Greetings Smallfolk!

On February 15th with content update #4, we will be introducing events and factions, adding liveliness to the overworld! This system comes with some unique rewards, gameplay situations and replayability!



First up, the events themselves.

This is the first iteration of the event system that covers the groundwork of things to come

On debut of this system, there will be several possible combat scenarios that will spawn across the overworld, so make sure you're well equipped!

These events will appear once every 15-20 minutes and 'trigger' once you are near.



Upon successfully completing an event, you will be awarded 'contribution points', these points, can be, well, given towards any of the current four factions; Ants, Spiders, Beasts and Bees!



Each faction can also be traded with, offering tradeable armor sets and cosmetic building parts.

Once you contribute 1000 points to a faction, you can align with them to unlock a unique perk, The greater your contribution and the more store tiers that you cap out, the greater the benefit of the affiliation. These perks have various effects that help make characters more powerful in combat, better at surviving, better at taming, or better at resource gathering.

You can find each faction representative at Mirmek, Lisanda, Skadi and Drustana.



There's just three more days until Smalland hits 1.0! Don't miss any news by following our socials!

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Arthurian legend may be chock-full of inspiring tales of heroism, from fighting dragons and demons to embarking on a noble quest to obtain the Holy Grail, but did you know it was packed to the brim with romance, too?

In fact, medieval love stories were so popular that they originated a widespread and influential genre—Arthurian romance. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, let’s explore some of the most passionate couples in Arthurian legend. 

Spoiler alert: While their love may mirror Romeo & Juliet, their endings do, too...
The Arthurian romance genre developed in the Middle Ages, usually comprising a tale of adventure featuring a love interest, often associated with the courtly love tradition of that time. Different from the traditional ‘romance’ genre, these aren’t love stories, but stories of noble heroes with the focus being on honour and bravery, with love as a secondary plot. 

Tales that included the quests of knights-errant can often be categorised as Arthurian romances, as they seek justice in return for the favour of the lady of their desires.
There are plenty of examples of romantic pairings in Arthurian legend who were definitely hit by Cupid’s arrow, and often killed by it too. One of these passionate pairs was Tristan and Isolde, and their tale includes a tragic love triangle for the ages. Tristan was one of the Knights of the Round Table, tasked with sailing to Ireland to bring back his uncle Mark’s bride—who just so happened to be Isolde. 

On the way back, they both drank a love potion (some versions describe this act as accidental) and fell hard for each other. Isolde still had to marry Mark to bring about peace between Ireland and Cornwall, so Tristan and Isolde began an adulterous affair. Ultimately, the two did not end up together, and thus this tale ends in tragedy. 


Tristan and Isolde in embrace by Rogelio de Egusquiza (1896)

Merlin is probably best known for his magical and mythical abilities and his friendship with King Arthur, to whom he was a trusted advisor. However, even with his vast knowledge, he was not insusceptible to puppy love. Nimue and Merlin were another Arthurian romantic pairing, and although there are many versions of this tale, our story focuses on just one rendition. Nimue was thought to be a Lady of the Lake, a title used to describe fae enchantresses in Arthurian legend, and in this tale, she uses her beauty to seduce Merlin into providing her with his magical knowledge, while keeping herself safe from a much older man. 

Merlin met Nimue when she was only 16, and he fell in love with her at first sight. She agreed to accompany Merlin on a journey in return for learning magic, and as they travelled together she became afraid that Merlin would use his abilities to enchant her into laying with him. Merlin, as a prophet and seer, foresaw his own death but was unable to stop his demise due to his helpless infatuation with Nimue. 

Finally, we come to possibly the most famous Arthurian couple, or should we say, throuple—Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. Lancelot was one of the greatest Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table, but he made the fatal mistake of falling in love with Queen Guinevere. Returning his love, they began a torrid affair, indirectly leading to the downfall of both Arthur and his kingdom. Many versions of this tale exist, but in every telling the two do not end up together, sometimes due to guilt from their betrayal keeping them apart even after Arthur’s death, making them a truly tragic Arthurian romance couple. 

Explore more of the legends that inspired Conqueror’s Blade: Avalon, get acquainted with King Arthur himself, and learn about Sir Galahad, the original knight-errant. 

Helvetia calling! It’s that time of year again when the Protectron’s are a-buzz with activities and masked excitement. Starting February 13, Fasnacht returns with masks and merriment.

Invite your friends to the parade or make new ones as you and other Dwellers help the Protectron party planning committee around town. Complete their requests and meet in the town center to begin the parade. You’ll need to have your trigger fingers ready to help combat enemies who wish to sabotage the bots on their parade route.

Complete the event before the timers run out gets you exciting new rewards that will make you the talk of Appalachia.

Fasnacht will run until February 27, so save the dates and don’t miss your chance to participate!



Plus, check out the Atomic Shop during the event and pick up some of the previous event masks to show off your noble side.

Greetings, Adventurers!

This article was updated on March 22: Season of the Guardian will release on Tuesday, April 2. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to resolve issues based on PTR feedback and work together towards even more enjoyable experiences in Aeternum. You can also look forward to the full release notes at the end of next week.

Survive the Winter Rune Forge, master Cooking Trade Skill changes, experience the updated Shattered Mountain main story quest, and play with a controller when Season of the Guardian releases on March 12. There are also new combat optimizations for smoother combat in PvP modes like Wars. Check out the next PTR for an early preview of our latest features.

Join the Development Team for an in-depth breakdown of Season of the Guardian:



The Winter Rune Forge, new Artifacts, Mounts in Outpost Rush, some Journey tasks, and a few of the Challenges will all require Rise of the Angry Earth to experience.



Join up to 10 max-level players in a bone-chilling gauntlet of increasingly difficult enemies. This Seasonal Trial requires teamwork to overcome Rune puzzles, slay an Icey Construct, and fell an Ancient Ice Guardian for unique rewards.



Grab 8 new Artifacts that excel through unique playstyles. Here are some of their key traits:

Sin - Hatchet

• Corruption: Debuffs last 25% longer. (Works on both weapons)
  
• Defile: Deals 2% more damage per debuff on target. (5 stacks max)

Venom - Spear

• Poison Tipped: Heavy attacks with either weapon cause poison dealing 20% weapon damage for 5s.

Tempest Fury - Great Axe

• Momentum: Successful attacks gain 3% movement speed for 3s. (Works on both weapons and stacks 10 times).

Nature’s Wrath - Medium Chestwear

• Nature’s Blessing: Empower expires 200% faster but you deal 20% more damage.

Gilli’s Gravity Gauntlets - Heavy Glove

• Whenever you take damage, gain a charge that increases the damage of your next attack by 3% (max 10 charges).

Ironheart - Heavy Legwear

• When not in heavy loadout, gain 20% more max health.

Creed Boots - Light Footwear

• Ambush: Deal 15% more damage and 25% critical chance as long as you haven’t hit the target within 20s.

Phoenix - Amulet

• Phoenix Revival: When you receive lethal damage, avoid death and become invulnerable for 2s (180s cooldown)

Season of the Guardian introduces a new Season Journey, new Activity Card, new Challenges, and new rewards including cosmetics and consumables.



Look forward to ingredient updates, revamped Cooking progression, Legendary Fish recipe tweaks, the removal of split attribute food, and more. We’ll have additional details to share in a future Deep Dive article.


We’ve upgraded our old combat and animation system to improve performance in high traffic areas with many players like Wars and OPR. This new system will also make it easier to improve on our combat going forward. We’ve done our best to keep the feel of the game the same or better, but would definitely like to hear about things that don’t feel right after the upgrade.

Controller support is coming to New World! Select from two pre-set controller layouts to make your New World experience even more immersive. As part of optimizing the game to play well with controller, we've introduced the following new features and settings:

• Aim Assist: Helps with aiming ranged attacks. (Controller only, AI only)
  
• Target Friction: Slower reticle speed on roll over of a valid target (Controller only)
  
• Enemy Target Lock: Allows you to lock the camera onto an enemy (AI only). Move the right stick to swap between multiple targets. (Works on both controller and mouse & keyboard with middle mouse button and mouse wheel up/down)
  
• Freeform Movement: Allows running in all directions including towards the camera. Holding block or activating target lock will revert to normal strafe navigation. (Defaults to ON with controller, OFF with mouse & keyboard)
  
• Use Camera Direction for Melee Attacks: If this is off it allows melee attacks and blocking in the direction of your input/character facing instead of your camera facing. (Defaults to OFF with controller, ON with mouse & keyboard)
  
• Improved feature accessibility:
  
• Radial wheel for quick access to features like player emotes, issuing commands and setting up camp.
  
• Shift modifiers to allow for quick access to all combat abilities.
  
• Improved UX navigation with gamepad for faster actions.

The entire New World main story quest is now fully updated based on player feedback and improvements made to the revamped starting experience. Experience fresh narratives, more quest variety, and a few new surprises as you put an end to Isabella’s campaign of corruption.



Ride your favorite mount into battle, gain control of fortifications and resources, and strike down foes in this 20v20 game mode for Level 60+ players.


The plague of rabbits has returned once again, only now, they are more perilous than ever. Watch out for explosions as you hunt for event-specific loot.


The Time of Awakening has arrived. Springtide Bloom calls its children to share an ancient secret capable of granting true freedom. Help the enigmatic Bloom Herald unravel the mysteries of the ethereal Wispybloom and collect Springtide's fertile bounty of event-specific rewards. Harvest with caution, as swarms of vile Wispy Wasps guard the blooms with fury!

The Public Test Realm (PTR) is a limited-availability server-set that grants an early look at upcoming features. These preview builds are snapshots of upcoming major releases and are not final versions — you may encounter bugs, crashes, missing text, or other issues. Between our internal testing efforts and your reports, we hope to catch and resolve all serious issues before they reach the live servers. Hundreds of changes have already been made — with more to come — and the full release notes will be shared on release day. However, not every bug or feedback piece will be actioned on before release — some changes need time to be investigated further, and may arrive in a subsequent patch or two.

To help with the feedback process, all newly created PTR characters will have the opportunity to instantly level to select level-ranges outfitted with appropriate gear and items.

The PTR will officially open on February 15. If you encounter a bug, exploit, or have suggestions to improve a feature or piece of content, we’d love to hear your feedback on our Discord (you can also utilize our in-game feedback tool). We will do our best to address as much of your feedback as possible before the content update makes its way to our live servers. Your participation will help us to deliver awesome content and updates in the future!

During this iteration of the PTR, we look forward to hearing your playtest feedback on the following changes:

• Winter Rune Forge
  
• Season 5 Artifacts
  
• Main Story Quest Update
  
• Controller Support
  
• Upgraded Combat & Animation System
  
• Weapon Balance Updates
  
• Mounts in Outpost Rush
  
• Season 5 Rewards Track
  
• Cooking Trade Skill changes

This content will be tested in rolling waves. Stay tuned to our Social channels and Discord for the full schedule.

This special preview client will be made available for download through the stand-alone Steam application, “New World Public Test Realm” (which should already be in your Steam library if you own the main game). When the test period is complete and the main New World game is updated with the previewed content, the PTR world will shut down and may be wiped clean. You will continue to see the New World PTR application in your Steam library, but there will not be an active server until the next time we announce a public test.

Upon character creation on the PTR, players will be given multiple caches of special armor and weapons. Each cache has a designation based upon a general build and a main attribute: CON, DEX, INT, FOC, and STR.

To help manage the sudden onset of new items, do not open all provided caches at once, or you’ll risk becoming encumbered! Instead, equip all provided bags and then follow-up with opening each cache deliberately. Any undesired caches can be dropped or deposited into your personal settlement storage.

Everyone with a copy of New World will be automatically granted access to the secondary PTR app. The PTR is not compatible with the live game, so you will need to download a separate client (and have the hard drive space required to support it). From there, we will have special worlds available within supported regions. Not all regions will initially be supported. Access is on a first come, first served basis. There may be queues.

Unfortunately, no. These are separate ecosystems, so at this time it is not possible. However, to make testing easier, we will occasionally provide our play-testers with special accommodations such as instant levels, special gear, etc.

Preview game builds on the PTR are finished with their core development and are in their final phase of testing and bug fixing. Our main focus at this phase is improving quality, although we will appreciate any feedback you have to share.

Our policies and Code of Conduct cover the PTR, and in-game moderation will continue to be supported. Unfortunately, due to the temporary and potentially unstable nature of the PTR, general Customer Service assistance through both Live Chat and through the Support Website will not be available.

Don’t worry, no offense taken. Players can manage visibility of the New World Public Test Realm Steam Library entry. Opening up the game options (right-click > Manage) offers the “Hide Game” function.

Thanks for your support and participation! We'll see you in Aeternum.

Development of the game has been moving at full speed over the last few months!
As part of the Steam Remote Play Together event, we're excited to bring you a new demo, very close to what the game will look like on release.

A big thank you to the playtesters who really helped us improve the game and make it more fun than ever!


The racing part is in the spotlight, with Bronze/Silver/Gold trophies to unlock!
Cooperate in pairs, persevere and replay levels to improve your times!



A new dash mechanic has been introduced, allowing you to take shortcuts and therefore go ever faster, making the game even more nerve-wracking.



New Puzzle levels have also been added, without the stress of the timer. They revive the gameplay experience, with two players working together to find the way out!



And here's the new trailer to whet your appetite.
Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

Just a heads up that the game will receive a new patch featuring many gameplay updates on the 23rd of February, more details to come soon, along with another announcement.

Ahoy Blitzers!

Many of you are excited about upcoming content, and we’re ever so grateful for your support!

To give you more insight into our work, and upcoming updates, we sat down to record our very first Cross Blitz: Dev Talk! Discover how we designed the five factions (War, Chaos, Fortune, Balance, Nature) and what's coming next for each of them!



If you’d like us to talk about specific topics or answer some of your questions in the next Dev Talk, leave us a comment on the video or our social media channels:


Twitter
https://twitter.com/takoboystudios
https://twitter.com/TheArcadeCrew

Official Discord
https://discord.gg/takoboystudios

Official Subreddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossBlitz_/

Tik Tok
https://www.tiktok.com/@crossblitzgame


Happy Blitzing!

Celebrate the Lunar New Year in this limited-time event. Only the best take home a pile of in-game rewards – good luck!

First time playing in a Showdown? We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know.

Qualifying Round

• The qualifying round lasts three days
  
• Players have a daily chance each day of the qualifying round to secure their spot in the elimination round
  
• The top 50% of the qualifying round leaderboard advance to the elimination round
  
• Players that qualify on day one (top 50%) do not need to play on day two or three of the qualifying round
  
• Players that do not qualify on day one are still eligible to compete on days two or three to secure an elimination round spot

Elimination Round

• The elimination round lasts two days
  
• Players only get one chance to grab a spot in the final round, unlike the qualifying round
  
• The top 50% of the elimination round leaderboard advance to the final round

Final Round

• The final round also lasts two days
  
• If you’ve made it this far, you’ll receive a prize no matter what, but the higher you rank, the bigger the prizes

Other Things to Know

• We base scoring on total strokes, meaning the fewer shots you take to complete your matches, the higher you rank on the leaderboard
  
• Incomplete or forfeited holes score as bogeys

Welcome to the final night of our Festival of Rail 2024 livestreams! You can view a plan for the upcoming content, starting from 17:00 UTC tonight in our summary image below:



If you missed our Dovetail Direct yesterday, be sure to read up on all the new announcements across all of our franchises, and get involved in our community spaces to discuss the future routes!

Catch our streams and follow our socials by following @trainsimworld on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok

I’ve got exciting news, as Flooded is gearing up for another round at the RPG Maker Festival… And on this occasion, you can grab the game at a 25% discount!

But wait, there's more! As part of the event, I'd like to invite you to join me for a looped stream directly on Flooded Steam page. It features two thrilling levels from the full version of the game.

Come join the fun, uncover many secrets, and gain some awesome gaming memories!

See you
Tymek

Follow Flooded:
📍 Facebook
📍 X
📍 IndieDB

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1795470/Flooded/