Hello everyone! Here is a quick hotfix with lots of balances changes and bug fixes! Read on for full details:

▲ - a buff was applied
▼ - a nerf was applied
⮂ - a tradeoff occurred
☄️ - a change was made based on community feedback

• Speeded up animations upon choosing a consequence on the chest scene.

• [General]
  
  • ▲ Improved the start drafting: it will now offer skills that make a little better synergy with each other.
    
  • ☄️▲ Decreased turn requirements for acquiring speed rewards with the Heavy Armor modifier in play.

• [Enemy modifiers]
  
  • Fighting spirit
    
    • ▼ Decreased stats buff from +2/+2 to +1/+1

• [Skills]
  
  • Divine Strike
    
    • ▲ Increased base damage from 2 to 4
      
    • ▼ Nerfed extra damage: the spell no longer counts same units more than once with multiple Shrines in play
  • Invigorating Flame
    
    • ▲ Increased health buff from 2 to 3

• [Fates]
  
  • Execute
    
    • ▲ Increased damage from 5 to 6
  • Reassemble Body
    
    • ▲ Increased the chance of summoning higher cost units
  • Pay Tribute
    
    • ▲ Increased attack buff from 1 to 2
      
    • ▲ Increased extra ether from 8 to 10
  • Spare
    
    • ▲ Increased Loyal Village's health buff from 3 to 4

• [Rituals]
  
  • Forest Fires (Act 1)
    
    • ▲ Increased Flaming Forests' damage from 4 to 6

• [UI]
  
  • If you have new boons to unlock, the hint will be displayed next to the Library button in the main menu and the Score screen.

• Fixed Elvish temples leading to softblock after killing the last enemy of a wave and then killing another unit with resurrecting/summoning on death effects.
  
• Fixed the Easy difficulty being blocked from selecting on the match preparation screen.
  
• ☄️ Fixed Northern Cities being blocked from capturing. Happened with the cities belonging to enemies from the battle start on Hard+ difficulties.
  
• Fixed the Orc Shaman's ability breaking the order of actions when a unit affected by this ability kills the last enemy of a wave.
  
• Fixed the "Combat log" label in the combat log's hidden form being displayed in English when another language is selected.
  
• Fixed the Broken Seal's description being displayed in English when another language is selected. Happened on the Extreme difficulty.

• Prediction directional arrows can sometimes fail to show after using a Fate or Ritual.
  
• Enemy units sometimes get stuck moving between two tiles
  
• Enemy units sometimes move back and forth even if they're adjacent to the Shrine
  
• The gameplay window is allowed to break aspect ratio in ways that cut UI off and make the game hard to play
  
• Accessing inspect mode on some tooltips will cancel the skill that is being placed

v1.3.15 is out on the main branch with the following fixes:
You can no longer place machines in invalid positions by moving them and then clicking both mouse buttons at once.
Potion of the Mechamaniac will no longer cause machine time advancing to break under certain circumstances.
Items bought from vendors will no longer be tested against the global item quality filter (the one in the gameplay settings).

Hooray! But what happens next? Well, assuming a sequel is viable - quite a lot! First, let's go over some stats and random facts about the game:

• The game consists of 649 animation files...
  
• ...with a combined length of 6 hours, 3 minutes, and 59 seconds
  
• There are over 90 paid voice actors
  
• Thousands of lines of dialogue (at least 5,000, but likely double that. Maybe triple? I really can't be bothered counting.)
  
• Repella Fella was featured in the AUS Indie Showcase at PAX 2022 (Melbourne)
  
• Jay Anthony Franke (JCDenton from the original Deus Ex) voices an American character
  
• Kenjamin Lafayette returns as the voice of Ray
  
• A free Prologue released on Steam (with 100% positive rating after 77 reviews!)

A little about Repella Fella and the plan moving forward:

Repella Fella's launch will featuring a voting period of 2 months. This voting period is a designated time when all players can cast their votes to determine how the sequel begins.

Think of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. There were four endings, you picked one, but the canon endings ends up being something you had no say in. It always felt to me like, "what's the point?" Here, you're given some voting power for the sequel and what is canon. I have more than enough ideas to expand on any one of these final three options!



It's easy! You finish the game (on Steam), you make you choice, and an achievement unlocks. The choice with the most achievements decides where we all go from here. Don't miss your opportunity to have a say in this stories trajectory moving forward! Players have from June 5th until August 5th 2023 to cast their votes. (It is recommend you only vote once during this period).

Regardless of which ending has the most votes, all of your choices will carry over.

A sequel will depend on two things: interest and viability. If people enjoy Repella Fella, I'm more than happy to continue with a sequel, but I'll also need to be able to pay the bills, as well as voice actors for their work. It isn't cheap.

I'll gauge interest by looking at the number of players and user reviews, and I'll determine viability by seeing how much money I can make from selling the game. A pretty simple equation! Plus that will give everyone time to cast their votes before I dive fully into any future sequel planning.

You can follow my blog, which includes useful links for players who are feeling a little light on spending money at the moment 💸
I'm not a big social media person. Updates will likely only be found on twitter or my Discord. If you need to get in touch, abuse me or send me death threats; you can send an email or contact me via the game's Steam discussion forum.

I dunno. My brain's cooked. I can't believe it's finally done. I'm going to do something else while I wait for this to succeed or fail.

Either way, I finally made a Steam game. Enjoy Repella Fella!

• Added a way to message players as a host
  
• Minor bugfixes

repair bugs

COMMAND MECHS, CONQUER MARS!

Greetings from Team Space Gears,

During the playtest period, we received several suggestions about the game. We are currently compiling this information and creating an action plan to prioritize our development efforts.

The development team has reviewed your feedback and addressed several of your questions in a Q&A format.

Although we couldn't include answers to all questions in this Q&A, we are committed to making improvements based on those questions as well. We will incorporate the necessary changes into the game wherever possible.

With that said, please take a look at our Q&A below.


[Frequently Asked Question]
Q. What is the official release date and/or Early Access?
A. Your feedback and opinions gathered during this playtest are being worked into our next build and will be reflected in our new content for release in the future. Space Gears aims to offer Early Access within this year. The team will announce dates as soon as they're confirmed. Stay tuned for more updates!

Q. Are there any plans to add languages other than the ones currently supported?
A. In addition to Korean and English that's already supported, we plan to support Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, and Russian.

Q. Are there any plans to add more PvE content?
A. In addition to the base defense mode that was recently revealed, we're preparing exciting PvE content. Think boss raids and large mechs. We can't reveal the specifics just yet, but we'll have something to share with you soon!

Q. Are there any plans to introduce/add new races?
A. We do not plan to introduce different races in Space Gears. Instead, there will be various types of mechs with different weapons. In addition to large mechs that we haven't yet revealed, we plan to update the game with various types of mechs that'll make for diverse combat.

Q. The system requirements are currently too high. Any plans to address this?
A. Although we are working to optimize the game to lower the game's hardware specifications as much as possible, we also aim to make the game accessible by the widest audience possible. Continued efforts will be made to optimize the game to make this possible.

Q. It's difficult to get an idea of the game's plot/story/universe. Any plans to address this?
A. We plan to introduce the game's lore, including the game's world-building elements, along with the game's PvE content. The focus of this playtest was on the game's 1v1 PvP combat system. Players will have plenty of story content to look forward to in the future.

Q. I want to play with my friends. Are there plans to add modes for custom campaigning, observing, replays, and etc.?
A. Space Gears aims to become a game that you can enjoy with your friends and family. Although such features won't be updated all at once, all of them will be available at some point in the future.

Q. Are there any plans to add shift queuing in the game?
A. We consider shift queuing to be an essential feature, but weren't able to include it in this playtest due to time constraints. In addition to adding shift queuing in the future, we also plan to introduce a function to go to previous events by pressing the spacebar, as well as various tooltip additions.

Q. Is there a way to increase the font sizes of the UI?
A. We consider improving accessibility and convenience to be of utmost importance. Your suggestions will be reflected in the game at some point in the future.


[Opinions & Suggestions]
Q. At times, a squad is better off being destroyed rather than retreating. Any plans to address this?
A. We're aware of this issue and plan to work out a means of balancin-g squad retreat vs. respawning. You also might've noticed that completely wiped out squads retain their promotion buffs in the playtest build. This was not intended. Squads that are completely destroyed will lose their promotion buffs in the future.

Q. Dealing with backdoor base attacks is too challenging and feels off balance. Any plans to address this?
(Suggestion: Perhaps add base repairing as a commander skill?)
A. To balance the issue of powerful, onesided, early-game backdoors, we plan on placing basic defensive turrets near the base. We also think the suggested commander skill to repair the main base is a good idea and will consider featuring it.

Q. It's quite difficult to overturn early game snowballing. Any plans to address this?
(Suggestion: Perhaps introduce an upkeep feature?)
A. We're aware of the difficulty of making a comeback against early game snowballing. We are exploring ways to reduce this effect, including the suggested upkeep feature.

Q. Having to play against opponents with higher combat points or upgrades seems to be unfair for an RTS. Any plans to address this?
A. We aim to reduce differences in combat points and upgrades in our post-playtest builds. This will be done by tweaking our matchmaking system to ensure that players at similar levels face off against each other.

Q. Are there any plans to add modes where mech upgrades are not applied?
A. Before we add new modes, we plan to address differences in combat strength by tweaking our matchmaking system. Assembling new mechs and collecting units with unique passive abilities are both design features that were included to make the game more interesting to play. We plan to address this issue by paying close attention to your feedback and suggestions prior to making the necessary adjustments.

Q. Squad formations seem to bear little signficance during combat. Perhaps it would be better to only allow a squad's weapons to be changd or make it possible to control invidual units.
A. Considering the concept of deploying units prior to combat, formations are intended to provide greater strategic diversity and a means of overcoming weaknesses. We will consider enhancing formation advantages and reflect other suggestions to improve strategic positioning and versatility.

Q. Due to high skill reliance, TTK (Time-To-Kill) feels too short. Any plans to address this?
A. We will continue to tweak balance issues all the way up to Early Access. We're well aware of squads being wiped out in the early game due to certain skills and that triggering a snowballing effect. Our next playtest build will attempt to balance this issue accordingly.

Q. It's difficult to determine the cause of victory / defeat. Any plans to introduce a battle summary?
A. We will incorporate the provided suggestions into visual and UI improvements.

Q. The BGM feels a bit monotonous for an RTS game. Adding more metal music would be great.
A. We are preparing different background music that cater to varying preferences in our future updates. Stay tuned for more on this in the future.

Q. Understanding what each mech does is complex and unclear. Any plans to address this?
A. This question raises two issues: visual intuitiveness and a lack of information about the mechs. To address these issues, we will work on improving the effects and adding a practice mode where you can test mechs.

Q. It's difficult to distinguish the squad leader. It would also be nice to have a means of displaying the attack ranges of units.
A. We will explore UI improvements to address these concerns.

Q. Radar towers don't seem to have much use during battle. It would be nice to make them more useful.
A. We acknowledge the limited role of radar towers and will adjust their sight range and positioning to make them have more impact in-game.

Q. Having tier distinctions for units and high-tear tech units would be great.
A. We are considering ways to increase the game's strategic depth and diversity and will review the suggestions provided.

Q. The process of assembling, repairing, and upgrading each mech feels too burdensome, and the means of obtaining required mech blueprints and materials are unclear.
A. Improving convenience for assembly, repair, and enhancement is a high priority on our list. We will also provide more information about required blueprints and materials through tooltips and other means.

Q. It would be great to have unique names for each mech instead of A / B type.
(Suggestion: Perhaps hold a mech naming content or event?)
A. We are preparing unique names for mechs that align with the manufacturers and the game's lore. While there are currently no specific plans for a mech naming contest at the moment, we will consider it when we introduce special event mechs in the future.

Q. It would be great to have something to do during the matchmaking process.
A. Instead of adding more features during matchmaking, we're planning to have matchmaking run in the background and make it possible to play other parts of the game while matchmaking is in progress.

Q. Will the Camp feature be more focused on simulation-style management?
A. We aim to create a camp system that offers an engaging experience rather than a complex simulation. Improvements to the camp system are being prepared based on the feedback collected for future updates.


We hope that our Q&A has answered some of your questions concerning the direction of Space Gears' future development and our plans to improve the game.

Our next playtest will be held during Steam Next Fest, which means there won't be enough time to reflect all feedback collected during our first playtest. We will, however, do our best to improve any areas we're able to manage in the next two weeks.

We once again thank everyone for participating in our first playtest! Instructions on how to access the game again during Steam Next Fest will be provided at a later date, so stay tuned!

- Fixed an issue where the game wouldn't get past the splash screen on MacOS Apple Silicone machines.

We have heard your feedback and concerns regarding the changes to the Metabit tuning. Starting from this version 18.12, there will be significant changes made to the Metabits production. The production rate of earned Metabits will be reduced immensely. As a result, we want to assure our players that the slowdown of Metabits production is not a bug; it is intentional and necessary.

Cell to Singularity is 4 years old and we want to continue to grow the game for both new and current players. Over the course of the game’s lifetime, the current Main Simulation tuning was sufficient to allow users to finish the content in approximately 2 weeks. We have a lot more content now so this does not align with our future plans. The implementation of the Giant Squid further emphasized the need to retune and balance the game as the Squid caused player progression to increase by 1000%.

We want to continue to grow the game, as highlighted in our yearly roadmaps. Thus it is important for us to adjust and slow down the current tuning in order to accommodate newer content such as updates to Civilization, adding in astronomy and more.



We realize that these changes will be difficult but we want to assure everyone that these changes are not final with this build release. We have 8 iterations, if not more, planned to ensure that the game’s tuning will reach a satisfactory and smooth experience.

In addition, we want to release new upgrade types that will boost the Main Simulation based on your Mesozoic Valley and Beyond progression. We have received numerous feedback regarding this suggestion and we are happy to be implementing them.

Thank you so much for your support as we take this necessary step for the refinement of Cell To Singularity. We look forward to hearing your continued feedback!
– The Cells Team

Bandits, level 5 reputation, greater variety in raid locations and many more in update 0.5.1.


What is new:

- New Enemies: Bandits

During combat, they engage in conversations, coordinate with each other, and react to the player's actions. For the update, over 200 situational lines and dialogues were recorded, featuring numerous references and jokes for fans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Metro, and Escape From Tarkov game series.


Level 5 reputation is now available in raids, new quests have been added to unlock it. Level 5 equipment:

- Throwing knives: one well-aimed throw immediately kills an unsuspecting enemy (can be found in a raid)
- Antirad: Allows you to enter radiation areas without hazmat suit (can be found in raid)
- Compass for Watch: Indicates the direction of the raid's exit
- Metal Detector for Watch: Helps you to avoid missing valuable loot
- Secure Container for Backpack: Items inside the container are not lost when you die

*Please note that there are currently no new guns at the 5th reputation level. This is due to further rebalance and reshuffle all the equipment. So, SVD will become a level 5 weapon, AK - the 3rd, and on the second will appear a new one. In addition to the 2nd and 3rd levels will also be added a few new pistols.*

- A new scrap made wristwatch. The wristwatch displays the current local time by default
- New loot: a dozen new items
- New rooms, corridors, staircases, stashes and exits for procedural generation: the variability of raid locations has been increased significantly
- New enemy variation: black moles (these species are larger, faster, and tougher than their counterparts)
- Hideout Stash upgrade (second tab for items)
- Catalog with a description of all items in the store
- At high reputation levels in raids, you can now encounter an EMP anomaly that that disable all electronic devices
- In raids with spiders, some doors can now be closed by spider cocoons, they can be burned using a Molotov cocktail or blown up. Each of these rooms is guaranteed to contain an army crate with high quality loot
- In raids with bandits, you can run into a trap. Watch your step carefully!
- Ammo can now be transferred from one ammo box to another
- Ammo can now be transferred from mag to ammo box
- The cartridge that was ejected when checking the chamber can now be picked up and inserted back into the magazine or put into the box
- Broken gas mask can now be replaced by finding a new one
- Sapper's armor now has an extra slot for meds on the arm
- You can now pick up the phones
- Bonfires can now be extinguished by shooting the kettle/pot placed on them
- Spider raids now have torches hanging on the walls
- Beeps have been added to indicate the start and end of a training session in the shooting range. Added a short delay before the first target appears
- Additional hints added to the second chapter of the story to pass the section where you need to burn spider cocoons
- Enlarged backpack tabs can now be switched with the X/A button
- Added new information window to the main menu, telling about the latest important changes in the game
- In the main menu, similar to the in-game menu, height adjustment was added
- Several new items have been added to the tutorial




Changes:

- The top inventory slots now always follow the head rotation one by one. This will make it easier to access your knife, lighter, backpack, and main weapon
- Subtitles now also follow your head and are always in front of your eyes
- You can now stow items in the backpack by both shoulders. Text in the tutorial has been adjusted accordingly
- You can now only pick up objects at a distance within your field of view. This will eliminate the problem of accidental grabbing
- Haptic feedback has been added to notify you when you can pick up an item from a distance
- Magazines and boxes in a raid now spawn with a random amount of ammo (but not less than half)
- Greatly increased the maximum possible size of a raid location. Locations will increase in size with each new reputation level
- Algorithm of raid location generation improved, average loading time was decreased
- Enemy type in a raid now changes regularly (no more than 2 raids with the same enemy type in a row)
- Reworked the slide animations for all weapons. No longer feels like it doesn't move at all when firing
- Turning on the flashlight or laser on the weapon now makes the player visible in the dark
- When firing a weapon that is not silenced, the player also becomes momentarily visible in the dark
- Hazmat suit now makes you more visible
- Ignited molotov cocktail no longer explodes automatically after 30 seconds
- Ignited molotov and dynamite can no longer be placed in the backpack
- Changed the save notification on checkpoints. A small floppy disk icon will now appear instead of the text on the watch
- Cigarette now smolders a little longer
- Turned down Uncle Serezha's detector volume
- The inventory scheme now shows the ability to store throwables on the belt
- You can now extinguish a kerosene lamp by shooting it
- Slightly changed the sound design of the raid location. New sounds have been added. In raids with bandits the soundscape sounds less intimidating
- The appearance of the missing stalker, wanted on the third quest, has been slightly modified
- Slightly changed design of the raid loading tunnel
- Slightly changed design of one of raid location types
- Computer buttons will no longer activate when not being looked at to prevent accidental pressing
- Slightly changed the sound of the pistol slider
- The briefcase in the first chapter of the story can no longer be taken out of the backpack after placing it there, to the point where it needs to be done.
- Insurance is now additionally highlighted when it must be taken from the wall
- For the impatient: now you can interrupt the initial briefing of Uncle Serezha by taking the insurance from the start
- Missing stalker on the 3rd quest is now guaranteed to appear on the 3rd raid
- The number of mutants in quest 4 increased (from 5 to 6). Quest is now given when returning to the hideout, not immediately in the raid
- Decreased the number of bulbs for 5th quest (from 6 to 5)
- Decreased the number of mutants for 8th quest (from 10 to 8)
- Raid Mode description changed
- Increased grip area of the AI-2 syringe
- Increased grip area of gun's sliders
- Increased grip area of gas mask filter on corpses




Bug Fixes:

- Fixed bug with wasting two cartridges at once when firing Makarov
- Fixed a bug with discarding an extra cartridge when releasing the slide by hand
- Fixed bug with selling guns, when they drop on the floor in the shop
- Fixed bug with fast filling the magazine with cartridges through shaking. The magazines are now filled with ammo faster by default
- Fixed the "exit from body" exploit that allowed going through walls. The screen is now dimmed, and the ability to turn and grab items is disabled
- Revolver reloading is now possible again on HTC Vive controllers
- You can no longer take the magazine from a sold gun
- Fixed a bug with the appearance of extra attachments on the weapon after loading into a raid
- Fixed subtitles inconsistency with some Uncle Serehza's lines
- Fixed bug with huge syringe cap
- It is now 100% impossible to remove the cap from syringes without holding them in your hand
- Fixed several visual bugs in the second chapter of the story
- Fixed bug with duplicate container when passing it at the end of the first chapter of the story
- Fixed monsters navigating through corridors that form a loop
- Fixed a bug with negative timer time on the watch
- Fixed a bug with the incorrect position of the flamethrower storage slot in the second chapter of the story when using left-handed mode
- Fixed a bug where a magazine inserted into a weapon was considered found in a raid and counted in the stats
- Fixed a bug with the appearance of an improved gas mask in the tutorial
- Fixed untimely playback of the generator hint in the first chapter of the story
- Fixed a bug with infinite reloading of the Saiga underbarrel grenade launcher
- Fixed premature disabling of music and railcar sounds when loading in a raid
- Fixed the collision of the safe's key. Fixed an issue with putting the key in the backpack by throwing it over your shoulder
- Fixed collision of some objects in the second chapter of the story
- Fixed a bug with the inability to pass through the vent with the teleport at the end of chapter 2 of the story
- Fixed a bug with fog not working correctly in chapter 2 when teleporting
- Fixed a bug with the disappearance of loot when you throw two items behind your back at the same time if there's only one free slot left in your backpack





The game is available with 25% discount until June 12.


If you encounter any bugs, please report them here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1702840/discussions/0/3391786047387379534/

You can also join our Discord - it's the best and fastest way to contact me and stay up-to-date on the latest news: https://discord.gg/9t79QCHvPc

Hey everyone,

A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has experienced Olle's journey so far, we've been blown away by the incredible reception to Bramble: The Mountain King.

This week, Bramble is on sale with 20% off! If you've yet to dive into our world of gruesome Nordic folklore then there's no better time.

To celebrate the occasion we put together a trailer highlighting some of the wonderful reviews and comments we've seen since Bramble launched, we hope you enjoy it!



If this is your first time embarking on our grim adventure through a world of dark folklore, beware, as not all is as it seems in the forests of Bramble...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1623940/Bramble_The_Mountain_King/