Greetings Creators,

We highly value and appreciate everyone who has enjoyed Creativerse over the years. Thanks to your feedback, we've decided that a better way to show our appreciation to our existing community is offering a free upgrade to The Definitive Edition to anyone who played the original free version of the game. That's nearly 5 million people!

As of today, if you have ANY previous hours in the free version of the game, you should receive the upgrade automatically. If for some reason you didn't, reach out to us so we can help you: http://mailto:support@playfulstudios.com

And to keep things fair, if you purchased The Definitive Edition and haven't already claimed a free copy for a friend during our promotion last spring, we will gift a free copy to any friend of your choosing. Just forward your Steam receipt to us (http://mailto:support@playfulstudios.com) and include a link to your friend's Steam profile page. (UPDATE, June 12: please note this offer only applies to purchases as of today's date.)

Lastly, if you'd like to support us, consider writing (or updating) a review of the game on Steam.

Thanks everyone, and stay creative!

Today we're shipping the first major update to the CS2 Limited Test. You can check out the release notes to see what's new, but here are some of the big changes in today's update:


Head to the loadout to customize the weapons you take into battle! Make your choices for the T and CT sides with four pistols, five mid-range weapons (SMGs and Heavy), and five rifles (yes, you can bring both M4's). Just drag and drop to adjust your buy menu however you see fit.

The buy menu has gotten a few extra upgrades, including a refund option for any weapons you purchased in the round and haven't used yet, and indicators to help you track what your teammates are carrying.


The Limited Test now also includes all-new Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools, which can be enabled and downloaded from the in-game settings menu. These tools will allow community contributors to create weapon finishes, stickers, and maps.

There's much more in today's update, from smoke grenade adjustments to input and animation. Jump into the Limited Test and send your feedback to cs2team [at] valvesoftware [dot] com (make sure to include CS2LT in your title).

Hi all, this update is focused primarily on resolving some widely reported bugs, adding an important usability enhancement to playing Clairvoyant, and improving multiplayer. We are optimistic that changes in this patch will improve connectivity for people encountering errors. Also, the improvements to kicking disconnected players should allow multiplayer runs to continue if a player drops.

For those interested in what is coming next, we are working on an official roadmap and will be posting it soon.

On to the patch notes!


This patch will be released at approximately 10 am PDT on June 7th, 2023.

This link might help you see when that is in your local time.


Gameplay Changes

1. Increased SP rewards from runs by 50%.
   
2. Updated the "Training Mode" buff on Sparring Dummies and Janus to take longer to trigger in multiplayer based on the amount of players. For example, if there are four players it will take four hits to trigger the attack increase.
   
3. Updated legendary vestige Taetra Twin to only proc on direct damage (abilities) instead of on any damage. "On damaging an Enemy, 35% chance to do that amount of damage again..." >>> "On hitting, 50% chance to do that amount of damage again...".
   
4. Reduced the requirements for the Purchase Vestiges quest in Silent Promenade 5 >>> 3.
   
5. Made a vague quest message for The Song of the Sea more specific on how to proceed.
   
6. Made the Inkspot in the Garden's Edge less hidden.
   
7. Fixed typo in title of 'Villain Destroyer' Nameplate.
   
8. Fixed Epic Spiked stat gain from fonts to correctly give 10 and not 6.
   
9. Fixed Pulsar Belt procing smite multiple times on a single enemy.

Art & UI Changes

1. Clairvoyant - added aura targeting visual indicator when aiming abilities.
   
2. Added an input delay in drafts to try to avoid accidental double clicks before the draft options can be read.

Engine Changes & Other Bug Fixes

1. Networking - made multiple improvements to reduce the likelihood of encountering the "fell behind server" error, especially when entering the Atheneum. We are committed to fixing this and interested in feedback. Please let us know in Discord if you notice any change to your ability to play the game.
   
2. Multiplayer - if a player disconnects and the party leader kicks them with the "/kick" command they are now properly removed from the run and the run can continue.
   
3. Multiplayer - if the party leader disconnects, a different person is made the party leader. If necessary, that person can use "/kick" to kick the former party leader and can then continue the run.
   
4. Fixed issue where certain gameplay combinations, like Taetra Twin used against Argolath tentacles, could cause the run server to crash.

Hey Panda Peeps!

What can we say, we Sad Pandas are real cuddlers! If you’re a cuddler too, you’re gonna love our dakimakura (body pillowcases) featuring a coterie of cuties from our games.

That’s right, we said games, plural, because for the first time you can get your hands (and arms, and legs) on some of your favorite beaus from Blush Blush! Snuggly soft dakimakura featuring Nimh, Volks, Eli, Anon, and Garret are all available now at THE SAD PANDA STORE! PS, they’re double-sided…

We love you so hard,
The Pandas

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• Mirage has replaced Dust II on official Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test matchmaking servers.

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• Introducing Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools which can be enabled and downloaded from in-game settings menu--these tools will allow community contributors to create weapon finishes, stickers, and maps.
  
  • Note: the Steam Community Workshop does not yet support uploading CS2 maps.
• The level editor (Hammer) now leverages GPU accelerated raytracing to both preview and bake lighting for CS2 maps. This significantly speeds up compile times, but as a result a GPU capable of raytracing is required for Hammer to be fully functional.
  
• Hammer GPU Minimum Specs:
  
  • Nvidia 2060Ti 6gb (2080Ti+ recommended)
    
  • AMD 6600XT (6800XT+ recommended)

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• The player loadout has been revised:
  
  • Players have 1 Starting Pistol slot, 4 Pistol slots, 5 Mid-tier slots (previously "SMGs" and "Heavy"), and 5 Rifle slots, per team.
    
  • Assign any (side-appropriate) weapon to any slot within its category.
    
  • Supports drag-and-drop and has been redesigned to fit in on a single screen.
• The in-game buy menu interface has been revised:
  
  • The wheel has been replaced with a grid showing all purchase options at the same time.
    
  • Teammate purchases are displayed on the buy menu.
    
  • Weapon "stats" display has been replaced with simple straightforward descriptions.
    
  • Players can now refund any purchase that was purchased in the same round and has not been used.
• Existing CS:GO items on the Steam Community Market can be inspected in Counter-Strike 2.

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• Sub-tick movement is now more precise and less "floaty" (per player-feedback).
  
• Releasing movement keys now correctly convey their sub-tick timing.
  
• The top player of a triple-stack can now shoot.
  
• Fine-tuned weapon aim punch recovery to be latency-independent during sub-tick recovery on the client.
  
• Fine-tuned view punch camera shake effect during shooting to be both latency-independent and synchronized with all other sub-tick shooting effects on the client.

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• Improved lighting/rendering when smoke overlaps multiple distinctly lit regions.
  
• HE grenade effect times on smoke has been reduced.
  
• Shotguns now create larger holes in smoke volumes.

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• Adjustments to the viewmodel 'inspect' to remove animation popping.
  
• Several viewmodel and blending animation fixes.
  
• Improved traversal animation.
  
• Jumping into the air and running off a ledge is now differentiated to allow for separate character motion.

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• Player's own footstep sounds are now predicted on the client for a latency-independent experience.

[]

• Improved performance and responsiveness in windowed and full-screen windowed modes.
  
• Fixed several bugs and rendering artifacts.

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• Fixed bug that would cause input to become permanently broken when multiple commands were bound to one key. Multi-binds are back, except for jump-throw binds (which are now a skillful part of CS).
  
• Commands bound to mouse wheels will now be reliably executed.
  
• Fixed bug that would cause input to execute incorrectly after taking over a bot in practice mode.
  
• Inspecting weapons is now predicted on the client for a more responsive experience.

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• VAC will now live ban and gracefully terminate the match at the end of the round (unless it was the last round and the cheater lost).
  
  • The match will not affect any participants' Skill Group.
    
  • Players that were not lobbied with the VAC-banned player will earn XP for match.

Mercs,

Along with Double XP and 4X drops for all players, you can find the following items on sale via Steam:

• Killing Floor 2 & DDE 75%
  
• Armory Season Pass 1 50%
  
• Armory Season Pass 2 33%
  
• Killing Floor 2 Ultimate Edition 33%
  
• Killing Floor 2 Ultimate Edition Upgrade 33%
  
• And up to 50% off many great items in-game

Now get out there and slay some Zeds!

The world of Wraeclast and its events are riddled with bits and pieces of lore. In today's news post, we've collected some development stories where we elaborate on Path of Exile's lore. Check them out below!

The Undying
Storytelling in Path of Exile - ExileCon Dev Talk


Delirium: Creating The Strange Voice
Integrating League Stories into Existing Lore
Creating Synthesis Lore
The Conquerors of the Atlas
Timelines and Retcons
Heist Lore Interesting Facts
Lore Q&A Part 1
Lore Q&A Part 2
A Brief History of the Atlas Lore
Echoes of the Atlas Lore: The Envoy
Creating the Maven
Creating Scourge Lore
Lore Stories: Siege of the Atlas
Path of Exile 2 Narrative Design Philosophies
Ultimatum League: Creating the Trialmaster
Expedition League: Creating the Kalguurans

The Demo has been updated to version 0.3.1

First you may notice a message that appears before the splash screen. This just lets players know that the game currently accepts only keyboard input. It also gives a brief explanation of how to use the options file.


The game now also includes a combat panel which shows the enemy's current health. Hopefully this helps players have a better picture of how they are doing in a particular fight...

© 2023 Middle-earth Enterprises. The Lord of the Rings and Tales of Middle-earth are trademarks of Middle-earth Enterprises, LLC used under license by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Hi all,

I've just pushed build 625 for the playtest and demo version of the game. These patches include:

Both demo & playtest:
- Improved scaling for high res monitors
- Some buttons on the main menu would previously hang until the popup was closed. This has been fixed.

Playtest (& full game) only:
- Added game recording. All your games will automatically be recorded into standard PGN(Portable Game Notation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Game_Notation
Games can later be analyzed an assortment of free tools to help you develop your skills.