steam, your Sleepless account or your platform account, a name you type is kept, and the map shows each player's own name. The lobby's host label on the joining side is still to fix.
- NowOther players stop ice-skatingIn co-op, other players' feet slide at walking speed because the game never learns they are accelerating. The fix is to work that out from their movement. It is the last fix planned for 0.1.3.
- NowA darker, Nordic soundThe soundtrack and the voices are moving to a dark Viking sound, the same direction as Undercarrier: war drums, folk and hip-hop. The story does not change.
- NextPackage and test 0.1.3Build the release package, check it on a fresh install and with two players, then put it out on the launcher. Target: Q4 2026.
- NextA smaller download and a fairer disk checkThe launcher asks for about 36 GB free for a 12 GB download. It should ask only for what it actually uses, and updates should fetch only the files that changed instead of the whole game.
- NextA character passHair on the menu characters, better clothing fit, a walk of her own for female characters, and lips that move when people talk.
- NextInternet play proven between two homesCo-op is proven on one network. Next is a session between two homes, with the host forwarding UDP port 7777.
What each step involves, and what else landed this week: Development →
The Foundation
The ground the game stands on — engine, hardware, and the plumbing behind it.
Engine (Unreal 5.8)
Hardware
Source Control — the whole project versioned
Storage
The Game Itself
Story, world, and the things that live in it.
Base Story (18 objectives, cold open to the dam)
Initial Map — Vesper, Colorado
The Rule — LIT / DARK, bodies rise
Combat & Survival
Character Models & Clothing (MetaHuman bodies, clothing as items)
Animation
Minimap & Full Map
Menus & HUD (modern redesign)
Quorra (radio operator)
The Studio & Shipping
The people and the pipes that get the game to you.
Staff
Login Servers, Accounts & Cloud Saves
Network Coding — co-op lobby, LAN / direct IP
Launcher & Patcher
Distribution — Steam + standalone
Profanity Warnings
This game will take a long time to develop since it’s just me, and as such, during the prototyping phase, i will be using assets from the unreal marketplace(providing Credit where it’s due), modify code to my needs until i have a playable portion of the game. i will then begin looking for artists, coders, and more to produce new models, assets, effects and better interactions. during the prototyping phase, yes, the playable area WILL be the essence of an asset flip, however, the production ready game will not include this.
Where that leaves us in September 2026: the playable portion exists and supporters have it — Vesper is built, the story runs from the cold open to the dam, co-op works, and alpha 0.1.2 installs through the launcher. Characters, animation and the stock assets are exactly the rough part the note above promised, and they are what the next passes are for.
Project Issues & Builds
Builds
- Alpha 0.1.2 · v0.1.2 · 8f8dd6c5Sep 27, 2026
- Alpha 0.1.1 · v0.1.1 · 3778a140Sep 27, 2026
Latest commits
- 373adb19Characters (temporary): Merritt shows the UE5 Manny; Sleepless = ZombieMale_AAB (retargeted, clothed, eye glow removed)Sep 28, 2026
- 63fac3f2MetaHuman body no longer runs a frame behind the driver: Body_Visual ticks PostPhysics (#15)Sep 26, 2026
- 71a4959fPlayers default to their account/platform name instead of "Merritt" (#3)Sep 26, 2026
- 0e8c4ab2Garment pickups show the garment name in the interaction prompt (#5)Sep 26, 2026
- c45862e2Main menu: Continue is the primary action when a save exists (#8)Sep 26, 2026
- 632b5f08Block fire and ADS while in cover unless leaning out (#6)Sep 26, 2026
Issues
- #15Animations are not fluid or naturalanimation
- #3Every player starts out named "Merritt"ui
- #5Clothing pickups show an empty nameui
- #8Menu: "New game" is not highlighted when Continue is shownui
- #6You can fire while in covergameplay
- #16Map layout: roads, buildings and cars are placed wronglymap
- #14Graphics look wrong in play (0.1.1 playtest)graphics
- #13Remove prototype blueprints that break compiles and cookstech-debt
- #12Steam sessions and Steam Cloud saves are not livesteam
- #11Internet co-op between two homes is untestednetwork
- #10Launcher: ship an installer so it can't be run from inside the ziplauncher
- #9Launcher: smaller download and a fairer disk checklauncher
- #7Shader stutter on first launch and first trip into Vespergraphics
- #4Crew lobby: joining player sees wrong labels and tiny pedestalsnetwork
- #2No lip sync on talking charactersanimation
- #1Characters: speckled clothing, clipping, blank menu hair thumbnailscharacters