Welcome back explorers,

We have some exciting news for you: tomorrow, May 23rd at 01.00pm BST, on our channel there will be a special streaming event with Erik Rutins, producer and co-designer of Distant Worlds 2. Get a reminder here. 

During the stream, Erik will be previewing the upcoming Hyperspeed update, releasing on the May 26th, which brings fixes and improves many long-standing issues with gameplay and system compatibility. 

This is an amazing opportunity to get an exclusive preview of the new update for Distant Worlds 2, straight from the source. You won't want to miss it!

The streaming event will be taking place on May 23rd at 01.00pm BST, so be sure to tune in and join us for what promises to be an incredible showcase of Distant Worlds 2.

See you there. 

The Galaxy lives on

I am very excited to announce that the demo of Magnetron Rebellion: Fully Loaded is available for download! It features the first two levels of the game in their entirety. This has been a long time coming for me and I am beyond thrilled to finally have a game up on Steam for people to play. Please download the demo and tell me what you think!

There is still a lot of work ahead before this Demo takes part in the upcoming Next Fest in June and the full release in July. I plan to add more levels, more enemies and bullet types, full controller support, and Steam Leaderboard and Achievement Support, as well as a few stretch goals that I would love to add in if time allows.

Thank you all so much for the support you have shown Magnetron Rebellion so far!

Greetings, Adventurers!

Since November 2022, Fresh Start worlds have allowed adventures to relive the excitement of conquering unexplored territory, amass vast wealth, and forge new reputations throughout Aeternum. While these worlds share the same game version as our other servers, they function as separate entities, safeguarded against external influences like character transfers. However, not all worlds can maintain a sufficiently active population to support New World's large-scale game modes and other content areas. In accordance with our initial promise when Fresh Start worlds were introduced, we will refrain from merging a single remaining Fresh Start world in a region if its population falls below a healthy threshold. Nonetheless, abandoning a world is not an option, so in an effort to sustain and grow community numbers for eligible worlds, we will remove the "Fresh Start" designation and provide the impacted community with time to recover and restructure before considering further remedies.

Keeping this in mind, we are delighted to announce that Sutekh, located in our Asia Pacific region, will be the first world to undergo this transition. As a result, users will now have the freedom to interact and transfer between Sutekh and Delos, fostering a dynamic and sustainable player-base for Sutekh.

We understand that this solution may not be ideal for everyone, but we strongly believe it offers the best way forward for regions that are too small to support both Standard and Fresh Start world sets.

On May 24 at 10 AM PDT, the world Sutekh will transition to a Standard world.

• The Fresh Start World indicator will be removed.
  
• Character transfer restrictions will be lifted for both “In Transfers” and “Out Transfers”.
  
• Note that the standard 30-day transfer waiting period will remain in effect without change.
  
• Characters will remain on this world and will not be forced to move or merge to another world.

No downtime will be required to make these adjustments.

Fresh Start worlds in other regions will remain unchanged. If players would like to remain within a Fresh Start world ecosystem, these alternative worlds will continue to be available for new characters.

To facilitate a smoother transition and promote the forging of new friendships, Sutekh will host an exclusive bonus XP event called the "Welcome Party." This event will last for 14 days, starting from 10 AM PDT on 5/24 and concluding on 6/7. During this event, Character XP will be boosted to a 2x bonus rate, and the Gathering, Refinement, and Fishing Trade Skills will also receive enhanced benefits.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we implement these changes. We are committed to providing the best possible gaming experience for all our players and believe that this transition will contribute to achieving that goal.

Hello everyone!

It has been an exciting launch of the game, and now I am excited to announce the first update. In this small update I have fixed some bugs that occurred when placing buildings. I have added horns/whistles to the game, each train has a unique horn sound. I have added an option to delete derailed cars, there is a new bulldozer button for it in the top right corner. I have also fixed some typos.

If you have any suggestions for future updates, or if you have found some bugs, you can post them on the main discussion page.

Thanks everyone!

We are very lucky to have had a small feature as part of this years INDIE Live Expo - live from Japan!

With the team commenting on the meaningful connection you have with the animals in game, as well as the 'mellow' sounds of the soundtrack which perfectly fit the vibe.

Watch the clip here:

Next week, we’ll be releasing the first of our Major Updates. While we aren’t ready to share everything just yet, we want to take some time to let you all know how your feedback has shaped what’s coming. No hyperbole, it’s going to substantially change the way the game feels to play.

First, let’s talk about Amplifiers, or Amps for short, those mid-run upgrades you collect from the stations with the glowing blue crystals. We’ve heard your feedback about them, how you felt constrained by the limits on how many you could carry, how it was difficult to find Amps with good synergies. All of that is changing.

We want players who spend the time to explore and collect Amps to feel like their character is an unstoppable force of nature by the end of each level. To that end, players now receive Amps more often per level, and with no limit to how many they can carry.



Now, collecting enough Amps of a specific category will activate a Powerup, a special Amp with an extremely powerful effect. For example, collect enough Damage-focused Amps and you’ll unlock Multikill Enhancer or Glass Cannon, or collect Defensive Amps to unlock the Vampire Powerup.

This update will also include new Amps that are more powerful and drastic than what came before, often triggering off of status effects that can be inflicted with specific weapons.

Weapon handling has also seen a significant overhaul. Weapons now have expanded movesets that are exclusive to each archetype. End combos with stun-inflicting finishers, high-knockback launchers, or press the button rapidly to spin endlessly in a tornado of blade strikes. Attack in any direction in the air, knocking around and bouncing off of airborne enemies.



All of this should work together to give players another layer of decision-making and strategy when making a build, with more specific upgrades that they can work towards mid-run.

And players will need these upgrades now more than ever, because even though their counterselves will be more powerful than ever before, so will their foes. We've improved the reaction times of many of our enemies, and adjusted their attacks to make them more challenging to fight individually. The multiverse has never been more dangerous.

The instability of the multiverse has given shape to a tumultuous place that sits outside of ‘normal’ space and time, intersecting with and connecting what still remains of the various branches of the multiverse. The Engineers don’t know what to make of it. The Ewer call it “The In-Between”.



This location will bring together trials and opponents from all across the multiverse, so be prepared for a challenge.

We’ll have more to share, including the full patch notes, next week when Major Update #1 is released on Steam. Keep an eye out for it!

Hey all,

We've been hard at work over the last few weeks ironing out bugs that have been found in playtesting, cleaning up the graphics and effects, optimizing the code, and when they can, working on some new content! A lot of the FX have seen updates, tweaks, and reworks to make them less resource intensive and to improve visual clarity. Similar changes have taken place with lighting and shadows. On the backend, much has been rewritten into C++, which has helped the game to run more smoothly. Many of the bugs that were previously present have been patched, and work is continuously being put in to squash whatever bugs remain, and to get us to a bug-free state. Last, we've got a new map being worked on, and a couple new game mechanics that come with! No spoilers yet, but we'll have more word for you on that in a couple weeks. Thank you to those who have helped playtest! Your input has been and continues to be invaluable.

We look forward with anticipation and eagerness to the full release,

- The Solar Showdown Development Team

• Gel-trap has been added
  
• Bug collision sizes updated (Some were quite wrong)
  
• Some bug speeds adjusted
  
• Trap collision areas fixed
  
• Weapon cool-down and fuel bar resized on some of the weapons
  
• Few particle effects updated
  
• Laser cannon idle animation added

- Fixed some bugs with building placement
- Added an option to delete derailed cars
- Added horns
- Fixed some typos

Last time we gave a look at the design and model changes. However, we also pointed out that the game has been completely rewritten gameplay-wise.

As specified in the last Update, after a series of playtests we have uncovered many inconsistencies in terms of gameplay, from unbalanced mechanics all the way to non-engaging features.

This is what we will focus on in this developer update. We will analyse a match in order, going from start to finish. Keep in mind that the screenshots you see in this developer update are taken across several different playthroughs, so they do not always refer to the same match. In addition, all design choices in the UI may still be subject to changes.

The Commissariat is the new major gameplay addition. A group of players will be chosen to decide on a Decree, then everybody together will either vote in favour of the proposed Commissariat or not.

The Commissar role is assigned by the Tyrant at the beginning of the game...



...and passed onto the next person (directly to their right) once every Decree has been completed.

The player currently holding the Commissar role will have to pick between the other players those that he wishes to involve in the next Decree...



...and then all the players, including the Tyrant and the Commissar, will vote in favour or against. The majority wins.





Keep in mind that rejecting a Commissariat fills up the Instability bar.



If it reaches five, it's game over for the Loyalists.



The Decrees come in to replace what were previously known as Tasks.
When the Commissariat is proposed and everybody votes in favour, it will move onto the next step: the Decree.

Every person that is part of the passed Commissariat (Commissar included) will then have to act on the Decree.



...with the ability to sabotage if you are a Dissident.

Supporting a Decree will shift the Paranoia in favour of the Loyalists (left), whereas Saboutaging will shift it in favour of the Dissidents (right).





Special Permits are your means to twist a game. They are assigned by the Tyrant upon reaching a certain stage on the Paranoia bar.



A Tyrant may only assign one Special Permit per player, including themselves.





The player that receives the special permit will then be able to use it on another player. Above is an example of the Special Permit Confidence which allows a player to show their identity to someone else.



The Discussion Time remains unchanged. It's the time of the match in which players must sit down and talk among themselves, discussing what has happened in the previous Decree (if necessary) and share any vital information they possess, to try and somewhat gain a picture of who the Dissidents might be.





Although we plan on making it an adjustable parameter, five are the total Decrees on which players will work on. The Loyalists must Support three Decrees and the Dissidents must Sabotage three. The first team to achieve their goal wins, and their victory displayed in the ending screen.



There is a case in particular in which Dissidents manage to Sabotage three Decrees immediately without the Loyalists ever Supporting a Decree, triggering The Purge.







In this case the Tyrant is given the opportunity to play their cards right, attempting through gathered information to pick the exact Dissidents among the players. If all Dissidents are purged then the Loyalists win.

The host may disable this feature for their match in the Lobby creation menu:





A reminder to everyone that the game will be available to play the next Steamfest in June 2023!

Thank you for reading this Developer Update. See you in the next one!

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