Dec 13, 2023

Dawn ‘til Dusk: light up your busy life with bash and sunshine in this update!

Potion Tycoon - πceratops

Greetings, potion magnates! Or should we rather say, good day!

For a good few of us winter is already in full swing, with its short sunless days and long dark nights. Depressing, eh? But then we thought - wait, there’s one little thing we can do! There wouldn’t be a better moment to finally dispel the everlasting darkness that has reigned in the world of Potion Tycoon since the dawn of time. So welcome our brand-new feature, the day-night cycle, and let your potion house bask in the warm sunlight before plunging again in the soothing dusk!

Illuminating, isn’t it?! But if you want more ways to light up your tycoon’s daily life ahead of the upcoming holiday season, we do have some. Take pleasure in hosting social get-together events for each faction every few weeks, behold festivities and mingle with visitors. Enjoy the party time! Along with extra profit and special rewards :-)

Last but not least, we’ve thrown into the mix a wealth of improvements to customers’ and workers’ communication and behavior, and added a new Gardener skill to handle ingredient cultivation.

We truly hope that both the new content and the updated mechanics will come to your liking (and maybe warrant another playthrough?). In any case, we look forward to hearing your feedback and impressions from the Dawn ‘Till Dusk update shortly.

Bewitchingly yours,
Snowhound Games and Daedalic Entertainment

Update Title: Dawn ‘Till Dusk

Headliner Content:

Day-night cycle
[**] Visual day and night time depiction
[**] Daily over-the-clock customer variations and fluctuations
Faction-specific events
[**] One day long faction-based random events that offer unique requests and opportunities
[**] Extra visual flavor e.g. in the form of partying customers
Customer update
[**] Expanded customer wants’ hierarchy
[**] Rebalanced customer budgets and action points
[**] Enhanced customer communication system (e.g. improved animations and icons)
Crew update
[**] Worker mood system overhaul
[**] New Gardener worker specialization

Changelog:

New:

Added a day/night cycle that affects the scenery and customer spawning:
[**] customers frequent the shop during the day;
[**] background graphics reflect the time of the day.
Introduced new party events for each faction:
[**] every 7 days (starting from day 14) one of the factions has a one day long party event with greatly increased customer flow;
[**] new requests are offered during the events;
[**] each event has a main request the player can fulfill to get special rewards (increased customer base size or wealth).
Overhauled/expanded customer wants:
[**] overhauled potion demand system: High Demand, In Demand and Low Demand attributes can now change over time;
[**] each customer now has a profile based on whether they prefer bulk, regular or premium potions;
[**] added a new sub-page under Ledger/Factions for a better overview of customer profiles and current potion demand tiers. Note: customer segments can be wrong in existing saves until some new customers are spawned.
Improved customer communication:
[**] customer pop-ups now more accurately indicate which potion type/category the customer is interested in;
[**] potion recipes now have new individual icons displayed next to the category icon to match the icons used by customers;
[**] added new customer reactions and updated some existing ones to better indicate customers’ momentary decisions and reasons behind them.
Added new marketing actions to affect the bulk/regular/premium customer distribution, and to improve the demand for a specific potion type.
Overhauled worker mood system:
[**] worker mood is now calculated hourly based on active modifiers;
[**] added a visual mood scale to help read each worker’s mood at a glance;
[**] workers get benefits (speed, stamina, experience gain) for good mood and suffer penalties for bad mood;
[**] all viable mood-related perks have been updated in compliance with the new system and give an hourly modifier;
[**] Tranquil trait now decreases mood change by 50% and Temperamental trait (previously Cry Baby) amplifies mood change by 50%.
Introduced a new Gardening skill for workers (with some new perks), which is required to operate cultivation equipment. (Note: workers in existing saves will have 0 points in Gardening).
Updated worker filtering in the Ledger/Workers page: workers now get sorted based on their primary and secondary skills.

Changes:

Updated customer influx modifiers for random events. Now there should be fewer customers during invasions and more customers during manias.
On the last day of an ongoing event, the event summary now shows the remaining hours instead of a vague "another 1 day".
Added a few additional customer reactions and tuned the existing ones.
Added information about customer wishes to the daily report (e.g. "didn't enter the shop because they didn't have Mana Potion").
Faction event main day start announcement newspapers are now forced open when they trigger.
Updated the day/night and event tinting slightly: days are brighter, toned down some oversaturated event tints. Adjusted day/night lighting for the city lights in the background.
Added Angry/Happy walking animations for workers.
Added missing Gardener and Greaser perks (Zen/Forager, Hauler/SpeedBottler/Tag).
Updated the "Room rating requirement" line in the promotion screen to "Seniority mood modifier" and changed it to also show the correct mood per hour penalty. Also shown in the current mood per hour breakdown as "Seniority" instead of "Experienced".
Added a mood resistance parameter ("Mood Equilibrium") to make the mood extremes harder to reach.
Added a "wants a promotion" mood penalty for workers who have been eligible for promotion for some time.

Fixes:

Fixed customers not immediately looking for the first potions at the start of a new game.
Fixed customers sometimes using the wrong walk animations.
Added the missing handling for the "Hyped" potion tag.
Widened worker popups slightly to avoid text overlap.
Fixed Main Menu bugging out when rapidly clicking the New Game button.
Fixed Monster Repellent variant not getting correctly set up in the generic Witch request.
Fixed generic Witch request not actually triggering in the Grand Assembly faction event.
Fixed category icons for potions not showing up in VIP request details and added potion icons.
Fixed wrong tooltip placement in the Alchemy view.
Fixed scroll bars in potion picker panels.
Fixed launch marketing to apply a Hyped tag instead of Hot.
Fixed Greasers being spawned with Gardener perks and Gardeners being spawned with Greaser perks.
Updated branding action texts to match their intended effects.
Fixed text layout and localization issues in Ledger/Factions/Customers.
Sort potions by demand in Ledger/Factions/Customers, also show Hot potions for all factions.
Fixed some customer speech bubble icons spilling over the bubbles’ edges.
Added potion type icons in the potion selection dialogue for VIP request delivery UI.
Added potion type icons to the "looking for" text in customer pop-ups.
Fixed multiple Ledger/Workers errors.
Fixes towards potential potency text animation problems.
Fixed event request variables getting randomized every time you chose the "Let Me Think" option and then reopened the request dialogue.
Fixed occasional render errors in small bottle graphics after loading.
Fixed Construction Menu tab buttons losing their active state after picking an item.
Fixed the starting worker not having the correct default uniform for their profession.
Fixed Alchemy toggle not being disabled in the Construction mode (as switching to Alchemy while in Construction could cause problems).
Fixed issue with tutorial goals sometimes getting displayed within unrelated barks after starting a new playthrough from an active tutorial session.

Dec 13, 2023

Initiate Power Pack

Warframe - LukeSimms

Propel yourself through the Star Chart and Main Story Quest path with the Initiate Power Pack! This trove of fully upgraded mainstay Mods and unique Warframe Augments has been handpicked to aid new Warframe players on their journey to Whispers in the Walls and beyond — allowing you to join your friends and fellow Tenno in the latest content.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2716330/Warframe_Initiate_Power_Pack/

Besides boosting your Arsenal, the Initiate Power Pack also includes unique Warframe Augments to help you play your way. Make Rhino, the heavily armored tank, even more relentless with Ironclad Charge. Turn Nova, the offensive antimatter Warframe, into a volatile weapon with Molecular Fission and much more.

This Max Rank equipment will allow you to begin unlocking Mastery Rank up to Rank 3, providing faster access to the Syndicate system and further options to expand your playstyle.

Flex on your enemies with the fearsome Fragor Hammer, Soma Assault Rifle, Plinx Pistol and more. Plus, enjoy a pocket full of Platinum to enhance your Arsenal with extra Warframes and Weapons of your choosing, or trade with fellow Tenno and friends to get elusive Items you have your eye on. You can always expand your wardrobe with a wide range of Customization options, too!

Initiate Power Pack features:

- 475 Platinum - Rhino Warframe - Nova Warframe - Soma Assault Rifle - Plinx Battery-Powered Laser Pistol - Fragor Hammer Melee Weapon - Sobek Automatic Shotgun - Akstiletto Dual Machine Pistols - Lacera Blade and Whip Melee Weapon - 3 Aura Mods at Max Rank - Aura Mods at Max Rank: Steel Charge, Energy Siphon, Rejuvenation - 9 Warframe Mods at Max Rank - 8 Warframe Augment Mods at Max Rank - 10 Rifle Mods at Max Rank - 10 Shotgun Mods at Max Rank - 10 Secondary Weapon Mods at Max Rank - 13 Melee Mods at Max Rank

Initiate Power Pack Mods:

Aura Mods at Max Rank:

- Steel Charge

- Energy Siphon

- Rejuvenation

Warframe Mods at Max Rank:

- Vitality

- Redirection

- Flow

- Intensify

- Continuity

- Steel Fiber

- Stretch

- Vigor

- Streamline

Warframe Augment Mods at Max Rank:

- Ironclad Charge

- Iron Shrapnel

- Piercing Roar

- Reinforcing Stomp

- Neutron Star

- Antimatter Absorb

- Escape Velocity

- Molecular Fission

Rifle Mods at Max Rank:

- Serration

- Split Chamber

- Point Strike

- Vital Sense

- Speed Trigger

- Infected Clip

- Cryo Rounds

- Hellfire

- Stormbringer

- Rifle Aptitude

Shotgun Mods at Max Rank:

- Point Blank

- Hell’s Chamber

- Shotgun Savvy

- Shotgun Barrage

- Charged Shell

- Contagious Spread

- Incendiary Coat

- Chilling Grasp

- Blunderbuss

- Ravage

Pistol Mods at Max Rank:

- Hornet Strike

- Barrel Diffusion

- Gunslinger

- Pistol Gambit

- Target Cracker

- Convulsion

- Pathogen Rounds

- Heated Charge

- Deep Freeze

- Sure Shot

Melee Mods at Max Rank:

- Pressure Point

- Fury

- Reach

- True Steel

- Organ Shatter

- Shocking Touch

- North Wind

- Fever Strike

- Molten Impact

- Melee Prowess

- Killing Blow

- Crushing Ruin

- Defiled Snapdragon

With so many options in one package, you might be wondering where to start! Rhino, Nova, and the weapons come pre-equipped with these Mods and Forma for added convenience! At any time, you can change your load-outs to fit your play style! When you’re ready to delve deeper, check out the basics with our handy Mods Guide!

Dec 13, 2023

WAVEN Livestream Recap – December 6

Waven - [Sirna]

WATCH THE REPLAY IN ENGLISH

A LOOK BACK FROM THE EARLY ACCESS LAUNCH TO NOW

WAVEN has welcomed over 500,000 unique players since August 16. That's a very encouraging number for what comes next and the game's potential. As we write this, we've received over 90% positive reviews on Steam, despite a launch that was slowed down by major latency issues on the North American server.

At the same time, we're aware that players are now waiting for additional content, which (among other factors) explains why a part of the community has left the game for now.

As we come to the end of this early access period, our goal is to offer the most complete and polished version of the game. There's been a lot to learn in this preliminary stage, and it's pushed us to make consistent efforts at improvement. Here are a few of the major areas that still need work:

An early game that offers a better introduction for new players
A need for late-game content
More development of social interactions
Usability improvements for certain features, such as opening reward chests
More diverse customization options for heroes
And other areas of improvement…

This handful of areas has generally been mentioned by our very devoted community, as well as by players who have already jumped ship. So based on this feedback, we've come up with a plan of action for the next few WAVEN updates.

UPDATE 0.14

Astramantis Pike, Our New Hero

October 24 marked the start of the special Lance Dur season, divided into three chapters, with the December 19 update providing the conclusion to the trilogy. In this third and final chapter, you'll play as a new hero from the Iop class, Astramantis Pike, to face off against Lance Dur, the ex-protagonist from previous seasons.

This new hero's strength lies in his mobility. Able to teleport right next to any enemy he chooses, he has four lancer spells and gameplay based on positioning and the ability to summon allied companions.

Astramantis Pike will be available early for Battle Pass holders with the Platinum Pass, and available for everyone later in 2024.

The Transmedia Island Nation of Albuera

Designed for experienced players to introduce late-game content, with battles at levels 100 and up.

This island won't be available when the update is rolled out, but will open in the course of the season. We want to polish it up a bit more before letting you explore it.

Five quests ranging from levels 104 to 120 will be available on the island, including two dungeons where you'll face Belladonna and Cire Momore in a different format than the one you tried out in the Time Portal. We intentionally made these two dungeons smaller than the ones on the monster islands, with just 2 or 3 three rooms, so you can get to the boss fight that much faster. They're also designed to be harder!

Once Albuera Island opens, you will no longer be able to obtain Albuera Chests from other monster islands (as a world drop), since they will be specific to Albuera Island. However, you will also still be able to buy them with Wakfu Fragments in Kabrok's Shop.

The Historic Island Nation of Amakna

The island nation of Amakna has been closed since the start of early access. In update 0.14, we're finally opening it to players!

Following the same formula as Bonta and Brakmar, it offers 15 quests ranging from levels 40 to 80. Their narrative aspect provides a lead-in to the main quest.

Main Storyline: The Castaway's Odyssey

The main quest will provide a consistent through-line for players' adventures and the entire narrative aspect of the game. The first few quests serve as a prologue for the overall main storyline that players will follow. So far, 40 quests have been integrated, building on and developing the initial story with Percedal and Ogrest.

PvE/PvP Balancing

As announced at the start of early access, we're now finally dissociating PvP balancing and PvE balancing. For this first iteration, we've been collaborating with two experienced players from the PvP mode who will continue to work with us in this big ongoing project.

With this new system, we can make distinct modifications for each game mode without affecting the other.

Open Chat

To strengthen WAVEN's social and community aspects, we are now opening a general chat channel. Players will no longer be required to use pre-written phrases that are automatically translated into the language of the game client. We recognize that despite its positive qualities, this feature was ultimately more frustrating than anything else. However, the pre-fab speech bubbles will still be available as "chat shortcuts" for those who may wish to continue using them.

MOBILE APP AND SOFT LAUNCH

In September, we opened the WAVEN mobile app in various targeted territories to test out this version and collect usage data.

We're fairly satisfied with the general interface, but we don't think the application is quite ready for the open sea yet. We're still having trouble keeping players past the start of the game: 40% of mobile players quit before they make it past level 4.

The WAVEN mobile app is an important and even crucial aspect of the game, and we want to do everything we can to make sure it provides an optimal experience. Its official launch was originally planned for the end of 2023, in parallel with the official release of WAVEN, but in light of the points mentioned above, we prefer to continue improving the game as a whole and addressing players' needs before announcing a version 1.0 for mobile and PC.

UPCOMING PROJECTS

We're very excited about 2024, not only because we're planning to put out lots of great content, but also because we hope to be able to make improvements on a variety of different fronts.

Temporary Servers for Temporary Game Modes

We want to offer unique temporary gameplay experiences for our players, then potentially integrate their unique features on the classic servers later on. For example, we might imagine rolling out new heroes on the temporary servers, and players could then recover their progress on the classic servers. Similarly, if we implement a sneak peek of a new game mode on these servers and the community likes it, we'll know that it can work on the classic servers too.

Asynchronous Mode: A New Approach

Previously, the asynchronous arena let players hire minions to defend their haven islands, while the players themselves could attack other players' haven islands. We're thinking about redefining this game mode, for example by letting players use boats to initiate asynchronous naval battles. Players would then send crews of monsters, previously collected on islands, to go and attack other boats and recover loot.

Battle Royale, A New Competitive Game Mode

This game mode would be a mix of PvP and PvE in a competitive setting. The goal would be to fight waves of monsters until only one survivor is left standing: the winner.

Heroic Quests, from Special Transmedia Chapters to the Main Storyline

In addition to the main storyline, we want to offer special chapters covering important moments in the stories of some of the most iconic characters in the Krosmoz, like Remington Smisse or Joris Jurgen. Players will play as these legends and experience their adventures firsthand.

COMMUNITY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What can you tell us about upcoming classes and heroes?

We're planning to release two classes: Sacrier and Osamodas. The Sacrier is the next class on our calendar, and we'd like to roll it out in 2024. The Osamodas class, on the other hand, doesn't have a release date yet. Each will have five heroes, just like the current classes.

How are you planning to improve co-op interactions?

We're aware that we can do better here, and we're exploring a variety of options. For example, we could extend some of a hero's effects to all group members instead of just the owner. A Kokoro could apply armor to all group members instead of just one target, or the Peat could apply to all allies instead of just their one character.

We are also looking into multiplayer game modes that would play differently than fights against Monarchs and Elite monsters.

How does the team decide if a hero is too strong or too weak?

We follow guidelines based – in part – on statistical data. In particular, we monitor whether various combinations of passives and heroes allow players to achieve a certain percentage of victories in specific fights. We try to aim for a victory rate of around 75%, give or take about 5%. If a given combination diverges too far from the target, then it probably needs to be rebalanced.

Are you considering the possibility of differentiating utility spells (1/2/3 AP) from damage-dealing spells?

Spell cost balancing is based on a table with automatically calculated values. For example, if we change the damage value of low-cost spells, the tool determines its balanced weight. For the time being, we have no plans to make any changes to low-cost spells.

Will it be possible to view other players' decks, or even to trade with them using a shareable code?

This isn't in our plans for the short term, but it's an interesting feature to consider.

Will it be possible to dissociate the skill trees from the passives for a given character?

For update 0.14, the skills table will be linked to the chosen deck, not to the hero. It will be possible to buy multiple deck slots using gems, and they will be unlocked for the account.

What do you think about the overall balance between MAGIC-oriented and ATTACK-oriented builds?

At the start of early access, the vast majority of builds were focused on ATTACK, and this tendency has been decreasing as we progress through more cycles of balancing. ATTACK is a very easy stat to increase in the early game because it's boosted by common items. At higher and higher levels of game content, however, MAGIC builds (especially those based on companions) become more and more useful. We're not entirely satisfied with the balance at present, but we are fairly pleased with the direction it's headed in.

Will it be possible to deactivate certain skill improvements on items once we've bought them?

We have no plans for this at present, but we're aware that certain situations resulting from these can be frustrating to players. We're thinking about possible solutions.

Are you planning to improve the rewards for group fights?

Not at this time. We feel that what's most rewarding about playing in a group is the ability to get through content that would be difficult or impossible to complete on your own.

Well it be possible to speed up the spell animations?

We're aware of the problem, and it's a topic that the community regularly brings to our attention. One thing we're sure of is that we don't want to let people play without animations. But we're considering other solutions.

It's currently impossible to cause collision damage against the outside edges of the game board. Do you have a solution in mind?

We know that this type of combat interaction could be improved, but it would require the involvement of the dev team. We'll be looking into this.

Will you be changing the random aspect of rune drops from Monarchs?

For the time being, we're satisfied with the current state of this part of the game.

Will it be possible to see the order of summonees in the fight timeline?

This would require changes to the interface, and no such changes are planned in the short term.

What's happening with max-level items that can be collected from chests?

This is a complicated issue for which we don't yet have a satisfactory solution. We're continuing to look into different possibilities.

What's your vision for the late game?

We want to offer players some very difficult fights, and possibly an interface for fights at levels going up to infinity. We want to reward engaged players and test their skills with particularly tough challenges. This is a general vision of what we want to achieve, and will still need to be refined.

What are haven islands good for?

For now, not a whole lot. We want to rework them to give them a clear value for players. We're currently at the very start of our thought process here, and we'll dive into the issue seriously in 2024.

What about guilds?

This feature is still in the pipeline, and we want to do something ambitious with it. However, they definitely won't be available in the short term.

Are you planning to make any changes to season fights that are especially long?

We're aware that the current format can be quite time-consuming. The next fight will be much shorter and more punishing. We're also planning changes to the scoring system. However, we have no plans for now to change the rewards. We feel that if the fight is shorter, the rewards have more value.

Are you planning any ornaments that would be representative of our level or our equipment?

Maybe…

What are your thoughts about Daily Quests?

The system was initially intended to get players interested in connecting every day through fun, fast, simple quests offering an easy way to get rewards. Since then, with the addition of the Battle Pass, Wakfu Fragments, the daily gift in the Shop, etc., DQs have lost that initial purpose, but that doesn't call the feature itself into question. It's still perfectly functional and offers short quests that can be finished quickly. For the moment, we're not planning any changes to this system.

Dec 13, 2023

Chunky New Modes and Features for Railbreak! Launch Trailer Live! New Gameplay Stream Tonight!

Outbreak: Endless Nightmares - CMM1215

Hello again Survivors!

https://youtu.be/y-WS-KRfjDM

Today we're excited to announce a slew of new features for our upcoming arcade on-rails shooter, Railbreak! As previously mentioned, Railbreak will be launching on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Steam, and Epic Games Store on December 22nd at a price of $19.99 USD worldwide!

Since we last showed off the game, Railbreak has evolved in several really important ways. The work on the game has also enhanced the map design and general gameplay for Outbreak: Shades of Horror, as well. Stay tuned for more information on Outbreak: Shades of Horror in the future!

We have FOUR key categories to touch on today!

1. New Elemental Weapons

If you tuned into our last stream, you may know a bit about these already! The primary and secondary weapons in Railbreak are outfitted with unique elemental effects that can give you an advantage in battle. Load up enemies with electricity and watch them explode! Stop zombies in their tracks with ice ammo! Melt through the undead with fire! Send the body parts flying with explosive rounds! The new elemental effects drive the action into absolutely chaotic territory, so be sure to take advantage of your arsenal!

2. 'Glitch' Gameplay Modifier System

As you progress through the game, things may become a little dicey when new modifiers dubbed 'Glitches' trigger during a stage. Some Glitches may lend a helping hand with infinite ammo or a defensive buff, while others may serve as a thorn in your side with enemies gaining additional health or a storm of civilians running out in front of your shots. With a ton of different Glitches to encounter, you'll need to stay on your toes to survive!

3. New Special Boss Zombies

On top of your run-of-the-mill zombies, keep your eyes out for powerful boss monsters! Boom Boom will detonate itself if you're unable to kill it fast enough! The demonic Fetch will blast and blind you with its powerful laser attack! Things get even hairier when you encounter 'Glitched' versions of these beasts; these enhanced versions of the special infected have are faster, stronger, and tankier!

4. Three New Bonus Modes

Thought you knew all the ways you'd play Railbreak? Think again! Deal with constantly firing and random Glitch modifiers in Glitch Gauntlet! Face off against all of the game's bosses in a unique scenario in Boss Rush! Face a special challenge that serves to thank our supporters in Shoutout Shootout! With these new modes, you'll never run out of ways to play Railbreak either alone or with a friend in optional two-player coop!

As the December 22nd release date for Railbreak creeps ever closer, we're getting more and more excited for you to see our take on the on-rails arcade shooter genre! Join us tonight, December 13th on our Twitch channel at 7PM EST for a special stream showing off some of these new features! We'll also be playing through some of the retro games that have inspired Railbreak, so be sure to tune in! If you hang out with us, you might even win a giveaway!

You can tune in here: http://www.twitch.tv/deaddropstudios

That's all for today, Survivors! Take care out there as we approach the Holidays, and thank you as always for your continued support!