Hey guys. We are very grateful to you for your activity and would like to continue our communication in this direction. This time we want to ask you: What game modes and races types do you expect ? We are waiting for your comments and suggestions.
An absent-minded man of mysteries, Franz Lohner relies on his bulging journal to keep track of occurrences, intrigues and arguments around Taal's Horn Keep. Sometimes his notes are even useful, believe it or not. The Franz Lohner Chronicles are extracts from that journal.
Franz Lohner's Chronicle - What do we have here
Hello Franz, darling, it’s Sienna. If you’re reading this, then you already know I’ve found your little diary.
I have to say, I’m very impressed. Quite apart from the content – which is simply chock full of interesting bric-a-brac, if oddly miss-spelled in places – I adore those loving little doodles in the margins. Especially the ones of Saltzpyre. You’ve really captured his scowl – or rather, one of his many scowls. They do say that goblins have a hundred different words for ‘mushroom’. Our dear, gallant Victor is a bit like that, but with bleak facial expressions, don’t you find? Perhaps it’s only having the one eye that does it? Or having a shard of flint where his heart should be.
And speaking of hearts … Don’t think I didn’t spot where you’ve scrubbed out all those bits of conjecture about Kerillian and Markus. Never mind how I know what you’ve been writing – one is a wizard, darling, and you are a dull fellow at times. Such imagery! And all in rhyme, but honestly I don’t know where you got the idea in the first place. It’s best we draw a veil over the matter, don’t you think? At least, unless you’d rather I accidentally let the odd detail slip? I’d have to explain some of the longer words to dear Markus, bless him, but I’ve a feeling Kerillian would be rather faster on the uptake. And if Bardin finds out, he’ll only put it to music, and I shudder to think of the consequences.
And all because of your little diary. Hang on … there’s not something about me in here, is there?
Oh. Apparently not.
So … I’m not worth writing about, is that it? You can’t stop chattering on about the others, but poor little Sienna’s too boring, is she? Well, the things I could tell you!
I’ll have you know I’ve led a fascinating life, full of wisdom, excitement … and not one or two moments of indiscretion. Anecdotes that would make your toes curl. Tales of romance and daring from across the Old World. Intrigue. Danger. Excitement. Explosions!
Oh, the stories I could tell. And you’re never going to hear them. Not now. You’ve hurt my feelings.
How does it feel to be left out?
Being back at the Bright College, that’s what it feels like.
Following the gameplay feedback we're made a major overhaul of it following a more usual keyboard+mouse control scheme:
'WASD' is used now for movement
Simple Left Mouse Click is used for attack
Swipe attacks do not require 'CTRL' now. Note, they are optional, one can only use the simple attack
A point & click movement mode can be used if one holds down the 'CTRL' key (but it's optional)
Rolling is based on a simple key and a movement direction and are rebind-able
Blocking/parrying are default on the Right Mouse Button and are rebind-able
We've also fixed some cloth related crashes that affected some users and are well under way with integrating an automatic crash report solution.
For the next week we will iron out all the bugs and issues and once we reach a stable version continue with releasing more content, hopefully releasing the full game this year.
Your package is the most important item - guard it with your all might!
State of the package your are delivering to your customers is very important. After all if it's completely tattered, dirty and whatever is inside seems to be broken no-one will accept that kind of parcel. Customers might file a complaint and the company that used your services might refuse to ever work with you again! Of course, sometimes bad things happen but if the start to happen repeatedly...
Take a look at the package above. Notice 4 colourful squares? In our game those will represent "lifepoints" of our package. Package might lose lifepoints whenever something dangerous happens to it. For example, if you have the idea to throw the package over the fence you cannot expect that it will stay in the completely same state it was before that fantastic thought came to your mind! Package might lose healthpoint in a variety of situations.
Now we're down to one last health point - we need to be extra careful with its delivery. Anything bad happens to it and it might turn ugly really quick. Make sure to handle the package very thoughtfully and carefully. Perhaps maybe deliver it by hand? If you put it in the storage area of your truck you still might risk that something will happen to it during the ride... ah, it's very problematic now!
However if you fail one more time... it's the screen above that you will have to meet in your playthrough. Losing 4 points means that package is in a state that is unacceptable and you simply need not to deliver it anymore - it will not be accepted anyway.
As we share gameplay screenshots with you we've noticed the distinct lack of images taken during the movement - we want to promptly highlight that right now!
After all - during the gameplay you will be almost always moving. Movement is very important for the game and for the particular situation of liquidator controlled by us. In the end - if they are staying in the wrong place... it might end very badly for them. Something as simple as standing in the right place, few meters to the left or right, depending on the location, might change their fate completely. However standing is only one side of this dangerous coin - moving is the other. And graphically we try to explore our options while presenting you the environment to maintain the feeling of urgency. You are in a very dangerous place. You have to act very quickly and you need to be decisive. Graphics in the game will try to uphold that kind of feelings.
Look at the screenshots we've taken to see that for yourself. Swift reactions to the situation that is developing in front of our eyes - retreating when necessary or advancing given the chance to do so - might change the visuals of your whole gameplay and give you chance to act in the best interest of the liquidator you control. While moving you'll be "attacked" by a variety of graphical stimuli. Screen might get a little bit blurred when you suddenly look behind you, fire might blind you unexpectedly or you might get scared and jump when confronted with a sudden collapse of a wall by the side of which you were running.
Look around, think about your next action, undertake only those steps that you are sure about. We know that many of you want to explore the site and check everything you can. We're working very hard to make sure that the sceneries you see will be diversed and interesting. We try to maintain the historic accuracy while arranging the whole experience to fulfill your expectations. Do keep in mind that rushing blindly in any direction might spell your doom. Barging head-first into collapsed room full of fire might not give you too much time to escape. Not noticing that floor ends abruptly might cause your fall. It's not only about appreciating the hard work of our graphic designers - it's also about playing smart.
Thank you for tuning in this time - take care and see you next time!
Kind regards, Chernobyl Liquidators Simulator Team
“Everyone with their missiles, their lasers, their turrets… give me a cloak and a shotty any day of the week and I’ll show you what damage I can do.” - James Reginald Pierce III, United Kingdom RAF Cyber Pilot Program
We’ve spent a lot of time these last few weeks highlighting the larger and “in charger” Champions coming when Upload hits the live servers. This week, we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at the Shade Z1 - a small, nimble, and stealthy craft that flies softly and carries a very big stick.
What the Shade lacks in options for combat, it more than makes up for with its superb agility, stealth mechanics, and extremely potent auto-shotgun known as “Mow Town”. When combined with the Shade’s main Stealth Cloak skill, sneaking up behind an unsuspecting sniper or a defending enemy becomes an act of pure beauty when their craft goes crashing down to the battlefield floor in pieces and flames.
But beware, though the Shade Z1 is one of the most potent and dangerous Champions in the game, this sort of quick burst damage doesn’t come without its drawbacks - the Shade isn’t exactly known for having a lot of armor or survivability. So when the going gets tough, or if you miss your chance at a shotgun blast when you come out of stealth, it’s probably best to use your “Ghost Protocol” skill and get the hell out of dodge before it’s your turn to explode. Or, you can use it to sneak the package out of the scoring zone, like so...
But fear now, if you thought the Shade had limited firepower, there’s one more tool in the little guy’s utility belt - the Smart Grenade. A limited use homing grenade that locks on targets and chases them - exploding and causing splash damage to surrounding crafts - the Smart Grenade is that one final boost to damage the Shade Z1 sometimes needs to make sure they get their kill.
That’s it for the Shade Z1, our Champion that’s pretty much custom made for players who like stealth and getting in close to do their dirty work. So stay tuned for more details on this and all our Champions leading up to Upload’s launch in the coming weeks.
We look forward to revealing even more of our new Champions in the weeks ahead, but for now, stay tuned to our social channels on Twitter, and join our Discord to take part in the latest playtests!
This week’s update brings you 5 new tracking tasks, from reactive tracking to tasks focused purely on smoothness, this update brings something for everyone! Each task aims to highlight a different component of tracking to help you become the best tracker you can be!
Spheretrack90
A remix on the task you all know and love - Spheretrack90 plays very similarly to the normal Spheretrack, but with a catch, the target will always remain in front of the player!
This should no doubt help out those of you that found yourselves running out of mousepad space, but on top of this, the focus is shifted more towards accuracy over resetting your mouse. It will help you in practicing tracking engagements against enemies that are mostly in front of you, rather than moving all around you. Spheretrack90 is super useful for games like Apex Legends or Hyperscape, for targets that stay mostly in front of you, but that are quite dynamic.
Arctrack
A new task with a new Greybox variant - Arctrack has you tracking a target that moves in a plain circle in front of you, with relatively high consistency and predictability.
This task focuses more on general smoothness and predictive tracking over anything else, and applies more generally to the games you play, rather than being better suited to one or the other.
Startrack
A new favorite of mine personally, Startrack! It’s another smoothness based task in the same vein as Linetrace, with one key difference, instead of shooting two targets at the end of a tracking target you follow a target as it moves between "Ghost" targets. The combination of vertical and horizontal tracking enables you to better engage enemies with jumping abilities, such as an updrafting Jett or a Jump padding Octane.
Microstartrack
A variant of Startrack, Microstartrack combines reactivity and smoothness by spawning targets much closer together - Super hand for games with reactive targets like Overwatch, Warzone or Apex.
Reactivetrack
A new tracking task focused purely on reactive tracking - Face a target that changes direction rapidly and try your best to stay on target as much as possible. This task is pretty much perfect for those of you that have trouble dealing with enemies that change directions frequently, and should be a perfect fit for those looking to improve your performance against higher level opponents.
Other changes
Removed the Chinese New Year event from the lobby
Fixed some issues that may have caused crashes or slow downs on some users systems
How much can you build in just one hour in Cities: Skylines in the Wild Wild West?! ⏱️
In case you missed it, re-watch all the best moments of our past stream when LeaderOfTheMonkeys had an hour to amaze us with her attempt at this speed-building challenge. This video will show you all the best highlights and hopefully inspire you to create your own version of a Wild West town.
Ready to learn more about how to play Stonefly? Our dev team is here to help with a series of how-tos and explainers that we think you'll love.
Technical Game Designer Mel Ramsden and her beloved bearded dragon and co-designer, Morty, share a first look at gameplay to teach you about all the ways you can keep bugs at bay and collect a big payload. Sit back, pull up your notepad, and get ready to handle those buggos in style.
Ride the wind with us all the way to release this summer: follow the game on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Don’t forget to join us on our Discord server, too. Thank you so much for your support!
Sincerely, Flight School Studio and MWM Interactive