Happy May, Believers! I come bearing EXILE updates, new tarot, charity donations and podcasts about blood. Yum!


First and foremost, Exile's Steam page is now live! You can wishlist it and make sure you don't miss nuffink on the day. We're launching on Wednesday 27th May a 6PM GMT / 10AM PDT.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1259930/Cultist_Simulator_The_Exile/

Its release coincides with Cultist Simulator's second anniversary, so keep a beady eye out for more fun culty stuff around then. :)

The key thing to note about Exile is that it's really big. Alexis is busy finishing off all the content for his thirty-three city epic, where you're chased through an occult, alternative 1920s world by your past. And your Foe. And the Madrugad if you don't literally play your cards well. BUT HEY HOW WRONG CAN IT GO?

I drew up a map to show you roughly what the world looks like:



We've also been working our way through an intimidatingly long list of art assets, revolving around cats, phobias, weapons, intangible metahpors and, of course, a truckload of cities. Here's some of the art we finished this sprint, as a taster!



Watch out for the gentleman in red. His name is Vasil, and I think you'll like him.

More info and a few snippets o' text in our latest sprint update.




If you missed our announcements about it, we're now releasing 200 decks of the Tarot of the Hours every few weeks so I have time to post everything but also do my day job. The next batch goes live on Etsy in a few hours, so GOOD LUCK to anyone who's hoping to nab a deck!

To help keep people in the loop, you can now join our specific tarot mailing list that'll ping you the moment a new batch goes live. Sign up here if you're interested.




We've pledged to donate 10% of our profits each month to admirable charities fighting the good fight against coronavirus. Last month we raised £1,030 for . This month, you helped us raise £2,552 for Médecins Sans Frontières' coronavirus appeal.

I'm really chuffed with that number! If you bought anything from us or shared anything online or even just told one of your friends about something funny we said, you contributed. Thank you! ♥




And just to end the week on a high, why not listen to Alexis and me talk about menstruation? This sprint's Skeleton Songs is all about MADNESS and BLOOD and the fact that gothic writers really couldn't bring themselves to talk to ladies.

Listen on all your usual podcast places (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc), or on our YouTube channel. All links here on the blog.

A quick update from the blog!

Firstly, the EXILE beta is now live. Keys are going out to everyone today after a bit of delay - sorry!

If you weren't randomly picked for the first test, don't worry. We'll add some more testers later down the line. We're launching EXILE on Wednesday 27th May so we expect to be in beta for a month or so.



Secondly, the Tarot of the Hours is back in stock on Etsy! We're capping it to 200-deck bursts, so I (the sole person who manages this shop) don't get snowed under with orders. But don't worry: if you find the deck's sold out again, I'll renew the listing on a weekly cycle so you'll be able to get it SOME time. :)



Thirdly, we have MORE merch on the way. I'm designing four new pins - the Marinette, Hint, Lunatic and Maid pins - which will be sold individually, but also go into the Beach-Comber's Treasures bundle along with our original Iris pin and our glitter witch pin.



And next week, we're launching an Hours postcard set of seven randomly-chosen postcards, so we can all keep in spooky touch with one another during this isolating pandemic.



Finally, here is a picture of Sulochana the cat. May she keep you safe in lockdown and stop eating my plants. 🙏

Yesterday we launched the Priest and Ghoul DLC on mobile! You can finally devour the dreams of the dead and/or self-flagellate on the go. You can get 'em on the App Store or the Google Play Store as £1.99 / $1.99 IAPs.



Cultist Simulator was launched one year ago on mobile, so it's 50% off for the rest of the week in birthday celebration. Enjoy!


Cultist is a deceptively big game, and writing DLC for it had got really difficult. Alexis needed to find interesting mechanics each time, and those mechanics needed to interlock meaningfully with the mechanics that were out there. It’s even harder now that we’ve localised the whole game, because it’s very difficult for Alexis to go back and change existing content.

Then he watched a couple of seasons of Ozark. The protagonist is burdened with an extraordinary sum of extremely illegally obtained money that they need to dispose of quickly and safely. It was the total opposite of the usual Cultist Funds tension. What if, in Cultist, you had as much money as you needed, but you were in constant danger and had to think hard about how you could safely spend it and stay ahead of your pursuers?



It didn’t sound practical as a DLC theme, because it would mean completely re-inventing half the game. If you were on the run, you couldn’t send out expeditions or built up books in the same way. The Suspicion mechanics would have to work very differently. You probably wouldn’t even have a cult.

Then it occurred to Alexis that this was also an opportunity. If he blew up all the mechanics the player was used to, then he wouldn’t have to integrate all my new systems with them, and they’d have the fun of rediscovering how everything works from scratch. It might just take too long to build, but it might also take less time starting over without worrying about fitting everything that already existed.



He spent a week prototyping. He got enough working to be confident that it would be a big chunk of work, but not a crazy big chunk of work. The core loop was this: you’d land in a city, you’d set up capers and operations with your contacts, you’d convert the stolen goods into cash, and then you’d pick your moment to run. Run too early, and you’d lose opportunities. Run too late, and your pursuers might catch up with you. He had an idea for the stolen goods and the pursuers, too, something he’d wanted to get into the game for a while: the reckoner mobs, the illicit dealers in years who existed uneasily alongside the taxonomy of Know and Long.

Your final goal would be to disappear, with as much luxury as you could arrange for a comfortable retirement. Your other final goal would be an Edge ascension – something our players had long hungered for – but that would come in an unexpected way. Exile’s got seven different shades of the victory conditions at the moment.

It’s a big one – right now, it looks like it might be as big as the Dancer, Priest and Ghoul DLCs put together. (😱) Let’s hope it works out! At least – and he didn’t expect this at all when he started in January – after a couple of months of lockdown, people might be more in the mood for a dramatic flight across Europe and beyond.



We'll be randomly selecting a pool of people to help test Exile next week, so now's your last chance to register your interest in the beta. Help us make Exile................................ exilent. 😎




In case anybody missed it, we sold out of our 500 limited edition Tarot of the Hours in less than two days. But DON'T FRET! We've ordered 1,000 more, and while they won't be hand-numbered, they'll otherwise be exactly the same.



These'll be back in the Church of Merch in mid-April, so keep an eye on our Etsy shop or wait for me to shout about it here when they're back in stock.


We promised to donate 10% of our company profits each month to a charity which'll help people in these difficult COVID-y times. First up was the National Emergencies Trust, and with your help, we raised £1,030. That's a significant sum that may actually save lives in its own right - so thank you! <3



Next month is Médecins Sans Frontières' turn. Spread the word if you can, and see you then!

Demand for this waaaaaaaaaaay exceeded my expectations (thanks, everyone!), and COVID-19 means lots of people don't have money to play with at the moment. So we've ordered another 1,000 decks so everyone can have a deck if they want one, and people don't need to spend money they don't have right now to get one.

If you don't know what the hell I'm on about, you can see the secret de-listed Etsy page here.

I'll shout about it on our Twitter, Facebook, reddit and in the forums here when the tarot's back in stock. <3




The games industry is unusually insulated from COVID-19 effects, so we've committed to giving 10% of our profits for the next three months to useful charities who can help people in worse situations. We've chosen the National Emergencies Trust, Médecins Sans Frontières and The Trussell Trust for now, but we may extend this scheme for longer if the virus continues to wreak havoc.

Full info on the new tarot and our charity plans here. In short, any money we make - from digital stores, or from our Etsy merch - means money we give to these charities. Yay!

Hope you're all dealing okay with our new, strange world. As any student of Histories knows, the Mansus has no coronavirus.

A quick update to let all you occult enthusiasts know that our long-awaited Tarot of the Hours is now live on our Etsy store!

Cultist Simulator's tricksy pantheon of semi-gods can now be yours in a lovely 78-card deck that's so goth I went through about eight producers before I found one who could print 'em black enough.



Alexis and I are hard at work on Exile, which is shaping up to totally rework Cultist Simulator's mechanics and provide an entirely new mode of play. It'll be our largest bit of DLC to date, with multiple endings - some of which will be (relatively!) attainable like the main Forge, Grail and Lantern ascensions, and some of which will be as hard as winning New Game+.

Edge is the power of struggle and conquest, after all.



To confirm a few details:

• Exile launches on Weds 27th May at 6PM GMT / 10AM PDT
  
• It’ll release in English, simplified Chinese and Russian at the same time
  
• It’ll cost more than other DLCs, though we haven’t confirmed how much yet
  
• Perpetual Edition owners get it FREE

More info coming ASAP!

If you'd like to dive into Exile early, sign up to be a beta tester. The beta starts next month and will require you to swear an oath of eternal silence to the Wolf.

If Cultist Simulator's taught you anything, it's that it's totally fine to make promises to strange people you don't know. Right?

Happy Friday! Some new announcements from our latest blog.


We've just announced that - as you smart people worked out - the content we teased last sprint is indeed the Exile DLC, an upcoming new bit of content granting the long-awaited Edge Ascension of your dreams! Or nightmares. But pointy and fun?



The Exile DLC will launch on Wednesday 27th May, just in time for Cultist's second anniversary! Perpetual Edition owners will get it absolutely free, and we'll add it into the Anthology Edition for future newbie cultists.

We've opened sign-ups for Exile's closed beta, so if anyone fancies helping us with bug reports and feedback...



More info, screenshots and updates ASAP. I'm doing all the art next week. :D


If anyone here takes Cultist Sim with them with the mobile version, we've just been nominated for the IMGA Awards! Vote for us for the People's Choice Award, if you would like the blessing of the Lionsmith upon you. (Not to be confused with the Loinsmith, who's fun at parties but not particularly useful.)



We also announced that the Priest and Ghoul DLCs will come to mobile on Thursday 2nd April, so FINALLY you can paint in the colours of night and, er, self-flagellate via the App Store and Google Play.

***

Finally, we have updates on the Tarot of the Hours (shipping soon!), Alexis Kennedy's new book (game dev be cray!), new Skeleton Songs (doppelgängers!) and more, all over on the blog. Enjoy!

Hey, Believers! We've just released a hefty sprint update with a couple of KEY CULTY THINGS I'd like to highlight.


I can't go into details right now, but we've confirmed we're working on a new bit of Cultist Simulator content currently titled 'Exile'. I'll talk more about the specifics in a couple of weeks, but prepare for some new, tasty ways to die horribly in the bowels of the Mansus. HYPE! ♥






We've revamped our upcoming game, BOOK OF HOURS, quite significantly. We've moved away from Cultist's minimalist tabletop, much though we love the baize. Think gentle sim with an occult twist, written by Alexis Kennedy and, er, with a dash of Wes Anderson?! Or just wishlist it here and be my hero.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1028310/BOOK_OF_HOURS/




I've been battling tedious reality on this one, bouncing between different printers like a flea on a space hopper. But while I work out exactly how to print black ink on white cards without them looking dreadful (SOUNDS EASY, DOENS'T IT? WELL IT ISN'T), we've released all artwork for the 78-card deck. See if you can follow our thinking on face cards' hierarchies!

All this and more - medieval Skeleton Songs, class-4 laser printers, and biz deep-dives - over on the blog. :)

"I know the ink that you describe. It exists. I shouldn’t tell you even that, and for the sake of our friendship I ask you to burn this letter after reading. The ink is called here 'encaustum terminale' and it is a great treasure of the House."

A brand new letter has come to light, from a mysterious 'F.' to Christopher Illopoly. It sheds light not only on the 'secrets of inks' but on the Hours, the Librarian and Christopher's own heart, too.

Check out the originals and their transcript on the blog.

Happy Year of the Rat, everyone! Everything culty is on sale right now, including the base game, the OST and all DLC. If there's anyone considering buying for the first time, the Anthology Edition is an excruciatingly great deal in a sale!



The Dancer DLC is now also available on the App Store and Google Play, along with all the latest PC updates and Russian localisation. So if you fancy taking your cult on the go, now's a very good time indeed.



In other Cultist news, we've made a pretty exciting decision in-studio that I'm not able to disclose right now. Not even to you, double-Douglas! But maybe the following will give you a clue.



Today we've also released our VERY FIRST podcast episode, in our new series called Skeleton Songs. Featuring Alexis Kennedy and myself on a variety of gothic topics in games and literature, all revolving around the weird stories and little-known facts that fell through the cracks, and we discovered while ferretting about making Cultist Simulator.

Search for 'Skeleton Songs' on all the usual places - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc - or listen to the first episode on our website here.



Finally, I've teased the new direction we're taking BOOK OF HOURS in our first work-in-progress GIF, which you can see over on the blog. Any guesses what this means for the redesign...?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1028310/BOOK_OF_HOURS/https://store.steampowered.com/app/1028310/BOOK_OF_HOURS/

Happy 2020, everyone! Here's a quick update on Weather Factory's plans this year.




We finally announced a release date for the Dancer DLC on mobile - it's coming NEXT WEEK on Wednesday 22nd January 2020. It'll cost £1.99 / $1.99 and come alongside a free update containing all the latest PC updates for the game and our recent Russian localisation.

If you don't own Cultist yet on mobile, get 'em below so you're ALL READY to peel off your skin next week.






https://store.steampowered.com/app/1028310/BOOK_OF_HOURS/

After a brief hiatus, I'm delighted to confirm BOOK OF HOURS is back! We're doing some initial prototyping before we have more we can say about the specific features you can expect, BUT we're still expecting to release in 2021 and you'll be able to follow open dev on our Twitters (@factoryweather, @tronbevan, @alexiskennedy) in the meantime.

There'll also definitely be some form of early beta / playtesting, so keep your ears to the ground if that's your sort of thing.






Excitingly, we're starting a new podcast this year! In the next week or so you'll be able to listen to Skeleton Songs, a story-focused gothic-y podcast of forgotten narratives and forbidden tales that we may or may not have made up. It'll focus on games and literary stuff, so if you're the kinda eloquent player who likes a game like Cultist Sim, you're likely to enjoy Skeleton Songs too.

I'll share a link to it when our first episode is live. :D


Indie games be cray! Alexis has been in them for a decade now, through two companies, three significant indie successes (Fallen London, Sunless Sea, and now Cultist Sim) and some mad, dark parts of it too. The industry is often a bit of a black box to people not inside it, so Alexis is writing a book on his experiences with all his best anecdotes thrown in.

More on that when we have release dates for ya.


There's a lot in the above, but you can always check out our ongoing roadmap for a sprint-by-sprint plan of what's coming, when. It's fairly bare right now because we're so early in BOOK OF HOURS' development, but it'll get juicier and juicier over the coming months. :)