Greetings esteemed colleagues! We are so excited for you to play Abiotic Factor!
This guide contains everything you need to know about the demo whether you're new or returning.

But first, a BIG Announcement!




That's right, Abiotic Factor has set a Steam release date - May 2, 2024. We'll be sharing more information about this shortly, including info about confirmed languages and subtitles. We're very excited to keep you all in the loop on development as things continue to ramp up.


Below you will find some helpful information, such as:

• Demo dates times and languages
  
• How to access the demo
  
• What's in the demo
  
• How to report a bug or crash
  
• Where to submit feedback
  
• Where to find our FAQ
  
• A few new player tips
  
• Changes since the December Playtest
  
• Demo updates

We have extended the demo availability to the 20th of February, 2 PM PST.

The demo is available from the 25th of January 10:00 AM PST to the 12th of February 10:00 AM PST.

Here is a time zone breakdown:

• PST: Thursday, 25th January at 10:00 AM through Thursday, 20th February at 2:00 PM
  
• MST: Thursday, 25th January at 11:00 AM through Thursday, 20th February at 3:00 PM
  
• CST: Thursday, 25th January at 12:00 PM through Thursday, 20th February at 4:00 PM
  
• EST: Thursday, 25th January at 1:00 PM through Thursday, 20th February at 5:00 PM
  
• GST: Thursday, 25th January at 6:00 PM through Thursday, 20th February at 10:00 PM
  
• NZDT: Friday, 26th January at 7:00 AM through Friday, 21st February at 11:00 AM

Currently the demo is only available in English audio with English subtitles. We can confirm that we are working on getting several subtitle languages ready, including Brazilian Portuguese, German, Russian, Ukrainian, French, Spanish and Polish.


To begin your work in the GATE Cascade Research Facility, you’ll need to download the demo by clicking the ‘Download’ button on the Abiotic Factor Steam store page.



Once it’s downloaded you can launch it from your library. If you’re on a low-spec PC or laptop we recommend launching with the DX11 option which turns off some of our fancier graphical features and may prevent crashes.


This demo opens up an early section of the GATE Cascade Research Facility for exploration and gameplay, as well as the Tutorial. We've given you just a taste of the depths that you will be able to explore upon release!

Abiotic Factor is a large, open world game and this is just a small section of it, but contains a huge range of key gameplay and functionality, as well as a lot of new features, polish and improvements for anyone who may have participated in previous playtests. We’re super excited for you to jump in!

For those who want to 100% the demo (so to speak) you can keep playing and making discoveries and unlocking more recipes/skills even after you complete the last available objective for this playable.


We want to hear from you! Listed below are different guides and master threads dedicated to anything you’d like to ask or share with us.

• 🐛 Bug Report Guide
  
• 📋 Known Issues List
  
• 💬 Feedback Forms & Suggestions
  
• 🤔 FAQ & Troubleshooting

Yes, go right ahead!


Yes you can! The game can be played with 1-6 players.


As a scientist arriving at the Gate Cascade Research Facility just as a mysterious catastrophe unfolds, you’re trapped far underground with no hope of rescue. Find ways to survive, explore, unlock and - eventually - escape your increasingly lethal workplace with your team.

Pager!
Your pager can be accessed in the emote radial wheel. A nifty device which lets you briefly ping your location to your fellow scientists in the case that you become lost in the cubicles.



Holster your items!

You can holster your weapon and shield by pressing H on keyboard.

Control rebinds!

Keyboards, mice and controllers can all be rebound in the settings menu at any time.




For those scientists who have already ventured through some of this content in our playtests - first, thank you for your feedback in helping us make this demo even better!

Secondly, there will be some new features, lots of bug fixes, balance changes, and a handful of other surprises. These surprises include some new areas to explore and some new "toys" to play with.


Demo updates and hot fix notes can be found on the Demo Discussions Sub Forum.


To chat with fellow scientists, find servers full of new friends, make jokes, share videos or screenshots, and everything else - join our Discord!



https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Factor/

Another Another World Heroine Generator pack + a new Fortress Ruins tileset from Kokoro Reflections!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2743210/RPG_Maker_MZ__Another_World_Heroine_Generator_4_for_MZ/

Create powerful bunny girls and uniform-wearing mages with the Another World Heroine Generator 4 for MZ pack! Gee-kun-soft’s latest MZ generator pack includes 40 pieces to add new features to your female characters. 20 Clothing options are ready to give your characters some lightweight fabric to wear no matter their class! Give your brawler heroine a bright yellow jacket to distract foes from her fingerless glove punches and thigh high boot roundhouse kicks, while your sorceress wears a decorated pointy hat and robes with flowing sleeves warded with spells to help keep her safe in battle. Modern games can make use of a pantsuit and off-the-shoulder dress, along with a number of uniforms that could fit either a modern or magical academy. Even non-combat characters can enjoy these outfits, give your nurse NPC a lab coat over a dress and have uniforms with a few differences such as gloves or tights so you can keep a company or military group cohesive without having to have everyone dressed completely the same.

5 AccB, 5 Eyes, 5 Front hair, and 5 Rear Hair options can help you show some of your character’s personalities through their appearance. Give your kindest characters soft eyes, or mess with expectations by having the meanest party member have the largest and brightest eyes. Have your by-the-book military woman wear her hair in a short bob with bangs that are also kept perfectly maintained, while the wild archer on the team keeps her hair long and loose with plenty of flyaways. Top your character with a small tilted cap or a beret, or give them a witch’s hat, bunny ears, or a large tiara-type crown to highlight their magic abilities. So if you want more choices for your heroines’ outfits and hairstyles, check out the Another World Heroine Generator 4 for MZ pack!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2743230/RPG_Maker_MZ__KR_Fortress_Ruins_Tileset/

Explore destroyed castles and forts that were defeated by evil forces with the KR Fortress Ruins Tileset! Kokoro Reflections finished their KR Royal Fortress Tileset and decided that clean and happy castles aren’t the only places your heroes will visit: ruins and war-torn castles are also popular locations! So they turned the bright and cheery tileset into desaturated and destroyed tiles to help you tell the story you want with your maps!

A1, A2, A4, A5, and 3 B sheets are ready for you to make dark and mysterious ruins. Have your players make their way past dead trees and purple poisoned waters until they find an overgrown path surrounded by collapsed stone walls and follow it to an abandoned castle where crumbling roofs and cobwebs show that it’s been years since someone last visited. Or create a demolished version of a fort they visited earlier in the game that they were unable to save from the demon lord. Cupboards falling to pieces and rusting metal pans show how long it’s been since people lived there, while musty beds with the blankets haphazardly thrown aside and rotten food still on plates can help your players realize that this castle was abandoned without warning.

This pack also includes 6 character sprites for large entrance doors, wooden and cell doors, flames, levers, and treasure chests to reward your players for finding their way through destroyed halls and locked rooms. Pick up the KR Fortress Ruins Tileset and create ruins that your hero can slowly repair to turn into their own home, abandoned castles overrun with monsters, military forts for important story cutscenes to goad your players into becoming heroes, and more!

Today we are pleased to present the public demo for this game!

We've been working hard on this project for much longer than anticipated, constantly finding ways to make it better and better. We finally decided that this February's NextFest event (here on Steam) would be a good deadline to start getting the word out, ahead of completing and launching the game in coming months.

We really believe in this game and think it will be greatly received and enjoyed! It's just a matter of being discovered by the players who would find it appealing.

The most critical thing for us currently is to get on the Steam wishlist! of as many interested players as possible.. This will greatly multiply the exposure we can get when we DO launch EtW (Otherwise, this game may likely get lost in the abyss of endless indie games).

Please consider adding Ember the Werefox to your Wishlist today!


As for the demo, we're excited for you to get a taste, and have much more content for you to enjoy soon. We've of course locked much of the game's story, content and player upgrades out of the demo, but we still find the demo itself fun for several hours! Give yourself a little bit of time and dig in!

If you have feedback, we have an active Discord dedicated to "our community" (should we be so lucky!):
https://discord.gg/AQ2FDapzMe

We're also set up for feedback with our Steam community here. If you'd rather leave feedback here, there's a Demo Feedback Sub Forum here.

We greatly appreciate it!
Brothers Adam and Arden,
-LionArc Devs


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2353100/Ember_the_Werefox/

How the time flies! This War of Mine celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. So far it has sold over 9 million copies worldwide, yet we’re sure that even more people will receive its powerful message during upcoming days. That’s because, until January 29th, you’ll be able to play This War of Mine for free on Steam!

On the same occasion, we’ve also decided to update the game's menu. The newsfeed you’ll now find there has been designed to better stay in touch with you. This new feature is subtle and aesthetically restrained so rest assured that its contents will be informative and will not include any banners or brazen marketing messaging.

This anniversary also gives us a great opportunity to highlight the game that all devoted fans of This War of Mine should keep their eyes on. The Alters is a title developed by a team that consists of many former This War of Mine creators and as such is in many ways a spiritual successor to this cult game. While the setting is totally different, taking you to a distant planet instead of a war-torn city, the game aims to ask as many important questions. Just like in This War of Mine, The Alters’ main protagonist faces impossible odds and must discover how far he is willing to go in order to save his life.


Stranded on an inhospitable planet, Jan must create alternative versions of himself to survive on board a mobile base. These “Alters” are more than just new sets of skills. Each one of them is a human being, a genetic alteration of Jan Dolski with emotions, fears, and memories. Getting along with them is a struggle in itself for our hero, a struggle he cannot avoid as impending doom is approaching with each second. It’s this form of emotional management, combined with the management of the base space itself that fans of This War of Mine will find both familiar and satisfying.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1601570/The_Alters/?utm_source=steam&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=regular&utm_content=TWOMxAlters
Don’t wait, wishlist The Alters on Steam!

Take care,
11 bit studios

Ends January 29, 2024, at 1PM EST

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1357210/Galactic_Civilizations_IV/

Galactic Civilizations IV continues the legacy of the series, allowing players to guide a civilization to interstellar glory. With a rich strategic layer, numerous alien races, and a galaxy teeming with opportunities and threats, the game offers a complex and engaging experience for strategy enthusiasts.

We've been hard at work improving the game. Recent updates have introduced new features, optimized gameplay mechanics, and enriched the overall experience with additional story elements. These enhancements make for an even more immersive journey through the stars.

We're streaming January 25, 1PM to 3PM EST, and Friday, January 26th, from 1PM to 3PM EST

Additionally, prominent gaming personalities like Marbozir, DASTACTIC, TheXPGamers, Montu Plays, and OldManMoradith will be streaming on January 25th. 

We're making good progress with the Saga!*

Lately we've been working on the yearlings -- the pups who survived their first year of life and now are helping raise the new pups of the year (whenever they're not playing or getting distracted). Even at 13-15 months of age, they're still very puppyish, even though they're physically approaching adult-wolf size.



I know there are a lot of questions about yearlings, so let’s answer a few of them:

1) Once you've got some yearlings in your pack, how do you tell them what to do? The short answer is: you don't. Just as with your mate, you can go up to any of them and whine to invite them to hunt -- but they have minds, preferences, and personalities of their own. Typically, females are more likely to stay at the homesite and males are more likely to go hunting -- though certainly an individual can have a different preference. Packmates are more likely to stick with their best friend (using the new fondness feature between packmates). And you'll see packmates whine at another wolf to invite them to go hunting -- sometimes they may invite you, and sometimes they may not, but either way you can join them if you want.

2) Similarly, when it's time for some wolves to go hunting, yearlings are more likely than older wolves to stay with the pups, since they're not great at hunting yet. They lack an adult's strength and skill. So don't expect to be able to sit back and make all your packmates do all the work. In fact, marking territory is generally the responsibility of the pack leaders. They're the only ones who do raised leg urination. Everybody else can pee and howl, of course, which helps a bit, but territory is the leader's job.

3) So then, you might ask, can we find some dispersal wolves and invite them to join our pack, so we can delegate the work to them? Sorry, no. While that does occasionally happen, it's usually when the pack needs a new breeder (packs are families, not an aggregation of unrelated wolves).

4) The way to expand your pack is by having pups, and playing through the years. A good percentage of pups won't survive to become yearlings. But it only takes a few years to get a multi-generational pack. In Yellowstone, packs tend to have 6-12 wolves. Sometimes they get bigger (though the famous examples like the Druid pack with 37 wolves, was a quirk from wolf reintroduction, before wolf and elk populations stabilized). We'll definitely have a cap on pack size, since it just gets awkward to have so many NPC wolves in your pack (along with performance impacts of so many NPC AIs running at full bore)

Tommi has the yearlings working pretty well, generally, and so we've also been working on gameplay balance. For example, while yearlings do help out with daily work, it's limited. At a carcass, they can eat extra food to regurgitate for the pups, but as much as adults, since they still need most of that food for their own development.

So: good progress, but still lots to do before the Saga is ready to release! We'll share more as we go, so stay tuned!


* The upcoming WolfQuest Saga is "the rest of the game." Your pups will continue to grow into the fall and beyond, learning to hunt under your supervision, and then becoming yearlings when next year's pups are born. Time will continue progressing through the years until you die. The Saga is currently in development but we do not have a release date for it.

___________________

The WolfQuest saga will continue! Stay tuned for more news in upcoming devblogs about it and other new features!

Once the game is completed on PC/Mac, we will consider porting the game to other platforms.

We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready.

NEW MAPS
-Bumper: I small map with lots of side walls, routing opportunities, and open build spaces.
-Spiral: A twisted map with the potential to route to the middle platform and back out again. Watch out for Porters!

OVERDRIVE LEVELS (Experimental)
-Upgrade every single thing on a turret or Brian to unlock an “Overdrive” upgrade.
-Overdrive upgrades increase the damage of the unit by 5% per level (if that unit does damage).
-Overdrive upgrades are infinite.
-Overdrive upgrades are expensive! Only buy them if you have an abundance of cred or nothing else to buy.

HYPER CREEPS 11+ TUNING
-Hyper Creeps level 11 and up will scale their max health exponentially (more).
-Hyper Creeps level 11 will award more score exponentially (more).
-This change “should” result in a shorter late game play time, while still giving out a similar final score and artifact quality.

ARTIFACT PICKER CHANGES
-Player level higher or equal to 50 will receive 4 artifact choices.
-Player level higher or equal to 100 will receive 5 artifact choices.

SMALL STUFF
-New option for secondary props in visuals menu (requires restart). Disabling secondary props can drastically reduce GPU load in some cases.
-Loot buttons now show the primary effect title.
-All Best Scores now tracked on leaderboards.

TUNING
-Sub objective reward multi increased to 15% from 10%.
-Ranger damage increased to 350, 450, 550, 800, 1300, 2500 from 250, 350, 450, 550, 800, 1300
-Beam Emitter damage increased to 8.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 35.0f 65.0 from 8.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 30.0, 55.0.
-Snap Trap final damage upgrade increased to 1250 from 1000.
-Pulser final damage upgrade increase to 800 from 750.
-50 extra star cred for normal difficulty.
-150 extra star cred for easy difficulty.
-250 extra star cred for very easy difficulty.
-Blaster multishot artifact chances increased to 20%, 30%, 40%, from 15%, 25%, 35%.
-Brian Jar multishot artifact chances increased to 2%, 3%, 4%, from 1%, 2%, 3%.

TWEAKS
-Total upgrades no longer has a fill bar (to make room for new buttons).
-Increased the rate turrets and units can process data, which should improve slow response at low FPS.
-Post to leaderboards setting is now saved.
-Loot buttons show subtle highlight on stats related to the primary effect.

Hey Panda Peeps!

It’s time! The returning Beach Bash Event is here, which means the most beautiful pirate captain ever is waiting for you on the other side of that mysterious purple portal! If you haven’t met Kira yet, you NEED to. She’s ambitious, adventurous, classy, and sassy. She’s sure to have you hooked!

Remember, you only have from January 25 - 31 to relive those sweet summer memories by doing a bunch of beach stuff! Check off your goals, collect your rewards, and welcome pirate-girl Kira into your life.

We love you so hard,

The Pandas

Play on Steam option unchecked. Testing game saves

(156 votes) PvP - Battle Night: Take territory and eliminate the enemy under the moonlight. Don't forget your night equipment.

(222 votes) Co-op - Taskforce 666: Fight the Frenzied as a tactical team of special forces vampires.