Hello Beans,

This patch contains server side changes, branding, and a new website! In terms of content, there is not a ton, but this is something that I've been working on for a while and is a stepping stone to many future Bean Battles updates:

SERVER / WEBSITE

- Updated Server: Made some major changes to the server side of Bean Battles. The main goal of this is to eventually change how networking works(no more incompatible Nat type). This also helps connect Bean Battles Users stats with steam better to prevent peoples stats getting reset.

- New website: Gupa Games/Bean Battles now has a website! Now I will have a place to centralize accounts/news/and other content. https://gupagames.com/

OTHER / BUG FIXES

- Steam Point Shop: A few months ago I created a steam point shop for Gupa Games (Bean Battles). I planned on adding various fan art, but sadly lost my discord account as well as the art. If you already submitted art to me, or are interested in having your own art on the steam point shop, please follow the process explained here.

- Fixed issues with the Leaderboards as well as removed various hackers.

- Added branding(Gupa Games) to various parts of Bean Battles.

- Updated some frameworks related to steam and networking.

- Other small fixes

If you find any issues or bugs let me know! I plan on having patches and content a lot more often moving forward(goal of every monthish). I have a lot of things planned but also want to hear your ideas! Please comment suggests below of head on over to the discord and post them there! https://discord.gg/cK2rCdw

Have fun!

kaleidoscope



Old photos

Dear Wizards, in the last 2 weeks we were mainly working on fixing all controller related issues. We reworked whole input system to get rid of all bugs with the old one. Besides that we added few QOL things and finally started working on the story part of the game.

• [Story] Added end dialogue triggering after finishing the game on easiest difficulty level.
  
• [Shop] It's now possible to sell spells and magic weapons to the Shopkeeper.
  
• [Shop] Item Grade now affects it's price.
  
• [Perks] Added option to auto level up (without the need of pressing a key to select a Perk).
  
• [Camera] Camera is now locked on boss fights.
  
• [Enemies] Added real description to the Chilly Imp and improved it's AI (to be a little bit more annoying to deal with).
  
• [Loading Screen] Added 10 new quick tips displayed on the loading screen.
  
• [Tooltips] Added tooltip that you can skip the tutorial by ignoring Kalila (the first NPC you see).
  
• [Achievements] Added new Steam achievement.

• [Mana] Increased base mana regeneration per second and mana regeneration per second gained when leveling up.
  
• [Controllers] Improved aiming with a controller.
  
• [Controllers] Default controller keys icons changed from PS4 to XBox.
  
• [Lights] Significantly reduced projectiles and effects lights intensity.
  
• [Audio] Lowered volume of take damage SFX.
  
• [Tutorial] Shortened few dialogs in the tutorial.
  
• [Boss Portals] Changed sound and volume of Ancient Desert boss portal.
  
• [Artifacts] Buffed percentage heal of Shamanic Spellbook (0,3% => 0,64% of all damage done).

• [Controllers] Fixed a bug where it was really hard to unlock things in meta progression when using a controller.
  
• [Controllers] Fixed a bug where sometimes both XBox trigger buttons were treated as the same button.
  
• [Controllers] Fixed a bug where it was impossible to use few buttons on some controllers.
  
• [Controllers] Right button is now responsible for "Exit" action instead of the Start button when using a controller.
  
• [Mouse] Fixed a bug where it was impossible to bind extra mouse buttons.
  
• [Keys] All keys now react faster once clicked - fixed short delay when trying to do some actions.
  
• [Resolutions] Fixed issues related to Steam Deck resolution.
  
• [Magic Weapons] Fixed a bug where Magic Weapon was still present after unequipping it.
  
• [Tooltips] Fixed Climb tooltip. It will no longer be shown outside standing on ladders.

• [Controllers] Removed welcome popup suggesting to play using keyboard & mouse.
  
• [Settings] Removed option to change "Controller's Aiminig Speed" because it's no longer needed after improving aiming on a controller.

Stay tuned for the next updates!

Strategy Game But With a Penguin Who Has a Sword is now available!



It’s a cozy turn-based strategy roguelite game with good lofi hiphop music. And there is a penguin.

Get unique sword skills





Discover where the monsters are coming from



The game has a -15% launch discount!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2423780/Strategy_game_but_with_a_penguin_who_has_a_sword/

Thank you for playing "DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme Venus Vacation!"

For more information, please check the "Update info" .

Thanks for your support, and please continue to enjoy “DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme Venus Vacation!”

A few members of our Euro Truck Simulator 2 map set on a journey to Greece a few months back. Their quest? To gather references and inspiration to create the Greece DLC for our #BestCommunityEver as accurately as possible. Now, we interviewed them about their trip and how it benefited them!


The team consisted of Ilona, Michal, Karina, Jakub, David, and Artur. In the course of eight days, they journeyed through Greece, from its southern reaches to the north, exploring islands, coastal stretches, and inland areas.

"Our first destination was the drier and rockier Crete. The climate is reflected in the architecture, which is full of balconies and loggias shaded by awnings. Greece struck us as a very diverse, culturally and historically interesting country with lots of monuments and important sites. We mapped some of them in more detail, such as the Corinth Canal, the Meteora Monasteries, and the Rio-Antirio Bridge. As part of our travels, we also visited an olive farm in the Messenia region, where we learned more about the process of olive oil production, a symbol of Greek cuisine and culture," Michal shares with us.





The majestic Meteora Monasteries were probably one of the team's favourite places, as Ilona agrees with. "What I liked most about Greece was the omnipresent smell of diverse vegetation and the distinctive landscape, which I hope we will be able to capture in the DLC. The biggest gem for me was definitely the Meteora Monasteries," says Ilona.

As the team confirms, it's a big advantage to see the country for yourself before working on implementing it into the game. "It was definitely beneficial to see the places I'm going to be doing on the map live. A lot of details that you don't notice on Google Maps, or don't stand out as much, often give a completely different dimension and feel to a place in person," says David.





Starting our expedition fueled by the expectations set during our preliminary research, Jakub unfolds the tale of the team's voyage through Greece's varied terrains, which he fell in love with.

"When we were doing our preliminary research, we saw that some of the roads we looked at weren't exactly exciting. But after travelling through the country, I can say I was pleasantly surprised. Driving through the mountainous parts of Greece, there were great views one after another. Even the roads between fields offered something nice to look at. If I were to choose one memorable place, it would be the Rio-Antirio Bridge. It stretches about 2880 metres long and is surrounded by mountains and sea, with dark ominous clouds in the sky and sun peeking through them. That was the first time it came into our view and it was a dramatic scene," says Jakub.





One of the reasons we visit the countries in person is to get a general feel of it that would be difficult to obtain through internet research. "One of our tasks was to look at what type of houses are most common, so we could choose everything that needs to be made by our 3D artists to best represent the country. And we were quite surprised how difficult that was. It’s not an easy thing to do generally, as every country has different building styles etc., but what we learnt was also that almost every single house was different," Jakub shares with us.

Artur's journey through Crete not only opened his eyes to the vibrant tapestry of Mediterranean island living but also unveiled the rich landscapes and cultural flavours essential for infusing our game with genuine authenticity.

"It gave me important aspects that must not be missed in the game, that I would not have noticed otherwise if I had not seen them with my own eyes. You could see that life in Greece is very much geared towards tourism and olives, which were absolutely everywhere. I was very surprised on the trip by how different the north and south of Greece are in terms of landscape. The more southern areas were dominated by bushes and olive orchards and the north by forests and traditional rectangular fields. For me, the overall combination of sea, hills and mountains is absolutely divine and I can't wait to see what it will look like in our game," Artur tells us.





We cannot wait to bring you more news from this upcoming map expansion as it continues to be developed. Until then, stay connected with us and all the latest information through our social media channels, make sure to follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. If you are looking forward to trucking in this map expansion, make sure to add the Greece DLC to your Steam Wishlist!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2604420/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Greece/

Warlocks, Usurpers, Haemetics, Thaumaturges
Clan Tremere embraces scholars, academics, researchers, and other relentless pursuers of knowledge. These Kindred have an obsession with blood and vitae — vampire Blood — beyond even that of other Kindred, an obsession which extends to its control. Whether the blood coursing through their enemies veins, or a Tremere’s own vitae, a drop of red can turn into a deadly weapon in the hands of an experienced Warlock.

As a Tremere in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, you use your arcane powers to control your own Blood and that of your foes. The playstyle is rewarding when keeping your distance in combat, making enemies scream in agony as you boil their blood, shaping your own vitae into projectiles, or even ripping the blood from their veins.

In vampire society, Tremere are often mistrusted. Some characters in Bloodlines 2 may respond differently in dialogues depending on whether you reinforce or challenge their expectations of your clan.



As you select your clan, you unlock the clan’s unique passive ability. By spending Ability Points, you can then unlock abilities from the Ability Tree, starting with your chosen clan. Ability Points are earned when completing missions, combat and exploration. When you’ve unlocked all abilities for a clan, you can unlock the clan Perk, a permanent passive upgrade for those dedicated enough to unlock all abilities for a clan.

Clan Passive: Bodies will dissolve away after being fed on.

Torture your victim by boiling their blood slowly from the inside, making them drop to their knees screaming. Nearby enemies/civilians are drawn to their screams.



First Use: Mark your current location with a ward.
Second Use: Deconstruct yourself, and explosively reconstruct yourself at the marked location obliterating any enemies standing in that spot.



Curse a victim. The next time they take damage, their body swells horrifically and they explode, doing damage to all around them.



Conjure a set of blood daggers that can be thrown at enemies.



Clan Perk: A chance when feeding, that the last used ability receives twice as much blood, increasing the rate you can perform abilities.

In Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, you can play your character in different ways. Tremere are a ranged, glass-cannon type, and the clan abilities are focused around supporting that playstyle. We want it to be straightforward playing a clan, and this is therefore not an ability optimization game where you have to go through a multitude of abilities and weigh them against each other.

For those who prefer a more advanced playstyle, you can customize your playstyle by visiting important Seattle vampires that are sworn to assist the Sheriff (you) , including offering their Blood to help unlock abilities from their clan. Abilities from other clans may cost more AP depending on how well they align with your clans Disciplines. The Tremere Disciplines are Auspex (the supernatural ability to become aware of more than meets the eye), Dominate (the power to mesmerize and control the actions of others) and Blood Sorcery (the ability to control blood with your arcane knowledge). If another clan has a Dominate ability not part of the innate Tremere kit, it would cost less AP to unlock than an ability for a Discipline Tremere don’t have, such as becoming faster which is a part of the Celerity Discipline. Clan Perks stack, and unlocking several elevates your power much closer to elder level.

In contrast to the activated abilities and Clan Perk which can be learned from the other clans, your clan passive can not. This means that you can combine features from other clans in hundreds of different ways, but your Tremere playthrough will remain unique from playing as another clan who branches into Tremere abilities.


Ability tree for Tremere with all clan abilities and the clan perk are unlocked. An ability from the Banu Haqim branch has been equipped, replacing Recall.

Thanks Squaddies for taking part in the latest Squad Q&A, where you, the players, get to ask the developers who made Squad all about the game! We were extremely excited with the number of responses to our call for questions. We have taken the time to select ten (10) questions to answer. This will be a slightly shorter Q&A document in comparison to the last one, as we have quite a few topics we are not ready to discuss, but will in the near future!

Aiding in answering the questions are three members of our development team

• CANNON - Senior Producer - Squad
  
• Ceeg - Community Manager
  
• BaronVonBoyce - Lead Game Designer - Squad

If your question was not answered this time around please feel free to ask it again next time.

With that we want to thank all of our Squaddies for their participation. To not delay any further let's get into these questions!

Gameplay

Question: How long does OWI intend to develop Squad? UE4 is starting to show it's age, what are the plans for continued development? Will this ever be upgraded to UE5 or another engine?

Answer: There is no end in sight for Squads development, we have lots planned and we’re excited to keep the game going with new features, content and gamemodes for as long as we can. Regarding Unreal 5, we currently have a small team dedicated to looking into this shiny new tech. They are looking at what impact it will have on the current game, what improvements or setbacks we might see and how long it might take to upgrade.

-

Question: Would you consider hiring a workshop mod developer contract to reach your achievements?

Answer: We are currently in contact with a few modding teams and individual modders to help us with various areas of development. This can include anything from creating new content, to helping us set up or improve existing content. Historically we have always been open to working with modding teams, and we do not see that changing!

-

Question: What is an area of the game you're looking to address next, what problem with the game flow is looking to be solved, if anything?

Answer: We’re looking at addressing pain points for new players, including closing the game loop off with more detailed feedback for players. This will allow them to see how the overall team did as a whole, where ticket losses and gains were, as well as onboarding newer players more easily into the experience. We plan on working on it iteratively over the next year, with each update hopefully including something pushing us closer to this goal.

-

Question: When will thermal sights and laser rangefinders be added for MBTs and IFVs?

Answer: Thermal optics are something that we would like to add in the future, however we can’t commit to timelines due to limitations with resources and technology. We would wish for a Thermal system to not only look and feel authentic, but to work realistically, rather than be a post process effect. Laser rangefinders are already present in some IFVs and all tanks.

-

Question: Can we see more tutorials in the future? I'm thinking of a basic SL guide on how to make FOBs and call command strikes, basic vehicle gunnery tutorial, dedicated AT tutorial.

Answer: Yes, we plan on completely reworking our tutorial into a set of shorter tutorials that cover a wide variety of topics, beginning with the basics and moving into more advanced areas and topics. We also plan to add more tools for players to have better visibility on information that is currently hidden or considered tribal knowledge. Our goal with this is to have players be able to search for this information more easily from within the game.

-

Question: Does the Dev team have plans for any kind of player progression?

Answer: We have no plans at this time for a traditional progression system, but we do plan on adding a socially-driven progression system that allows players to recognize each other for their contributions. More on this in upcoming communications!

-

Question: Any plans to bring in new commander assets?

Answer: We are in the process of adding new commander assets, and in the future, we plan to completely rework the current commander system up to a higher standard, that also leans into the asymmetric design of different factions and units within those factions.

-

Question: How far along the pipeline is the TOW-launcher rework

Answer: We are in the process of reworking our missile system in-game to be more authentic, as well as more flexible with the intent to enable us to add more types of missile systems in the future. We will have more to share on this topic in the coming months.

-

Question: Are you going to balancing the factions with the upcoming voting system so it doesn't become too one sided

Answer: Yes, faction balancing will be an ongoing and iterative process using data points from analytics, as well as feedback and observations. We want to make sure every faction feels fun to play, and no one gets left behind with the Voting system!

______

That’s all for this month's Q&A! Thank you all for your participation. While we may not host a Q&A like this every month, expect to see some other forms of communication that you are sure to enjoy. If you missed your chance to ask a question this time around, Keep a close watch on X and Facebook, where we always announce our latest rounds of Q&A and other Blog posts!

We're taking a look at some of the awesome Techs that have been built by the TerraTech Community.

We are truly humbled! After reaching total funding for Songs of Silence in under 8 hours and achieving the first Stretch Goal in less than 3 days, we have just reached a second Stretch Goal.



This means we can enrich our game with brand-new cutscenes and a lore-rich intro and outro. From this place, we want to extend a BIG thank you to our community and everyone who has supported us so far! PS. If you haven't yet pledged but want to grab some cool awards, here is the link:
👉 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chimeraent/songs-of-silence 👈

We will add a new lore intro sequence at the start of the game and extend the outro video at the end of the campaign. These will be animated using our beautiful blend of 2D art nouveau stylized and 3D mapping animations, which you’ve already seen in our map introductions!



The intro will guide you into the lore of Songs of Silence - where you can learn about the background of our world. Our extended outro will explore the protagonists' fates more deeply and illustrate the story's outcome more beautifully than we could have done in-game and with voiceovers.

Finally, we will ensure that the end-game credits get some extra love: they will be illustrated with a selection of artworks and scored by a particular theme from Mr. Sakimoto.

The next goal is for the hardcore gamers, the achievers, the winners, and the players who want to focus on the story. Let us introduce you to the extra difficulty levels!

This goal, unlocked at a €70,000 funding, will incorporate two new difficulty levels: Story and Warmaster. Story mode makes the game challenge easier, lowering the battle difficulty to let players focus on our carefully crafted narrative with a reduced chance of an embarrassing Game Over screen.
Warmaster is the opposite—an unforgiving, challenging experience in which enemies pose much more danger while your troops are less effective.

Pledge now, and help us fund the goal! 👉https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chimeraent/songs-of-silence



CLOSED BETA - UPDATE V3 - Change notes

We also have great news about our Closed Beta! Not only did we update the demo last time, but we have an updated closed beta that will go live now!

Here’s what changed:

• We have rebalanced and updated campaign maps 01-03. This also includes some smaller tweaks towards the scripting and voiceovers.
  
• We have implemented a set of fixes & improvements towards map02
  
• We introduced the first version of Campaign Map 04.
  
• You can now test all 3 factions in skirmish & multiplayer (1000 Kingdoms, Old Race, Crusade) and one neutral Hero (Rogue Prince). Please notice that the Old Race and Crusade have a particular faction mechanic. You can also find more info in the game manual draft we shared on Discord.
  
• We've updated all cards, units, and factions balancing.
  
• We've added new content, including units, cards, locations, and battlefields.
  
• We've added the new skirmish maps, which you can also find in our freshly released demo.
  
• A new tooltip system to make information on locations, units, heroes, and cards more accessible and easier to understand.
  
• A new objectives system to give better information on what to do on a map
  
• The much-wished feature for disbanding your units!
  
• We changed how the retreat card works in battles.
  
• We reorganized the inspection screens.

And as we know that you all want it, an improved AI is now more capable of playing cards, creating buildings, healing, and transforming units. Please note that this is only the first update; we are still working on more improvements.

Make sure to join our Discord Server here: https://discord.gg/p3eEBrWaCj

We have a dedicated section for Beta-Testers and will also have a survey for you sometime this week.
Please play the Campaign and leave us feedback and suggestions! We appreciate your insights, as they help us improve the game!

Are you keen on trying out Songs of Silence in Multiplayer? Then this is for you! All you need to do is apply here with your Mail and Discord ID:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1wO4s21i_Ib0XzRGGJobQ6RNE5jRVAtlF1t6T2aoGGGuKBA/viewform

Good luck, and see you on the battlefield!