In Farming Simulator 22, surfaces will appear more realistic and natural. Thanks to Parallax Occlusion Mapping we implemented in the GIANTS Engine 9. Parallax Occlusion will make the terrain and other surfaces in the game look more detailed and dynamic if the feature is turned on in the settings. Let's take a look and see what's actually happening. 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248130/Farming_Simulator_22/





We'll try to explain it as simple as possible: Parallax Occlusion Mapping is a technique that basically boosts the details of a textured surface to give it depth. Like the tire tracks on your field, trenching in the ground. They're deeper now, and here's why:

In the first step, Parallax Occlusion Mapping reduces a geometric complexity of a 3D model. Like the gravel on a road or even bricks in a wall, for example. The reduced surface details are transformed into a flat texture. When the model is rendered in the game, the surface details are put in a so-called "height map". That's what it looks like:



The height-map basically adds a depth to the otherwise flat surface. Imagine the height map as a geographical map with hills and valleys. Different colors mean different depths. As you can see in the height-map above - the darker the surface, the deeper it is. Based on this info stored in the image, the surface is then reconstructed in the game, appearing three-dimensional and realistic.
There are a couple of reasons to use Parallax Occlusion Mapping in video games like Farming Simulator 22 to achieve this effect. First of all, the result looks very realistic and certainly adds a depth to the surfaces in the game. Doesn't it look neat? Just take a loot at these visualizations of surfaces gaining depth.





Then, of course, it's performance-friendly. The degree of Parallax Occlusion Mapping is determined by your hardware and graphical settings. This way, we can improve Farming Simulator further while still keeping it hardware-friendly for every gamer out there.

If your system can handle it, crank up the settings, and you'll get the best possible result. If not, don't worry - you can still play Farming Simulator 22 with lowered settings and Parallax Occlusion turned off. 



Roads, fields, walls and buildings: You'll notice the improved surfaces everywhere when walking around in Elmcreek, Erlengrat and... well, the third one we'll show you soon. 







We're still working on Parallax Occlusion Mapping, but with those first comparisons, you should get a good sense for what to expect.

Please take in mind that the effect may not be properly reflected in still images compared to live gameplay when Farming Simulator 22 with finalized Parallax Occlusion Mapping is released and running on your system.

To wrap this up for now, take a closer look at the ground. Doesn't it seem like you'd feel more alive walking on this rocky path barefoot? Yeah, nice right?








Farming Simulator 22 will be available for PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Stadia on November 22nd. Pre-order now to receive the CLAAS XERION SADDLE TRAC Pack for free!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248130/Farming_Simulator_22/

Stay tuned and subscribe to our social media channels: We're on Discord, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. We also started the official Farming Simulator Podcast!

Following the 2020 Spring, Summer, and Winter seasons, comes the advent of the 2021 Summer Season! Kick off the first season with Corsair, the newest class to debut on Black Desert this June 29!

This season is sure to bring a wave of excitement to all Black Desert Adventurers, whether you are a rookie or a veteran Adventurer! (๑>ᴗ<๑)

But what lies in store for the 2021 Summer Season? What’s new? What’s different?

Check out the GM Note to find out more!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with season servers in general, have no fear! The [Adventurer’s Guide] Season FAQ will explain the basics of the season servers!


Once you’ve logged into Black Desert, go to the Character Selection screen and press the [+] button to see all of Black Desert’s many classes. If you want to learn more about each class, make sure to check out the [Class Introductions]!

Have you figured out which class you want to play? If so, once you’ve customized the character to your liking and decided on a character name, check the “Season Character” checkbox and click Create! Now you’ve successfully created a season character! (You can only make one season character per season!)

Season characters and servers have a lot of perks! Let’s learn about them below.

First off, season characters receive special level up rewards every time they reach a certain level. The 2021 Summer Season offers a variety of rewards, including Adventurer Shoes and enhancement materials, that will help you progress and get even more rewards!

If you want to learn more about the Season Character Level Up rewards, check out the [Event] Season Server Level Up Rewards event page. And what if you are playing the Corsair class as your season character? Then, check out the [Event] Ahoy! Thar She Levels! event page to find out what rewards you can get as well!

The Season Servers are special servers that can only be accessed by Season Characters. Additionally, these servers are only available for a limited period of time. As these servers are focused on character progression, they offer 24/7 EXP buffs without limitations on character levels.

The Combat EXP +250% and Skill EXP +50% buff will be active 24/7 from
June 29, 2021 (Tue) after maintenance – July 14, 2021 (Wed) before maintenance!

Every time you reach a certain level or achieve a certain requirement, you will obtain a Leveling Aid Box for each level. Not only will there be the Combat/Skill EXP buffs, but there are also Time-filled Black Stones and Inventory Expansion Coupons!

All these perks are intended to boost your character progression!


The Season Pass can be accessed from the Black Spirit button at the left of the minimap. This Season Pass is meant to support our Adventurers as they progress in the season and is only available to season characters.

Make sure to get all the Challenge rewards in the Season Pass as they will definitely aid your character progression!

Check out the [Event] Season Pass notice for more information about the Challenges and rewards!

* If you progress through the simplified main questline, you can talk to the Black Spirit to receive the “Normal Season Pass” rewards after completing a quest.

Tuvala Gear is a special kind of equipment that can only be equipped by season characters! There are two main ways to obtain Tuvala Gear.


In order to enhance the Tuvala Gear, you will need the following enhancement materials: Time-filled Black Stones, Tuvala Ore, and Refined Magical Black Stone. You can obtain these enhancement materials from various sources, which include monster zones, the Season Pass, and more.



Adventurers who have finished their journey in the summer season servers can expect a special reward to prepare them for the normal servers!

Once you graduate, you’ll receive one of the items below through a Season Special Gift Exchange Coupon. (You can only receive each special reward once per Family. If you’ve claimed it before, you can’t receive it again!)


* Adventurers who missed out on a previous season reward can select it and exchange for it this time around!

Upon graduating, you can open the Gift Box Full of Memories to receive a variety of items, including Cron Stones, Advice of Valks, and Secret Book of Old Moon, that will help you in your adventures on the normal servers. However, make sure you pay close attention to the [Season] Boss Gear Exchange Coupon that you can also obtain!

If you use the Exchange Coupon, you can exchange a single piece of PRI (I) - PEN (V) Tuvala Gear for Boss Gear. The Boss Gear you exchange for will be one enhancement level lower than the Tuvala Gear you exchanged.
E.g.) PEN (V) Tuvala Armor → TET (IV) Dim Tree Spirit’s Armor

The exchanged Boss Gear is bound to your Family. It can be enhanced with Caphras Stone and even be made into Fallen God’s Armor. However, the Boss Gear cannot be listed on the Central Market.

We’ve heard all kinds of feedback and suggestions from Adventurers who enjoyed the previous Spring, Summer, and Winter Seasons. So, shall we see what’s new and different in the 2021 Summer Season?

We’ve added a new “Simplified Main Questline” for our existing Adventurers.

* You can progress through the simplified main questline with a summer season character only once per Family.
* The simplified main questline will only be available while the season servers are active and will disappear once the season ends.

Adventurers who fulfill all the requirements and have completed the main questline up ‘till “The Sage of Velia” can accept the [Special Growth] Birth of a Prestigious Family quest from the NPC Alustin in Velia.

If you’ve completed the final quest of the Balenos main questline, Embarking on an Adventure, you will no longer be able to accept the [Special Growth] Birth of a Prestigious Family quest. Thus, you will no longer be able to do the simplified main questline, so make sure to check in with the NPC Alustin beforehand!

What if you created your season character as Class A, but now want to enjoy the season with Class B...?

Don’t worry! Because in the 2021 Summer Season, there is a new Season Character Transfer System that allows you to use “Fughar’s Timepiece” to transfer your season character status and Combat/Skill EXP!


* Warning! Quests that are in progress or completed on Class A will not be transferred to Class B!

Also, the Class B character that you wish to transfer the season character status to must be Lv. 25 or lower to be transferrable. (Class A must be connected to a normal server with all their gear unequipped.)

Once you’ve used Fughar’s Timepiece, you will receive three exchange coupons (Tuvala Main Weapon Exchange Coupon, Tuvala Sub-weapon Exchange Coupon, and Tuvala Awakening Exchange Coupon) in the transferred character’s inventory after you’ve gone to the Character Selection screen. Use these coupons to change your Tuvala weapons to ones that are suitable for Class B!

Did you start the Summer Season with guildmates or friends?

In this season, three areas were changed to “Party Monster Zones.” (Normal and season servers!) Take this chance to party up with your friends and stack up loot together!

* Once the Summer Season ends, these monster zones will revert back to their original state.

You’re now ready to head off to the Season Servers!

See you there!

From 12:00 GMT on the 1st of July until 07:00 GMT on the 3rd of July

Participate in 3 battles with an activity level of 60% or higher while using US and British vehicles of rank II and above and receive the unique “Canada Day” decal!



Each year, Canadians celebrate the anniversary of their nation becoming an independent confederation of the United Kingdom after the three separate British colonies of ‘Canada’, ‘Nova Scotia’, and ‘New Brunswick’ united to form a single dominion on 1 July 1867.

Often referred to as “Canada’s birthday”, and generally celebrated on the 1st of July (except when it would fall on a Sunday, in which case, it is observed on the 2nd of July) Canada Day marks an important milestone for the country on its way to full independence. While it, at that stage, remained a British colony, the subsequent increased level of political and governmental control allowed it to gain increasing independence in the following years, continuing up until it became completely independent in 1982.

Canada Day is celebrated across the country with various activities, including outdoor parades, carnivals, gatherings, festivals shows, concerts and fireworks. Now, it is time to participate in those celebrations in War Thunder!

• This task can be completed in random battles, except the “Enduring Confrontation” and [Assault] game modes.
  
• To follow your progress, click on “Your nickname” → Achievements → Canada Day.

This month I've focused on creating a lot of content to fill out the gameplay loop in Survival mode. Mostly temporary visuals here, the time has been spent on design and implementing the features rather than making things look pretty (that comes next). There's a lot of new stuff so let's get into it!






Temples are a new type of island in Survival mode where legendary ancient crab ancestors are worshipped and powerful rewards can be found. A random temple from the list below is chosen when entering a temple portal (entering a temple portal requires a key):

• Temple Of Light: Spawns an epic or legendary chest
  
• Temple Of Greed: Spawns a greed chest
  
• Temple Of Evil: Interacting with the altar gives you random pickups for 25% of your health
  
• Temple Of Doom: Spawns elite enemies and locks the doors when the player opens the spawned chest
  
• Temple Of Joy: Spawns a penguin companion perk
  
• Temple Of Fortune: A large amount of crystal pickups randomly spawn around the temple when entering and the player can try to pick up as many as possible before they disappear
  
• Temple Of Time: Interacting with the altar sends the player back in time, starting a new run but retaining all weapons, weapon mods and perks
  
• Temple Of Chance: Interacting with the altar takes one of your weapon mods or perks, with a 60% chance to duplicate it and a 40% chance to consume it
  
• Temple Of Health: Spawns a gold heart
  
• Temple Of Wisdom: Interacting with the altar levels up 3 random perks by 1 tier each
  
• Temple Of Identity: Interacting with the altar randomizes weapons, weapon mods and perks
  
• Temple Of Strength: Spawns 3 random damage based weapon mods / perks
  
• Temple Of Sacrifice: Interacting with the altar takes 3 random weapon mods (of the lowest rarity possible) and spawns a legendary weapon mod in return
  
• Temple Of Wealth: Interacting with the altar costs crystals but has a high chance to drop a random pickup (costs double each time)
  
• Temple Of Keys: Interacting with the altar costs a key but has a high chance to drop an epic or legendary pickup
  
• Temple Of Peril: The temple is filled with hazards but contains a random legendary pickup in the center of the temple: most players will take damage in order to get the pickup
  
• Temple Of Arms: Spawns 3 random weapons
  
• Temple Of Love: Spawns a random companion perk
  
• Temple Of Purity: Interacting with the altar removes all negative effects of greed perks
  
• Temple Of Protection: Spawns a gold armor pickup
  
• Temple Of Hope: Spawns a Lil Roller companion perk (a tiny pufferfish friend that rolls around and deals melee damage to enemies, growing larger over time)

Many of the island types in Survival mode are focused on clearing out the enemies as quickly as possible with an offensive playstyle, but I wanted to balance this out with an island type that is focused on defending an area from incoming enemies, switching things up for a nice challenge and requiring new strategies to consistently clear. At least one player on the team must be in the defense area for 60 seconds to clear: enemies will continuously spawn during that time and if the player leaves the defense area at any time, the countdown will pause until they re-enter.

At around the 45 second mark things usually start getting intense, with enemies almost becoming overwhelming, leading to a tense final few seconds before the timer runs out. Defense islands are a great way to make use of snipers and other long range weapons + AOE weapon mods as there is usually a line of enemies slowly approaching from a distance.

With the addition of Temple and Defense island types, there are now the following potential island types per biome:

• Shop: Purchase loot from Tony the shopkeeper
  
• Temple (requires a key to enter): Get a reward matching the temple type
  
• Wave (Common Reward): Clear a wave of standard enemies
  
• Horde (Rare Reward): Clear 2 hordes of enemies (each horde being a big wave of a single enemy type)
  
• Defense (Rare Reward): Defend an area against incoming enemies for 60 seconds
  
• Challenge (Epic Reward): Clear 3 waves of enemies with a random challenge modifier active
  
• Elite (Epic Reward): Defeat an elite enemy
  
• Boss (Legendary Reward): Defeat the boss to move to the next biome

As mentioned last month with the new weapon mod system, I have overhauled many of the perks and added a lot of new ones: there are now over 60 perks in the game, and that's just for the beta- many more will be added in the future.

• Fortitude: Max health increased after clearing each island
  
• Endurance: Heal after clearing each island
  
• Scavenger: Heal when collecting crystals
  
• Valued Customer: Heal when entering shops
  
• Potent Potions: Heal more from potions
  
• Vitality: Damage increased when at full health
  
• Second Wind: Damage increased when at low health
  
• Collector: Damage increased for each perk that you have
  
• Autoloader: Chance to instantly reload when swapping weapons
  
• Adrenaline: Fire rate increased for a short time after eliminating an enemy
  
  
• Haste: Grenade and ability cooldown times reduced
  
• Lockpick: Chance for keys to not be consumed when using temple portals
  
• Time Is Money: Gain crystals over time
  
• Paycheck: Gain crystals after clearing each island
  
• Charged Crystals: Crystal pickups take longer to disappear
  
• Tony's Black Card: Shop prices are discounted
  
• Special Delivery: Shops contain more items for sale
  
• Shark Fin: Chance for enemies to retreat when spawning
  
• First Impressions: Chance for the first enemies on each island to have 1 health

• Personal Space: Max health increased after each close range elimination
  
• Medic: Max health increased after each one shot elimination
  
• Grim Reaper: Heal after eliminating enemies
  
• Hard Target: Incoming damage reduced
  
• Sharp Wings: Damage increased when airborne
  
• Checklist: Damage increased after every 10 eliminations
  
• Assassin: Damage increased after each one shot elimination
  
• Life Savings: Damage increased when collecting crystals
  
• Money Is Power: Damage increased for every 100 crystals you have
  
• Tasty Orange: Damage increased for each enemy eliminated in an island (resets for each island)
  
• Speed Demon: Movement speed and jump height increased
  
• Stopwatch: Chance to reset grenade cooldowns after every elimination
  
• Reroll: Reroll chest loot (up to 3 times per island if the perk is Tier 3)
  
• Blood Money: Gain crystals when healing
  
• Scary Mask: Elites and bosses have less health

• Big Hearts: Gain more max health from hearts
  
• Grave Dodger: Invulnerable for a short time when at 1 health
  
• Bulletproof: Chance to block incoming damage
  
• Torn Safety Net: Chance to cheat death and get 25% health back
  
• Gemstone: Damage increased after clearing each island
  
• Grenadier: Gain extra uses of your grenade
  
• Strength In Numbers: Gain extra uses of your ability
  
• Green Dice: Luck increased
  
• Good Omen: Chance to not be affected negatively by Greed totems while retaining the benefit
  
• Restock: Reroll the contents of the entire shop (up to 3 times per shop if the perk is Tier 3)
  
• Repelling Flip: Flipping repels nearby enemy projectiles
  
  
  
  
• Bonus Crystals: More crystals drop when eliminating enemies
  
• Bonus Loot: A random consumable drops after every island (mainly potions or armor, a very low chance for others)
  
• Bargain Hunter: Random pickups in the shop are free
  
• Gold Coupon: Chance for a purchase in the shop to be free
  
• Snatcher: Enemies eliminated at close range drop more crystals
  
• Rare Treasure: Enemies have a small chance to drop a random pickup when eliminated

• Divine Blessing: Damage and health substantially increased
  
• Ground Slam: Gain a large speed boost when flipping in mid air, dealing AOE damage and knocking back any nearby enemies if connecting with the ground during this time
  
• Powerslide: Sliding shoots out fiery sparks that damage and ignite nearby enemies
  
  
  
  
• Ice Flip: Flipping freezes and knocks back nearby enemies
  
• Level Up: Duplicate weapon mods spawn nearby after every boss fight
  
• Duplicator: Chance for pickups to drop twice
  
• Faulty Chests: Chance for unchosen chest loot to not disappear
  
• Care Package: An asteroid containing bonus loot drops after clearing each island
  
• Storm Cloud: A lightning bolt periodically strikes low health enemies, dealing AOE shock damage

As you can probably tell from the info above, I'm trying to add as much content as possible to allow for varied runs and support emergent gameplay, ensuring that the game has a good amount of replay value. The goal is for it to be possible to experience different scenarios on each run since Survival mode has some roguelike elements:

• Permadeath: The run ends when you die and you lose any loot collected in that run
  
• Semi Randomly Generated Levels: The order of levels, types of enemies that spawn, loot rewards, hazards that spawn and more are randomized so you can never predict what will happen next
  
• No Permanent Upgrades: Other than unlocking new types of loot that can drop in future runs (of equal quality to the base set of loot that is unlocked when first playing), a player who has played the game for 500 hours will have no health or strength advantages over a player that is starting their first run. This ensures that the difficulty stays consistent and the player earns a victory by improving, not by the game getting easier over time due to persistent strength upgrades

The beauty of roguelike elements in general is that you get the fun and satisfying build up in power of a looter shooter or RPG condensed into a play session that takes less than an hour. Personally with the amount of games coming out these days, I don't have the patience to grind through an 12+ hour game to slowly level up my character: it just doesn't appeal to me anymore. It's way more fun to jump into a game with roguelike elements and blast through a session, sometimes becoming overpowered and getting a sweet victory or sometimes being handed a hard defeat due to a mistake. While I'm aiming for a core Survival run to take about 45 minutes if just going straight for the boss, much longer runs are supported by being able to loop back as many times as you want to the first biome instead of facing the boss. In the future when more content is added, there'll be unique paths to take when looping before seeing the first biomes again. Difficulty starts to exponentially increase when looping so if going for the highest islands survived record, it will start getting really tough to survive after the first or second loop.

I believe a good game with roguelike elements requires a number of things to be done right in order to be successful:

• Fast + Satisfying Combat / Looting: Makes progressing through the earlier biomes not feel like a chore
  
• RNG Done Right: Randomness in games can feel unfair in many cases, so it's important to ensure that there's always the possibility for powerful loot to drop at any time in the run
  
• POWER: Upgrades should dramatically increase your power, getting a 5% boost to something is unnoticeable and boring in most cases
  
• Emergent Gameplay: Every run should have a memorable story with unexpected moments, tough decisions and close calls that are only possible through creating a truly dynamic system that combines levels, enemies, loot and hazards together in ways that naturally create interesting scenarios
  
• Depth: Easy to learn, hard to master. By providing the player with a deep set of build options (weapons, weapon mods and perks in the case of Crab Champions) while also having a fairly difficult gameplay loop, there's a lot of fun improving and figuring out powerful combinations and strategies. Too easy and the game no longer is fun and runs don't hold value, too hard and each run ends frustratingly early before the player has a chance to get a good build going
  
• Plentiful Content: Stops things getting repetitive and boring (duh)

I'm focusing heavily on all of these goals and will work hard until I'm happy that they have all been met.




While playtesting on Hard difficulty, I had gotten the game balance to a really fun point where each run felt challenging but winnable (there was always something that I could have done differently to prevent my death, enemies were never bullet sponges but also never too weak etc.) and playing for several hours trying to get to the final boss (and failing) was actually really enjoyable. I then playtested on the Easy difficulty and blazed through the entire game first try. Even though this was my goal all along, it of course felt hollow and not fun due to how easy it was.

The fun in any games with roguelike elements isn't the act of completing them, it's the challenge, self improvement and knowledge in the journey towards mastery that is. Enemies that previously scared you become laughable and next level strategies start to form after enough experimentation. Memorable close calls are had and each run towards your first victory feels like "this'll be the one".

For this reason, I'm removing the Easy difficulty as I believe that there is far more value and enjoyment to be had working through a game with a baseline difficulty as long as it always feels fair: earning victory is far more rewarding this way. The main design goal here for me is that with experience it WILL be still possible to blaze through the game, when you have mastered the core mechanics.

I understand that this change isn't for everyone but I'm ok with that and the more I think about it, the less I want to offer a watered down easy mode at all: the intent is for Survival mode to be challenging and for anyone completing it to have experienced and overcome the same obstacles. So as it stands the game will be carefully balanced for the new "Normal" difficulty. The much harder "Nightmare" difficulty will still unlock when completing the game once, for players that like an extreme challenge.



Thanks for reading these long lists and listening to my random thoughts on design this month, it's not for everyone but I thought it was worth explaining what my goals are and the reasoning behind them!

Join the Crab Champions Discord server: https://discord.gg/crabchampions
Follow Crab Champions on Twitter: https://twitter.com/crabchampions
Join the Crab Champions subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CrabChampions/

Hell(o),

We would like to inform you about the change of the release date of Succubus. Initially, the title was supposed to be released in July. However, we have decided to spend more time optimizing and refining the production.

Succubus will be released on PC on September 8, 2021.

Thanks to the extensive feedback from players who had the opportunity to check the game during the Steam Next demo festival, we have decided to refine some elements of the game so that our title can meet the high expectations of you - our fans. We want to release a game with the quality of which we and the players will be satisfied, because you, the players are most important.

Succubus is getting more interest before its launch (based on Steam Wishlist) than our previous game Agony, which sold over 500,000 copies. We believe that the extra time we have decided to spend on fine-tuning the title will allow us to provide fans with a production that meets their expectations.

The Succubus demo from the beginning to the end of the festival was the most popular and most downloaded demo in the genre of horror games. We want to make it even better!

Please be patient, we are putting our hearts and souls into this project (plus Vydija is watching)!

Your humble servants,
Madmind Studio

Hell(o),

We would like to inform you about the change of the release date of Succubus. Initially, the title was supposed to be released in July. However, we have decided to spend more time optimizing and refining the production.

Succubus will be released on PC on September 8, 2021.

Thanks to the extensive feedback from players who had the opportunity to check the game during the Steam Next demo festival, we have decided to refine some elements of the game so that our title can meet the high expectations of you - our fans. We want to release a game with the quality of which we and the players will be satisfied, because you, the players are most important.

Succubus is getting more interest before its launch (based on Steam Wishlist) than our previous game Agony, which sold over 500,000 copies. We believe that the extra time we have decided to spend on fine-tuning the title will allow us to provide fans with a production that meets their expectations.

The Succubus demo from the beginning to the end of the festival was the most popular and most downloaded demo in the genre of horror games. We want to make it even better!

Please be patient, we are putting our hearts and souls into this project (plus Vydija is watching)!

Your humble servants,
Madmind Studio

Hell(o),

We would like to inform you about the change of the release date of Succubus. Initially, the title was supposed to be released in July. However, we have decided to spend more time optimizing and refining the production.

Succubus will be released on PC on September 8, 2021.

Thanks to the extensive feedback from players who had the opportunity to check the game during the Steam Next demo festival, we have decided to refine some elements of the game so that our title can meet the high expectations of you - our fans. We want to release a game with the quality of which we and the players will be satisfied, because you, the players are most important.

Succubus is getting more interest before its launch (based on Steam Wishlist) than our previous game Agony, which sold over 500,000 copies. We believe that the extra time we have decided to spend on fine-tuning the title will allow us to provide fans with a production that meets their expectations.

The Succubus demo from the beginning to the end of the festival was the most popular and most downloaded demo in the genre of horror games. We want to make it even better!

Please be patient, we are putting our hearts and souls into this project (plus Vydija is watching)!

Your humble servants,
Madmind Studio

Hell(o),

We would like to inform you about the change of the release date of Succubus. Initially, the title was supposed to be released in July. However, we have decided to spend more time optimizing and refining the production.

Succubus will be released on PC on September 8, 2021.

Thanks to the extensive feedback from players who had the opportunity to check the game during the Steam Next demo festival, we have decided to refine some elements of the game so that our title can meet the high expectations of you - our fans. We want to release a game with the quality of which we and the players will be satisfied, because you, the players are most important.

Succubus is getting more interest before its launch (based on Steam Wishlist) than our previous game Agony, which sold over 500,000 copies. We believe that the extra time we have decided to spend on fine-tuning the title will allow us to provide fans with a production that meets their expectations.

The Succubus demo from the beginning to the end of the festival was the most popular and most downloaded demo in the genre of horror games. We want to make it even better!

Please be patient, we are putting our hearts and souls into this project (plus Vydija is watching)!

Your humble servants,
Madmind Studio

Hello everybody!

It’s the AntiMatter Games team here. We know it’s been a while since we gave you an
update on I.G.I Origins. We want to be better at this, so going forward we are excited to
start sharing more news and information about the game and the progress we are making.
We posted our first update today, a video from our studio Managing Director and Game
Director for I.G.I. Origins, Rich Barham, you can watch it here:




The most frequently asked question we receive from you is about the release date. We are
working hard on the game, development is going really well and it’s going to be released in
2022. We’re not ready to share an exact release date just yet, but rest assured we’ll share
more as soon as we can, so be sure to follow our I.G.I channels for updates.

Another question that we are asked is whether there is anyone from the original
development team, Innerloop Studios, working on I.G.I. Origins? Many of the team at
Antimatter Games are BIG fans of the original games, much like yourselves and whilst we
don’t have anyone from Innerloop Studios working here, we are really passionate about
keeping the spirit of the original games alive. Rich talks about this in his video and we are
going to introduce you to more members of the team at the studio very soon!

Please keep your questions and feedback coming, we appreciate your support and will do
our best to answer as much as we can. Don’t forget to follow us on Steam or
via I.G.I. Origin's official Facebook or Twitter to catch all our latest updates.

Bye for now!

The AMG team.

The next BETA update for the Early Access of The Bus is ready for testing!

The BETA of Update 1.4 fixes some incorrect graphic settings when installing the game for the first time and fixes the incorrect door alarms in certain situations.

Some crashes have also been fixed and the traffic AI should now better drive past vehicles if there is enough space available.

---

Please create backup copies of your savegame files before switching to the EA BETA Update. Savegames may not be compatible with the new version of the game.

---

ATTENTION: This is a BETA update. Technical problems, instability of the game as well as bugs during gameplay can be possible.

How to install the beta version of the update?

Quite easily:

1. In your Library, you click with the right mouse button on the entry of the "The Bus"
   
2. In the drop-menu, you click on the entry "Properties"
   
3. In the window "The Bus - Properties" you select the tab "BETAS"
   
4. In the field "Select the beta you would like to opt into:" select the entry "beta-beta"
   
5. Now you can close the window and the beta version of the update should download right away
   
6. After downloading the update you can start The Bus via the "PLAY" button
   
7. In the main menu should now be the corresponding version number of the beta version of the update and you can test the update

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Changelog 0.8.42722 EA Beta

• Fixed some crashes
  
• Fixed incorrect graphic settings on the first installation (e.g. No image except UI)
  
• Fixed Scania Citywide open door alarm in specific situations
  
• Fixed traffic AI not passing by vehicles when they could
  
• Level streaming optimisations
  
• Performance optimisations of street lanes
  
• AI vehicles should no longer ignore pedestrians crossing the street
  
• Fixed Scania Citywide stop brake
  
• Fixed pedestrians spawning in walls
  
• Scania Citywide sound fixes
  
• Added Z-axis (height) movement to photo mode
  
• Fixed PM time display (Post-Meridiem)
  
• Fixed smartphones without NPCs holding them
  
• Fixed stop request on passenger monitors
  
• Fixed tooltip in Arcade mode for the closing of doors
  
• Fixed tooltip for closing (non-existing) luggage hatches

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Changelog 0.8.42902 EA Beta

• Fixed a crash
  
• Fixed a major bug that caused the bus to get stuck in arcade mode
  
• Fixed driver’s light in arcade mode
  
• Optimized audio performance**
  
• Optimized asset performance**
  
• Optimized stop lane performance**
  
• Optimized Scania Citywide animations performance**
  
• Optimized ticket printing animation performance**
  
• Optimized UI performance**
  
• Fixed passengers entering closed doors*
  
• Fixed falling street lights*
  
• Scania Citywide destination display now chooses the fitting abbreviations for the stop names

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Changelog 0.8.43000 EA Beta

• Fixed some crashes*
  
• On the first start, tour selection begins at 7:00 am instead of 4:00 am or midnight
  
• Line label fixed in main menu and pause menu
  
• Optimized passive pedestrian animations**
  
• Optimized Scania Citywide 18M animations**
  
• Most missing tram rails fixed*
  
• Level art fixes
  
• Added stop brake activation when standing still and braking (requires double-tap on keyboard)

*Only occurred during the BETA test of this update

** Please, be aware that the impact of performance optimisations varies from system to system due to hardware configurations, installed software and other programs running in the background