Today META Publishing celebrates its birthday! And in order to share the holiday mood we prepared a lot of gifts for you! Follow us on Twitter and retweet the post to participate in the giveaway for META Publishing games keys.

Next week we will pick 10 winners and each winner will receive a key to every META Publishing game:

• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Enhanced Edition

An epic RPG with a profound narrative and challenging game play. Join the crusade, choose your mythical path and defeat the demons.

• Spirit of the Island

Spirit of the Island is a relaxing life simulation RPG set on a tropical island. Explore the once-prosperous tourist destination in co-op with your friend, meet the locals, and lend a hand to restore the town to their former glory as you embark on a long journey that will help you rediscover your past!
You can expect a cross platform release soon! Versions for XBOX and PS are almost ready and the mobile version is under active development.

• Biped

Biped is a co-op action adventure game with a strong focus on moment-to-moment collaboration between 2 players.
Biped 2 is already in development and will be out soon!

• Train Valley and Train Valley 2

Train Valley is a puzzle-strategy train simulator video game. Build railways, manage traffic and stay accident-free. Complete the story mode from the Gold Rush of 1849 to the first manned spaceflight, and then explore the random mode.

• Time Loader

Time Loader is a story-driven, physics-based puzzle platformer with a twist. At the helm of a small robot, you'll travel back to the 90s to prevent a tragic accident. Explore the house of your creator, solve brain-teasing puzzles, acquire unique and powerful upgrades, and see common household items from an entirely new perspective!

• HordeCore

HordeCore is a kick-ass action side-scroller set in a post-apocalyptic world. Become the leader of an ever-expanding group of survivors. Manage supplies, upgrade your team, and craft deadly contraptions to defend yourself!

• The Uncertain: Light at the End

The Uncertain is a story-driven adventure game in a post-apocalyptic world. Humanity disappeared from the face of the Earth and has been replaced by robots.

Deadly anomalies, dangerous mutants, anarchists, bandits, free stalkers, players and partners are heartily invited to join us and play the demo of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl at gamescom 2023 on 23-27 August.



See you and #goodhuntingstalkers!

Today we’ll give you an inside look into one technology we are using to simulate atmospheric perspective in The Perfect Pencil world.

A variety of techniques artists use to simulate the effects the atmosphere has on objects viewed at a distance.



Artists have been using this techniques since the very beginning of the Common Era, and it is heavily featured in many famous paintings.


(Turner - Ancient Rome; Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus)


(Monet - The Thames below Westminster)


In this post we’ll focus on the coloring technique: far objects are less saturated and shift toward the sky color.


We already use many parallaxing layers and blurrier sprites the farther they are from the gameplay layer.

To further push the idea of distance, we can shift far objects smoothly toward the sky color, but we need a smart way to do it.

A shader can automate the whole process!



First we apply and set up the Interpolation Script, which calculates the object distance based on the parameters we choose.

Next we apply the custom Material which is automatically linked to the previously added script.

We can choose any color we want the object to shift to.



It’s working! the sprite will automatically shift to the color we chose in the Material by moving along the Z axis, according to the min/max parameters we previously set in the script.

And voila’, we can now quickly apply this process to all objects in the background using the same material to create a nice atmospheric depth effect without breaking a sweat!

We can use this to simulate all sorts of situations! We even started using it to color the foreground!



About performance: to avoid the instancing of the material that will decrease the performance, we used the r channel of sprite renderer color to insert the interpolation value.

In this way we are able to use only one material without instancing it many times, decreasing the number of draw call :)

The team was born in 2019 and it has slowly grown since then. It is now composed by 10 people: programmers, artists, game designers, a social media manager and a psychologist. Plus an external studio for musics and sound design.

We are all based in Italy, and we love what we are doing!


If you want to support us just wishlist and follow the game page in Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1858810/The_Perfect_Pencil/

New demo coming soon!

BUG Fixes and updates 2023-08-02
1. Optimized blood volume detection logic to avoid initial blood volume errors
2. Fixed all weather lighting systems
3. Fixed all fog parameters
4. The QTE probability of mass-produced ordinary zombies has been greatly reduced
5. Other content optimization
Urban Occupation mode is the last city subdivision content that is currently being tested for large scene stress
Thank you for your support, I am still working hard to develop the current urban occupation mode! Have a good day!

On August 2, 1998, Viktor Kislyi and a small group of friends laid the first brick of what we know today as Wargaming.net with the foundation of a small yet ambitious video game development studio. Now—a whole quarter of a century later—Wargaming has stayed true to both its name and founding vision with over 20 immersive, strategic, and action-packed experiences released across all major gaming platforms.

"Back in 1998, I could hardly imagine that we would grow from a small group of friends united by our love for creating videogames into a truly successful global company. Today, we celebrate not only our achievements but also the shared journey with the gaming industry, our talented employees, and our passionate players. Here's to the next chapter, as we will continue to create unforgettable experiences to gamers across the globe. Happy Birthday, Wargaming!"
–Viktor Kislyi

To commemorate and celebrate this milestone together, we've prepared a few small tokens of our appreciation for you. To start, you can claim special discounts and bonuses throughout World of Warships; then, don't forget to complete a dedicated mission chain to stock up on signals and economic bonuses; and finally, be sure to pick up two free Tactical containers with a day of Warships Premium Accounts each. But before anything, claim a free Supercontainer by clicking the button below!

You can claim the Supercontainer until: Tue. 08 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

We want to thank all of our awesome players for your love and support and start a special "party" for those who play on Steam! Check out the giveaways, broadcast drops, discounts, and more on a special landing page

Starts: Fri. 04 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Ends: Mon. 07 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

• −60% to the cost in Credits of camouflages in the client
  
• −50% to the cost in Doubloons of common and special expendable economic bonuses in the client
  
• −50% to the cost in Doubloons of Commander places in the Reserve
  
• −50% to the cost in Doubloons of Commander retraining
  
• +100% Ship XP, Commander XP, and Free XP for the first victory of the day

Starts: Tue. 01 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Ends: Tue. 08 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Final reward: 25x “Credits +20%,” 25x “Ship XP +100%,” 25x “Commander XP +100%,” and 25x “Free XP +300%” expendable economic bonuses.

You can complete this combat mission chain playing Tier V–X ships and superships in Random, Ranked, or Co-op Battles, as well as in Brawls, Operations, and Concealed Maneuvers.

Starts: Tue. 01 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Ends: Tue. 08 Aug. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Head over to the Premium Shop to pick up two free Tactical containers, which drop 1 day of Warships Premium account each, and browse some special offers of rare economic bonuses, Elite Commander XP, and Free XP with 25% discounts!

Premium Shop

When: Between 24th & 27th August.
Where: Block C, Xbox Booth.

More information can be found on the Xbox website

Follow the Thunderful & Xbox socials for updates, live streams & pictures from the event.

We can't wait to see you there!

Greetings all,

We’re still well in the middle of Swedish vacation time, but our regular schedule is not entirely interrupted: today’s diary covers a few of the smaller features being added in AAT.


For a while now we’ve wanted to give countries a way of specializing their special forces. Numerous militaries relied heavily on these elite troops, and some branches of what HOI4 terms ‘special forces’ really found their identity during and around the second world war.

I believe we’ve reached a good saturation point for equipment designers, and I wanted to tackle special forces in a manner that better befits strategic capability over detailed stat modification. The prolonged global conflict our game portrays led to significant doctrinal development when it comes to how militaries employed elite forces, and this seemed like a good place to start.

In AAT, a fourth doctrine page has been added:


While any country can continue to make use of the Mountaineers, Marines and Paratroopers they are familiar with simply by researching the tech, doing so will unlock the ability to choose the corresponding special forces branch specialism.

These doctrines will also cost experience, however unlike the other military doctrines each branch here will use the corresponding experience type: Army XP for mountaineers, Naval XP for Marines, and Air XP for paratroopers.

The number of branch specialisms you can pick is limited however: initially to 1. Some nations earn the early ability to unlock a second (and final) branch specialism in their focus trees, but all nations that reach major status (this condition may be relaxed) will eventually earn the right to pick their second branch during the progress of the war.

Why not all 3? The [[i]Insert Country Here[/i]] military used all three of these!

Well, partly for balance reasons, and partly because these specialisms don’t represent the ability to use paras, mountaineers or marines, but the adoption of their capabilities as part of a military’s core doctrinal philosophy.

We also wanted these doctrine choices to do more than give you stat bonuses - although of course these will be present. We wanted the choices you make here to a) change how you consider designing your divisions, and b) potentially change how you actively use your special forces on a strategic level.



Initially, elevating the mountaineers will grant you a mountaineer supply usage reduction (decimal bug noted!), and some general special forces combat bonuses. Importantly, you’ll also unlock the Rangers support company: a more combat oriented alternative to mounted recon, with higher organization, bonuses in adverse terrain types, and which can be further specialized by the mountaineers branch specialism in the following two doctrines:



Here you are making the choice to train your elite ranger companies in rough+hot or rough+winter terrain. I’ve added a Snow adjuster here (usable by mods, of course - although for performance reasons this does not extend to one adjuster per weather type I’m afraid) which means you can guarantee improved combat performance in your preferred terrain/weather type, and the support company now also exerts a division-wide buff to cold/hot acclimatization.

While I won’t go through each doctrine individually, we’re making use of the new battalion modifiers to adjust how you are incentivized to build divisions:


Mountain artillery gives you a good reason to use artillery support in your mountaineer divisions, at the cost of a mutually exclusive choice with the following option:


Balance subject to change, of course.

The final choice (and a choice which exists in each of the branch specialisms) is to decide between adopting your mountaineers as the core of your elite armed forces, or integrating them more widely:


The new modifier ‘[Type] Special Forces Cap Contribution’ is a dynamic modifier that reduces the cap consumption of that special forces type, when counted against your cap. So, you’ll be able to support significantly more mountaineers, but not more paratroopers or marines.


Here you’ll get bonuses that are more applicable to a wider array of circumstances. If you plan on unlocking and utilizing a second branch of special forces, this option might be more your cup of tea.



The initial investment for the Marines branch will net you some similar small bonuses to special forces efficacy, a slight increase in naval invasion capacity (which can be acquired quite early), and you’ll unlock the Pioneers support company.

Pioneers are used here to represent marine-trained sappers and combat engineers, and will be an alternative to standard military engineers. They have increased offensive capability in notably hostile environments, and can be further specialized as shore parties or jungle climate specialists:



The second mutually exclusive choice in the Marines tree is as below. If you want to go all-in on highly elite, more self-sufficient marines, you can go down the Marine Commando route. Marine commandos are a new line battalion that have the ability to perform quick hit & run naval invasions with an equally quick getaway plan - they no longer need to be at a port in order to exfiltrate. All battalions in a division must have this ability in order for it to function.


Further down the tree you can capitalize on the hit & run playstyle:


The alternative path will take you down a combined arms path, integrating more closely with other branches of your military:





Elevating the paras will grant you tougher air transports, generally improved special forces, and the ability to field a small amount more paras.


The first choice you will have to make is which paradrop effect you want to adopt. Aimed at disruption, the recon and sabotage doctrine will damage enemy constructions after a successful landing.


Combat insertion is intended to augment well-planned general advances. If utilized carefully, this approach can put a hole in even the best fortified enemy frontline - however, the risk is high.\


It had to be done.

The mutually exclusive branches for paratroopers once again distinguish between a focus on paratrooper combat and support ability, or a wider combined-arms benefit:


Make use of signals companies to coordinate a hasty defense after a drop.


At the cost of increased training time, ensure that only the toughest recruits find their way to the paras.

Or choose to integrate the paras more traditionally into your armed forces:



And now, who doesn't like seeing some more of the 3D models?



















That’s all I have to show this time - as always, feedback on the details is encouraged; constructive criticism welcomed.

/Arheo

Hello, Overseer.

After dealing with a sudden invasion of mobsters, it sure would be good to at least rest up a little between intense scuffles. You're just about ready to settle in to take care of your subordinates and their stressed, emotionally impacted selves, when suddenly... ...But maybe it's a bad idea to spoil everything, you know? Maybe it's better to observe first, get a better look at what is going on and witness things from a better vantage point... what you might have been missing...~

The next chapter of our story is finally here! We hope you're ready for some action, because we're turning our attention westwards, all the way to the coast! New territories, new people, new problems... new allies? Old enemies? One thing is certain: make sure to keep your ventillation shafts secure!

So, Overseer... are you ready? Because the Love Boat soon will be making another run!

Saluting John McClane,
--The JNT Team


Check out our social media:

Facebook JNTGames
Facebook INTERMARUM
Twitter INTERMARUM
Instagram INTERMARUM

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1905950/Shelter_69/

Hello Smallfolk!

We've got a bunch of community-requested QoL features and system improvements coming for you folks! Check them all out below!

• If a creature is going to drown, they will instead return to your side
  
• Creatures can no longer take damage from being submerged in water
  
• Increased hotbar to 10 slots, from 8
  
• Malik now has a quest that rewards players with the ability to move to and from the Forbidden Monuments without being attacked by the Eagle
  
• A fix for firefly torch placements
  
• Added new half-length railings
  
• Hitting a friendly target and a hostile target in the same attack, no longer reduces the damage to the hostile
  
• You no longer drop your loot when being killed by the Eagle, regardless of your world setting
  
• Adjustments and animations have been added to water interactions, meaning you can more easily escape water before drowning
  
• Possible fix for a crash when establishing or moving a large tree base (Thanks to Klein in the bug-report sub forum for providing us with a crash log, allowing us to investigate this issue!)
  
  
• Additionally a new option for scaling your UI is in the settings menu

[/b]

[/list]
Remember to report bugs in the bug-reporting section and follow this template so we can properly investigate!

And leave feedback and concerns in the discussions forum to make sure we see it!

Whilst your here!

Get the limited, timed exclusive Ladybug Plush here!




Follow the Smalland Twitter!

Join the Smalland Discord!

[Incoming transmission]
...Fissure in biodome
...Pressure dropping
...Repair drones deployed
...Repair complete. Pressure restored.
[End of transmission]

• The host of a game won’t stay stuck in the lobby if all players join the game before them
  
• Players won’t stay stuck in the lobby when joining a public game
  
• Players should no longer be spammed by “desync” popups
  
• AI can’t softlock the game anymore
  
• AI should now take their turns more quickly.
  
• Softlocks should no longer occur when reloading a game from the Resume menu

• If someone invites a logged-out player, they will receive the invitation when they log back into the game. To access the game, the player needs to load the game from the "Resume" menu

When you encounter a bug, make sure to attach your log file to the ticket you send us.
From the Main menu, go to Options > Access to logs/Share logs, and you should be able to download/access the log file directly.