Hey Beekeepers!

Unless you've been living under the ocean, you've probably seen that the 3.0 update, aka, "What Lies Beeneath", will be coming soon to PC!

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1390190/announcements/detail/3653036045491628305

As part of this, we're looking for content creators who are interested in trying out the new update!
If this sounds like your cup of Apicola, and you want to stream or let's play the new update early, please fill out this form below:
https://forms.gle/FBmvJU7gdhNsP87W9

~ Ell

Happy Friday, fellow gunslingers! 🤠

First things first: Thank you all so much for playing the Soulslinger: Envoy of Death demo, and for providing some very valuable feedback on all channels! We are listening, reading, and collecting it everywhere: at gamescom, in the comments, the Steam Community Hub, the survey, on Discord, etc.


Because this is exactly the feedback that is super important for us to prepare the game for release this year. We have created a to-do-list with a bunch of changes, fixes and optimizations, including the following:

• Expect updated enemy AI: enemies will have additional behaviors and will be able to react to more situations in a natural way! (Eg. the archer enemy will perform a melee attack when you get close instead of running away, or the basic swarmer enemy will be able to dash closer to you)
  
• Fast reload: during reload, you'll be able to press the "Fire" button at the right time to instantly complete the reload! If you time this right, you'll be able to cut the reload time in half, or less!
  
• Update to how Soulslinger handles: his movements will feel more dynamic and will react to your input faster!
  
• Smoother animations: enemy animations will appear to be smoother (i.e. no more choppy animations!)
  
• We're revising enemy compositions, discarding the ones that were boring to play against and amping up the ones we felt were a good fit!
  
• We're also in the process of rebalancing enemy health and ability powers, once again to make sure it all feels better to play!

We will update the demo, and of course keep you up to date here on the Steam page. As these are some significant changes, please bear with us, this might take some time.


Working on map optimization

In case you've already played the Soulslinger demo and haven't left us your feedback yet, please do so in the Steam Community Hub, on Discord or run through our feedback survey. No feedback will remain unread. Promise!

Talk to you very soon, friends. Have a great time!
Ede out!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429240/Soulslinger_Envoy_of_Death/

Only 10 days before we release into Early Access, I hope you're as excited as I am!
Here's the patch notes for the latest pre-release.

- Added spooky EasterEgg
- Added Prison cells & decoration
- Added custom death screens when a player is killed
- Added Loading screen
- Added Custom Main Menu
- Added Custom Widgets to Main Menu
- Optimised lighting
- Optimised materials, textures and shadow maps
- Added player and enemy footsteps
- Added crawling animation sounds
- Added door opening/closing sounds
- Added custom intro music on Main Menu

- Fixed a bug where chains reflected light weirdly
- Fixed a bug where lighting was missing from the map
- Fixed a atmospheric fog bug

- Multicast issue with AI and doors
- Multicast issue with player death scenes

We're onto the final, critical stages of development for release to ensure the game is in a functional, bug-free state ready for everyone to enjoy!
Of course, the work doesn't stop there, once we release we plan to release any hotfix's that will need doing and jump straight into development for our Halloween content!

Enjoy!
-Brumble

The new spawn list editor makes it easier to select the units you want to use in your conquest/koth battles or in ground/air transport vehicles. Instead of having to find a specific unit in a list with hundreds of entries, you can now just place them like you would usually do.
In addition, you can adjust the unit's skill level and interaction settings or simply modify custom units in the embedded unit creator!



Similar to how the materials of some vanilla modulars can be changed for each individual instance in the battle editor, this can now be set up to work with custom modular objects. You can just set up your material like usual, select which materials should be adjusted by the user and let the game figure out the best settings.


The materials of wooden, framed, prison modular parts and the armored door can now be adjusted.


The new measurement tool can be used in the battle and prefab editor to measure distances between two points. This can be usedful to selected grid snapping sizes or to selected sizes for custom objects.


All units on ground/air/water vehicles will now have clothing and are randomized similar to other vanilla units, instead of being naked.

• Added an option for conquest/koth/reach point flags and similar game mode objectives to make them invisible while playing
  
• Added an option to forbid players to change equipment while waiting to respawn in conquest/koth
  
• Object settings panels can be moved again
  
• Changed default workshop order back to 7 days trend to help new maps to gain traction
  
• The previewed attack distances in the battle editor now matches the actual calculated values while playing
  
• Custom units are now highlighted in placement lists
  
• Player crouching is much smoother and doesnt play landing animations
  
• Players can now climb out of trenches without jumping
  
• The battle/game mode settings UI has been adjusted. Game mode settings are now displayed in a separate panel
  
• Updated the engine to improve stability

• Fixed a bug that caused descriptions to be cut off when looking at a workshop item
  
• Fixed that loading a battle will set the conquest respawn option to a wrong value
  
• Fixed custom unit upload stat/achievement (newly uploaded units will unlock the achievement)
  
• Fixed that default vanilla unit had bayonets
  
• Fixed missing default undo/redo keybinds on existing configurations
  
• Fixed that OnDeath/OnDeathGlobal nodes did not work properly when a unit died in certain ways
  
• Fixed incorrect/stuck character leg rotation when using animals
  
• Fixed horse riding control glitches
  
• Fixed incorrect player leg animation after riding a camel
  
• Fixed undo behaviour after drag placing modular parts
  
• Fixed render problems on placed maps
  
• The player faction option is now adjusted automatically when placing a blue/red player
  
• Fixed a bug that caused some weapons to trigger the OnAIShoot scripting events while reloading
  
• Fixed that the HUD interaction notification would not be closed while riding a horse or using a siege weapon
  
• Fixed that spear throwers would not trigger the OnAttack scripting evants
  
• Fixed a bug that caused another object to be placed instead of the metal roof
  
• The attack restriction node now prevents the player from using ranged weapon melee attacks

Hiya everyone!
I can't believe it's September 1st already. What happened to the rest of 2023?

Either way, it's yet another Friday and today I want to revisit the lantern in Vahrin's Call.
So without any further ado, let's dive right in!


First of all, what is the lantern?

Well, it will be your most important asset when navigating all the areas in Vahrin that require a little light to lead the way!



By default the lantern will be holstered on your character's waist.

Your can take it into your hands and light it with the press of a button.

The lantern can then be holstered again while remaining lit, allowing you to hold weapons in your hands while having some light to help you navigate your surroundings.



After some recent lighting changes, the lantern will be even more crucial to navigating caves, mines and any other dark holes you might find yourself in. Not only that, but the lantern light should feel much more realistic and make exploration much more immersive, and above all else, fun!



Now for those of you that enjoy exploring, solving puzzles and finding hidden loot, you'll be happy to hear there are many different types of lanterns you can find throughout the world.



While these lanterns don't increase the stats of your character or shine any brighter than the original, they do look pretty damn cool; and if you're going to be using your lantern a lot while exploring the world, then why not do it in style!


Finally, let's check out the other way you can customise your lantern in Vahrin's Call.

If you're getting a bit tired of the standard, orange flame and want to keep lantern exploration feeling fresh, head on over to the local blacksmith. For the right price, he may just be able to provide you with something that allows you to experience caving in a brand new light!




And that concludes this week's update, taking a look at lantern exploration and customisation!

i'm excited to see you guys traverse the deep, dark depths of Vahrin's ruins, personalising your lantern along the way.



I'm curious, are you eager to customise your lantern with a unique flame, or are cosmetic upgrades not really your kind of thing?

Either way, we hope you all enjoyed today's post and would love to hear what you think in the comments!


Have a great weekend and I'll catch you all once again next Friday.

September's Jackpot Pack is a real steal! Nab it from the Cashier this month and in addition to a haul of 1,000,000 chips, you'll also get your hands on the exclusive Burglar Outfit as a bonus! It won't let you steal chips, but you might feel a bit more devious winning chips from other players at poker.

Dear Player,

A brand-new season has dawned, promising thrilling challenges and heightened competition. Stay sharp and aim high; this chapter comes to a climax on October 1st.

To aid your quest, we've added a dynamic range of new Shields. Head to the Equipment Store to delve into these latest additions.

But there's even more to anticipate:

• Desktop App Revamp: Our desktop apps have undergone a significant transformation, powered by a new engine and brimming with novel features. As always, we remain committed to continuous enhancements, adding more features and regularly rolling out bug fixes.
  
• Mobile App Update: We're further refining our mobile apps for optimal performance, ensuring a seamless gameplay experience across devices.
  
• Store & Battle Pass: The in-game store is in line for exciting updates. Plus, the much-anticipated Battle Pass is prepped for its grand unveiling in the upcoming season.
  
• Next Evolution: Post the iconic "Obsidian" evolution, gear up for the introduction of a subsequent game evolution. Its intricacies and strengths will be revealed soon!
  
• Achievements: A fresh array of achievements awaits, designed to celebrate your gaming prowess and dedication.
  
• Translation Upgrades: Our goal is clear - a flawless gaming experience for everyone. We're diligently refining translations to resonate with players from all linguistic backgrounds.

Stay engaged, as there's much more to come!

Have fun!
The Freakinware Team!

Everyone gets +50% EXP this weekend!

-Cell level 1 has been nerfed because it was very difficult.
-Gateways bugs has been fixed.