Jun 12, 2023

American Truck Simulator - Dareus

The California Rework project is a challenging task that we have been working on for quite a while, and despite the hard work and dedication that is required, we haven’t had the opportunity to mention the unsung heroes that are part of the dedicated team.

We hope you will enjoy this small presentation of the SCS map designers that are currently working on Phase 3 of California Rework and their short messages to you, the #BestCommunityEver.

Janek (current leader of the project)

I took over the California Rework from Mrazík, and it's my very first project as the Map DLC Lead, but certainly not the first project I've worked on. You can see my work in the DLCs for Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and also in the upcoming DLC for Oklahoma.

My main goal in the California Rework project is to capture the atmosphere of all areas in California as best as possible and to ensure the best comfort for the team so that we can deliver California to you just as you have always wanted.

Tereza

I work at SCS as a Junior Map Designer, and as well as working on California Rework I have also been involved in the creation of the Oklahoma DLC. In Phase 3 of California, I particularly enjoy the vast plains, almond fields, and farms. Players can look forward to a new and polished California coat, which I personally find to be the most exciting.

Tomáš

I worked on the second phase of the California Rework, where I created US-80 with Donner Pass and Truckee. I also helped to finish some other locations and contributed to bug fixing. Currently, I'm working on Stockton and US-50, which have a similar mountainous scenery to Donner Pass.

Juraj

When I joined SCS two and a half years ago, we started working on the second phase of the California rework. In the meantime, I also helped with other map DLCs. Working on the third phase of the rework is the most interesting for me so far because I got the opportunity to focus on cities and industrial areas, which I enjoy the most. I am convinced that players will also love this new part of the map as they can look forward to seeing many new landmark structures and areas.

Margo

The California Rework is the first project I am a part of as a Junior Map Designer. What I enjoy the most about the Rework is the great creative freedom I have in influencing, uplifting, and transforming each location, resulting in more interesting places to discover!

Martin

My first task at SCS was designing a simple country road for the Utah DLC almost 4 years ago. I've come a long way since then, working on several DLCs in between, and taking on challenging tasks like El Paso, Texas. California has a distinct summery vibe in our game compared to other states. You can feel the presence of the Pacific Ocean nearby, and our original map captured that well. The rework receives the same quality treatment as a brand new DLC, with a much-improved and denser road network, many new landmarks, and the newly included city of Modesto, of which I happen to be the author.

Hoang

I have been involved in the rework from the very beginning, I believe we started with three people. During my time at SCS, I have also worked on creating a few roads for Montana and Texas. Currently, I enjoy working on smaller historical settlements with an organic structures. I find the American contrast between regular concrete jungles and organic development, such as in Santa Cruz, fascinating. Players can expect a lot of detailed content and beautifully designed cities and landscapes.

Bartłomiej

I'm simply trying to do everything I can to make my region look as good as possible. That includes taking advantage of the skills and knowledge I gained before joining SCS Software while working on my own map project for American Truck Simulator. I think many players will appreciate the new feel of California.

Roman

Since joining SCS, working on the third phase of the California Rework is my first experience with map design on this scale. I am grateful for my experienced colleagues who guide me on this journey of improvement and discovery. It's been very exciting to witness the growth of the new and improved California, and I think there is a lot to be excited about.

Františka

I have been working as a map designer on California for two years now and have also been involved in the previous phase. Currently, I enjoy working on various diverse coastal roads. Players can definitely look forward to plenty of new stunning ocean views.

Pavel

I have been with SCS for almost a year, and the California rework is the first project I have worked on. I hope the players will enjoy exploring the revamped familiar locations of this iconic state.

Honorable mention - Mrázik (previous team lead)

The ongoing effort to rebuild California to meet modern quality standards has entered its third phase, with a clear objective in mind: to introduce an impressive upgrade to the content that every player of ATS can navigate, and enjoy. So far, I firmly believe that the team has successfully captured the very essence of Californian trucking, architecture, and culture, and I eagerly anticipate the release of the final product in the game.

While I am no longer part of the mapping team, having witnessed Janek's potential, I gladly entrusted him with the role of the new Map DLC Lead as he shares similar values and possesses the ability to motivate and inspire the team in ways better than I ever could, along with brimming with the energy required to bring to a great finish what the team and I have started.

We really hope you’ve enjoyed this slight detour from our usual map-related blog posts. The team is doing their best to provide you with an amazing experience and we can’t wait to show you some more of what they’ve been working on in the future. Until then, keep your eyes on the blog or follow us on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) for any new updates.

Jun 12, 2023

Q&A with Peter Curleytail 🐷 ❓

Everdream Valley - robert.wozinski

🐷 Oink, oink! 🐷

Once again hello, fellow gamers and Steam enthusiasts!

It's me, Peter the Pig, here to answer once again some of the most frequently asked questions trotting around the community regarding our life on the farm. So without further ado, let's dive right into them!

Where can I find fireflies?

Fireflies appear only in the evening; try looking for them after 9:00 PM. The best spot to catch them is the entrance to the farm, right where you first started your adventure. There are no wolves there, so don’t be scared! Once you see the fireflies grab your net and start catching them!

My animals are hungry, what do I do? How do I feed animals?

There are two ways of feeding your animals. The first one is making sure your animals have enough fresh grass around them. You can let them out of the enclosures you’ve made for them or plant more fresh grass in their spaces.

The second way is bringing your pets Hay Cubes, which you can craft at the Workbench.

How to craft a hay cube?

To craft a hay cube you’ll need to have hay in your inventory, then head over to the Workbench and you should find an option to craft it!

How to get more hay?

Take out your sword and start cutting some of the fresh grass around you. Some of it should go to your inventory. Grab the freshly cut grass and bring it over to a drying rack, load it up and wait until the grass becomes dry.

How to make a drying rack?

Make sure to follow the quests with Willow! They should unlock the Drying Rack for you. Once you unlock it, head over to the workbench and look it up, it should appear on the list of things you can craft!

That’s all for today folks!

Thank you for your questions and engagement with our life on the farm! If you have any more questions or need further advice, don't hesitate to oink at me :)

Happy gaming, and may your adventures be as fun as mud baths are for me! 🐷🎮

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Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date with the latest news, tips, and insights about Everdream Valley! Here's our Discord, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1403650/Everdream_Valley/

Jun 12, 2023

Community Update #19: Mechs and the City

Baldur's Gate 3 - Molly @ Larian

Our goggles are on, our posture is aerodynamic; like a gnome hurled through the air by a barbarian with a mean overhead throw, Baldur’s Gate 3 is rapidly hurtling toward launch.

This weekend, we unveiled the city of Baldur's Gate for the very first time, with a glimpse behind its walls and around its familiar labyrinthine streets. It's been about 20 years since we last had a pint in the Elfsong Tavern or crawled through the sewers beneath the city streets and, as you might have spotted during the PC Gaming Show, many of these locations are back, and many news ones are waiting to be discovered for the first time - giving you a chance to explore the menacing roads of the Outer City, the opulent estates of the Upper City, and the dark alleys and pubs of the Lower City.

But the Baldur's Gate that we've built is a lot more than faithful geography. As a modern adaptation of an iconic fantasy setting, this city couldn’t be a mere backdrop. It needed to feel more like a complex organism: alive, changeable, and interconnected. Your journey, and your story, has been heading in this direction since the start of the game. You’ve finally arrived.

Welcome To Baldur's Gate

Though your journey hasn’t been easy, you arrive at a city preparing for war. As the Steel Watch patrols Baldur’s Gate’s labyrinthian streets, the printing press prepares the daily news cycle. There are factions within the city vying for control, all disagreeing on what to make of outside threats, and new faces within the city walls. Opportunity in times of struggle is rife. What you make of it, and what it makes of you, will be determined by your choices up to the city walls, and beyond their shadow.

We’ve built a truly next-gen fantasy city, and upped the stakes. Our latest trailer gives you a sense of that scale, showing rolling vistas of grand buildings that recede into the horizon, boisterous docks with harbours thick with ships, and lively town centres populated with over a thousand individual characters. You can explore all of it.

On cobbled streets, bustling crowds go about their day, each one with a story to unravel, a secret to uncover, or a personal reaction to be stirred. Peer further down those steep hills and you might spot a distant bell tower that you can climb for a panoramic view of the city. Make a wrong turn to the visiting circus and explore your deep-seated clown phobia. Or you could case the local inn, where sinister rumours lurk in secret back rooms. In short, Baldur's Gate is your oyster. It is its own vast, complex organism inside of a game already filled with opportunities for exploration. What your role is within it is entirely up to you.

https://youtu.be/t0uYhTLPGLQ

Our scope for the city is big. But it's also grown substantially over the past year.

From the very beginning, we envisioned a Baldur’s Gate that players could navigate however they chose - whether that’s flying to the hidden rooftop nest of Gale's pet tressym, burrowing into a locked prison cell as a giant badger, or slipping into the Counting House in the form of a little cloud (not technically considered breaking and entering as per Faerûnian property law). But in our original prototype, the city was actually much more compartmentalised - a series of small, contained regions connected by teleporters. And so it remained until midway into developing the city, when we decided to make some major changes.

"[Swen] said, like, can't we just connect everything?" reminisces World Building Director Farhang Namdar. "And that was an interesting day."

What's come out of that decision is something we’re very proud of. The districts of Baldur's Gate are now three seamless open worlds. No matter whether you’re investigating underground crypts, climbing the stairs of a towering citadel, or descending into hidden cellars, open-ended exploration reigns supreme. No longer are they broken up into much smaller chunks. This - though ambitious - means that we were finally able to achieve that grand sense of hustle and bustle, where all the stories within the city were truly interconnected. There’s plenty to discover, and to be distracted by, and nothing is off-limits. We wanted every house to have real characters who had stories, and who could offer quests with secrets to uncover.

Hello to Jason Isaacs

Like the city itself, the political landscape of Baldur's Gate is something that must be deftly navigated. While the streets may appear orderly, maintained in check by a security force of hulking automatons, beneath the surface lies an undeniable undercurrent of turmoil. Duke Ravengard has disappeared, and in his wake a power vacuum has emerged, leaving an opportunity for ambitious factions and individuals to seize control and shape the fate of the city.

Enter Lord Enver Gortash, commander of a clockwork army of Steel Watchers. Raised by a devil, a leader among loners, Enver Gortash freed himself of his bonds to envision wonders and become a master of both men and mechanisms.

Jason had this to say about the nefarious politician: "It was a thrill to join the Baldur’s Gate universe but I fear that the magnificent Lord Enver Gortash is being mischaracterized as a villain. In a brutal world of betrayals and butchery, he’s learned to lie better and backstab first. The joy in voicing him - apart from the obvious pleasure in getting to look so glorious - was that the creative team and I got to play loose enough to find ways that he could enjoy the ride and make the players hate him more!"

https://youtu.be/qUcZYW43_pQ

First revealed during last week's Summer Game Fest, Larian Studios is thrilled to announce that acclaimed actor and all-round great bad-guy Jason Isaacs is taking on the role of this dark and charismatic sovereign. Best known for playing classic antagonists such as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, Captain Hook in 2003’s Peter Pan, and Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery, Isaacs adds a layer of depth to the characters you’ll meet here, bringing with him decades of experience in acting the villain to the recording booth and even modifying lines of dialogue between takes.

Through Gortash, players will help define the future of the legendary city, deciding who to align with in the struggle for the soul of Baldur's Gate.

We know, you want to know if you can romance Lord Enver Gortash… We get it.

The Road Ahead

In this year’s PCGaming Show, to celebrate the beginning of the end, we worked with Mashed to create this fun little animated short written by our very own Emily Gera, starring the original voice cast for Baldur’s Gate 3! Frooooooog. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did. Players of Act 1 will find a few easter eggs designed just for you. Awwww!

Baldur’s Gate 3 is much, much bigger than we had envisioned when we started this journey roughly 5 years ago. Looking at what’s in Act 1 Early Access right now, it’s fair to say that you’ve really only seen a glimmer of the full experience to come. In July, you’ll begin to get a more complete look not just at how far Baldur’s Gate 3 has come, but where it’s been heading all these years in development. We know you’re really eager to hear about all the playable races & classes in the game. It’s coming.

Spoilers! We also understand that many of you are cautious about spoilers and we don’t intend to spoil anything between now and launch as we release some new exciting video assets and information into the wild. We’ll try and give you a heads up about the nature of something before you see it, so you can make an informed decision as to whether it’s something you’d like to learn about, or wait to experience yourself at launch.

With regards to any other platforms Baldur’s 3 will release on, our plan is to release the game in order of platform readiness. Once we’re sure about dates, we’ll let you know. You can rest assured we’ll try to make BG3 run on every platform we can, but it’s a gigantic, truly next-generation RPG with split screen, multiplayer and incredible breadth & density and we don’t want to compromise.

With that said - ONWARD, to Baldur’s Gate! We’ll see you in another community update in the not too distant future.

We’re nearly there.