Aground is Coming to PAX East!!! We made it happen, folks - we are so excited to be able to share Aground at a big expo again and meet so many fans out there! Please stop by at booth # 25047 - in the central area of the show floor, Boston, February 27-Mar 1.

Additionally, if you are in the Boston area (but maybe not attending PAX), we will also be at the Pregamer event, Wednesday Feb 26th, 6-10pm, which is free! Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pregamer-pax-east-edition-tickets-87148881651


Photo from our Booth at PAX West 2018


Rocking out alchemist’s robes while demoing the game.

We will be showcasing Multiplayer at both events, which is very exciting! We’ve been quietly working on Multiplayer for a long time now, and we finally have something demo-able. Multiplayer is currently in Alpha, and is stable on the starting island - visit the #beta-feedback channel of our Discord if you want to learn how to sign up for the Alpha.



We’re hoping to transition multiplayer to the public beta in early March, and go live at the end of March/Early April (right before the full launch). It’s pretty exciting, but also a crazy busy time for us - preparing for launch, finishing multiplayer, getting ready for PAX, etc. It’s been nearly 3 years since I first had the idea for this game, and while it’s definitely evolved into something more than I originally imagined, it’s also fulfilled all my hopes for the game (with space travel and everything).

We also have official translations in the works for the full version - by popular request, we’re translating the game into Portuguese and Russian. Our console publisher, Whitethorn Digital, is also translating the game into French (and is considering other languages too). Speaking of Whitethorn Digital, they will also be at PAX East (booth 28035), and they are hoping to have a Switch demo of Aground running!

We’re looking forward to seeing many of you at next week’s events, and we hope you’re as hyped for multiplayer as we are!

P.S. Don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:

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The second (and final) backer planet is out, along with a second batch of “quality of life” improvements to the game. The new planet is called the Depths (for reasons that will quickly become clear), and once again anyone can travel to it by going to the new star system (it’s at the bottom right of the star map).



This planet is mostly about exploration - the quests don’t guide you as closely as the science path. There’s a lot hidden, and it’s better to go into it blind, but if you get stuck don’t forget to try fighting some of the new enemies.



We also added Difficulty Modes this update. Unlike in most games, you are not asked to set a Difficulty Mode when you start a new game, instead you can change it in the settings at any time. We’ve had people complain that the game is too easy, and others that it is too hard, so we decided to give players the flexibility to adjust the game difficulty up or down as they play. Is one planet or boss too difficult? Move the difficulty down. Too easy? Move it up. Since you can change it whenever you want, you never have to worry about choosing the wrong mode. Just be careful with the Permadeath mode - it will delete your save slot if you die - only the most hardcore players should attempt it!

In addition to the new planet, the following changes affect the full version:

• Added three new bosses to the arena.
• Added the ability to repair colony ships postgame (after the ending).

These changes affect the demo as well:

• Added difficulty settings to the options menu.
• Can export and delete saves right from the saves menu.
• Added a hammer item that builds blueprints.
• Added sound effects to familiars so they will occasionally make noise when idling (i.e., a cat will meow).
• Holding the shift key now reduces your speed to the starting value (walking). This is useful if you’re zipping by with too many upgrades and need some precision, and can also be used with flying equipment.
• Many other minor improvements and bugfixes.

This more or less completes the single player experience of the game. There are a few loose ends we’ll continue to add - like being able to build the science ship and entering the last incomplete postgame secret area, but these are not major game changers and may not be added until after the full launch. Our main goal from now until March 2020 is adding co-op multiplayer (and we’ll have a few betas along the way). The full launch will come soon after multiplayer is added.

Multiplayer in Aground will be the ability to invite other players into your game. It’s completely optional and server-less, and will not affect the single player experience at all. When you invite people, they can help you fight enemies, gather resources and complete quests - the storyline will be the same, you will just be able to work together.

I hope everyone is looking forward to multiplayer as much as I am! We’re getting close to the full launch, but we will definitely continue to be active in the discord and post updates to the game even after launch! Thank you to everyone who joined us on this journey and trusted us in Early Access!

P.S. Don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:

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Halloween is one of our favorite seasons - and yet we didn't have time to add anything for Halloween this year, so instead I decided to set up my own little homage to Halloween!


You don't want to know how many black cats I had to spawn to get them into the gif - like with real black cats, they seem to have a mind of their own and like running away!

While we didn't add anything Halloween-y this year, the past two years of Halloween updates are active (and both are featured in this gif). Also, the backer planet we added in the last update was very fitting for this season as well!


Doesn't it remind you of fall?

We're already at work on the next backer planet and the final Quality of Life updates as we move closer to our full launch date! I hope you're looking forward to it - we've had a lot of good ideas from players, and we might be throwing in a few surprises of our own!

The new planet is called Unnature Sanctuary, and is now reachable in the star navigator. It’s an optional side-quest planet, but check it out!



In other news, we recently added Minigames to the research lab, and Chase (our composer) released the official Aground Soundtrack! We also added Steam Leaderboards so you can see global high scores for the minigames… and also who has mined the most tiles!



For Mac Players: You may have heard about the new app requirements for Catalina. The good news is that Aground is already 64-bit, so the game will run. The bad news is that it is not notarized, and I will not notarize it given the complexity of the process for every update and requirement of an apple developer ID which has a yearly fee. From what I have heard, this means that you may have to go through an additional step to bypass gatekeeper. Hopefully this doesn’t cause too much trouble, and I’ll continue to update the game on Mac as usual.

In addition to the new planet, the following changes affect the full version:

• Some vehicles can now move and attack at the same time.
  
• Drone control can now be used while riding the mobile lab.
  
• Talon Copse can now modify most equipment.
  
• Cables and rails can now be placed on the same tile.
  
• Added a mini planet - Mercury. This is the last solar system planet that I plan to add before the full launch (gas giants have nowhere to land, and Venus is very dangerous).

These changes affect the demo as well:

• The starting quests now let you place the structures where you want to, and give you a blueprint for them when complete so you can re-arrange your base.
  
• Most vehicles and bots can now be packed up and deployed.
  
• Docks can now summon nearby boats.
  
• Trader will ship items from one island to another for a fee (pre bombardment/endings).
  
• Dragons can now land on water and never die by running out of fuel now.
  
• Mouse buttons can now be set in controls - this allows you to attack by clicking (but clicking on a GUI element will interact with it as normal).
  
• Surgery lab can now install vanity equipment.
  
• Crops can now be re-arranged in farms.
  
• Chests can be given labels.
  
• Hotkeys are now sensitive to parameters/modifiers.

This is about half of the quality of life updates planned for the game, and half of the backer planets - so look forward to the other half by the end of November!

Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:

Discord
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook

What happens after you beat the final boss? What’s the resolution to the story? This update answers those questions, along with some post game content and areas!



I don’t want to spoil much - but after beating the final boss, try talking to all the NPCs - almost all of them have dialogue changes. You can also choose a homeworld if you talk to the CaptAIn.

At this point, the questlines for magic and science path is more or less how it will be at the final launch, but we have the two backer planets, some additional post game content, the quality of life update (general improvements) and multiplayer still to come!


If you haven’t heard, Aground is now on the Discord Store as well! Definitely drop by our discord, we’re very active there if you want to chat - and you can now see announcements and buy the game directly from our discord server!

Update 1.8.2 Includes the Following:

• Endgame dialogue/cutscenes for all NPCs.
  
• You can now choose a homeworld.
  
• Added a third tier hut upgrade for post-game science.
  
• Added more destroyed versions of structures for bombardment.
  
• Added one of the two post-game secret areas (the key to unlock it was added to the golemech factory, if you know where that is).
  
• Added 4 new bosses to the arena.
  
• The Exo Mech can now have a shield or light installed.
  
• Changed collision detection - it should now lag less with large moving objects (like in fleet battles).
  
• The equipment window now shows all status bars as numbers (scaling them down if necessary).
  
• Added new SFX.
  
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Discord
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook

It’s been a year since we launched Aground in Early Access, and we’ve come a long way. A year ago, the science path ended when you crafted your first fighter escort, and the magic path ended after the fight with the Old One.

Since then, we’ve added spacefaring and end game science path quests and items. And with the update we released today - 1.8.0 - we’ve finally finished end tier magic path quests and items. The journey isn't over yet, but we’ve come a long way and the end is in sight.

The Full Launch is still on schedule for early next year alongside the console ports. Between now and then we’ll be working on:

• Endings - Right now, you beat the final boss and it rolls to credits, and if you continue your game nothing changes. This update will have the aftermath, conclusion, resolution and some post game content (along with editing all the NPC dialogue).
  
• Backer Planets & Characters - There are 2 side-quest planets and some NPCs designed by kickstarter backers that will be added to the game. These planets will be available to all players.
  
• Quality of Life Update - There’s a growing list of suggested improvements, tweaks and minor changes that we want to do before the full launch.
  
• Co-op Multiplayer - Play with your friends & work together to complete quests (no PvP by default, but if you’re okay with cheating and broken mods, you can enable it)!
  
• Console Ports - Aground will be released on the Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and XBox One.
  
• Translations - We will be translating Aground to several languages for the full launch, once the dialogue/text is more or less finalized.

And of course, the full launch isn’t necessarily the end! We have many ideas for post-launch updates, including the Hybrid/Combined Path!


Update 1.8.0 Includes the Following:

• Added New NPCs - And the quests necessary for you to reach the final boss on the magic path.
  
• Added Spirit World - A strange new place where the elemental spirits come from.
  
• Added Mars - Why is Mars a new planet for the magic path? Only one way to find out!
  
• Book of Translation - A new spellbook that lets you talk with dragon ships, steal their secrets (and ships) to use against them!
  
• Tier 3 Spellbooks - You can now cast meteors like shown in this sneak peek gif:
  
• Added new enemies.
  
• Added endgame magic path equipment.
  
• Added new spaceships and vehicles.
  
• Many new cutscenes and the story up to (but not including) the magic path ending.
  
• Living vehicles can now have their modifier changed at the vine copse.
  
• There is now a coral farm that you get at the same place as the coral pen that can harvest all wyrm pens and coral pens.
  
• Added new SFX.
  
• Familiar efficiency now boosts the farming speed of that familiar when in pens.
  
• The book of shielding now costs less stamina the higher your spellcasting stat, and blocks all attacks (including spirit attacks).
  
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

Thank you for supporting us throughout this year in Early Access, and I hope you’re looking forward to all the future updates, the full launch, and beyond!

Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:
Discord
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook

Update 1.7.1 is now live! In this update, we finished the incomplete areas on the colony ship and did some overall improvements and bugfixes for the science path to end update!



The biggest additions are the cafeteria (pictured above) and the museum. These are fun optional areas that flesh out the colony ship and give you a few more options for the tough fights at the end of the game. Speaking of tough fights, a lot of people thought the final boss was too easy... so we made it harder ːsteammockingː !

We're a little behind now, so we updated the Early Access Roadmap, but we are still confident we'll make the March 2020 full release date.

In other news, we're also on sale for 10% off in the Steam Summer Sale! If you haven't gotten the game yet, or have a friend who wants it, now is a great time to get it!

We're back to working on the Magic Path to End update, which we hope to release by the end of July, so I hope you're looking forward to that!

Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:

Discord
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook

Update 1.7.0 is now live!! It includes the Science Path to the end of the game, which involves several new planets, many new quests, NPCs, enemies, and much more!



We’re also very excited to announce that we have partnered with Whitethorn Digital to bring Aground to the Nintendo Switch, PS4 and XBox One! The console ports will release alongside the full launch in early 2020.

Our console port announcement was included in this year’s Kinda Funny Showcase at E3, which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Ayw3J7sxEkQ

Finally, Aground will be at the MIX at E3 this Wednesday June 12th, at 7PM - if you’re going to be there, please look for us and say hello!



The full changelog for this update is as follows:

• Added a new star system and planet on the Science Path where you can meet other human survivors.
  
• Added the Enemy Headquarters, where you can fight the final boss!
  
• Added many new enemies to go with the new planets.
  
• Added fleet battles - where NPC spaceships can fight alongside you!
  
• Added endgame science path equipment - both cyborg and regular.
  
• Added new spaceships and vehicles.
  
• Many new cutscenes and the story up to (but not including) the science path ending.
  
• Many bug-fixes, tweaks and minor changes!

I hope you’re as excited as we are - this is quite the milestone update (science path to end), but there’s still a lot to go (magic path, backer planets, co-op multiplayer)! Thank you for following and supporting us on this ambitious journey to the stars and beyond.



Enjoy, and as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or feedback - we are always happy to hear from our players. And don’t forget to join the social channels below if you haven’t already:

Discord
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook

If you've been following the Early Access Roadmap, then you're probably aware that we were planning on posting an update with the second to last planet around now. However, The last two planets are strongly linked, so we decided to do both planets in one BIG update at the end of this month, as the current planet felt incomplete alone.


A sneak peek gif of one of the upcoming spellbooks for the next update.

So, what's this update?

This update is mainly small improvements and bugfixes - as making players wait for some of the bugs in 1.6.1 until the end of May seemed too long (the biggest bug being that if you invited an NPC aboard the mobile lab in person instead of via com device - including the professor when the lab is first created, they end up in a weird place and not on the mobile lab). The professor should automatically be aboard the lab the next time you enter it, and for the other NPCs, simply call them with the com device to get them to transfer on board.

There is also one new quest, on the mobile lab, from the professor. This ends pretty quickly, giving you just a hint of the new planet before going to credits. There's a lot of new items/assets for the new planet in this build, but you cannot get there without cheats (and I recommend you don't mess with it unless you're using a cheat/backed up save). I hope you enjoy, and are looking forward to the end of this month!

The main purpose of this update is to fix some major bugs/memory leaks that made the game unstable and crash more often. This version should be a lot more stable and even a little faster, but I also added the following extras:

• You can now board enemy spaceships and defeat them from the inside! This gives you extra loot now... and will have more purposes later...
  
• Added vanity slots to equipment - you can now change your appearance without changing your actual equipment.
  
• Added new hairstyles and character customization options. You can select one from an existing save at the surgery lab.
  
• Added a few new familiar modifiers to the vine copse.

That's all for this minor update, but let me know if you have any issues or crashes! If not, I'll be back to working on the next planet!