In anticipation of the Episode 4 release a beta patch was uploaded to the "releasecandidate" branch. The list of changes is big, so we could use some last minute testing!

Full change log is found in this thread for the time being: http://steamcommunity.com/app/313630/discussions/0/364041432730225313/

Among the more noteworthy changes are permanent modifiers. You can now pick one special upgrade at the start of each game.



Other key changes:

*Performance and loading times improved.
*Oculus and Vive SDK upgraded, and support for stereo rendering.
*Female voice support is in.
*More achievements

Edit: For the Vive crash a fix is coming up, but in the mean time you can modify installdirectory\Solus\Config\DefaultGame.ini and set LoadingScreens=False. That fixes the crashes.

In anticipation of the Episode 4 release a beta patch was uploaded to the "releasecandidate" branch. The list of changes is big, so we could use some last minute testing!

Full change log is found in this thread for the time being: http://steamcommunity.com/app/313630/discussions/0/364041432730225313/

Among the more noteworthy changes are permanent modifiers. You can now pick one special upgrade at the start of each game.



Other key changes:

*Performance and loading times improved.
*Oculus and Vive SDK upgraded, and support for stereo rendering.
*Female voice support is in.
*More achievements

Edit: For the Vive crash a fix is coming up, but in the mean time you can modify installdirectory\Solus\Config\DefaultGame.ini and set LoadingScreens=False. That fixes the crashes.

Sorry for the longer delay between news updates. As we are moving towards full release we've been crunching hard to get the game done.



We are happy to announce that Episode 4 will come out for PC this week, as planned. Tomorrow as first step we are going to put up a new beta update to verify that all of our changes are holding up. We have a long list of changes and fixes (detailed list coming tomorrow). For that we will ask your help to see if all is good.
Provided nothing serious surfaces from the beta update, then Thursday Episode 4 will go up for Steam and GOG.

Episode 4 will have the Ice Path. It is a fairly short update this time around, but still provides up to an hour of additional gameplay and an all new environment.

This will be the last update before the full game comes out, containing the final 2 levels of the game. We are almost there!

Thanks for all your support!

Sorry for the longer delay between news updates. As we are moving towards full release we've been crunching hard to get the game done.



We are happy to announce that Episode 4 will come out for PC this week, as planned. Tomorrow as first step we are going to put up a new beta update to verify that all of our changes are holding up. We have a long list of changes and fixes (detailed list coming tomorrow). For that we will ask your help to see if all is good.
Provided nothing serious surfaces from the beta update, then Thursday Episode 4 will go up for Steam and GOG.

Episode 4 will have the Ice Path. It is a fairly short update this time around, but still provides up to an hour of additional gameplay and an all new environment.

This will be the last update before the full game comes out, containing the final 2 levels of the game. We are almost there!

Thanks for all your support!

Episode 3 has been released for PC! Xbox following shortly!



In "the Highpoint Expansion" the player will explore the new and very vertical Highpoint island, along with its accompanying massive cave level. Tons of new content is added in this expansion. Over three hours worth of additional story and gameplay is added including a new cave look, acid lakes, dozens of strange flying orbs, a monstrous creature, and last but not least a huge windmill.

The plot thickens as the player ventures ever deeper into the world of The Solus Project and begins to understand ever more of what has happened on the planet.

Alongside the new content a large new patch is included fixing known bugs and balancing dozens of existing features. The patch notes can be found here.

Episode 3 has been released for PC! Xbox following shortly!



In "the Highpoint Expansion" the player will explore the new and very vertical Highpoint island, along with its accompanying massive cave level. Tons of new content is added in this expansion. Over three hours worth of additional story and gameplay is added including a new cave look, acid lakes, dozens of strange flying orbs, a monstrous creature, and last but not least a huge windmill.

The plot thickens as the player ventures ever deeper into the world of The Solus Project and begins to understand ever more of what has happened on the planet.

Alongside the new content a large new patch is included fixing known bugs and balancing dozens of existing features. The patch notes can be found here.

In "the Highpoint Expansion" the player will explore the new and very vertical Highpoint island, along with its accompanying massive cave level. Tons of new content is added in this free expansion. Over three hours worth of additional story and gameplay is added including a new cave look, acid lakes, dozens of strange flying orbs, a monstrous creature, and last but not least a huge windmill.

The plot thickens as the player ventures ever deeper into the world of The Solus Project and begins to understand ever more of what has happened on the planet.

Patch notes:

MAJOR
Episode 3 content added
Save game format was tweaked to be more flexible for the future! Backwards compatibility was built in but may still lead to unforeseen consequences. Please back up your save games and let us know if you hit any unexpected issues!
Force feedback support added.
Balancing: Text scrolls slower + speed can be set via ini file. Flashlight upgrades give 15% now. Major fix for hypothermia being incorrectly calculated in average temperature environments. While sleeping your body temperature changes less.
Smoke monster also attacks other sources of heat now. You can hide yourself with cold items. Can now recraft the frame device found in the second large cave level.
Ladder behaviour changed.
When climbing ladders you now go down with forward if looking down
Cannot strafe on ladders anymore to lessen risk falling off

Core
Changes to Xbox controller layout
Game now supports force feedback for Xbox controller
Audio now uses 64 channels instead of 32. This fixes all forms of audio noise and restarts but may impose higher demands on PC. Please keep an eye out for any problems here.
PDA Story text reading slower
PDA story text read speed can also be manually set via game.ini
Communication tower parts now correctly saved and loaded on levels other than Crossroads.
Swords can also open cans of food now
Smoke Monster now also attacks heat crystals, and can now no longer see the player if the player holds a cold emitting item. Upon attacking a heat device it also allows for the heat device to be emptied and return to its shell state thereby allowing you to craft a different kind of device next time around.
Glitched torch problem fixes where lighting one torch with another could result in unusable torches in some scenarios.
Ocean reflections now a lot faster to render, and due to that ocean reflection sharpness increased
Game has better check for when you are outdoors, resulting in less stoppage of rain in places where it doesn't make sense
Sky One disappears in a cloud of smoke now.
Flamethrower ignites items you hold better
All items are less likely to fall through the ground now. May impact performance. Please keep an eye out on it.

Balancing
Buffs go down 60% slower
Can fall 15% further without taking damage (fall damage currently starts at 3 meter 80).
Weather now mostly ignores Slow Day Night cycle setting. Weather changes 50% slower in Slow Day/Night but does still change unlike before.
Battery upgrades flashlight extended from 10 to 15% per upgrade.
Flashlight loses power slower if difficulty is easy or if slow day and night is enabled
Can jump 10% higher and accelerate slightly faster when walking
Warmth crystals in the levels give off a bit more heat.
While sleeping temperature stays more stable
Serious calculation error fixed in hypothermia recovery rates when in medium warm environments

UI
Xbox and PC news in main menu now split up
Support for Russian, German, French, and Spanish has been extended further but is not yet final.
Credits updated.

Levels
Landing floating meshes and holes fixed
Flashpoint Cave 1 hole fixed
Flashpoint Cave 1 warning about fire extended to also include heat + moved to earlier in the level for increased awareness
Flashpoint Cave 2 green fire now also heats you and ignites torches
Return journey at the end of Episode 2 now more clearly guided and more visually pleasing
Flashpoint multiple holes fixed
Flashpoint weather change 20% faster
Flashpoint sharks swimming through the islands fixed
Crossroads incorrect North/South orientation sky fixed

VR
In VR PDA is a bit more angled to make reading a bit easier
VR runs on Oculus 0.8 still and it will be another week to 3 weeks about before this is resolved. Also Vive crashes may occur. Same time frame for a fix for that.

In "the Highpoint Expansion" the player will explore the new and very vertical Highpoint island, along with its accompanying massive cave level. Tons of new content is added in this free expansion. Over three hours worth of additional story and gameplay is added including a new cave look, acid lakes, dozens of strange flying orbs, a monstrous creature, and last but not least a huge windmill.

The plot thickens as the player ventures ever deeper into the world of The Solus Project and begins to understand ever more of what has happened on the planet.

Patch notes:

MAJOR
Episode 3 content added
Save game format was tweaked to be more flexible for the future! Backwards compatibility was built in but may still lead to unforeseen consequences. Please back up your save games and let us know if you hit any unexpected issues!
Force feedback support added.
Balancing: Text scrolls slower + speed can be set via ini file. Flashlight upgrades give 15% now. Major fix for hypothermia being incorrectly calculated in average temperature environments. While sleeping your body temperature changes less.
Smoke monster also attacks other sources of heat now. You can hide yourself with cold items. Can now recraft the frame device found in the second large cave level.
Ladder behaviour changed.
When climbing ladders you now go down with forward if looking down
Cannot strafe on ladders anymore to lessen risk falling off

Core
Changes to Xbox controller layout
Game now supports force feedback for Xbox controller
Audio now uses 64 channels instead of 32. This fixes all forms of audio noise and restarts but may impose higher demands on PC. Please keep an eye out for any problems here.
PDA Story text reading slower
PDA story text read speed can also be manually set via game.ini
Communication tower parts now correctly saved and loaded on levels other than Crossroads.
Swords can also open cans of food now
Smoke Monster now also attacks heat crystals, and can now no longer see the player if the player holds a cold emitting item. Upon attacking a heat device it also allows for the heat device to be emptied and return to its shell state thereby allowing you to craft a different kind of device next time around.
Glitched torch problem fixes where lighting one torch with another could result in unusable torches in some scenarios.
Ocean reflections now a lot faster to render, and due to that ocean reflection sharpness increased
Game has better check for when you are outdoors, resulting in less stoppage of rain in places where it doesn't make sense
Sky One disappears in a cloud of smoke now.
Flamethrower ignites items you hold better
All items are less likely to fall through the ground now. May impact performance. Please keep an eye out on it.

Balancing
Buffs go down 60% slower
Can fall 15% further without taking damage (fall damage currently starts at 3 meter 80).
Weather now mostly ignores Slow Day Night cycle setting. Weather changes 50% slower in Slow Day/Night but does still change unlike before.
Battery upgrades flashlight extended from 10 to 15% per upgrade.
Flashlight loses power slower if difficulty is easy or if slow day and night is enabled
Can jump 10% higher and accelerate slightly faster when walking
Warmth crystals in the levels give off a bit more heat.
While sleeping temperature stays more stable
Serious calculation error fixed in hypothermia recovery rates when in medium warm environments

UI
Xbox and PC news in main menu now split up
Support for Russian, German, French, and Spanish has been extended further but is not yet final.
Credits updated.

Levels
Landing floating meshes and holes fixed
Flashpoint Cave 1 hole fixed
Flashpoint Cave 1 warning about fire extended to also include heat + moved to earlier in the level for increased awareness
Flashpoint Cave 2 green fire now also heats you and ignites torches
Return journey at the end of Episode 2 now more clearly guided and more visually pleasing
Flashpoint multiple holes fixed
Flashpoint weather change 20% faster
Flashpoint sharks swimming through the islands fixed
Crossroads incorrect North/South orientation sky fixed

VR
In VR PDA is a bit more angled to make reading a bit easier
VR runs on Oculus 0.8 still and it will be another week to 3 weeks about before this is resolved. Also Vive crashes may occur. Same time frame for a fix for that.

We hit some unfortunate last minute crash issues that force us to go over everything again. Because of that we are missing our launch window with the press, and we have no choice but to push it back one week until next week Wednesday 18.00 CET.

We are running very tight deadlines since we basically have just 2-3 weeks each time to get ~3 hours worth of content ready. With our huge updates this was bound to happen at some point.

We've gone through a long week/weekend ourselves to try and get it ready so to have it fail on one particular crash right before the finish line is just as terrible for us as it is for you waiting for the update, but there is not much to do about that. We want to ensure you have the best possible experience.

Onto next week and the new massive expansion! Hang in there! Just a week to go.

We hit some unfortunate last minute crash issues that force us to go over everything again. Because of that we are missing our launch window with the press, and we have no choice but to push it back one week until next week Wednesday 18.00 CET.

We are running very tight deadlines since we basically have just 2-3 weeks each time to get ~3 hours worth of content ready. With our huge updates this was bound to happen at some point.

We've gone through a long week/weekend ourselves to try and get it ready so to have it fail on one particular crash right before the finish line is just as terrible for us as it is for you waiting for the update, but there is not much to do about that. We want to ensure you have the best possible experience.

Onto next week and the new massive expansion! Hang in there! Just a week to go.