Greetings Ballers,

We will be conducting an Emergency Server Maintenance on May 10, 2021.

Kindly check the details below.​

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Maintenance Duration:​

5/10 00:30 - 01:30 (PDT)

Maintenance Details:

[Fixed]

- Unable to access Ranked Mode on NA server fix

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Please be advised that won't be able to access the game during the maintenance​, and we apologize for any inconvenience.​

Thank you for your patience and understanding regarding this matter.

- 3on3 Freestyle Team​​​​

Good lord, it’s May already. This newsletter will spotlight some more enemies coming for the fire ant update, with a particular focus on nature’s favoured form – the beetle. We also have some talk about new AI systems that we’ve been working on over the past few weeks, which will be used in the last of the campaign levels and eventually in freeplay too!


A classically red Formica ereptor queen from GlitchyGamer

We’ve still got quite a few critters to show off as we complete work on them, as well as a few we don’t want to spoil until we get very close to release time.


Ah, beetles. They are the most diverse group of insects, and arguably of all animals. They appear throughout human culture and history, in art and science – they exist just about everywhere that we do. Naturally, we need more beetles in Empires of the Undergrowth (but perhaps not so many as to cause an uprising…) so we have a few more joining our various tiger beetles and rove beetles in the upcoming fourth tier.


Bombardiers are a kind of well-armoured ground beetle. There are several species – this one is called Brachinus alternans. They get their name from the distinctive popping sound they make when threatened, and a closer look at the cause of this sound reveals a defensive system that can be deadly if you happen to be small and in its way.


A bombardier beetle faces off against fire ants

By mixing various chemicals and enzymes together in a special internal chamber, the beetle produces a violently exothermic reaction. The resultant mixture reaches close to the boiling point of water and is expelled by the rapid rise in pressure through an opening pointed at the beetle’s enemy.


Near-boiling liquid is explosively fired at the beetle’s enemies

If you’re a large vertebrate predator, this irritant is likely to be enough to put you off having a bombardier beetle for dinner. If you’re the size of an insect, however, the momentary boiling temperature of this liquid can easily be fatal. With the large area of effect this defensive spray has, it’d be wise to consider carefully whether the bombardier beetle is worth the inevitable casualties.


Mimicry is seen everywhere in the animal kingdom – creatures evolve to look like more dangerous ones, which gives them a deceptive advantage. The false bombardier beetle (Galerita bicolor) has evolved to look almost identical to its namesake, with some minor differences in colouration and morphology.


An impostor among us – a false bombardier beetle looking sus

This helps it avoid predation, but the false bombardier beetle is not without defences – it’s significantly larger than the true bombardier, has the same chitinous armour, and uses muscle action to spray a solution that is mainly made of a familiar substance – formic acid.


Size comparison to the false bombardier (left) and the true bombardier

Whilst not as deadly as the boiling liquid that is explosively fired by the true bombardier, formic acid will still do considerable damage to small creatures. It’s the same acid used by the ranged wood ants of the 2nd tier, and it’ll have a similar in-game consequences – an area of effect venom-type attack.


Cleridae – the checkered beetles – are distributed worldwide. This particular species is called Enoclerus rosmarus, and it’s a common sight in North America. They’re active hunters, and their preferred habitats are moist and sunny – qualities which will bring them into conflict with your fire ants.


A checkered beetle minding its own business


Checkered beetle larvae are also hunters, which in Empires of the Undergrowth will give them a similar role to rove beetle larvae in previous levels. They’re more vulnerable in this state, before they develop the chitinous armour they have as adults – but they’re still a force to be reckoned with.


Checkered beetle larva fights fire ants


At the moment, the various AI colonies we have in the game are either heavily scripted (as in 2.2) or reliant on preset “points of interest” which they use to decide where to send their forces (3.1, freeplay). This makes them relatively robust but doesn’t allow them to make very complex decisions on a changing battlefield. Liam has been working on a scanning solution that will let colonies periodically scan the surface for interesting things, giving them the ability to make much more relevant choices.


Green squares represent areas of interest the AI scan has found

These will be used on all of the remaining campaign levels, all of which will feature AI colonies in some form. Eventually, we hope to transplant this feature to freeplay too – after fire ants, we are likely to do another big round of freeplay changes to bring that game mode closer to its release form.


Two colonies scan for points of interest on one another – light orange is the real scan, the maroon is a skipped scan where it decided to use saved data from a scan not so long ago in the same place


I’m sure many of you are familiar with the fan wikis that crop up; fandom.com is one of the more prominent ones. We’ve been slightly bemused by these and not entirely sure what to make of them – up until very recently, they were simply placeholders with very little in the way of articles. However, thanks to some dedicated community members, the Empires of the Undergrowth fandom.com wiki has had some big content additions over the past couple of months.

Particular thanks to thanhmk28 on our forums for putting a lot of time into the fandom wiki, and writing / formatting a majority of the articles so far. On it you’ll see creature stats and abilities (taken from a version of the spreadsheets that the game uses that we host on our website) that might well be useful for people looking for a more solid idea of what various creature’s strengths and weaknesses are until we implement a way to see these in the game.


The EotU Fandom Wiki

There’s even a dedicated spoiler page for the upcoming 4th tier update, which details all of the new stuff we’ve revealed in Screenshot Saturdays and these newsletters. This wiki is open to further contributors, so if you’d like to help thanhmk28 out with writing some new articles then by all means do! Our community continuously proves itself to be one of the best there is, and we couldn’t be more thankful for that.

For final release, there will be plenty of information accessible in-game with our own encyclopedia system. Even after that’s implemented, there will always be a place for community-driven wikis like these – they’re definitely an appropriate place to post guides, creative strategies and suchlike that won’t be in the game itself.


A couple of months ago, Tom Johnson released his evolution simulation game Ecosystem into early access on Steam. Slug Disco are the publishers for it, and it’s been a joy to see how it’s been received and how community feedback is already shaping the direction Tom has decided to push things.

About once fortnightly, Tom has been sharing his progress and direction with us and we’ve been posting these as articles on the game’s Steam page. He’s now at a point where he can share the path he’s chosen for Ecosystem’s first major update, which will focus on graphs and analytical tools so the player can see plant, predator and prey relationships in much greater detail than before.


The graphs and analytical tools coming soon to Ecosystem

Ecosystem continues to progress rapidly as a project and if you have an interest in speculative evolutionary biology, serene aquatic environments, or even just producing abominations such as human-like fish then we heartily recommend giving Ecosystem a spin. It has a demo which shows a lot of the basic features, but the full thing is gearing up to be something altogether more special.


Seriously, I feel like this section is just for me – every time I write a newsletter, I look forward to the bit where I have a browse through some recent screenshots posted to our Discord or uploaded to the community, and select three of my favourites. If you’d like to participate, by far the easiest way to get your screenshot to us these days is Discord. You can also email them directly to mike@slugdisco.com.


A pleasing formicarium from BrickyGraph631


Trapjaws under attack from a hidden jumping spider from Rarity


A close call in extra level Excavators from Crazlex9

Dear players, everyone:
In order to ensure the stability of the game operation and improve the game experience, Shadowbane's first server [Gungnir] and second server [Mjolnir] will perform routine maintenance on May 10, 17:00-19:00 Pacific Time (8:00-10:00, May 11 Beijing Time). If the maintenance content cannot be completed within the scheduled time, the service opening time will to be postponed. Please understand.

[Wonderful Activity]
After the update and maintenance, from 21:00 on May 11 to 21:00 on May 12, Pacific Time (from 12:00 on May 12 to 12:00 on May 13, Beijing Time), Shadowbane will start the limited-time special purchase activity of poison ring. For specific content, please follow the in-game mall!

Shadowbane game project team May 10, 2021

Hey everyone, I wanted to post an update with how the next expansion for the game is coming.

Originally I had planned for this update to be out in late April, however I've gone for a new visual style for the environments and buildings, to capture the aesthetic of the Gallic / Germanic tribes of the north. This has delayed the release, but I wanted to show you how it's coming along.

One key element I wanted to implement was the addition of multiple climate zones. For this expansion you'll play both on lush green fields and in snowy mountain settings.

A snowy area, with matching tress and shrubs


A more temperate area, with new trees, shrubs and misc


I've worked on the mechanics of the expansion and I've settled on implementing a dual citizen society, similar to how the African Kingdom operated.

• Tribal Kin - A citizen of the village, a simple man or woman who works the fields, industries and works to create trade goods.
  
• Tribal Elites - A well off citizen of the village, these elites oversee the work of the kin and manage both cultural and religious affairs.

The visual design I'm aiming for is more tribal than Rome but more structurally refined than the African Kingdom. As such I've settled on a combination of wooden buildings with additional features such as reinforced clay walls, thatched roofing and an emphasis more on tribal vibes.

This design style I feel will look really great when the housing structures are combined with the new industrial buildings. Here's a sample of some of the new buildings.

A basic Kinsman dwelling, featuring a thatched roof, wooden log frame and surrounded by a simple fence.


This more advanced dwelling uses an alternate roof design, reinforced with a wooden structure.


I'm hoping to have the expansion up and running as soon as possible, but I want to ensure that the campaign is fully fleshed out and to the same level of quality as the African Kingdom.

As I get closer to finishing I'll provide an update with a set date so that you know when it's coming.

Thanks again for all of the feedback and positive messages, I'm really looking forward to showing you the next expansion for Glory of Rome!

10 May 2021 (BETA)


GENERAL
Sorted combat toolbar to be in front of Message Log


CAMPAIGN
New campaign win condition added if many enemy ships sunk
Both campaigns modified:
- Campaign setup.txt files added new variable to both campaigns
- winEnemyShipsSunk:100 - new win condition to end a campaign if enemy is overwhelmed. Calls event "shipsSunk.txt", setting to 0 or negative value disables this win condition.
- Added "shipsSunk.txt" event to language folders for both campaign
- objectives.txt updated to reflect new alternate win condition

config.txt added new variables:
playerSubAmbushOffset:[3000,5000,1500,3000]
enemySubAmbushOffset:[1500,2500,750,1500]
4 numbers are in metres [forward offset min, forward offset max, perpendicular offset min, perpendicular offset max]
Perpendicular offset is randomised left or right
Both variables require "subAutoAmbushPosition":[true,true] to be applied

nightEncounterMaxRange:15 - encounters at night will only occur at or below this range

Custom Sea Group names preserved when splitting or merging groups

Generating an encounter in the same check as a group becoming "un-spotted" no longer breaks campaign timer cycles

Number of aircraft landing on a ship can no longer exceed air capacity of that ship

Changes

• Added new weapon, Piovra 92FU.
  
• Original, intuitive style of pistol stabilization is back: no need to grip the pistol with your off-hand. Just hold your off-hand against your main hand in a natural way to drastically reduce recoil, off-hand no longer affects aiming direction on pistols.
  
• Added holographic sight on Specter .45ACP.
  
• Slightly reduced recoil on Specter .45ACP.
  
• New reloading sounds for Schramm G40.
  
• Added sounds for holstering and unholstering weapons.
  
• New sounds for reaching into the ammo pouch and for grabbing an item from it.
  
• Material updated on Hollington 570 shotgun.
  
• Adjusted enemy physical reactions.
  
• Enemies will fall from stabbing or punching damage to the groin.
  
• Heavy melee weapons will now cause a fall-down from lighter strikes to the legs and groin.
  
• Added more blood splatter, and increased its visibility.

Raid

• Raid maps 4 and 5 are back with updated layouts and visual overhaul.
  
• Melee enemies will continue to chase you rather than remaining in their patrol zone.
  
• Raid enemy awareness grunt sound can now be heard from further away due to new attenuation settings.
  
• Enemy awareness distances adjusted so that enemies can see further.
  
• Melee patrol behavior adjusted for more stealth kill potential, melee patrollers will now wait at their patrol point approximately 45 seconds before moving to the next point.
  
• Outdoor compound shooters are back, once inside a compound, they will continue to come after you until the compound has been cleared.
  
• Wind sound volume lowered.
  
• Trees adjusted for performance and visual breakup.

Fixes

• Fixed Schramm G40 from ejecting tiny shells.
  
• Fixed bug preventing certain enemy physical reactions from happening
  
• Fixed bug causing blood decals to disappear abruptly and not obey max ragdoll time option.
  
• Fixed collision on one of the Raid buildings which prevented the player from going upstairs.
  
• Fixed bug causing some enemies inside buildings to be unable to move.

优化玩家击退效果。
优化史莱姆国王模型，增加史莱姆国王碰撞效果。
解决部分建筑碰撞范围过大的问题 。
优化命中效果，魔兽与勇者命中效果区分。
野蛮人新增技能，风车
厄运饼干死亡时，发射箭雨
调整大剑技能3 ，随机角度缩小，大剑体积放大。
缩短“标记”技能cd时间 5s→2s
减少死亡惩罚灵魂数，50%→80%

Optimize the player's knockback effect.
Optimize the King Slime model and increase the collision effect of King Slime.
Solve the problem that the collision range of some buildings is too large.
Optimize the hit effect, distinguish between the hit effect of Warcraft and the brave.
The barbarian's new skill, windmill.
When Doom Biscuit dies, launch a rain of arrows.
Adjust the big sword skill 3, reduce the random angle and enlarge the size of the big sword.
Shorten the "mark" skill cd time 5s→2s.
Reduce the number of death penalty souls, 50%→80%.

• Flooding now causes loss of O2
• Added bar gauge to crewman skills showing progress to next skill level
• Added keyboard shortcuts for panning camera (default “,” and “.”); scales with Options->Pan Rate
• Reduced dive/ascend acceleration and max speed
• Dive/ascend acceleration and max speed are halved on Sim difficulty
• On Sim difficulty, torpedoes can not be fired from below 100 feet
• On Sim difficulty, torpedoes that hit at an oblique angle (<30 degrees) will glance off target
• Slightly reduced max speed of sub-chasers
• Added built-in Modding editor (Options->Modding->Edit Mod Files)
• Fixed bug in Sim difficulty where 100% of crewmen in fully-damaged locations would die (now it’s about 50%)
• Fixed Mission Status/Orders tab showing next mission after End Mission & Return to Base
• Fixed crash if player manages to implode their sub during sea trials
• Fixed bug where custom convoy game ship count was clamped at 8
• Various other small bug fixes

Aina is a young investigator in a distant city in the north, but when mysterious magical murders begin to take place in it, it is she and her partner who are entrusted with the case. But what if everything is not what it seems? What if Aina itself become a victim?

Features:
~ Three romanceable characters
~ Many unique endings
~ Colorful illustrations
~ Original soundtrack

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1562870/Mind_Rite/

Updated a small typo in Ch 10 and fixed a dialogue line sometimes not starting. Enjoy!