We’re hoping you’ve been enjoying the major update featuring procedural generation, proximity chat, and more. With the demo update launched, we want to start sharing what comes next for The Grip of Madness. So we've got some concept art to share with you all over the next couple of weeks.
You’ve met all of the current characters: The Cop, The Paramedic, The Medium, and The Scientist. Now we’re starting to expand the roster of characters who have been chosen to save reality.
In this Friday Update, we're introducing our first new character on deck: The Jock!
Donning his letterman jacket, the Jock is ready to deal some devastating head-bashing with his trusty bat. He can knock back invaders on a blow with the bat. So if some hell-hounds or a brute ever corners you, the Jock can knock’em out of the park and to safety!
The Jock is the go-to character for melee damage. In a future release, ammo will be in short supply. However, a melee weapon doesn’t use ammo. Having the Jock on your team will help you last longer against Invaders when bullets are not an option.
Join us for our first-ever community night!
The Grip of Madness team will be hosting our first community night on Saturday, May 7th, at 7 pm EDT. We’ll be hanging out on our Discord server to play and chat with y’all. If you haven’t had a chance to play the demo yet, this will be a perfect time! Looking to join the community? Hop on our Discord server. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the game!
- Inventory is now disabled in the Prologue. - Reduced the fish disappearance timer. - Clubs are no longer tied to any classes. - Changed the list of items dropped from vases. - The Mystic Cube rewards switch in favour of the Frozen Flame. - Changed the secret chest reward list. - Changed the fuel type for Big Torches and Lanterns. - While building, the roof is only required for the workstations. - Changed the energy requirements for heavy attacks. - Increased the energy decay speed, fixed the way it’s displayed in the UI. - All abilities become available after unlocking the respective class. - Changed the Skull Hunter’s Idol requirements. - Increased the straw roof module stability. - Runic stone hint activates at the same moment as the Ritual. - Changed the ability placement in the Ability Tree. - The “Flight” skill can be activated after two seconds of falling.
Map
- Changed the markers’ color on the map. - The Sanctuary icon became brighter. - Added a new foragin resource - “tree beetle”. - Removed monsters from the Titan Bastion. - Changed the Mithra’s position in the Sanctuary. - The markers’ size now depends on the map zooming. - Updated the windmill visuals.
UI
- Updated the visuals for class circles in the Ability Tree. - Player markers now display in the middle of the compass. - Added the “Blueprint” to the name of purchasable blueprints.
Other
- Changed the Construction Core barrier visuals. - Screen now goes dark during teleportation. - Server settings no longer pop up in chat when joining the server.
Fixed
- Stations can now be properly placed on house foundation. - Enemies will no longer stay idle in the Prologue. - Big monsters’ healthbar no longer covers the Rituals’ UI. - Fixed the shooting range Ritual on one of the small islands. - Fixed some texts and inscriptions. - Fixed the female model’s cloth set. - Damage notifications are now properly displayed during online play. - Fixed straw roof collision issues. - Quest markers now properly disappear after opening the coin chest during the Bard’s questline. - Fixed old save file issues with the Ability Tree. - Some trees used to disappear a bit too early from the draw distance. - Some dialogue lines were not playing out. - Fixed the issue with the construction core teleportation forcing you to move around a bit before being able to actually move. - Fixed dialogue indicator not disappearing after being exhausted. - Attributes now properly change upon switching the equipment. - Fixed the colour indication of the equipment positive effects.
Another Qorena Foresight Playtest this weekend! Anyone is welcome to join! To participate, follow the instructions through the Qore World website.
If in the event the official server is full, you are encouraged to host a new one and invite friends to join it. We hope you will enjoy the first of the weekly playtest to come. This will be ongoing until version 1.0 release.
For this week’s Super Catboy Devlog, you get the opportunity for new insights regarding two important topics which might be of interest for you.
FIRST: The Main Gameplay Pillars of Super Catboy
Let’s go all the way back when Super Catboy was still a product of our imagination: We’ve put our heads together for quite some time, trying to pin down and define what our game should look like. Since we grew up with games and having distinct favorites, it all came down to an homage to all those brilliant retro games we all love. Thus, Super Catboy was shaping up pretty quickly, and we ultimately decided to combine some well-known and beloved genres that we thought were bound to be married but, to our surprise, have never been combined before.
It features elements of classic Jump ’n’ Runs, Run ’n’ Guns and Beat ’em ups. Also adding variety through refreshing bonus levels like motorbike rides or a crazy mine car getaway – guess you get the reference. Our goal was always to create a game that is split into individual levels while still featuring a captivating story, charming characters and a vibrant fantasy world that is inspired by 90s cartoon series, games and movies. The different areas of the game world itself ranges from forests, snow-covered mountains or the bottom of the sea right up to an evil laboratory, a Wild West inspired canyon and a lot more! All these levels are designed to deliver as much action and variety as possible. They basically feature both massive explosions and exploration aspects - John McClane and Indiana Jones would be proud!
In case you’re a collector type of guy, we got you covered, too! Because, every level has 4 hidden golden cat parts waiting for you to find them.
The combat in Super Catboy is best described as fluid. The transition from melee attacks to the use of firearms is seemless – and a lot of fun, of course! From Bruce Lee to Rambo in no time! While the ammo for his gun is limited, Catboy can use his super sharp cat-claws in almost any situation without hesitation or drawbacks, even midair. But, no worries, ammunition can be found almost everywhere.
After all, the level design is supposed to be challenging but not unfair. Just like the classics of the golden days! On top, we also added several boss fights, since these were always the real treats. Who doesn’t remember that specific moment, triumphing over the big bad boss of a game, back when we were kids? We still do! You’re not only going to face evil sharks, but also giant bulls and moles with killer claws. Because, why not? :-D
SECONDLY: Dope Tech in Super Catboy
We’re going to take you back in time now – to 1994 to be exact. That’s the time Super Catboy actually takes place. But, it’s an alternative 1994 where VHS rental shops are still a thing on the one hand, but on the other flying cars and dashing technology are a real thing. And the credit for the much-loved Hover technology goes to... No, not Doc Brown, or Marty McFly, ...but none other than Weapongirl’s grandpa! Unfortunately, he totally forgot to file a patent application, and now the technology gets sold all over the world by big business tycoons. Who would’ve thought? But still, he never stopped and is always striving to make new inventions – this is the thing that satisfies him most. He’s a happy guy nonetheless, living together with his granddaughter in a small house with a workshop.
Nowadays, the Hover technology can be used anywhere. But the most popular use can be found in transport vehicles like cars and trucks. Motorbikes also benefit a lot from Hover technology.
Due to their low weight, the Hover energy can be used to create impulsive boosts, which cater towards much higher top speeds of limited duration. The same applies to Gadget Grandpa’s newest invention (and yes, that’s his nickname): Dashing Shoes. These allow for super quick directional movements and very long jumps, which makes it the perfect gadget when combined with a cat’s agility. Nowadays, the dashing technology can be found in several inventions, like hovering platforms and bouncers, both midair and on the ground. As you can see, Gadget Grandpa is already a living legend ¬ not only because of his inventions but his humble and lovable nature.
That’s it for this week’s Super Catboy Devlog. We hope you enjoyed the read and learned something meow about our favorite Catboy. Stay tuned for more information in the future.
Did you see our latest retro-trailer? No worries, perfectly fitting for our devlog, we share our retro trailer once again. Enjoy!
Thanks to the plethora of your feedback and reviews we had the pleasure to read over this last two weeks, we managed to get a better understanding of things we can improve in Phageborn. So today, we will have a little run down on some updates and changes we are doing.
TUTORIAL Phageborn brings some innovations as to how a card game can be played. We understand that the current Tutorial may not be the most optimal way to start the learning curve of the Phageborn mechanics. With that in mind, we will improve the basic tutorial to be more comprehensive and immersive for new players but also add an Advanced Tutorial to introduce you to some more advanced mechanics and strategies. It is important for us that you feel battle ready once you complete the tutorial.
2v2 If you had the chance to play Phageborn on some of the tests we did before, there is a big chance you managed to try out the 2v2 game mode. While 2v2 was disabled for testing on G.Round (at least for this time), we just wish to update you that we haven't forgotten about our beloved game mode and are working on making the 2v2 co-op experience much better by removing some of the limitations that existed.
LOBBY IMPROVEMENTS Whether you decide to play single-player or multiplayer game modes, it's important that the lobby screen is not just functional but also intuitive and visually appealing. With your feedback in mind, we will continue to polish lobbies, especially for the custom games, so that they are more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing. We are also working on improving the stability so that you won't have to worry about potential bugs and delays.
GRAPHIC IMPROVEMENTS Often it's the little things that make the biggest difference, especially when talking about visual appeal. To make the game more immersive and aesthetically satisfying, we will continue to work on upgrading existing card VFX (especially for Legendary cards) and improving Avatars and their visuals. But we do not plan to stop on that! You can expect things like adding weight to the cards, which will impact the way cards fall down on the battleground. It just doesn't seem fair that only Unchained Megadon makes a big stomp when it falls. We have bigger creatures in Issilith than that.
POST-GAME REWARDS After an exciting match of Phageborn, it's time for the well-deserved rewards! Our current post-game screen doesn't leave that much room for the player to see clearly all they acquired after the match is over. So our post-game screen is going to get a revamp! We are planning to add more sounds and visual upgrades so that post-game rewards stand out more. Also, as a part of that rehaul, progress made in your active quests will be easier to see.
We will be testing until the 18th of May so it's still not too late to join if you haven't already! For more information on the testing and things that are happening with Phageborn feel free to join our Discord channel (Discord)!
This Mythology 2 Book brings 20 new images to Coloring Pixels! Each image depicts different Characters and Moments from Ancient Mythology from various cultures!
The second book of its kind to let you visit the legends of old!
Available for the price of $0.99, £0.79, (or your regional equivalent). The pack will release on the 13th of May at 19:00 UTC/12:00 PDT.
This is what Berlin champions look like! We present a special event version of the famous Soviet heavy tank! The tank, as well as unique decorations and decals, are waiting for seasoned tank commanders!
From May 11th (11:00 GMT) till May 23rd (11:00 GMT)
Score points in battles, open new stages and grab your prizes!
IS-2 №321, Rank IV, USSR, event vehicle
The image of the Soviet IS-2 heavy tank side number “white 321” is gathered from retro photographs of actual armored vehicles from the final stages of the war in Europe. Crushed fenders, wooden logs to surmount spring mud, crewmen quilted jackets, left from the winter, shell boxes, holdall bags tied to the hull and turret… the ‘weathered’ IS-2 went through many trials to face the final battle!
“M1919A6” decoration
“PIAT” decoration
“Brave" text decal
“Strong" text decal
Tank number “321”
How to get the prizes
Each stage opens for 25,000 mission points and brings you a new reward.
Score mission points in random battles of rank III or above in Arcade, Realistic, or Simulator battles. See the score multiplier in the description of the mission, it depends on the gaming mode and maximum rank of the vehicles for the mission.
You may also score points in reward vehicles of ranks I-II achieved in special events. Such vehicles have event names in their info cards.
Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT: May 13th, 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st.
You may achieve rewards by a number of completed stages:
For 1 stage: decal “321”
For 2 stages: one of text decals
For 3 stages: one of decorations
For 4 stages: one of text decals
For 5 stages: event tank IS-2 №321
For 6 stages: one of decorations
In the tech tree, IS-2 №321 is located in the IS-2 group, USSR, rank IV.
Track your progress in the hangar by clicking your Nickname → Achievements → Legend of the Victory. If you don’t complete a stage in time, until May 25th you will be able to purchase the stage for Golden Eagles and achieve the rewards.