Hey there, landlords!

We promised you news regarding the actual release date for the Pets DLC for The Tenants and today we deliver. Pets DLC will officially launch on August 31st this year! If you're a creator and would like to get access to a preview build, please reach out to us at community@ancientforgestudio.com. Likewise, if you know a creator that could be interested in this, let them know!


Additionally, we're excited to say that we're taking part in this year's SimFest here on Steam! Check out the release date announcement trailer we've prepared for this occasion:


We can't wait to see your reactions to what we've been working on for the past months. We hope to bring you a lot of wholesome fun by the end of this summer. In the meantime, look at these three new cool screenshots from the upcoming Pets DLC.




Stay tuned for more updates about The Tenants and make sure to wishlist the Pets DLC:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2255330/The_Tenants__Pets_DLC/

Thank you,
Ancient Forge

Surprise!

We're doing another amazing collaboration with our friends over at Glumberland to bring Rad Lad from Ooblets over to Moonstone Island! This capricious fellow will be joining the line-up of adorable Spirits that you can tame, befriend, and choose to join your Spirit squad when we launch this year!

Honestly, this video says it all ;)



Be sure to check out Ooblets right here on Steam, and while you're there, be sure to throw Moonstone Island on your wishlist! <3

Until next time!

~ Kate, Community Manager, and Pal

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1833710/My_Museum_Treasure_Hunter/

Our friends at Auroch Digital and Stray Fawn Studio have put together a festival celebrating simulation games on Steam, and the OG Cook, Serve, Delicious! got the invite!

In celebration, we're pleased to share that both verified status on Steam Deck as well as a limited-time demo are currently being reviewed for release by Steam and we expect both to arrive imminently. Steam Deck verification is something we've been working to get for all our Cook Serve games (currently CSD2 and CSD3 are verified, while CSD and CSF are playable); and after dusting off the original CSD code even further, we're excited to be able to offer a demo for folks that might be new to the series, along with anyone that's been on the fence, or those looking for insight on how the game plays before they make their purchase.

The incoming CSD patch will also include a number of small fixes and quality of life improvements (such as volume sliders for music and SFX), as well as porting the game to the newest version of Game Maker Studio, which will also bring a new Mac version for newer OSes that have previously been unable to play the game. Look for details very soon!

Starting today and continuing on through the festival and the rest of July, we'll be detailing everything else we currently have in store for the the original CSD and the entire Cook Serve franchise -- including news on future updates, platform releases, and more. To stay current with all Vertigo Gaming Inc. updates now and down the road, check out our newsletter and Discord. The next week in particular is going to be a flurry!

In this prerecorded session, we talk about our game Tavern Talk, give insight about the development process and show gameplay.

The Walking Dead: Betrayal is a third-person action game of cooperation and deception for up to 8 players.

Out of resources, with a herd of walkers fast approaching, players must work together to complete objectives and make their escape. They’ll need to work fast, as walkers aren’t the only threat.

Incognito ‘traitors’ lurk among them, plotting to do everything in their power to delay repairs and prevent anyone from leaving. With so many creative ways to sabotage the team, the walkers are the most predictable threat. As evidence of their sabotage becomes apparent, paranoia and accusations threaten to tear the survivors apart as they desperately work towards escaping. Can you make it out alive?

-----

Join our official Discord!
https://discord.gg/twdbetrayal

Wishlist and request beta access!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1877320

Hello, everyone!

We hope the dry season is treating you well because it's time for a new map-building contest! This time, we’re going with a specific theme - the goal is to create a cool new map that encourages players to use Timberborn's signature verticality!

The stakes are high so you'd better floor us with your ideas. Scroll down for details.




If you don't own Timberborn, don't worry. It's an excellent time to fix that mistake.

Until July 24 (10 AM PST), Timberborn participates in this year's Sim Fest, an event full of amazing simulation-themed games, and you can get ours 20% off. How convenient, you get Timberborn for less and have plenty of time to participate in the contest!




The contest's goal is simple - use the built-in map editor to create a cool new map, and upload it on https://mod.io/g/timberborn by August 20, 2023 with a "Build-a-Map Contest 2" tag. On top of the usual originality, playability, and appearance criteria, we will also consider how the entries adapt Timberborn's verticality.

What this means is up to you. Timberborn features stackable architecture, stairs, platforms, and bridges. In-game water uses physics to adapt to the terrain's topography. The player can terraform the land further, even putting extra land blocks above the map editor’s height limit. And as part of this Build-a-Map Contest, you need to create a map that encourages the player to think vertically.

Our team will pick three winners - one per map size category, 1000 EUR each. You have a full month to participate, so remember - make your submission great, the sky is the limit! uhh

Before participating, please read the updated Terms & Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions, linked below.

🌍Terms & Conditions🌍
🌎Frequently Asked Questions🌎

Most importantly, note that we now require a minimum of three screenshots as part of your submission, including at least one that shows the entire map. And since this contest has a theme in place, we encourage you to put the description field to good use. Feel free to explain your idea behind the map, possible gameplay scenarios you had in mind and so on.

And if, after reviewing the above documents, there are still any unanswered questions, let us know in the dedicated channel on our Discord server.

Good luck!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1990600/The_Sims_4_Horse_Ranch_Expansion_Pack/








First off, let me introduce SimGuruAsh.

Heya, Simmers! Today's update has an array of new hairs and Create a Sim presets.

Braids and long, flowing hair is important to the cultural identity of Indigenous People in America. To reflect this in-game, we are enthused to add three hairstyles in the form of a Double Braid, Single Braid, and Lengthened Hair that extends down to your Sims mid-back.

For our East Asian Sims, we have a large selection of new Eye Presets and Brows in tapered, straight, and wavy shapes.

You'll also see three new under-eye bags in the Eye Details category.

To bring something delicious to the table, the Three Sisters Chili is now available to cook on the grill. In Native American tradition, "the three sisters" are corn, beans, and squash. They grow best together in the same plot. The eldest sister, corn, provides a strong foundation for the beans to climb. The beans enrich the soil with nitrogen. The youngest sister, squash, covers the ground, protecting all of their roots.

We can't wait to see what kinds of Sims and stories you create with this update!

SimGuruGeorge back now. Traits have had a bit of a reorganization. You will now find traits more evenly distributed under the Emotional, Hobby, Lifestyle, and Social categories

I’m so excited to tell you about Ceilings! The ability to apply colors and patterns to the ceilings is now yours. When you open up Build Mode you will find the update where you would previously apply Floor Patterns (now renamed Floor and Ceiling Patterns). Simply select Ceilings by Tile or Ceilings by Room. Then select your pattern and apply it to the ceiling of your choice. This does not apply to the underside of roofs.

You can now enter Free Camera in Build Mode to get the best look at those Ceilings. Simply enable it as you would in Live Mode.



There are a number of Wall, Floor, Fence and Door patterns which have been updated with additional colors. The full list is below so you can find these updates in your game.

New color variants have been added for the following wall patterns

• Essence of Pastel
  
• Desert Skies
  
• Above Deck

New color variants have been added for the following wood floor patterns

• Heartwood Plank Flooring
  
• ForestFine Wood Flooring
  
• Elegant Parquet Flooring
  
• Herringbone Hardwood Flooring
  
• Rustic Subfloor Slats
  
• Bowl of Cherrywood Floors
  
• Chestnut Flooring
  
• Kwality Wide Plank Flooring
  
• Old World Wide Plank Flooring
  
• Walk the Short Plank Hardwood Floors
  
• Eco-Craft Hardwood Flooring
  
• Handscraped Wood Flooring
  
• Limber Lumber Fashion Hardwoods
  
• Chipper Tanbark

New color variants have been added for the following stone or brick floor patterns

• Perfect Pebble Paver
  
• Throwback Cobblestone & Brick Pavers
  
• A Clean Slate Tile
  
• Great Gravel
  
• High-Style Concrete
  
• No Moss Stone Pavers
  
• Antique Stone Tile
  
• Rockstone Pavers
  
• Rustic Sandstone
  
• Concrete Pavers with Gravel Accent
  
• Quaint Flagstone
  
• Brick and Blush

Dulcet Duet, Brick & Plaster, and Plaster Makes Perfect wall patterns have been updated with matching color variants.
New color variants added for Ladder-Style Horizontal Fencing.
New color variants have been added for the Simple Single-Panel Door as its own door, the Simple Single-Panel Door - Ranch.

• Sims now more consistently wash hands in the sink closest to the toilet.
  
• The Items Removed error message will no longer appear if you own everything on the lot.
  
• The Have a Baby Neighborhood Story will no longer cause pregnancies for Sims that are listed as unable to become pregnant in their Gender Settings.
  
• Knafeh now remains visible even from a distance. If you have not tried this delicious dessert in real life, we highly recommend it!
  
• The R&B station now includes ”BMO” by Ari Lennox, ”breathe again” by Joy Oladokun, and ”Blessed” by Becca Hatch & Tentendo.
  
• Flowers no longer sometimes break when loading a saved game..
  
• Sims now receive satisfaction points from confronting their Fears.
  
• Reaching the top of the Military Career will now reward the player with the appropriate celebration screen.
  
• The 'Help with Needs' animation on Infants now is smoother when a Sim picks them up.
  
• Cleaned up animations for Teenage Sims while they are angry, seated, and focusing on a Sim adjacent to them.

• Stacking intersecting curved walls on top of each other no longer creates gaps in the ceiling of the lower room.
  
• Doors can now be placed on the wall under circular roofs.
  
• Interior corner walls with stilt foundations can now be deleted.
  
• Curved walls no longer cause seam lines to appear on terrain
  
• Raising terrain and then undoing that height adjustment or placing a platform no longer prevents objects from being placed in that area.
  
• Fixed a rare issue where placing stairs at the edge of a platform would cause floating planks to appear above the stairs.
  
• Raising and lowering a platform with stairs attached no longer sometimes cuts out a segment of the wall.
  
• The Sinks category icon in Build Mode now lines up perfectly.
  
• Double and single gates no longer sometimes pop up one floor level when being placed on exterior fence walls.
  
• Players will now be able to click and drag the sledgehammer across curved walls to delete them.
  
• Stair railings have been added to multiple pre-built homes. Safety prevails!
  

• When using a mirror, applied skin details are now saved after exiting Create a Sim.
  
• When using a mirror, birthmark skin details are now saved after reentering Create a Sim.
  
• The tops ymTop_SDX016Rolled_HeatherDustyPink and ymTop_SDX016TouristShirt_TropicalRed no longer give female Sims rough shapes.
  
• Fixed an issue where the jersey (yfTop_EF26HHCJerseyMrCartoon_ButterflyBlue) caused incorrect fingernail colors to display.
  
• The tank top yfTop_TankShort_SolidBlueNavy now tucks underneath pants, skirts, shorts, etc.
  
• Create a Sim UI has been updated so that the Select Traits title won't overlap with other visual elements.

• Entering the wrong Twitter credentials or completing the email verification requirement no longer causes the game to crash.
  
• The game now gracefully handles disconnecting Bluetooth devices.

• The Robot on the Invention Constructor will now respond to requests to chat.
  
• Invention Constructors have been repaired. They now properly display their holographic displays in the construction area and not on top of the Sim operating the device.
  
• Sims in the Doctor Career can now calibrate X-ray Machines. This info has been added to their medical training.
  
• Alien fertility increased. Male Sims that are abducted by Aliens can now get pregnant.

• Townie Sims no longer occasionally unleash their Dogs before walking out of a neighborhood. There will be no more flashbacks to Seymour waiting in front of a pizza shop.
  
• Paint Mode for Dogs had a white swatch that now properly is brown..

• Hang This Support Beam spandrel no longer turns white when it snows outside.
  
• Interactions for lighting a Menorah or Kinara now have unique icons.
  
• The interaction to build a Snowpal will no longer fail while visiting Mt. Komorebi.
  
• The outfits ymBody_EP05SkateOutfit_swanGray and ymBody_EP05SuitVelvet_SolidBlack no longer distort Sims legs.

• Hairstyles unlocked by the Acting Career now show all newly added hair swatches.

• Mermaids previously would not die due to starvation or aging up. That has been fixed. Remember to feed your Mermaids!

• Listen To interaction has been added to the Party-Bot.
  
• Thick window frames will no longer stick out when the camera pans behind them.
  
• The amount of Robotic Scrap gained when performing an Experiment on a Chemistry Lab has been tuned down.
  
• Sims will now get a 200 simoleon higher bonus for starting the Chef Career track after getting a university degree. It practically pays for itself.

• Fixed an issue where the Wood Ear Plugs (yfAcc_EarringsEP09EarPlugsWood) appeared discolored when paired with specific hairstyles.
  
• Fixed a rare issue where the Eco Inspector would still issue fines to Households that had upgraded their appliances.
  
• Fixed an issue where Neighboring Sims could not be sent home. Neighborly manners have been repaired.
  
• Removed a duplicate Place in World interaction that appeared on Trash Fruit in the Sim's inventory.

• Ski Boots no longer appear in the 'Change Outfit' picker. Sims will also remove Ski Boots when bathing. A 'Take Off Snow Boots' interaction has been added.
  
• Hang This Support Beam from the Seasons Expansion Pack no longer appears blank when placed on the Yukimatsu lot.
  
• Fixed an issue where Snowy Escape Doors would cause a small shift in the wallpaper on the wall they were placed on.

• Animals no longer age up and die when the ‘Animal Aging’ option is turned off in Game Settings.
  
• Fixed an issue where Earbuds would occasionally play multiple songs at the same time when listening to Cottage Core music.
  
• Cows and Llamas come out of their sheds autonomously and no longer are unhappy when their shed is clean and full with feed.
  
• Fixed a few cases where Sims would not autonomously choose to Knit & Cross Stitch.
  
• Sims are now able to socialize with Rabbits.
  
• Fixed an issue where Chickens would not eat treats.
  
• Residents of Henford-on-Bagley will less often mention how local residents are in need of help.
  
• Animal friends now appear in the Relationship Panel filter for 'Friends'.
  
• Various translation fixes have been applied to the Wild Rabbit Home.
  
• The Start Gardening Help for All Rabbit Residents interaction is no longer missing from the Wild Rabbit Home.
  
• Rooster images now show more of the Rooster.
  
• Matzah Ball Soup and Challah now are available for the Simple Living Lot Challenge.
  
• Sims now immediately join cooking during the Cook together with interaction.

• Sims will no longer return from work or school early on the day they change the color of their Phone Case.
  
• Townie Sims are no longer all pansexual.
  
• Ship to Buyer no longer breaks when the Sim replaces the Mailbox on their home lot. Trendi sales can now be completed.
  
• The Want to Listen to Music has been tuned to occur less frequently.
  
• Fixed High School Years hairstyles that were applying hair color to Sim's ears.
  
• Fixed an issue where Teen Sims would stay at Career Day too long which prevented them from serving detention. This would then get them expelled.
  
• Fixed an issue where Sims who left graduation early were occasionally stuck in their graduation outfits.
  
• Infants and Toddlers no longer use the same animation as adults when using the EZ Access Window object.
  
• Fixed rare situations where the Angry About Crush sentiment was triggering incorrectly.
  
• The Ask about Graduation interaction is no longer available on Sims that haven't been greeted.

• Karmine Luna no longer appears with a random personality trait in each new save.
  
• Broken objects on Activity Tables no longer are observed when placed in Treehouses.
  
• Fixed a rare issue where food made by Eleanor Sullivan could not be cleaned up.
  
• Fixed unusual cases of Adult Sims refusing to pick up and interact with Toddlers that had returned from daycare until those Toddlers had changed outfits.
  
• During the New Born's Age Up interaction, the Baby's First Rug object is now placed in more appropriate locations.
  
• Fixed an issue in specific languages where the Title on the Self-Discovery Personality Trait pop up would overlap with other text on the screen.
  
• Sims sitting on couches can now perform social Crib interactions.

• Fixed a rare issue when running a restaurant where Hosts and Chefs were not able to be hired from the Manage Employees menu.
  
• Fixed an issue where sometimes opening the Sim Profile of a Chef would instead open the Sim Profile of the last Sim the player had looked at.

• Vampire Sims can now do group dances on the dance floor.

• Sims now hold Valerian Root properly when eating it from Inventory.

• The Batuu Radio Stations are now available for Likes and Dislikes in the Music Genre category in Create a Sim.

• Sim Preferences now support custom pronouns in English.

• Fixed pricing for a few pack items.
  
• Dance floors now have the 'Dancing skill' tag in Build Mode
  
• Decorative objects now have an 'Environment' value.

• Players are now able to add, change, or modify body scars during the game.
  
• Moon textures are no longer the same in all worlds.
  
• Added new Clean Up Books interaction on most genre books (not including homework or skill books) that are in the open street and not owned by the Player’s Sim . This will allow books to be cleaned up.

• Sims can now watch TV without needing player direction.

• Added new text to show that Sim's are able to knit onesies for Infants and Babies as well

• Moschino item prices have been adjusted to fit the style.

• Vacuum Cleaner game performance now is even more... sucky.... In a good way, of course.

• The 'Functional Off-The-Grid' stat has been added to the Sunset Glow Lantern object and the incorrect 'Power Consumption Rating' on the object has been fixed.
  
• Items from Courtyard Oasis Kit, Industrial Loft Kit, Decor to the Max Kit, and Little Campers Kit have been tuned to have more sensible pricing and environment values.

• The Carnaval Radio Station is now available for Likes and Dislikes in the Music Genre category in Create a Sim.

Hello!

We're excited to announce that the next major update to Ecosystem, the "Combat Update", is now in Open Beta for all owners of the game (and if you don't own the game yet you can save 20% during SimFest which is on right now!)



This is one of the largest updates we've released for the game so far, with the new systems interacting with all the other systems that already existed in the game.

Because of this, instead of a small closed beta we wanted to open it up to all owners of the game to gather as much as feedback as possible (which you can feel free to leave in the community tab here on Steam!).

*BACK UP YOUR SAVES* - Before taking part in the beta, if you have some ecosystems you love and want to test out the combat, please back them up. You can find the save files in your "My Documents/Ecosystem" folder.

*ACCESSING THE BETA* - Right-click the game in your library, choose "Properties", choose "Betas", and select CombatOpenBeta from the list.

*WHAT'S CHANGED?* - Please find the patch notes below!

FEATURES

Combat Simulation: Combat is heavily physics-based and includes new traits (and new uses of existing ones) that can be factors in a species' evolutionary future.

• Biting does piercing damage, based on bite force quotient, size, and total creature momentum.
  
• Striking with limbs does slashing or blunt damage based on the momentum of the strike.
  
• If an attack throws a target's joint out of position, this can cause the limb to become nonfunctional, dizzy the creature, impair its vision, cause bleeding, and several other types of statuses.
  
• Creatures can also evolve different types of venoms, which impart different negative effects, as well as resistances to these effects.
  
• Creatures can evolve thicker skin in places and thicker skulls, as well as spikes and carapaces, which defend against certain types of attacks.
  
• All new combat stats are subject to mutation and mating, and can be changed in the editor.
  
• Multiple creatures can all participate in the same fight, allowing for predators to engage in group tactics.
  
• Combat can be induced between any two creatures in the game by selecting a creature, clicking the 'Force Combat' button in the Interaction menu, and then clicking a target.

FIXES

• Fix: When a creature causes instability in the physics system, it can now be put back into its last valid state instead of simply dying.
  
• Fix: When a creature causes instability in the physics system, no longer show elongated glitched limbs.
  
• Fix: Creatures sometimes still appear in the stored list briefly after you delete them.
  
• Fix: Creature steering ability to steer frequently has trouble with height differences.
  
• Fix: The species preview sometimes doesn't update when loading a saved species.
  
• Fix: An error can occur if the player loads a stored creature and then adjusts the evolutionary parameters to conditions that the loaded creature doesn't satisfy.

I am very pleased to announce that Heroes & Villains, a DLC for Airships: Conquer the Skies, is now available!



In Heroes & Villains, you can recruit commanders for your airships and governors for your cities, and use their special abilities to conquer the world.



Commanders can outflank enemy ships, supercharge their engines, or repurpose random objects as ammunition. And some commanders are sorcerers who can blind enemies, control the weather, or summon creatures to aid them.



Meanwhile, governors increase the productivity of cities, quiet unrest, and can pronounce edicts and events such as martial law, forced labour, or a fun masked ball.

Based on your actions, these characters can gain experience, gain or lose their loyalty, or become more angry, stressed, insane, powerful, famous. Over time, some will change into different versions of themselves - experienced or embittered or empowered. Disloyal governors can be great liabilities, while some heroes can become famous or magically powerful enough to help you win the game.



Diplomatic incidents can now arise between empires, where you have to decide whether to trust or betray your neighbours. Risk war to burnish your own reputation? Encourage cultists? Fight pirates together? The right answer depends very much on where you are, what you need, and what you know about the other empire.



Ship crew now gain experience with each battle - assuming they survive it, that is. So here's an incentive to keep those little air sailors alive, maybe give them a sickbay, maybe some better armour. Or don't bother - there's always more where they came from.

Also, here's a an extra surprise feature: You can design and award medals to ships based on their experience level. Each medal tier only has a small number of medals, and the medals are permanently lost along with their ships, so make sure you keep your medal-bearing ships alive.



Also note that if you join a multiplayer game, you can use the DLC during the game even if you haven't bought it. I wanted to avoid splitting the player base along DLC lines.

And as always with any big release, there are probably bugs, so if you encounter any problems, please report them on the Steam forums or on Discord, and I'll get to fixing them right away.

And now go enjoy the DLC!



I am also happy to announce that Airships is part of Simfest, the Steam festival celebrating all things related to simulation games. From today through July 24, Airships is 50% off! Do check out Simfest to see a wide variety of the latest and greatest simulation titles, both newly released and coming soon.