Dear Players,

We want to thank you once again for your continued support and patience with The Midnight Crimes.

While we’ve made great progress on Chapter 2, we’ve come to the decision to postpone its release until September. e know this is disappointing news, especially after the previous delay, and we truly appreciate your understanding.

Our goal remains the same: to deliver an experience that captures the dark, immersive essence of Midnight Cove, with every clue, line of dialogue, and scene crafted with care. This additional time will allow us to polish the game further and ensure it meets the quality we know you expect and deserve.

As always, we’ll be sharing more behind-the-scenes content and story previews as we approach the new release window.

The mystery continues... and we can’t wait to show you what’s coming next.

Sincerely,

The DeadlyCrow Games Team

• Clicking into the game with your mouse no longer joins a second player. You must press enter or space to join with keyboard.
  
• Clicking the Leaderboard button will cycle between Top 10, Friends, and Nearby Scores to yours

On the 5th of August 2025, starting from 8:00 CEST, the server will not be available for 2 hours due to a planned server maintenance.

Please note that the maintenance can be extended beyond the abovementioned timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Version 0.10 introduces the Research Lab, a new station type that changes how technologies and artifacts are handled in Astro Protocol.

Each Research Lab can hold up to 3 technologies and/or artifacts. From now on, every tech you research and every artifact you acquire must be placed into one of your Research Labs.

If a Research Lab is captured by another player, its stored techs and artifacts are captured with it. This means your technology and artifacts are no longer completely safe once acquired, they are now strategic assets on the map. Players can now gain access to techs they had to pass on the tech tree or did not even have the possibility to research due to the randomized nature of the tech tree. Or acquire artifacts by taking control of enemy research labs instead of getting them from anomalies.

This also makes it possible to fulfil artifact or tech victory conditions by capturing research labs 

Whether you’re defending critical stations or launching a raid to steal what others have discovered, Research Labs bring new tactical options and risks to every match.

We’d love your feedback on the Research Lab system, especially how it impacts your strategy, tech planning, and the pursuit of victory conditions. Thanks for playing and supporting Astro Protocol.

See you among the stars!

• Fixed corrupted saves connected with hobos during arming them.

• Hobos can now buy mushrooms

• Kasia widget now properly disappears after death

• Fixed cigarette socket

• Decreased lamp brightness

• Reduced amount of scrap spawners by 50%

• Increased scrap respawn time

Hello people,
This past month has been packed with work, and the one ahead is shaping up to be even more intense. Let’s start with some big news:

Since the March demo and the successful Mac port, I’ve been caught in a loop trying to improve the overall gamefeel and make the gameplay more accessible to casual players. It's been a real challenge to raise the casual experience without weakening the moderate and more demanding parts of the game.

So I’m setting myself a clear goal: complete the final gameplay loop by the end of August. That means delivering a full world with all core features in place: world map travel, message powerups, open world challenges, and more. Because this milestone is focused on gameplay and design, it will only be available to beta testers, which is exactly what that tier was meant for. Some graphics-related settings also need testing, like the new shadow baking system (more on that below).

This isn’t about making up for time lost in redesigns, it’s about keeping full game production moving forward.

There's a brand new logo for Paper Sky

I've received a lot of feedback from controller users about how clunky and confusing it was to navigate the game menu, especially in two dimensions. So I’ve reworked the menu to be as linear and intuitive as possible, with clearer information on what each option does. This was one of the biggest feature requests back when I made Crumble, so it’s about time I fixed that mistake.

The visual design is still WIP. I’m aiming for a clean and modern layout, with hand-drawn UI icons to keep the vibe personal and light.

A few new settings have been added like frame rate cap, Vsync and more. If there are any specific options you’d love to see, let me know in the comments.

This one’s more of a quiet improvement but still a meaningful one. I’ve redone how shadows are handled under the hood so they can scale better with the size and complexity of Paper Sky’s open worlds. One of the reasons the demo world felt small compared to how fast the paper plane flies was that larger worlds didn’t have proper shadow support across all assets or distances, so i kept it rather small.

Now, assets can receive both baked and real-time shadows, which means even on lower graphics settings you'll still get some shadows without major performance issues.

The major issue could be seen at the start of this area where the old shadow baking pipeline could not handle large mesh.

Alright this one is a big one, I talked a bit about how the message system had to change due to player behaviors and also respecting nintendo switch guidelines, I've finished the implementation of it inside the game and it works like this:

I don't usually share rough prototypes but in this case it's more fitting for the gif format

You’ll now be able to unlock words from other players’ messages, giving you new words to add to your own. These build up your personal message, and every combination you create will procedurally generate a unique full sentence. Right now there are over 15 quintillion possible variations.

But that’s not all.

Each word you add to your message now affects your playstyle. You might gain extra jump charges, more boost bars, increased flight speed and a whole range of other modifiers. Every combination is unique and comes with its own strengths and trade-offs. Some words carry sad emotional weight, and while they offer powerful upgrades, stacking too many of them will make the game harder.

Think of it as an interactive difficulty slider. Play with the words that resonate with you and see how they shape your journey. Once you finish the game, your message will be passed along to other players, creating something more honest and impactful than just writing freely in a textbox.

There are also handcrafted message combinations. If you find one, it’ll unlock even stronger buffs. Think of them as easter eggs or gameplay assists.

These message-based modifiers layer onto the skins and paper plane models you can fold. So you could craft a message built around speed and lightness, choose a plane model that’s highly maneuverable, and pair it with a skin that increases air time. Plane models and skins are tied to in-game achievements.

Because of all this, the old skill tree is gone. It just didn’t feel meaningful enough. Most players barely used it beyond the first upgrade during the demo, and I think this new system offers something much more intuitive and dynamic.

To push immersion even further, I’ve added world landmarks that serve as both checkpoints and fast travel points. Since the game is all about flying and exploration, these landmarks are rare and have to be unlocked. They give you a way to move between worlds without having to backtrack for hours if you missed a challenge or achievement.

These landmarks are also the only places where you can change your plane model and edit your message. It’s also where you’ll unlock any new words you've collected from others so far.

Overall I want Paper Sky to lean more onto the adventure and exploration side than the platformer aspect which irritates most players, I will leave it to specific part of the game such as challenges; so expect the first update to be easier to handle

I’ve improved how energy is conserved when transforming into the paper ball, so it now works much better in synergy with the paper plane, especially at high speeds. It’s also way easier to build up speed while rolling as the paper ball, making the whole process smoother and more fun.

There’s also a work-in-progress feature that lets you transform with some initial speed, aimed at players who have a harder time building momentum before switching forms.

I had some visual progress I wanted to share this month, but my graphics card is currently refusing to capture anything without glitching the whole thing with artifacts. So, visuals next month!

I also adopted a new puppy this month:

Meet Auri!

Alright that's it for now, cya.

Hi everyone! Just thought I’d let you know what’s currently going on with development on Vampire Syndicate. 

Right now I’m tackling a large amount of game systems, notably UI, inventory, the save system, character customization, quests, chargen, skill trees + progression, and more.

For the most part, these systems will be very familiar if you’ve played an RPG before. There may be some surprises, but I would like to stick to a “simpler is better” approach, as the game is already aggressively scoped (I don't think I'm exaggerating in saying this is one of the most ambitious solodev projects currently in development). 

And as it might sound, it’ll take me a while to get all of this under wraps.  

I am currently still flying solo, outside of one programmer who occasionally helped with the combat system. Solo development has its pros and cons, but as I’m learning the engine and getting more comfortable with how it works, it’s not that hard! 

The bad news is that it’s still very hard. 

I am doing a lot more work from scratch than I anticipated, but it remains manageable. In some ways I'm glad this is the case, as I now understand the underlying systems much better.

Hopefully I will have something to show pretty soon. As a teaser, here’s a random screengrab from character customization in development:

We took a few steps back, but don’t worry — we’re in a good place now.

The game has changed: it now feels much more like a real factory sim, where you start with a single workbench... and eventually build a rocket. But first things first — let’s start with the garage.

Garage Life

At the beginning, there are no conveyor belts, no robots, no automation. It’s just you, a small garage space, a workbench, and your very first order of simple electronic devices. Work hard and progress to be the best manufacturer!

Organization is key

Everything is done manually — from unpacking deliveries to organizing components on shelves. As the number of electronic devices grows, so does the variety of components. So you'd better keep things organized!

Work, work… more work

Components also need to be placed on the workbench, so you can easily access them while assembling electronics.

No excuses!

Assembling is fairly simple — for now. Basic products require only a few components, but things will get more complex over time, and assembly will take longer. But hey — no excuses. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

The road to dominating the electronics market is long and tough. Think you’ve got what it takes? 😏🛠 Tell us, what electronics would You like to assemble!

It took us a bit more time than expected, just over a month to be exact😅, but here it is - the latest update for Songs of Rats and our final free update to the game! And it's a FAT one 🐀, as it brings not two (as announced initially), but THREE new campaigns! We hope this will sweeten the delay a little bit.

We've been listening to your feedback carefully, and with these campaigns, we aimed to give you more choices and more freedom in how you shape your path and story in The Wreckage!

🔽 Scroll down for all the important info and details on the new content.🔽

🧑‍💻 So here are all the tasty details! 👍

In this new campaign, there's no set path and no clear goal - just you, a map of interconnected locations, and the freedom to go wherever you want. Each spot leads to 2–3 others, letting you carve your own route through the world.

Along the way, you’ll be able to interact with the environment, meet other travelers, and hear rumors, some of which may point you toward something bigger. But don’t expect the game to spell it out.

Behind the scenes, your choices are quietly tracked. Depending on what you’ve done, certain locations may trigger hidden endings instead of the usual scenes. For example:

• Visit 10 different locations before reaching the Keykeeper’s Den? You might find something waiting.

• Complete three cult initiations? A spiritual path could open.

• Earn the respect of key factions? The Council might call on you.

You won’t see progress bars or quest markers — just consequences. What you find at the end depends entirely on how you’ve played.

This campaign introduces a new core mechanic: the Clan Panel. As you explore and scavenge, you’ll collect scrap - and instead of hoarding it, you’ll invest it directly into your clan’s growth.

You can upgrade three key traits: Body, Mind, and Spirit. Each point you unlock makes the next one more expensive, so you’ll need to choose your path carefully. Once you’ve maxed out every trait available, the final scene triggers - but what happens next depends entirely on how you developed your clan.

There are four possible endings, based on your strongest stat:

• Body-dominant

• Spirit-dominant

• Mind-dominant

• Balanced

There’s no right or wrong answer - just the story of the clan you chose to build.

You’ve waited your whole life for this moment - just like everyone else in your group. Now, finally, your trial has come.

The Council has spoken: before you can become a caravanner, before you’re trusted with trade routes and responsibility, you must bring back something of value, something ancient, something real.

If you succeed, there's a chance you'll be allowed to travel The Wreckage not alone, but alongside the people who matter most, your friends: Aron, Freya, and Hogor. You've trained with them, fought beside them, and dreamed of this moment together.

In this campaign your choices will determine whether you earn your place - and whether you and your friends live to see the road ahead.

Of course that's not all! We’ve also fixed a few pesky bugs 🐛 here and there and added some new achievements you can unlock by completing the latest campaigns🏆. We really hope you’ll enjoy all the new content - it brings many more hours of gameplay, and we can't wait to hear your thoughts on these new experiences!

Thank you so much for sticking with us, for all your feedback, comments, and reviews! 🙏 We truly appreciate it!

And who knows... maybe this won’t be our last word when it comes to The Wreckage? 😉

Traditionally, we would also like to encourage you to check out the EBOOK, which contains a short novel (Uriel's Song) offering deeper insight into the lore of Songs of Rats and The Wreckage. If you'd like to explore more of the world, we think it could be a good read!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3545330/Songs_of_Rats__Tales_from_the_Shadows_EBOOK/

Once again, we can’t thank you enough for being part of Songs of Rats and exploring The Wreckage. If you don’t own the game yet, we highly encourage you to try the demo - we’d love for you to join us on this adventure!

And finally, if you’re enjoying the game, please consider leaving a positive review on Steam. As a small indie team, your reviews help us tremendously in reaching more players and growing our community. Every single one counts and is deeply appreciated! 🙏

🤛 Thank you all once again for your amazing support. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts and see you exploring The Wreckage. Enjoy the adventure!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3300470/Songs_of_Rats/