Fixed an issue that would cause the player to move backwards while pressing the “x” button while on locomotion mode.

Added thumb-stick scrolling while in the wrist menu and any UI.

Cog NPC fix while multiple people are engaging in conversation, now the COG will automatically listen the next closest person after the previous avatar was locked in. No longer a need to reset the COG.

Multiple performance and graphical fixes.

First and foremost for today's update, it’s time for the Wipe! Everyone, please close your game, and ensure you have received the update via Steam!

We’ve nicknamed this patch of the Excavation update 'Plunder' for a couple of reasons. Get ready for our newest game mode, where you get to masquerade as a Raider inside one of our POIs. Your sole goal is to get to the Escape pods before time runs out, it will be your choice what to do with other Raiders you meet along the way…

Raider Mode will see you thrown into one of our POIs, starting with Mining Frigate and the Merchant Cargo ship, as one of (up to) 6 other Raiders. You will be given a random loadout to help you survive, and you will be able to find a lot more green uncommon containers around the map than you would normally find. Once you reach the Escape Pods, you will be returned to your stash with the loot you found! We are looking forward to seeing the community's feedback on this new mode, so that we can build upon it going forward.

Another addition to the Plunder update is the ‘Bandit’, a Marauder’s universe equivalent to a “Loot Goblin”. Hunting this slippery NPC should feel quite different to your normal NPC engagements, and we know you are going to enjoy the loot!

One thing for everyone to note on this update is that we have INTENTIONALLY reset everyone's settings. This will include audio, video, controls, & keybindings. We apologize for the inconvenience, but it was necessary.

There is a bunch of new stuff to get into below, so on to the Patch Notes!



We would like to reiterate that wipes are currently necessary during Early Access due to us still building/changing the core features of the game. It is not something we take lightly. That being said, the goal is to change how it works when we hit 1.0. What that looks like will be addressed before that day comes. All player data has now been reset, along with your audio, video, controls, and keybindings. All that should remain is your DLC unlocked cosmetics (Space Pirate, Steel Series, U.A. Ranger). We really do appreciate your patience and we hope this update will be even more fruitful than the last!

Welcome to our first new mode, accessed through the cog next to the ‘Launch button’. We see this feature providing a unique experience, where around 6 solo Marauders (masquerading as raiders) are provided with a free loadout and the chance to find deadlier gear. With only 10 minutes of oxygen, you must decide to dash for the escape pods or die trying.

This mode takes place in either the Mining Frigate or Merchant Ship, doesn't have raid missions or NPCs, but provides players with the ability to earn XP through Marauder kills. There is currently an 18 minute cooldown in place between Raider excursions, which starts ticking down at the beginning of your initial raid . This mode is not in its final form, and we look forward to your feedback, but we have been having an absolute blast playing it internally… Good luck!

This rare enemy can appear in Raider locations such as the Spaceport, Mining Frigate, Terraformer and Asteroid Mine. The Bandit has the unique logic of actively checking the lootables through the raid. So if he runs away, you might be able to find him in these locations! The Bandit also benefits from having a wide range of items in his backpack that can be different every time you loot it. If you can catch him…



This patch's installment into the dart ammo library is the SVU Special. It’s a heavily modified “Dragunov” style semi automatic that deals some of the highest damage in Marauders, alongside a very healthy amount of bleed damage. Just like the APS Rifle you can find this in the vault or supply drops.



Our “Unique Actors” continue to grow the overall experience of the game. Within the Navy Outpost you can now find a playable “Killhouse” where you can time your runs and try to beat the house record (using more than a single M712 magazine is cheating!). Or you can loosen those wrists at a fully working shooting range. All times and scores are displayed on nearby monitors so keep a lookout!



We have been continuing to expand the languages the game is available in. With this update we have added Polish and Turkish to the list!

And now for the endless list of changes that everyone loves...

• Raider Mode (solos only, no crews)
  
• New Bandit NPC (Loot Goblin)
  
• New bag item, Freebooter Backpack (Largest in the game)
  
• New SVU Special rifle (Dart ammo type)
  
• Useable Shooting Range in Navy Outpost
  
• Usable Kill House in Navy Outpost
  
• New Security Prisoner appearance unlock, requiring 75 prisoner kills
  
• 2 New Zero to Hero missions, to destroy space mines and Guard Medical Rooms
  
• Marauder Kill Tournament/leaderboard (resets twice a month)

• Heavy Breacher and Attack Pods now have unique escape hatch door textures
  
• New icons for the: Hard Hat, PPSH, Light Stahlhelm, Welders and Security Helmet
  
• Room next to the canteen entrance in the Penal Colony is now a medic office
  
• Security room at the bottom of the Mining Frigate is now a foreman/medic room
  
• Frigate crosshair is now more visible

• Kills leaderboard has been moved into the tournament system (to keep it fresh and be able to give out rewards)
  
• Transmitters can now be acquired through a market trade.
  
• Transmitters can now be crafted
  
• Merchant armoury token (the door is now locked and requires this item which can be found on dead security within the Merchant Ship)
  
• NPCs (not bosses) have a higher chance of missing (25%)
  
• Bren ADS speed has increased by 25% (slower animation)
  
• Attack pods now fire 14 rounds that do 12 damage each (up from 10 rounds and 10 damage each)
  
• Damage on breaching reduced by 10%
  
• Heavy breacher pods now mitigate 80% damage down from 90%
  
• All ships (except rustbucket) now have 2 special pod bays (instead of 4) that should be labeled above the door. The other 2 are default escape pods.
  
• All special pod bays (attack and heavy breacher) now have a 120 second cooldown after being used.
  
• Bandage cost has been reduced by around 50%
  
• Welder mask is now a 2x2 slot size (smaller)
  
• All recipe crafting times have been reduced and standardized, they are either 5 seconds (basic), 15 seconds (advanced) or 30 seconds (complex)
  
• Starting gear (new account/after wipe) now has 8 additional bandages and 2 additional sack bags.
  
• Increased rare loot pool for Merchant Ship and Mining Frigate map
  
• The Mac10 heavy barrel no longer increases damage (this was unintentional) and now reduces 0.75 recoil instead of 1.
  
• PPSH has had it's vertical and horizontal recoil increased.
  
• The Sten and it's attachments are now around 20 to 30% cheaper.
  
• The Terminator has had its spread reduced by over 30% giving it the tightest spread for a shotgun.
  
• Players will now earn 3 skills points at every level
  
• Early crafting recipes no longer cost credits
  
• Skill point cost for recipe unlocks have been redistributed requiring less overall (however you earn less points per level to balance it out)
  
• Early Zero to Hero mission "Head Protection" now requires hard hats instead of M1 Helmets to collect.
  
• Max stack for dart ammo is now 40, with initial stacks being 20. (up from 32 and 16)
  
• Dart ammo can now spawn in ammo box unlockables
  
• M712 and 10mm ammo has been reverted back to the P08 and 9mm ammo as the free ship loot.
  
• Navy Outpost infirmary now has additional medical loot
  
• The APS rifle and the SVU rifle can now spawn in large and normal supply drops
  
• The Sten has around 5% less recoil and and now deals 21 damage (up from 20) with a 20 RPM increase to fire rate (480 > 500)
  
• Uncommon green containers now can spawn MK3 flak vest, M1 helmets, Brodie helmet, Klobb, Trench Shotgun, Medic bag, M712 special and the B.A. helmet.
  
• The Spaceport vault intel raid mission has been replaced with a Spaceport weapon shop raid mission, to prevent overlaps and errors with the Spaceport vault zero to hero mission
  
• You can now do the ‘holding depot’ Zero to Hero mission in the Merchant Ship and Mining Frigate raid locations.

• Removed logic that would make A.I. fire instantly at any range when first seeing an enemy (before warning the player or using a warmup time). This is particularly noticeable with the shotgun prisoner NPCs. This logic also resulted in them ignoring the need to reload.

• Updated UI for the Launch button in the main menu
  
• When not in a crew, the matchmaking settings (next to the launch button) now has the option to switch between: Raider Mode & Normal Mode
  
• In frigates, the screen above a Podbay hatch now says what type they are (Attack, Breacher, Normal etc)
  
• Removed Leaderboard button from the main screen (now done in the tournament)
  
• Pod shooting keybind added to the settings keybinding menu
  
• Polish and Turkish language options added to the gameplay options language setting
  
• Added Raider Boss and Bandit A.I types to the stats menu
  
• HUD changes to remove certain non relevant UI elements when playing Raider Mode
  
• New Security Guard Body variation added to the appearance section of the main menu
  
• Tweaks to HUD spaceship crosshair to make it easier to see in bright light sources

• New healing mesh and animation for using a bandage

• Improved ambient sounds in Penal Colony raid area
  
• Improved sound occlusion in Penal Colony raid area

• Optimised the asterioids that spawn around your ship
  
• Optimised the space turrets
  
• Optimised explodable actors
  
• Networking optimisations
  
• Optimisation to space mines so they should no longer render at extremely long distances
  
• Optimised some textures
  
• Optimised ship insides

• Polish translations added to the game
  
• Turkish translations added to the game

• New boot video
  
• New login screen video
  
• 5 new tutorial videos in the guide for an introduction on how to play: Gearing Up, Ready To Launch, First Flight, Docking, Escaping

• Fixes for crashes
  
• Fixes for inventory bugs
  
• Fixes for exploits
  
• Fix for character mesh location network disparity on proxy characters
  
• Protective layer fix added to prevent NPC hitting players when they are safely inside the Escape Pod
  
• Increase collision of silver coins and lockpicks to help prevent them falling through the floor.
  
• APS stock now displays the recoil reduction correctly (Rather than damage) in the weapon workbench stats
  
• SAS Captain should no longer attack other SAS NPCs
  
• Fixed a few bugs with video settings, that caused them to sometimes not set correctly
  
• Fixed a bug where killing a Raider Boss would give you the incorrect XP
  
• Viper suppressor now updates the weapon workbench menu damage correctly
  
• Spelling mistake fixes in item descriptions
  
• Fixed a bug where your view of other people wouldn't show them sprinting
  
• Changed the blend in time for the get off pilot seat to help stop weapon showing for a split second from first person view
  
• Fix for Russian translations not working on the screens above pods in ships
  
• Fixed a bug where you could hit confirm on the discard popup multiple times before the window closed

---

And that's it for today’s Patch Notes. See you soon for the next Dev Blog!

Dash or Die, Marauder!

- The SIG Team

We've got some amazing news to share with everyone today!

*Drum roll...*

Meg's Monster has been selected for Tiny Teams 2023!

We're over the moon at the honor of being selected for such a prestigious festival, and the Yogscast team is a very cool bunch! You'll see Meg's Monster and some other games from August 3 to 10, and keep an eye out for some cool surprises during the week. We've also got Meg's Monster on sale now until the end of Tiny Teams Fest, so if you haven't purchased the game yet, now's a great time!

If you'd like to check out more of which games are in Tiny Teams 2023, please head over to the official Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/tinyteamsfestival2023

Now's your chance to become a Shiba Inu and try your hand (paw?) at leading humanity to salvation before doing it for real. The HUMANITY Demo is now available on Steam, featuring a sample of 10 stages from the STORY MODE. Play it on your PC, Steam Deck, or optionally—in VR!



Place commands to make the humans turn, jump, climb, float to goals in this unique blend of action and puzzle game. If you lose a few off the edge, fear not—the humans are turned into light and walk through the door again.



You can also hop into USER STAGES and play three examples of what you'll see in the real deal. This demo is offline only and does not update with new stages nor allow you to browse the full library. But with over 5,000 user-created stages and counting in the full version, trust us: there's a TON of great content to indulge in!



If you want to see what making your own stages is all about, in this demo you can do that in the STAGE CREATOR. You won't have access to the full suite of options, but you can get an idea of the kind of puzzles, art, kaizo stages, and obstacle courses you can design and share with the community.



Notes for the demo:

• The full version features a "Retry Keep Commands" option to retry any level without redoing your command placements. This isn't present in the demo version's STORY MODE stages—sorry!
  
• In the demo, the fast-forward function (SHIFT or R2) doesn't speed up the humans correctly. This is fixed in the full game.

So honored that Love, Ghostie is a part of Tiny Teams 2023, which runs from August 3-10!



Check out other incredible indie games made by small teams: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/tinyteamsfestival2023 AND watch streams of selected games: https://www.twitch.tv/yogscast

Death Unphased is participating in Tiny Teams 2023 which is running from August 3 to August 10!

In Death Unphased, you phase through walls with your dash! Phase through spikes or enemies for an extra dash and blaze a path to the exit. Search for the fastest route to earn the S rank on each level, but it won't be obvious. Disappearing dash walls, keystones, charging platforms, and more will complicate your path. Scratch that precision platforming, puzzle-solving, and speedrunning itch. Utilize the power of the phase dash in Death Unphased.

Try out the demo and check out the Tiny Teams page below!
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/tinyteamsfestival2023

Hey all,

I wanted to jump back on and give a quick update on what's been going on and what will be going on as we head forward. I made the post public so everyone here and on F95 could see it.

Time Off -

As you know, I took some time off to rest a little. I took on too many projects and was just feeling really burned out, so I wanted to take a step back and reevaluate everything. I didn't take as much time off as I was expecting, but it was enough for me to feel fresh and ready to get back in the saddle. I've decided to cut down a LOT of my work, which will be explained below. I do still feel like shit, but I think that's just because my mattress is shit. I think a new one might be needed. But the time off helped a lot. I explored a little (nothing massive, just sites around my local area I hadn't seen before), chatted with friends and family, and just spent some time to myself. But it turns out I don't have too many friends and family members, so I got bored pretty quick.

I was still working during my time off, though, mostly on WTHI, Adverse effects, and writing for the cabin.

The Cabin -

I've done some writing on the cabin while I was away—not much, but I managed to get 14 pages of a word document complete, and that'll turn out to be around 60% of the episode. I wanted to get a draft for the full game written out before actually starting work on episode 5, but I think that might take me around 2 months, and I really don't want to spend that much time just writing, so I'll probably keep doing that but also make a start on episode 5 too. I also plan on changing my work pattern for how I'll be working on the cabin. I used to just work and that was it, never setting up any plans or following a strict guideline for getting the episodes out. That's going to change. I want to have a new episode of The Cabin out every two months.

Adverse Effects -

I want to get Adverse Effects out before I start on anything else. It's close to being finished; I just need to write the script for the final sex scene, a post-sex scene, and then a bonus scene at the end of the game. I currently have around 300 renders done and will be looking at having around 700 when it's complete. I hope to have it released in September at the latest, but I'm not sure. I've been working on it in my spare time before bed and on the weekends.

Where The Heart Is -

I'm still working on WTHI; it has always been my main focus, as you know, and that won't change. We're close to getting Episode 24 out, and once that's done, I'm going to spend a week just smashing as much of Adverse Effects as I can to get it done quicker.

Future Minigames -

I've decided to pause any future minigames, at least for now. Once episode 5 of the cabin is out, I will look at starting up Nordstrum's Treasure again, BUT that game is much bigger than I ever planned it to be, so I probably won't be finishing it anytime soon. I'll probably still do some plots for minigames in my spare time, but for now, I just want to focus on getting Adverse Effects finished and then getting as much of the cabin done as I can.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.

Thanks,

Cell.

General:
-Fixed the Fellow Traveller Discord link

Join us in celebrating awesome puzzle games in The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase! 🥳


Play our latest version of 🚇 Underground Blossom Demo 🌸:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2291850/Underground_Blossom/

Or grab yourself The Past Within and Cube Escape Collection for 33% OFF! ✨

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1515210/The_Past_Within/?curator_clanid=33593611
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1292940/Cube_Escape_Collection/?curator_clanid=33593611

Thank you Astra Games and Draknek & Friends for organising this fantastic event! 🖤

🧩https://www.cerebralpuzzleshowcase.com/

Walking the banshee’s pathRegular players will already be well aware that Banshee represents a massive chunk of content in the game, even if actually starting the quest itself is a little obscure (and certainly not for n00bs). Our latest update has dramatically expanded the questline, making it deeper, stranger and just better in general.

The Banshee’s Cry story is a gripping conspiracy theory and horror plot centred around the titular Banshee spikes; strange devices, even by the standards of spike technology, that impart their users with otherworldly visions and memetic effects.

We won’t give much more away here but we’ve created a great deal of new content so you can now progress the story with both the Walking Cathedral cult and the Jettel Militia: two groups very much opposing sides, with the former worshipping the spikes, and what they represent, and the latter striving to contain its societal impact.

Depending on which side you choose, you’ll discover more about the groups at the heart of the action, either going on a ride along with the Militia or exploring the deep lore and insect-like castes of the cult with the Cathedral.

And that’s only scratching the surface. If you’re curious (and why wouldn’t you be?) then try exploring some of the darker, seedier side streets in the Projects and you might just stumble upon something rather exciting.

Keeping an eye on the slumsWith a game as large and inherently complicated as cyberpunkdreams, there’s always going to be someone tinkering away behind the scenes. It is, after all, a game that was never designed to be “finished”. This month was comparatively quiet on the update front as we started to gear up for more substantial updates in August and September. That’s not to say, however, that we haven’t been looking under the hood and ensuring our players are getting the very best in gritty, irreverent roleplaying entertainment.



This month, we’ve made a lot of bug fixes, small and large, and made some performance and quality of life improvements. New clothing items continue to be added, and there’s plenty of new artwork, of course. Some notable tweaks and content additions include:

One of the biggest overhauls other than Banshee in the last month was The vibe at cheap hotel, a very regular card for characters with more than a passing familiarity with the slums. Most of the options are the same, but there are some new ones for more immersion, especially around NPCs you’re likely to meet there. Drones has had similar work, although not to the same extent. This is all part of our commitment to improving the depth and immersiveness of the regular cards you see, alongside our bigger updates.

So as ever, the game is always changing and evolving, and it’ll never stop. Trust us. You can check out the full list right here, on Steam.

Call & responseAs well as all the regular activity in our Discord server, we host a bi-weekly (or so) writing prompt called Call & Response. We post a question or discussion topic, and you’re free to respond however you want. When each round closes, we reward the best and most creative responses with unique access codes. The latest prompt was:

The end of another day. You look out over the city, at the haze of pollution soaking up the setting sun's rays. What are you thinking about?

It got some awesome, creative responses from our community – head over to the Discord server to check them out.

Don’t be afraid to say hiAs always, if you have something to say about the changes, have any ideas or questions, or just want to share your experiences in the Projects or the Bordertown, we’re here to absorb your feedback. Who knows, we might even act on it in the next update!



Feel free to join us in our Discord server or on Twitter, where we’re always active with little snippets from the cpd universe.

Until next time!