Hello everyone!


Of course, in the process of the free weekend taking place, some new bugs occurred. These were:

- Ratz fails to authenticate with Steam
- In CTF mode, if the flag carrier gets switched to the other team, the flag disappeared
- In Duel mode, the game didn't end when your opponent ragequits (I'm not 100% sure if it's fully fixed, so please report if it still happens. It's hard to debug! ><)

But don't worry, they're all fixed now!

I've also come up with something I hope you're going to like…

While I was working on the new Map Editor and the inclusion of Multi-Threaded Lightmap baking, I got a great idea for a new type of mouse input! Enhanced Mouse Input V2 now runs in a separate CPU thread - this results in super fast mouse polling with almost zero performance impact. This approach is probably the best mouse input you'll find in any Unity game right now… give it a try and let me know what you think!


EDIT:
Since we have a lot of new players now, I thought it was time to try out a new matchmaking system. When searching for a game now, the system tries to separate players into two tiers. So, if a player reaches a rating of at least 150 points over time, the chances are higher that they'll then be matched with more experienced players (only in ranked modes). Hopefully, this will help new players to get a better start at playing and enjoying Ratz!

Have fun everyone!

Hello everyone!


Of course, in the process of the free weekend taking place, some new bugs occurred. These were:

- Ratz fails to authenticate with Steam
- In CTF mode, if the flag carrier gets switched to the other team, the flag disappeared
- In Duel mode, the game didn't end when your opponent ragequits (I'm not 100% sure if it's fully fixed, so please report if it still happens. It's hard to debug! ><)

But don't worry, they're all fixed now!

I've also come up with something I hope you're going to like…

While I was working on the new Map Editor and the inclusion of Multi-Threaded Lightmap baking, I got a great idea for a new type of mouse input! Enhanced Mouse Input V2 now runs in a separate CPU thread - this results in super fast mouse polling with almost zero performance impact. This approach is probably the best mouse input you'll find in any Unity game right now… give it a try and let me know what you think!


EDIT:
Since we have a lot of new players now, I thought it was time to try out a new matchmaking system. When searching for a game now, the system tries to separate players into two tiers. So, if a player reaches a rating of at least 150 points over time, the chances are higher that they'll then be matched with more experienced players (only in ranked modes). Hopefully, this will help new players to get a better start at playing and enjoying Ratz!

Have fun everyone!

Hi everyone!

What's that? You think Ratz Instagib is brilliant and think more people should play it? Well, now's the perfect opportunity to spread the word… because Ratz Instagib is totally free to play for the entire weekend!

From 10am PDT today (9/10/15) to 1pm PDT on Sunday (9/13/15), you can play Ratz Instagib as much you like for free. Tell your friends, tell your relatives, tell strangers on the street - it doesn't matter, as long as people get playing!

On top of this, we've got two added bonuses for both new Ratz players and long-time fans:

• 50% off of the game's regular price from today until 10am PDT on Monday (9/14/15), meaning you can keep playing after the free weekend is over!
  
• Three super-rare 'Space Rat' customisation items (helmet, chestplate and shoulder pads) that can ONLY be unlocked by playing this weekend – once the free period is over, they'll never be available again!

Spread the word, because this weekend it's open season on Ratz Instagib! Have fun!

Hi everyone!

What's that? You think Ratz Instagib is brilliant and think more people should play it? Well, now's the perfect opportunity to spread the word… because Ratz Instagib is totally free to play for the entire weekend!

From 10am PDT today (9/10/15) to 1pm PDT on Sunday (9/13/15), you can play Ratz Instagib as much you like for free. Tell your friends, tell your relatives, tell strangers on the street - it doesn't matter, as long as people get playing!

On top of this, we've got two added bonuses for both new Ratz players and long-time fans:

• 50% off of the game's regular price from today until 10am PDT on Monday (9/14/15), meaning you can keep playing after the free weekend is over!
  
• Three super-rare 'Space Rat' customisation items (helmet, chestplate and shoulder pads) that can ONLY be unlocked by playing this weekend – once the free period is over, they'll never be available again!

Spread the word, because this weekend it's open season on Ratz Instagib! Have fun!

Hello Ratz fans!
It's been a while since the last update to Ratz Instagib but today, I'm happy to tell you about a whole heap of updates to the game that I hope you're going to love!

First, the big news…

Yes, it's finally in the making! The Ratz Map Editor will allow you to create your own game maps and play/share them with the community. Thankfully, the development of it doesn't seem as complicated as I first thought, but it's still too early to give exact details on when it'll be finished. Nevertheless, my goal is to provide simple tools to allow everyone to create nice maps, but at the same time give advanced users the full customisation options they need.

Check out these early screenshots:




Next up…

This mixes things up quite a bit, so I hope you enjoy playing on it…





I've created 17 (!) new items, including one special item for everyone who supports Ratz while it's in Early Access – the Improved Jetpack! This item won't be unlockable once the game leaves Early Access next year, so be sure to grab it while you can!

• Tweaked Player movement – Lower Jump height and increased Gravity
  
• Bigger Player Hitbox – Adjusted the Hitbox size of players to balance it with the player outline/equipped items
  
• Precise mouse sensitivity – This should give more room for exact mouse speed settings
  
• Zoom multiplier – Set how much the zoom should affect the mouse sensitivity
  
• Improved AFK-System – It's now less aggressive and has some bugs fixed…
  
• Pixel Beam looks improved

Hello Ratz fans!
It's been a while since the last update to Ratz Instagib but today, I'm happy to tell you about a whole heap of updates to the game that I hope you're going to love!

First, the big news…

Yes, it's finally in the making! The Ratz Map Editor will allow you to create your own game maps and play/share them with the community. Thankfully, the development of it doesn't seem as complicated as I first thought, but it's still too early to give exact details on when it'll be finished. Nevertheless, my goal is to provide simple tools to allow everyone to create nice maps, but at the same time give advanced users the full customisation options they need.

Check out these early screenshots:




Next up…

This mixes things up quite a bit, so I hope you enjoy playing on it…





I've created 17 (!) new items, including one special item for everyone who supports Ratz while it's in Early Access – the Improved Jetpack! This item won't be unlockable once the game leaves Early Access next year, so be sure to grab it while you can!

• Tweaked Player movement – Lower Jump height and increased Gravity
  
• Bigger Player Hitbox – Adjusted the Hitbox size of players to balance it with the player outline/equipped items
  
• Precise mouse sensitivity – This should give more room for exact mouse speed settings
  
• Zoom multiplier – Set how much the zoom should affect the mouse sensitivity
  
• Improved AFK-System – It's now less aggressive and has some bugs fixed…
  
• Pixel Beam looks improved

Hello everyone!

Let's get straight on with today's update information, since I know you've all been waiting for it...

Yes, it's finally done! I've worked hard to improve the network code of Ratz, since it's been the top comment people have had about the game since it arrived in Early Access.

If you score a hit on someone, they will die at least 50% faster – especially if you have to play with high ping. It's also much more consistent, which should make the game much, much better to play! So, if you are one of those people who were getting a ping of 150+, you should give Ratz another try!

Please keep in mind that I had to rewrite some pretty sensitive code to get this updated networking going – as such, if you come across any bugs or issues, please let me know straight away.

I prepared some gifs for you (they should run at 30fps, i hope they don't slow down):






I've also now added a feature that, to be honest, should have been already in Ratz from the start: you can set a separate Zoom FOV to your own liking with the option of toggling it on or off. I hope that helps some of you!




Some truly explosive new cosmetics are ready for you to unlock!




Ever since the Customisation side of Ratz was launched, I've had a lot of complaints from players about people going AFK and idling in the hope of unlocking items without actually having to play. On top of the system that was there before, I've now improved the Anti-Idle System to weed out these AFK players – hopefully, this new update should solve the problem.

Remember, folks: idling doesn't unlock customisation items, it just annoys everyone around you!

• Assigning Mouse Buttons 4/5, Shift and Alt in the Options menu works as it should now.
  
• Item Unlock will no longer unlock the wrong item.

Have fun everyone!

Hello everyone!

Let's get straight on with today's update information, since I know you've all been waiting for it...

Yes, it's finally done! I've worked hard to improve the network code of Ratz, since it's been the top comment people have had about the game since it arrived in Early Access.

If you score a hit on someone, they will die at least 50% faster – especially if you have to play with high ping. It's also much more consistent, which should make the game much, much better to play! So, if you are one of those people who were getting a ping of 150+, you should give Ratz another try!

Please keep in mind that I had to rewrite some pretty sensitive code to get this updated networking going – as such, if you come across any bugs or issues, please let me know straight away.

I prepared some gifs for you (they should run at 30fps, i hope they don't slow down):






I've also now added a feature that, to be honest, should have been already in Ratz from the start: you can set a separate Zoom FOV to your own liking with the option of toggling it on or off. I hope that helps some of you!




Some truly explosive new cosmetics are ready for you to unlock!




Ever since the Customisation side of Ratz was launched, I've had a lot of complaints from players about people going AFK and idling in the hope of unlocking items without actually having to play. On top of the system that was there before, I've now improved the Anti-Idle System to weed out these AFK players – hopefully, this new update should solve the problem.

Remember, folks: idling doesn't unlock customisation items, it just annoys everyone around you!

• Assigning Mouse Buttons 4/5, Shift and Alt in the Options menu works as it should now.
  
• Item Unlock will no longer unlock the wrong item.

Have fun everyone!

To celebrate the massive addition of customisation options, we're running a promotion over this weekend with some prizes to give away! Plus, big discounts on buying the game!

First up, the competition. As you'll know by now, playing the game in most modes gives you the chance to earn special customisation items for your rat. This weekend though (and until the winners appear!), we've added a very special item: a Golden Ticket that, if found, can win you a prize!

The rules are simple: play the game as normal and keep your eyes open for a Golden Ticket drop in your inventory. If you get one, add the developer on Steam (Lizzard4000) and trade him the ticket item as quick as you can... if you're one of the first two people to do this, you'll win a signed Mad Catz R.A.T. gaming mouse worth £60!

Please note: only the first two people to trade their ticket to Lino will win. There are more than two tickets in the system, but the item will be removed once we have our winners.

On top of this exciting promotion, we're offering Ratz Instagib this weekend only (22-26 May) for 33% off! This discount applies to both individual and 4-pack key purchases so, if you want to introduce a friend to Ratz, now's your chance to do it for less.

Have fun everyone and good luck finding those tickets... we'll see you on the rat-tlefield!

To celebrate the massive addition of customisation options, we're running a promotion over this weekend with some prizes to give away! Plus, big discounts on buying the game!

First up, the competition. As you'll know by now, playing the game in most modes gives you the chance to earn special customisation items for your rat. This weekend though (and until the winners appear!), we've added a very special item: a Golden Ticket that, if found, can win you a prize!

The rules are simple: play the game as normal and keep your eyes open for a Golden Ticket drop in your inventory. If you get one, add the developer on Steam (Lizzard4000) and trade him the ticket item as quick as you can... if you're one of the first two people to do this, you'll win a signed Mad Catz R.A.T. gaming mouse worth £60!

Please note: only the first two people to trade their ticket to Lino will win. There are more than two tickets in the system, but the item will be removed once we have our winners.

On top of this exciting promotion, we're offering Ratz Instagib this weekend only (22-26 May) for 33% off! This discount applies to both individual and 4-pack key purchases so, if you want to introduce a friend to Ratz, now's your chance to do it for less.

Have fun everyone and good luck finding those tickets... we'll see you on the rat-tlefield!