Hello, we hope that you’ve had a fantastic New Year and are all set to venture under the Dome in the company of your faithful companions. Today's issue will be short but very important.
Development update
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We know we promised the patch in late December but unfortunately - due to technical reasons - we had to postpone the release until January. But this month we will definitely have new content waiting for you. The extra time of development allowed us to polish new locations and mechanics, as well as fix some bugs.
Can't wait to see what new content is waiting for you under the Dome? Then visit our Youtube channel. The latest episode of the development diaries is waiting for your viewers.
New locations and completely redesigned cars
One of the main changes of the patch will be the new locations; the Fallen Fortress and the Mysterious Caves. Here you will find new enemies, equipment, treasures and mysteries of the wastelands.
And you will be able to drive away with those riches on completely redesigned transport: you can repair or blow up any vehicle under the Dome and these repaired cars can be used as a personal vehicle. There will be a place to park them in each location.
Additional settings
Players with large monitors will appreciate the new contrast mode and the long-awaited ability to change the font size. You no longer have to strain your eyes to read any text again. Another change - which will please owners of gamepads - is that we fully adapted the interface and added support for hotkeys.
And we’re always in the market to hear your suggestions to improve the game; we’ll try to add what we can.
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
Dear subscribers! The latest issue of the post-apocalyptic CRONUS Weekly is, once more, on your screen. Can anyone hear us?
Today we’ll talk about the near-future of Encased.
December Update
Employees, winter has arrived. It won't be long before we start preparing for the holidays and most people go on a well-deserved vacation. And to make sure you don't get bored during the break,we'll be releasing another Encased update this year!
We'll tell you more later, but you can expect new locations, enemies, battles, gear and more. We really hope you enjoy it :)
Gamepad Support
We've been actively working on full PC gamepad support for the past few months and we're happy to announce that your wait will be over in December.
We have adapted the interface and hotkeys for each panel and will also try to add a special mode with larger font and text contrast.
By the way, if you played on a gamepad in the early access, you should like the fact that now the character will independently bypass minor obstacles. No longer will you cling to small objects in your path.
Steam Awards
Employees, the annual Steam Awards is underway and players have begun to vote for the best games in ten categories. If you had fun under the Dome — please vote for Encased in any of the categories. We'll really appreciate it.
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
ENCASED - Hotfix 4: End of the Halloween event, minor fixes. What's next?
It's been two months since Encased was released. During this time, we have significantly improved stability, added more reputation events, fixed many bugs and typos. We have also published a roadmap for the game’s further development. By New Year, another patch will be released containing special events for vehicles (including Ursula), balance tweaks and a number of "quality of life" changes.
As for today's hotfix, we’ve added a small number of fixes and disabled the Halloween event. Keep in mind that the merchant named Sylvia Halen will be staying in the City and will continue to give rewards in exchange for Cursed Seeds, but the pumpkin-headed skeletons will disappear from the game until next year.
As for the edits made to the game, here is the list:
Fixed necroids generating a stupefying ‘field of death’
Fixed Church reputation decrease after the death of Victoria Legrand
Fixed infinite gain experience with a fusebox in Magellan reactor section
Fixed button for creating ability shortcuts on the quick access panel
Fixed freezing in the dialogue with bandits at the Roadside Picnic Staging Post during prologue
Expanded ability to use the Stealth Generator on robots and allies
Now you can talk to Lenny after defeating the Afflicted
Fixed navigation routes for new characters in the Desert near Concord location
Localization has been significantly improved
Fixed typos
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
A new development update and the beginning of Halloween under the Dome!
Dear subscribers! The latest issue of the post-apocalyptic CRONUS Weekly is once again on your screens. Can anyone hear us?
Today we're going to talk about how the inhabitants of the world under the Dome got their own voices and remind you about the Halloween discounts.
Development update #15: Voices under the Dome
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The first post-release development update is dedicated to voice acting. How the inhabitants of the world under the Dome got their own voices and how it affected the atmosphere and immersion into the game's story.
What other details about the game's development would you like to hear? Suggest your video ideas in the comments!
Halloween event and discounts
The Encased Halloween event began on October 28. It will last until November 8.
Battle the cursed skeletons right now! They were once employees of the CRONUS Corporation, but now they are servants of evil, hungry for only one thing — the death of all living things.
Sylvia Halen, an up-and-coming scientist from the mysterious White Swan Station, hunts for the Cursed Seeds, little-explored relics that can be extracted from the bodies of dead employees. Sylvia is not stingy on rewards: in addition to various chemicals, she is ready to offer the player a unique artifact.
Hurry though, the event ends on November 8. The special enemies will disappear, but Sylvia will remain in the City and become a regular merchant until the next Halloween. Seeds can be exchanged for rewards at any time.
By the way, there's a 10% discount on the game right now, so it's the perfect time to head under the Dome!
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
ENCASED — Patch 2: a number of bugfixes and the Horrors of the Dome
This October turned out very stressful – as we finished work on the latest patch and sat back to relax, a new one was on its way. This time we fixed many bugs and added a special event in honor of All Saints’ Day: the Barrens are now overrun with pumpkin-headed skeletons, and a special merchant was sighted in the City. But, first things first.
Special Event
Sylvia Halen, a promising scientist from the mysterious White Swan station, is on the hunt for the Cursed Seeds – the little-studied relics that can be obtained from the bodies of dead employees. Sylvia does not skimp on rewards: in addition to various chemicals, she will offer the player a unique artifact. The following awaits you in the Halloween event:
— Temporary redesign of old enemies (Skeletons), — A new relic, — Festive decor at various locations, — A new piece of equipment – Pumpkin Helmet, which can be upgraded.
Make haste, as this event will end on November 8th. The special enemies will disappear, but Sylvia will remain in the City and become a regular merchant until exactly next Halloween. You can exchange seeds for rewards at any time.
If you don't want the Halloween DLC to launch and change the game, simply uninstall it. You can find the file in the folder where the game is installed. Here is the exact path to DLC: Encased\Encased_Data\StreamingAssets\DLC\Halloween.DLC
For everyone willing to see how the game has changed after the release of the new patch, we will host a stream with the developers. It will start on October 28 at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST, 12:00 CDT).
Fixes
Text and Dialogues
Fixed dialogue with Theodor MacReady on Magellan
Fixed Brother Hugo Kelvin's dialogue
Fixed dialogue bugs while in Victoria's trailer
Fixed title of the note in the Campbell bunker
Fixed description of the Hunger sating effect for the Rat Roast item
Added new journal entries for My Story quest
Fixed typos in story dialogues: Aaron Melville, Sabal Singh, Henrietta Russo, Abbot
Quests
Added a Picnic reputation gain in The Thing Most Precious quest
Added reputation gains for completing Carmine Heights, Phalanx and Fops quests
Added the ability to sell the money envelope that can be found in the safe during Time to Choose quest
Fixed inability to complete the Knights in The Junkyard quest by simply stunning enemies
UI
Reworked displaying of enemies in the Fog of War
Added indication of the attack range when hovering over ability icons on the panel
Fixed displaying of Damage dealt to enemies in the Statistics section
Fixed displaying of fractional weight values
Improved over 140 icons
Added effects for unlocking abilities
Added indication of the number of points received for Hunger, Fatigue and Thirst
Added tooltips for equipment slots
Vignettes
Added check for the Piloting skill to the car event in Concord
Fixed image in the Carmine Heights drone event
Balance
Changed characteristics progression for NPCs, starting at level 30
Changed Influence and Intimidation checks in the bandits event at Roadside Picnic location
Bugs and Errors
Fixed the possibility of multiple experience gains in the Mirror event
Fixed animation of lying on army bunks in the Magellan Station – Military Post location
Fixed disappearance of the survivor NPC in the Buried Man event
Fixed being able to use exploded doors through the tooltip
Locations
Reworked the building in the Anomalous Swamp
Fixed lighting and added camera bounds at the Capsule Crash Site location
Reworked the supply room in the Sheriff's Office in Junktown
Fixed camera rotation and graphic artifacts on the Deserted Road location
Fixed movement of linked companions along the stairs to the lower section of the Sonora Storage Bunker location
Added traps, secrets and loot to the Deserted road location
Added camera bounds at The Shootout Site location
Usability
Added highlighting to the valve in The City – Sewers location
Added the ability to speed up time during an enemy’s turn in combat
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
Employees: the Dome is once again in danger and it is far more terrifying than any anomaly. On 28 October, the dead will rise from their graves and hunt the living.
Fight the undead and gain cursed seeds for your victories. You can exchange these for a valuable artifact or useful equipment from a new merchant.
Survivors will receive a unique pumpkin helmet; it can be upgraded up to three levels, using the seeds of the dead and other resources.
To get some of the valuable prizes, you will have to meet the Halloween Merchant who is waiting for you in the heart of New Committee City. She sells not only the usual first aid kits and anti-radiation drugs, but also a new valuable artifact available for purchase only in exchange for cursed seeds.
By the way, the merchant will remain in the world under the Dome even after the Halloween event ends, so if you forget to sell the seeds before the end of the event, fear not. However, the skeletons WILL disappear from the game and you so will not be able to get new seeds once the event ends.
Also, to celebrate Halloween, we'll stream via Steam, showing off new content and trying to answer the most interesting questions. Stream will be held at 19:00 CEST on 28 October. See you there!
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
Dear subscribers! The latest issue of the post-apocalyptic CRONUS Weekly is once again on your screens. Can anyone hear us?
This week, we’ll be telling players what they can expect in the coming months. Short for time? In that case, here's a little road map of the Encased train.
Halloween
Employees: the scariest day of the year, Halloween, is coming. The world of Encased won’t be spared either. Employees will soon have to fight - to the death - with horrible creatures straight from your nightmares.
Defeat new enemies and receive a unique currency, which can be exchanged for new equipment and artifacts from a special merchant. We'll tell and show you more next week.
New Year Update
New Year's Eve is the time for gifts and holiday festivities. Our team is also preparing a present for you. In December you can expect new random encounters on Ursula, as well as new content that’ll bring even more life under the Dome.
We're also always listening to what players want. Tell us what you'd like to see in the upcoming updates! We'll choose the most popular wishes and try to add them.
Patch 2
Much of the second patch is still under the veil of secrecy, but we can tell you about some things now. In the second patch there will be a new game mode: Arena. There you will be able to hone your combat skills, try new weapons, team combinations and different builds.
More information will be revealed closer to the patch release. We hope you’ll enjoy it :)
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
As you probably already noticed, the work on Patch 1 took a little delay, but there are objective reasons for this – there really are a lot of changes and improvements. In addition to fixing the voiceover, incorrect descriptions, bugs and typos, we focused on improving the user experience: a lot of changes were made to the game interface, balance, mechanics and, of course, optimizations – now the game runs faster and a little more stable. This is partly attributable to you, Dear Players, as many errors in the game have been fixed thanks to your bug reports.
We also listen closely to the suggestions you offer across our social networks. Thank you for your words of support and well-reasoned criticism. And above all, thank you for staying with us – it matters a lot to us.
Warning: fix descriptions may contain plot spoilers!
Localization and Voiceover
Fixed the sound for reading books
Fixed voiceover for Sister Beatrice Catcher
Fixed voiceover for Petra Willard
Fixed cries of Afflicted employees at the First Settlers' Camp
Improved MOBIOS sounds
Added sounds to control panels and vending machines in Carmine Heights
Fixed hyena footsteps sounds
Fixed necroid footsteps sounds
Fixed interruption of dialogue voiceover shortly before the end of playback
Text and Dialogues
Added low intelligence dialogue with Potanin at Carmine Heights location
Fixed dialogues with Tim Ginzburg and Jeffrey Gallop
Fixed dialogue with public terminal on Magellan
Fixed a typo in Crump’s dialogue
Fixed a typo in Jacques Falco’s dialogue
Fixed incorrect working of several main story dialogues for low intelligence playthrough
Fixed displaying of the tooltip for the "Fortune" characteristic in a random event related to the delivery of lost letters
Fixed description of the Brass Apple relic
Fixed dialogue behaviour when talking to Yoko about teleglasses
Fixed companions’ lines on the Deserted Road location
Fixed skill/stat check metrics in Milo Randall's dialogue
Added the ability to receive a bribe from Courtney Reznor after exiting the dialogue
Fixed inability to start dialogue with Yoko after going through her story dialogue
Fixed description of the Expropriator perk
Fixed initiating dialogue with Lenny after the Crossroads' Troubles quest
Graphics
Created and added a unique head for Olivia Raysner
Created and added a unique head for Audrey Melville
Created and added a unique head for the Fop named Pepper
Created and added a unique head for the Fop named Sad Bug
Improved displaying of water and dust shaders at night
Fixed a Black Wing helmet model
Fixed changing color for a number of hairstyles on the character creation screen
Fixed male hairstyle models
Fixed White Wing pants model
Added red/ginger hair color and fixed hair color for some character archetypes
Improved ending images for the Carmine Heights faction
Fixed flickering of some assets at locations when using TAA (Temporal anti-aliasing)
Added new cockroach model to match icons: Knight Roach
Added new rat models to match icons: White Rat and Ravenous Rat
UI
Improved design of fillable indicators (radiation, thirst, fatigue, encumbrance, hunger)
Fixed the crime icon stuck on companions
Fixed status effects branch in abilities tooltip
Replaced the armor sprite on the player character
Publisher's logo has been replaced with the up-to-date version
Made changes to the ability points distribution screen (colors, font styles, the displaying of ability points has been removed if there are 0 left)
Spread out the "glued together" filter buttons on the inventory screen
Replaced sprite of an empty inventory cell
Removed green outline from the minimap
Fixed alpha channel for location grid
From now on, if the requirements for obtaining a perk are not met, it is displayed semi-transparent
Expanded the mouseover/click zone to the entire line on the abilities screen
Added a Deactivate Stealth button and Reload Standard Weapon button
Matched the color indicating unfulfilled requirements on both the perk screen and in tooltips
Fixed mouseover for all items in the inventory
Improved title screen
On the character creation screen, the Attributes are indicated for each trait after the Attributes heading
Changed the displaying of font color on the loading screen
Added line break after a dash when entering a location
The left part of the PDA screen now has the same width everywhere
Fixed displaying of new save
Added an icon for the Second Wind ability
Fixed Tool Required message when attempting to scan
Added indication of the number of items that can be crafted in the crafting menu
Improved button colors in the crafting interface
Improved highlighting interface when hovering over objects that have already been searched
Fixed button for adding skill points after reaching the maximum skill value
Fixed displaying of radiation indicators in UI when switching between languages
Fixed displaying of the MOBIOS manipulator in the inventory
Balance
Unique MOBIOSes now have increased damage resistance
Updated rewards for digging up graves in the Picnic neutral zone
Improved the reward for stripping the Light Alloy Chest Armor
Fixed settings for crafting a prosthesis for Aaron Melville
Reworked traders’ goods at trader camps, now it corresponds to their specialization
Increased the number of combonds carried by traveling traders in the late game
Fixed progression of Kraut value depending on rank
Günther Haas in the Junktown Arena has been buffed, the ability to inflict fatigue damage upon him has been fixed
Rebalanced MOBIOSes and their aura effects
Rebalanced the reloading cost of Shiroyama at some ranks
Rebalanced and fixed the Ghost perk
Changed the rank of the received servoshell in the random event with the stuck soldier
Changed rewards for looting lockers
Levels
Fixed walking under the roof in the Abandoned Hospital location
Reworked the position of anomalies in the Magellan laboratory basement
Added camera borders and fixed lighting at the Chick'n'Corn Restaurant location
Fixed working of a heap of stones at the Chick'n'Corn Restaurant location
Fixed a flying bush and added detailing for the Crossroads location
Fixed steam jet position on Magellan's reactor floor
Fixed problematic pots in the Roadside Picnic location in the prologue
Added a camera border in the trader camps
Fixed black zones on the map borders at several Magellan locations
Fixed the ladder at the New Committee Outpost location
Fixed camera borders, terrain at the location in the "Deceiver" event (Deserted Road)
Increased the radius of initiating dialogue with the Oranges in Concord bathroom
Changed Darryl Gilmore's position in Concord
Fixed roof clipping on the cafe at the Picnic Neutral zone location
Fixed issues with decor at the Carmine Heights location, optimized
Added camera boundaries at Carmine Heights location
Added camera boundaries for the location with the Fatigue anomaly
Fixed the passage to the container at the First Settlers Camp location
Game Mechanics
Added display cases with unique rewards for high reputation with the Picnic, Phalanx, Carmine Heights, and Fop factions
Improved the protocol for processing crimes by animals
Meatball made the owner of all things in the Abandoned Hospital location
Improved initiating dialogue with weapons drawn for sentient necroids (Meatball)
Fixed the working of the equalize button when buying in barter menu
Necroids can now use ladders
Improved the working of the Lucky Finds system
Increased the maximum value of items that can be stolen by pickpocketing
Fixed the working of the state mechanic (hunger, thirst, etc.) when skipping time for short periods
Fixed working of psi-implant on companions if they die or are knocked out
Fixed a change in reputation when completing side quests in low intelligence playthrough
Fixed issue with reputation for the New Committee main quests
Story
Warning, spoilers!
Added a reputation change in the story dialogue while in the Council in Act 2
Added the ability to independently mark the weapons receipt at Concord station in the prologue
Fixed a game ending bug related to the Fops and Phalanx
Bugs and Errors
Fixed displaying of heads for characters in the main menu
Fixed incorrect tape playback in the tape recorder on the laboratory floor of Magellan
Fixed updating the list of available perks after receiving a perk
Fixed pushing companions through the wall at Magellan reception
Fixed eyes changing color when choosing skin color in the character creation screen
Fixed starting dialogue with a door on Nashville offices if the door is attacked
Fixed the freeze upon starting combat with the Puppeteer Roach in the Nashville sewers
Fixed infinite experience gain in the Bolts game
Fixed a bug where the box with selectrones did not disappear after burning it
Fixed the situation where dynamite remained in corpses’ inventory after the explosion occurred
Fixed the number of rounds in the magazine for some ranks of the Svetlana rifle
Fixed interacting through walls at the C12-Nashville Facility – Offices location
Fixed the working of riddles at the Treasure Hunters' Campside location
Fixed the working of the perk Against All Odds
Fixed investigating crimes committed by companions in locations without a dedicated prison
Hard-Boiled Electrician ability description now matches the effect
Fixed working and description of canned beans
Fixed behavior of Kurt Spengler when counting votes in elections if they take place at night
Fixed removing reputation from Katarzyna in case Crump died while not in player group
Fixed reputation going above the maximum value
Fixed the check of the Career Criminal ability in dialogs related to elections
Fixed the combat freeze at the Picnic Neutral zone location
Fixed Sherlock’s dialogue related to the First Settlers' Camp
Fixed being able to bribe Sparrow when in player group
Fixed working of A New Boss quest
Fixed Flamberg mine at the Secret Test Site location
Effects and Animations
Fixed bleeding effect on the injured Clara Morgan
Fixed animation for soldiers wearing servoshells in the main menu
Fixed skeleton animation for MOBIOSes, fixed effects displaying on them
Fixed incorrect animation of the Hoplite Armor’s cloak
Optimization
Optimized rendering of some desert plants
Increased the amount of allocated video memory and the quality of some textures
Fixed a drop in frame rate when selecting abilities after a long play time
Miscellaneous
Added scan record for Fatigue anomaly
Fixed the background of portraits at the Camp location
Changed portrait of Theresa Goddard
Fixed overlay working on EGS
Changed portrait of Sandra Malverde
Improved the Dirty Money quest
Added alternative ways of obtaining information in the Water Is Everything quest
Fixed inability to inform Ida Grace about the Oranges’ escape in the Playing Detective quest
Fixed fighting with Salvador Torres while having companions
Improved Olivia Raysner's AI
...And many other minor fixes and changes!
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
Dear subscribers! Once again, the latest post-apocalyptic CRONUS weekly is on your screens. Can anyone hear us?
This week you’ll learn when you can expect the first post-release patch, as well as a couple of mechanics that new players might not have noticed.
First patch
Employees, our team is working tirelessly on the technical state of the game.
Next week, on 14 October, you can expect the first post-release patch: it will fix the difficult bugs that required a lot of time to work on, as well as fix the texture quality degradation, improve the interface and add some other nice changes.
We have also been reading the feedback carefully and some of the changes were made thanks to you and your support.
By the way, did you know that in Encased you can hide dynamite in your enemy's pockets?
Squad management
Employees, did you know that each character in your squad can be controlled separately?
To do so, simply detach the portraits from each other in the upper left corner. That way you can set sophisticated ambushes, explore dangerous terrain, and do other not-so-legal things.
Dismantling
Overwhelmed by inventory, short on resources, or just want to make a little extra money? By increasing your survival skill to 30, you'll be able to dismantle items on locations, as well as unnecessary equipment from your inventory. Turn junk into useful resources in just a few clicks.
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
Dear subscribers! Once again, the latest post-apocalyptic CRONUS weekly is on your screens. Can anyone hear us?
Today let's talk about post-release updates under the Dome, unprecedented community support, and, of course, plans for the future.
Custom portraits
Custom portraits were probably the most anticipated innovation of the game. Now each of you can add your own photo or art to the game. Game also supports transparent images, so the most skillful of you can add portraits without backgrounds.
Our team is very interested in what you ended up using in the game as a portrait, so feel free to share with us :)
More than 2000 reviews!
Thanks to your support, Encased already has over 2,000 reviews on Steam, 80% of which are positive! Our team wants to sincerely thank you for your support and we’ll try to continue surprising our community with interesting game updates.
Bugfixes
Speaking of updates. Even though we haven't released a new hotfix this week, that doesn't mean that the work on bugs is over. It's only the beginning. For the past three weeks we have been carefully collecting your feedback and will try to fix not only the bugs that need a lot of time, but also take into account your wishes, such as new hairstyles and other improvements to the game.
Encased community is the most important for us - we are going to follow up closely for your feedback on the game.
The game continues to evolve so if you want to stay in touch on other channels than Steam you can follow us on social media and visit other cool resources with game updates, information, new artworks and lore pieces.
