AudioTheory Piano Keys is launching in one week's time. I can't wait to share it with you, and ahead of this I'm excited to announce a set of piano exercises that will be included.

So yes, just to clarify, AudioTheory Piano Keys is still first and foremost a tool designed to help with your learning, rather than a set of instructional lessons. But it will also include the ear training exercises detailed below, which are new additions on top of the features already announced.


It sounds so simple, but understanding music starts with understanding how sounds change in pitch relative to each other. Which one is higher (or lower)?



This is the most straight forward ear training exercise, but it's an essential skill worth mastering. You will be presented with two notes at random and must identify the relative difference between them.


Okay, so 'Higher or Lower' was an easy one for you. The next step towards musical mastery is to be able to identity specific notes from sound alone. The AudioTheory tools are perfect for honing this skill as you can use the main keyboard for reference, and work within a scale or custom range of notes.



You can make things (relatively) easy to start out with, say just the notes in the C major scale across one octave. Or you can extend this and try to identify any note across three octaves, if you're feeling brave.


Hard mode. Although exactly how much of a challenge this will be is up to you, as the exercise can be played with any subsection of the piano chords library and any subsection of root notes. You can start with a basic combination such as major and minor chords and then extend this to include more chord types. Or set a fixed root note and focus on only differentiating between types.



This mode works best when you also plug in a MIDI device – this way you can try playing on device and attempting to match the mystery chord.

I hope these lessons will be of benefit for those wanting to train their ears and intuitively understand music from sound alone. Thanks for reading, and please look forward to the release of AudioTheory Piano Keys next week.

Fraser

New trailer and gameplay will come soon, stay tuned.

I also updated the Demo with the latest changes and added some secrets to find. Will you be able to find them?
In the final game there will be hidden secrets in every chapter for those who love exploring!

Thank you all for your support during the development!

Our biggest content drop to date, Pre-Season 6: Research and Destroy, will be available on September 30th. Crossplay is introduced, which means you can finally join forces and play Second Extinction with friends on Steam, Windows 10, and Xbox.

So when the day is here, team up and fight waves of Dinosaurs in Horde Mode and try our brand new hero joining the Operative class, bringing her expertise in science to the table. Do you want to catch a sneak peek of that? Tune in to our stream next Thursday at 16.00 CEST on Twitch and Youtube to get a first look at our new hero, and your questions about Horde Mode will be answered by one of the developers behind it - our Mission Designer Carl.

We’re also adding Augments that will let you optimize your hero to fit your preferred playstyle. Brazilian-Portuguese is added as a supported language, and if you’ve ever wondered what goodies you can get in loot boxes, the addition of the wardrobe feature is for you! Finally, you can get a preview of the rewards you’re grinding for. This and more are arriving on the last day of September.

Until then - join our Discord, watch the stream next Thursday and get ready!

Patch type: Major

• Added new research modules (Lamps & Passenger Chair) and lots of new modules
  
• Replenished some of the asteroids at the Origin Safe Zone
  
• "Warp Class" was removed from the game and replaced with more accurate "Ship Strength Factor". Ship Strength Factor is a value representing the weakest bolt connection throughout the ship. Warning boxes will appear where weakest connections are found. The Ship Diagnostic Scanner will show StrengthFactor instead of WarpClass from now on as well.
  - Ship shop ships that have YOLOL using "WarpClass" device field will no longer receive any values from it. These need to be updated to use the correct device field in their YOLOL chips.
  
• Partially empty containers e.g. fuel rods, propellant tanks and weapon magazines can now be filled with crafting

• We have three reported instances of station being stuck in LOD, ie. not being accessible
  - At least one report is prior to this patch, so the issue may have been there already for a long time
  - If this issue happens, we would need any information regarding the issue, as we have been unable to reproduce it. Instead, we are working on a failsafe which will fix the issue. Until the fix is out, stations stuck in LOD remains so.
  - Please note that it is a known fact that stations are not completely fixed with this patch.

• Added missing snap points to Curved Windows E1 and E2
  
• Fixed out-of-place snap points in Curved Window C, D, F
  
• Fixed Factory Hall Edge module not snapping correctly from the sides to other modules
  
• Fixed Capital Ship Dock Edge module not snapping correctly from the sides to other modules
  
• Updated Basic Crafting Bench and Tools & Weapons Crafting Bench textures

• Fixed search not showing any results, if player chose a sub category and then changed to page 2 or higher

• Fixed thruster audio freezing the game when a ship that had large amount of thrusters was accelerated
  
• Added looping sound for grabbing objects
  
• Added item dragging sounds for Auction House UI
  
• Added missing sounds for mouse hover and press to Equipment tab and Auction House UI
  
• Added audio feedback to moving items by double-clicking in Inventory
  
• Boundaries for station music are now calculated more accurately

• Company chat now sends messages to max 380 users (previously 100)
  - Company chat channels send messages only to online company members instead of all company members
  - This fixes a bug where company chat didn't work in large companies

• Fixed a crash related to crafting benches
  
• Fixed bug where if craft failed for whatever reason, materials were refunded as refined instead of ore
  
• Fixed bug when crafting certain objects in a certain situation caused desync
  
• Partially empty containers e.g. fuel rods, propellant tanks and weapon magazines can now be filled with crafting

• Corrected Material Point Scanner material field default value to empty string (previously double quotes)
  
• Fixed YOLOL connectivity between Radiator Base and Radiator Extension

• Fixed some station modules not welding correctly when placing them at a rapid rate
  
• Fixed some station modules not being picked up automatically after unwelding
  
• Fixed not being able to unbolt items from Factory Halls after visiting main menu once
  
• Fixed objects dropped at player stations disappearing after relog
  
• Fixed multiple Frame Column modules not unwelding correctly

• Fixed Fast Travel warp effects sometimes clipping camera at odd angles
  
• Fixed Mining Laser illumination effects not always correctly spawning
  
• Added small visual and timing updates to Fast Travel warp effects
  
• Increased visibilty of several explosive VFX

• Made Easy Build Mode to autobolt objects placed inside factory areas, and prevented placing objects that cannot be autobolted or are not fully inside areas

• Fixed framerate dropping during Fast Travel

• Added multiple improvements to our moderator tools for the F1 Feedback reports, which will speed up our support times

• Fixed two players being able to simultaneously grab and interact with a chair or Tripod
  
• Reconstruction machine now heals players that stand in the respawn area
  
• Reduced Thruster exhaust damage on Box thrusters and Plasma Thrusters from 10 per second to 0.8 per second
  
• Reduced exhaust damage on Triangle thruster from 8 per second to per 0.8 second.

• Fixed items (that don't require bolting to be attached) not attaching properly if they were placed using Quickslots
  
• Fixed 0kv ore stacks appearing if ore was picked up and removed from the inventory too fast
  
• Fixed items disappearing after dropping and quickly picking them up
  
• Fixed dropping an item activating drag for another copy of the item in inventory
  
• Added collision check and hologram for items dropped from Inventory via drag and drop

• Added translation updates for all languages, with several new additions for French and Latin American Spanish in particular
  
• Added a name for the Moon PVP Station (Arma)
  
• Edited the Simple Button tooltip texts

• Outside of Station Areas, Large Item Derelicts are now deleted after 3 days (before this was 30 days)
  
• Outside of Station Areas, Small Item Derelicts (<4000kv) are now deleted after 1 day (before this was 7 days)

• Fixed being able to use missiles unlimited times from Quickslots
  
• Fixed missiles exploding immediately if they were placed from a Quickslot

• Generator and Battery explosions now deal proper damage to moon surface

• Fixed placing multicomponent items from Quickslots not working

• Added new Lamps node and items to it
  - Lamp A Base 144x24 cm
  - Bulb A Dark Orange (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A Light Orange (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A White (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A Light Blue (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A Dark Blue (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A Green (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A Purple (R10 500lm)
  - Bulb A Red (R10 500lm)
  - Fluorescent Lamp A 144x24 cm
  - Lamp B Base 144x36 cm
  - Bulb B Dark Orange (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B Light Orange (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B White (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B Light Blue (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B Dark Blue (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B Green (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B Purple (R20 1000lm)
  - Bulb B Red (R20 1000lm)
  - Fluorescent Lamp B 144x36 cm
  - Lamp C Base 144x48 cm
  - Bulb C Dark Orange (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C Light Orange (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C White (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C Light Blue (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C Dark Blue (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C Green (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C Purple (R30 1820lm)
  - Bulb C Red (R30 1820lm)
  - Fluorescent Lamp C 144x48 cm
  
• Added new node Passenger Chair and items to it
  - Passenger Chair
  - Passenger Chair Stand
  
• Added new Thrusters modules
  - Corner 1 T1 Box Thruster
  - Corner 1 T1 Box Thruster Mirror
  - Edge 3 T1 Box Thruster
  - Middle 3 T1 Box Thruster
  - Basic 2 Triangle Thruster Centered
  - L-Shape 2 Triangle Thruster Centered
  
• Added new Passenger Chair modules
  - Basic 3 Passenger Chair
  - Basic 3 Passenger Chair Centered
  - L-Shape 3 Passenger Chair
  - L-Shape 1 Passenger Window
  - L-Shape 1 Passenger Window Mirror
  - Added new Cargo Lock Frame modules
  - Modular Cargo Lock Frame
  - Modular Cargo Lock Frame Corner 1
  - Modular Cargo Lock Frame Corner 2
  
• Added new Cargo Beam modules
  - L-Shape 1 Cargo Lock Beam External Intersection
  - Corner 1 Cargo Lock Beam External Intersection
  - Corner 1 Cargo Lock Beam External Intersection (Mirror)
  - Basic 1 Cargo Lock Beam External
  - Fork Base 1 Cargo Lock Beam
  - Fork Extension 2 Cargo Lock Beam
  - Added new items to T1 Generator node
  - Generator Socket Board
  - Generator Pipe Socket Board
  - Generator Cooling Rack
  - Small Rechargeable Battery
  
• Added new items to Control Tables, Screens, Small Devices node
  - Duct Corner 24x24 cm
  - Duct Intersection 24x24 cm
  
• Added Pilot Chair stands and side pieces also to Ship Parts -> Furnishings category in Crafting tab for clarity
  
• Removed item from nodes
  
• Resource Bridge from Control Tables, Screens, Small Devices as Ore Crate node already unlocks it
  - Extra "Plate Basic 72x72 cm" from Extra Plates Bundle
  - Extra "Plate 216x432 cm" from Station Plates
  
• Renamed "Cargo Box" node to "Ore crate" for better clarity of what the node holds inside

• Added optimizations to station server

• Warp Class" was removed from the game and replaced with more accurate "Ship Strength Factor". Ship Strength Factor is a value representing the weakest bolt connection throughout the ship. Warning boxes will appear where weakest connections are found. The Ship Diagnostic Scanner will show StrengthFactor instead of WarpClass from now on as well.

• Updated ship shops' identifying holograms to be readable from multiple sides. Previously the holograms were oriented to be readable from single direction.
  - Duratech
  - OKI 1-3
  - Rando 1-4
  
• Added new player-made ship to Balestra ship shop
  - Preabitor by Qrahn
  
• Added new player-made ship to Dynastar ship shop
  - MCS-2LR by jcdc
  - Added new player-made ship to OKI 2 ship shop
  - Solari L1 by WaitingToCompile
  
• Added new player-made ship to Quasar ship shop
  - Cleopatra by Zizzs
  - Added new player-made ships to Rando 1 ship shop
  - Circular Dream by Naleen
  - Torpedo by Saybin
  
• Added new player-made ships to Rando 2 ship shop
  - Horsefly "HRF-RT1" by Glug
  - Laser Ball by Taki
  - Obelisk by Maxd
  - Pyrite Mk2 by Sholf
  - Rocket Fingers T1 by Finesse
  - Unagizaki CC by Unagiking
  
• Added new player-made ships to Rando 3 ship shop
  - Asteroid Eater L-1 by Sirhaian
  - Aussery by Kurxen
  - DuxCorp RockJaw MKIII by DuxCorp
  - Miridan - The Living One by MufuTee
  - lesWAV Catfish by Leslawbot
  
• Added new player-made ships to Rando 4 ship shop
  - Cloud Surfer by Scpit,aester
  - Kobold by Aidisco
  - Long Hualer MK 2 by Vulkan
  - Rage of Novae A-1 by Sirhaian
  - Red Persica by SilverZero
  - Taki 8 by Taki
  
• Updated player-made ships
  - 19 God Gives
  - Avanti
  - Dragonfly
  - Dynastinae Maximus
  - Dynastinae Minimus
  - Keg
  - Komatsu
  - Mastodon
  - Shredder
  - StarbreamCLF
  - Trident T3
  
• Moved ships between ship shops
  - Barrow40 from OKI 3 to OKI 2
  - Legitimate Salvager from OKI 2 to OKI 1
  - Mustang from OKI 2 to OKI 1
  
• Renamed player-made ships
  - Bomburr A to DTX BOMBURR A
  - Shredder to Shredder Light
  - Trident T3 to Trident C250
  - Trident T4 to Trident C512
  
• Fixed an issue where Rage of Novae ship's shoot button would immediately go to "ON" state, causing it to fire when spawned
  
• Fixed Buffalo description being mostly beyond the viewable area
  
• Removed player-made ships
  - Brokkr
  - Magnus II
  - Magnus IIMN
  - Mammoth
  - Moon Midge
  - Moon Moth

• UI windows (such as Asset Browser and Properties) can be now minimized
  
• Fixed mouse input bleeding through windows
  
• Fixed activating Cargo Lock Frame in Test Mode crashing the game
  
• Added effective mass of the selected object to Properties windows
  
• Added two new duct pieces
  - Duct Corner 24x24 cm
  - Duct Intersection 24x24 cm (especially for Beam Corner 24 cm)

• Fixed ships being allowed on player station safe zones if any player has been assigned access on that station
  
• Ship can be now spawned in PVP stations "Relicta", "Nox" and "PVP Small"
  - Ship cannot be despawned in the stations above. "No landing" holograms have been added to make this more clear.

• Paint Tool can now paint Easy Build station parts, without unwelding them first
  - Painting requires the building permission

• Raised "Receive signals from Primary stations" max limit setting from 10 to 30

• Fixed player's pitch being unrestricted when using a Tripod while crouching or hovering
  
• Fixed rotation and camera not updating properly when operating a tripod weapon on a jointed object

• Fixed a YOLOL script freezing or crashing the game

Greetings, Truckers!

One of the topics you raised recently was the uniqueness of our game. What is it that makes Alaskan Truck Simulator different and worth playing? We’re happy to tell you!

Long story short, it’s what we told you last week: you play as a trucker, not as a truck. But allow us to expound.

Creating a compelling simulation of the trucker’s profession (not just limited to driving!) was the main focus from the start. We wanted to make you feel like you’re an organic part of the world. Thus, you can exit the vehicle, you need to go and get groceries, cook food, eat, sleep, fix the engine, etc., etc. You even have your own headquarters that feels like home when you reach it after an arduous journey, and that serves as your base of operations.

Many of these ideas were implemented after we got your feedback, on Discord or here, on Steam, after our initial showing. The game has changed since then, and you’ve had a strong impact on its evolution. We’ve implemented many ideas from you, and we hope to talk about one of them in our next weekly post.

Also, we’ve put a lot of effort into the weather system. You could already see in our trailer that we have a simulation of the entire yearly seasonal cycle. But this goes deeper, with different intensity of rain or snow--which isn’t just for decoration.



The weather affects the way you play, not only by changing how your truck drives, but also because if you drive more carefully in winter, you’ll need to prepare more thoroughly for the ride. Tire chains will cost you so you’ll need to plan ahead and spend money. Your fuel usage will change, so you have to account for that. It’s like a system of interconnected vessels which we created to add depth.

So, if you were wondering what makes our game stand out, we hope you got your answer! We’re putting a lot of effort into making your digital trucker’s life feel like… life.

See you next week! We’ll make sure to answer your comments to the best of our ability.

If you’d like to support us, add our game to your Steam wishlist, and share the page among your friends.

Also, join our Discord to find more people with similar passions.

While we can't wait for you to experience the explosive action and adventure of Blast Brigade vs. The Evil Legion of Dr. Cread with the launch of Early Access, we have decided to take some extra time for additional polishing based on the feedback we received from content creators who previewed the game. We want to ensure we can provide the best experience and lots of content for this big milestone, which is still coming later this year.

Very soon, we will be able to share not only more details about Early Access, but also exciting news on other topics. Stay tuned and make sure to add Blast Brigade to your wishlist on Steam to receive all future notifications and news.

As always, have a blast!
Blast Brigade Team

• Wishlist us on Steam
  
• Follow us on Twitter
  
• Hang out in Discord
  
• Discuss on Reddit
  
• Like us on Facebook
  
• Keep an eye on Instagram
  
• Check us out on TikTok

Wolves!

Redeem this promo code and get yourself The Plasma Set!

XGGLGKXVAC

For Russ and the Allfather!

Survivors!

It’s time to share the results of the contest. And the winners are:

• GateShark
  
• Verheyden

All winners will receive a reward of 500 coins and an epic "Amusement container".

Unfortunately, the third winner couldn't be chosen because not all of the entries met conditions of our contest.

And a little bonus: authors of 5 random comments will receive 100 coins. They will be determined on Monday, 20 of the September, 2021.

For more information on Crossout, follow these channels:

• Twitter
  
• Instagram
  
• Youtube
  
• Facebook
  
• Discord

Greetings Explorers,

Today, we’d like to invite you to embark on another eye-catching adventure that will undoubtedly pull at your heartstrings and trigger your long lost love of challenging gameplay. Allow us to present Tails of Iron, our latest RPG adventure... OUT NOW!


A Grimm’s Fairy Tail Inspired Art Direction
As with Roki, Tails of Iron embraces a beautifully unique art direction, in part, thanks to art Director Martin, whose Czech Republic background played a big role in his environmental design. The thick black lines that help characterise the stunning environments and intriguing characters are something that’s heavily inspired by Eastern European wood carvings, while the game’s dark moody atmosphere was heavily informed by the tones of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Martin really enjoyed the way in which those stories appeared cute on the outside but harboured creepy dark undertones - a juxtaposition prevalent throughout the Tails of Iron experience…



The Deep, Raspy Narrations of the Legendary, Doug Cockle
In addition to the alluring art style, prepare to be swept away by the instantly recognisable vocals of the legendary Doug Cockle. Doug has lent his award-winning deep and raspy voice to the game's narrator, providing commentary on how Redgi feels about the situations he finds himself in, while also helping guide you through the Rat Kingdom - a very welcome tourist guide, if you ask us!



Immortalising Real-life Rats in a Video Game
As for the anthropomorphic cast, Dan, the Creative Director, owned a pack of rats that provided ongoing inspiration to the team while developing Tails of Iron. He’d owned rats during his childhood, too, but as a boy, grew up with a garden that would often inhabit hoards of toads, too.. As a result, he developed an unnatural fear of them. In turn, he’d spend hours imagining a world where his pet rats had jobs of their own, some of which were brave warriors who defended the realm (AKA garden) against these vile toads. Years later, these fantasies helped spark the world of Tails of Iron, and today, you can delve into Dan’s imagination and see for yourself just how heroic and noble the race of rats can be.



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1283410
Head over to the store page now and get 10% off Tails of Iron this week only - we’re sure our latest release will touch your hearts just like Roki did almost a year ago - Your tail begins…

• A compelling story narrated by the deep, raspy vocals of the legendary Doug Cockle
  
• A gorgeous and lovingly crafted 2D hand-drawn art style
  
• A vast and beautiful Kingdom comprised of six distinct biomes, each with its own hidden paths and secrets
  
• A range of side quests offering players additional gold on-the-side
  
• Hidden blueprints to forge new and powerful equipment

• Added Portuguese translation for Miska's Cave