Hey everyone! The Royal Rumble update for ZomB Battlegrounds is now live and available to download! If you don't see the update then restart Steam and also make sure you aren't still using the Beta branch for the game.

I know it's not August 8th yet but I had pretty much all my behind-the-scenes stuff done early so I decided to release the update early too!

I had already mentioned all the major improvements in the previous post, but for those who missed it, this update comes with lots of big additions and changes, including a new map, reworked maps and weapons, graphical improvements, and lots of bug fixes.

The full patch notes will be below. These notes will include both the 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 build's patch notes as I did make another smaller update in between finishing 5.0.0 and now:

Update 5.0.0 Patch Notes:

New Additions:
- Added new map: Castle
- Added new map: Stormy Castle
- Overhauled the Firing Range
- Overhauled the Team Deathmatch map
- Added new ADS images for the following weapons: WWII Rifle, FK-SMG, AK-47, SMG, Pistol, Shotgun, Hunting Shotgun, & Magnum
- Added new main menu music
- Bump maps added to the terrain of all maps
- Added materials properties to the terrain for the following maps: Rainy Desert, Forest, Rainy Forest, Mountains, Snowy Mountains, Rainy Zombieland.
- Added environmental detail added to Forest
- Added Motion Blur
- Introduced Baked Lighting
- Added some new reload sound effects
- Added Hitmarker sounds
- Added intro logos when you startup the game
- Added new Victory Screen background
- Added new Victory jingle for when you win a match

Improvements:
- Vastly improved fog in all Rain & Snow maps
- Removed the MSAA system and replaced it with TAA which should result in better performance compared to MSAA
- Replaced the images used for the main menu buttons with screenshots that more accurately reflect the new look of the game
- Replaced the map thumbnails in the map selection screen with screenshots that more accurately reflect the new look of the game
- Adjusted shadow render distance and tree render distance.
- Improved Ambient Occlusion
- Updated Credits
- Improved the UI used for the first time experience
- VASTLY improved the timing for movement, meaning it no longer updates at just 50hz. Players using higher refresh rate monitors should notice MUCH smoother movement as a result.
- Improved the minimap images for some maps
- Improved some UI & text elements
- Replaced the loading screen image with a screenshot that more accurately reflects the new look of the game
- Rebalanced some of the weapons including: M4, AK47, SMG, FK-SMG, FN-SCAR, & Pistol
- Improved AI bot navmeshes on Mountains
- Minor graphical improvement to the background of the main menu
- Improved material for the FK-SMG, WWII Rifle, & FN-SCAR
- Improved material for some of the barrier objects in Desert
- Improved House material
- Improved UI Scaling
- Reduced pre-match timer from 30 seconds to 15 seconds
- Improved shadows on Desert
- Improved UI layering, so things like the crosshair and HP bar shouldn't be displaying on top of most other UI elements anymore
- Fixed an issue in Zombieland where some textures were lower resolution than they were supposed to be
Other:
- (SUPPORTER EDITION ONLY) Completely remade tutorial video, including subtitles, new and extended tips, and new video footage that more accurately reflects the new look of the game.
- (SUPPORTER EDITION ONLY) Fixed an issue with the tutorial video that caused it to stretch if viewed using an aspect ratio that is different from 16:9. It will now display black bars at other aspect ratios to protect the video from stretching
- (SUPPORTER EDITION ONLY) Added two new achievements for the new maps

Update 5.0.1 Patch Notes:

Improvements:
- Improved the skybox for Team Deathmatch & Firing Range
- Improved lighting in Rainy Forest
- Fixed the interaction text for some doors
- Fixed UI button colors for some buttons
- Improved render distance for Zombieland
- Fixed some typos in the Victory and Defeat screen
- Added some extra grass in Firing Range
- (SUPPORTER EDITION ONLY) Compressed the Tutorial Video to get the file size of the game down

We've been gearing up for over a month now to prepare our first Steam Playtest event, where we will be testing with a hopefully larger pool of players in order to thoroughly test large scale stability, server and client performance, as well as overall game flow, user experience, and to gather those bug and crash reports. We'd be grateful if you happen to read this to share with your friends the event and to request to join our Steam Playtest where will you have persistent access to all upcoming tests.




To sign up, simply head to the main store page and hit that lovely green button.. this one is fake but it will lead you to the right one:

• Updated audio impact sound effects to be more impactful
  
• More sharper MP5A2 close firing sounds

• Improved server browser with custom server name, fixed ping and player counts
  
• Refresh button now greys out with spinner during active refresh
  
• Improved scoreboard with faction flags
  
• HALO selection now pans to the currently selected sector
  
• Minimap now has a buffering filter to mimic data transmission from satellite
  
• Minimap zoom added via scroll wheel
  
• Crosshair now hides during ADS and while on mortar
  
• Added missing gun previews in loadout selection menu

• Added all new Quarry sector, practically a parkour playground
  
• Moved and expanded Warehouse sector next to the Airbase providing more attention to the north side of the island
  
• Added more trails to compensate for Warehouse sector changes

• Replaced mortar and mortar shell with new and improved meshes
  
• Added more polish to mortar shell camera with new Instagram filters

• Fixed crash during level transition
  
• Fixed empty rows showing on scoreboard
  
• Fixed ability system such as climbing and rolling being broken from using a mortar

• Improved jogging animation with more to come

This update introduces Steam Workshop customizations. That is, you can create your own skins, custom audios, songs, and backgrounds and share them with all the community!

You can create any type of mod in less than 10 minutes, if you are interested in doing so, check out this guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3013268465

Minor quality of life improvements:

• x10 and x100 will now show the price required to buy said amount of upgrades.
  
• Imporved growth bar behaviour in the endgame phase

I hope this enables the community to create awesome combos, there already some mods created for the game, you can browse them here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2355250/workshop/

The second major update to Love Exalt 8372, update 0.3.0, is HERE!!


If you like the game, please check out our Discord and follow us at @team_veki!

First we’re gonna go over the small things we added, then the big things:


You can now pet Pet more consistently.


Previously you could roll the same minigame three or four times in a row, which was boring– now, with our new “Pseudorandominus Hardswitch Cycling System” they should be more diverse!

Instead of a basic blue rectangle, we’ve added some fancy spritework:


The very first lore bit is now fully visible, so you can know what to look for! We also added a little tutorial for gamepad users, and changed the “pick up lore bit” binding from LB to Y or triangle on controller.

It’ll now offer you a ton of different classes as possible answers! It’s nothing crazy yet, but we plan to add more badges to the minigame as well.

If you have more than one gamepad connected, you can set a default in the options and the game will remember it.

The photosensitivity option slows the animation speed of the Deadghost’s X text and the speed of white screen flashes when characters are surprised. We also applied a high contrast option for certain assets. We hope this helps more people experience the game comfortably!

Used to be you’d see the last word of the text first, and have to read it backwards… hopefully now it should be more readable!

You can no longer stack a bunch of options menus on top of each other. It hadn’t caused any big problems yet, but it was probably going to eventually…

Full-screen minigames now have a sick animation where they slide in from outside, pushing the UI out of the way.

The keycharms mentioned in text are now also shown as an image on that same line.

The badges now cavort around a lot more, and they won’t be able to obstruct anything!


There was a lot of confusion about what the blue thought button does, and sometimes even some initial confusion on how to progress the text in the game, so we tried to make it clearer with some fancier tutorial images at the start.

Most of the tiles were recolored and some completely changed. Upgraded the sprites for in vs out portals, too.

If you clicked REMEMBER with no save files, it was empty and desultory– now there’s some cheeky text there to keep it warm while you cook up your first playthrough.

And probably dozens of other little things like that!!

The brass section was up to 10% lower in frequency than it was intended to be. It’s all better now.

Where before you could only return to main menu, you can now access the conversation log, inventory, settings, and scene select!


Love Exalt 8372 is officially a real visual novel now that we’ve added a log!! Everyone begged us for this… not being able to rewind was painful if you accidentally skipped a line, and frustrating if you zoned out while reading. Now, you can refresh yourself on the last 10 lines of dialogue.


Log lines have correct color highlighting and even show thought lines, which appear in { curly brackets. }

There are now items that drop when playing the game!! The more minigames you win without failing, the higher your drop chance! You can pick them up same as you would pick up a lore bit. Items and lore bits can now be browsed from the new inventory, accessible at your leisure from the pause menu. Certain items are also stackable, revealing more and more of their lore as you gather them.


From drab beige to a slick dark gray in line with the rest of the UI, and also new scene select dropdowns which should make it a lot more clear how to continue the story after you finish a scene.

Here’s a peek at how the golf track selection looks:


The scene select part is similar– we replaced the confusing “next chapter” with a list of teleports to different parts of each scene, and we’ve added little notification dots to show what you’ve completed and what’s new!

Epic new minigame with 2 different variants, where you need to press buttons in quick succession. The first variant is just that, press the buttons shown quickly. The second is a randomly generated track that you need to guide a little ball through. Aim for precision, cause if you make mistakes, you’ll get stunned. The inputs required will also adapt to gamepads!


Multiple green zones can now appear in the timing minigame! You’ve gotta hit all of em to win, but as a trade-off, misses are just a stun, instead of a loss. Even if you miss, you still have the chance to clutch.

That’s right, FIVE new tracks. Some of them are in the random rotation, some you can only play from the intermission (because, frankly, it would be unfair to put them in the random rotation… they’re quite tricky). We’ve now got 23 tracks in total, and more to come!

After each minigame win, your combo counter will go up! So hype!! There’s an achievement for getting the highest possible combo, too… good luck.


There’s a new animation for a key story moment in the middle of Act 1 Scene 4, akin to what we’ve had in Act 1 Scene 2. Can’t add a gif here, of course, cause that would be spoilers…

Scenes 3 and 4 now have several full-screen arts for certain special occasions. Can’t tell you anything else, because that’d be a spoiler too… a big one.

During group discussions, several people will offer something to say, and it’s your choice who takes the floor. Usually only one answer moves the conversation forward… so choose carefully! Or choose wrong on purpose if you wanna see all the content, lol.


[h4]Veki[/h4]

• Deixie
• Homelord
• Johnny
• Sycalia

[h4]Taycat[/h4]

• Fight Fight Fight
• Godstepper

Huge new scene that incorporates everything described above: new music, new portraits, new mechanics, CGs, and the new animation.

We’re participating in steam’s visual novel festival, which just started! The game is 20% off during the event.

During the next month or so, we’re hoping to rework Scene 1 and bring it up to par with the rest of the scenes; so much has changed since it was first added, and it deserves a makeover. We’re also gonna add another little minigame to the rotation. After that, we aim to end the first act with its final scene: Act 1 Scene 5.

Thank you all so much for playing and supporting this project. Stay tuned for our Dev Thoughts post for this update, coming soon! More amazing stuff is on the way!!! <3

– Veki and Vaartis

Hey Panda Peeps!

Have you had your eye on the visually stunning, fully immersive, branching choice beauty that is Hush Hush? Or maybe you’ve dabbled in the game, and have been ogling the sweet OST and amazing Artbook? Well, have we got some news for you!

During the Steam Visual Novel Sale, which runs from August 7 to August 14, we are offering a 30% discount on not only the Hush Hush base game, but all the DLC too! This is our steepest discount yet, so now is definitely the time to jump into the tropical paradise of Subrosa! That is, assuming you haven’t already.

What better way to enjoy the last month of Summer than in a gorgeous setting filled with gorgeous people?

We love you so hard!

The Pandas

• Adjusted laser enemies

• Second boss: sometimes no damage after guided missile attack

Update of invalid Discord Url in main menu

As summer nears its end, we're offering sales on our visual novels to keep you hot (and bothered). That's right, we're participating in the Steam Visual Novel fest that starts *checks notes* now and ends on the 14th!

Whether you're looking to start or complete the collection, now is the best time to get them. Sure, you could buy a VN about childhood friends finding love or one of the many about depression, dystopian nightmares and/or murder. But do that when you can buy our VNs about hot dominant women controlling, crushing, abusing and cucking weak, pathetic, player-insert beta boys? Wouldn't you rather be horny than miserable? Exactly.

So don't hesitate and give into your desires:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1576590/Stories_of_Submission_eNTeR_the_cuck/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2083060/Furry_Femmes_Making_an_Obedient_Bitch/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1355370/Stories_of_Submission_Learn_Your_Place/

Greetings! A new update released. Added a lot of new things to game!
• Enemies on cars
  
• New monster Wasteland Horror
  
• More varied turrets
  
• New locations and events
  
• New enemies added to old locations
  
• SANDBOX mode (tou can skip the prologue)
  
• PERMADEATH mode

As summer nears its end, we're offering sales on our visual novels to keep you hot (and bothered). That's right, we're participating in the Steam Visual Novel fest that starts *checks notes* now and ends on the 14th!

Whether you're looking to start or complete the collection, now is the best time to get them. Sure, you could buy a VN about childhood friends finding love or one of the many about depression, dystopian nightmares and/or murder. But do that when you can buy our VNs about hot dominant women controlling, crushing, abusing and cucking weak, pathetic, player-insert beta boys? Wouldn't you rather be horny than miserable? Exactly.

So don't hesitate and give into your desires:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1576590/Stories_of_Submission_eNTeR_the_cuck/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2083060/Furry_Femmes_Making_an_Obedient_Bitch/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1355370/Stories_of_Submission_Learn_Your_Place/