Wayfinder

This page contains notes for the game Wayfinder.

Used tutorial video files with unused sound tracks#

While this find isn't notable enough to warrant inclusion on the main page, it's worth noting that some of the tutorial videos contain an audio track not audible in-game. This includes:

• Tutorial videos for weapons Blight, Bloodthirst, Hush, Last Ditch and Unity (released with version 1.0) - file names: WeaponAbility_Blight_HollowPulse.mp4, WeaponAbility_Bloodthirst_LingeringUrges.mp4, WeaponAbility_Hush_Omnipresence.mp4, WeaponAbility_LastDitch_ShadowyFlight.mp4 and WeaponAbility_Unity_SpiritSlam.mp4
• Tutorial video for Talents tree (tutorialMedia_talentsMenu.mp4)
• Tutorial video for Mount system (tutorialMedia_mounts01.mp4)
• Tutorial video for Equipment menu (tutorialMedia_loadoutMenu01.mp4)
• Tutorial video for Echoes system (tutorialMedia_echoMenu01.mp4)

All files can be found at Wayfinder\Atlas\Content\Movies\source. Patch notes for ver. 1.0 mention "updated tutorial", implying the tutorial videos may have been added with this patch specifically.

To do: Check if you can back-patch the Steam version to 1.0 or below to verify.

Main menu video background randomization and fall-backs#

Depending on the global gamestate (before/after endgame flag is set on any of the four save-slots), the game will use one of two background file categories:

• Pre-endgame - the game will choose a random file from a predefined pool for each major in-game location (Skylight hub or Highlands/Frostmarch Overlands), or play menuBG_enviro_nue.mp4 for empty save slots/saves that haven't completed the tutorial Void dungeon and reached Skylight
• Endgame - the game will choose a random file out of four used menuBG_enviro_endgame_XX_1.mp4 files. This state is set upon defeating Aturach The Deathless and activating the Epilogue questline, and affects all savefiles on a given player account, including saves that have not reached Epilogue and empty slots. This is likely a carryover from version 0.4 - while version 1.0 added a new playable zone (Crucible) and post-Epilogue questlines, and version 1.1.0 introduced multiple save file slots, adding new menu background or overriding/replacing the endgame ones would likely require more in-depth changes or additions to the menu code. With the Xbox version in the works, risk of introducing new bugs in a crucial UI element and pre-production on new projects such as Dust: Origins (announced Summer 2026) likely already underway, this was presumably a low-priority task at most.

In the first state, should any of the viable files be corrupted or deleted, the game will instead behave as follows:

• Frostmarch - displays other menuBG_enviro_frostmarch_ files unless all of them are rendered inaccessible, then switches to randomly selected menuBG_enviro_skylight_ files. If Skylight files are inaccessible, displays randomly selected files from menuBG_enviro_highlands_ category. If all Highlands files are inaccessible, displays menuBG_enviro_nue.mp4.
• Skylight - if all menuBG_enviro_skylight_ files are unavailable, the game pulls from menuBG_enviro_highlands_ files. If all Highlands files are inaccessible, displays menuBG_enviro_nue.mp4
• Highlands - if all relevant files are lost, displays menuBG_enviro_nue.mp4.
• If all files are removed, the game will render a static black background overlayed with standard menu UI and character render (if the save slot contains one). Same applies to highlighting empty save slots if menuBG_enviro_nue.mp4 is inaccessible.

In the second state, if any of the menuBG_enviro_endgame_ are inaccessible, the game behaves the same way as in the 4th case of pre-endgame state and shows a static black background, even if Frostmarch, Skylight or Highlands files are still present. This behavior can be used to verify if specific menuBG_enviro_ files are used, or to customize them on your own without making changes to game's code.

Skylight/Overlands intro videos vs. New Game intro oddities#

All three Overlands (Highlands, Frostmarch, Crucible) and the game's main hub (Skylight) display a pre-rendered cinematic upon the player's first arrival in the location on a given savefile. A similar cinematic for the tutorial section (modified variant of The Void expedition tileset) uses several predefined in-game camera shots instead - the in-engine implementation looks a lot cleaner, but may have been more time-consuming or bug-prone to set up for the public release builds, prompting Airship to use pre-rendered videos instead.

• All videos except Crucible intro (cutscene_gorge_intro.mp4) date to May 21st, 2024, shortly before update 0.4 and transition to the offline/co-op overhaul dubbed "Echoes". The game saw a pause in updates between 0.4 (released May 31st, 2024) and the previous patch (0.2.4.1 released at the end of February 2024), and considering the scope of the overhaul and loss of (publicly disclosed) publisher funding, either the team's priority was to finish the game before touching up minor cosmetic elements like level intros, or the new game's in-game intro was the only one the team managed to overhaul before ceasing active development on Wayfinder.

To do: Again, check for the possibility of back-patching to verify which version may have added the videos or updated the tutorial intro shots. At risk of Mandela effecting myself, I don't recall the intros at all from my initial playtime circa version 0.6 - but they're also a small, one-time, easily missed part of the experience, so again, Mandela effect.

UI revisional differences preserved in tutorial videos#

tutorialMedia_echoMenu01.mp4 includes a version of Echoes menu UI featuring a five-star gauge under Wayfinder and weapon icons - presumably a copy of the Awakening gauge. As of version 1.2, the gauge only displays under the Wayfinder's name and above all other stat-blocks on the right-hand side of the menu.