The first few days of beta testing have come to a close, and we're thrilled with the feedback from our testers! 🎮

Bugs have been reported, and our team is hard at work squashing them and gearing up for a turbocharged launch.
If you're passionate about gaming and want to be part of the action, join us on our Discord server!


This week's focus in development:

Interface - kicking off work on the new shop
Gangs - gang symbols
Lighting adjustments
NPC movement fixes
Tutorial - crafting a better system
Adding lights to cars (dimmer during the day, brighter at night)
Resuming work on Garage Hub
Minimap - still in progress visually, but functional. Locations will be added soon.

I’ve been busy building new arenas and content for the full game, but I had time to put in some improvements to the demo, too. Mostly focusing on signposting (literally!) to help players find features like matchmaking, inviting friends and joining the community.

• Added a “Community” kiosk with dancing Discord Wumpus to help players find and join the BOTSU Discord Community (if you’re reading this and haven’t joined yet, what are you doing??!!)
  
• Moved Custom Match kiosk further away as it is not enabled in the demo. Community kiosk takes its place.

• Added controls screen billboard to home space to help new players and show extra controls that are not in the tutorial.

• “Connect” kiosk renamed to “Play with Friends”, shows how many are online, and now takes you to Steam friend invite screen.

• Added A-board signs to tell players how to join an online match via matchmaking.
  
• Improved position and visibility of the matchmaking train sign.
  
• Matchmaking train sign now says “arriving” when the train is arriving, and “boarding” when it has arrived.

• Added some billboards in the home space to encourage players to wishlist BOTSU on Steam. Thanks everyone who has wishlisted already! it helps others find the game, which really helps me out!! 🙏

💬Find out more behind the scenes on the BOTSU Discord or via social media: https://linktr.ee/botsu.game

Welcome to an extra special edition of the Dev Log! We asked our Discord members for any questions that they have about the new game, and today we’re going to be answering some of our favourites!

Will it be like all previous DuckLife games where there is a clear ending or will it be like Animal Crossing or The Sims where there isn't a clear ending? - Duckzila

There will indeed be a clear ending, however this time we are concentrating a lot more on post-game content than we ever have before. The story may have a clear ending but the game will not end so easily!

Will we have any appearances from the villains/final race competitors or protagonists from other games in DL9? - Avimo

There are currently plans to bring back a whopping 8 characters from previous games! Who these characters are, you’ll have to discover for yourself

Do you have any idea exactly when in early 2024 it will come out? Just curious, no pressure ofc - Avimo

There’s nothing scarier for a game developer than announcing a solid release date. It’s almost impossible to accurately predict how long it will take to make a game (as I’m sure you’ve seen with other games having their release dates pushed back or being released in an unfinished state!). What I can tell you is we’re planning to release a demo of the game for Steam Next Fest in February next year, and hopefully get the game out on some platforms by March/April

What games inspired this entry? - poolpeer9000

Inspiration from other games is such an important thing with everything we make. There’s the Chao racing from Sonic Adventure 2, which inspired the series in the first place. Duck Life 9 takes a lot of inspiration from Cult of the Lamb, Animal Crossing and The Sims for the flock building part of the game. Legend of Zelda and A Short Hike were big inspirations for the exploration part of the game, and the training games have a whole host of inspirations like Fall Guys, Mario Party, Subway Surfers and a load of flash games like Totem Destroyer, Helicopter Game and Red Remover.

Any plans for Multiplayer? Or anything like the arena in DL7 & DL8? - Duckzila

Yes! (If we have time) and it will be the most developed multiplayer we’ve ever released in a Duck Life game! (If we have time to make it that is)

Will there be a demo available before the full game is released? - 9Withers

Yes, we released a demo as part of Steam Next Fest in February. You can play it on Steam now!

When did the development start? - floppa gaming

We started designing the game in September 2022, and development fully started in April 2023

Pimples the Clown has diamond shaped eyes. Will there be more Crazy Eye Shapes in the duck designer? - Mayorfoxia82

Pimples the Clown has diamond shaped pupils because he is a member of a race of ducks called Crystal Ducks. That’s all the information I can give right now!

What will the max level be? - Irl duck from duck life

100

What are some features getting added because of feature requests? - Mayorfoxia82

For some context, we have a channel on the Wix Games Discord Server where people can post ideas of what to put in the new game. There have been some great ideas posted, and we have indeed used some of them in the game! Here’s a small sample of some of the ideas we are using:
- Gradient coloured ducks
- Ducks who have appeared in previous games as NPCs
- Bring back the prize machine
- Create your own cosmetics
- Bring body tattoos back
- Shoes for ducks

Race / Level Editor planned at all? - Duckzila

Nope, we learned our lesson in the flash version of Duck Life 2

Will there be race boost power ups like in duck life adventure? - DogeDeer

Yes! The race power ups you can use are called ‘Cheer’, ‘Apple’, ‘Dive’ and ‘Ground slam’. What they do exactly, you’ll have to find out by playing the game!

Can there be like an open beta for duck life 9 later in the server? It would be really cool. - Noor

We won’t be doing an open beta, but we will be selecting some Discord server members to participate in a closed beta. If you want to get involved, join the server and look out for an announcement early next year

What happened to the humans in DL series? - DucklifeFan

The humans have always been there. You are the humans.

Will the game have more than one ending? - DucklifeFan

No

How many time passed between DLA and DL9? Or this is a prequel? - DucklifeFan

Duck Life 9 follows on directly from the end of Duck Life Adventure

What do you think of the hate comments you had for changing the duck designs (I don't hate them, but I'm surprised by the hate)? - DucklifeFan

People will always be resistant to changes in their favourite game franchises. We don’t mind it, it just means people are passionate about our games! In the world of gaming we’ve seen this kind of thing many times before. When Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was first announced for example, some people absolutely hated the art style because it wasn’t what they were used to in a Zelda game. Now, in hindsight, it’s seen as one of the absolute best games of the series. We hope that any doubters will give the new style a chance, we think it works much much better for the 3D world than the old style ever could.

When will devlogs stop? Will they carry on until DL9 releases, or will they stop at maybe devlog 20 or 25? - Duckzila

We’re hoping to keep the dev logs going right up until we release the game. Don’t worry about us running out of ideas, there’s always plenty more to talk about!


That’s everything for now, but come back soon for more dev logs! We post here every two weeks. Join our Discord channel to keep updated and to join the discussion. We’ll also be posting trailers and updates on our YouTube channel, and if you’d like to wishlist the game you can do so now on the official Steam page

Hey Peeps thank you for tuning into the final week of Feb! Where has the time gone? We have been full steam ahead with the upcoming updates including a major update for Kart coming for April 1st.

As usual because we are at the end of the month make sure your payment deets are ready for the next one. We dont want you missing out on what we get up to and the special rewards we provide.

In celebration of Future Fragments being released we added the lock n lewd for Talia and Faye. This one however is a tough one to get as it requires you to finish the game at least once.



With this lock and lewd its related to the lore of the game so we dont want to spoil anything for players. But if you manage to unlock it please share it with us!



Ducky had a real good time revisiting both Talia and Faye in their new forms. As you can see by the sketch work we have saved she has come far with her artwork. This week will be more of a central focus on Kart's new update.

The next update will be rolling out mid march with a new racer, we shall go into more info this week on the direction. Also we had this wicked sketch from an artist recently for some upcoming merch. Figured it be cool to share.



Well thats it for this weeks update! We got a lot more coming as this month is a new Kart update along with some downloads for you! We are on fire this week and we have only got into month two! Thank you once again for your support!

Various Bug Fixes :
- Fixing the empty bubbles during the game's ending (I hope not too many people had this bug xD)
- Dynamically updating the localization explaining the rolling mechanic at the end of the tutorial if the player changes the language
- Making maze pieces invulnerable to explosions
- Adding a version indicator in the corner of the title menu
- Convoluted and very minor other fixes

Exciting news both for humans and robots! Robo50 is taking part in Steam's Dinos vs. Robots Fest from February 26th to March 4th. Dive into the futuristic world of Robo50 by playing the demo and adding it to your wishlist during the event. Don't miss out on this thrilling opportunity to experience the action-packed adventure of Robo50!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2089780/Robo50/

Fellow detectives,

we are thrilled to announce that our sci-fi detective adventure Between Horizons will launch on March 25th, 2024! Time for you to hop on board of the generation ship Zephyr, and take on the role of Stella - the newly assigned Chief of Security. Dive into the conspiracy behind the incident that threatens to disrupt the Zephyr’s social order and foil its mission.

While we're counting the days until release, we're adding the final touches to the game to provide you a fantastic gaming experience.

You can watch the new release date reveal trailer right here:



We can't wait for you to enter the Zephyr and utilize your detective skills to unravel the mysteries happening on this ship. Don't forget, failure is very much an option.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921980/Between_Horizons/

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds all of you well. I am excited to share an update with all of you.
The official release date for Forbidden Fantasy the RPG, is set for March 22, 2024.

As we reach the final stages of development, we're carefully placing the last pieces and working diligently to squash any game-breaking bugs. It's been quite a journey, and it is nearing the finish line.

We're looking forward to welcoming you to the world of Forbidden Fantasy on March 22nd.

Warm regards,
Lyen,
ZXLStudio

Bug Fix .
Combat System upgraded .

ːjollyrː Patch 1.1 is currently in progress and slated for release on March 15th. Alongside various adjustments, it will incorporate many of the features we initially promised but couldn't implement in time for the initial release.

ːjollyrː On March 15th, we will also provide an overview of the first month's results, unveil the roadmap for upcoming updates, and outline the future plans for the game and the series.

ːjollyrː Our main priority now is to fix bugs and blockers. Things are going really well so far and it looks like we will be able to take care of the most of tech issues in the next three weeks. Additionally, we are working on fixing the English translation, which has been ready for a while, but integrating it into the code is a manual labor and it is taking some time.

ːjollyrː We've hired several full-time employees to take care of 3D, 2D and animations. Finally we are getting somewhere.

ːjollyrː Steam Cards are ready and have been sent to Valve for approval.

ːjollyrː We are currently working on three more localizations: Spanish, German, and Ukrainian. Actually, it is not "we" as developers, but rather a heroic community effort.

The Spanish localization is the most extensive at the moment, thanks to Jtem and Escorpion. You can tag them in our Discord if you wish to participate.

The German translation is being handled by Skinny - you can leave comments on his mod if you're interested in contributing.

As for the Ukrainian translation, it's being undertaken by utconoss, the founder of BlackMark Studio, therefore ensuring high-quality results.

If you're keen on seeing your own language supported, consider creating a mod similar to Skinny's on our Steam Workshop - we'll reach out to you and offer any assistance possible.