Oct 31

Persist Online - Persist_CM

The Great Overhaul: Combat Depth, Enhanced Visuals, and Performance Gains

The apocalypse has changed. This update is not just about fixes or tweaks — it is about evolution. Every corner of Persist Online has been touched, from the way you fight to the way light moves across the ruins of Ashwater. Weapons now have true identity, zombies are more dangerous and unpredictable, and the entire world runs smoother thanks to a complete graphics overhaul and countless under-the-hood improvements.

This is a big step forward for Persist Online!

Combat Changes

Combat in Persist Online has always been about tension — that feeling of being just one mistake away from disaster. But as the game grew, many weapons began to feel too similar. This update changes that. Every weapon type now has its own mechanical personality. The goal was to make fighting feel expressive — not just effective.

Assault Rifles now have two firing modes: burst and full-auto. You can switch between them on the fly, allowing you to control recoil and accuracy depending on the situation. A new skill, Kneecapper, replaces the old burst-fire ability. It inflicts a temporary crippling effect on your target, rewarding precision over spray-and-pray tactics.

Pistols have become true tools of mobility. Their bonuses depend on your movement: advancing increases your damage output, while retreating boosts your evasion and damage reduction. It’s a system that encourages dynamic positioning — you’re strongest when you move.

Revolvers now follow a rhythm: every consecutive hit in a magazine increases the power of the next shot. Miss, and the bonus is lost. This creates high-risk, high-reward gameplay that turns timing into raw power.

Shotguns remain brutal in close combat but now have exclusive access to knockback, making them the kings of crowd control.

SMGs are now designed for uninterrupted fire — they automatically reload once the magazine runs dry, cutting downtime in half and keeping the chaos going.

Melee combat has also been rebuilt from the ground up:

Axes gain the Executioner effect, guaranteeing critical hits on weakened foes.
Hammers now generate Rage — a resource that builds with every swing and increases your speed and defense the longer you stay in the fight.
Knives gain huge bonuses when striking enemies from behind, rewarding stealth and awareness.
Swords can perform Riposte counterattacks when dodging correctly, punishing attackers in melee range.

These changes create an entirely new layer of depth. Combat now depends on your weapon, your position, and your decision-making. Every encounter becomes a test of mastery — not just gear.

Smarter Zombies and Better Hunts

For too long, high-ring combat favored caution over chaos. Players could pull enemies one by one, making fights predictable and safe. That’s no longer the case.

Zombie encounters have been redesigned to restore the danger and intensity of early-game combat. In rings six and higher, you’ll face more enemies at once — but each with less health. The goal was to speed up the pace of fights while keeping them deadly. You’ll burn through ammunition faster, but every encounter will feel alive and urgent again.

Some zombies also now come with death effects that trigger the moment they fall. These can vary from dangerous area effects that confuse and debuff nearby survivors to unexpected spawns of Rotworms that crawl out of corpses to attack. The exact outcome isn’t always predictable, and that’s the point — no fight should ever feel completely safe.

To make sure the challenge stays fair, the new Zombie Abuse Protection system detects when players exploit unreachable positions, such as rooftops or terrain gaps. This change keeps farming fair and ensures that every kill feels earned.

Combined, these updates bring back the sense of danger that defines Persist Online. Every street fight, every encounter, every pull can turn into a desperate battle for survival.

A World That Feels Alive

This update also changes how the world feels — visually, structurally, and atmospherically. Many areas have been rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of new technology and design improvements.

The Ashwater Medical Center is now a full zone instead of a static building. Inside, flickering lights and echoing hallways create a haunting atmosphere filled with new enemies, loot, and ambient voice lines. It’s a perfect example of how environmental storytelling has evolved.

The Beckwood region has been completely reworked. Vegetation density has increased, terrain transitions are smoother, and the area now offers varied hunting grounds. Both performance and immersion were key goals here — it looks more natural while running better than before.

Across Ashwater, many buildings that were once empty now have proper interiors filled with props, lootables, and enemies. Exploration feels meaningful again, because every space serves a purpose.

We’ve also added a wide range of new harvestables — from dirt mounds and graves to crashed drones and mechanical debris. These small additions make scavenging more dynamic and give resource gathering a sense of discovery.

Finally, zombie corpse models have been updated to better match their living counterparts, and more radios have been added across the world, further expanding the story that hums beneath the ruins.

The world doesn’t just look better — it breathes.

Safe Trade

Trust is rare in the apocalypse. Until now, trading often required risky drop exchanges that could go wrong. That’s over.

The new Safe Trade system lets you trade items and cash directly with another player. Simply face the survivor you want to trade with and press E. Both players can then confirm the deal in a secure interface. Nothing is lost, and no one can trick you mid-trade.

This feature may sound small, but it’s crucial for a living economy. It supports cooperation, fair play, and the sense of community that every good online world needs.

Enhanced Visuals and Performance

This overhaul isn’t only about gameplay. Under the hood, Persist Online has undergone one of the biggest technical changes since development began: a full migration to the Universal Render Pipeline (URP).

The URP allows for better use of lighting, shadows, and materials while significantly increasing performance. Many players will see higher frame rates, faster loading times, and more stable gameplay even on lower-end machines.

Lighting across all regions has been re-tuned to look more natural and atmospheric. Indoor areas now have smoother contrast, and outdoor lighting responds better to weather and time of day.
Weather effects have been rebuilt from scratch. Rain, fog, and storms now blend seamlessly with the environment and no longer appear indoors.
Server performance has improved as well, thanks to optimized spawning of harvestables, enemies, and lootables.

This technical work took months, but it transforms how the game feels to play. For the first time, Persist Online can deliver both improved visual fidelity and smoother performance — the kind of foundation that future updates can build on.

Balance and Quality of Life

No overhaul would be complete without refining the systems that hold everything together.

Weapons and skills have been carefully rebalanced to ensure smoother progression and fairer fights. Many cooldowns have been reduced to make combat flow faster, while damage values have been adjusted to create clearer power curves between rings.

Economy and crafting systems have also seen major adjustments. Labor costs for crafting, trading, and cooking have been lowered, making resource management less punishing. Safehouse room upgrades now cost less, allowing players to advance their bases more easily.

User interface improvements touch nearly every part of the game. Reloading now shows a progress bar and can be canceled at any time, letting you react to changing situations. The radial interaction menu has been refined to make context actions faster to access. Safehouse and node UIs have been simplified, preparing the system for future claimable areas.

You can even place deployable skill objects — such as mines and turrets — while moving, adding flexibility to combat and defense.

Together, these updates reduce friction and help the game feel more responsive and modern.

The Road Ahead

This overhaul lays the groundwork for what’s next. With combat rebuilt, performance improved, and visuals upgraded, Persist Online is entering a new phase of development — one that focuses on expanding the world, deepening player interaction, and continuing to refine the systems introduced here.

The apocalypse is changing. It’s faster, smarter, and more beautiful than ever before — but it’s still dangerous.

See you out there, survivors.

Oct 31

Steam Deck Verified, accessibility and final Halloween updates 🎃!

Deck of Haunts - philippe

Right in time for those spending Halloween on the move or just like handheld devices more: the coveted green Steam Deck Verified checkmark.

Check it out right here: https://store.steampowered.com/verified/3179730/Deck_of_Haunts

Next to the Steam Deck Verification, we have added some accessibility items to the game such as adjustable text size.

Also, as Deck of Haunts previously went full Halloween mode, we still have some final updates today to bring the haunted domain up to tip-top shape for a night full of spooks.
(Bonus fact: we just surpassed 30.000 players!) https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3179730/view/501712599669276808?l=englishChangelog for today's update:

Changes

Steam deck adjustments that got us the verification.
Adjustable text size.
Added the option to choose between scale to fit and auto-scroll for cards with more text than the length of a card frame.

Fixed Bugs

Fixed Compass trait still triggering an extra move on an idle turn.

We also have some big changes for those that are part of our Discord testing community. (you can become as well, just by joining here: https://discord.gg/s4Qu6pg7D7 ).

The pre-alpha build of the scenario builder has just gotten some fresh updates:

Added explicit trait option to the Human settings.
Prevent uploading and playing of invalid scenarios with no nights or nights that spawn no humans.
Added a (placeholder) thumbnail for files uploaded to Steam Workshop.
Files already uploaded to Steam Workshop can now be updated instead of always creating a new one.
Added the option to define rest or boss nights.

Thanks to all the players that are following us along from the start. And welcome to all potential new players reading this!

If you like Deck of Haunts, and the direction in which we are going with it, feel free to leave a review, as it helps us a lot more than you think! 👻

Oct 31

Update Ver. 0.5.1 Pre-Alpha

Crown's Labyrinth - Glitch State Interactive

Hi, it has been a few months since any update on the progress of the game. Well, here it is. I have had some help getting this update out over the last few months, and now I can show what the art style and story will be for the game moving forward. Before I ramble on, here are some of the updates I made.

Important: the Save system does not currently work correctly, so the game progress resets every time you quit to the desktop. I am genuinely sorry for the inconvenience. I am working hard to fix this bug.
Updated Art Style and design.
Redesigned the fortress level/hub area.
Added new sounds.
Added Dialogue boxes when interacting with signs and NPCs.
Reworked the Upgrades menu.
Added a slew of VFX and post-processing.
Each character now has a single unique ability that can be used in multiple ways.
And More.

With all these changes, the scope of the game had to be cut back, or I would never be able to release it. This includes

Reducing the total character count to 4, with 3 currently available.
Reducing the Region count from 5 to 4, with 1 region currently available.
Reducing the character abilities to 1 ability each.

The game finally has a working story I am happy with, and that will be developed and iterated upon moving forward. I have a demo releasing soon for you to try before supporting the Early Access, but in the meantime, please feel free to wishlist the game.

Thank you to everybody for being so patient with the development of Crown's Labyrinth.

Oct 31

Update

Pixel Gun 3D: PC Edition - katchepuri

Feel that muscle memory sparking? Classic PG3D just shipped with an upgrade. Favorite maps, new weapons, nostalgic events—the one-and-only vibe. Experience the OG era in its full glory. LET'S GOOOO.

We know you missed the old PG3D. We heard it. Meet the OG PG3D Season: a love letter to the era you still talk about in every comment thread. The spirit of classic PG3D is back and upgraded.

The headline feature? Maps. Old maps. A lot of them. And that's not all.

Your favorite classic maps are back not only as arenas, but as avatars—their looks and personalities brought to life so you can wear the vibe.

The weapons call back to those locations too: silhouettes, trims, and details you’ll recognize in a heartbeat. We’ve also brought back the beloved bold black outline for cleaner reads in the chaos.

And yes, three brand‑new 3catspam guns made for fast, dynamic battles: swap, strike, repeat.

OG PG3D Season Armory

Code Blaster — a heavy rocket launcher for players who don’t mind moving slow to hit hard. Fires cluster rockets that make all killed targets explode, punishing anyone stacked together.

Dangerous Pistol — laser sidearm with medium fire rate and high damage for close to mid range. Shots burn on hit and briefly blind.

Beta‑test Placeholder — launches large semi‑transparent projectiles that pass through enemies and walls.

Your Fav Shotgun — slow, hard‑hitting, with a medium reload and low mobility. The slug pierces in a line and grants a double jump—perfect to drop straight into 3‑Cat routes and take off‑angles on demand.

Ultimate Killer — a ruthless sniper with 8× zoom that fires a laser and pierces walls. Cadence sits just under mid with a long reload. Built to slide into your 3‑Cat spam set when you need lethal picks between swaps.

New Gen Spammer — a feral heavy tuned for area control: wide AoE damage, fire rate a tick above medium, and a super rocket jump for instant vertical routes. 3‑Cat‑friendly and ready to keep pressure rolling.

OG PG3D Season Heroes

BlockMart Guy – he’s spent years wandering the aisles of this abandoned store and has seen enough horrors to know every shortcut in BlockMart.

Sky Islands — your favorite map, now a skin: mountains, waterfalls, and running streams carry back the hours you spent here. Wear the view—and the memories that came with it.

Beta Tester — It’s simply an empty skin with a question mark. Pair it with the Beta-test Placeholder.

3CatBoy — Built for players who treat 3-Cat spam as an art, not an exploit. All edges and electric light, he moves on tempo: swap–swap–snap, and the killfeed pops.

Miss the feel of early PG3D? Same. It seemed those days were gone, but our developers recently uncovered fragments of a backup, encrypted inside the combat logs of old matches. Take up the role of time’s archivistt—decode the traces, restore the lost pieces, and bring the past back to life.

Each kill in a match leaves a combat imprint—a Chronobit. It’s a digital trace from PG’s earlier era, and you’ll need it to restore the archive.

Jump into battles on beloved classic maps: Ant’s Life, Dangerous Roads, Coliseum, and many more. Collect Chronobits from fallen defeated opponents and rebuild the volumes of archival data.

Collect all four volumes to claim a special reward from the archive: a profile background styled after the classic PG lobby.

Black Friday is back, old-school style. Every purchase earns you cashback—whether you’re spending real money, coins, gems, or Pixel Pass tickets. Stack it up and spend it right in the shop. Simple.

And the grand prizes? The Double PixelGun (like the classic—just twice as cool) and the Pool Partier avatar… guess which map we’re talking about?

Experience the OG era in its full glory with OG Season. We’re bringing back good old brawls to revive the good old days: fight with classic weapons alongside this season’s arsenal inspired by legendary updates, and clash on nostalgic maps with true old-school PG3D spirit. Dominate like in the glory days!

Team Fight: Ant’s Life, Atlantis, Alien Planet, Aztec

Deathmatch: Lab, Atlantis, Coliseum, Aztec

Point Capture: Dangerous Roads, Emperor’s Palace

Flag Capture: Emperor’s Palace, Atlantis

Duel: Space Arena

Out

Team Fight: Candy Land, Asgard, Heaven Garden

Deathmatch: Candy Land, Ghost Town, Asgard

Flag Capture: Lost World, Complex

Point Capture: Treasury

Duel: Chinatown

We’ve rolled out update 26.1 with improvements aimed at reducing freezing and lag on Android devices. This fix should make the game run more smoothly, with fewer crashes and faster scene loading. At the same time, our team continues working on a deeper, permanent solution to completely resolve these issues. Your feedback after installing the update will help us move faster in the right direction.

Bring back that old school energy and wear it out in the wild. The OG PG3D Season merch drop is built for day-one pixelgunners: bold logos, clean cuts, and a nod to the maps and memories that made us.

Pick your loadout, match it to your vibe, and rep the arena wherever you go. Stock moves fast, sizes don’t respawn—lock yours before it’s gone.