DUBIUM participated in Gamescom 2022 last week in the Business Area and received lots of praise from many industry experts including publishers, developers, and media. DUBIUM was also featured on the Gamescom Steam page therefore we got some attention from other players. DUBIUM will be attending Tokyo Game Show in September. During the Tokyo Game Show, you will be able to try out some parts of DUBIUM at the booth on September 15th~18th. We will be in Hall 2 at the Korea Pavilion section of the Tokyo Game Show. We hope to see you guys there!
New Rework on the Ping System
One obstacle in any games that have some emphasis on social interactions is, that all players do not use the same language. Communication is a key core aspect of DUBIUM. In DUBIUM players need to communicate with other Frontiers not only truthfully but may also need to deliberately send out false information for their victory of the game. Being a game where players need to frame, deceive, and call out on someone, it wouldn't make sense if these communications were not possible. We developed on recreating the ping system so players who use different languages could communicate with one another (or those who simply prefer not to use any form of verbal communication) and have various options on what to say.
In the original ping system, players could select one of ten options, with two of them being ping messages that would transmit to all players regardless of the distance between the players. However, it was a limited function especially when it came to situations that required communications regarding objectives to missions, items, frontiers, etc. We could have simply added numerous options on the original ping menu, but it wouldn't make sense to have ten, twenty, or thirty different choices on one menu. There would simply be too much on the screen at the same time.
So, we decided to develop a dynamic ping system, which would categorize the options depending on the target subject. There are patterns to what messages are often used and needed depending on the subject, so we narrowed it down to an acceptable number. The system is also flexible enough to iterate on without too much trouble, so we were able to try out different sets of options too. We also wanted to keep two different channels for the ping. One for the proximity pings, and the other for global pings. Players can select the channel to which their next ping will be sent, allowing some control over what information reaches whom. However, a cooldown has been added for using the global ping due to its potential of making the game too difficult for the Traitor.
We hope this will not only provide players a better experience regarding communications, but also the ability to utilize it to their advantage when needed.
Hope you guys like what we prepared. Please stay tuned for DUBUIM's September Dev Log. There will be great news coming for you guys!
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave them in the comments below or on Discord. See you next month!
MUMO STUDIO
Dev Log - July 2022
Hello, Frontiers!
Here are the new updates this month for DUBIUM!
A visual update on the airlock exits for Escape pods (Single Soyuzes)
Do you remember that, during the last beta test, you got lost while listening to an alarming sound? We finally made the airlock doors for the escapes pods look different from the generic ones you can use to access the solar panels out in space. The design was based on fire escape doors, hence the two big noticeable differences, the red color and the removal of the big door handle. By removing the handle, we also think it should guide more players to the hacking console on the right side of the exit, which is what the characters need to interact with to open the door. We hope that the Escape pod airlock exits are now not only more aesthetically pleasing, but also more effective in signaling their purpose.
Minor updates on oxygen supply machine mini-game
In our May Devlog, we showed some changes made to the oxygen supply machines to improve the playability of its mini-game. We adjusted the mini-game to move the player’s viewpoint depending on which step of the mini-game was ongoing. It adds more immersion and makes it easier to see the indicators without being covered by other screen elements.
Lighting changes to make it easier to differentiate the station’s self-destruction type
We all know how it can get hectic when suddenly the self-destruct sequence fires off. However, not all hope is lost… at least in some cases. Depending on what caused the self-destruction, the station is lit in different colors. If it’s lit up green, that means the last core has been removed from its charger. If the Frontiers manage to load all the cores to the Shadd Shuttle in time, they can successfully complete the mission and escape on the Shadd Shuttle. However, the Traitor can still escape during that time so don’t forget to stay vigilant.
On the other hand, if the station is all lit up with red lights, that means there’s no way for Frontiers to complete the mission they came here for. So it’s time to make a run for the red air-lock exit! In this situation, everyone(Frontier or not) has to compete for any Escape pod available for use. Only one person can leave safe and sound so again, constant vigilance is key to survival.
Necropsyco gadget update
Necropsyco is Ryan’s unique gadget that can be very helpful in gathering information about someone and tracking them. However, the information shown on the screen was not as clear as intended. We reworked the analysis process and the result screen of the gadget by adding more animations and images to showcase the information in a more interesting manner. We think these improvements will help players have a better idea of what to do with what they see and have a better experience with the gadget.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave them in the comments below or on Discord. See you next month!
MUMO STUDIO
Dev Log - June 2022
Hello, Frontiers. We want to share the development progress via our Dev log for June.
As we shared in the previous news, we are in the process of supplementing and polishing DUBIUM based on the feedback we received from CBT last year. What's certain is that there will be more tests and opportunities coming for you to play DUBIUM this year. So, this year, we will have the opportunity to let you enjoy the gameplay and bring DUBIUM to more people.
For that purpose, DUBIUM will participate in Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show this year to introduce DUBIUM to more people. Come and say hello if you see the news of DUBIUM regardless, online or offline. We would appreciate your support :)
What's New and Improved
1. Improved Mini-game of Core Loader
The Core Loader, the last device to carry out the primary mission, provides a very important mini-game for Frontiers. However, in the previous CBT, we found out that two areas in the core loader need some improvement. One is that some Frontiers did not play the mini-game even when it was failing on the screen, where the mini-game required to be played. The second was that mini-games were not noticeable, even though they needed quick situational judgment and control. To solve these two improvements, the dev team has changed the core loader mini-game to a more intuitive form and strengthened the instruction for control.
2. Improved AR navigation information
AR navigation information guides Frontiers and Traitors to the place to carry out their missions. It is handy because you can get lost in a complex Uterlab-11 without navigation. During the CBT, the texts of destinations overlapped with one another when players had multiple key cards for missions in their hands. We fixed the issue by having the texts stacked on top of each other for better readability. In addition, we differentiated the navigation color of the key card for the mission and the key card for acquiring Keystones to help players for better gameplay. (Traitors, no more mistakes when you go to pick up Keystones)
3. Changes to the movement speed debuff at low health
Frontiers may get damaged from environmental factors or other Frontiers/Traitors while carrying out their mission. Eventually, their HP(health points) can reach a critically low level at times. Suppose the player's HP drops below a certain level. In that case, the movement speed will be slowed and will stay that way until the player recovers his/her health. In CBT, we saw that slow movement speed was excessive, making gameplay unnecessarily inconvenient for players.
To improve this, we tuned the status effect mechanic regarding that part. Players will still enter the same injured state when their health points drop below a certain value, depriving them of the ability to run. However, now it’s temporary, so the players will be able to move normally again if a certain amount of time has passed. Though it does not stack, the effect can still be applied repeatedly if your health is low upon any damage. Keep in mind that the health itself won't be restored unless players use Health Kits that can recover their health. It's always a good idea to keep a Health Kit to complete the mission.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave them in the comments below or on Discord. See you next month!
MUMO STUDIO
Dev Log - May 2022
Hello frontiers, How have you been? For those of you who have been thirsty for the news of DUBIUM since December last year, we prepared this news after much consideration. From now on, we will be able to share the development progress periodically through DUBIUM Dev Log. Firstly, we would like to answer some questions that many people often ask.
Questions (FAQ)
Q. How is the development progress?
Development is taking place in two contexts. One is to explain the gameplay as easily as possible and improve the parts found during the CBT, which were unnecessarily complicated during the gameplay. The other is to produce new characters, new maps, and new content such as character customization and gadget level-up. We think the improvement issue is more urgent, and we are doing our best to make DUBIUM more approachable.
Q. Will there be another beta (or Alpha) test soon?
We are running a very small, closed test based on these improvements. It remains to be seen whether the test can be carried out on a larger scale, but when it is determined that we are ready, testing on the Steam platform is our top priority.
Updates on Work-in-progress(WIP) Contents
Before introducing the WIP contents, we would like to share why we decided to focus on developing these specific parts. Our development goal for the first half of 2022 is to improve DUBIUM based on the precious feedback we received during the closed beta test(CBT). The feedback that we had received is as below; "Game is too difficult, and there is no tutorial. I have no idea what I am supposed to do."
What we want to achieve for the improvement this first half of 2022 is 'To deliver a clear goal of the game' and 'To make it easier for the new users.'
To deliver a clear goal of the game;
Adding pop-up briefing system
Each team's key missions and traitor warning were added at the beginning of the game as a pop-up message to deliver the goal of the game from the start.
Players can see a glance of the Frontier's mission, where a player has to load the core and escape from the space station.
A player can also find out the traitor's mission at once, which requires a player to collect 10 keystones.
To ease the learning curve for new users;
Enhanced AR navigation
In DUBIUM, hacking the Chief researcher's room in Uterlab-11 and obtaining the core charger's key card in the room is one of the most important mission processes.
After difficulty hacking into the chief researcher's room, we found frequent cases where players did not inspect the cabinet. The AR information was enhanced so that players could check the cabinet.
In the case of the traitor, AR information has been strengthened in the Keystone storage area. Even a traitor does not miss the location where the keystone is stored.
• Players can now discover keystones without missing out.
Improved oxygen mini-game
The three mixing gauges, the core of the oxygen supply, have been improved to be placed in the center of the screen to solve the problem of being unnoticeable on the left side.
Improvement of routes on the map
We are reviewing the area on the map that seems overly complicated when playing DUBIUM
We are considering reducing or removing unused areas or areas that do not work as intended. We will decide based on the Heatmap data from several tests.
Exposing the location of key items in the mission progress
We found a traitor hiding the keycards needed to solve the frontier missions, to sabotage the Frontiers.
Of course, hide-and-seek can be something any traitor can try, but we don't want DUBIUM to be a treasure hunt game.
So, we added the function in the Frontier cam to find the location of keycards and core (cube) items, which are key mission items when left unattended for a certain amount of time.
Improving UI style
We think the decorative elements in the existing UI were a hindrance to the information of the game. The UI has been improved to be as simple as possible and make important information easier to see.
We especially pay the most attention to the page where players can see the entire map and missions.
In addition to these, we are developing "Enhancing chatting experience in the result screen" to maximize the player's excitement about the game right after the match. We also added 'a feature that shows players who are currently in a mission’. And 'FAS5(tentative name)', the Frontiers' primary defense method, has been added.
Enhanced chat in a result screen
We provide a chat window so that players can enjoy the afterglow with other players who played together.
Shows players who are currently on a mission
Now players can see who is running the mission at once without looking around the screen. It is because the Frontier Cam has been improved to display the status of Frontiers. Players can find Frontier's image in the player information of the HUD during a mission.
This may be better news for the traitor.
Frontier's primary defense method, FAS5
We sympathize with the extreme helplessness experienced by Frontiers who traitors have targeted.
We think that Frontiers who carry out dangerous missions should have something to protect themselves.
Like a self-defense weapon that can put an opponent in trouble for a while, even if it can't do fatal harm.
We hope you guys like what we shared. If you have any more questions or requests, please let us know via comment below or via our official discord.
We appreciate your love and interest in DUBIUM so far, and we hope to see you and share more updates with you.
Thank you
MUMO STUDIO
2022 First update and heads up for the following news
Dear Frontiers,
How have you been? It’s been a while since the DUBIUM Closed Beta Test. Thank you for participating in the test. We’ve been busy organizing and analyzing your feedback from the closed beta test. Your input on Discord has been precious to us and inspired our development. We sincerely appreciate your participation and valuable feedback. Based on what we analyzed, we have been working on what to bring in 2022. During the First half of the year, we will reflect your opinions to DUBIUM to improve the game.
Firstly, we plan to have more chance(s)🥳 to meet you before the Early Access launch if everything goes well as planned. I can share more detailed plans in the coming weeks. Hopefully, with the news that you’ve been waiting for.
Regarding Rewards
We’ve asked you to share your discord id to give you a special role, ‘Backer,’ and we can’t give if you are not a member of our discord community https://discord.gg/jPDbXPmPmh Please join the Discord and claim your exclusive role.
I will be back with updates here and more on Discord; therefore, keep your eye on DUBIUM👀
Thank you for your interest in DUBIUM, and we hope to see you often here or in our Discord.
See you around
Regards, Claire
Patch Note 0.2.1. Beta Test
Patch Note 0.2.1
Hello, Frontiers, Thank you so much for your support. I hope you guys are enjoying the beta test. We wanted to bring a better experience for you, Frontiers. So we did some maintenance in between based on your bug report, even though the beta test is only for a week. Not all the reports are reflected, but we fixed some critical ones. I hope this helps you to have a pleasant and fun DUBIUM experience.
- Fixed the issue where party room members appear as ghosts when invited to a party room - Fixed the issue where the UI says ‘duplicate selection’ even when no duplicate characters were selected in the party room - Fixed the issue where the character image of 'Sobok' is displayed when 'Sergei' is selected as a duplicate character in the party room - Fixed the issue where the host disappears when a player who is not the host leaves the room in the party room - Fixed the issue where all party members' game crashes when the host leaves the party room - Fixed the issue of duplicate chats being entered in the chat window in the party room - Fixed the issue of friends not appearing in the party room when they accepted the invitation
1.2 Others
- Fixed the issue in spectator mode where the chat input UI did not work properly with the “Enter” key - Fixed the issue where a notification message was not displayed when attempting to use Ryan's Gadget during its cooldown - Fixed the issue where the text overflows out of the UI on the result screen for nicknames that are too long - Fixed the issue where 'forced takedown' was possible on player characters on the recovery countdown - Fix the issue where the AR navigation sometimes didn't show up when the player is low on oxygen - Fix the issue where having the map or radio message UI persists if they are turned on just before the result screen - Fixed the incorrect date of the CBT schedule in the notice - Fix the issue where pressing the home key enabled ragdoll on characters
2. Improvements
- A pop-up will show up that allows you to select a server if the loading takes too long on the title screen - Only missions that are essential will be shown on the Frontier and Traitor mission lists - Replaced images in radio message UI - Replaced images for Frontier Survival in the result screen - Lowered the difficulty by having the gas valves in the 2nd-floor core shipping rooms starting closed
3. Known Issue
- Items picked up may sometimes stick to the hand. A possible solution at the moment is dropping the item from the inventory and picking it up again. - During minigames, your character might be holding a weapon. A temporary solution is to drop the item from the inventory.
📢Closed Beta Test is on track!
Hello, Frontiers,
Thanks to your support, the Closed Beta Test is going well. We've got many feedbacks and bug reports. We already knew some of them and the others are very constructive and helpful to improve the gameplay. If you missed it, 1) go dubium.com to register your email or 2)come to our discord to get a key!
Closed Beta Availability
In order to provide the best possible first experience in DUBIUM, the CBT servers are limited to the following regions and time periods between December 17th and 23rd to allow the devs to monitor and address any issues that may arise:
North America - 5 pm to 12 am CST <*> Europe - 5 pm to 12 am CET <*> Korea - 5 pm to 12 am KST
The start and end times may be adjusted a few hours earlier or later on certain days, but the times listed above are when the servers will for sure be available. Depending on the distance from the server locations, players may experience server delays or lag while playing. Players outside of the server regions are welcome to participate but should keep this potential issue in mind. Keep your group in the same region for optimal gameplay!
DUBIUM Holiday Giveaway with Gleam
We love to see more people playing so we prepare a gleam event. Spread the words about DUBIUM, and play some beta tests, and you may earn a chance to win the Elgato streamer sets (approx. $ 870 worth) https://gleam.io/qm0cz/dubium-holiday-giveaway-win-elgato-gear
Known Bugs / Issues
Playing with people in a different region will result in laggy gameplay. For this initial beta test, try to keep your group in the same server region for optimal performance.
The game launches into Steam VR by default but this should not affect gameplay. Just close the VR pop-up.
Match-making delays(Not accounting for matchmaking in a party) - When you are playing by yourself, waiting for a match for too long(5mins or more) could be a bug. We recommend you cancel the match-making process and try it again to resolve it.
Incidents of seeing party members of the previous game in a new party room you are invited to(Although they are not invited to) - Those members may show up like they are in the same party but they are actually not in the same party group. It is possible to ignore it and play the game. - Although it is not recommended(dev's perspective), restarting the game should resolve this issue.
When staying in the lobby long enough(we don’t know how many minutes yet), your screen goes into indefinite loading mode. ⇒ We recommend you restart the game.
Beta Test FAQ
Q. Can I still join the beta test? A. Yes, invitation-only! People are still joining and asking for the game keys. Therefore, if you need some beta test keys for DUBIUM, come to our official discord, https://discord.gg/ea2Tk7DCBX)
Q. I'm waiting too long. Don't you guys have enough player base? A. If you are queuing alone in the lobby (1/5) for a long time, you might be stuck in the bug. We recommend you restart the game.
Q. I'm in but I have no clue what to do? A. Thanks to @IHeartPie we've got an amazing guide video that explains the game pretty well. You can take a look here. [previewyoutube="2d67BxELqGE;full"]
[DUBIUM] Closed Beta Test Delayed
Dear Frontiers,
Thank you for your interest in DUBIUM!
While we were doing a final polish of the beta build, we found a critical server issue that can affect the core gameplay of DUBIUM. The developers have tried fixing this issue in time for the original beta start date of December 15th, but as the deadline approached, we realized that it would require more time to fix the issues for the best beta gameplay experience. Unfortunately, this means we have made the difficult decision to delay the beta test by a couple of days. The closed beta test will now be starting on Dec. 17th and going through to Dec. 23rd.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience. It is quite frustrating for an indie developer like us to deliver this sad news but please hang in there and wait just a little bit longer! We're confident you'll enjoy what DUBIUM has to offer. Thank you for your understanding and patience while we work hard to bring you a better version of DUBIUM so that you can enjoy the experience as intended.
In the original ping system, players could select one of ten options, with two of them being ping messages that would transmit to all players regardless of the distance between the players.
