Hey folks!

Another month, another update, and wow do we have a lot of progress to share with you!

First and foremost, in case you missed it, Episode 5 finally has a release date! Your return to the Holler is set for Friday, February 13th 2026, on Valentine's Day Eve. We announced this release date with a painstakingly animated trailer put together by our dear friends over at SmallBu Animation, and you can check it out here:

We've also finally released our first alpha build to our testers. All in-all, it contains:

• 34 brand new backgrounds.

• 270 brand new sprites

• About 70,000 words of total content.

• 6 new tracks from our maestro, Mr. Boone.

Even though we call these builds "alphas," this section of the chapter is bug-tested, and effectively locked and finalized. While it's hard to get a full sense of scope, I'd say this means that roughly the first quarter of the episode, in terms of density, is essentially finalized.

If you're interested in trying the beginning of the episode early, you can access this build through the relevant tier on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/first-scarlet-5-142499990

Joining this tier also gets your name added to the alpha tester section of the credits when the next update rolls out!

No pressure to join, but the option is there.

We also wanted to use this update to talk about a small retroactive change we're making to pre-existing romance content. In the current live build, romance options essentially fully ignore your character's gender, but as time went on, we felt like writing their scenes this way stripped them of a little bit of character.

You can still date any of our romance options regardless of your character's gender, but there's now a little extra dialogue referencing their preferences and history to make things feel a bit more organic.

This applies to:

Oscar
Stella
Kaneeka

And it will also apply to Sybil and Doctor Kelly in the future. But we'll leave the details for you to discover once the new update drops.

Reese is too touch-starved to care, Wayne knows what he wants (you), and Avery is chill with anything.

We're also excited to share that our vocalist, Amelia Jones, will be contributing her immense talents to a handful of tracks for the chapter.

Work continues to go well, and we look forward to sharing more with you as we continue to progress.

Best wishes,
Tony and Abby

v0.00.013

･ Fixed directional input response during attacks

･ Various bug fixes

I have another surprise for you!💫

And if you haven’t already, make sure to add the game to your wishlist so you don’t miss the launch! 🔥⬇️⬇️⬇️

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3180150/Mall_Simulator

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Let’s shape the game together, you and me! Join our Discord server and share all your excitement and feedback about Mall Simulator! ❤️

JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER

This major update for 9 Souls brings a host of new content, improvements, and refinements to existing mechanics. Our goal was to deepen the experience, enhance the atmosphere, and introduce fresh challenges.

Thank you all for your feedback it played a direct role in shaping this version!

• 10 New Anomalies Fresh, mysterious phenomena await discovery.

• 2 Anomalies Improved Reworked behavior and effects for greater tension.

• Final Result Added Experience a true outcome to your actions.

• Expanded Game Explanation Additional info and hints to better understand the gameplay.

• Clock Ticking Synchronized The sense of time now flows more naturally.

• TV Room Improved Enhanced visuals and atmosphere for a more immersive experience.

• Path Visibility Adjusted Paths can no longer be fully seen navigation now requires attention and intuition.

This update marks an important milestone in the evolution of 9 Souls.
We’re already working on future content, optimizations, and new secrets that will make the universe even deeper and more mysterious.

Stay alert, follow the signs and uncover what hides in the shadows.
Thank you for your continued support, and enjoy the new update! 💀

A bug has been fixed, that causes the next layer to not have a safe tile after nothing but the top layer has been solved.

- Tweaked fillets to be bigger and a bit more plentiful from fish
- Fixed missing road
- Fixed visible head sometimes when head bobbing is disabled
- Fixed jari saunaing animation
- Fixed collision in outhouse hole
- Attempting fix for reel rod baits, this happens only on specific windows versions that we don't have, so if you had this issue, tell us if it is fixed..
- Fixed hats and accessories being visible while driving the moped etc

Thanks to all who have tried the demo so far and shared their feedback, based on that feedback we have made the following changes to the Infinite Mansion Demo...

• "Quality of Life" updates

  • We have overhauled the collision shapes for every object and prop in the game. This should help prevent players getting stuck as they explore the mansion.

  • We have added control hinting in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This should help player know about all their contextual control options throughout the game (Including the ability to skip lengthy or repetitive VO segments).

  • We have added control input detection, so the images on control commands now switch out to mirror the control input type you are using (keyboard/controller)

  • We updated the keyboard/mouse controls to better utilize the mouse during exploration and combat. Similar to other games that heavily utilize UI in 3D world space (combat menus etc.) we are unable to use mouse hit detection on buttons for those menus and the mouse didn't do much of anything. The mouse now has the following input controls, regardless of context.

    • Left Click: Confirm a selected option. In 3D/combat menus, selections still need to be made using the keyboard, similar to other games that use 3D menus.

    • Right Click: Back/Cancel.

    • Mouse Wheel UP: Advance layered menus or add Cosmic Favor in combat.

    • Mouse Wheel Down: Descend layered menus or subtract Cosmic Favor in combat.

  • Minor tweaks to lighting and rendering during the Start Menu and Mission Wrapup.

• Combat Improvements

  • System overhaul for Hit/Damage sequence during Combat.

    • The old system was very RNG and stat based, where your stat proficiency with a particular weapon would determine the probability of a hit every time. So, if you had a 60 in Strength, and were using a Strength weapon, you would only hit 60 percent of the time and do a random amount of damage based on the weapon's min/max damage score.

    • The new system flips that, and now compares a random roll to a new "defense" stat on the monster you are attacking. If the roll is higher than the defense (generally between 10-20 for typical monsters) you hit. The damage you do with the weapon is then based on your stat proficiency with that weapon. So if you have a 60 in Strength and are using a Strength weapon, you will do up to 60 percent of the maximum damage with that weapon on a hit. Additionally, if your hit roll is 95 or higher, you hit critically and do max damage, no matter your proficiency.

  • Rebalance of Monster HP. Due to the new Hit/Damage system leading to more hits on monsters overall, we rebalanced monster HP so that combat would stay challenging while feeling more satisfying and visceral to the player.

  • Rebalance of Weapon Damage min/max. Due to your stats now having direct impact on your damage output, we rebalanced weapon damage with a higher range between min/max scores so that players could feel the impact of their choices. Now most weapons hit for a range in the low to mid tens, with legendary weapons having the ability to do over 100 dmg on the high end. (This rebalance was also considered in the monster HP rebalance)

  • Added a "Cosmic Favor" system to combat and exploration. Perhaps the biggest change we've made to the Demo, we added a system where players earn "Cosmic Favor" for exploring the mansion and completing mission goals. They can then spend Cosmic Favor during combat to augment Attack and Defense rolls. This system will help players feel like they have more agency over the tide of combat, and give them an edge during crucial combat moments.

Thanks again to anyone who played the demo and gave us feedback. We are most definitely listening and looking to take it all in and, hopefully, come out the other end with a better game!

If anyone out there would like to keep up to date with Infinite Mansion progress, or have a more direct line of communication with the team, feel free to check out our DISCORD SERVER we'd love to see it more active, but most of all it's just the easiest way to communicate with us.

Lastly, if anyone out there encounters more issues with the Demo, or has thoughts in general, feel free to reach out, either on Discord or the Steam Community. Screenshots and descriptions are always helpful.

We will be working on improvements to mansion exploration, including more puzzles, collectables, and hazards players can encounter when exploring The Mansion. These changes will likely be reflected in at least one more Demo update before we march towards our Early Access release.

Bolide can be played on a variety of devices, such as phones, tablets, and TVs, by using Steam Link.

Bolide can be played on any device with Steam Link. Steam Link allows you to stream your Steam games onto any device from your own computer. All you have to do is download the Steam Link app to your device and set it up to play. While using Steam Link to stream Bolide, you will need to have your computer open and running Steam.

You will probably need to connect either a keyboard and mouse or a controller to your device to play.

To play with a keyboard and mouse, just connect them to the device you would like to stream Bolide on.

To play with a controller, you can use Steam Input Translation. Steam Input Translation allows you to play games with a controller, by having the controls mimic the mouse and keyboard. In Bolide, you can use this feature to play with any controller of your choice!

To set up Steam Input Translation, you'll need to connect a controller to your device (and configure it in the Steam Link app prior to streaming if necessary). Once you are streaming, you can enable Steam Input Translation by accessing your controller settings. 

We've found that the "Keyboard (WASD) and Mouse" layout is the best pre-made layout that works with Bolide. In this layout by default, the main controls include:

• The left joystick is the ship's movement (WASD). *

• The bottom action button is shoot (Space).

• The right joystick is the mouse pointer's movement.

• The right trigger and right joystick button are mouse click.

Actions that aren't included above, like skill specific actions, can be bound to controls by either:

• Changing the Steam Input Translation layout (so those controls and keys match with the keybinds in Bolide),

• Or changing the keybinds in Bolide (so those keybinds match with the controls and keys for Steam Input Translation).

You'll need to maneuver the mouse around with a joystick (or its bound control) to navigate menus in-game, but the core gameplay won't require the mouse at all.

*We recommend changing the ship's movement to the left d-pad instead, since up/down change the ship's speed while left/right rotate the ship. This will make the gameplay a little easier.

You can always change any controls to suit your desired playstyle by either editing your Steam Input Translation layout or editing the keybinds for an action (in Bolide's settings).

Bolide can be cloud streamed on NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service. This is an alternative to using Steam Link, and you won’t need to keep your computer open and running while streaming Bolide.

Steam Input Translation can still be enabled that same way that it would be if you were using Steam Link.

Bolide on GeForce NOW

Start Your Journey Today on Anything!

• Elimination Game Mode is now out!

• Added Weapon dropping. By default you can drop your weapon by pressing "G". This can be changed in the settings.

• Slight performance improvements to the in-game UI.

• Sniper scope now blocks more UI elements as before it was showing some.

• You are able to cycle through utilities that you have by pressing the utility key you have set.

• Added an indicator to Pre Game when more players are needed to start a game.

• You can now carry up to 4 utilities at once. Each utility is limited to 1, except flashbangs, which you can carry up to 2.

• Increased spawn protection time in Team Death Match from 4 -> 12.

• Disabled Practice With Bots due to a fatal crash happening. This takes some time to fix, but expect this to return in future patches.

• Possibly fixed a bug that caused being able to damage and kill yourself.

• Fixed errors not showing in Splash Screen correctly if something went wrong.

• Possibly fixed a bug that happened for new players regarding base weapons.

• Fixed AUG's bullets moving slower compared to other weapons.

• the final boss shows his true face
  
• more floor variation
  
• engine update
  
• minor bug fixes and balancing adjustments