Jul 17, 2024

RunOut - Hothead Paws - Under Andr

Hello Runners!

In our first Devlog, we want to showcase some of the characters available in the game. Choosing your Runner is crucial - they all have different skills and stats. We wanted to add as much variety as possible to RunOut so every game will feel different when you change characters!

Before we begin, make sure that you added RunOut to your Steam Wishlists!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2438120/RunOut__Run__Fun_Together/

All done? Now, let’s meet our runners!

Croco

Meet Croco. This crocodile may seem scary, but he’s actually very chill and friendly. He’s so friendly, in fact, that he can put you right into his mouth, but don’t worry, he won’t eat you - he’ll just help you get as far as you want! Or.. don’t want.

Choose Croco if you’re a team player who wants to help or if you want to spit out enemy players back to the start!

Ottbee

Meet Ottbee! This fella is a perfect Runner for those who are just starting out. He’s very earnest and doesn’t try to win by using mischief. His skill is concentrating on increasing his speed and jumping power. His motto is to play smart, not hard!

Choose Ottbee if you want to concentrate on winning without any funny business!

Utangy

Meet Utangy! Now, that’s a different type of Runner. Is he even fast enough to be called a Runner? But Uttangy has an ace up his fur… His skill is to drop on the ground, break it, cause chaos, and jump forward very far! He might not be the fastest, but his jumps can let you outpace other players easily. He can be very powerful in the right hands or look pretty foolish in the wrong ones.

Choose Utangy if you feel like jumping instead of running, and you won’t be disappointed!

Cabpy

Meet Cabpy! She’s unlike any other Runner because… she’s not alone! By using her skill, she calls on her children, who will make a giant wall on top of her back. First of all, no one wants to jump on top of cute capybaras. Second of all, if they try - they will explode! Carefully timed skill usage will easily let you explode players out of the game.

Choose Cabpy if you’re feeling particularly tricky and want to mess with other players!

Salmo

Meet Salmo, he might not look like it, but he’s a fun-loving guy! His favorite trick is pulling out his fish sword and chasing other players. If you hit them enough times, they will faint, and you’ll have more time to win the race while they’re lying on the ground sleeping!

Choose Salmo if you’re in a silly mood and want to hit other players instead of running!

That’s it for our first devlog! We hope you liked learning about the characters and are even more excited to play RunOut! But these are not all of the characters we have in the game! In the coming weeks, we will continue telling you all about them!

For now, join our Discord to meet other Runners like you and participate in the giveaway we’re holding until July 19!

Jul 17, 2024

Patch 2.0 Update

VAGUE Playtest - Wollabebes

In this patch:
- Fixed Mouse Buttons not showing in Tutorial Prompts
- Modified UI for crosshair and interaction HUD.
- Added "<< >>" Navigation tips for Settings.
- Fixed Prologue Cutscene not showing upon starting, along with its initialization.
- Changed "Exit" into "Exit to Desktop" to avoid confusion.
- Added Objectives event as hint to solve the level puzzles.
- Fixed Loading Behavior on Continue levels.
- Remove SFX layer on Prologue cutscene.
- Added Navigation hint on Options to switch between options.
- Added "Interaction-blocked!" indication on Weapon aimed.
- Fixed Dog SFX.
- Added Continue button to resume back to the previously saved point.
- Auto-save is enabled.
- Added Enemy Savable State.
- Added PlayReportManager to get game logs for debugging.
- Fixed Stills and Prompt issues.
- Fixed Settings issues.
- Added Brightness and Gamma in Settings.
- Added Minimal Glitch FX in Settings.
- Fixed Monster animation on close combat range.
- Modified Puzzles in The Abyss
- Added story elements in The Abyss
- Added new SFXs in The Abyss

Jul 17, 2024

Announcing Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap - A Brief History of the Franchise

Orcs Must Die! 3 - Romanova

Hey War Mages!

We’ve got some exciting news for you. We’re thrilled to announce the next big chapter in the Orcs Must Die! saga: Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is coming in early 2025!

A Quick Trip Down Memory Lane
It’s been an incredible journey since we started this wild ride back in 2011. When we first launched Orcs Must Die!, we wanted to mix strategy and action in a third-person tower defense game that felt fresh and fun. The game found a loyal following, and we were heartened by the response from fans.

We’re proud to say that over 12 million of you have joined the fight against the orc hordes. Your enthusiasm and feedback have inspired us every step of the way, influencing other games and keeping us on our toes.

Orcs Must Die! (2011)
- This was where it all began. We introduced you to Max, the War Mage, and a world where strategy and action collided in the most explosive way. The goal? Defend your rift from those pesky orcs using a wild array of traps and weapons.

Early concept and idea generation for OMD (2010)

Orcs Must Die! 2 (2012)
- Things got even better with co-op play. Gabriella joined Max to form a duo of orc-fighting War Mages. Teaming up with friends to tackle orc hordes brought a whole new level of fun. More traps, more weapons, more levels – it was everything you loved, but bigger and better.

Orcs Must Die! 2

Orcs Must Die! Unchained (2017)
- We took a bold step into the PvP world with this one. It was a free-to-play adventure that introduced new heroes and complex gameplay. It was different. We learned a lot about the challenges of sustaining a free-to-play game. While it didn't last as long as we hoped, fans still tell us that they loved the unique heroes we created. We also experimented with a new mode called Sabotage, with two teams battling on separate versions of the same map, that went on to influence future ideas.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained

Orcs Must Die! 3 (2020)
- After OMDU was shut down, we knew we needed to get “back to the basics” of what originally made OMD successful. We explored some new additions to gameplay such as War Scenarios, where we significantly increased the number of invading orcs, and Scramble Mode, where we first experimented with roguelite concepts. This version has been a nice success and inspired us to push on. We’ve listened closely to fans and your most requested features. Our challenge - how do we maintain what fans most love about OMD while still innovating and expanding the boundaries? We hope we’ve done just that with….

Orcs Must Die! 3

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap (2025)
- OMDD maintains the personality, charm, and vibe of the series, but the way that we’ve changed the metagame will make it hit different and deserving of a fresh new name. You can look forward to:
- Four-Player Co-op: We know some of you were forced to split up your friend group to play… no longer! And if you don’t have three friends to play with, we’re making it easier to find games to join. Of course, the solo experience will also be great to play.
- New Heroes with Unique Abilities: OMDU fans have been passionately reminding us how good unique heroes from that game felt – and we’ve listened. We’re interested to see how people strategize their party makeup around our new War Mages, which come with distinctive abilities, unique character traits, and their own exclusive trap to keep things fresh and tactical. You’ll see Max and Gabby in the hub to guide you along, but they’re not playable. Yet.
- Expanded, Deeper and Different Progression: You’ll have access to a deep skill tree to progress and grow your heroes, as well as having separate progression paths for weapons and traps. Our new progression systems go well beyond any prior entry in the series.
- Rogue-lite Runs and Expanded Level Variety: Each run brings new challenges and upgrades. You’ll choose buffs and debuffs that can dramatically change the way you play, and it all stacks as your run progresses. Environmental conditions will additionally alter your interactions with each level. There is no longer one ideal way to solve a given puzzle.
- Improved Combat: Our third-person shooter combat is tighter and more responsive. We’ve never loved our melee combat so this area has received the most attention. The melee heroes have already become internal favorites during playtests.
- Enhanced Visuals and Physics: We’ve upped the ante with better graphics and crazier physics. We’re aiming to make physics-based traps not just more exciting, but also more practical as part of the mix for a good trap loadout.

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap

Wrapping Up

We’re doubling down on everything you love and adding some epic new twists. Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap is shaping up to be our most exciting game yet. We can’t wait for you to play it!

Please wishlist the game and stay tuned for more updates and get ready to join the fun in early 2025.

Jul 17, 2024

Next Content Update: The Rock

CYCO - PHOSPHORUS

Hello my name is Collin Hansard, sole developer for 'CYCO'.

I am joyous that players are learning and enjoying the game systems and mechanics as we will continue to develop these systems further and beyond what currently exists. Before I start speaking about the next content update I'd like to address common concerns and issues that have been raised about the game in it's current state.

First and foremost I must apologize, I did not publish the announcement that denoted we have undergone a complete engine overhaul / re-imagining. To clarify: The old version of the game soft launched on July 15th 2022, while this new engine overhaul released just two days ago (As of 07/17/24) on July 15th, 2024. This new version took 10 months to develop and we seem to have every major system gameplay system up and running, what you are seeing now is essentially a vertical slice of what is to come.
Regarding the loading and stuttering concerns: This is caused by the game being rendered using the Vulkan API, the issue comes from how Vulkan works as if it does not detect a pre-compiled version of the shader it will compile it in real time, so for example: When you throw the knives out for the first time and Vulkan does not have the required pre-compiled shaders, it will compile them the second the knife object is spawned, this also explains why the game is taking a while to boot up initially but boots fast on the 2nd opening of the game. This isn't necessarily a defect with Vulkan, but the problem stems from the fact the game has re-released on an entirely new engine as it will be a short while until Steam will automatically detect these shaders and distribute them to players, in short: This issue will be resolved in time and soon, in the meantime please make sure you have "Enable Shader-Precaching' enabled in your Steam settings under the Downloads section. If this problem continues to persist for new players we will take the nuclear option and dedicate the time to rework the entire initialization system to route this issue.
Regarding the "Shadow-Boxing" content update, while yes the map is a de-facto training level, the map is fully considered by us to be a full entry / content update, while it may not be representative of the future planned game loop, we consider it to be core to the foundation of the game, we personally see it as a sandbox environment where players can freely lab the mechanics and systems of the game in a vacuum. For the concerns of accessibility and learning, we greatly value accessibility and teaching the players how to be effective within the game's systems, while 'Shadow-boxing' is currently in maintenance mode at this point, we will add features to further demonstrate how the game is intended to be played, not just for Shadow-Boxing, but for the future maps as well.
Now finally in regards to the lack of content, the next three content updates are partially started, however the next content update 'The Rock' is the being worked on full time. It is too early to show off too much we can disclose some things what the content update will feature.

- New Map: "The Rock"
- New Playable Character
- Two Assist Characters
- 4 Enemy types
- A multitude of Non-Combat activities and cinematics
- Swimming

While there is more content that will be featured not described above, this is what can be guaranteed at this time. Here is a sneak peak for 'The Rock':
One final thing: I can't speak on this too much: early adopters will be rewarded greatly for having to deal with these growing pains.

I will for the time being keep communication to a minimum unless further issues appear, until then I will need to remain focused on working on 'The Rock'. I have spent a long time working on this game in private, so please bear with me as I am learning how to communicate the direction of the game in a public manner. Thank you for your patience and continued interest into the project, your kind words will be the fuel that makes dreams become reality.

-Collin Hansard