Hello everyone! It's been a rather long time since I've been able to do an update on things and I'm here with two purposes: give you a bit of an update on what's going on and tell you a bit about a new program we are starting up at DreadXP.
Mortuary Assistant Console Release & Definitive
First! The Mortuary Assistant is seeing a console release happening very soon. I wish I could give solid dates but so much depends on the certification process through console partners before you actually know. All I can say is that all consoles partners have the build and as soon as they approve it, I will give you all a date!
The version launching will be the Definitive Edition and it will be going live here on Steam at the same time. Definitive includes a number of stability improvements, bug fixing, lore, new haunting events, embalming only, and more. Mainly, Definitive is the version of Mortuary Assistant that I am most happy laying to rest so I may move on to new projects.
Owners of the PC version will get Definitive for free as will Switch players who already own the current port of MA on it.
Paranormal Activity
This is my current project and still has a long way to go in development. Since I'm working directly with Paramount, there is a bit of red tape I need to go through before I can start sharing my work the way I have in the past with streams and various social posts. However, I will work to be able to start sharing progress as soon as I'm able.
XP Ultra & FLATHEAD
FLATHEAD is the first title launched under our new XP Ultra program. For those that don't know, I am now the co-director of DreadXP and the Ultra program is something that means a great deal to me. It's designed to give games that may normally be overlooked by publishers a chance to receive support they may not normally get. We wanted to keep the spirit of the DreadX collections alive without the issues they brought on behind the scenes (they were a lot of work and demanding for all involved usually resulting in crunch)
Think of XP Ultra games as a single game from the collections but amplified. Ultra games are small and experimental with compelling gameplay mechanics, weird concepts, and short play times (1-2 hours)
I feel FLATHEAD is a perfect embodiment of what we are looking to do with XP Ultra and I had the pleasure of working directly with the developer Tim Oxton (creator of Silkbulb Test) to work out the kinks on game design and help him bring his idea to finish. As a developer myself, I wish there was a program like this when I was first starting out in the indie space and I really hope it brings something valuable to the indie horror space. Please give Flathead a wish list and grab it on Thursday!
Now that the dust has begun to settle, we’d like to share some details about Homeworld 3 and the journey ahead.
We’ve been collecting and prioritizing your feedback about Homeworld 3’s gameplay. As always, thank you! Here are a few things we’re taking immediate action on and we will continue to update you on their progress. Additional work is in the planning stages, expect new updates in the coming months.
Open maps & “claustrophobic” maps
Though terrain is a major feature in Homeworld 3, we’ve heard that many of you miss the vast, empty maps of earlier Homeworld games. Some of you also feel that Homeworld 3’s maps can be too small or “claustrophobic.” We have already started work on our first new Skirmish map without large terrain — just open space. We’ll also look at other maps to make sure you can pull the camera out far enough and, if necessary, make further adjustments.
Strategic pacing & directional damage
We have heard your thoughts on the overall pace of combat. Homeworld 3 is definitely a faster-paced game, and many of you feel like you aren’t able to maneuver properly or employ tactics like flanking. We’re increasing the health of units. This will allow you more time to maneuver in an engagement to make use of things like directional damage.
And, just to dispel any confusion, Homeworld 3 has directional damage!
There’s been some doubt about that, which we think is due to the pace of combat and that it wasn’t present in the War Games demo. We’re also increasing the efficacy of directional and flank damage. We think this will increase Homeworld 3’s strategic depth by incentivizing unit positioning and smart maneuvering.
Improving unit behaviors
Speaking of maneuvering: During the next several weeks you’re going to start seeing improvements to unit behaviors. For example, things like larger ships needing to engage from the same plane of combat and various other behaviors will be addressed over the coming weeks and months. We also have fixes for issues like units occasionally forgetting their orders and improvements for various units like Suppression and Torpedo Frigates.
Hyperspace Jumps & a new tech tree in Skirmish
Skirmish has long been a staple of Homeworld and RTSes, and there’s a couple of things we think we can do to improve this experience. Notably, we are exploring implementing Hyperspace Jumping in Skirmish, allowing you to teleport ships across the map for some audacious gambits. We’re also reworking the Skirmish tech tree to help make strategic player choices more meaningful and allow early game fleet compositions to be more nuanced.
Tactical Pause & Time Dilation for solo Skirmish & War Games
This will be coming up in our June 1.1 patch. For users who want to pause or slow down combat in solo games— now you can, just like in the campaign!
Above: Also coming in Patch 1.1 is a new War Games Artifact that'll unlock the ultra-powerful Heavy Suppression Frigate variant.
Mod tools incoming!
We’re continuing to work toward the launch of Homeworld 3’s official modding tools. If you’ve browsed the mod.io dashboard within Homeworld 3, you’ve already seen the cool things the community is creating. Our mod tools will only empower that effort. Officially, they can be used to create and share Skirmish maps, but for adventurous modders who aren’t afraid to go into uncharted territory, there’s a lot more that could theoretically be done — and we can’t wait to see what this community creates.
To be clear, all of this will be moving forward in parallel to our ongoing bug-fixing and improvement efforts. By the time Patch 1.1 drops in June, we’ll be on target to address over 150 issues and counting — including performance improvements, better support for AZERTY and QWERTZ keyboards, and many, many other things.
With the help of this community, we will make Homeworld 3 the best it can be. To that end, we will strive to incorporate your gameplay feedback even more in the weeks and months ahead.
Thank you, Blackbird Interactive and Gearbox Publishing
Today with some Balancing and bugfix changes Know these are only changes for the Demo
Detailed changes:
Added a delete button to the game selectionChanged the Crystal guardians attack patternChanged the Crystal guardians fire laserChanged the Crystal guardians acid projectilesChanged the Crystal guardians health scalingChanged the Crystal guardians blood mode scalingFixed the rock golem having no invincibility framesand some more . . .
"Under His light, all shadows will wither." – Morvenn Vahl
A new update has just been released on all platforms fixing several bugs, including the following: - Fix Paragon Warsuit so that ability does not trigger when the opponent earns Faith. - Fix Penitence so that it triggers when the unit receives damage from Shuriken and Markerlight. - Improve (somewhat) the bots’ AI when playing Sororitas. - Updated Morvenn Vahl card image to better showcase her artwork.
The battle keeps raging. Join the crusade and purge the heretic!
We’re excited to be launching a new game on Thursday (May 30th). The first in a series meant to bring back the spirit of the Dread X Collections comes Flathead. If you loved the collections, FLATHEAD is very likely what you’ve been waiting for, head on over and check it out:
In the vein of the collection games, FLATHEAD is a compact, re-playable horror experience. Play a game of skill and luck for the highest of stakes… your very existence.
From Tim Oxton//Oxblud, the creator of Silkbulb Test comes FLATHEAD, the first title of the XP Ultra program. XP Ultra is our way of continuing to create smaller, weirder experiences like those enjoyed by so many as part of the Collections in a sustainable way both for developers and crew. Does this mean there’s never going to be another Dread X Collection? No, we wanted to be able to bring you smaller games more often than we would if they were only part of a collection. The future is unknowable.
As you know, wishlists are a huge help for a game about to launch, so please head over to the page to give Flathead both a wishlist and follow! We’re looking forward to everything the XP Ultra program has in store, so your support means a ton.
We’re excited to be launching a new game on Thursday (May 30th). The first in a series meant to bring back the spirit of the Dread X Collections comes Flathead. If you loved the collections, FLATHEAD is very likely what you’ve been waiting for, head on over and check it out:
In the vein of the collection games, FLATHEAD is a compact, re-playable horror experience. Play a game of skill and luck for the highest of stakes… your very existence.
From Tim Oxton//Oxblud, the creator of Silkbulb Test comes FLATHEAD, the first title of the XP Ultra program. XP Ultra is our way of continuing to create smaller, weirder experiences like those enjoyed by so many as part of the Collections in a sustainable way both for developers and crew. Does this mean there’s never going to be another Dread X Collection? No, we wanted to be able to bring you smaller games more often than we would if they were only part of a collection. The future is unknowable.
As you know, wishlists are a huge help for a game about to launch, so please head over to the page to give Flathead both a wishlist and follow! We’re looking forward to everything the XP Ultra program has in store, so your support means a ton.
If you encounter issues with this update, please post in the SteamVR Bug Report forum. If possible, please include a system report to aid in tracking down your issue. Replies to this post are not tracked for bug reporting purposes. Please use the forum linked above to report issues.
The Steam Link for Meta Quest FAQ page is available here.
Anyone can opt into the SteamVR Beta. Instructions are available here.
SteamVR:
Fixed error spam when Vive tracker trigger pogo pin state changes.
