We just got back from PAX West and we're back onto working on Heartbound. We have a bit of stuff to get out for the Kill The Moon Demo before we continue but that will be done by Friday. Hope to see you all on stream!

https://gopiratesoftware.com/twitch

PAX recently selected Heartbound for the 2019 PAX 10!
If you're going to PAX West this year please come by our booth and say hello!

Check out the other indies that were selected alongside us here:
https://west.paxsite.com/indie#heartbound

Hey everyone!

It's been a number of months since we've updated and I wanted to let you guys in on what's been going on, who is working on the game, and what we have planned for the future!

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1. We moved the studio to Washington.

There were a number of reasons for this both financial and personal but things should be settling down now as the move is mostly complete and we just have a few more things to do. The new digs will be focused entirely on developing games and running the streams. Right now we're in a temporary shared space but by next week -hopefully- we should be in a permanent new space that isn't shared.

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2. We have daily dev streams!

If you didn't know we stream development of Heartbound live on Twitch every day from 12pm-10pm PST. The first 5 hours is art and the second five hours is programming. Heartbound is the main priority right now and we're working through Animus live so come check it out.

We also work on our back-burner game Kill The Moon from time to time or play games and give feedback on them. Recently we ran a game jam and helped a ton of new designers on their path to making cool stuff.

You can watch the streams here:
https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/

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3. Animus is in -unstable testing- phase right now and we update this build every Sunday.

You can access the unstable version of the game using the code "CheeseAndWhiskers" without the quotes and following the image below for instructions. This build has tons of changes, new stuff, testing stuff, all kinds of things. Animus is a massive undertaking and we are spending time on testing things for feel on top of just making it work.

There is no unstable build for Mac or Linux currently. The unstable builds are also only in English. This speeds up development time and reduces issues while we're testing all of this stuff. Once these builds pass and feel good we translate them and move them to the other platforms.



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4. Heartbound is being created by only three people.

Shaye - Art/Animation
Stijn - Music/Sound Effects
Thor - Programming/Writing/Game Design

This is a ton of work for three people but we won't be expanding the team. I'm happy with how development has gone so far and I'm proud of what we've accomplished together and what we have planned for the future. Good games take time and I do not intend to rush this. If you're ever wondering who responded to your YouTube video, Tweet, or email all of that was Thor. Small teams do a lot of stuff outside of making games so be kind to your devs!

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I know a lot of you just want updates now.
I would rather update the game when it's fun and ready.

Let me know if you ever want to chat or have any feedback.

Thanks,

-Thor

Discord - https://discord.gg/PirateSoftware
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PirateSoftware
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/PirateSoftware
Stream - https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• Storyline
  • A number of interactions were changed to be more in line with characters true motives.
• Quality of Life
  • PPP's cutscene is now straightforward and less confusing.

• New Content
  • The base environments in Animus are now open for exploration.
    
  • None of the dialog or interactions in this section work beyond the save point.
    
  • You may leave this area by walking into the trunk of the Clock Tree.
    
  • There are day/night cycles in Animus and it takes 24 minutes for a full day.
    
  • The intention is to build a number of timed events to make Animus a working village where everyone does their part.
    
  • Trees now react when you get close to them.
• Bugs
  • Retrieving the AESTHETIC twice is no longer possible and no longer softlocks the game.
    
  • You can now enter the Vapor Cave multiple times.

• Achievements
  • A number of secret achievements were added to the game.
    
  • None of these achievements force path altering actions in any way.
    
  • These were released earlier to test and are just now being put in the patch notes.
• Wallpapers
  • There is now a Wallpapers folder in your game installation folder.
    
  • A bunch of 1080p wallpapers can be found in there. Have fun!
    
  • File Location: \steamapps\common\Heartbound\Wallpapers
• OST
  • A ton of new songs have been added to the OST.
• Bugs
  • Fixed some bad calculations when pushing objects.
    
  • Audio no longer pops when you finish pushing objects.
    
  • Lore will now be pushed out of objects if he somehow is pushed into them.
    
  • Achievements can now be obtained even if your steam overlay is disabled.
    
  • Steam screenshots can now only be taken if your steam overlay is enabled.
    
  • You can no longer walk through objects when walking diagonally into their corners.
• Credits
  • More backer names were added to the credits.

• Language
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • JP is now planned.
• New Content
  • Existing Worlds
    
    • A phone in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
    • A book in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
  • Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
    
    • All of the environment art is finished.
      
    • All of the character sprites and animations are finished.
      
    • All of the environments are built and functional.
      
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• New Content
  • OScar now stops you if you try to leave the cafeteria without talking to him.
• Language
  • Major fixes were implemented for the Russian language launch.

• Language
  • Missing lines will now default to English instead of being blank.
• Credits
  • Adrien Bernardinis was added for his work on the French translation.

• Language
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • JP is now planned.
• New Content
  • Existing Worlds
    
    • A phone in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
    • A book in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
  • Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
    
    • All of the environment art is finished.
      
    • All of the character sprites and animations are finished.
      
    • All of the environments are built and functional.
      
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• New Content
  • Gizmo now has talking animations.
• Quality of Life
  • Symbols will no longer randomize when using a controller on the memory mini-game in the Barghest fight after doing a bunch of mean things.
    
  • Beating the Barghest now saves the game.

• New Content
  • A door now unlocks under specific circumstances revealing something dark and hidden.
    
  • Trapper now has a gym buddy.
• Bugs
  • A flying mushroom now makes noise.
    
  • The save tome on Floor 2 of The Tower can now be opened from the right side.
    
  • You can no longer move while a squishy bird teleports away.

• Bugs
  • It's now afternoon in Animus instead of morning.

• Platforms
  • Mac support has been released!
    
  • Please let us know if anything goes wrong.
• Language
  • Russian has been released!
    
  • Please report any translation issues to us!
• Quality of Life
  • Rotating text now takes longer before it starts rotating.
    
  • Button ping sounds have increased in volume.
• ARG
  • Good luck
    
  • I'm sorry... but not really.
• Credits
  • More backer names have been added to the credits.
    
  • JP Baas has been added to the credits for his work on the storm sounds in Hometown.

• Language
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • JP is now planned.
• New Content
  • Existing Worlds
    
    • A phone in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
    • A book in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
  • Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
    
    • All of the environment art is finished.
      
    • All of the character sprites and animations are finished.
      
    • All of the environments are built and functional.
      
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• Quality of Life
  • Floor 2 now clearly explains what to do with your change.
    
  • Floor 2 now clearly explains where not to whistle.
• Reworks
  • Darkworld 103 is no longer a shadow maze.
    
    • This was super boring before. Thank you for the feedback!
      
• Bugs
  • Fixed a cutscene skip in Darkworld 103.
    
  • Fixed numerous translation issues with FR.
    
  • Fixed numerous translation issues with PTBR.
    
  • Thanks for all the reports!

• Bugs
  • Beating the boss of The Tower and then closing the game before finishing the next world section no longer traps you in The Tower Floor 2 forever.
• Music
  • Two new songs were added to the OST.
    
  • These songs are not planned to be in the game and can only be found on the OST.
• ARG
  • RING RING

• Language
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • RU is still being worked on.
    
  • JP is now planned.
• New Content
  • Existing Worlds
    
    • A phone in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
    • A book in your bedroom needs to be interactive.
      
  • Tower Floor 0 is being actively developed.
    
    • Environments are almost finished so this should be done soon.
      
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      
  • Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
    
    • All of the environment art is finished.
      
    • All of the character sprites and animations are finished.
      
    • All of the environments are built and functional.
      
    • Starting on 1/7/2019 we will be working on this chapter live on Twitch.
      

French has now been added to the supported languages!

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• Quality of Life
  • Cheating at puzzles now has different consequences.
• Bugs
  • A joke in a closet was changed.
    
  • A blank textbox near Paul was fixed.
    
  • Whistler's hat lost its green dots.
    
  • OScar now always has a face in the cafeteria.
    
  • All of the tiles to the Mailshroom now spawn.

• Language
  • FR translation has been released!
• Game Files
  • Heartbound is no longer a single file EXE.

• Language
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • RU is still being worked on.
    
  • JP is now planned.
• New Content
  • Tower Floor 0 is being actively developed.
    
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      

Wanted to start filling in some storyline and emotional tie-in gaps along with a bunch of bug fixes.
This should set the stage for the new additions when we start working on Floor 0.

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• Quality of Life
  • Phish now tells you how many ducks he's missing.
• Bugs
  • You can no longer get stuck in the lunch rush door. Oops.
    
  • OScar no longer gives duplicate directions when you finish all your jobs.
    
  • You can no longer side-eye talk to objects on desks in The Tower.
    
  • Terminating at the same time you're terminated no longer terminates the game.
    
  • G8r has lost the green dots plaguing his face.
    
  • OScar will no longer double his music just before termination.
• New Content
  • Joe isn't finished chatting with you.
    
  • Baron has some words for you.

• Storyline Changes
  • The fires of muspelheim now burn under different circumstances.
• Steam
  • The Steam overlay now works. (Shift + Tab)
    
  • You can take screenshots using your preferred steam key. (F12)
    
  • The Heartbound OST is now in its own folder in your installation folder.
    
  • The Heartbound OST now shows up in Library Music.
    
  • The Heartbound OST now has album art.
• Bugs
  • A crash during the first portal cutscene that was implemented in this build was fixed.

• Language
  • FRFR translation will be released next.
    
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • RU is still being worked on.
• New Content
  • Tower Floor 0 will start active development on 12/27/2018.
    
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/
      

Saw some feedback regarding lack of direction in some parts of The Tower. Working on giving more direction without making it overbearing. These are some minor improvements that I want to test out and see if it helps smooth out portions of the experience.

Thanks for all the feedback and support.
You guys rock. :HBHeart:

• Quality of Life
  • OScar will now direct you to your next job if you speak to him again.
    
    • It's in his programming and he probably enjoys it.
      
  • Whiteboards now assign Newhires to a cubicle. Lucky you!
    
  • A handbag is now always at the lost and found. Pick it up if it's yours!
• Bugs
  • A noise complaint has been filed against the local ducks for whooping too loudly.
    
  • Sticky notes have lost their ability to phase into noses.

• Bugs
  • The camera will no longer get stuck in the trees in Animus if you go there multiple times.
    
    • No trees were harmed in the fixing of this bug.
      

• Text
  • Words should no longer fly out of their assigned boxes. Should.
    
  • PTBR translation should have a lot less typos and inconsistencies. Also should.
• Credits
  • The credits are no longer a trap and can be exited by hitting cancel.
    
    • Credits were harmed in the implementation of this feature.
      
  • The credits now speed up if you hold accept as they get excited by your approval.
    
  • A bunch of names were added to the credits. Thanks for being rad!
• Cutscenes
  • World portals no longer shift out of the visible spectrum.

• Language
  • FRFR translation will be released next.
    
  • ESMX is still being worked on.
    
  • RU is still being worked on.
• New Content
  • Tower Floor 0 will start active development on 12/27/2018.
    
    • Watch us stream it live here!
      
    • https://www.gopiratesoftware.com/twitch/