Mar 8, 2024

Crime Scene Cleaner - Kja

Sup Cleaners!

Embarking on a cleaning spree through the gritty underworld can undoubtedly take its toll on your sanity. That's why we've added a feature to make your cleaning escapades a bit more enjoyable – the power of music!

AUDIO CASSETTES

During your adventure, you will be able to find audio cassettes scattered around the locations. Once you find them, you can add them to your collection, which you can browse through in a special tab located on your tablet. Moreover, you will be able to play them at any time you want! Don't be worried, because they won't disturb you in key plot moments of the game. At the start, your library will contain only a few songs, but it will continue to expand with each cassette found.

PLAYLISTS

If you hear any music in the game, you can expect it to be findable and playable! Cassettes can be obtained by picking them up during missions, as information about all discovered and undiscovered soundtracks can be found on the tablet. It will also list the location where each specific soundtrack is hidden. By default, tracks are displayed and sorted by where they are found, but you can also sort them by title or music genre.

But that's not all, because you can create your own playlists! Select songs you want to hear the most, press the play button and enjoy your favorite songs one after another as long as you want. Now, go out there, clean up the mess, and let the music guide you.

Stay tuned for more updates, and once you get a hold on the game, don't forget to share your favorite cleaning beats with us! And what do you usually listen to while cleaning in real life? Let us know through discord or in the comments! Have a happy time cleaning to your favorite tunes and remember to keep your eyes wide open for news and dates, because we’re getting closer and closer to the release, which is just around the corner. Get ready because we’re progressing at full speed, cleaners!

And by the way, you can let us know in the comment what could have possibly happened on the picture above. We only accept wrong answers!

See ya!
The Devs

Mar 8, 2024

Mid-Cycle Build Balance Survey

Last Epoch - EHG_Kain

Greetings Travelers,

As we continue our mission of collaboration with the community, we wanted to reach out and get as much feedback as we can on the topic of Mid-Cycle balance. In years past we have reached out to the community via a survey, and we found the feedback very valuable. Today, we are hoping to do the same once again.

Previously, our decision on the topic of Mid-Cycle balance has been to avoid adjustments to skills and items that are overperforming but are not bugs and to avoid fixing bugs that result in those skills becoming significantly weaker. The exceptions here are bugs that cause server stability issues.

To be clear, this small survey only focuses on bug fixes or balance changes that apply to overperforming skills or items. We will continue to fix bugs that result in skills and/or items receiving a buff. Things like server stability, Item Factions, or similar issues are not a part of this survey.

We know that the conversation can be more nuanced than your typical agree, disagree, no opinion poll, but we also want to get the sentiment of the community at large. Please take a few minutes (it’s only seven questions) and let us know your thoughts.

Link to Survey: https://forms.gle/4fZaNNP65oH7HFdA8

Thank You,
Last Epoch Team

Mar 8, 2024

Developers Report: Current Status and strategic outlook.

UNITED 1944 - Sheik Sama

Hello, survivors! I'm Jake (SheikSama on Discord), the Live Ops Producer at Novarama. Welcome to this Developer's Report, where we'll discuss the current state of the game and our company, outline what's coming up next, and share our strategies to resolve known issues within the game.

Current State

UNITED 1944 has struggled filling servers, which of course generates a negative sales and review loop. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to the game. We have been creating games for 20 years and understand that this industry is a marathon, not a sprint.

Many of you have voiced concerns on Discord that we should do more marketing, promote the game more. Of course, being an indie game, in Early Access, on one of the more saturated genres to enter hasn't helped. Yes, we have engaged in several marketing initiatives and collaborated with streamers. And it's true the outcome haven't met the expectations of our community and ourselves. Clearly, a marketing campaign for a multiplayer survival shooter requires means that we, as of today, do not have. But we feel there's a lot of work we can do within the game: we want to create a better game, so we engage our existing community and attract new players.

DEMO Impact

As you are well aware, we released a DEMO to encourage players to come and give UNITED 1944 a try. We're happy to announce that, since the release of the DEMO, we've welcomed 10,000 new unique players. Slowly, but it's a move we consider successful.

Of course, having a demo is useless if people are not playing games. Waiting on an empty lobby is frustrating, and ends up with dissatisfied players and a bad review. To address this, I'm happy to announce a number of measures, starting with a new game mode coming later this month.

New game mode: Skirmish

Skirmish is a compact version of the classic Domination Game mode. It maintains all the essential elements players love but is designed for quicker access and play. With smaller maps and a reduced player requirement, this mode supports 6 vs 6 battles, ensuring faster matchmaking and less waiting. In Skirmish, teams fight for control of the map, engaging in strategic base building, defense, and offensive maneuvers. This smaller setting ensures that players can enjoy all the action while minimizing downtime.

Improving Retention

Once we get players into battles in the new game mode, our focus shifts to retention: maintaining their engagement. We're reevaluating our approach to improve player retention and build a more robust community. It's useless to bring 10.000 players if only 900 stay after one month. We've reviewed our game, the data, and the outcomes of our previous strategies, concluding that retention issues largely stem from various friction points within the game that prevent players from fully experiencing its depth. We’ve meticulously dissected our macro game loop, identifying critical areas needing an overhaul.

The main aspects of the game we’re focusing on include:

Construction loop
Base building/Attack/Defense loop
Safe boxes loop
Scavenge loop
Inventory management

We’re not planning to remove these elements. Our goal is to eliminate as many friction points as possible, making the game more enjoyable and engaging for you, the players. Naturally, there are many smaller areas that will also receive attention, but the ones mentioned are our primary focus.

Survivor

In order to work on the new game mode and fix all game mechanics, we must also share some tough decisions. We've decided to remove the Survivor game mode for now to maintain focus: a smaller game is always easier to iterate. We believe Survivor has a ton of potential, but it requires a deeper analysis; we recognize it was launched prematurely and has divided our player base.

We are phasing out the server browser and regional servers to streamline and improve matchmaking. We understand these features are important to some, but our data shows that simplifying how players connect can significantly reduce wait times and the number of active games.

That change is not final, as you know we are a community-driven game, and it might come back in the future. There are many more small tweaks and improvements not detailed, but they are all aimed in the same direction: fill servers, ensure people enjoy the game, and encourage them to come back.

Our vision: The summer offensive

As you can see in the preceding points, we are preparing a Summer Offensive, aimed at key issues like improving player retention and addressing the challenge of not having enough players for a full experience.

Month by month, we will give you updates on this plan. Starting this month of March, you will get the Skirmish game mode. After March, we plan to release updates aimed at addressing the specific friction points identified within our game loop and collecting player feedback. This ensures that our efforts to attract new players aren't undermined by poor player retention.

We can't share every detail from now until June, as we need the flexibility to respond to evolving situations. But I hope this message has given you a good outline of our intended direction.

Of course, we'll continue leveraging proven strategies like the DEMO, Steam events, Visibility Rounds, and significant update launches. These methods have successfully attracted new players, and we're confident in their ongoing effectiveness.

Additionally, we’re excited to increase our interaction with you, our community. Planned activities include developer streams and voice Q&A sessions on Discord, among other community-focused initiatives. Your dedication in the Discord servers and enthusiasm for organizing games have been truly inspiring.

Parting Thoughts

We don’t need to tell you "it’s a hard year in the industry": it's been a terrible year. Many good games have been canceled, and studios have closed. But even when the tide of war seems to go against you, every battle is worth fighting for. You can count on us to keep improving UNITED 1944. Thank you for sticking by our side.

From everyone at Novarama, developers of UNITED 1944, thanks for your support all these months! Back to work!

Remember to join UNITED 1944 Discord for feedback and dev updates.

Mar 8, 2024

Developer Update - March 8th

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - RS_Cain

Hello people of Metropolis!

We'll keep the update nice and short this week, as we at Rocksteady are hard at work making sure the game is in the best shape it can be for when Season 1 launches later this month.

State of the game

With the release date of Season 1 announced, we are focused on ensuring that both the Seasonal update is ready, and that all upcoming fixes are thoroughly tested. We are also continuing to work on other remaining issues and will let you know when we are able to implement further fixes.

For those still experiencing issues with the game, we hear your frustration and thank you for your patience while we work on a fix.

Get ready for Season 1!

This week we made the very exciting announcement of Season 1's release date: March 28th! We can't wait for you all to play Suicide Squad's first Seasonal update, with The Joker as a new playable character, a new Elseworld to explore, an arsenal of new weapons and gear, new missions and more. All free for those who own the game!

But before we get any further into the update, here's a little sneak preview of an explosive new grenade you'll be able to unleash in Season 1, based on a character we've Spotted several of you talking about lately...

Check it out HERE!

We're so excited to share more of the upcoming content with you soon in the run up to the release of Season 1!

Known Issues

While we continue to investigate some of the more frustrating issues players may be experiencing, we are also logging additional issues that you might encounter from time to time. Some of these may have simple workarounds that you can use to get you back on mission and help you battle Brainiac’s forces.

If you’ve bumped into a bug that’s stopping you in your tracks, we may have a solution for you listed under our Known Issues. We aim to update this regularly so check back in from time to time for future updates.

We have workarounds for issues like Gear Slots becoming locked, negative Squad Talent Points, black screen when loading in and more. We hope these will help some of you affected while we work on a permanent fix!

Limited Time Discount

If you've been interested in trying Suicide Squad, or maybe have a friend you'd love to play with, well now's the perfect time to jump in. The game is currently on sale until March 21st, and with the free Season 1 update coming soon you'll have a whole lot of new content ready to explore.

As a final note, we will be holding off on rolling out Focused Feedback (as detailed in last week’s Update) until Season 1, so stay tuned for more updates.

We can't wait to share more on Season 1 in the run up to its release!

See you in the Elseworlds
Darroch and the Rocksteady Team.

Mar 8, 2024

🕊️ Prepare to unveil the mysteries of Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy 🕊️

Blacksad: Under the Skin - Saltmander

Hello Explorers,

Get in your hydraloft in search of the mythical Great White Birds when Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy lands in 2024!

Set off on a quest for the Great White Birds in a mysterious land full of secrets

Answer the call of exploration as you travel to Amerzone, a forgotten Latin American country, to fulfill the last wishes of a late explorer.

Investigate the ruins of this secretive land reclaimed by nature, meet intriguing characters with deep backstories and solve intricate puzzles to uncover the truth.

Will you unveil the mysteries surrounding the mythical Great White Birds?

🌱 A remake of the classic Benoît Sokal game
(Re)Discover the work of Benoît Sokal before the Syberia saga

🧭 An ode to exploration
Discover a land shaped by mysteries and secrets as you travel through breathtaking environments

🕊️ Face many challenges in search of the truth
Find clues and solve intricate puzzles to carry your quest for the Great White Birds in a faithful yet enriched story

🤝 Meet fascinating characters
Learn about people with deep backstories, and listen to their stories to mend the errors of the past

🕊️ Wishlist Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy now

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429190/Amerzone__The_Explorers_Legacy/

📬 Stay connected!

Amerzone Twitter - Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Amerzone TikTok - TikTok - Discord

Mar 8, 2024

🕊️ Prepare to unveil the mysteries of Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy 🕊️

Return to Mysterious Island - Saltmander

Hello Explorers,

Get in your hydraloft in search of the mythical Great White Birds when Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy lands in 2024!

Set off on a quest for the Great White Birds in a mysterious land full of secrets

Will you unveil the mysteries surrounding the mythical Great White Birds?