Hey everyone, SALT_ here.

I’ve got a fresh update on DROSS! This isn’t an announcement for a new demo release, but a deep dive into what I’ve been grinding away on to make the game better than ever.

We’re not quite ready to drop the next update, but the demo is coming along quickly and smoothly. More enemies have been added, core systems are clicking better, and everything—lots of everything—has been polished to a shine.

I’m thrilled to share where things stand, what’s new, and what’s in the works.

Thanks for sticking around; I know it’s been a while. Your feedback and excitement for the next update have kept me pushing as hard as I can!

I’ve been deep in development on DROSS, focusing on getting the game back to a fully playable state with all the improvements we’ve discussed. The goal is to make the demo rock-solid before pushing toward the full game. Here’s a rundown of the major areas I’ve tackled:

Enemy AI and Behaviors: Bringing the Bugs back to Life

The alien bugs are the heart of DROSS’s chaotic, intense vibe, and I’ve poured time into their AI movement and behavior. We’re talking big, slicing-claw bugs, swarms of small, biting creatures, and more, all with new behaviors that make them feel alive and reactive.

Bugs now circle aggressively just out of reach, retreat when approached, wait for the perfect moment, or lurk just out of sight.

They gather resources like minerals to upgrade their unit types, strengths, and nests. Swarm leaders direct their groups dynamically, setting up ambushes or stalking where they know you can’t see them.

Bigger elites add variety to each encounter. It’s all about creating a spectrum from tense stealth to high-action chaos, with 500–800+ enemies running smoothly on screen.

I’ve added a new global enemy morale system that shifts how bugs behave. High morale means more aggressive attacks; low morale makes them scatter and flee.

Player actions, like wiping out a nest or large groups, can tank their morale, while enemy pushes boost it back up. Visual cues, like panicked animations, sound effects, and behavior changes, are in development to make this feel more immersive. These make every fight feel reactive and unpredictable, forcing you to adapt as the Dross do.

I’ve added more floor plan layouts to the level designs.

New linear, classic dungeon exploration, and exploration-heavy floor plans are designed to keep each level fresh. Linear levels streamline fast-paced runs, dungeon layouts offer branching paths for exploration, and Key locked areas challenge you with clearance cards and locked routes. It’s been tough ensuring these fit within level bounds, but they guide players naturally toward objectives like exits or supply/armory rooms. Important elements, like keys, ammo, infestations, or upgrades, are clearly marked on the minimap with updated art for smoother navigation.

Enemies now collect and use resources. Bugs mine materials for energy to strengthen their nests. Players can interrupt this for high-stakes fights. This ties into the new level design, making each floor feel like a living ecosystem that changes, expands, and grows, where every choice matters.

Movement and combat have been polished to hit that sweet spot between tense and frantic. Player movement—speed, strafing, stamina, and melee—has been refined for a smoother flow, especially in the big armor that feels heavy yet responsive, akin to Warhammer’s bulky aesthetic. I fixed issues with item pickups, so grabbing loot within a radius is seamless, prioritizing nearby items during interactions to avoid clunky mistakes, especially during frantic fights where inputs must work.

Weapons have received a lot of love. I reworked their visuals and animations, added more moving parts, and they now look much cooler. The upgrade system has expanded, with more weapons and upgrades you can discover.

More gun lockers, shops, and hidden items have been added within the levels, offering tools to tackle each scenario. I ensured ammo spawns favor weapons you carry, so you’re less likely to run dry, alongside upgrades for better drop rates and quantities.

Performance is critical with hundreds of enemies swarming the screen. New systems like CullingManager and EnemyProximityManager, a dedicated performance LOS controller, distance checks, quad-tree lookups, and time-slicing have boosted optimization by 100% and handle proximity checks efficiently, using area-based systems for minimal calculations.

New flocking behavior uses a smoother, more organic steering approach with staggered updates, keeping large swarms running smoothly. Physics-controlling scripts scale based on velocity and gravity, making environmental interactions like kicking, hitting, or throwing more impactful.

By leveraging Unity 6’s new GPU features, LODs, occlusion, small-object culling, VFX rendering, and distance-based animation quality, there’s been a major performance boost, especially for distant enemies. The animation culling system adjusts based on distance, ensuring no frame drops even during the most intense fights.

The story is starting to take shape, with cutscenes between the player and Vanth adding narrative depth to the ORCUS facility. The tutorial is now more intuitive, with input detection (gamepad or keyboard) to guide new players. The Rest Area between levels has been refined, offering story beats, advanced tutorials, and a spot to save without losing progress. Small touches, like bug blood splattering floors or heads exploding, add an extra layer of polish to make fights visceral.

The next update (v0.8.2-ish) is focused on tying all these pieces together. I plan to reintroduce many bug variants like spore bugs , spitters, runners, to spice up combat and force strategic target prioritization. The weapon overhaul continues, with more unique upgrades and animations to make every shot feel powerful. Player upgrades are expanding to give that rogue-like depth, with a bigger pool of items to mix and match for wild builds.

The demo will remain limited to three levels, but I want it packed with content—so much that you can’t see it all in one run. Balancing difficulty is crucial: I want it challenging but winnable, with stealth and combat options that reward smart play.

DROSS is a tough grind, with me handling art, code, and everything else. I’ve received a lot of help, support, and feedback, but I’m still fixing plenty of my own mistakes—old code and rookie errors.

But your feedback, playtests, and encouragement make it feel like a team effort. The game is shaping up to be something special: Space Hulk’s tension, Left 4 Dead’s swarm chaos, and deep replayability, all wrapped in a grim sci-fi package. I’m not there yet, but every step forward feels huge.

If you’re new, check out the demo on Steam soon, and maybe consider wishlisting DROSS—it really boosts visibility.

Got any thoughts, feedback, comments, or criticism?

Drop them here or on the Steam discussion forums. Thanks for reading and supporting this journey. I’m working hard on this, I’ve gotten a lot done, and I’ll have more to share soon.!

Cheers,

SALT_

Patch 6 is here! I'm hoping I can finally get time to start improving the custom levelpack experience and add Steam Workshop support. No promises on any timeline because I am still prioritizing QoL suggestions, and addressing any points of unintended friction. Hearing your feedback and watching gameplay videos/streams has been very helpful for further improving the game, so keep sending those my way!

Speaking of custom levels, we already have a few community members creating them. Until Steam Workshop is ready, join the Discord to play and share custom levels. As we start to get more, I would like to do some regular streams, say 1-2 times per month, where I play some community levels.

Also I want to give a shout-out to Discord user StarlitEternity who has routed and completed a low% run of the game's "true ending". They managed to reach this ending while only completing 55 levels for a progress of 16.9%. Wow!

Puzzle changes

• Made Moonwalk much easier to solve by moving the red goal. Players were too easily reaching the optional hard levels before realizing that they could just complete and leave the world, so having an easy solution to this early world puzzle will better teach how the meta structure of the game works.
  
• Moonwalk.Reciprocity now has the walrus start with the spring. Also added an extra tile in the bottom left to make the main deduction a bit easier to spot.
  
• Added 2 fog columns to Liftoff.Countdown to make one of the early deductions easier.

Misc

• Mouse users can now perform moves using LMB click-drag-release. This is not tutorialized anywhere, but there is feedback in the form of a stretching arrow in the direction of the drag. Some people will like this much more than LMB to select and RMB to move.
  
• Gameplay setting 'Selection ring' will now also control whether the two different mouse arrows (one for RMB movement and one for LMB drag movement) are displayed.

From July 3 to July 6, 2025, CyberConnect2 will be hosting talk panels about their creative and the Fuga: Melodies of Steel series at Anthrocon 2025 and Japan Expo 2025. At the end of each panel, original goods will be given away!

Additionally, at Japan Expo 2025, there will also be autograph sessions and merchandise sales.
We hope to see you there!

---

🗣️Speaker: Executive Vice President Taichiro Miyazaki
July 3rd, 6:00 - 6:30 PM
Room: DLCC319-321

---

🗣️Speaker: CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama
Planned for Friday, July 4th and July 6th
https://www.cc2.co.jp/global-events-2025/jx/en/

🗓Held once per day, from Thursday, July 3rd to Sunday, July 6th with Fuga 3 autograph sheets!
We'll also sign any packages or goods you bring! ✍️



We will be selling artbooks and merchandise for the Fuga series at the CyberConnect2 booth.

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3081320/3/

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3425730/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3425770/

---

Check out the website or more!👉https://www.cc2.co.jp/fuga3/en/

From July 3 to July 6, 2025, CyberConnect2 will be hosting talk panels about their creative and the Fuga: Melodies of Steel series at Anthrocon 2025 and Japan Expo 2025. At the end of each panel, original goods will be given away!

Additionally, at Japan Expo 2025, there will also be autograph sessions and merchandise sales.
We hope to see you there!

---

🗣️Speaker: Executive Vice President Taichiro Miyazaki
July 3rd, 6:00 - 6:30 PM
Room: DLCC319-321

---

🗣️Speaker: CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama
Planned for Friday, July 4th and July 6th
https://www.cc2.co.jp/global-events-2025/jx/en/

🗓Held once per day, from Thursday, July 3rd to Sunday, July 6th with Fuga 3 autograph sheets!
We'll also sign any packages or goods you bring! ✍️



We will be selling artbooks and merchandise for the Fuga series at the CyberConnect2 booth.

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3081320/3/

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3425730/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3425770/

---

Check out the website or more!👉https://www.cc2.co.jp/fuga3/en/

From July 3 to July 6, 2025, CyberConnect2 will be hosting talk panels about their creative and the Fuga: Melodies of Steel series at Anthrocon 2025 and Japan Expo 2025. At the end of each panel, original goods will be given away!

Additionally, at Japan Expo 2025, there will also be autograph sessions and merchandise sales.
We hope to see you there!

---

🗣️Speaker: Executive Vice President Taichiro Miyazaki
July 3rd, 6:00 - 6:30 PM
Room: DLCC319-321

---

🗣️Speaker: CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama
Planned for Friday, July 4th and July 6th
https://www.cc2.co.jp/global-events-2025/jx/en/

🗓Held once per day, from Thursday, July 3rd to Sunday, July 6th with Fuga 3 autograph sheets!
We'll also sign any packages or goods you bring! ✍️



We will be selling artbooks and merchandise for the Fuga series at the CyberConnect2 booth.

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3081320/3/

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3425730/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3425770/

---

Check out the website or more!👉https://www.cc2.co.jp/fuga3/en/

• Backstab attacks will always stagger the enemy if the enemy can stagger.
  
• Increased arrow velocity.
  
• Reduced gravity on arrows.

This build includes some bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements

• Fixed a bug where the player could reduce dice values into the negatives.

• Added a skip option for the opening cutscene.

• Updated some animations to be smoother.

Thank You

A huge thank you to all the players for your continued support.

Happy gambling, and may the dice be ever in your favor!

Version 1.6.0 Patch Notes

Are you ready to burn it up this summer? The Special Burning Summer Events are starting in Albion.

Detailed information about the two events

can be found after the 6/19 (Thu) update by accessing Game Menu (ESC) > "Events" on the right.

※ For a more seamless experience, please participate in the events after the update is finished.

■ Event 1. Burning Summer Attendance

You can earn a wide range of rewards from Growth Items to Item Customizations based on the number of days you've logged in.

- Event Period: After the 06.19.2025 (Thu) patch - maintenance on 08.27.2025 (Wed) 23:59 PDT

- Event Details: Depending on the number of days you've logged in, you can earn various rewards.

[dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/2622380/ELDEN_RING_NIGHTREIGN/"][/dynamiclink]