Soulash 2 - Artur Smiarowski
Greetings fellow gods,

The time has come for our second milestone update v0.7 "Adventuring Parties" introducing party mechanics, hireable and constructible companions, and Leadership, a new skill to support it. Here are some details.

Leadership

Leadership is a skill focused mainly on passive bonuses to all party members. It offers 3 companion slots that we can use to hire new members to travel with us and amplifiers that allow us not to hurt our allies with AoE skills or replicate self-targeted buffs.



Construction Enhancement

You can say goodbye to the golem in a box, as a new dwarven technology has been invented. We'll build the golem permanently and craft custom items for 4 unique slots this time. The Construction skill provides one companion slot alongside the Golem at level 40, and together with the Leadership skills, it allows you to realize your dream of being an artificer protected by beefy adamantine constructs.



Party System

With these additions, it's now possible to hire any military unit from any town, except for generals, as long as the player character has access to an empty companion slot. The price may vary depending on stats, skills, and equipped items. The companions require only a single payment, with no additional upkeep of gold or food.

The companions will follow you anywhere and attack your enemies on their own, but you can also order them to do any activity by selecting their portrait on the left side of the screen.



They will also automatically help you build if they can access the required tools and serve as mules, as you can freely access their equipment and backpack by dropping items on party member portraits. While stashing and trading, you will see all companion backpack items for easy access.

Steam Leaderboards

New Steam Leaderboards have been added for worlds created in v0.7 and later, including the races of Mushmen and Reptilions. As a reminder, these are not protected since the whole game is local, so they are just for casual fun.

The leaderboards are available here: Global Leaderboards

Changelog

Here's the changelog for this update:

Added
- New skill: Leadership.
- Added the Party section to the Equipment screen that shows up when the player acquires a companion slot from any skill.
- Selecting a party member on the Equipment screen allows ordering them to change their equipment and see their statistics.
- Added an option to drag & drop items to and from companions.
- Added a list of companions under player portrait on the game screen. Selecting the companion allows giving orders the same way the player performs actions.
- Added a button that randomizes the player character's name during the character creation.
- Party members who have the necessary tools can help build structures.
- Added 22 new recipes to Construction skill related to Golem parts.

Changed
- The golem recipe has been reworked to be buildable instead of craftable and is now a full companion with custom item slots.
- Golem and Elemental Core are now level 40 construction recipes. There are new recipes for golem items in Construction skill above level 40.
- On the Trading Screen and Stash Screen, the items belonging to the player are shared with the party members, allowing direct sales or stashing from the companion's backpack.
- Changed experience gained from crafting, upgrading, and building to equal 1 per resource used. The exception to that is Agriculture, which adds 2 experience points.
- The green portrait border is now reserved only for the player party members.
- Improved Ostrich Feather bonuses.
- Mycelium Pins added to Agriculture skill.
- Dwarves invented fence doors and integrated them into Sheep Ranches.
- Stash now requires 2 basic wood units to construct.
- Changed the Book item type to Note instead of Usable, since it has no use.
- Increased the chance to spawn new special locations once they drop below a certain global number.

Fixed
- Fixed an issue that would prevent selecting some items on character creation.
- Wooden Fence Doors no longer block the view.
- Item component has been removed from Peat Moss.
- Fixed some tents having walls instead of floors.
- Replaced furnace with the oven in an abandoned farm.
- Fixed some kavian villages not having kavians.
- Fixed flickering effect on item pickup and action selection.
- Swamp Guardian corpse now provides the Swamp Guardian Eye when scavenged.
- Great Larva Slime is correctly categorized as a magic ingredient.
- Fixed an issue that caused many settlement NPCs to have too low move speed.

Modding
- Added an option for passives to apply only to party members.
- New passive effects: Companion, Party Move Speed (details in doc).


I hope you'll enjoy the new mechanics and systems. We're back on weekly updates now, I'll focus on the backlog of bugs reported on Discord and some UX improvements, with the next content target being the Hunting skill. If you missed the Roadmap, the next major update is planned in 3 months and will focus on filling our settlements with NPCs. Remember to join our community on Discord, where you'll find plenty of great players to discuss the game with!

Have fun,
Artur
Ground of Aces - arbiterin
We are excited to announce that the exclusive closed alpha for GROUND OF ACES will start next week on the 14th of March!

The last few weeks we did small pre-alpha playtests with selected members of the community and thanks to their feedback, our programmers and designers were able to iron out game-crashing bugs and make significant improvements. Now we have the first alpha version ready that can be released next week.

You want to be in the closed alpha?
You want to support this project and help shape the game with your feedback in this early stage of development?


DISCLAIMER: Only buy the alpha if you want to be part of the development and if you are aware that this is an early work-in-progress of the game.

ATTENTION – KEYS ARE LIMITED
The available keys for this closed alpha batch are limited. 3/4 of the keys are already reserved, 1/4 are still available for new people. If you want to be in the group of alpha players who can influence and shape the development of GROUND OF ACES with their feedback, this is your chance to join.

But what is an alpha anyway?
Maybe some of you don't know the game dev term "alpha". As preparation, you can watch this video from our team member Ben that explains what an alpha of a game means:


Ben also continued to make weekly Base Builder Monday videos, you can find them all here.

Want to join our Discord and stay up to date?


And don't forget to WISHLIST if you haven't already!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2308690/Ground_of_Aces
Shovel Pirate - kiwicode
- Added local multiplayer VS. Mode
- Added new hats 🏴‍☠️

Stellaris - PDX_ladydzra

by Eladrin

Hi everyone!

Today we’ll be taking a look at the state of the game, the upcoming 3.11.2 patch, talk about the Subscription FAQ, look at the Q&A transcript, and give a taste of what’s next.

Let’s get to it.

State of the Game​
The Stellaris 3.11.1 “Eridanus” update was released last week, and I’m happy to say that the build appears quite stable crash-wise.

The number of crash reports is very low for a release, with approximately 90% of the ones we are getting being due to mods that haven’t been updated. Of these, more than half are specifically related to mods that affect the Galaxy Settings screen. Metrics so far show that Multiplayer seems to be significantly more stable than 3.10.4 as well, though an issue has been raised regarding observer mode causing major performance issues in multiplayer that we're currently looking into.

The Custodian Team is currently working on a 3.11.2 update including some of the things that you’ve all reported, preliminarily scheduled for release next Tuesday, March 12th.

SOME THINGS PLANNED FOR 3.11.2

Balance
  • The Opener for Domination now gives +5% Worker Output and +5% Slave Output instead of +10% Slave Output so Egalitarians and Xenophiles aren’t sad.
  • Versatility Operational Proxies now gives +1 Unity production to Maintenance Drones so that Rogue Servitors aren't left out.
  • Decreased the cost to study (-25%) and pacify (-40%) space fauna.

Bugfixes
  • Fixed Federation Emissaries and GalCom Delegates not assigning correctly.
  • Acquiring the Colonization Drones from the Chemical Wasteland Astral Rift will no longer lead to discovering Noxious Swamps (or other natural blockers) on Habitats (or other planets that shouldn't support these blockers)
  • Corrected Adaptability Enhanced Recycling tooltip listing a 10% reduction instead of the 15% reduction.
  • Corrected the finisher effect for Domination giving -15% Empire Size from Pops in some cases
  • The finisher for Diplomacy now correctly says it gives +10% Diplomatic Weight instead of +10 Diplomatic Weight
  • Fixed an issue where the "On the Origins of Nanites" special project didn't spawn.
  • The Chosen will now declare a war of Cleansing on whoever breaches their wormhole
  • Fixed habitat capital buildings given the wrong number of defensive armies
  • Mining districts on machine worlds should no longer claim to give scrap miner drone jobs
  • Fixed anomaly.7200 having repeated flags in their switch.
  • Cartographer II and Cartographer III are now correctly recognised as councilor traits
  • Fixed modifiers to mining and research station upkeep incorrectly attempting to reduce the upkeep of the planet they were orbiting
  • Science ship auto explore feature with astral rifts sometimes skipped unexplored ones
  • Fixed the icon for the Great Researcher trait
  • Fixed Holy Covenants not giving High Priest jobs in some cases
  • The Shallash system will now spawn properly again.
  • You will no longer be able to engage in pre-FTL diplomacy with pre-FTLs not within your borders
  • Homicidal empires will now properly annex pre-FTLs that are foolish enough to become space faring.
  • Bio-trophies are no longer affected by Noxious Twice.
  • Fix lack of evasion on sapient torpedo comp.
UI
  • Fixes the background selector for rulers being set incorrectly in the leader category of the background selectors

Stability
  • Fixed crash upon startup that could be caused by write-protected user directory.
  • Fixed CTD that sometimes happens when finishing species modification.
  • Fixed CTD when using console command dump_event_data and the output file is not writable
  • Fixed CTD in leader names after loading a savegame
  • Fixed CTD that may occur when updating diplomacy for countries without diplomacy

More on the Stellaris Expansion Subscription​
We’ve created an FAQ about the Stellaris Expansion Subscription option, I've included it here:

We've gathered up some of the most frequently asked questions from the launch of the Stellaris Expansion Subscription.
  1. Will I lose access to my existing content purchases?
    No. All existing purchases will remain, and you will not have to sign up to the subscription service to maintain your access to your previously purchased content.
  2. Will future content be subscription-only?
    No! Our main model will remain focused around expansions and other content, as we have done so far. We have introduced a subscription service to lower the barrier to entry for new players.
  3. Who asked for this?
    We are experimenting with this additional option to provide players access to the full Stellaris experience. We are simply offering another choice, as we understand that many players would be interested in trying Stellaris with all the content without having to commit to purchasing all the existing content.
  4. Why did you not just create content bundles?
    We already have bundles available that we have designed with the help of our community. We are happy with the currently available offerings, but may look into this again in the future.
  5. If I play multiplayer with the subscription, does everyone else in my lobby still get to use my content for that game?
    Yes! Subscription ownership of the content comes with all the features that a regular purchase does. You can share the content from the subscription in multiplayer with your friends that only have the base-game.
  6. Are there any plans to expand the subscription service to other stores/platforms?
    No current plans at this time, but something on our radar long-term.
  7. Does the subscription model signal the end of development on Stellaris?
    We currently have several years of Stellaris development planned.
  8. Will individual content still be available for sale?
    Yes! Stellaris content will continue to be available to purchased individually, as it always has been.
  9. Why isn’t there a discounted price for the subscription for players who already own some/all of the content?
    The Stellaris subscription is geared towards allowing new players more avenues into the full Stellaris experience. As such, we attempted to keep the initial public offering as simple as possible. We may look at expanding our offerings in the future, however.
  10. Why can't I buy Stellaris content while my subscription is active?
    When you have an ongoing subscription, you are technically considered to have the content in your library. As such, stores will stop you from purchasing a DLC for the same account twice (since the DLC is already in your library). Once the subscription expires, you can again go back to purchasing content normally.
We hope this provides more clarity into our process and alleviates some of the concerns of the Community with regards to the Expansion Subscription. If you have further questions, feel free to ask them in the thread below and we will do our best to provide answers!

For several years, the Expansion Subscriptions on some of our other games have proven very popular with new players, which was the major reason we wanted to bring the concept over to Stellaris. As Crusader Kings III's Chapters have likewise been extremely popular with their more experienced players, we're also looking into bundling future content together in a similar manner to make it easier for our veterans to get the new content at a discount.

Discord Q&A Transcript​
On February 22nd, we held a Q&A on Discord. The team answered 247 questions and only got a little trolly.

For a transcript of the questions that were answered, please visit the Paradox forums.

What Else?​
I promised to give a teaser about what the internal team has been working on. Here you go.



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Next week's dev diary will be later than usual as well.
First Odium - Error_Esc
Replaced every Battleback with all new battlebacks and replaced every enemy sprite with a retro look.
BDSM Apocalypse - noxurtica
fixed bug that sends player to RPG mode during mission
Suzerain - Torpor

Kingdom Mourns Princess Lena

Rizia, Monday, Sep. 1, 1942 - In a sorrowful announcement that has plunged the Kingdom of Rizia into mourning, Lena Toras, Princess of Rumburg and Princess Consort of Rizia cherished for her philanthropy and kindred spirit, was killed following a harrowing sailing accident. The tragedy unfolded yesterday in the Gulf of Valenqiris in the heart of a sudden tempest that ravaged the sea during the celebration of Princess Vina's 10th birthday. Despite valiant efforts by the ship's captain and a swift rescue operation by the coast guard, Princess Lena's injuries proved fatal, and she passed away at the hospital.

The royal family, overwhelmed with grief, has extended their gratitude towards the rescuers and medical personnel for their unwavering dedication and implores the public for privacy as they navigate through this profound loss. The entire kingdom is united in grief, honoring the Princess. As a sign of respect and mourning, flags across Valenqiris have been lowered to half-mast, marking the commencement of a mourning period for the dearly missed Princess Lena.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Glovurius axa Rizia!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2352340/Suzerain_Kingdom_of_Rizia/

Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Discord and our newsletter to get the latest breaking news for Suzerain and The Conformist.

This Is the Police - Weappy


Your film unexpectedly became the highest-grossing picture of 1959. Where do you go from here? Of course, you capitalize on your success by cutting all possible corners and making an epically monstrous sequel! After all, that's exactly what our latest video is all about. In Hollywood Animal, you run a movie studio over the course of decades, and you're free to grow it however you please — even if it means turning it into a soulless corporate juggernaut.

“There's something strangely satisfying about doing things in games that you hate seeing done in real life," say the developers from Weappy. "You might not find a single cinephile who rejoices in assembly-line filmmaking. But when you find yourself in the manager’s chair, responsible for the survival of a business, like you do in our game, all those time-tested tropes and outrageous cliches suddenly gain a new appeal."

Hollywood Animal is coming to PC later this year. Don't forget to wishlist:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2680550/Hollywood_Animal/
Islands of Insight - jchaparro
Hello Seekers,

Today we released a new patch that addresses various issues. Please see details below.

General game fixes
  • Fixed an issue affecting some players where selecting Play Game would result in a crash and UE4 crash report.
  • Improved server synchronization.
  • Improvements to reported rubber banding and server connection issues.
  • Players previously unable to complete Enclaves, and hence blocked in their campaign, should now be unblocked.
  • Enclave progress will no longer reset upon launch.
  • Each zone on the map will now display the correct Mirabilis count.
  • Customization items that could previously not be unlocked, are now available and displaying as intended.
  • Wing unlock now behaving as intended.
  • Fixes to Party features, including pings and emotes now behaving and appearing as intended.
  • Several graphical & interactive (collision/clipping) fixes.
  • Naming discrepancies between different areas in the game and menus have been fixed.
  • Unlocking secrets and opening secret animations in the Encyclopedia no longer cause issues.

Puzzle specific fixes
  • For those impacted, Rolling Block puzzles are now available in the Enclave, Gather No Moss. Completing the Enclave will now also display information about unlocking this puzzle type.
  • Sentinel Stone pillars now appear as intended in the environment.
  • Solving puzzles in The Temple of Infinite Rings will now impact your quest log and progress will not reset.
  • Invisible wall is no longer present in one of The Glass Temple’s Crystal Labyrinth.
  • Skydrop mastery now impacted by the Skydrop Combo.
  • Holding X to reset (Glide Rings, Crystal Labyrinth) now works as intended.

Thank you all for your patience and support, and if you experience any other issues, please be sure to contact our support team here: https://islands-of-insight.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

The IOI Team
Beat Saber - Baty Alquawen


Hey players, the Daft Punk Music Pack is out now! Few artists have been more requested by our community than Daft Punk; this long-awaited music pack features 10 of the duo's top hits, along with a custom environment inspired by the band's iconic 'triangle' stage design from their live shows.

The tracklist includes:
  • Around The World
  • Around The World / Harder Better Faster Stronger (Live 2007)
  • Da Funk / Daftendirekt (Live 2007)
  • Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
  • Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
  • Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)
  • One More Time
  • Technologic
  • The Prime Time of Your Life (Live 2007)
  • Veridis Quo

For the first time ever, we're launching live music in the game, bringing select high-energy tracks from the legendary live show Alive 2007. If you're up for a challenge, this music pack features the longest song ever released on Beat Saber - The Prime Time of Your Life (Live 2007) - it's 10 mins and 23 seconds long!

New for the Daft Punk Music Pack, lasers now have physics, so if they rotate and hit a piece of geometry in the scene, the laser will stop rather than shining through objects. And the brighter a laser is, the longer its length. This works particularly well in reverse—when a laser is fading out, its length will gradually decrease.

Release Notes:
  • Fixed: Haptics don’t work in rare situations.
  • Fixed: Incorrect recentering instructions displayed on FTUE warning for 360° mode for Rift and Steam. FTUE warning for 360° mode levels references PS5 controllers.
  • Fixed: When filtering by Content Rating, the selected option will not show in the filter bar.
  • Fixed: In the “Favorites” tab, if the user has less than 17 songs favorited, the song list will not appear in alphabetical order.

[Level Editor]
  • Fixed: Changing the BPM to an extremely large number causes a crash in the Level Editor.
  • Fixed: After exiting the Level Editor it isn't possible to start any song, instead the game will show the “error getting data” message in place of the play button.
  • Fixed: If the Level Editor is used for an extended period of time, a message will pop up: “Beatmap Editor doesn't work with VR. Use your computer screen for editing and VR only for playtesting.”
...