Apr 3, 2024

Soulmask - Peter

Hello Chieftains!

This is a collaboration between Maggie & Peter. I hope all the chieftains had a great Easter holiday.
Who still remembers what we mentioned last time? Oh yes, it was our lovely and fierce barbarians!

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2646460/view/4206998459073743760?l=english

Here's a simple explanation for the chieftains (since Peter has corrected me several times on this!): Barbarians refer to the brutal and bloodthirsty NPCs that we often encounter in our game; Tribesmen are members of our clan; they are companions, comrades, and family, and they can even be avatars controlled by the chieftain!

These past few days, Peter has been racking his brains to ensure that our cute and fierce tribesmen are doing their jobs well (they are getting fond of idling!). For this purpose, he even sought out Soulmask, the designer responsible for the barbarians, a.k.a. the father of the barbarians, Lion, for some advice. After rejecting Lion's enthusiastic invitation to incorporate Peter's appearance into the barbarians, he also showed us a lot of exciting changes to the barbarians. We are so eager to share them with everyone!

Did you like Soulmask's previous tribesmen? Then I think you must take a look at this. They are no longer the same as the ones chieftains have known, of course, in a good way.

1.The optimization and improvement of the barbarians

In the tribe of Soulmask, many tribesmen wear various special Decoration, or use a variety of exotic paintings, in hopes of gaining part of the power of the Pyramid Guardian. Perhaps this may not be as they wished, but what harm does it bring?

Every tribesman of the chieftains was once a ruthless barbarian: in the game, the three barbarian tribes run through the exploratory journey of the chieftains. Although the skills and gears between the tribes are different, it is obviously not enough for Lion, so starting from the new version, painting has become one of the symbols to distinguish these barbarians - the paint colors between different tribes may differ, but are wild enough.

And then there are the leaders of the tribes—uncertain if the chieftains have faced them in their previous adventures. These towering leaders seem to have indeed gained a portion of mysterious power, possessing unbeatable strong attacks:

* This is an in-development image and does not represent the actual game experience.

*Are the chieftains ready...?

But once the barbarians become members of the tribe, the chieftains may be more concerned about the "intelligence level" of these tribesmen—rest assured, they are no longer the "robots" who get stuck in the wilderness and mysteriously disappear the next morning.

2. Easier tribal management

In the last NextFest, we received many suggestions from the chieftains regarding the management of the tribesmen, for example:

The system of tribe management and the use of tribesmen is cool, but tribesmen often lag behind. artificial intelligence still needs to be optimized.

Difficulty in understanding mechanics with the tribesmen.

I would like you to include cooked meat as a form of food for the tribesmen, they only eat fruit from tables/chests.
——Chieftain: Hio5818

I can only say that Lion really cares a lot about the feedbacks of all the chieftains. He has reviewed every player's suggestions/complaints and made modifications to the issues that were collectively addressed:

Better management list:

Micromanaging the tribesmen, through interaction. A management window would help
——Chieftain: Käsebällchen

Many chieftains could not bear the previous clan management interface, and Peter was no exception. However, this has now become a thing of the past: Lion has "upgraded" the mask management module for the chieftains. The new clan management interface can view and manage any element of each tribesman in list form:

Improvement of gathering tasks:

My biggest want is with the Tribesman quest system. Currently in my camp I have 3 chopping wood which means, I had to create each of their quest 3 times for example.
Gather wood at marker A
put wood in woodworking
put hardwood in woodworking
...
put fancy hardwood in woodworking
I wouldn't mind having to write it once, how ever being able to simplify it with
"Gather wood at Marker A/B/C Deposit gathered resources in woodworking"
Or a master quest log so I could created the quest once and then select from a list of which tribespeople get them, like when selected workbenches on the continued production quest.
——Chieftain: Devlian

The tediousness of collection task was indeed the most troubling issue for Peter, to the extent that he would rather pick up an axe himself and spend half an hour manually chopping trees than have the tribesmen do it for him. Now, collection has been completely overhauled and can almost be "set and forget." You only need to set the collection point, provide the tools, and set the behavior (chopping trees or mining?).

Alright, our lovely tribesmen will automatically stuff everything into their backpacks until they can't move. Then they will return home and put the items into the corresponding chests. The craftsman tribesmen will continue to turn raw materials into finished products. At this stage, the basic production line has been completed. Congratulations!

Easier gear repair:

For repairing you need first take mats from box, unequip weapon, put mats on bench, repair item, take it back, equip. For building or crafting you need to do the same a lot of annoying actions.
Yes, that's maybe more real, but also too annoying to do every time.
——Chieftain: Nighty

We want Soulmask to be more realistic, but at the same time, we don't want the chieftains to get too frustrated, so we thought of the tribesmen—why not let them help you?

Now, all you have to do is place the low-durability gear on the workbench for repair, and the delegated tribesmen will automatically take repair materials from the storage box. Go do what you need to do!

Is that the end? Not at all. From the multiple conversations in the tea room, the Father of the barbarians Lion, has ambitions far beyond this—in Soulmask, the tribesmen, in addition to being a help in our construction, we hope that they will be more vibrant members of the chieftains' family, and even another incarnation!

3.More realistic tribesmen

As mentioned before, the tribesmen in Soulmask are not just "servants" for the chieftains to complete tasks, but real flesh-and-blood family members.
They will complain about not having good enough main dishes in the food chest, and can't help but join in the dance of other tribesmen during work, and will cheer and embrace when the tribesmen are resurrected.

*Except for occasionally putting work aside, everything is going well...

Lion hopes that his "creations," even when the chieftains are not paying attention, will have their own lives. That's what family should be, isn't it?
They also have their own personalities: most tribesmen have specific likes and dislikes within their talents. Some tribesmen cannot bear the torment of rain, while others are addicted to smoking. Their mood affects their work efficiency and combat performance, and tribesmen with extremely low mood may even go on strike! Family needs to be well maintained and satisfied, chiefs, remember that.

Some tribesmen habit when using the restroom be like:

Oh, we finally got to it: talents. We have prepared 265 talents with 3 levels for each in EA! Of course, there are good and bad ones, just like real people. What Lion desires most is for the chieftains to continuously add barbarians to his own clan and select the most suitable combinations for their control. We can't wait to see what tricks the chieftains will come up with!

And in the future, we don't want to treat these talents as just cold numerical changes and words - we hope to show them in every action of the NPCs. This is the ultimate goal of Soulmask - that everyone inside is as real as can be. Please allow Peter to tease you a bit here - in the versions you will play in the future, you will see all of this.

4. What's next?

To be honest, we really hope that everyone can experience our tribal design in Soulmask. It's really impossible to describe the effort the developers have put into them due to space limitations. But don't forget, Soulmask is a intricate enough game. We have a lot more want to show!

Next, Maggie and Peter will talk to you about our home itself - buildings may be the most important aspect of survival in Soulmask. And in this regard, what our new home will look like in the future... the chieftains will know next week.

We are Maggie & Peter, we will see you soon! What else would you like to see about the barbarians? Feel free to let us know in the comments, and we will showcase more on Discord!

Join discord：https://discord.gg/Vjh9gteNEn

Apr 3, 2024

April Tournament Schedule Update

Freestyle 2: Street Basketball - [GM] Remi

Welcome to our Freestyle 2 April 2024 Tournament Update!

Form a team and be the best by defeating many of the great teams
on each server!

--Tournament Information--

- Quarterfinals or Round of 8 Format

- Participants can enter the tournament multiple times during the
Normal Tournament Schedule and not limited to one entry.

- 2 Normal tournaments will be open and running at the same time.

Rules:
1. Coins will be obtained by characters.
2. The amount of the coins granted will be increased for bigger tournaments.
3. The displayed reward for playing and winning is the amount granted per match.
4. Amount of coins will be deducted accordingly in case of winning by default.
5. Obtained coins can be used to purchase various items at the Tournament Shop.

Both the Super Tournament and Crew Tournament will be
held three (2) times on 27th (PDT).

Check out the schedule below.

--Tournament Schedule--

- Players can participate in other servers (Asia, EU, NA) regardless of the
server focus time.

Example:
During Asia Server Focus Time Tournament
- Players in the Asia Server that are participating in the event may earn the
Special Rewards.
- Players playing on the other servers (NA or EU) will not be able to earn the
Special Rewards.
- Coin Rewards will still be distributed regardless of server and tournament
focus time.
- The player's location or country does not matter, only where the player is
currently logged in the server.

Participation Conditions
- Bronze rank or above in the Ranked Game
- The tournament consists of a 16 rounds, and a total of 48 players can take part.

1. Coin Rewards

The tournament will be open to ALL Server Regions and can
earn Coin Rewards.

2. Special Rewards

Players who are participating in the Tournament during the FOCUS TIME of each server are eligible to be rewarded with Special Rewards.

*The personalized uniform reward for the winner will be distributed individually.
*The character name will be engraved on the back of the uniform.

Outfit Preview:

Conqueror's Gown

Super Conqueror Frame

Winner’s Personalized Uniform
(Lettering functions can be applied in this uniform.)

Exclusive Tournament Outfit

*Lettering Outfit and Magic Pen added to Super League Tournament Rewards*

Lettering Outfit Preview (M/F)

Additional Details about the Lettering Outfit

- You can obtain lettering outfits from the Tournament Shop
- You can use the lettering function to write your own text and select colors!
- When using the lettering function, You can make the first change for free.
Afterward, lettering items will be required to make changes.
- Lettering outfits are divided into tops and bottoms.
- Outfits with a "Pencil" icon on the bottom left can be used as lettering outfits.

a) Top: Jersey

b) Bottom: Leggings Shorts, Regular Shorts

* Before using the lettering function, the basic settings are as follows: Text: FS2,
Color: White, Stroke: Black
* An error notice will pop up when clicking on the lettering function on unequippable outfits.

Lettering Items

- Use 1 Lettering Item to apply lettering one time.
- Lettering Items are shared within the account, and you can have up to 999,999,999.

How to Apply Lettering

Step 1. Go to Locker and click on the lettering function of the Lettering Item.
Step 2. Select a lettering outfit and change the lettering and color settings.
Step 3. Click the “Apply” button to save settings.
* An error notice will pop up when clicking on unequippable lettering outfits.
* View options can be changed to show only the outfits without the character.

1. Lettering Settings
- You can use English, Korean, and Chinese characters as well as numbers for lettering.
- Special characters and spaces cannot be used.
* You can enter up to 12 characters.
* Banned words or names of the lettering outfits themselves cannot be used.

2. Color Settings
- You can select one of the displayed colors.

3. Lettering Trial
- Hover mouse over a lettering outfit to see the lettering trial button.
- Press the button to try the lettering function.

Important Notes:
- Rewards will be distributed after the event ends.
The schedule will be provided separately.

- Duplicate participation will be not be considered for multiple rewards.
If a player participates multiple times in the tournament, the player will be
rewarded with only the highest rewards they achieved during the tournament.

- Character selection coupons will be sent after the winning team is
determined, and participants can specify their desired characters through
separate 1:1 inquiries.

- Choose 1 reward (Premium Sub Att x100 or Character Coupon x1) and contact
our support team at steam_support@gamekiss.com

Premium Character Reward List:

- In case of match failure or disconnection due to PC/network issues,
it will be considered as a loss.

- If a system error occurs during the finals, the match may be held again
at a later time.

- Any other issues that arise will be addressed promptly, and any changes
or updates will be communicated through notices.

--Crew Tournament Mechanics--

- Participation is limited to 3 individuals from the same crew.
- A maximum of 2 teams can enter one Crew Tournament.
- There is only one tournament open, consisting of 16 rounds.

1. The Button for [Crew Tournament Open] will be visible on the main screen of the Crew.
2. Upon opening the tournament, a room is generated automatically.
- Throughout the event, a single round takes place in a room.
3. Recruit fellow players and assemble a team.
- In the waiting area, all three members from the same crew team must be present,
and only the room leader has the authority to apply for participation.
4. If all team members, except the room leader, consent to participating within 10 seconds, participation is confirmed in the order it was received.
5. All teams participating will compete simultaneously.
6. The games persist until the Crew Tournament concludes, iterating through game progress, game completion, and round completion.

- Leaving the crew, deleting a character, or dissolving a crew does not erase ranking record data.
- Within the Ranking page, a Crew tab has been introduced in the Tournament section.
- In the Crew Ranking page, a Tournament Ranking tab is now available.
(Rankings are determined by aggregating the TP Points earned by each crew.)

On the lobby screen, you can view the details of the winning team from
the Crew Tournament.

a) Requirement:
After the conclusion of the Crew Tournament, the ranking is updated,
and the insignia of the first-place crew is showcased.
(In typical tournaments, the Crew Tournament airships are exhibited at random.)

Channel: FS Channel
Details: The crew emblem and name are visible for viewing.

Rewards:

You can use the lettering feature to specify text and color.
When setting lettering for the first time, it's free, but for subsequent lettering changes, you'll need to consume lettering items.
Lettering outfits have unique marks for identification.
You cannot set duplicate lettering for different lettering outfits (case-insensitive for alphabets).
Magic Pens can be obtained from the Tournament Shop.

Lettering Items

- Use 1 Lettering Item to apply lettering one time.
- Lettering Items are shared within the account, and you can
have up to 999,999,999.

How to Apply Lettering
Step 1. Go to Locker and click on the lettering function of the Lettering Item.
Step 2. Select a lettering outfit and change the lettering and color settings.
Step 3. Click the “Apply” button to save settings.
* An error notice will pop up when clicking on unequippable lettering outfits.
* View options can be changed to show only the outfits without the character.

1. Lettering Settings
- You can use English, Korean, and Chinese characters as well as numbers for
lettering.
- Special characters and spaces cannot be used.
* You can enter up to 12 characters.
* Banned words or names of the lettering outfits themselves cannot be used.

2. Color Settings
- You can select one of the displayed colors.

3. Lettering Trial
- Hover mouse over a lettering outfit to see the lettering trial button.
- Press the button to try the lettering function.

- Freestyle 2 Team

Apr 3, 2024

Post-Release News and Q&A #1

Pixel Gun 3D: PC Edition - Drugmother

That’s just a jaw-dropper! Thank you, pixelgunners, for making this release happen! The party you threw will eternize this moment of pixel glory (our servers will definitely not forget it). In the past day, we achieved incredible results: 25,000 online on Steam – that's top-50 online across the entire platform. We did all this together: each of you contributed to this great success. New challenges and new heights to conquer await us ahead.

Special thanks for your detailed feedback. We see all your messages and are already working on key improvements:

Logging into the game and getting into the match problems – this is our top priority. Of course, we knew that you wanted the PC Edition bad, but we didn't expect THAT BAD!
Adjusting the volume of sound effects – we received many requests about this on the release day. Also one of the first candidates for fixing.
The possibility to turn off sound in the game on the server queue screen – already working on it.
Gamepad recognition on handheld consoles – every pixelgunner deserves to play the way they find comfortable.
Key mapping for keyboards and controllers – the second most popular request. Very soon, you will have the opportunity to assign keys at your discretion.
Moving during viewing the Scoreboard – a small but annoying bug. We're fixing it on the double.
Locking the Scoreboard on gamepads – adding players to your friendlist is physically inconvenient right now. And friendship is magic, so we're fixing it urgently.
Graphics settings – the main section in any PC shooter. Very soon, we will add the option to disable motion blur and bloom in the Settings menu.

All these improvements will gradually appear in game patches. Patches will be released regularly, and you can read about all the changes in the News in the Community Hub on Steam or on our Discord.

These are our short time plans. What can you expect in the future? Well, for instance, you will definitely get Steam achievements, stickers, cards, and badges, a full support checkmark for Steam Deck, as well as adding friends and inviting them to the game using your Friendlist on Steam.

We also noticed that you are not quite familiar with our Help Center: questions about account transfer topped the support chart. In this regard, we have prepared a small Q&A on the most popular questions.

You can find a detailed guide on account transfer in a separate news article on Steam or in our Help Center.

On behalf of the entire PG3D team, thanks again to all of you for the support, fun, frags, memorable moments, in a word, for everything! We couldn't have done it without you!