Half-Life 2 is officially 20 years old, and we're using this milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the community of players who have been enjoying it (or discovering it, or even re-discovering it) since November 16, 2004.

We created a new webpage to showcase all the updates in detail, but here's a quick rundown of what's new:

• Episodes One and Two are in the box. Half-Life 2 now includes the complete Episode One and Episode Two expansions along with the base game. They’re accessible from the main menu, and you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one.
  
• Developers Commentary for Half-Life 2. While the Episodes have always had commentary tracks, the base game never did... until now. We got the team back to record three and a half hours of new behind-the-scenes commentary for Half-Life 2.
  
• Integrated Steam Workshop support. Browse, install, and play user-created content for Half-Life 2 without ever leaving the game. Look for it in the Extras menu!
  
• Bug fixes and new graphics options. Visual pops, missing sprites, and mismatched lighting introduced in updates over the years have been scrubbed away. And we've added some settings to push the visual fidelity of Half-Life 2 farther than was allowed in the original release.

Our Half-Life 25th anniversary documentary went so well that we invited Secret Tape back to make another one—this time focusing on Half-Life 2. And it's about a lot more than just the making of a game. Running out of money. Getting hacked, and an early version being leaked online. Being sued by our publisher. Trying to build Steam. It's all in there!

As supplementary material to go along with the documentary, we've unearthed a handful of old presentations from across Half-Life 2's development. Find videos from E3 2003, E3 2002, and Siggraph 2000 on the 20th Anniversary Update website.

Nearly two decades since it first went out of print, Raising the Bar is set to return in 2025 with an expanded second edition—offering a comprehensive look into the creation of the Half-Life 2, along with never-before-seen concept art from Episode One and Episode Two, and ideas and experiments for the third episode that never came to be.

To everyone who has played Half-Life 2 over the last twenty years, thank you.

From now through the weekend (until November 18th at 10am Pacific) Half-Life 2 is free to own, so if you've never played before, grab it now and keep it forever.

• Added 3.5 hours of Developer Commentary by members of the Half-Life 2 team.
  
• Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two are now playable from the Half-Life 2 main menu.
  
• Half-Life 2: Lost Coast has been added to the Extras menu.
  
• Added Steam Workshop support. Play entire campaigns or replace weapons, enemies, UI, and more with content created by the community.
  
• Added custom Steam Game Recording gameplay events and phases throughout the game.

• Fixed issues causing props or entire maps to be fully bright or fully dark depending on settings.
  
• Added bicubic filtering for lightmaps to produce smoother shadows. It can be enabled by setting Shader Detail to Very High.
  
• Fixed missing grass detail sprites in many maps.
  
• Added settings to enable Classic Effects that were originally in Half-Life 2. These effects can also be enabled using r_classic_blood or r_classic_fire.
  
• Added support for radial fog.
  
• Specular reflectivity has been adjusted throughout Half-Life 2 to better match the original release.
  
• Updated models for the Crossbow and RPG weapons to support ultrawide displays.
  
• Fixed camera clipping into vehicles at high FOV settings.
  
• Fixed lambda cache indicators and other decals vanishing when backtracking through map transitions.
  
• Setting Model Detail to High will now always display the highest detail version of a model and never swap for a lower level-of-detail.
  
• Set Antialiasing to 4x MSAA by default.
  
• Fixed teeth shader rendering fully white on some GPUs.

• The UI now scales to support higher resolutions.
  
• Launching the game in Steam Big Picture mode will now use the gamepad-friendly UI previously available on Steam Deck. You can also launch this mode with the "-gamepadui" launch option.
  
• The High Dynamic Range setting has been moved to the main Video settings page.
  
• Commentary mode can now be enabled on the New Game screen.
  
• Fixed display of greyscale art for locked achievement icons to match their behavior in steam.
  
• Improved legibility of gamepad button icons.
  
• Button hints will now prefer to display standard face buttons and trigger icons only. This behavior can be disabled with the "sc_prefer_basic_origin_hints" convar.
  
• Replaced instances of system fonts like Verdana throughout the UI with a new font, GorDIN.
  
• Added a new font renderer that provides more consistent rendering between platforms.
  
• Fixed edges of certain font characters being cut off with antialiasing enabled.
  
• Fixed scrollbars and button animations using inverted colors.
  
• Removed the non-functional "Use 'bloom' effect when available" setting.
  
• Added Rich Presence info while playing Half-Life 2.

• Updated the default Steam Input configuration.
  
• Added a Gamepad settings menu.
  
• Added the ability to select a weapon selection UI style while using a gamepad.
  
• Added settings for separate Aim-Assist modes for mouse/keyboard and gamepad. The new Aim-Assist "Enhanced" mode now attempts to track enemies and snap-to-target while driving vehicles.
  
• If using toggle crouch, pressing sprint will now make the player stand.
  
• Legacy joystick settings have been removed from the Mouse settings menu.

• Reduced chances of birds getting stuck in the world.
  
• Fixed Combine crouching behavior during door assault scene.
  
• Fixed Combine not firing in some cases during the finale.
  
• Game sounds and music now pause while the game is paused.
  
• Fix crash that can occur if the player gets too far ahead of the helicopter in canals.
  
• Fixed Dr. Breen not looking at the camera in certain broadcasts.
  
• Fixed smooth friction sounds not playing.

• Full HDR lighting and tonemapping pass across every map in Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch.
  
• Increased lightmap resolution in most maps.
  
• Adjusted rendering distances across the game so details and objects remain visible much further away.
  
• Removed Far-Z clip plane from most maps.
  
• Increased window and door fade distances.
  
• Improved lighting and world detail inconsistencies during many map transitions.
  
• Tuned fog and skyboxes for every map with water on the horizon for better horizon blending.
  
• Replaced instances of simple reflective water with fully reflective water in nearly every map.
  
• Fixed many instances of floating props across the game.
  
• Sewed up holes, aligned textures, and fixed seams on many displacements throughout the game.
  
• Swapped some distant trees out for higher detail models.
  
• Enabled shadows on many static props that were missing them.
  
• Added glow sprites to all lights that were missing them.
  
• Fixed lightmapping for many large static prop structures.
  
• Added simple rooftop geometry to background buildings that were missing them.
  
• Added background displacement geometry to areas which are now exposed by removed the clipping plane.

• The introduction sequence has been adjusted to closely match the original sequence, including fixing specular highlights on the G-Man's eyes.
  
• Fixed various texture seams on train station wall
  
• All fences now properly cast shadows.
  
• Fixed issues with level transitions setting fog values improperly.
  
• Removed emissive value from base of lighting prop which was glowing in strange places.
  
• Fixed a bug with Eli's idle animations during the teleport sequence.
  
• Fixed lightmapping of train cars in Red Letter Day and Route Kanal.
  
• Fixed a rendering bug in Route Kanal where world geometry would pop in and out of view when looking down the tracks.
  
• Aligned pipe and canal wall textures in a few areas to reduce seams and misalignment in Route Kanal.
  
• Added and adjusted canal wall brushes where level geometry was conspicuously missing.
  
• Adjusted brightness and falloff of ambient lights in darker sections of the canals.
  
• Added small grates as dim light sources of ambient light in a few places in the canals.
  
• Fixed an issue where the splash for Manhack Matt's jump into the water would be out of sync.
  
• Fixed a bug where the large brick smokestacks were popping in and out depending on the player's position in Water Hazard.
  
• Added missing cables to utility poles in various canal maps.
  
• Fixed lighting and shadows on the dock and electric tower outside of Black Mesa East.
  
• Added displacements and water plane to 3D skybox near the dam entrance to replace simple brush cliff face.
  
• Fixed the lighting on the rocks and props in and around the Ravenholm graveyard.
  
• Fixed players being able to trap themselves in the graveyard by closing the gate after Gregori would open it.
  
• Added radial fog to all coast maps in the Highway 17 chapter.
  
• Removed area portals from many of the smaller structures along Highway 17.
  
• Fixed a crash that would occur if you parked the buggy in certain areas before entering the bridge level.
  
• Fixed a bug where Vortigaunts could fall through the world.
  
• Added simple 3D skybox representation of the next map visible from the top of the lighthouse in Sandtraps.
  
• Fixed lighting issues during the basement flare sequence in Nova Prospekt.
  
• Added additional geometry to various windows throughout the levels to cast more detailed shadows in Nova Prospekt.
  
• Fixed a bug in teleport sequence in Entanglement ending too early leaving Gordon and Alyx standing around while the teleporter reached its destination.
  
• Fixed the catwalk explosion detonating at the wrong time in Anticitizen One.
  
• Fixed the building dome having no polygons on the outstide in Follow Freeman.
  
• Fixed the ship visibly flying through the building dome in Follow Freeman.
  
• Fixed Barney being left behind during a level transition or nagging the player too early to "roll a grenade" in Follow Freeman.
  
• Improved resolution of portal render texture during finale.
  
• Added soundscape to all menu background maps
  
• Darkened parts of the skyboxes that fall behind Half-Life 2 logo to help with text legibility.
  
• Added geometry to menu background maps for Ultrawide support.
  
• Added smoke to the Ravenholm and Follow Freeman background maps.
  
• Fixed a bug where you could hear the player's bones break in the Citadel menu background map.

• Fixed player model selection in the options menu.
  
• Fixed slam not being able to be detonated if you were too close to a wall
  
• Fixed view bob with the SMG equipped.
  
• Fixed using the Gravity Gun to yo-yo grenades, sometimes causing the server to disconnect or crash.
  
• Fixed missing sound effects for the Gravity Gun.
  
• Fixed characters playing a missing animation when switching weapons while jumping and moving.
  
• Fix weapons being invisible when being given another weapon of the same class.

• Increased player spawn point count in many maps.
  
• Fixed prop placement in maps that would allow players to escape the world.
  
• Fixed floating props in dm_runoff.
  
• Fixed the area portal on the blast door in dm_runoff causing the world to no longer render when the door was shut.
  
• Added geometry to many maps where the player could see outside of bounds.
  
• Fixed several areas where the player could see out of the world.
  
• Moved the blue barrels in dm_resistance that you could pick up with the Gravity Gun through the chainlink doors.

• Improved quality of the Valve intro movie when launching the game.
  
• Fixed playback of the the post-credits movie at the end of Episode One and the intro movie at the start of Episode Two.
  
• The achievements for Episode One and Two have been added to Half-Life 2. When launching the game it will attempt to read data from installed standalone Episodes to re-grant those duplicated achievements.
  
• Hammer: Show detail sprite preview on non-displacement surfaces.
  
• Hammer: Fixed bug where orphaned entities added additional data on each map load.
  
• Hammer: Fixed the ability to render cubemaps.
  
• Hammer: Increased many limits for BSP data. Models 1024 -> 2048, Brushes 8192 -> 16384, TexInfo 12288 -> 16384, TexData 2048 -> 8096, DispInfo 2048 -> 8096.
  
• Added save_transition_music convar that allows streaming music to continue to play in between level transitions.
  
• Localization files updated.
  
• Miscellaneous security fixes.

• The previous version of the game has been archived to a publicly visible Beta branch named "steam_legacy", with the description "Pre-20th Anniversary Build." If a mod or feature is behaving in an unexpected way, you may need to run this archived build until the issue is resolved in the default build.
  
• With the Episodes and Lost Coast now contained within Half-Life 2 itself, we'll be reducing the visibility of the standalone versions on the Steam Store. The old standalone applications will remain available to ensure community projects that rely on them still function properly but they will now appear within the Tools menu on your Steam Library.

Fixed the drawing distance of some objects.

The Quest for butter manny pivots continues

On November 21st, you’ll have a chance to play Sparkball right here with your friends! The servers will be open for four hours (4PM - 8PM UTC) and we'll be playing (and streaming) right along with you.

This is a great time to familiarize yourself with the game and enjoy some low-stakes competition. More playtests are planned throughout December and beyond. We can’t wait to see you all!

Let’s play Sparkball!

“Hey there,

I heard you were eyeing the goods I sent over to John. Figured you might enjoy a pair of your own. New and improved, and all that. Sorry about the packaging. Mom is still sick. Fingers crossed USPS didn’t totally destroy the thing. Those goggles were expensive!

Hope you enjoy,
██████ ███████████”


SCP-1344 has arrived and is ready for players to experience! This ‘eye-catching’ new item grants players the ability to see other players through walls — once its needles have embedded themselves into the optic nerve, of course. In this dev log, we’ll walk you through the journey of designing and implementing SCP-1344, as well as an in-depth glance at our sound design team here at Northwood.



You might be wondering, “why choose SCP-1344?”

Cross Conception, Lead Game Designer, put it best: “With every SCP item we make, we try to be exploratory and fulfill a niche the game doesn't have any mechanics for. SCP-1344 is intended to fulfill the role of environmental awareness – being able to see threats and avoid them in advance, or take advantage of the knowledge of their location to pull off interesting plays.” SCP-1344 provides players with a unique edge, not only enhancing their gunplay by allowing them to see others through walls, but also increasing their awareness of nearby SCPs within a certain range.

SCP-1344 redefines how players approach both offensive and defensive play, allowing for more dynamic and engaging encounters and encouraging players to think outside the box to develop creative strategies. This feature also encourages more teamwork, as players with the SCP equipped can warn their team of incoming enemies.

The new item also adds an element of horror we wanted to explore a bit more in the game, with Cross having this to say: “I also really wanted to see players’ horrified reactions to seeing their eyes stabbed out, because body horror like that is the sort of thing I think adds to the game. You feel like you’re making a sort of deal with the devil when using these items, and in a sense, you are.”




Similar to proposals like SCP-2176 and SCP-1853, the concept of SCP-1344 originated from a suggestion made by a member of the community. Mikel shared that this idea in particular caught his attention, and although none of the original mechanics were used directly, it inspired the idea of ‘wallhack goggles’ as a starting point for development.

“The game design team doesn't really have any bias towards or against ideas originating from the community compared to ideas developed entirely in-house. I'm just a fan of looking for ideas from the community to use as a starting point. Oftentimes, the final GD document is very far removed from the original suggestion, either due to issues with the original idea or just due to the iterative feedback-and-revision loop that all GD docs go through. Whether a document is accepted for implementation is up to the Game Design supervisors and manager. I am forever at their mercy. At any moment, they might strike down a document I've written, damning it to the depths of my Google Drive.”
- Mikel, Art Manager


SCP-1344 presented a unique challenge. Typically, when designing a new SCP for the game, we closely follow the original article, incorporating any provided references or images. However, SCP-1344 offered five different design options, each with its own quirks. For our version, we chose to base it on SCP-1344-03, a pair of welding goggles. The decision to go with this specific design was inspired by the distinct flipping mechanic of welding goggles, which we thought would create the coolest player experience. After all, no one wants to walk around in ‘Swedish-style’ swim goggles!

In fact, this was a point of pride for our designers. When asked what Mikel was most proud of in the design, he said, “[The Art Team is] a big fan of how the goggles look when you put them on, before the lenses flip down. I love freaking out my fellow devs, and a lot of them compared it to a Saw trap.”

Jesusqc, the programmer in charge of getting SCP-1344 into the game, echoes this sentiment, saying that he aimed for an eerie, unsettling vibe that he thought aligned with what the artists were going for.





While the concept for SCP-1344 was straightforward, transforming it from a design document into an interactive part of the game was another story. Jesusqc led the charge on bringing SCP-1344 to life in-game.

“I was responsible for fully integrating 1344 into the game. This included creating its entire logic, combining animations and sounds, and coding it into the game world. While the integration was a complex task due to the numerous statuses and new mechanics SCP 1344 introduced, the process was made smoother thanks to the amazing group of artists at Northwood. Their work on the visuals, sound effects, and modelling was incredible, and it really brought everything together.” Implementing a new SCP into the game is no small task. It needs a team who is willing to work and test it until it's perfect.


1st Prototype


Newer versions

The first prototype did not have any of the effects you see in the later gif. Balancing the encounters players would have with SCP-1344 users was one of the biggest changes. Originally there was no audio cue to let players know that an SCP-1344 user had spotted them, but this was added after testing to make the encounters less one-sided.

QA (Quality Assurance) also plays a crucial role in unifying the efforts of programmers, artists, and sound designers to ensure every new feature aligns with the team's original vision, essentially suggesting the finishing touches to each new implementation. QA tested each element — from gameplay mechanics and visual design to sound effects — working closely with each department to refine and polish every detail. According to our QA Manager Multiverse Uncle, SCP-1344 by far had the hardest time in testing compared to other 14.0 features.

During the first part of QA (Quality Assurance) testing, SCP-1344 was actually given to the team with no sound effects, as they still weren’t done, for a part of its testing.

“Complicated issues were occurring left and right, and when it was thought that everything was fixed and it would be a final test, QA would find new issues, from small things such as the item being too small to pick up, or the player crashing an entire server with the item. We had multiple tests thought to be ‘final’, only to later realise they were far from final, causing the SCP item to be stuck in QA for a long time and having its fate uncertain. Eventually, we got rid of all important issues with SCP-1344 and it finally passed QA!”
- Multiverse Uncle, QA Manager

Despite the complexities, SCP-1344 is a project that everyone who contributed to feels genuinely proud of. The QA team’s dedication and collaborative spirit helped bring the item to its fullest potential, ensuring that it’s not only functional, but also immersive and true to our creative vision. We’re thrilled to announce SCP-1344 has passed all final checks, received the team’s stamp of approval, and is officially ready for release.


Sound design plays a vital role in bringing items to life, giving them that final, immersive touch. AudioDread, Interim Manager of our Sound Design team, shared his experience crafting the sounds for SCP-1344, offering insight into the creative world of sound design.

For SCP-1344, the team relied heavily on foley, or sound reproduction, by creatively destroying vegetables to achieve the gritty, visceral effects needed.
“I love working with body horror and for me, the sheer amount of gore in the form of vegetable destruction was by far the most fun and rewarding part of the design,” AudioDread explained. “There came a point where the foley was so disgusting I found it mildly disturbing to hear it played back despite knowing it was nothing but various fruits and vegetables I had pulverised. Fun stuff.”



Sometimes, the team’s dedication towards creating immersive soundscapes can exceed standard expectations. Once, a team member workshopping 106’s audio was tasked with making everything, including its breathing, ‘wet.’ Taking this far too seriously, the team member even tried obstructing his own airway with water to produce choking sounds. Nearly choking yourself isn’t something we’d want nor expect from our staff members, but it certainly shows the passion these designers have for their craft. And while unorthodox, their passion is what enables us to transmit unsettling, yet captivating experiences to our players.

One time, someone synthesised speech out of a synthesiser called Delay Llama — a purpose it was not built for — for the Jailbird.

Here is an example of how the synthesiser is supposed to sound like.

Horrible.

There is an end goal in audio. You can always make a bog-standard sound that fits the brief, but we always like to add our own flairs and personality to elevate the experience that much further. Going outside of your comfort zone, trying something new, or experimenting, always has a payoff with the correct amount of application.



“In the case of SCP-1344, it consisted of a large amount of foley recording. This meant buying a large quantity of fruits and vegetables, waiting until the house was quiet, and recording highly detailed destruction of said fruits and vegetables. For other projects, this phase may be replaced by downloading samples or fully synthesizing base sounds.

Regardless of how the raw audio is obtained, what comes next is to clean up the raw audio, removing background noise, and sorting through the samples to find the best quality ones that will be most useful. Next comes layering the audio together, a practice where the Sound Designer will take many samples and play them together at different levels to create one cohesive sound. One grape being stabbed with a toothpick doesn't sound much like an eye being stabbed, but several grapes along with a mango, an onion, and a grapefruit being peeled all layered together will form a cohesive sound that's more believable than its individual parts.

Along with this phase is timing the sounds to the animations, a process that's fortunately made easier by the fact that most workstations come with a built-in video player. Next, equalisation, compression, and other effects are added to increase the overall quality of the audio and make it better fit the visual, and finally, the entire effect is mastered, adding any final touches to make sure it sounds the best it can in the final mix.”
- AudioDread

Our team uses various programs and plugins to create the effects they do. AudioDread, for example, says he uses Reaper as his primary audio workstation. This, along with FL Studio, is commonly used throughout the team. Plugins made by iZotope and OTT are also often used. When asked about plugins and programs, Sixxy, another sound designer, said “We use a variety of programs such as FL Studio and Reaper. The rest are weird, but we make good use of what we have, as every program is customisable to the user, and most plugins are universal to every program.” Creating an exhaustive list of all the tools each team member uses would be nearly impossible and still wouldn’t cover everything. Each designer’s toolkit is highly personalised, with tools chosen based on individual preferences and creative needs.

”I came across Sound Design by accident. I started making a horror game in 2017 and started designing ambiance using the free audio editor Audacity. The longer I went, the more I started just wanting to make sounds and not do the other aspects of game development. I started doing sound design as a hobby using Audacity and other free software. In 2020, when the quarantine hit, I got laid off from my job and created a YouTube channel where I downloaded random sounds and attempted to turn them into horror ambiances. I later started pursuing Sound Design as a career, doing several volunteer projects before getting hired by Northwood in 2021. I have since transitioned to working full-time in the gaming industry, and though I've branched into doing programming as my primary source of income, I still find Sound Design to be the most rewarding and creative work I have the privilege of doing.”
- AudioDread, Interim Audio Manager

Consider two fight scenes: one with sound design and one without. People consistently find the scene with sound design more impactful, as it amplifies the experience in a way visuals alone cannot. For anyone interested in sound design, AudioDread recommends starting by downloading a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) of your choice and diving in. There are no rules, just create! You can get started for a relatively low cost, but it’s worth keeping in mind that building a sustainable career in sound design can take time. It often takes 6-8 years to reach a point where you can fully support yourself with sound work alone, and even then it doesn’t pay as well as other fields. He suggests approaching it as a hobby first. This way, you can discover if it’s something you truly enjoy and find fulfilling before committing to it as a career path.



AudioDread ends with this, “The greatest compliment a Sound Designer can receive is people not noticing the work because that means the sound design was felt instead of heard. Most people won't notice good Sound Design, they'll simply have a better impression of the game as a whole.”

Bringing SCP-1344 from a simple suggestion to a fully playable item takes the collaboration of a diverse and talented team. From the artists who design it, to the programmers who bring it to life, and the QA testers who ensure it's ready for release, every step relies on specialised skills. We’re excited to see SCP-1344 add a new layer of intrigue to gameplay, especially alongside everything else in the upcoming 14.0 update.

This item, like so many others, draws inspiration directly from our community. If you’ve got an idea that would make a good addition to the game, don’t hesitate to pitch it here or on our official Discord. Who knows? It might just appear in a future dev log!

For more on what’s coming in update 14.0, check out our Patreon! Our Patreon-exclusive 14.0 Beta is running until November 26th, so now is a great time to take a peek!

Thank you for reading, and we can’t wait to share what’s next!

See you in the dark.
- Northwood Studios

• Fixed player model selection in the options menu.
  
• Fixed slam not being able to be detonated if you were too close to a wall
  
• Fixed view bob with the SMG equipped.
  
• Fixed using the Gravity Gun to yo-yo grenades, sometimes causing the server to disconnect or crash.
  
• Fixed missing sound effects for the Gravity Gun.
  
• Fixed characters playing a missing animation when switching weapons while jumping and moving.
  
• Fix weapons being invisible when being given another weapon of the same class.

• Increased player spawn point count in many maps.
  
• Fixed prop placement in maps that would allow players to escape the world.
  
• Fixed floating props in dm_runoff.
  
• Fixed the area portal on the blast door in dm_runoff causing the world to no longer render when the door was shut.
  
• Added geometry to many maps where the player could see outside of bounds.
  
• Fixed several areas where the player could see out of the world.
  
• Moved the blue barrels in dm_resistance that you could pick up with the Gravity Gun through the chainlink doors.

Hello, puzzle fans!

We’re thrilled to bring you Beaches 3, the latest DLC for Super Jigsaw Puzzle: Generations!

Our third installment in the beaches series, this collection features 30 stunning puzzles showcasing breathtaking beachscapes, from golden sands and rolling waves to serene seas and tropical landscapes!

There's nothing like the beauty of the beach to transport you to a place of calm and relaxation!

And to celebrate the launch, we’re giving away a free puzzle from this collection to all players. Dive into Beaches 3 and bring a touch of paradise to your puzzling experience today!




https://store.steampowered.com/app/3154000/Super_Jigsaw_Puzzle_Generations__Beaches_3/

Hello! I’m Jin Sang Kim, the Creative Director responsible for the development of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch.

First and foremost, I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of you who purchased and played the Early Access version of the game!

It’s been just over a week since we launched Early Access. As a fan and developer of turn-based strategy RPGs myself, I’ve put great effort into adding another engaging game franchise for fans of the genre. While perfection is difficult to achieve, our goal with this Early Access is to share the core gameplay and gather feedback so we can launch the full release as a more polished game.

Over the past 10 days, we've received incredible feedback with many unique ideas that we hadn’t considered. We’re carefully reviewing all of these, discussing them within our team, and outlining future development plans.

Today, I’d like to share some updates on what our team is currently prioritizing and planning. I wish I could provide more information on content development plans, but we’re focusing on addressing your feedback first. We expect to share our content roadmap in early December once our plans are finalized. But as many of you have asked about content plans, I’ll briefly touch on what’s in store.

For game improvements, we’ve divided our update plans into short-term, mid-term, and long-term categories leading up to the full release.

Please note: The following items are those we’ve already decided to work on based on internal review. If your suggestion isn't listed, it doesn't mean we haven't reviewed your feedback or aren't considering it.

• 4x Speed Option: We plan to add a 4x speed option to enable faster animation without entirely skipping enemy turns.
  
• Character Stats Information: We’re improving the information on how character stat enhancements impact gameplay by providing more detailed descriptions on each stat during level-ups.
  
• Unified and Customizable Hotkeys: Hotkeys, which currently vary by character because certain characters don’t have magic, will be standardized. We’ll also support custom hotkey assignments.
  
• Quick Info for Combat Skills/Spells: We’re adding a quick info option to view layman version of combat skills and magic, on top of the existing Tactician’s detailed view currently accessible with by tapping "C."
  
• Display Enemy Movement Range (F key): Instead of pressing "F" repeatedly to check enemy movement ranges, we’ll add an option to keep this range always visible.
  
• Streamlined Battle Result Screen: We’ll simplify post-battle screens, eliminating separate screens for each reward type.
  
• Steam Deck Improvements: We’re addressing Steam Deck display issues like cropped skill descriptions at 1280 x 800 resolution, as well as continuing with optimization for the Steam Deck.
  
• Battle Dialogue Skip Option: The option to automatically skip previously viewed dialogues during battle already exists in-game. However, the translation for the option is incorrect and will be corrected for non-Korean languages.
  
  
• End Credit: Currently, credits roll after completing Act 3. We’ll limit this to the first Act 3 completion.
  
• Camera Zoom In/Out Feature: We’re adding a camera zoom function.
  
• Available Combat Skills/Magic Display: Currently, it requires multiple clicks to check any given character’s skills/spells. Instead of navigating menus, we’ll show available combat skills and spells directly when selecting a character.
  
• Promotion Rune Requirements: Rune requirements for promotions are currently not seen prior to the promotion. We’ll show the requirements in the UI so you can see unmet conditions upon clicking the promotion button.

• Tree of Life Skill Adjustment: We’re considering increasing the AoE damage, which is currently underpowered.
  
• Balance Adjustment for Act 2 Boss: Based on feedback that the Act 2 boss is harder than Act 3’s, we’ll lower the shield and review other balance factors if needed.
  
• Balance Adjustment for Temporary Allies: We’ll balance allies met in Acts 2 and 3, whose level is currently set too low for the battles in later acts.

• Altar of Fire Progression Rate: We’ll increase the number of Embers given out during an expedition to enhance the progression speed, addressing feedback that progress is too slow.

• WASD Camera Controls: We’ll support keyboard shortcuts for camera movement/panning, as some users find the current control scheme with camera movement and unit selection uncomfortable.
  
• Enhanced Resonance Stone UI: We’ll improve the Resonance Stone UI so you can preview upgrade outcomes before selecting equipment for enchantment.
  
• Improved Undo Feature: To make it easier to restart from the beginning of a battle, we’ll add a button for this purpose.
  
• Character Stats Animation Skip Function: We’ll add a skip option for the post-battle stat screen animation.

• Improved Blessings Path: We’re reviewing ways to extend the duration of temporary blessings obtained through expedition, potentially making them last for an entire act or expedition. We will share more information about this in the future, after we assess its impact to the overall game.

• Greater Blessings from Altar of Fire: We’ll review and rebalance Greater Blessings, add more options, and avoid duplicates to encourage strategic variety.
  
• Relic Unlock Display: We’ll add a UI feature to show relic unlock progression.
  
• Partnership Level Balance: We’ll continue reviewing feedback on the progression rate and rewards for partnerships and adjust as needed. The feature is not yet complete, and we are hoping to make it more interesting with player feedback.

• Steam Deck Optimization: We’ll continue optimizing the Steam Deck experience before launch.
  
• Expedition Progress Information: We’ll add a map indicator for the last three stages before boss fights to help players prepare for boss encounters.

• More Simple Combat Types: To address long battle sequences, we’ll add shorter battle types to Act 1.
  
• More Spellcaster Enemies: We’ve received feedback that the Magic Defense stat is less effective due to there being not too many enemies that use spells for primary attack. We are considering combat design level changes, like adding combat scenarios where there are multiple spellcasters in the enemy mix.
  
• Addition of Mythic Skills: We’re considering adding new skills for accessories and potentially developing more Mythic skills before launch.

• Altar of Fire Enhancements: We’re planning to expand Altar of Fire options when “Trials Mode” is introduced, allowing more growth choices with varying levels of difficulty from Trials mode.

So there you have it—the above are what we’re prioritizing in terms of feedback-based improvements. However, please note that some feedback will require additional time or re-evaluation after content updates, which leads me to share the major content plans as below.

• Trials Mode: Inspired by the Ascension system in Slay the Spire, players will be able to customize the difficulty. However, the execution will be done in the style of Hades in which you set the conditions of the challenge rather than be bound to the tiered difficulty levels. We hope to release this by February or March 2025.
  
• Additional Battles: This is the most development-heavy task in terms of time. So we plan to first develop simpler battles and implement their variations that can be in the earlier part of an expedition, after first working on the Trials mode. We will then add two boss battle types for each Act, alongside the early simple battles. We will continue to discuss adding different types of battles for the game’s official release (different gimmicks, topography, etc.), but the two tasks above will be our highest priority and focus. And of course, we can work on more battles post official release if resources allow.
  
• Items & Accessories Systems: We’re working on an item system (consumables that do not take the entire turn) and accessory system (new equipment type) to add strategic variety in combat. These systems will likely come with the release of Trials mode.
  
• Final Boss Encounter: We’ll add a final boss fight that will require specific conditions to access, with the official release. As this needs to present the most epic-feeling battle experience, we will be taking utmost care in development.
  
• Story and Voice Acting: We’re aware that the story currently ends a bit abruptly but rest assured that we’re investing in the story progression and will continue to update the story as we near official release. We will update everyone on the story and voice acting timelines soon.

We’ll share the full roadmap with the schedule as soon as possible!
We are committed to developing a quality game that resonates with turn-based RPG fans. We’re reviewing every piece of feedback, even if it doesn’t lead to immediate decisions. So please keep the feedback coming, and we’ll stay connected and keep the conversation and actions going!

Thank you for being part of the Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch journey. I apologize for the early bugs and am incredibly grateful for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Jin Sang Kim

Fixed a bug where character lines were missing.
Also fixed some achievements that were not working correctly

We’ve just unleashed a major update for the existing Entropy Survivors demo featuring:

• Major balance changes, bug fixes, and performance improvements.
  
• Support for DLSS and Ray Tracing on supported graphics hardware. We’ve been really surprised at how well DLSS handles our game and hope you turn it on if your card supports it!
  
• Better support for older hardware and integrated graphics cards
  
• Camera and gameplay readability improvements, including new accessibility options for highlighting enemies.
  
• Support for 12 languages.

As always, please let us know what you think. See you in the full game in just a few weeks!