A Call From Under the House - partycrasherstudio
Fixes bark spamming
Adds cig collection achievement
Audio fixes
Updates credits
Adds cig collection achievement
Audio fixes
Updates credits
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Mark your calendars — November 5th!
Two new DLCs are coming to Shale Hill Secrets:
• Platinum Extra Scenes — 43 exclusive non-canonical scenes featuring every main character.
• Epilogues: Extended Endings — nine expanded post-story chapters that explore life after the original endings.
These DLCs expand the story, the relationships, and the secrets of Shale Hill like never before.
A new bundle will also be released, combining the base game and both expansions at a special launch discount. If you already own the base game or one of the DLCs, Steam will automatically adjust the price — you’ll only pay for what you don’t have.
Stay tuned, and get ready to uncover every secret on November 5th.
Champions, welcome to our fifth faction analysis!
For our next report, we turn our attention to the unbridled, apocalyptic fury of Strife.
Read on for crucial intel concerning the lore and art of the Strife faction: the brutality of war made manifest. This nation of warmongers, berserkers, and volcanic engines is ready to deliver a crushing blow to all who stand in their path.
Lore
Population: Approximately 10 million
Capital: Korrad Dur
Governing Body: The Dragon Tyranny – Though Tor the Relentless has risen to Champion status despite not being a dragon
Notable Locations: The Great Keep of Korrad Dur, the Forge Pits of Nymeer, Marshalling Grounds of Giant’s Pass, Deep Tunnels of the Westlands
Amidst the volcanic upheaval and earthquakes of Terrene Gall lies the treacherous domain of Mimmir’s followers. It is a land sculpted by catastrophe.
When the great Warden Empire fractured, Mimmir seized the opportunity. He rallied Goblins and Slags, unleashing a wave of carnage that drove countless refugees into the forests of Thorns. This bloodshed was brutal and reckless – but not without purpose.
The sickening sounds of this chaos – the screams, the clashes, and the scent of blood and wildfire - did more than shatter a fragile peace. They woke the dragons from their millennia-long slumber and roused long-dormant volcanoes, unleashing ancient magics that did more than scar the land; It warped it, twisting the land and its inhabitants into mortal parodies of their former selves.
To this day, the towering Great Keep of Korrad Dur remains their seat of power. It is here that Rynoxxys the Unruled commands what remains of the knights of old. They are no longer the stalwarts of mankind; rather they are demon-worshippers, having traded their humanity for infernal pacts, and the abyssal power of forces called forth from beyond.
The armies of Strife are a terrifying coalition of Dragon Souls, Goblins, Demon Kin, and Slags. They are united by an iron-clad principle: Strife finds glory in battle and sacrifice above all else, and they consider everyone among their enemies- including each other. Their warlust is a cancer upon the world. Will this brutal, self-consuming chaos be the force that finally unites the shattered lands of Terrene Gall, even if only annihilation and ash are left in its devastating wake?
Art/ Inspiration
The Visage of War and Rage: Strife
Visually, Strife is the most obtrusive faction of Terrene Gall’s species, embodying sheer brutality and unbridled rage. Their very being is a visual description of war. They have no use for strategy because they are a blunt instrument – a relentless battering ram focused on crushing their foes with massive, overwhelming force.
Technology
Their armor is as much a weapon as it is protection. Constant exposure to fire and the charred earth has resulted in a uniform of blackened, wrought iron, which is always covered with jagged spikes, ridges, and other deadly adornments. This is layered over greasy leather, heavily treated with a flame-retardant material made from dragon innards, and little cloth is worn amongst this faction, as the sweltering heat and ever-present fire of their home world has been known to set it ablaze.
Environment - A World Forged in Fire
Strife's homeland is the pure representation of apocalypse: volcanic, superheated, barren, and utterly destroyed. The terrain is an uneven wasteland of sharp crags and treacherous valleys, constantly illuminated by the hot, hungry glow of fires and molten magma. The very land is in perpetual upheaval.
Save for the skeletal remains of ironwood trees, which are too tough and tenacious to die fully, there is no greenery in the lands of Strife. The sky itself is a perpetual dingy shroud, thick and dirty, filled with the toxic smoke of unseen, rudimentary factories churning out the tools of war. This is not a place to live – it is a furnace for endless conflict.
New Zombies
Zombina - A female zombie couldn’t be missing.
Boneclaw - Has less resistance, but does slightly more damage.
Bulk - Has significantly more resistance, but is slower and does less damage.
New Onyx Structures
Onyx Feather Generator.
Supplies you with feathers. Can be powered by anything that drops feathers.
Onyx Protein Compressor.
Presses any living creature into small edible protein cubes of equal quality.
Improvements
The cave entrance to the dwarves is now also marked on the map.
The requirements for the weekly quest with the dwarves have been significantly reduced.
To increase the accessibility of Onyx.
Appearance of the energy generator and cutter adapted to the new standard.
Onyx components and Onyx light sources have been completely disabled in the game until further notice.
This simplifies the production of onyx structures.
Removing soil dug with the pickaxe is now smoother.
Here, too, the mouse click is now taken into account, provided it is within the character's range.
The entry quest progression via Charlie and Leyla now runs more smoothly.
The health of enemies in Cozy Mode has been reduced slightly further.
New storytelling system implemented.
The introductory explanation is now displayed by the Storyteller.
Notification system upgraded.
The notification when new recipes have been learned is now more visible.
The tutorial has been completely updated.
Always starts when a new save game is started.
Various UI improvements.
This update adds new features and fixes some issues.
- Added leader images for custom faction. More will be added in the future.
- Added a feature to display the number of units and their combat power values on the map.
- "Shield Bash" will be upgraded to "Shield Smash" when a unit reaches level 4.
- Spell "Friends of the Sea" can be used at the port.
- Added translations (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese) to all hero profiles.
- Fixed other minor issues.
*The issue with the update has been resolved.
We aim to implement the workshop feature by the end of November.
Welcome back to The Weekly Grind.
Let’s get to it!
What’s going on?
One week into Skate-o-Ween, and the team is working on more fixes. Mid-season Update 0.28.5 dropped on Oct 23, 2025, and we’re hearing your feedback.
What have we heard? We’ve heard your feedback regarding Seasonal and Event progression being too low without enough challenges and the rewards tied to the Seasonal and Event task completion not being that significant. We also hear you about skate.Pass and not being able to earn enough SVB for the next season and we’re looking at adjusting the amount of SVB rewarded in the skate.Pass. The team is taking all the feedback and learning from it, working on some tuning for Season 2 that we’ll be sharing in the coming weeks.
Beyond Season 1, we’ve also heard you loud and clear regarding the issues impacting gameplay overall - softlock issues, progression issues, connectivity and stability issues, and how the cosmetic and rewards system works in general. It’s crucial that you know we see and hear your feedback. We’ll have more information to share soon on the next steps, but it’s crucial for us to ensure you know that you’re being heard.
Free Gift
If you didn’t notice, in the skate.Pass images we had an asset that included a white Haru shirt that was not actually available to unlock/earn. We fixed the asset, but wanted to do more. So on Friday, October 31, we’re granting everyone the Lightrunner set that includes the white long-sleeved Haru shirt, the striped baseball cap, and the white high-top shoes. For free, for everyone with skate.Pass Premium. You’ll just have to log in to get them.
Skate-o-Ween Weekly Task Progression Fix
On Monday, we pushed a fix that allows you to run any of the previously completed challenges again: "Witch's Brew", "Spider Bait", and "Heathen Flip". This update enables you to complete the challenge goals and receive all the Week 1 rewards.
Additionally, we're disabling the "Basinator" Challenge due to the objective "Perform a single flip trick and 360 into the Fountain" not consistently tracking.
Softlocks/Stuck Progression- ONGOING
As shared last week, the team continues to push fixes for softlock issues, but more details are needed if you’re still experiencing a stuck progression issue. If you haven’t yet, make sure to share your details on the Mega Thread as we need to fix these individually for the time being.
We appreciate your dedication and sticking with us in Early Access as we work through these issues. Make sure to check our official skate_status account on X to keep up-to-date with news and info as it comes out.
Keep that content coming!
REMINDER! On October 20th, we launched our first skate. UGC contest where you can design a shirt to be in-game. This is the last week to share your design for it to be considered to come into the game. Check the official rules for details and hit up the #skate-tshirt-contest channel in the official Discord to drop your submission. Check here for details, rules, and the legal stuff.
As usual, we wanted to share a few pieces of content that caught our eye. Remember: if you want to possibly be featured in The Weekly Grind, make sure to share yours (screenshots, videos, clips) via https://www.ea.com/games/skate/skate-reel.
The No-Comply Cartel, Credit: COOKIES
On your marks, get set, skate!, Credit: COOKIES and Nahzrn
Is this a Hippy Grind? Credit: Taylor
Ready for Skate-o-Ween week 2, Credit: The Mosh Dude
skate. October 2025 UGC T-Shirt Contest week 2 (Ends Nov 3)
The Weekly Grind! (that’s today)
Skate-o-Ween Week 2
skatebounty #4
2x Halloween sweepstakes in Discord for skate. Year 5
skate. October 2025 UGC T-Shirt Contest Ends & Winners Chosen
skatebounty #5
Skate-o-Ween Week #3
Part of The Weekly Grind will be dedicated to sharing current Known Issues the team is tracking for bugs & issues, any active deployments/fixes, and next steps. (This is not an exhaustive list of all tracked issues.)
Fixed Oct 23, 2025 with Update 0.28.5
Co-op Tasks aren’t being marked complete
Body flips often fail to register during the Double Trouble Season 1 Challenge
Input for one-foot ollies can be inconsistent
Some PC users experiencing very long loading screens after logging in
The Replay Editor (PC) often captures stuttering during export.
skate.Pass UI Bug preventing highlighting of preferred items from previous pages
Slam target showing up/staying on when not in a Slam Challenge
Criteria for unlocking the Financial neighborhood is not showing up, causing the "Manual Extension" mission to not appear
Fix: Implemented on October 6.
skate.Insider Rewards not showing up
Fix: The team continues to run scripts to grant Insiders the skate.Insider Rewards.
Various progression issues
Fix: Fixes are ongoing, with more rolling out between 0.28 and 0.29.
Skaters getting kicked from online play
Fix: Some fixes implemented October 10 and 12, more rolling out between 0.28 and 0.29.
Xbox X|S players may notice the update is much larger on their console than for PC and PS players
Double Congratulations bug when opening items
Fix: Fixed in 0.29
Unable to play Skate. due to a "connection to EA Servers" error.
Troubleshooting: Ensure that the VPN is disabled and check that the EA App is not in offline mode. For more troubleshooting help, refer to our Connectivity FAQ.
User loses SVB while redeeming skate.Pass content and receives unwanted item
Next Steps: A fix for this issue is currently in the works. In the meantime, if you are running into this issue, please send us a photo of the faulty purchase in our forums and we’ll assist you.
Co-Op challenges fail to start for some party members
We’re working on a solution and will keep you updated on our progress.
Stuck on Isle of Grom
We’ve previously pushed out a fix so that new players won’t run into this issue, and have continued to help skaters that are stuck so they can enter San Vansterdam. If you still can’t take the ferry, please report it in our Mega Thread.
Infinite Loading Issues
We’re tracking an issue with players getting stuck in loading into San Vansterdam.
Workaround: Make sure the game is updated (repair install, if possible). We’ve seen reports from players that loading will complete after a few minutes.
EA App: Click … on game tile, select Repair
Steam: Steam Library, right click game, Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity.
Invisible party members when joining friend from another server
Workaround (not 100%): After the transition, any of the 2 party members would have to teleport to the other party member so they could see one another.
Fix: Team is currently investigating a full fix.
The replay editor often captures stuttering during export on console
Fix: Will be fixed with 0.29.
Various Crashing Issues
The team continues to investigate and work on various crashing issues. If you’re experiencing a crashing issue, please share any details you can on this Mega Thread.
Hey skate. community,
When we launched Season 1, a skate.Pass Premium item – the Lightrunner -- was shown that wasn’t actually available in the game. We heard your feedback, and we planned to make it right by awarding the Lightrunner to all skate.Pass Premium members as of Oct 31, 2025.
Unfortunately, the message shared this week in The Weekly Grind incorrectly promised this to ALL players rather than just those directly impacted.
That’s on us. We know how important it is to be accurate to avoid confusion, and we're owning this one.
So, on Oct 31, 2025, EVERYONE (yes, really everyone) will be able to login to skate. and receive the Lightrunner set for free. All you need to do is login before Dec 2, 2025 at 9AM PT to grab your Lightrunner set.
Mistakes happen. Owning them and correcting them is critical to building trust with you, the skate. community.
Please accept our apologies -- and enjoy the extra reward!
The skate. Team
From now until November 24th, 2025, you can celebrate Halloween in Taskbarn with a special seasonal treat!
Simply open your barn during the event and you’ll automatically receive:
A unique spooky skin for every animal
A haunted barn makeover
A matching fence skin
No tricks — just treats!
These limited-time cosmetics will be yours to keep forever once claimed, but won't return after the event ends, so don’t miss out!
Enjoy!
Goop Games
The demo for *Summer Adventurers: Mediterranean* is now live on Steam!
🌞 Explore the Mediterranean coast, solve relaxing puzzles, and enjoy the summer atmosphere.
This free demo includes the first two levels from the full game — a perfect way to start your adventure early!
🧩 Try the demo now and experience the cozy puzzle-adventure vibe.
💚 Don’t forget to wishlist the full game for updates and release news!
🎨 Update: We’ve refreshed our Steam Store look!
Our small capsule has a new sunny identity — “S.A.M.” now shines with warm colors and a Mediterranean sunset vibe. 🌅
It’s a small change, but we hope it captures the cozy summer feeling of the game even better.
Check out the new look below 👇 and don’t forget to wishlist the full game if you enjoyed the demo!
Update:
We’ve just refreshed our Steam capsule design 🌊 and added new screenshots from the Mediterranean coast!
Thank you so much for the warm support and our very first curator review 💚
“A cozy and relaxing game, perfect for unwinding after a long day.” – GameSpectrum
If you haven’t tried the demo yet, now’s the perfect time to relax and explore!
Hello horror fans!
What better time for horror lovers than Halloween, huh? As part of the Scream Fest, Lightless will continue to be 15% off following the initial launch discount.
In these first few days, many bugs and quality-of-life issues have also been fixed based on your feedback. I really do listen—so feel free to share some constructive criticism!