Showcasing Star Drift Evolution on its early access release!

Where to begin? If you've kept up with prior development updates, you're aware we are working on this project around our day jobs with our free time. When Covid hit earlier this year, our employers responded like most - reduced work schedules or even furloughs. In a way, this was somewhat of a blessing in disguise because it allowed extra time to make significant milestone progress.

Since March of this year, we have completed all level's designs, layouts, and art assets. I repeat - all levels are fully functional and completely built, save for that final bit of polish at the end of all development cycles to make them shine their best. This may not be very exciting for you, but this is huge progress. In the end, Anathema will end up with 13 levels total, instead of the originally planned 12 levels.

The second major milestone achieved is 100% of all enemies are completely designed, animated, and programmed. There are currently 54 enemies in Anathema that do not include mini-bosses or main bosses. The enemies are also neither recycled sprites nor palette swaps - these are 54 uniquely designed, animated, and programmed enemies. Some attacks, patterns, or movements may be slightly similar (due to working in a 2D environment you only have so much range of motion) but each stage features its own unique enemy sprites. That said, as development progresses we may decide to add more enemies if necessary.

How about a look at some of the enemies?


Anathema's backstory revolves around the fallen Angel, Azrael, who unleashed a terrible sickness known as "Devil's Plague." This (un)fortunate soul was able to survive the Devil's Plague only because it was also infected with Lycanthropy.


In the deepest catacombs of the main continent lie the ruins of a misunderstood civilization that was exiled. The outskirts of the Exiled's rubble are teeming with creatures adapted to the hostile volcanic landscape. This demon will certainly scorch any to ashes that dare enter its domain.


In the opening of the Anathema demo, we mention a cult known as "The Black Dawn." These cultists blindly pursue the rebirth of Azrael after his defeat at the hands of Aurora's father, Corbin Delacroix. There are various roles the cultists play - sentries, alchemists, priests, etc. This particular cultist is adept with the art of alchemy and uses it with explosive results, albeit with a headstrong nature.

We would love to show more of the enemies, but also don't want to spoil everything in the game ahead of its release. But don't worry! We will show more as we near the finish line!




***Please note these are not final names, just what we use to refer to them internally.

In the last update, we showed you a glimpse of the Ossuary and its Vampyr Elder miniboss. Here is a look at the final boss of this level. The Ossuary is the very next level following the end of the demo.


We posted this screenshot on our Twitter earlier this year (in animated form) so here it is in case you missed it. If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter @Esperware because we post things there that don't always make it here.


Classic games would tout having a day and night system. Well, we have an eclipse system.



What hideous man-made monsters await in this isolated laboratory?



There is nothing like a little R&R in the country, right?




As mentioned above, we've made two major milestones in 2020 that bring us two very big leaps closer to completing the development of this game. We want to finish this game and get it in your hands as soon as possible, but there are still some things left to do. Currently, development is focused on bosses and cutscenes. These are the final two remaining major milestones for the game. After that it's minor things like revamping the Inventory screen, adding the hidden Tomes that expound on the lore of the game, rounding out the final sound design (even though most is handled as we go), and the level select screen.

It feels really good to be able to say the end is finally in sight. There are still things left to do, but the hardest parts of the development cycle are now done and behind us. I am extremely confident in saying that Anathema should be ready for release sometime in 2021, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Follow us on Twitter @Esperware

The engineers saw reports of issues with invisible items/players still and got to work on another hotfix.

This update is that hotfix, hopefully to remove the last edge cases that can cause this problem. Let us know if you still have problems after the update! We're listening!

• Gloves have been added to various shops, so you can now "customize" your character's hands. Check out the mall (second floor) or large department store on the west side of the map (among other places) to grab some.
  
  
• During the "Territory Takeover" shakedown missions, enemies will now more fiercely counter vehicle attacks (level 3 onward). This encourages players to engage in combat and use a more strategic approach.
  
  
• The "Live Broadcast" boss AI has been improved and made slightly more challenging (particularly under normal difficulty). Tweaks were also made to improve the experience under 3X zoomed-in mode.
  
  
• The "Lost Locks" shakedown now lets you clear the security guards by cutting their hair too. This provides players with an alternative approach to get rid of them.
  
  
• Tuned "Ballistic Pick Pocket" Arcade Challenge.
  
  
• Chase missions now better handle players entering vehicles.
  
  
• Adjusted "Live Stream" mission minigame to clarify keyboard controls.
  
  
• Vehicle spawning improvements.
  
  
• Misc. bug fixes.

Thanks so much for playing! I hope these improvements make the game even better for you. If you discover any game bugs or issues, don't hesitate to email support.

For more information on the previous update (v1.1.0), check out this post.

High up in a seemingly abandoned skyscraper, on an empty floor without entrance there stands a single large closet. In that closet hangs a contraption, something from a time Toxic would rather not think about. Using the data she had found on Latch, she delved into questionable arts and created an ivory automaton. As a product of her mindstate at the time it turned erratic and hostile. Now it's sealed away, set to activate if Toxic would ever be captured by the Shine City Police.


The alternate version of the "Ivory Puppet: Killer" outfit is the "Ivory Puppet: Mourner":

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1431710/Lethal_League_Blaze__Ivory_Puppet_Killer_outfit_for_Latch/


The changes from the recent BETA are now live as well, alongside the new ranked season:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/553310/announcements/detail/2899713886456543926
And here are the A World Ablaze tournament results.
Bitnix wins a named Jersey and a Mask from NEU!
And these are the top 8 players and prizes:

• 1st $903 Bitnix
  
• 2nd $456 kirbbbb
  
• 3rd $255 Neer
  
• 4th $174 Beltrao03
  
• 5th $114 giant rat
  
• 7th $54 JawDrop
  
• 7th $54 MaffeW

Mayors,

The latest version of NewCity is now live on the Testing branch. Details below:

• Fixing a crash when loading 125x125 maps.
  
• New and improved Building Selection Panel. This is the panel that pops up when using the Query Tool (1) on a building.
  
• Added the Statue decoration. The statues are a reward for IndieGoGo contributors. To see the statues in action, open G6x6_terracotta_army in the building designer. The statues will be added to buildings next week.
  
• Fixing a bug where building designs with no structures would get an image of just grass.
  
• Water no longer rises and lowers due to tides. This is because tides make it difficult to place items on water.
  
• The Earthworks Tool (5 > E) now has a cost.
  
• Transit stops will now be removed when they have no transit lines.
  
• Removed the ability to shut down a transit system. If you accidentally shut down your train or bus system, they will be restored, although you will need to replace the lines and stops.

Note: There is an additional line item listed in-game for "experimental Steam Workshop subscription support." That support is not actually active in this version yet due to a bug. Soon!

You can opt in to the Testing branch via the Betas tab, found by right-clicking NewCity in your Steam Library and selecting Properties. Simply click the dropdown under the Betas tab and choose "test - Testing branch." You can return to the current main build via the same dropdown by choosing "NONE - Opt out of all beta programs" instead. Going from one to the other will trigger an update as Steam fetches you the desired branch.

Thank you to everyone who's been playing and submitting feedback and bug reports; we hear you! Keep posting your thoughts in our Steam Discussions, touching base with us on Discord, and Tweeting us videos and screenshots of what you're building. We may not respond to each and every one, but rest assured we're paying attention.

As always, we can't wait to see what you build.
Lone Pine Games

Hello everyone,

We have worked on a few things and here are the results:

• Fixed a problem where the player was respawning on water during the boat sequences
  
• Fixed a bug where the player was constantly respawning on the boat if he had not properly finished the boat sequence
  
• Fixed a bug where skull achievements won't unlock
  
• Solved an issue with the Cinematic volume parameter
  
• Fixed a bug where some keybinding were not saved
  
• Fixed a bug where wrong key names where shown in the keybinding menu

Thank you all very much for your ongoing feedback and support! ❤️

All the best and stay healthy everyone!
Nicolas


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1186640

We are one week away from Halloween. The Asylum DLC content is almost ready and should be released near Halloween. ADD TO WISH LIST
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1453070/Sinister_Halloween__Asylum_DLC/

Story
You play as a journalist who received a secret email from Mountain peaks Asylum.
Local authorities notify you of a missing person report and a little girl is lost trick or treating in the area near the Asylum. As a Reporter, you investigate the area on Halloween Night.


JOIN US ON DISCORD https://discord.com/invite/x7jmKzk


HALLOWEEN JACKOLANTERN CONTEST.
YOUR ARTWORK! COMMUNITY PICK FOR IN-GAME! DLC PRIZE WINNERS Click for more info
https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/747690/view/2899711982378411151


Dont forget our last game update, we added auto check points, objectives UI and VR optimizations.
https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/747690/view/2882824752344422418

New DLC screenshots from Asylum DLC. Please comment and like :P









Next update, is the release of the product, Please consider purchasing the DLC to support our work.

May we ask, if you have not done so to make a review of the game, this will help very much.

The Steam version of Drunken Wrestlers 2 hasn't seen updates for over a month while I've been hard at work on the Android version of the game. I had to optimize the game quite a bit to be able to run on mobile devices, but these optimizations also carry over back to PC.

• Performance Optimizations
  CPU load has been majorly decreased.
  
  
• Faster Loading Times
  Main Menu will now load significantly faster.
  
  
• New Items
  Pumpkin Head
  
  Directly purchasable until November 1st, marketable afterwards.
  Glows in the dark.
  
  Vampire Aura
  
  Directly purchasable until November 1st, marketable afterwards.
  Makes animated bat sprites spawn near you.
  
  Witch Hat
  
  Directly purchasable until November 1st, marketable afterwards.
  Physics driven.
  
  Striped Sweater
  
  Directly purchasable until November 1st, marketable afterwards.
  
  Hockey Mask
  
  Unocks at level 39 but can be purchased directly.
  
  Viking Helmet
  
  Unocks at level 29 but can be purchased directly.
  
  
• Changes To Settings
  You can now set framerate limit in the settings.
  Resolution is now adjusted via slider.
  You can now adjust music volume in the audio settings.
  
  
  
• Requested Feature: Faster Spinning Backfist
  I found out that the animation speed of the spinning backfist was set to x0.6 ːlunar2019deadpanpigː
  Now it's set to x0.8.
  
  
• Bot Avoids Ledges
  To make XP farming a little bit tougher.

• faster loading times
  
• performance optimizations
  
• you can now set framerate limit in the settings
  
• resolution is now adjusted via slider
  
• you can now adjust music volume in the settings
  
• added a new preinstalled workshop map
  
• the bot will now avoid ledges
  
• spinning backfist is now faster
  
• bugfixes
  
  new items:
  
• pumpkin head
  
• vampire aura
  
• witch hat
  
• striped sweater
  
• hockey mask
  
• viking helmet

• fixed steam invites not working if you are connected to a wrong region
  
• fixed steam invites not working if you are already in another room
  
• fixed only having one network sync field per custom script
  
• console no longer pops up when you save a replay
  
• fixed some cosmetic item conflicts
  
• clinch break tip now shows up every time you're in a clinch
  
• removed a few errors

• animation-time-based damage multiplier now respects slowdowns in realism mode
  
• fixed hockey mask clipping through other items
  
• different approach for getting native screen resolution
  
• small bugfixes

• halloween items are no longer purchasable and can now be sold on community market
  
• restored previous physics and time parameters

Keep in touch: http://discord.gg/dw2
- Oleg

Hi everybody! We're pushing a new patch today, 1.1.7, also including changes from 1.1.6 that were previously on a beta branch. The biggest change is a hotfix for a potential progress blocking bug in the palace.

1.1.7 Patch Notes

• Added fix for possibility of being permanently stuck on the wrong side of a door in a room in the palace (retroactive fix as well)

1.1.6 Patch Notes

• Added Exclusive Fullscreen option to video settings. This setting has prevented stutters for at least one player, so you might want to give it a shot if you're experiencing something like that. There seems to be an issue with it currently where sometimes this setting has to be re-enabled after launching the game, we'll be looking into resolving that for the next update.
  
• Added a checkpoint right before the 6th boss
  
• Added a pungent tree to a room to further telegraph the way to solve a certain late game puzzle
  
• Rock slugs now drop more pungent fruit
  
• Fixed respawning loot in an optional room in the midgame
  
• Fixed Rowr bestiary entry not being unlocked in some cases (retroactive fix as well)
  
• Fixed a fortress save room not stopping music

Thanks to everyone who's been playing the game! Stay tuned for a more substantial quality of life update next week :)