Dear survivors,

I want to give you more detailed information about the further development from Dead Age 1 to Dead Age 2 in this and the upcoming updates.

It is rare that indie titles get successors and even rarer that the successors are more successful than their predecessors. Often because predecessors and successors are too similar. That's why we can proudly say that we have added so many new ideas and features that will make Dead Age 2 a completely new experience! This update is all about technology.


Dead Age 2 has over 7GB of files, which is more than 4 times the size of Dead Age 1. That’s needed for the many, many 3D scenarios which are also scrollable, a lot more enemies, and also a lot of NPCs and quest givers matching the three factions, which are spread everywhere in the areas from Dead Age 2.




Also with the soundtrack of Sven Gerlach, we have 21 tracks by now which is a lot for an indie title. The tracks are great and we will probably also have a soundtrack DLC. This soundtrack really deserves it!




In contrast to part 1, we were able to work with motion capture for some animations, so that the animations look much more realistic. We also spent a lot of time with the outposts, to make them feel vivid as you explore them. The successful wishlisting from your side, brought us additional animations which provide for more variety:



Also new are the animated portraits which breathe more life into the characters, as there are significantly more quests and dialogues in Dead Age 2.


We use many of the most important techniques, such as SSAO and Depth of Field, to look more modern here as well.



Overall, our 4-person Silent Dreams team has worked hard to ensure that you are graphically and acoustically satisfied. In the update next week you will learn more about the many new gameplay features.


What is more to say? Oh, we are really close to our next wishlist goal: With 30,000 wishes you will unlock 10 additional zombies to the world of Dead Age 2!

Meanwhile, be sure to join the other survivors on our Dead Age Discord channel!

All the best and stay healthy!
Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team


https://store.steampowered.com/app/951430

The first 2 video devlogs are now live on YouTube! The plan is to make regular videos of the game's development as a way to tease, educate, and entertain you. Find below both devlogs, and do not hesitate to give feedback if you have any!

Mac
Earlier this week, we talked a little bit about functionality for MAC (see thread here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/764180/announcements/detail/2211773821814366841). Today, I'm going to follow up on that with some hopeful information.

It seems that it is possible for me to continue to make exports for mac in a different way than I do for Windows. However, it is greatly time consuming as I originally predicted. For that reason, the store page for CoAE1 has had Mac support unlisted for the time being. That being said, Mac players will still receive periodic updates, but not on the same time-frame as Windows users. Usually whenever an issue comes up, I jump to patch it right away - this won't be the case for issues on Mac. Instead, I'll be looking at monthly or even story based checkpoints for Mac only. Where Windows might see 3.3, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, and 3.4, Mac users may only see 3.3 and 3.4.

Some quick notes:
- The current MAC build is 3.2.1.2, which is an extension of the 3.2.1 build (notes here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/764180/announcements/detail/2211773821813899258) but with the added bonus of the ninja patch which is available to all.

3.2.1.2 [Build #72, Release Date: April 29, 2020]
Fixes:
- Fixed an issue with the Innkeeper causing errors after the Room Key was obtained.

- If you're having trouble launching the game on Mac, right click Cross of Auria from the steam library -> Manage -> Browse Local Files -> open "x.Cross of Auria" folder -> open the Game application.
-- If there are any issues with launching the game on Mac as of this update, please reach out to me ASAP. I'll see what I can do, but on the whole, Mac development isn't well supported by the RMMV engine.

- One final thing for Mac users - the download size should be significantly decreased. My depots were setup improperly which called for Mac users to download the windows only "www" folder, which is basically all the contents of the .app package an entire second time. However, due to the change in encryption, the initial download size may be somewhere in the 500MB if you are updating from more than three or so patches ago.

Linux
- To anyone who owns the game for linux, the "Game" file has always been made available. I don't have a way to test this on my own, but the engine suggests that all the files are included within the package. As you may know, official support was discontinued many months ago due to my inability to test or understand it. With any luck, I'll be able to change that when the game enters post production.


Other
- On the whole, there hasn't been any other development yet this week. I'm focusing a lot on my projects for youtube for right now. That being said, I usually get most of my work done for CoA on Saturday mornings. When I do get back to it, I'll be continuing mostly on the new Orc War campaign, so there may not be another update again until next weekend.

- Due to the frustration of trying to fix issues for Mac users this morning, the x. Patch Notes file has been left in disarray, but this gives you a chance to see what I have planned in a more detailed look if you want to see it. As always, these things can change.

- I need to make a MAC version of the demo first and foremost this weekend, so this will take up some of my scheduled development time. When I made it, I was unaware of the current issues. At least I know how to work around it.


Thanks for stopping by, and as always - report those bugs! Please keep in mind that Discord (invite link: https://discord.gg/j4pZKuv) is the best way to report bugs. I don't always get notifications here on the steam forums and even when I look manually, some comments get buried for no reason until months later when they suddenly appear at the top. Strangely enough, this has been the case with several negative reviews for the game as well as a few bug reports.
Facebook is a solid secondary way of reaching out (@ www.facebook.com/crossofauria), but occasionally I'll get notifications saying I have messages, but the messages won't be there. This was the case over the last few days, so if it was you that reported something on fb, I'm terribly sorry but FB won't let me see it.
And finally, Twitter should be the last case scenario in reporting bugs, as I generally never log into CoA's twitter. BUT, you can reach out to me directly @hardytier on twitter, which is one I actively log into all the time. (But seriously, if we can start using Discord for bug reporting, that would actually be the best for me personally >.>)

Anyway, that's it for this huge wall of text, thanks for stopping by, and I hope everyone enjoys their week!

//hardytier

Welcome y'all to another update of your favorite post-apocalyptic food truck simulator!

Metro Central is a large city with nothing really extraordinary at all. The plain hum-drum life is a nice break from the chaos of the world, despite the dark clouds looming overhead.

That's not to say it's an easy challenge, oh no. Not only are there difficult levels ahead, but this area introduces a new food truck that can unleash a super attack! Max Wieners is on the scene with a sniper rifle that targets your temperature regulator. What does that do exactly? Well, it prevents your holding stations from getting too hot- and once its destroyed, your holding station food's freshness levels will decrease 90% faster than they normally would for the entire day!

It is an insane attack that will destroy most players, since holding station foods will only last seconds. Good luck!

In addition to the 35+ levels there will be achievements and two extra trinkets, and the next update will feature a much larger trinket update! With the extra time I've had between this update and Newer Orleans I've also fixed a number of bugs that have needed to be addressed for a while, such as the Halo-Halo impossible recipe, the Creme Brulee torch bug that would "freeze" the brulee, decreased Well Done cooking times for meats by 50%, and more!

Thanks y'all and look for the update early next week!

Hey, squaddies!

A big Offworld welcome to the free weekend! Whether you’re a hardened vet or a fresh-faced recruit, we’ve got some events that’ll entertain. Check ’em out in the Roundup!
 
Free Weekend and 35% off sale

Proceeds from Squad sales today benefit Doctors Without Borders.

5:30 PM PT (0030 UTC, 1/5)
Squad Ops: SOTT Basic

Proceeds from Squad sales today benefit Doctors Without Borders.

5:00 PM PT (0000 UTC, 2/5)
Squad Ops: Regulars Events: Takeover

11:30 AM PT (1830 UTC)
Squad Ops: Operation Joker’s Wild

5:30 PM PT (0030 UTC, 3/5)
Squad Ops: Operation Wicked Web

11:00 AM PT (1800 UTC)
SCL Grand Final: [M] vs [SPiT]

1:00 PM PT (2000 UTC)
Squad Ops: Open Testing CQB Course


Enjoy your weekend, squaddies! We’ll see you same time, same place next week. Be safe out there.

Submit your event to see it featured here!

Fixed achievement bug and adjust virus rotate speed.

Inexistence Rebirth is now on Steam!
Go to the Steam page, and add the game to your wishlist in order to don't miss the release date, scheduled for May 22nd!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1297390/Inexistence_Rebirth/

The game will be available at 50% off for those who bought the first version, so you will be able to rediscover Inexistence with a brand new engine, new graphics, and a huge amount of extra content for just under 4 dollars!

Feel free to share the information around you, and stay tuned for very regular updates before the release!

Check out the latest video available: emergency pad abort sequence. It illustrates the sequence of events in case there is a need to catapult Orion capsule and its crew to safety. We've been working on the in-sim scripting language which enables FSX SpacePort to be given instructions on what to do with the spacecraft and rocket components in given circumstances and conditions. This is the result - a fully automated sequence based not on pre-scripted animation, but real physics!

• Performance work: drastically sped up load times for most users. Get greeted by your dashboard Underlord in record time!
  
• Fixed a crash on the City Crawl map and a crash when accessing the file system.
  
• Fixed an issue where HTML tags would show in some objective descriptions.
  
• Changed the number of units in each tier in the draft pool. There are now 30 of each Tier 1 unit, 20 Tier 2, 15 Tier 3, 12 Tier 4, and 10 Tier 5. This should increase your odds of ranking up un-contested heroes, and in general encourage more diverse and unique crews in a match.

Broodmother:

• Maximum Health changed from [1200, 2400, 5760] to [1300, 2600, 6240]
  
• Spawn Spiderlings:
  
  • Broodmother's Spiderlings cause targets they bite to suffer a miss chance when the Insect Alliance is active.

Dazzle:

• Shadow Wave:
  
  • Damage/Healing changed from [80, 140, 200] to [100, 170, 240]

Disruptor:

• Static Storm:
  
  • Total Damage changed from [115, 250, 425] to [100, 200, 400]

Dragon Knight:

• Maximum Health changed from [1350, 2700, 5400] to [1400, 2800, 5600]
  
• Elder Dragon Form:
  
  • Attacks now apply Poison to the target.
    
  • Corrosive breath damage per second changed from 30 to 10.

Io:

• Maximum Health changed from [825, 1650, 3000] to [900, 1800, 3300]

Necrophos:

• Death Pulse:
  
  • Heal changed from [50, 75, 100] to [50, 75, 125]
    
  • Damage changed from [100, 150, 200] to [100, 150, 250]
    
  • Cooldown changed from 5 to 7

Stonehall Pike:

• Stonehall Pike now confers a base bonus damage of +10
  
• Damage per kill changed from +4 to +3 (+16 to +12 in Knockout)
  
• Total bonus damage is capped at +120

Assassin:

• Healing reduction on Wounded enemies changed from [50, 100] to [75, 100]

Knight:

• Base physical/magical damage reduction changed from [15, 20, 25] to [15, 19, 23]. As always, this reduction is doubled if a Knight is standing next to a friendly Knight and is attacked from the front or side.

Custom Levels are here!

Yes, you heard that right, you can now create your own levels with your favorite pixel art program and the new Level Builder! Everything is detailed in the builder once you press "Help", so read that before you begin :D
And yes, stats like total respawns and best times are also supported on custom levels. Enjoy!

Other changes:

• Changed how timers are displayed - they are now much more accurate for best times, with up to 3 decimal spaces.

Next update will be about reworking the buttons. I feel you controller users, I know they are not the best. Just hang on for a little longer!