This competition has now ended, thanks to everyone for entering! See the winners here!

Hey everyone!

With thousands of player-created The Escapists 2 prisons already available on Steam Workshop, there are definitely a ton of amazing creations out there. We want to celebrate the immense creativity among our players, and what better way than by holding a Prison Design Contest!

Whether you're an experienced creator or are all new to the tools of The Escapists 2 Prison Editor (Pssst, find tips here), we'd love to see your creations. We're leaving it open too, meaning you can create your prison(s) any way you want. Any theme, any tile-set, any objects, anything. Just be sure you're not breaking any of Steam's guidelines. You can publish as many prisons as you want within the competition period, as long as you include the word "Contest" in the prison name (so we can find it!). Feel free to be creative with this.

We knew you'd ask and creativity is key here. You can turn your prison into a piece of art by "drawing" it using the buildings, objects, tile-sets and more. You can make a prison based on something in the real or fictional world. You can create your dream (or nightmare) prison, a resort-type prison, a water world prison or whatever else you feel like. Just keep in mind; it has to be playable, and it must be possible to escape. And you can't copy someone else's creation!

If you'd like further inspiration, we'd encourage you to check out some of the existing masterpieces on Steam Workshop, or some of the custom prison videos available on YouTube.

Game: The Escapists 2
Platform: Steam
Entries: As many as you like
How to enter: Publish an original, custom made The Escapists 2 prison map to Steam Workshop, including ‘Contest” in the prison name (so we can find it)
Competition Dates: March 7th 2018 – March 21st 2018
Prizes: £20 Steam Wallet Top-Up
Winners: Two (2)
Full Terms and Conditions here

Good luck, and have fun creating!

This competition has now ended, thanks to everyone for entering! See the winners here!

Hey everyone!

With thousands of player-created The Escapists 2 prisons already available on Steam Workshop, there are definitely a ton of amazing creations out there. We want to celebrate the immense creativity among our players, and what better way than by holding a Prison Design Contest!

Whether you're an experienced creator or are all new to the tools of The Escapists 2 Prison Editor (Pssst, find tips here), we'd love to see your creations. We're leaving it open too, meaning you can create your prison(s) any way you want. Any theme, any tile-set, any objects, anything. Just be sure you're not breaking any of Steam's guidelines. You can publish as many prisons as you want within the competition period, as long as you include the word "Contest" in the prison name (so we can find it!). Feel free to be creative with this.

We knew you'd ask and creativity is key here. You can turn your prison into a piece of art by "drawing" it using the buildings, objects, tile-sets and more. You can make a prison based on something in the real or fictional world. You can create your dream (or nightmare) prison, a resort-type prison, a water world prison or whatever else you feel like. Just keep in mind; it has to be playable, and it must be possible to escape. And you can't copy someone else's creation!

If you'd like further inspiration, we'd encourage you to check out some of the existing masterpieces on Steam Workshop, or some of the custom prison videos available on YouTube.

Game: The Escapists 2
Platform: Steam
Entries: As many as you like
How to enter: Publish an original, custom made The Escapists 2 prison map to Steam Workshop, including ‘Contest” in the prison name (so we can find it)
Competition Dates: March 7th 2018 – March 21st 2018
Prizes: £20 Steam Wallet Top-Up
Winners: Two (2)
Full Terms and Conditions here

Good luck, and have fun creating!

Gather around prisoners, we’ve got brand new attractions for you!

We’re extremely excited to announce our brand new The Escapists 2 DLC prison; Big Top Breakout! Challenging you to escape from a travelling circus with new jobs, new customisation options, new weapons and crafting recipes, and of course new wacky ways to get yourself and your friends to freedom!

Check out the Big Top Breakout Launch Trailer right here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHm729aPZ4
The Big Top Breakout DLC features:

• A brand-new circus themed map to escape
  
• New circus themed customisations for your inmate
  
• New jobs. Tame lions, hang carnival posters, paint faces and blow up balloon animals to purchase vital supplies you’ll need to break out
  
• New items and craftable recipes
  
• New achievements and trophies to unlock

Big Top Breakout is available RIGHT NOW both separately, and as part of the Season Pass.

For those that have been eagerly awaiting updates to The Escapists 2 Prison Editor, I’m very happy to announce that we have a content update available for you RIGHT NOW as well. We’ve added the Rattlesnake Springs theme to the editor, adding new desert-themed tile-sets, rooms, objects, guards and soundtrack! You’ll find the new content in the tiles, rooms and objects lists, and the ability to select guard and soundtrack theme from the editor Settings. We can’t wait to see what you create and add to the more than 13,000 player-created prisons already on Steam Workshop!

For a full list of all the changes in today’s big update, find the full patch notes below.

1.1.4 Patch notes:

• Editor Specific - Fixed a graphic issue when holding a premade room and hovering over the UI in some cases.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the player to lose the ability to use the "Join Game" feature provided in the Steam Overlay.
  
• Fixed various issues regarding invites within private versus sessions and lobbies.
  
• Fixed an issue altering the front end menus when spamming “continue” on the first screen.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the chat to close at the same time as the inventory would close.
  
• Fixed an issue in various maps where the home icon wouldn’t display and escapes sometimes not trigger.
  
• Fixed an issue causing character models to disappear from the Character Select carousel after a certain amount of loads.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby plugging in a controller and pressing A during the character select screen would remove all control from the player.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby pressing “Quick Mould” without the appropriate items would lock players in the inventory view.
  
• Fixed an issue causing animations to reset upon performing a Save / Load when knocked out.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby pressing Space to equip an item would sometimes consume or use it.
  
• Fixed an issue causing animations to freeze when switching item from grappling hook whilst climbing.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby the "Medic Deployed" text didn’t always fit correctly in the UI in Russian.
  
• Changed the amount of stamina standard items use.

We hope you’re as excited about these new updates as we are, and would to hear your thoughts. Rest assured that we are continuing to look for ways to improve The Escapists 2 for both creators and escapists alike, and your feedback is essential in this. Please keep reporting potential issues in our Report a Problem forum, and all other feedback in the discussions forum.

Gather around prisoners, we’ve got brand new attractions for you!

We’re extremely excited to announce our brand new The Escapists 2 DLC prison; Big Top Breakout! Challenging you to escape from a travelling circus with new jobs, new customisation options, new weapons and crafting recipes, and of course new wacky ways to get yourself and your friends to freedom!

Check out the Big Top Breakout Launch Trailer right here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHm729aPZ4
The Big Top Breakout DLC features:

• A brand-new circus themed map to escape
  
• New circus themed customisations for your inmate
  
• New jobs. Tame lions, hang carnival posters, paint faces and blow up balloon animals to purchase vital supplies you’ll need to break out
  
• New items and craftable recipes
  
• New achievements and trophies to unlock

Big Top Breakout is available RIGHT NOW both separately, and as part of the Season Pass.

For those that have been eagerly awaiting updates to The Escapists 2 Prison Editor, I’m very happy to announce that we have a content update available for you RIGHT NOW as well. We’ve added the Rattlesnake Springs theme to the editor, adding new desert-themed tile-sets, rooms, objects, guards and soundtrack! You’ll find the new content in the tiles, rooms and objects lists, and the ability to select guard and soundtrack theme from the editor Settings. We can’t wait to see what you create and add to the more than 13,000 player-created prisons already on Steam Workshop!

For a full list of all the changes in today’s big update, find the full patch notes below.

1.1.4 Patch notes:

• Editor Specific - Fixed a graphic issue when holding a premade room and hovering over the UI in some cases.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the player to lose the ability to use the "Join Game" feature provided in the Steam Overlay.
  
• Fixed various issues regarding invites within private versus sessions and lobbies.
  
• Fixed an issue altering the front end menus when spamming “continue” on the first screen.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the chat to close at the same time as the inventory would close.
  
• Fixed an issue in various maps where the home icon wouldn’t display and escapes sometimes not trigger.
  
• Fixed an issue causing character models to disappear from the Character Select carousel after a certain amount of loads.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby plugging in a controller and pressing A during the character select screen would remove all control from the player.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby pressing “Quick Mould” without the appropriate items would lock players in the inventory view.
  
• Fixed an issue causing animations to reset upon performing a Save / Load when knocked out.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby pressing Space to equip an item would sometimes consume or use it.
  
• Fixed an issue causing animations to freeze when switching item from grappling hook whilst climbing.
  
• Fixed an issue whereby the "Medic Deployed" text didn’t always fit correctly in the UI in Russian.
  
• Changed the amount of stamina standard items use.

We hope you’re as excited about these new updates as we are, and would to hear your thoughts. Rest assured that we are continuing to look for ways to improve The Escapists 2 for both creators and escapists alike, and your feedback is essential in this. Please keep reporting potential issues in our Report a Problem forum, and all other feedback in the discussions forum.

Hey there, Escapists!

We’re looking for some feedback for The Escapists 2! Whether you loved it, hated it, or just wanted to beat up fellow inmates for the hell of it, we'd love to know what you think!

We always like to reward Teamsters with special items. At the end of the survey, there will be an option for you to enter a prize draw where you can be in with a chance to win one of three cool Team17 loot items!

You can start the survey by clicking this link, which will take you to Google Forms.

Q. What happens to my feedback?
A. All feedback will be passed on to the development team.

Q. If I enter the prize draw who gets to see my email address?
A. Only Janey_Team17, and it will only be used for the purposes of the prize draw.

Q. I'm experiencing issues with the survey. How can I still give feedback?
Q. I submitted my survey responses, and now I just remembered something I wanted to tell you guys!
A. Don't worry! Send me an email with your information - usability@team17.com.

Q. How long does the survey take to complete?
A. The survey should take approximately 4 minutes to complete, but this also depends on how long it takes you to make choices. This time does not include answering optional questions.

Q. What kinds of question are in the survey?
A. The survey will ask you about your gameplay experiences with The Escapists 2 and consist mainly of 'Tick all that apply' or 'Choose one option' formats.

For a few of the questions, there are 'Other' options for you to write your own thoughts, if the ones provided don't match your experiences.

There are also [Optional] sections which you can use to talk about your experiences, and if you want to skip these, that's fine!

The survey will close on Monday, 22nd January 2018, at 9.30 a.m. GMT.
If you missed the survey link at the top, here it is again.

Thanks for helping us out! Your feedback is helpful, and appreciated!

Janey_Team17
<(T<)

Hey there, Escapists!

We’re looking for some feedback for The Escapists 2! Whether you loved it, hated it, or just wanted to beat up fellow inmates for the hell of it, we'd love to know what you think!

We always like to reward Teamsters with special items. At the end of the survey, there will be an option for you to enter a prize draw where you can be in with a chance to win one of three cool Team17 loot items!

You can start the survey by clicking this link, which will take you to Google Forms.

Q. What happens to my feedback?
A. All feedback will be passed on to the development team.

Q. If I enter the prize draw who gets to see my email address?
A. Only Janey_Team17, and it will only be used for the purposes of the prize draw.

Q. I'm experiencing issues with the survey. How can I still give feedback?
Q. I submitted my survey responses, and now I just remembered something I wanted to tell you guys!
A. Don't worry! Send me an email with your information - usability@team17.com.

Q. How long does the survey take to complete?
A. The survey should take approximately 4 minutes to complete, but this also depends on how long it takes you to make choices. This time does not include answering optional questions.

Q. What kinds of question are in the survey?
A. The survey will ask you about your gameplay experiences with The Escapists 2 and consist mainly of 'Tick all that apply' or 'Choose one option' formats.

For a few of the questions, there are 'Other' options for you to write your own thoughts, if the ones provided don't match your experiences.

There are also [Optional] sections which you can use to talk about your experiences, and if you want to skip these, that's fine!

The survey will close on Monday, 22nd January 2018, at 9.30 a.m. GMT.
If you missed the survey link at the top, here it is again.

Thanks for helping us out! Your feedback is helpful, and appreciated!

Janey_Team17
<(T<)

Just a week ago we brought you the Prison Editor and today the gifts continue! Fire up The Escapists 2 to download our FREE Christmas prison, Santa’s Shakedown, available right now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp7Ebxt_4V0

With the Wicked Ward DLC we introduced a weather system in the form of thunder, lighting and rain. In Santa’s Shakedown we’re adding snowfall, which combined with the Christmas prison itself is guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit!

About Santa’s Shakedown
Celebrate the festive season with this snowy free new prison that has it all: state of the art equipment, high tech security measures … and an overtly theatrical warden who has repurposed the sports hall as a theatre and is more concerned with putting on an extravagant pantomime than the wellbeing of his inmates. Look past the tacky decorations and an opportunity to escape may just present itself!

Alongside the Christmas prison we've updated the game and fixed a number of issues. See below for the full patch notes.

Update 1.1.3 patch notes
- Fixed a glitch causing graphic and audio issues when quitting the game as a local player with the map open.
- Fixed a glitch causing a soft lock when adding a local player to the game with the map open
- Fixed an issue causing players icons on the mini map to be visible in versus, even if they are hidden in a locker
- Fixed an issue causing the player’s character to change to a default customisation when loading an existing save with a custom character after a save upgrade
- Fixed an issue preventing the player’s character from starting with lower stats when the prison difficulty was set to Hard
- Fixed an issue causing the animations to become stuck when interacting with the map while they’re being triggered
- Fixed an issue whereby the items obtained through the Delivery Driver quest weren’t always food-related
- Fixed a graphic issue with the smoke on the Cougar Creek Railroad level
- Fixed an issue causing the UI to display the same button icon for different actions
- Now the escape time in coop is the same for the entire team
- Fixed an issue causing the countdown to stop when 2 players are tabbed out
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the Fitness Gym Equipment UI to layer underneath walls
- Fixed an issue in the Editor to limit the amount of guard towers available for one level
- Fixed an issue in the Editor preventing a prison to work if all the rooms were placed in the bottom right corner
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the Guard Cells button to remain greyed out even after removing some of them
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the players’ character to become invisible when studying in Social Rooms A and B
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the map to display some corridors incorrectly
- Various performance Improvements
- Other various bug fixes

We hope you enjoy the new content, and we look forward to bringing you even more The Escapists 2 in 2018!

Just a week ago we brought you the Prison Editor and today the gifts continue! Fire up The Escapists 2 to download our FREE Christmas prison, Santa’s Shakedown, available right now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp7Ebxt_4V0

With the Wicked Ward DLC we introduced a weather system in the form of thunder, lighting and rain. In Santa’s Shakedown we’re adding snowfall, which combined with the Christmas prison itself is guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit!

About Santa’s Shakedown
Celebrate the festive season with this snowy free new prison that has it all: state of the art equipment, high tech security measures … and an overtly theatrical warden who has repurposed the sports hall as a theatre and is more concerned with putting on an extravagant pantomime than the wellbeing of his inmates. Look past the tacky decorations and an opportunity to escape may just present itself!

Alongside the Christmas prison we've updated the game and fixed a number of issues. See below for the full patch notes.

Update 1.1.3 patch notes
- Fixed a glitch causing graphic and audio issues when quitting the game as a local player with the map open.
- Fixed a glitch causing a soft lock when adding a local player to the game with the map open
- Fixed an issue causing players icons on the mini map to be visible in versus, even if they are hidden in a locker
- Fixed an issue causing the player’s character to change to a default customisation when loading an existing save with a custom character after a save upgrade
- Fixed an issue preventing the player’s character from starting with lower stats when the prison difficulty was set to Hard
- Fixed an issue causing the animations to become stuck when interacting with the map while they’re being triggered
- Fixed an issue whereby the items obtained through the Delivery Driver quest weren’t always food-related
- Fixed a graphic issue with the smoke on the Cougar Creek Railroad level
- Fixed an issue causing the UI to display the same button icon for different actions
- Now the escape time in coop is the same for the entire team
- Fixed an issue causing the countdown to stop when 2 players are tabbed out
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the Fitness Gym Equipment UI to layer underneath walls
- Fixed an issue in the Editor to limit the amount of guard towers available for one level
- Fixed an issue in the Editor preventing a prison to work if all the rooms were placed in the bottom right corner
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the Guard Cells button to remain greyed out even after removing some of them
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the players’ character to become invisible when studying in Social Rooms A and B
- Fixed an issue in the Editor causing the map to display some corridors incorrectly
- Various performance Improvements
- Other various bug fixes

We hope you enjoy the new content, and we look forward to bringing you even more The Escapists 2 in 2018!

Today we’re extremely pleased to announce that the long-awaited Prison Editor for The Escapists 2 is available RIGHT NOW!

Using Steam Workshop you can create your very own prisons, play them alone or with friends, or even share them with your fellow escapists via Steam Workshop. That of course also means that you can download prisons made by other players, and have a virtually infinite stream of new prisons to (try to) escape from!

Check out the Prison Editor trailer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vErcybCm1uw

Want to get started creating prisons? Check out our handy Prison Editor Steam Guide on how to do just that! We have even created two extra prisons for you to play (Slammer Island and Gridline Correctional), so whether you want to create, escape, or both, we’ve got you covered!

Alongside the prison editor, today’s update also includes a number of fixes including ones to achievements, animations and performance.

Patch notes:
- Made various performance improvements on PC, OSX and Linux
- Fixed an issue creating a softlock when players tab out of the game and plugs a controller in
- Fixed an issue preventing the Minimap from expanding when clicked on
- Fixed an issue preventing to unlock the "Artful Dodger" achievement when playing as a client in an Online Multiplayer session
- Fixed an issue preventing to unlock the “Good Intentions” achievement
- Fixed a graphic issue on Wicked Ward which caused display issues on the lower floors when viewed from the floor above
- Fixed an issue causing the bike fitness machine animation to play even when no one was on it
- Fixed an issue causing the prisoners’ head to pop out of kennels when trying to hide.
- Fixed an issue causing some UI elements to remain on screen when quitting during Solitary and reconnecting right after
- Fixed graphic issues occurring when collecting Cutlery while holding a Food Tray
- Fixed an issue whereby changing Play Modes when Roll Call starts blocks Inmates from entering Purple Doors
- Fixed rendering issues on some resolutions with terrain graphics
- Fixed an issue preventing clients from seeing the Lockdown lights
- … and various other fixes.

Let us know what you think of the editor, and what you would like to see from it in the future. We can’t wait for you to dive in and show off your creations!